There has been a number of perceptions as to what cruise employment entails and misconceptions about the processing, expenses, timeframes, and general terms of employment. As a reminder, this is not a "working holiday", but a professional work opportunity. You are permanently employed directly by the cruise ship company, on a contract basis of approx. 6-8 months at a time, and 6-8 weeks of vacation time between contracts. Promotions happen all the time, and you return to the ships in the same higher position. That's where most management employees come from.

For this reason mainly, does it take longer to get placed than applying for a seasonal job in the UK, Ireland, Europe or Camp / ski resorts in the United States or other youth travel options.

The key to getting placed faster, is to apply, send in your CV as soon as possible, after which we will contact you for an initial interview if we can be of service, and you submit all the necessary documents and paperwork at the same time.

We recruit all year round, but our busiest recruitment drives usually take place early in the year, from January through March/April, and then again later in the year, August through October/November. Our clients visit South Africa throughout the year for final interviews with the applicants on file at that particular time, but some of them visit us consistently around April, and or October each year.

There has been a number of perceptions as to what cruise employment entails and misconceptions about the processing, expenses, timeframes, and general terms of employment. As a reminder, this is not a "working holiday", but a professional work opportunity. You are permanently employed directly by the cruise ship company, on a contract basis of approx. 6-8 months at a time, and 6-8 weeks of vacation time between contracts. Promotions happen all the time, and you return to the ships in the same higher position. That's where most management employees come from.

For this reason mainly, does it take longer to get placed than applying for a seasonal job in the UK, Ireland, Europe or Camp / ski resorts in the United States or other youth travel options.

The key to getting placed faster, is to apply, send in your CV as soon as possible, after which we will contact you for an initial interview if we can be of service, and you submit all the necessary documents and paperwork at the same time.

We recruit all year round, but our busiest recruitment drives usually take place early in the year, from January through March/April, and then again later in the year, August through October/November. Our clients visit South Africa throughout the year for final interviews with the applicants on file at that particular time, but some of them visit us consistently around April, and or October each year.

You have to be 100% fit for employment, which means that you will have to go through a very intense and thorough medical examination. This include lab tests for a number of ailments, drugs, asthma, diabetics, hepatitis, as well as stool and urine tests, chest X-ray, and a complete final physical examination at any one of our approved physicians in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Not your own doctor in your town or city.

To avoid disappointment, please inform us in advance if you have any illnesses or medical history i.e. diabetes, asthma, heart disease, hepatitis, back, joint problems, hernia, HIV, chronicle medication, epilepsy, BMI (Body Mass Index of 30 or below) etc., which disqualify you for employment.

If you have any existing or pre-existing conditions, please ask us first, and if we don't know, we will give you the doctor's number to get clarity whether to proceed or not. This examination is usually at your/the applicant's expense, and is normally valid for 2 years, depending on the cruise ship company you have been scheduled to join.

This examination is done only after we received final joining instructions from the respective company, at which time we will contact you to collect all the necessary documents i.e. original letter of employment, to get started. It is also the applicant's responsibility to send, e-mail/fax, all medical reports and documents to the cruise ship companies for final scrutiny and approval.

All candidates have to get an American/USA C1/D Seaman's transit visa, which will allow you enter the USA, to transit and get onboard a ship, when immigration officials onboard will take over. There are US Consulates in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

If you are scheduled to join a ship in Europe or South America, you will have to get an additional visa i.e. Schengen for Europe. Visas will always be at your expense, before joining and to remember to make sure it's always valid for the next contract. The visas are renewable for as long as you are employed.

Foreign applications: Foreign nationals who are in SA must be in possession of a valid work/study permit to qualify for cruise ship employment. No visitor's visas or asylum visas will be considered as it will most likely be a serious concern when applying for the US C1/D visa. Candidates who are living outside of South Africa i.e. Botswana , Namibia, Dubai, Europe etc can only be processed if they are willing to travel to South Africa for the final interview with the cruise ship company representatives.

In most cases you will responsible to pay for the first joining ticket. The general concept is that the new hire doesn't know what's waiting for him/her onboard ship, and he/she might not like it onboard, therefore do most companies have the policy to have the new hire pay for the first joining flight ticket.

In most cases, you will need a one-way ticket to the port of embarkation, anywhere around the world, mainly Miami, Florida, and other North American ports such as Vancouver, Canada, Los Angeles, New York, etc.

There may even be a repatriation deposit, for the purpose to cover expenses to get you home, should you not complete your contract.

Travel247 has been our right hand in getting most, if not all of our new hires to the destinations without fail over the past 8 years. They specialize in youth travel, and have special arrangements with the different airlines to get you a cheaper fare than average, for example Lufthansa seaman's fares, which carry it's own unique advantages.

Contact Awesome Travel or STA Travel for alternative land based youth travel options and at the same time gain some hospitality / hotel experience to hopefully qualify for cruise ship employment.

Cruise Alternatives is all about getting the right person, for the right position and for the right company. We look forward to receiving your CV for review and hopefully we can be of service to you. Please make sure that your CV is up to date, since incomplete CVs, without dates, time gaps, etc, will not be screened and are considered incomplete. A photo of yourself is also helpful in speeding up our screening process.

Please download, print and complete the Application Form and forward it to us:

E-mail:  info@cruisealternatives.com

Fax No: +27 (0)86 677-6136

(Also see: "Contact Us")

Download the Application for Shipboard Employment form and print it from Adobe (pdf) format         or click here to download it in Excel (xls) format.

We sincerely hope that this answers most of your immediate questions. It is important to know that we do not make exceptions, unless approved by our clients, the cruise ship company. The system in place is designed to streamline and facilitate all the processes and make life as easy as possible for all of us, the applicant, the cruise ship companies, and Cruise Alternatives.