Trust Us With Your Journey Onboard!

Getting onboard a cruise ship for the first time to start your retail career is tough, complex and full of challenges. So tough in fact, that we were inspired to begin the Cruise Retail Academy back in 2024 to support the process.

As we have met hundreds of you over the past 18 months from all across the world, we have become more determined than ever to build this support into something truly unique.

Our tagline has evolved this year to meet this challenge... 'Trust Us with your Journey Onboard'. In the past weeks we have seen an increase in many 'recruiters' start to charge candidates for services that there is no need to pay for, so I wanted to write this quick blog to provide some expert guidance on what you should and shouldn't be paying for!

So, what does 'Trust Us With Your Journey Onboard' actually mean, and what are we doing to support this?

You Shouldn't Pay Anything for Recruitment / Training to get onboard a cruise ship

The Maritime Labour Covention (MLC) is very clear. You shouldn't be paying anything to any agency who advertises that they can get you a job on a cruise ship. Whether it be in terms of CV checking, pre-embarkation readiness training or VIP support. Many agencies are trying to subvert the rules, but we will put it in black and white for you. You should not be paying anything to be recruited to work on a cruise ship. You will have many expenses that you will need to pay for to get onboard, such as medical, C1D Visa and STCW training - recruitment is not one of those. We would always advise utmost caution against any company claiming to put you in a 'VIP lane' and charging money for this. They are simply trying to profit from your uncertainty.

What you need to know: The Cruise Retail Academy will never charge you for recruitment.

If you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail!

Recruiters are looking for candidates who are prepared for life onboard. They need to imagine you on the ship, and will be looking for clues that you are ready. 20% of new-hires don't make it past their first contract, and because of this drop-out rate, recruiters are more rigourous than ever to ensure that candidates are ship-ready. At the Cruise Retail Academy, this is our core purpose is to prepare you for your journey onboard. All candidates who are invited to an interview with us are invited to join our 4-week long learning program which has been designed to get you fully prepared. Our 30+ years of cruise retail experience has gone into each of these courses and we will expertly guide you through everything we think you need to know.... all for FREE!

What you need to know: The Cruise Retail Academy has over 50 free training courses which offer you over 200 hours of learning - all completely for free!

Recruiters will make a judgement about you in 10 seconds

Getting your CV ship-ready is one of the most important things you need to do. And once again, it is not something you need to pay any money to do. Watch our CV Workshop and follow the simple tips that we lay out for you. Then get your CV, get a job description from our talent hub and then give your CV to ChatGPT or Gemini, asking 'make my CV relevant to be recruited for this job'. You will be amazed by the small things that AI will suggest to ensure that a recruiter is able to quickly assess you and see that you are 'cruise retail ready'. All of these tips allow you to improve your CV for free, and you should not need to pay any money to improve!

We understand how complex the journey onboard is

When we made 'Trust Us With Your Journey Onboard' our tagline earlier this year, it was a very simple promise. To be with you every step of the way and make sure that you are able to make one of the biggest transitions of your life. From providing you with the correct paperwork and advice needed, to answering all your questions. From connecting you to other shoppies to giving you a platform to share your success, all that we do is driven by ensuring that you can trust us to give you the best possible start to your career in cruise retail. We have guided hundreds of cruise retail professionals over the past 30 years, and we have a real 'lived' experience, so we are able to mentor those who want to grow their careers fast by providing the best possible start to their cruise retail career. And once again, we provide this support and advice completely for free!

So, let's be clear on what you should and shouldn't be paying for.....

Costs that you should expect to pay upfront for:

• Medical

• C1D Visa

• Police background check

• STCW training

• Flight ticket (in some instances)

Costs that you should not be paying for:

• Recruitment Services

• CV Checking

• Cruise Retail Readiness Training

• Ship life Readiness Training

• Pre-Embarkation Mentoring

• Careers Guidance

To learn about the requirements for joining a ship in detail click here.

To read the most Frequently Asked Questions about working on a cruise ship, click here.

To join any of our free 50+ E-Academy courses, click here.

To apply for a job with us, click here

Thank you for your attention, and we wish you the best of success with your journey onboard!

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About the blog author:

My name is Adrian Pittaway, and I have been a senior leader in the cruise retail industry for the past decade. I am one of the most knowledable people working in the cruise retail sector, so when I write the below points, it is written from a position of expertise. Please check out my LinkedIn profile if you want to see my credentials! Click here