How to negotiate your first contract

Let's say that you have already passed the job interview with a
cruise line personnel department or a concession (subcontractor)
and it is time to sign your contract. Usually there is not very much
room for negotiations in terms of salary, choosing a particular ship
or itinerary when you sign your first contract and most likely you
would be very excited that you have been offered the job and
anxious to join the ship as soon, as possible. That's OK, but you
could do certain amount of home work in advance and definitely
clarify some important conditions (these points are highlighted in
red further on). A very important clue for whether you have any
space for negotiations or not, is how soon the cruise line calls you
for an interview after you apply for the job and how soon you are
offered the position after the interview. In case the whole process
takes not more than 10-15 days, that is a good indication that the
cruise line badly needs personnel for this position at the moment
and you could have some room for negotiations. In any case, be
cautious and reasonable. Do not forget that everybody is
replaceable and there could be some other applicants, as well.

1. Ask precisely what kind of privileges you will be entitled to once

you join the ship. Onboard privileges vary depending on your
position, rank, department and sometimes on the cruise line.

• Are you going to be able to go to passenger area on the ship

when not on duty?

• Can you use certain passenger food facilities (buffet, pizzeria,

bistro, restaurants) or you would have to use the crew/staff
mess only? The word "mess" is a nautical term for the "crew
dining room", usually that place is OK, but on some ships it
could be quite messy

• Can you use some other passenger facilities like gym (there is a
 crew gym, as well), swimming pools (most of the ships have
a crew pool), sauna? Passenger facilities are always better
than the ones "for crew only" and on most of the cruise ships
some staff and crew members are allowed to use them at
specific off-peak hours.

• Can you sit down in a show lounge and watch a show or a

movie, can you use a passenger bar and if you can, do you
get a "crew discount" on beverages?

We are not trying to say that you should not accept the contract in
case you do not get some or all of the above mentioned deck
privileges (most of the time they are not negotiable, they just go
with the shipboard position you are signing for), but those
privileges make the contract easier, especially if it's a long one.

2. What kind of accommodation are you getting onboard? A

standard accommodation is two persons sharing a cabin. Some
higher ranking officers or staff members get their own cabin.

3. How many hours per week are you expected to work on the
ship and what is your working schedule going to be on port days?
Usually positions which require hours on duty during port times
work on rotating schedule, so everybody gets to see the ports.

4. Are you expected to perform any duties not related directly to

your shipboard positions? Many crew and staff members are
required to perform certain safety-related duties while onboard a
cruise ship (participating in safety drills once a week etc.)

5. Read very carefully your contract. Make sure that the dates of
embarkation and disembarkation are exactly the same as
promised and also that is very clear whether the cruise line is
responsible to fly you to the ship and back home by the end of the
contract.

6. Study the cruise line and the ship that you are about to join.
This CD-ROM will provide some information (click on Cruise Lines
Profiles). You could also pick up a few brochures from a nearby
travel agency. Despite of the fact that these brochures are
designed to attract passengers, by reading them carefully you
should be able to learn many things about the company, the ship
and the itinerary.