Work on a Cruise Ship in the Great Lakes Region

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Interview Excerpt

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The Great Lakes are immense and provide many awesome ports-of-call in the USA and Canada. So are you surprised that the Great Lakes Cruise Company has grown a thriving cruise business on the lakes? CruiseJobFinder interviewed a representative from this Family owned and company, who explains ways to get hired onto a cruise ship.

About Great Lakes Cruise Company.

Great Lakes Cruise Company specializes in offering amazing cruises around the Great Lakes regions and travels to Chicago, Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, and various other destinations. Our aim is to offer a relaxed yet elegant cruising experience to all those interested in exploring the Great Lakes Region.

How many vessels does your company operate?

We currently have six vessels, namely the MV Columbus, Grand Mariner, Yorktown, Grand Caribe, MV Canadian Empress, and the Grand Niagara.

What are some of the common job titles you advertise for?

We require service staff, chefs, engineering and marine crew, captain, and sales and marketing staff.

What are some of the selling points you use to get people onboard to work with your company?

It is interesting work. You meet new people. You get to experience the Great Lakes in the best possible way.

Do you only hire people from the immediate area or do you occasionally hire people from other areas or even other countries?

Some of our vessels have international staff, but the Canadian Empress for example is purely made up of Canadian staff. We are quite happy to look at candidates from any country.

Do you have a lot of college students working for you?

Yes we do. It must be because of the nature of the job. It lets you explore and be away from home (and your studies!) for a while.

Are there any common traits people should have in order to get hired, and then to succeed in the cruise industry?

The most common traits for success in the cruise industry are obviously to have good teamwork skills, good people skills, to be friendly and warm, to be a positive, happy person, and to be a hard worker.

Does your company provide any training? If yes, can you describe what it entails?

Not really, just basic training for the first week or so on the job. This entails shadowing another staff member.

What are some common misperceptions people have about working on cruise ships?

A lot of people expect cruise ship work to be fun, but sometimes it is not fun. Although the general idea is fun, the travelling and the overall nature of the job is fun, there are plenty of stressful moments where you hardly get to catch your breath the entire 10 to 12 hours you are on duty, so it can be tough.

Don't Miss the Rest of this Interview!

Other topics included in this extensive interview include:

• Methods to help you get hired
• Resume tips
• Seasonal employment information
• And More...

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