Work in the Corporate Offices of a Cruise Line

If you want to work in an office environment and avoid the nomadic lifestyle and demanding tourists, there are jobs available in cruise line and tour company headquarters and branch offices. Going corporate is a way to get travel benefits and can be your key to a job on board a vessel at a later time.

The majority of headquarter offices are either in Florida, Los Angeles or Seattle. However, New York and various European cities also have their share. There are also a number of branch offices spread throughout North America and the rest of the world.

The types of onshore cruise jobs available are wide-ranging and include booking agents, administrative assistants, information technologies, sales representatives, marketing staff, human resources representatives and customer service personnel. If you have extensive experience in an office position that is not listed here, you more than likely will be able to find a similar position with the corporate headquarters of a cruise line. Many or all of the cruise lines we profile have a corporate office, please visit their employment website to locate the office positions available. Remember that over 97% of cruise line jobs are not advertised therefore, you may also want to approach the cruise lines you are interested in with an inquiry letter and submit a resume. The following are a few of the more common areas to work in corporate offices.

Accounting

Since cruise lines bring in quite a lot of money each year there are many accounting and auditing positions at the corporate offices. Some of these positions include: Accounts Payable Staff, Bookkeeper, Operations Analyst, Senior Business Analyst, Senior Staff Accountant, Staff Accountant and Tour Accounting & Administration Manager. Most of these positions require substantial accounting experience or a degree in accounting, business or finance. Generally these positions are on salary.

Administrative/Clerical Workers

Administrative/Clerical positions are some of the more common entry level positions you will find in any office. Examples of these types of positions would be Administrative Assistant, Customer Service, Data Entry, Office Managers, IT Engineers, Payroll, Human Resources positions and more. Knowledge of basic office skills such as typing, Microsoft Applications is required. Most of these positions are entry level but have great potential for advancement particularly in IT (Information Technology) and Human Resources. Generally, these positions start off by paying an hourly wage, usually starting around $8-$10

Airline Operations

When people book a cruise more than likely they will have to fly to the port of their cruise ship. Therefore, it makes sense that cruise lines would have their own staff dedicated to airline operations. Most of these positions have to do with making sure ticketing, cancellations, special fares are all properly dealt with. However, some positions such as the Airline Report Corporation Coordinator conduct research having to do with airline revenue and refunds. Most of these positions are on salary and require previous experience in the travel or airline industry.

Marketing/Public Relations

Similar to those in sales the Marketing and Public Relations positions are vital to the revenue of the cruise line. Finding ways to promote their company in a very competitive industry is essential. These positions make the general public aware of the company and present to their potential passengers an image of who they are. Some of the positions in this category are: Account Executive, Brand Managers, Field Representative, Marketing Research Analyst, Media Relations, Purchasing Agent and Vice President of Marketing. A college degree in a related discipline is required and previous experience in the field is preferred. These positions are on salary and generally start at $28,000-$30,000 a year.

Reservations/ Sales

All being done and said if no passengers show up for the cruise there will be no cruise at all. People who work in the Reservations and Sales department sell the passengers on the idea of taking a cruise on their ship and then book them or reserve their space to seal the deal.

Reservation agents work directly with those wishing to purchase tickets for a cruise. Experience in the travel industry and accreditation or agent licenses can be helpful. A great many trips are actually sold by outside travel agencies, so there are not as many opportunities for reservation agents in the cruise business as one might expect. Agents are trained to answer questions about the cruise and the company.

Sales Representatives work closely with airlines and travel agents to retain and build good relationships in hope they will recommend their cruise line to potential passengers. In addition, sales positions are often charged with generating interest in the general public throughout different means. Some of the positions included in this category are: Inside Sales Representative, Outside Sales Representatives, Reservations Sales & Service Previous experience in the travel industry, customer service or sales experience is required. Generally these positions are on salary or commissioned based.