Want a job on a cruise ship?
Wine and cheese sommelier? Gentleman host? CruiseCompete suggests some ways to change careers and get a dream job: working on a cruise ship. A few:
• Crystal Cruises was the first line (in August 2008) to feature professionally trained and certified cheese sommeliers who introduce travelers to samplings of new flavors, textures and cheese combinations that complement food and wine.
• Gentleman hosts exist for the simple reason that there are more single ladies than men on cruise ships and cruise lines like to provide dance partners and companions for their lady passengers. And while the criteria for gentlemen hosts are very strict, there are numerous vacancies available. Cruise lines offering gentleman host programs include Cunard Line, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, Orient Lines, Silversea Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, and World Explorer Cruises.
• Over the last two decades, auctioning “fine art” on cruises, often to first-time bidders, has become big business. Park West Gallery of Michigan handles such a high volume of art sales at sea that it bills itself as “the world’s largest art dealer,” selling art on the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, Carnival, Disney, Holland America, Regent and Oceania lines.
What are the qualifications for becoming a Cruise Ship Professional? Some of the typical criteria:
Have several years of proven sales experience; an extraordinarily high energy level; excel in public speaking and motivating people; enjoy providing exceptional customer service; and be able to work for 4 to 6 months straight on a luxury cruise ship.
Rewards for such jobs include possible six-figure incomes.
Report by David Wilkenng
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