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A newly qualified captain with little experience can expect to earn much less than a captain who has been sailing the seas for many years. Aside from the captain, other high-paid employees include staff in charge of food and beverages, such as the Executive chef. In fact, on some cruise lines, one of the highest-paid employees is actually the Cruise Director. The average monthly income of a cruise ship captain is approximately $8,000 per month.
How To Become A Cruise Ship Captain: Qualifications Needed
Often a captain is on the ship for a few years at a time, usually with an eye to moving up to a bigger ship in the fleet should the opportunity arise. The captain would also oversee any incidents such as death on the cruise and the use of the onboard morgue. This includes anything from medical emergencies to fires on board the ship.
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The road to becoming a cruise ship captain is a long one that requires a number of years of study and experience. In order to become the captain of a cruise ship, you will require the right education, with a master’s degree in maritime studies being required by most cruise lines. Regardless of the type of ship or region of the world, a cruise ship captain's responsibilities are far greater than just driving the boat. A cruise ship captain is on duty 24-hours a day and quite literally the master of the vessel.
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In addition to experience and education, a captain must hold a valid license and certification from organizations like the United States Coast Guard. Familiarity with international maritime law, customs and immigration laws, and familiarity with other federal maritime authority regulations is also essential. For instance, the staff members working on the bridge require a few changes to the program to give time for some other important activity that takes precedence. The officer in charge alerts the Captain and sends the message to the subordinate crew members with their go-ahead. After that, each member takes up specific tasks to ensure that the bridge runs smoothly. In such a scenario, the guests are asked to attend the muster drill by the Captain, who communicates to everyone via the overhead tannoy.
Factors that decide the Cruise Ship Captain Salary
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To work on a cruise ship, certification requirements vary depending on the position. Training is provided on board and may include safety, hospitality, and job-specific skills. Additionally, good communication and public speaking skills are a must, as the cruise director often serves as the public face of the ship and is expected to interact with guests on a regular basis. Overall, the cruise director role offers a challenging and rewarding career path for those with a passion for entertainment and hospitality.
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Candidates pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Maritime Science or Nautical Science. The formal education teaches navigation, naval laws, ship construction, and safety at sea. Cruise lines have different ideas of determining the salary of the captains of their fleet. Larger cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line pay their captains more because they can afford the higher salary.
Captains with advanced maritime degrees or certifications from recognized maritime academies or universities may have an edge in salary negotiations. So, cruise lines must recruit internationally to find the most suitable and experienced captains. The biggest cruise companies in the world want the best captains piloting their ships. So, more prominent cruise companies pay higher salaries to attract the most experienced captains. They’ll then work their way up the ranks, often having to take more qualifications, as they move into senior roles on ships, working under a captain. Expect it to take an average of years to become a cruise ship captain from the start of working in the industry – and even then that will likely be at the lower end of the pay scale.
This ensures the captain has the knowledge and skills to lead a team and navigate a ship safely. Despite the attractive pay, the job of a cruise ship captain is no walk in the park. They are on call round the clock, ready to tackle emergencies, from medical crises to severe weather. Efficiently managing a large crew is also part of their job to ensure the ship sails smoothly. There is a crew mess hall on all the cruises where the captain is the dominating personality sitting among the crew and enjoying with them.
This explains why crew members often perform drills and procedures during a cruise to equip them with the knowledge of measures to follow in an emergency. Without proper and frequent maintenance, these parts will break down and cause great inconvenience. A section of the crew works round the clock to ensure different parts of the ship, like the navigational equipment and engines, are working as expected. Sometimes, the cruise experience is so great that some couples want to celebrate and honor this special moment by getting married on board. Without a priest or a judge, the Captain can take up the role of marrying the couple.
During this time, living expenses such as accommodation and food are usually covered by the cruise line, but employees may not have access to free Wi-Fi. Additionally, the employee benefits that come with the job, such as free room and board, can be a major perk. So, let’s take a closer look at the earning potential and benefits of working on a cruise ship. This is dependent on the Captain’s experience, and the cruise line for which they work.
So in this post, we look at the factors that influence a cruise captain’s annual salary and how much they make a year plus a look at some of the added perks of the job to be added on top. Some may even earn upwards of $200,000 per year while at the other end of the spectrum for small vessels and those newly promoted to the position make approximately $50,000 annually. Most cruise lines like Carnival Cruise line and Disney Cruise line require at least ten years of maritime industry experience, with five years as a chief officer.
The captain may not deal with the emergency directly, but they will be responsible for coordinating the response and giving orders as necessary. The captain will also need to make sure that the ship has the correct documents and certificates to dock at each port. They need to have an in-depth knowledge of maritime law and be able to navigate using both modern technology and traditional methods. Read on to see how we arose at these figures and the various factors that influence the amount.
The captain will also be responsible for inspecting or reviewing reports from heads of relevant departments of the ship on a regular basis to ensure that it is seaworthy and fit for purpose. This will also include making the decisions of when to leave ports in the event of passengers not onboarding on time, and possibly leaving them behind. Quite simply, the more years of experience they have as an actual captain, the more they can expect to be paid. They are respected by their crew members and passengers, seen as leaders and role models.
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