planner

guest service agent

server

manager

entertainer

Carnival Cruise Line

I've work as Sports Staff for around 7 years.

As a sports staff you have overall an easier shift experience than most other jobs in entertainment (barring musicians and dancers). It's fun work and if you have a good team the contract is enjoyable.
You'll be working on a ropes course, skyride or rollercoaster for most of your time, all high up, do not be worried if you're afraid of height, the fear goes very quickly and I've never seen someone keep their fear after very long. 
You'll be harnessesing mostly children and explaining the rules or rescuing them, putting people in a bike or putting people into a rollercoaster. The work can be incredibly monotonous but I quite enjoyed that. You're also upstairs with incredible views, fresh air and only a maximum of 7:15 hours shift. (1/hr or 45min break depending on the ship.)
On a sea day (about 4 per week) you'll work there for an 8 hour shift 
On a port day (usually 3 per week) you'll do 4 hours
This is vary varied though, as you'll have extra activities depending on the ship, but it's a good general rule of thumb.
Other departments like fun squad are looking at 10 hour or more on a sea day and 2-4 on a port day
Housekeeping is 9 hours every single day for 9 months, to give you an idea.

 Every contract is a role of the dice though, I've had great ones and terrible ones.
 If you are looking to progress in this company, potentially move to become an entertainment director onwards, do not join sports staff. 
There is little to no career progression in this role. You will get to Sports Manager (a promotion of a lot more work, no single cabin and only $500 extra a month) and then that will be it. There has been only one instance of a sports manager making it to entertainment director and that was because of COVID and lack of staffing. It won't happen.

If you are looking to progress or stay a long time in the company, join a different department. I recommend Fun Squad if you are looking to progress professionally, although it is more work and emotionally taxing sometimes, but also can be very fun too if you are an outgoing person, and good time off in port.

Also beware that ships take a lot of your life away, you leave behind the real world for 6 months at a time, and if you do that enough (say to your late 30s) you have to be mindful of what you have waiting for you at home, as this is not a job you can do as you get older.

Relationships will be very different, if you have someone at home already it will make the contract much more difficult, and it is unlikely you will find a long term partner unless they work on ships, even then, you will have to link and wait many months before syncing up to work together on the same ship.

Port time is limited, especially on a skyride ship. You will be able to get off most ports, but only in the morning and will have to usually be at work by 1:45. So if you want to hang out a lot you won't be able to. But if you do it long enough every port blends into itself and most people who've done 2+ contracts will barely get off the ship unless they have something specific in mind.

If you join, get yourself a budget, I see too many sports staff come, you look to earn about $12,000 into your savings account by the end of 6 months. And they leave with $3000 or less. I did it and hundreds of others have too. It's very easy to spend money in port on drinks or random stuff.
Limit yourself or track your spendings, and you won't go home feeling like you've wasted half a year, as ultimately you are on the ship to earn and to save money. I was spending around $8 a day, which equates to around $10,000 saved. 
You can spend as little as $0 a day, but you won't be very fun to hang around with at the bar.

You'll have an incredible time working for Carnival, and certainly many memories. You'll improve your social skills tenfold and you'll improve as a person too. 
I'd say it's worth it, but not for your whole life. Enjoy :)

At the beginning Carnival was one of greatest job experiences in the travel industry world.  The hours were plentiful and the training provided was enough to get you on the floor and ready to handle bookings from our travel partners & guest alike.  It has been a long time since i worked there so things may have changed for the better or worse.  My job was Group Sales which consisted of booking travel agents with more than 8 guests.  This entailed not only booking the ship cabins, but also any air travel or hotel accommodations, amenities, cancellations, insurance, activities on board, taking payments, etc.  While it may sound like a lot, as i said before the training provided was more than ample.  Calls would enter non-stop & the variety was enough to always keep you entertained.  While some calls might have seemed repetitive, you would handle them with the same enthusiasm as if it was the first time you were asked that question.  Our travel partners were very pleasant for the most part and that is to be expected.  A lot of times they promise their clients the world & its your responsibility to get them as close to it as you can.  As with any call center expect to get the dreaded calls of disgruntled guest or agents. 95% of the time they promised something they knew they couldn't deliver & now you have to make it right.  Situations can get a bit stressful especially if the ship is about to leave in 2 hours :)

As with any call center job, as an agent always remember that ITS NOT PERSONAL.  Try to put yourself in their situation and think about how you would like your memorable vacation to be.  Carnival was great at bending over backwards for agents & guests and I'm sure that has not changed.  So be prepared to be flexible & acrobatic.  Unfortunately my time there came to an end 1 or 2 years after the company broke apart internally.  Instead of being expected to do everything, you were now in charge of either booking or handling an existing booking.  As anyone in the travel industry knows, cruising is seasonal.  Having said that, our department would see busy days of the year & then it was a drought.  As you are well aware, a call centers life is calls and if none are coming into your department because all you do is sales, and you have 2 co-worker dweebs hanging up phones on potential clients because they have attitude problems and everything is booked for a year and a half or more in advance, you can imagine the frustration upper management is feeling.  This led to department downsizing & layoffs.  Co-workers were being offered to either relocate many miles away to Miramar or pack your bags and leave because your services were no longer needed.  Miramar was too far for what i wanted to commute so I was forced to be laid off.

As I said things may have changed from then to now but keep in mind that there is no such thing as job security.  Our CEO was Micky Arison, but as of July of 2013 its Arnold W. Donald.  During my time there I think I met the CEO once for like 5 minutes or it could've have been the guy who cleans his office...So in closing,

The pay was great!
Co-workers were like a family, always helpful.
My immediate managers & teachers were phenomenal, always there for me. They want you to succeed.
No quotas ever had to be met, except during the final days when they were looking for an excuse to fire you in order to meet their quota to downsize.

So if you're considering a job at Carnival, go for it!  Just remember that Cirque du Soleil flexibility goes a long way.

Great place to work.  The earning potential is above average, and the potential is based on your productivity.  The more effort you put into the sales process the quicker you can become a top producer.  The benefits are excellent, a lot of PTO, sick time, paid holidays, 401K with match, and employee stock purchase plan. The management cares about their employees and does look out for their best interest. With that said, it is a publicly traded company so they must balance the needs of the employees and running a business to driver share holder profits.  The cons:  you won’t be successful unless you work at least 60 hours per week; however, since it is a remote position the time you save commuting & eating lunch if you worked in the office, you could work those hours saved so it evens out.  You’re working more hours but commuting less and can take a break to eat quick whenever you want.  Additionally, you gain back hours from being able to do things chores around the house before or after work. For example, I go to the gym around 6:30am, I put in a load of laundry to wash before leaving the house, and when I get back put a pot of coffee to brew, then put the clothes in the dryer.  After I am showered and dressed, I grab my coffee, then fold the clothes in the dryer and it is still at least 2 hours before I need to start work.  This is just one example, but when you add up all the time you save with WFH hacks, the extra hours you spending working are worth because they go toward making more money and you overall get back more time in with work life balance.  The other con and this is a big one, the reservation system is constantly having issues. There are glitches but more importantly IT does a regular deployments every couple of month and something always go wrong causing the reservation system to start performance extremely slow which makes each sales/service call take longer than it should and this being an outbound sales position, the faster you can turn your calls over and make more outbound dials, the more contacts you make, and convert into a sales.  Average pay is $60K/yr.  The base is $16,500/yr.  You’re classified as an exempt employee, so you do not earn overtime pay.  Most of your compensation comes from sales incentives.  Top producers earn over $100K/yr, and the very top earn $150K+.  If you follow the sales process they train you on and DIAL the phone, you can surpass $80K your 1st year.  The longer you’re on the phone the more repeat business and referrals you get.  If you’re looking for a 40 hour per week position, apply for a service position in the contact center taking inbound calls but their pay is much less. 

To be honest, I enjoyed working here. Workplace culture was inclusive and a typical day did involve dealing with travel agents to explaining charges and promotions. Although the workload did increase due to cancellation of trips, we had all the help we needed to ensure we were exceling and doing the correct procedures. The transition made to work from home did have it's hiccups but it was manageable. There was always overtime which I was grateful for. It did get to a point where things were so face paced, the day would fly. It was much more stressful then normal, due to the circumstances and if you don't know how to manage your stress, you'll feel very tired all the time and your health can take a hit. Would I work here again, if given the opportunity I would consider it since there's room for growth.
Considering the fact that my colleagues and I came onboard before CoVid hit - my complaint was the way the last training classes got laid off. Obviously, I was a part in that lay off. It was all done via 2 video messages. I honestly would have preferred a meeting with our supervisor individually. It was confusing and disorganized at the end when we had to figure out how all of our information pertaining to benefits, ira's, etc were going to be impacted. We were only given the courtesy of one meeting that was rushed explaining what was going to happen with our sick/time off, amongst other things. Even when they gave you the information on what department you'd need reach out via phone or email for additional questions, no one would touch base or you'd get to a line where there was no way your call would be returned.
I'm not upset that it happened from a business standpoint because as a corporation, I understand it was necessary to reduce workforce and save money wherever possible. However, this whole experience made me feel frustrated and angry because it felt like they'd kicked us off the ship (pun intended) without warning.

This is a great starter gig for musicians. You can work with people from all over the world, and perform as much as possible. Most importantly, you can travel the world, while honing your craft. 

A typical day of work would consist of performing 3-5 set per day, and one day off per week. Depending on the size of the ship, and the length of cruises, those sets would vary in style and/or genre. Depending on the workload, you had plenty of time to get off the ship and enjoy the ports of call. 

The largest skill I gained was the ability to work internationally. Professionally, musically, and even socially, you will grow in multiple angles from this experience. Because of my time on ships I am comfortable with traveling abroad, adapting to local cultures or customs, and I am certainly not afraid to tackle a place that I do not know the local language. 

The hardest part of the gig was living out-of-suitcase. The only way to really make it affordable was being homeless. Between contracts you must bounce from hotel-to-hotel, or homes of friends-of-friends. Secondly, on board the ship, conditions are not exactly ideal. Between the tiny cabin, bad food, side-jobs, and constant rules & regulations, its can be hard to enjoy the music. 

The best part of the gig comes in two parts: first, it is by far a great way to quickly travel and see a lot in a short amount of time (this also means you only get a "taste" of a port/city, compared to staying locally). Secondly, and most importantly, its is a lot of playing. Depending on the elements (Music Director, Cruise Director, Hotel Director, company requirements, overall Entertainment Schedule) you can play so much your technique, and love for music, can be pushed to the edge. If your not afraid to keep the chops pumping, this can be a great gig for you.

A typical day at work would be to get up early and shoot the guests going off the ship when we docked at a island. After that I always leave the ship to go explore and return for my next shift, shooting portraits or selling pictures in the photo gallery. It's a very fast life but I loved my routine and my family on board.

I learned to communicate more with people and got a lot of confidence. I learned not be lazy, not to complain and a lot of responsibility. I also did a course in crowd management and SCC training. I learned how to pose people and how to work with studio lights. I also enjoyed learning new languages.

Managers are there to make money and take care of you. I did not always agree with management but I learned the hard way to respect them and not to complain when a task is given. I learned a lot from my managers.

Team work is very important in our division. In our department you can only achieve results with team work. Every picture you take matters. You live and eat together and it's real nice to treat each other as family while on board. We made bonus because of all our hard work every day we went to work. I loved my co-workers but sometimes you will not agree because of all the different nationalities that is working together.

The hardest part in my job was when guests are mean and that on board you are no one.you go there not knowing if people will like you or respect you. The long hours was sometimes very hard.

The best thing about my job was getting to meet amazing people right around the word and traveling in the Caribbean. Working for the company gave me a new out look on life and making me work harder and I started to believe in myself and learned to take risks in my photography. This job can either build you or brake you. It's up to you if you want to make it. No one can teach you attitude, you have to learn on your own.

To ensure correct mise-en-place / set up is done to the company’s standards before the service begins.
• To ensure all USPH (United States Public Health) procedures are carried out while maintaining a clean workstation at all times.
• To ensure all guests are greeted and seated as per Steak House standards of etiquette. – Smile & Greet the guests always
• To ensure a full knowledge of the menu whilst explaining in detail to our guest during presentation and food introduction.
• To ensure one is fully aware of menu selection and offer assistance when required.
• To ensure guests are served each course by service procedure whilst announcing each menu item, taking courtesy into account.
• To ensure the order is clear and correct prior to submitting ticket to the kitchen.
• To handle all Supper Club equipment with extreme care whilst transporting chinaware/glassware prior, during and after service in order to minimize breakage and maintain cost control.
• To arrive on duty in a timely fashion complete with all tools of the trade and clean, pressed uniform for proper execution of the job
• To follow all garbage separation procedures.
• To have a complete knowledge of the ship’s daily activities in order to provide
our guest with the correct information.
• To perform all duties and additional duties that may be required as directed by
management.
• To ensure communication with the Assistant Maitre d’, Hostess and the Sous-
Chef / Chef-de-Partie at every moment you come across a demanding guest
or any special request.
• To communicate effectively and timely will all members of the Steak House
team regarding fair and equal treatment of oneself, on the job performance,
procedural changes and up-coming events.
• To ensure all inventories are accurate and submitted in a timely manner.

Starting at carnival with a new journey for me I met great people. I had some great supervisors who were with us, but chose other career starting new with new management was not difficult a day a day at the ranch on Carnival Cruise line from agitated patients within our customer service within our community travel agents misinformed take advantage of new employees that led most of us to learn quickly and effectively to book sailings and put a smile on a Guest face you can hear them smile through the line, even though it was customer service, remote, gratitude with height professionalism was developed many skills in a blind career opportunity that fell in my lap. There are some good days and some bad days. of all, completing our task, continuing our training and being consistent, completing our yearly quarterly goals, mentoring each other from existing employees to trainees fresh to the start I would say my days were great. I saw myself as management they still believe I was green not enough experience after two years of being with carnival they’re good company if I was given an opportunity to go back, I would knowing that knowledge I have, never have the opportunity to take a cruise, but I have the opportunity to live through someone else’s happiness. We did work through the pandemic so we have to learn how to shut on and shut off our personal feelings towards the policies we had to execute an overall view of working with carnival cruise, I would advise anyone to try it be a part of them. It’s a good company , they can improve in many ways in many facets. They should acknowledge their employees more often, but I wish anyone the best to try it out my opinion personally. 

I was  happy and excited to secure a role as a home based Personal Cruise Consultant working in the P & O call centre.  But my experience was very disappointing..... The training felt hurried, unstructured and inefficient to prepare you for the large amount of processes you had to perform, and the immense amount of information you needed to know. There is a knowledge base you can access, and although it was helpful at times, it wasn't enough to support you. In conclusion the overall training really needs to be assessed and improved. Feeling so unprepared is very difficult when trying to do a great job. In addition, the main system used in the call centre wasn't easy to navigate, this is recognized and they are planning to update it at some point in the future. Once through training you soon realise there are huge gaps in the knowledge you need, and whilst it obviously takes time to be fully competent, the amount unknown still after training was overwhelming and stressful to say the least, particularly with very little support available and targets on the horizon. An average day was dealing with a high percentage of guests who had problems and complaints. There were staff off with stress, and any abscences were strictly dealt with. The staff turnover is huge for obvious reasons, in my training group of around 13, around 10 of us resigned within the first 12 weeks. It seems despite all this, nothing changes, and the values they have on paper really are just lip service currently, it's such a shame as the fleet is beautiful, and with some deep rooted changes in the call centre  it could be a great place to work. 


A typical day at work consisted of warm ups, rehearsals, and hours of performing at various lounges throughout the ship. My band and I played a wide range of music such Top 40, Pop, Rock, Country, Blues, and Jazz. 

We also performed at live karaoke nights called "Super Star Live!" where we were the back up band and guests had the chance to sing with us. I hosted the show and sung back up for the guests. 

One interesting part of working on a ship is that people are always signing on and off--you never work with the same people for more than a few months. People come from all over the world to work on ships and have a wide range of skills and experience, so this can be exciting and also challenging at times. 

The management on land has almost nothing to do with our management on the ship, so there can be a big disconnect with how they view our jobs. They're often cutting positions and overhauling departments, schedules, and duties so it can be frustrating sometimes having to deal with that. 

The hardest part of the job is being away from family and friends for 6 months or more at a time, and without good internet or phone connections at sea it can be hard to communicate with them.

The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to perform on a nightly basis, meet tons of new people, and getting to travel to beautiful destinations. It's also a great opportunity to save some money since our housing, food, and medical is free during our contract.

I learned a lot about myself as a performer and a person--how to handle a grueling singing schedule, how to work well with lots of different people and how to navigate the crazy world of "ship-life" . It was a fun, challenging, and very rewarding experience.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Planner 6 salaries reported	$38,633 per year
Guest service agent 1 salary reported	$100,000 per year
Server 1 salary reported	$4,500 per month
Manager 3 salaries reported	$120,000 per year
Entertainer 3 salaries reported	$1,838 per month

Working at Carnival Cruise Line: Company Overview and Reviews

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line Ratings

Popular jobs at Carnival Cruise Line

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected