p&o cruises deck officer jobs

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How to Apply as a Cruise Ship Deck Officer

Deck Officers (aka: Navigation Officers) maintain watches on the bridge while the ship is at sea and in port. Some of their responsibilities include passage planning, safe navigation of the ship, crew safety training, ship stability, and maintenance of deck and safety equipment.

The career path of a Deck Officer starts as a Deck Cadet. Through continuous education and sea time a Deck Officer may rise through the ranks from Cadet to Third Officer to Second Officer and then to First Officer. Many cruise lines split the duties of a First Officer into two positions, Navigator and Safety Officer with the First Officer in charge of safety as the more senior of the two. The pinnacle of a Deck Officer’s career is to eventually be promoted to Staff Captain and then to Captain.

When applying for a cruise ship job as a Deck Officer, depending on the rank will dictate how much training and experience is required. Deck Officer’s licenses and certificates must be in compliance with all international conventions and regulations as required by STCW95. Here are a list of the major cruise lines and details on how to apply as a Deck Officer.

Carnival Cruise Lines – Carnival Cruise Lines recruits most of their officers through their approved network of employment agencies, also known as manning agencies. These agencies help locate, screen and interview potential crew members on Carnival’s behalf.

Celebrity Cruises – Celebrity Cruises lists their current “Job Openings” on their employment website and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply online. If you don’t see a job posting for a position that matches your qualifications, check with your nearest hiring partner. Celebrity has a network of hiring partners to assist in meeting recruitment goals around the world.

Crystal Cruises – For shipboard contracts as a Deck Officer with Crystal Cruises , visit the International Cruise Management Agency (ICMA) website and apply online. ICMA is an authorized recruitment partner for Crystal Cruises. They are the only partner that is authorized to process applications for Deck Officers.

Cunard Line – Visit the Carnival UK Careers website for more information about applying for a cruise ship job as a Deck Officer with Cunard Line . Applicants may view current vacancies and apply online as well as register their personal details with the Carnival UK database for job alerts. They also offer a cadet program for eligible UK residents.

Disney Cruise Line – To apply for a cruise ship job with Disney Cruise Line as a Marine and Technical Operations Deck Officer, visit the Disney Parks and Resorts careers website where candidates may apply online.

Holland America Line – Candidates desiring employment as a Nautical Officer in the Deck Department on board Holland America Line should visit their employment pages for more information. Viking Recruitment also manages over 300 of Holland America’s officers.

Norwegian Cruise Line – To apply to Norwegian Cruise Line as a Deck Officer, visit Norwegian’s employment pages. Norwegian’s website features current shipboard positions available. Applicants may attach their resume in an email along with a cover letter to be considered for a personal or webcam interview. Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line has recruiting agents throughout the world. If you are from one of the countries that they list on their website, submit your resume to the hiring partner.

Oceania Cruises – To apply for a cruise ship job as a Deck Officer with Oceania Cruises , visit the employment pages of their website. At the bottom right hand side of their website, click on the ‘Ship Position’ tab for a list of current job openings. Next click on the job title you want to apply for. Applicants may apply through Oceania’s online application form.

P&O Cruises – Visit the Carnival UK Careers website for more information about applying for a cruise ship job as a Deck Officer with P&O Cruises . Applicants may view current vacancies and apply online as well as register their personal details with the Carnival UK database for job alerts. They also offer a cadet program for eligible UK residents.

Princess Cruises – Princess Cruises cooperates with a world-wide network of Recruiting Agencies. Contact the recruitment agency that is closest to your permanent residence. Candidates located in the United Kingdom and interested in employment in the Deck and Technical departments may submit resumes directly to the Princess Cruises Recruitment department in Southampton. Princess Cruises also offers cadetships to eligible candidates.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises – To apply, visit the Regent Seven Seas Cruises employment pages of their website. Select the option “Ship” for a list of job vacancies. Applicants may apply online for their selected choice.

Royal Caribbean – Royal Caribbean International lists their current “Job Openings” on their employment website and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply online. If you don’t see a job posting for a position that matches your qualifications, check with your nearest hiring partner. Royal Caribbean has a network of hiring partners to assist in meeting recruitment goals around the world.

Life at P&O Cruises

We’re looking for colleagues to join our p&o cruises ships to help create unforgettable holiday happiness for our guests., we recognise, reward and support talent, so you’ll have the opportunity to progress your career with development programmes and role-specific training., the way we go about things, how we behave and interact with each other, is as important as the tasks themselves. our business benefits from diverse thought, new ideas and a fresh perspective so we welcome applications from everyone., join our team.

Being part of our team has its benefits...

From travelling the world and making lifelong friends, to enjoying events, activities and exclusive facilities that make your ship a home from home, a career at sea with P&O Cruises has lots of benefits:

Working with us means you’ll be part of a tight-knit but truly diverse global team of passionate people.  You’ll be supported to drive your development, from formal learning to the life lessons of worldwide travel.  We believe in inclusion and the power of diversity, so you’ll be encouraged to bring your unique perspectives and experiences, and help us understand what you need to do your best work.

We recognise the value in having people with a variety of backgrounds, experience and skills in our business. That means the role requirements on our vacancies should be seen as a guide, not a checklist. If you have more, less or different experiences, but really relevant skills, we’d love to hear from you.

It's your time to SHINE

At P&O Cruises we’re more committed than ever to our ambition of becoming Britain’s No.1 holiday choice. The guest experience is critical to achieving this goal and everyone plays a part in creating unforgettable holiday happiness for our guests in all of the roles that they do.

SHINE – our Service Promise

SHINE is built on five key pillars, each aligned to meeting the needs of our guests and helps guide us to consistently deliver our ambition.

We encourage everyone to S TEP OUT of the everyday.

We inspire curiosity. We love finding ways for others to have new and different experiences.  Making magic moments that surprise and delight, and create ever lasting memories.

We are H EROES of safe and well

We strive for excellence in safety, environmental protection and overall compliance. We always look for ways of speaking up and do the right thing – for our guests, for each other and for the environment.

We treat everyone as an I NDIVIDUAL with heartfelt warmth

We’re always ourselves – caring and thoughtful. We know that we are all different and by adapting the way we interact with each other, we show we understand that everyone has their own needs.

We N AVIGATE everyone on ship and on shore

We share our knowledge with everyone so it feels effortless and reassuring. And when things aren’t quite right, we do what it takes to put things back on course.

We always bring a sense of ENERGY

We have a real passion about creating happiness for everyone – adding a little more joy into every single day.

Join our team ashore

Carnival UK is the head office for P&O Cruises; colleagues ashore support colleagues on board to create unforgettable holiday happiness for our Guests.

  If you’re interested in working ashore, find out more by clicking on the button below.

How to become a Deck Officer

Hi I’m Jessica, I started working at Viking Crew as a Cruise Placement Consultant last August. My current job role in the company is to help to recruit Deck and Technical personnel for several cruise ship clients that we work with. Before joining the Viking family however, I worked onboard cruise vessels as a Deck Officer with Royal Caribbean.

Firstly, What is a Deck Officer?

At sea we currently have around 53,000 merchant ships sailing all over the world transporting various cargos/passengers. Onboard these ships we need a skilled team that are trained to safely navigate the vessels from A to B. This team typically consists of the Captain, Chief Officer and Watch officers who each, typically for 8 hours a day, are on the bridge responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel on behalf of the Captain. As well as navigation the duties of a deck officer may also involve the up keep of all safety equipment, security rounds, cargo operations and training of the ship’s crew as well as social events with guests (passenger vessels).

How did I get into this job?

Many people within the industry became interested in this career as they already had family members at sea, I however come from a non-seafaring background. I first became interested in a seafaring career through the Sea Cadets, a youth charity that I joined when I was 13 years old. This gave me a taste of a life at sea however was more focused on the royal navy side of the industry which wasn’t suited for me. I therefore started to investigate other avenues that I could pursue in order to get myself to sea and came across an open day advertised at Warsash Maritime Academy Southampton (One of the maritime colleges in the UK) which I jumped at the opportunity to attend. At this open day many companies attended and spoke to potential new trainee officers (cadets) and this is where I met a representative from Royal Caribbean. After a few interviews and on successful completion of my A levels I was offered a 3-year sponsored place at the academy and joined in September that year.

During my training I didn’t realise just how much I would learn, get involved in and the places that I would visit. The training for a Deck Officer consists of alternating college and sea time, at college I learnt all about the theoretical side of the job with subjects such as voyage planning, celestial navigation and tides, to name a few, which were put into practice onboard. As well as navigation during my cadetship I learnt so many more skills - this included First Aid, Personal Sea Survival and even Firefighting! During my sea time onboard as a cadet and later as a qualified officer I have worked onboard 6 mega cruise vessels and had the amazing opportunity to sail all over the world on cruises to the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and many more!

How do you apply?

You can join the merchant navy and start a cadetship from the age of 16 or 18 (dependant on the company). There are certain academic entry requirements and generally, you will need at least four GCSEs grades A-C (or equivalent) which should include English, maths and science. You must also have good eyesight and be physically fit so that you can maintain a safe watch and fulfil all your duties required onboard. As well as a Deck officer cadetship placements, here at Viking Maritime Group we also offer similar Engine and Electro-Technical Officer programmes (Please see Chiltern Maritime for more information on our cadetships).

My time onboard as a cadet and as a qualified officer has been an absolutely incredible journey which has allowed me to travel all over the world and be involved in some amazing experiences, coupled with coming out of it all debt free! My position onboard has now helped me to move into the next stage of my career, working for Viking, to continue to look for Deck and Technical candidates of all ranks to work onboard as I did before.

Jessica Dickson,  Cruise Placement Consultant

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Cruise Ship Deck Cadet Jobs

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Deck Cadet Job Description and Duties:

Some cruise lines offer fantastic Deck Cadet training programs for young people who wish to pursue a career as a Deck (Navigation) Officer aboard cruise ships. The best thing about these programs is that they are fully sponsored by the companies - once a candidate is selected, the company is paying the tuition fees and even pays a salary during the training. Upon completion of the program, successful candidates will receive a professional qualification - Certificate of Competency as an Officer of the Watch in addition to the academic qualification. The Deck Cadet training program should not be mixed up with Apprentice Deck Officer position.

While on training Deck Cadets will enjoy an adventurous lifestyle aboard some of the most glamorous cruise ships, travel the world and even get paid for it. The training uses a mixture of academic work which is combined with practical training both at college and at sea.

If for some reason you decide to move to a job ashore, your experience as a ship's deck officer will stand you in good stead. Technical and managerial skills learned at sea are readily transferable and can be developed by further training.

Deck Cadet program takes about three years to complete and is divided into several phases. Some of the phases are at a Nautical College and others are spent aboard cruise vessels serving as a Trainee Deck (Navigation) Officer and gaining valuable practical experience in marine navigation and all aspects of ship operation.

- A Deck (Navigation) Officer in training

- Reports to the designated Training Officer and to the Staff Captain

- Helps overseeing a safe navigation of the cruise vessel

- Under the guidance of the Training Officer gradually becomes familiar with all navigational instruments and equipment on the bridge

- Becomes familiar with various routines taking place on the bridge - port arrival and departure, anchoring, mooring etc.

- Supervises the Deck Ratings

- Participates in tender operations and learns to drive a tender

- Attends safety drills

- Spends time with other Departments and gains knowledge and a clear understanding of the overall operation of a cruise ship

Deck Cadet Job Requirements:

High grade passes at GCSE (grades A - B) / Scottish Standard level (1 - 2) or the equivalent in English, Mathematics, Physics or Combined Science and at least one other subject OR a minimum of 160 UCAS points (including a grade A-B in A level Maths or Science) plus grades A-B in GCSE's or equivalent in Maths, English and Science

Strong mathematical ability

Determination, resilience, flexibility and a positive, enthusiastic approach

Candidates will need to pass their colour and form vision test, demonstrating the absence of any colour deficiency

Deck Cadet Salary Range:

$1500 to 2200 U.S. per month depending on the cruise line. Upon completion of the program and successfully passing the exams (approx. 3 years, including time in Nautical College and practical training aboard ships) Deck Cadets receive Certificate of Competency as an Officer of the Watch and can be promoted to a regular 3rd or 2nd Deck (Navigation) Officer positions.