I went on a cruise last year. Anecdotal evidence is that there were no Americans working on the ship. Most appeared to be from Eastern European countries or the Philippines.
Are Americans even allowed to apply for jobs on a cruise ship? This is a serious question. The cruise I was on went from Seattle to ports of call in Alaska. It was hard to believe that a cruise from one part of America to another had no Americans on the crew.
We had a guy at work that was an avid scuba diver. He'd worked for us for a couple of years when he went on a cruise during his vacation. About a week after he left, we got an email from him tendering his resignation and saying he'd accepted a job with the cruise line as a scuba instructor, effective immediately.
Ever notice the countries these ships are registered too? Never US, always Europe or maybe Bermuda. I’ve been on a few cruses and always take note of that..... I’ve never seen one registered here. Once you get on one it’s like being in a foreign country.
Cruise ship company CEOs, like the pro-immigration crowd, they want cheap labor and, not surprisingly, the people on board want the cheap fares.
Most importantly, though, is the fact that the guy is Muslim, the religion where all that he did is perfectly OK.
Yes, they are allowed to apply, but most likely tossed by the person doing the hiring.
The workers on these ships work very long hours for months at a time. None of these ships are American flagged vessels. Therefore, they do not have to abide by US laws. There is no 40 hour work week. I would think it is more like 75-100 hours/week. Wages are low. There is no minimum wage at sea even though they may be operating in US waters.
If there is a crime committed against you while on the vessel, you are pretty much on your own. If you are lucky you might be in British waters. If you are some place in the Caribbean, you are subject to their laws not ours. If you are at sea, there may not be a countries jurisdiction that applies.
For all the above mentioned reasons, I will not step foot on these major cruise ships. You young woman, travelling alone would be crazy to go on these cruises. Rapes happen all the time on these ships. Almost all go unreported because it is almost impossible to bring the culprit to justice. I would guess that the perp in this situation, probably had done this before, and the victim did not press charges.
I've been on Holland American and Royal Caribbean. I've seen U.S. crew members working with the kids activities or as performers but that's about it.
But look at the life of the average member of the ship's hotel staff. They work 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, for three or four or six months at a time. They make most of their money from passenger gratuities which means that on a good cruise the room stewards or head waiters might clear $500 or $600. Other staff make a lot less. How many U.S. citizens would take that kind of job on? While in Indonesia or the Caribbean a salary like that keeps a family in comfortable circumstances. That's why a lot of these crewmembers have been with the line for years. They do their six month tour, get a couple of months off, and then sign on for another tour. It's good money for them.
Yes. My niece just finished a three year contract with Carnival and worked multiple ships. The people who interact directly with passengers, such as the people who run activities or look after the kids (my niece's job)are often Americans or from other western countries. The restaurant and cleaning staff are basically always from poor countries.
you stopped in another country. Probably Canada. It is just prohibitive to flag a ship with an American flag due to the insane amount of regulation and dangers of political interference.
The Jones Act, passed in the early 1920’s requires an American crew on an American built ship if one is carrying cargo and/or passengers between two American ports with no stops in a foreign country’s port. So if your cruise ship went from Seattle to Anchorage, with no stops in Canada, it is covered by the Jones Act. The Jones Act I believe also required the ship to be registered in the US.
Cruise lines that do not exclusively travel between US ports can be registered in Panama, Liberia, etc and need not carry an American crew. About ten years ago my family took a Disney Cruise. The more menial jobs were done by third worlder’s. The entertainers, the front desk people and some of the deck officers and marine engineering officers were US citizens. The captain was from Germany.