MAZATLÁN.- Some shipping companies are reactivating operations in the world with their cruise ships and given the need for personnel, the Ministry of Tourism raised its hand and proposed Mazatlan to recruit said personnel.
The secretary María del Rosario Torres Noriega, mentioned that the shipping companies have exposed this need during the meeting that took place in Orlando, Florida, with the president of the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association, Michel Paige, and the vice president of the same organization, Adam Cesarano.
“We were made aware that there is a need to hire personnel for cruise ships due to the restart of operations, which may be an opportunity that we take advantage of to invite shipping companies to consider Mazatlán as a point of personnel recruitment,” he declared.
Let us remember that Mazatlan will host the annual conference of the FCCA in November 2023, with the participation of 15 international shipping companies and the participation of 500 to 600 people.
Torres Noriega reported that Mazatlan could be receiving larger-capacity tourist cruises, adding to those that arrive more frequently year after year.
“Mazatlán will begin to receive tourist cruises with greater capacity, while elements will be sought for Topolobampo that contribute to the reactivation of cruise ships in this port,” he commented in a press release.
In this meeting with the FCCA, which took place from September 12 to 14, the Sectur also established communication with Giora Israel, senior adviser to the Carnival Corp group; José Negron, Vice President of Operations for Norwegian Cruise Line; Carlos Estrada, director of Commercial Operations for Carnival Cruise Line; Ruben Olmos of Global Nexus; Melissa Villareal from Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, and with the shipping agent, Arturo Mussi.
They touched on topics related to the attraction of tourist cruises, in which they had the opportunity to know the opinion of the shipping lines about their activity in Sinaloa, in which they listed areas for improvement, such as the training of guides tourism and the creation of beach spaces for cruise passengers.
Regarding Topolobampo, he announced that they will soon meet with the Mayor of Ahome, Gerardo Vargas Landeros, and with the authorities and companies involved in the arrival and attention to cruise ships to look for elements that contribute to the reactivation of cruise ships in this place.
Although the arrival of cruise ships has decreased this summer, until recently, there were already about 80 to 90 ships that had arrived in Sinaloa, specifically in Mazatlan.
FUN FACTS ABOUT WORKING ON CRUISE SHIPS
If you have seriously thought about looking for a job on a cruise ship, surely this note will interest you. Because today we are going to deal with an interesting topic about working on cruise ships.
In particular, we will refer to the world of working on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, the second largest cruise company in the world.
The full name of the parent company is “Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd”, which of course owns the Royal Caribbean brand, but also owns several other brands like Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises. (In this note we will simply refer to Royal Caribbean).
As you can see, it is a very powerful company in the cruise industry, employing thousands of workers on its ships that sail all over the world. So let’s see some interesting facts about the world of working on cruise ships, referring in particular to the Royal Caribbean company:
1. There are many opportunities to work on cruise ships:
The cruise industry is in full expansion, which is why many shipping companies are acquiring new ships every year, expanding and renewing their fleets. Royal Caribbean is one of the most active in this regard, its gigantic Oasis-class cruise ships and many other ships that are under construction, makes the company need to have staff available ready to fill positions on these ships. In other words, there are and will be many job offers at Royal Caribbean.
Each ship of the Royal Caribbean company requires 450 different types of jobs, from hotel staff, waiters, dancers, childminders, cooks, assistants, doctors, Spa masseuses, etc…
To ensure that all these positions are covered, Royal Caribbean has a recruitment program in various parts of the world, mainly in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and China. The company recently opened a new office in Manila, Philippines, to recruit and secure the number of staff it will need in the future.
Another way to secure Royal Caribbean staff is to recruit people recommended by someone who is already working at the company (who already has experience and a good understanding of what it’s like to work on a cruise ship), and invite their friends and family to apply. candidate to work in the company.
2. The Philippines is the country with the largest number of cruise ship workers.
On cruise ships we can find workers of all nationalities, but the Philippines is the number one country when it comes to the number of workers on board.
In the case of Royal Caribbean, 11,000 Filipinos currently work on the ships, representing 14% of the total number of employees who work on the company’s ships.
In addition, the shipping company has recently announced that it will hire 30,000 Filipinos over the next 5 years, to fill the various positions on board its cruise ships.
There are several reasons for this: The Philippines is an island, and many are strongly influenced by life at sea and are drawn to this way of working on board a ship. In addition, Filipinos are friendly and helpful, and above all, they know how to offer service with a big smile.
Another reason is that the official language of the Philippines is English, and this is a great advantage to be able to work on board the cruise ship, to interact and communicate without problems.
On the top list, after the Philippines come Indonesia, India and Malaysia, which also have excellent reputations and references in relation to their jobs on board, in the hotel industry on board.
3. Courses and training for those selected.
Once selected, they must spend considerable time to take courses and training (theory and practice) where they will learn everything necessary to successfully adapt to life in the sea.
These courses usually last several months (about three months), and are focused on training for efficient performance in their job, showing the complete vision of life on board, of their sector where they are going to be, as well as the training of the specific task of each.
These courses are carried out in various ways, whether individual or group work, living together with other workers in a company training center.
For example, Royal Caribbean has a training center in Manila, Philippines, where courses are given on security aspects, hotels and gastronomy services. Both lodging and meals during training are provided by the company free of charge.
Those selected must successfully complete these courses to obtain a work contract with the company.
4. Employment contracts.
Once the courses and training have been successfully completed, the shipping company offers a work contract to those selected. These contracts usually last from two to nine months.
In theory, in long contracts, the worker has the right to rest after four months of work. These breaks can be from six to eight weeks, and after taking them, the worker must return to the ship to complete the rest of the contract period.
But the reality is that most workers prefer to work the full contract period without having a break and leave the break for later.
After finishing the contract, depending on the performance, the company offers a new contract, which the worker accepts or not. Generally, a worker spends several years with the same company before switching to another or going ashore to work ashore.
5. They can make careers at work on board.
Like any job, workers on board can make careers. Many start at the bottom of their industry, but each industry offers chances for promotion to a higher ranking position.
Royal Caribbean has a course and training program that encourages workers to pursue their careers and achieve their dreams. There are many cases where a worker who enters as an apprentice, after several years, obtains a position as head of the sector. Of course, for that it depends on the capacity, performance and effort of each one, like any job.
6. At Royal Caribbean, staff retention is high.
Royal Caribbean claims that its staff retention rate is high compared to other cruise lines. Without revealing specific numbers, the shipping company says that its employees choose to stay with Royal Caribbean instead of going to another company.
What there can be is staff turnover on different ships and brands (between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises for example).
The company claims to respect the seniority of the workers, offering benefits such as greater flexibility in contracts, being able to choose which ship to work on, etc.
7. Travel the world, but always working (It’s not a vacation trip).
Working on board a ship that travels to different parts of the world has its advantages.
Undoubtedly, a worker will have the opportunity and will have the time to know the destination.
But many times that opportunity will not be given and there will be no choice but to work in your position without complaints.
The reality is that work on board is hard since you work more hours than a normal job on land.
So, you don’t have to expect much from traveling and seeing the world, many times you will only see the destination you wanted to see from afar, on board the cruise ship.
8. Working on board is a family affair (literally).
A cruise ship can easily accommodate 2,000 crew members working together. Working for several months on a ship, workers socialize with each other, make friends and contacts, and even form couples and marriages.
This is as natural as it can be in any other job on earth. Companies know that these situations occur, and try to make life easier for their workers.
In case of forming a couple or marriage, the company tries to place them together on the same boat and offer a cabin for two so that they can be together.
There are other cases where members of the same family work in the company, in that case, the companies give priority to placing them together in the same boat, whenever possible.
9. The crew does not eat the same food as the passengers.
Many might think that the crew eats the same food that they cook for the passengers. But it’s not like that.
Meals for the crew are prepared by other dedicated cooks for them, and they do so in a separate kitchen.
The type of food they cook depends on each cruise, but they generally try to cook regional dishes from each crew’s home countries. And not only that, other types of dishes are also available, fast foods such as hamburgers, salads, etc.
10. Cruise companies help buy housing for their workers.
Being on renewable contracts, many cruise ship workers have difficulty getting a loan to buy homes.
The Royal Caribbean company offers a commitment to help these employees who have seniority but have difficulty obtaining a loan.
One example is the agreement with developer ACM Homes in the Philippines, which offers affordable housing for Filipino seafarers and cruise ship workers.
