Customer Reviews

How to Get a Job with a Cruise Line: Adventure Travel Romance. How to Sail the World on Luxury Cruise Ships & Get Paid for It

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I thought that this book in addition to description of the work and life onboard provides detailed information on how to write a cover letter and resume as well as to pass an interview. Unfortunately all I found about this were 3 pages with common sense tips. I think that instead of having 15 caricatures and funny pictures long 1/2-1 page the author had to provide detailed information on these 3 crucial for successful applying topics. That's why if you really want to get a cruise ship job search for another book.

The title of the book is "How to get a job with a cruise line". However this is NOT at all what the author is talking about. The book is full with mainly autobiographical stories, which don't give any insider information. These people have had a hired relative, nearby office of a cruise line, 14 years experience or something similar. This makes them useless for the typical applicants who have to rely entirely on the quality of their cover letter and resumes. With only few pages mainly common sense tips on writing and applying this book can only tell you what is onboard BUT NOT and how to get there!

I will present two points in this book which amazed me unpleasantly. Let's start with the following advice for resume writing: "You'll need 50-100 copies. Sounds like a lot? Don't cheat yourself. You will have to send your resume with each of your initial applications and any follow up correspondence."

This sounds like buying as many lottery tickets as possible only and only to increase your chances to win the big prize. She stresses on huge quantity "50-100 copies", which from my background as Desktop Publisher I can label as mass mailing. In the brick and mortar world its success ratio is around 1% in case that the marketing/sales pitch is really good.

Furthermore you can read: "Carefully proofread your resume as if your job depends on its accuracy. A misspelling or typo brands you as careless..." Well, while I was reading the book, I found 3 typos, 4 grammar mistakes and 3 serious defects in the typesetting of the book. I really want her to DO what she preaches. Unfortunately she neither cares so much how qualitative is her book nor will be your resume. Cynthia Ossenfort, the author of Cruise Ship Jobs! is the other example of going overboard with:" Have a professional photo made and make about 30-50 quality copies."

In the category's bestseller Cruise Ship Job in 14 Days the author advices to make one, maximum two resumes, which are targeted to a specific cruise line, position and hiring manager. Also he has written that The Professional Association of Resume Writers does NOT recommend sending any photos. That's why I prefer to skip the Numbers Game of Mary Miller and Cynthia Ossenfort and follow "The LASER Strategy for Next Generation Applying" in Cruise Ship Job in 14 Days. It will be cheaper and there is greater possibility to get a cruise ship job!

The name of the book is quite misleading because half of the book consists of "Questions and Answers" to different aspects of the life and work onboard. There are also so many personal stories from people performing all kinds of cruise ship jobs. That's why the book gives insider information, which can be found to some extend only in "Working on Cruise Ship". If you are interested in the book for its potential to help you for writing a great cover letter and resume you will be disappointed because it contains only few pages with common sense tips. Actually this is typical for all other books.

The only exception is "Cruise Ship Job in 14 Days", which provides complete instructions based on the Professional Association of Resume Writers Standards. However it doesn't contain even one personal story. As you see there is specialization, which I guess is forced from the huge amount of information, which has to cover a book either on the life and work onboard or on writing a competitive application and acing the interview after this. If you can afford it your best bet is to buy two books, which cover both sides- applying and working onboard.

I did not think this book was well-researched and I did not get the impression there was much substance to it. As I read it, I got the impression I could find all the contact information on my own with a computer.

This book give a basic overview of how to go about obtaining cruise line employment. However, the information is not specific enough and DOES NOT GIVE STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS ON PREPARING A COVER LETTER AND RESUME. And that's the main thing I had hoped to learn from buying the book.

This gives great hints and how to's. It also gives up to date addresses. It has been 3 years since I purchased this book, I have been in the cruise industry now for 3 years. It works!

Easy to use, realistic job descriptions helped me get started applying. Saved me time - and I know more about the cruise biz than most. I've worked in hotels for 5 years and am ready to travel. My friend used this book to get a job traveling as a youth counselor.

I followed the directions in the 1997 edition and got a job as a social hostess. I ordered the new book for my friend in Canada maybe she'll come and join me.

This is quite a wonderful and thorough guide to follow. Lots of great hints and tips. This makes the job search much easier!