How to Avoid Cruise Ship Job Scams and Losing Money

Identify scammers and avoid paying for fraudulent costs.

Job offer scams have always been around in all kind of work areas, including cruise ship positions which, perhaps for being international companies it can seem harder to spot whether it's legitimate from the other side of the world and through emails instead of being able to actually go to a physical place for interviews and so on.

Read Applying in 2020/21: Who is hiring? Should I apply now?

Cruise Lines doing their Part

Many official cruise ship job sites have similar messages advising new applicants to watch out and explaining how to spot frauds, plus sharing lists of fraudulent email addresses along with their official means of application and where to report possible scams or they even make the reports themselves, so when in doubt, make sure to take a good look at official websites. (Click on each image to be directed to the corresponding site)

Down below I have compiled all this information

for you to be safer when job searching!

If it's too good to be true it probably isn't

How to Spot Scammers

Cruiselines never contact you first directly with offers via e-mail. Only in response to specific applications you might have posted.
You won't be officially offered a position before you go through the full selection process, including interviews and background checks.
Legitimate recruiters will only contact you through professional means like email and LinkedIn, not social media.
Immediate job openings are simply not real, even if cruise lines need a spot being filled right away, the recruitment process takes a while, several documents need to be presented and checked.
Look out for free generic e-mail accounts like gmail, yahoo. Official email addresses have custom back halves with the names of the company.
Pay attention to poor English grammar and spelling, scam emails tend to use unprofessional vocabulary.
Job offerings posted on social media for free from personal accounts are dubious, big cruise lines and recruiters will have official pages, profiles and will have a budget for paid advertisement in social networks.
Be careful with offers coming from regions like Africa or Asia where scamming is popular, always try and find your local recruiter instead.
Follow up on phone numbers provided for supposed branches in more "first world" countries like U.S.A., they are usually fake and do not work.

Official ways to apply for cruise ship jobs, coming soon!

Don't send money to anybody!

You Don't Have to Pay for Any of These:

Simply applying, even if someone offers to help you through the process, applying is free!
A guaranteed position, cruise ship jobs are very competitive, paying will not hurry the process not secure you a spot.
Uniforms or future onboard expenses. None of these are ever paid in advance, you actually don't need to pull money from your pocket at all as they are usually deducted from your first salary.
Lawyers or Immigrations Agents to process your travel documents like visas or work permits. Only when the job offer is finalized the cruise line will indicate what paperwork is needed and the estimated price along with the authorized facilities in your country to get them, visas are usually reimbursed.

What you'll need to pay for to work on cruise ships, coming soon!

Don't give out your personal information via unofficial means like social media or chat, recruiters will not ask for more information than the one needed in your CV or resume (Name, Age, Nationality, E-mail)

Some recruiters, mostly in Latin America offer a full package to prepare candidates to work onboard, including English lessons, interview practice, specific job skills, and some countries even have authorized facilities for pre-boarding safety trainings, just make sure you are only paying for what your really need and agree to pay for, don't let them tell you that you need to pay for the whole package if you only wish to apply, and remember to always check directly with the cruise line first. Be informed that you can obtain your travel documents, safety training and medical certificates by yourself.

Learn what paperwork you will need to obtain in your country before boarding.

Don't hesitate to contact me or others with experience on social media to double-check sources and expenses before paying for anything or giving out your personal information, stay safe and we'll see you at sea soon!