What is a cruise director and how to become one

Key steps to become a cruise director

1. Explore cruise director education requirements

   Most common cruise director degrees

   Bachelor's

   73.7 %

   Associate

   10.4 %

   Master's

   5.8 %

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2. Start to develop specific cruise director skills

   Skills	Percentages
   Safety Procedures	23.27%
   Bingo	10.89%
   Game Shows	10.16%
   Cruise Lines	9.25%
   Social Events	5.29%

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3. Complete relevant cruise director training and internships

   Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cruise directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cruise director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cruise director resumes.

4. Research cruise director duties and responsibilities

   • Manage recreation staff and programming for assist living and rehabilitation and skil nursing facilities.
   • Act as in-house DJ, orchestrating an inviting an energetic atmosphere for onboard events.
   • Implement a comprehensive counselor in training program to ensure consistent leadership by helping campers with developing productive and positive life skills.
   • Schedule, recruit coaches/players/officials and supervise youth soccer, basketball and baseball programs.

5. Get cruise director experience

6. Apply for cruise director jobs

   Now it's time to start searching for a cruise director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

   1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
   2. Consult your professional network
   3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
   4. Watch out for job scams