What does a Ship Steward do?
A ship steward's responsibilities will vary depending on whether they work in housekeeping, the kitchen, or as a guide in a cruise ship. Most of the time, the duties of a ship steward will revolve around assisting and engaging with guests, ensuring that they are satisfied with the services and amenities. There are also instances when a ship steward must maintain cleanliness and order and coordinate with managers and supervisors. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to the policies and safety standards at all times, making sure to provide a safe and hospitable environment for all guests.
Ship steward responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real ship steward resumes:
- Operate a POS system and manage cash and credit card sales.
- Collaborate with regional data stewards to identify databases, tables and columns, data quality issues and gaps.
- Provide dishware for corporate events.
- Set buffets and handle inventory.
- Receive deliveries, store perishables properly, and rotate stock.
- Rotate perishables, dry goods to ensure the highest quality of food.
- Prepare tables, action stations, buffets, service carts, and dessert table/carts.
- Ensure all silverware, china, and glassware are cleaned and spotless for all functions.
- Help guests with wine purchases, maintain stock, order liquor and beer, open and close etc.
- Stock supplies, including food, utensils, serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, and salad bars.
- Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware in compliance with OSHA regulations.
- Work alongside the department in a fast pace restaurant getting tasks done to help out the chefs and cooks.
- Stock supplies, such as foods or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
- Help the chefs prep for events as well as keep all the dishes organize and clean throughout the course of the day
- Assist in housekeeping activities such as house cleaning, laundry, kitchen help, car maintenance, pet care, etc.
Ship steward skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Ship Stewards are proficient in Cleanliness, Kitchen Equipment, and Culinary. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Ship Stewards that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Cleanliness, 16%
Monitor Food Preparation Maintain Cleanliness and Safety Stock Inventory Rotation and Scheduling Employee Orientation for Grand Opening
- Kitchen Equipment, 10%
Managed upkeep of all kitchens and restaurants which included cleaning floors and heavy duty kitchen equipment in a collaborative team environment
- Culinary, 6%
Packaged fresh baked culinary products.
- Customer Service, 6%
Performed customer service activities such as providing informational assistance on procurement policies and forms and confirming status of purchase orders.
- Sanitation Standards, 5%
Communicate with Stewarding supervisors daily so that quality service and sanitation standards are maintained.
- Stewards, 5%
Collaborated with stewards and stakeholders representing all NetApp business units to identify and establish high-quality enterprise-wide definitions.
"cleanliness," "kitchen equipment," and "culinary" are among the most common skills that ship stewards use at work. You can find even more ship steward responsibilities below, including:
The three companies that hire the most ship stewards are:
- Hyatt Hotels116 ship stewards jobs
- Compass Group USA102 ship stewards jobs
- Marriott International82 ship stewards jobs
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Compare different ship stewards
Ship steward vs. Passenger representative
A food prep/dishwasher's role is to perform food preparation and cleaning duties in a kitchen, under the supervision and directives of a chef or manager. One of their primary responsibilities is washing dishes, sanitizing utensils, and preparing ingredients by washing, peeling, and cutting them according to size. They may also participate in organizing, sorting, and putting them in proper storage. There are also instances when they have to perform basic cooking tasks ranging from boiling and frying to baking. Furthermore, a food prep/dishwasher may have the duty of maintaining the kitchen's cleanliness and other areas.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between ship stewards and passenger representative. For instance, ship steward responsibilities require skills such as "cleanliness," "kitchen equipment," "culinary," and "sanitation standards." Whereas a passenger representative is skilled in "administrative assistance," "dod," "customer complaints," and "front desk." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that passenger representatives earn slightly differ from ship stewards. In particular, passenger representatives are 4.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a ship steward. Additionally, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Ship steward vs. Ground host/hostess
Each career also uses different skills, according to real ship steward resumes. While ship steward responsibilities can utilize skills like "cleanliness," "kitchen equipment," "culinary," and "customer service," ground host/hostesses use skills like "local attractions," "flight schedules," "customer delivery," and "government officials."
In general, ground host/hostesses achieve similar levels of education than ship stewards. They're 0.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Ship steward vs. Food prep/dishwasher
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from ship steward resumes include skills like "culinary," "stewards," "hot water," and "good communication," whereas a food prep/dishwasher is more likely to list skills in "food preparation equipment," "strong work ethic," "wash dishes," and "bus tables. "
Food prep/dishwashers earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $30,657. Ship stewards earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $29,022.Most food prep/dishwashers achieve a similar degree level compared to ship stewards. For example, they're 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Ship steward vs. Passenger attendant
Even though a few skill sets overlap between ship stewards and passenger attendants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a ship steward might have more use for skills like "cleanliness," "kitchen equipment," "culinary," and "sanitation standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of passenger attendants require skills like "jan," "powerpoint," "medications etc," and "oct."
Passenger attendants reach similar levels of education compared to ship stewards, in general. The difference is that they're 4.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of ship steward
Updated January 8, 2025
