Overview

Royal Caribbean International is the world's second-largest cruise line by passenger capacity and operates the largest cruise ships ever built — the Icon and Oasis class. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, parent company Royal Caribbean Group also owns Celebrity Cruises and Silversea. Royal Caribbean tonnage is built almost exclusively at the Meyer Turku yard in Finland and Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France.

For seafarers

Crew contracts on Royal Caribbean run 6-8 months with mid-to-high pay tier by cruise standards. The fleet is concentrated in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alaska, and Asia-Pacific markets, so flying in and out is centred on Miami, Barcelona, Rome, Singapore, and Vancouver. Royal Caribbean's hotel department is one of the largest single employers of South-East-Asian and Eastern European cruise crew. Marine and engineering departments draw most heavily on Northern European officers (Norwegian, British, Croatian, Polish), with growing Filipino and Indian officer intake.

Watch for

Cruise contracts run long and watch schedules in the hotel department mean 10-12 hour days, every day, for the full contract. Marine and engineering watches follow the standard 4-on/8-off but with extra port-day workload. Verify your contract under MLC 2006 before signing; legitimate Royal Caribbean recruitment never asks for upfront fees.