a community of practitioners

Thinking about cruising?

Cruise ships are a GREAT way to see the world. You only unpack once. You visit fabulous places. You get a ton of hands-on experience. You work ungodly hours for low wages. What a glorious way to kick start a massage career! In six months, you could gain more hands-on hours than people who have been in practice for a decade. And possibly accumulate more repetitive strain injuries than you would normally get during an entire career spent on land. Still want to do it? Got questions? Been there done that? The group looks forward to hearing from you!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on October 16, 2009 at 11:54am

What about specific schooling?

Permalink Reply by Darcy Neibaur on October 17, 2009 at 8:58pm

I have had one massage on a cruise ship and it was awful. I do not know if I will ever do it again. I really just wanted to see what it was like as I was in massage school at the time. The girl was from Germany and had only had 1 month of massage training. She was into more of the selling of $300 plus facial products than the massage.

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on October 23, 2009 at 10:09am

Hi Mike, different concessionaries will have different requirements. Check the FAQ link I posted. It answers that and some of the main questions as per the requirements of one of the major players.

Mike Hinkle said:

What about specific schooling?

Permalink Reply by Dominique N on January 12, 2010 at 12:39pm

I recently graduated from school and I have always been considering cruises for the experience and to travel. I have never got a straight answer out of teachers about it. I would like to know more information and having experienced it-would you say it is worth it? Also is pay worth it?

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on January 13, 2010 at 7:35pm

Hello Dominique,

welcome to the group! Yes the experience, for me, was definitely worth it. The pay was good then but may or may not be so good now.

It's been a while since my days at sea. Depends on what they pay you compared to what you could be making on land over the same time span.

For most seafarers, the decision to weigh anchor is a complex one and has often more to do with the spirit of adventure than remunerative potential. Such was my case and that expectation was fully met.

Let us know if you decide to cast off and what it's like out there now,

Best regards,
Alex

Dominique N said:

I recently graduated from school and I have always been considering cruises for the experience and to travel. I have never got a straight answer out of teachers about it. I would like to know more information and having experienced it-would you say it is worth it? Also is pay worth it?

Permalink Reply by Antoine Green on March 8, 2010 at 12:33am

Will Im about to finish school this week. I was planning to work on a cruise ship, but i apply to steiner and they say i got to have six months of experience to work on a cruise ship. Is there another way to get on a cruise ship?

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on March 8, 2010 at 8:45pm

Hi Antoine,
congrats on your graduation and welcome to the profession. To answer your question: not really. Try working at a good spa for a while, see how you feel after a few months of three/four sessions in a row, then see if you think you would ever even want to do 12 hours of that for six months non-stop.
Best wishes,
Alex

Antoine Green said:

Will Im about to finish school this week. I was planning to work on a cruise ship, but i apply to steiner and they say i got to have six months of experience to work on a cruise ship. Is there another way to get on a cruise ship?

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on March 8, 2010 at 8:51pm

the other concessionaries listed on this group's prior posts may have different requirements. Try contacting them.

Alex Frigino MT said:

Hi Antoine,
congrats on your graduation and welcome to the profession. To answer your question: not really. Try working at a good spa for a while, see how you feel after a few months of three/four sessions in a row, then see if you think you would ever even want to do 12 hours of that for six months non-stop.
Best wishes,
Alex

Antoine Green said:
Will Im about to finish school this week. I was planning to work on a cruise ship, but i apply to steiner and they say i got to have six months of experience to work on a cruise ship. Is there another way to get on a cruise ship?

Permalink Reply by Luis Castillo on March 16, 2010 at 9:27am

Would it depend on the type of cruise ship you plan to stay on? I would think the higher up the crusie line is the better the expericence but i could be wrong could anyone help me on this thanks

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on March 16, 2010 at 4:36pm

Hi Luis,

that is not the case. Working conditions for onboard spa people depend on the contract terms you sign up for with your concessionary not on the cruise ship's relative luxury.

This reminds me of the 'Asterix goes to the Olympics' episode where the heroes are upset to find that onboard their "luxurious cruise" to the Aegean they must row. The captain assures them that this IS the first class treatment: regular passengers must not only row but are also chained and flogged.

Best regards,
Alex

Luis Castillo said:

Would it depend on the type of cruise ship you plan to stay on? I would think the higher up the crusie line is the better the expericence but i could be wrong could anyone help me on this thanks

Permalink Reply by Kristina Fonseca on March 23, 2010 at 5:41pm

hi everyone!!!! i have an interview to be a massage therapist on a cruise ship in may. my question is, is there anything you ahould do to better prepare, anything that will give me an advantage. is having a national certification a requirement?

Permalink Reply by Alex Frigino on March 28, 2010 at 1:56pm

Hi Kristina,

that's exciting and I hope it goes well for you. I don't believe that national certification is a requirement. You might want to read through the posts on here and see if you find any info that can be of use to you. I wouldn't worry about preparing for the interview too much though. Like most massage job interviews you probably have to give someone a massage. No big deal.

Best regards,
Alex

Kristina Fonseca said:

hi everyone!!!! i have an interview to be a massage therapist on a cruise ship in may. my question is, is there anything you ahould do to better prepare, anything that will give me an advantage. is having a national certification a requirement?