P&O Cruiseline Employment

SYNOPSIS

P&O Australia, along with numerous other cruise lines, such a Carnival and Royal Caribbean, are taking advantage of the rapid growth rate of the cruise industry. P&O Australia cruise to various destinations around Australia, Asia and the South Pacific. They employee close to 5,000 people and obtain their staff by assessing applications sent to their offices. Other methods of employment used to gain crew, utilised by different cruise lines include the use of online application forms and the use of recruitment agencies. No matter what the method, all have the same aim of attracting staff whose attributes include them being hardworking, enthusiastic, passionate and self motivated, in order to deal with the arduous working conditions present aboard a cruising vessel.

1 INTRODUCTION

This report has been written to explore the cruise industry and its market leaders, as well as the skills and attributes required by those wishing to work in the industry. The various employment opportunities within the Purser's Department of P&O Australia, an Australian cruise company, have been closely researched in order to present an accurate representation of the expertise, qualities and characteristics needed by those employed in that particular department.

This report was researched primarily by accessing the websites of major cruise companies across the world. Other research was carried out by studying several books on the topic of cruise ships and employment, making contact with Cruise Ship Recruitment Agencies and by viewing the marketing brochures of P&O Australia.

2 FINDINGS

2.1 Cruise Industry

2.1.1 Industry Sector

The Cruise Industry is one of the fastest growing tourist industries, with an average growth rate of 8.1% passengers per year. Almost 100 million people have been on a cruise lasting longer than two days since 1980, with over 61% of these people doing so in the last ten years. Between 1999 and 2003 alone, over 30 new cruise ships entered the market, bringing about improved destinations, new vessel design concepts, varied cruise lengths and different activities both onboard and ashore. These expansions to the industry have brought about many employment opportunities for individuals across the world, with a typical ship single-handedly employing over 160 different positions.

2.1.2 Market Leaders and their Location

Market leaders within the cruise industry include Carnival Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Star Cruises and the Holland America Line. Australia's only market leader in the field of cruising is P&O Australia.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line is the world's leading cruise operator. Founded in 1972, they now operate twenty vessels and travel to such destinations as the Bahamas, Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii. Their head office is located in Florida, USA.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean was established in 1969, and currently own sixteen vessels. They operate some of the worlds largest cruise liners, including the Ð''Voyager of the Seas', a vessel capable of carrying over 3,800 passengers. Collectively their vessels travel to over 120 destinations across the globe, including such places as Paris, Alaska and the Caribbean. The headquarters of Royal Caribbean are located in Florida, USA.

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises was established in 1965 with one ship. They now have a fleet of fourteen vessels that carry a total of over one million passengers each year. The company provides over 150 different itinerates and visit over 260 ports worldwide, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia, India, Asia and Antarctica. The corporate headquarters of Princess Cruises is located in California, USA.

Star Cruises

Star Cruises was established in 1993, and was specifically brought about to take advantage of the Asia-Pacific region's potential as a cruise destination. Since their creation they have become the world's third largest cruise company, with twenty-one ships and head offices around the globe, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Dubai and the United Kingdom.

Holland America

The voyage of Holland America's first ship took place in 1873. Since then Holland America have evolved significantly and now have a fleet of thirteen. Their ships sail to 280 ports across the world, and last year had 139 cruises to Alaska, 191 in the Caribbean, 58 to Europe, 26 to Canada/New England, as well as their Ð''Grand World Voyage'. The head office of the Holland America Line is located in Washington, USA.

P&O Australia

Parent company P&O are the pioneers of cruising, with their first trips taking place in the mid 1800s, however the first cruise from Australia didn't take place until 1932. Since then, over 70 years later, P&O Australia was born, a company that now operates three vessels, one of which is Australia's only luxury liner, Ð''Pacific Princess'. The head offices of P&O Australia are located in St Leonards, New South Wales.

2.1.3 Recruitment

Cruise lines employ various methods of recruitment to find crew. Almost all lines offer contact details on their websites proving information of where to post written applications to, others offer the opportunity to download application forms (see appendix I) and submit an application directly over the internet and some employ the services of recruitment agencies (such as the Australian agency "Crew International") to find their staff. When using a recruitment agency, the agency is responsible for the initial pre screening, interviewing and short-listing of candidates, while the cruise line itself is responsible for the final selection from those short-listed.

To apply for a position aboard a P&O Australia cruise liner, you are required to post a written application with a recent photograph and any other current information that may be of interest to the cruise lines international offices, located in California, USA. If your application is suitable, yet the cruise line is unable to provide you with a position at that time, they will keep your application in file for up to twelve months. Once