Cruise Ship Steward
Last updated · Confirm dates, fees and eligibility on the official website before you apply.
Serves passengers on a cruise ship across dining, cabins and public areas, on contracts of several months at sea. Long hours and shared quarters, offset by savings and travel.
- Route in
- Earliest entry: ITI. Also entered at: ITI, Certificate. Direct entry. 2 courses lead here
- Entry pay
- ₹11,000 – ₹19,000 / monthly Any experience
- Where you work
- Hotels and restaurants, Cruise lines, Banquet and catering firms, Airlines and railways catering
How people get in
Getting in
Earliest entry point. ITI level.
Other levels people enter from. ITI, Certificate.
Where people work
Outlook
Hotels and restaurants, Cruise lines, Banquet and catering firms, Airlines and railways catering.
Indicative starting salary
Understand the role
11,000 - 19,000 per month at entry level.
This is an indicative range, not a quote. Actual pay varies with employer, city, sector and the specific role.
The route in, step by step
6 steps from where you are now.
Class 10 or Class 12 Required
Most cruise lines set Class 10 as the minimum. Conversational English is genuinely required, not preferred.
Hospitality certificate in food and beverage service or housekeeping Required
Six months to a year. Cruise lines recruit hotel-trained staff, and shore experience makes the difference at interview.
Complete STCW basic safety training Required
Mandatory for every crew member on a merchant or passenger vessel, from an institute approved by the Directorate General of Shipping. Personal survival, fire fighting, first aid and personal safety. No STCW, no ship.
Get your seafarer documents Required
A seafarer's medical examination, an Indian CDC - Continuous Discharge Certificate - from the DG Shipping, a seafarer's passport and the relevant visas. This paperwork defeats more applicants than the interviews do, and only DG Shipping approved agents should be handling it.
Sign your first contract Required
Six to nine months aboard, long hours, shared cabins, no days off during the contract. The pay is in dollars and living costs are nil, which is the whole attraction - but the conditions are real.
Rise through the ranks Optional
Assistant waiter to waiter to head waiter, or the housekeeping equivalent. Progression is contract by contract and depends on your appraisal at the end of each one.
Courses that lead here
2 mapped routes into this career.
What it pays
Indicative bands.
| Stage | Pay band | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Any experience | ₹11,000 – ₹19,000 / monthly | Varies by employer |
These are ranges, not offers. Pay varies by city, employer size, sector and your own skill more than by job title. Treat the band as the shape of the market, not as a number you can hold anyone to.
Common questions
The ones people actually ask about this work.
What qualification do you need to become a Cruise Ship Steward?
The earliest entry point is iti level. People also enter from: ITI, Certificate.
Where does a Cruise Ship Steward usually work?
Hotels and restaurants, Cruise lines, Banquet and catering firms, Airlines and railways catering.
What does a Cruise Ship Steward earn to start?
11,000 - 19,000 per month is a typical entry-level range. Pay varies with employer, city and sector.
Test this against your own priorities
Pay, hours and entry route matter differently to different people. Compare this against the alternative you are actually weighing, rather than against the average.