Cruise ship nursing

ESRD · Jan 22, 2004

Hi,,

I spoke with a hemodialysis nurse who does cruises. She told me that basically her pay is the cruise..Maybe a small salary but I don't think it was much.. And she has to get herself where ever the ship leaves from.

She keeps enough vacation time so that she still gets a pay check from her full time job. She goes about 4-6 per year.

That's all I know.

ESRD

kc ccurn · Jan 22, 2004

Thaaat sounds like it might be a fun little break....

ESRD · Jan 23, 2004

Pretty competitive I think.. I applied and received no response.

HMMMMMMMMM

I am travel nurse doing well so not a big deal

ESRD

Geeg · Jan 23, 2004

Just read an article on line about substandard care on cruise ships and how they are all registered in countries like Liberia so they don't have to conform to US regs. The cruise doc said he made 50K a year, I'd be afraid to see what the RN's earn. Sorry, don't have a link for it.

PsychoRN · Jan 24, 2004

I use to work at a hosptial that got patients who were transferred off of cruise ships and I had the opportunity to talk with many cruise ship doctors and nurses. Most all of the cruise ship docs and nurses I encountered were from foreign countries. I don't remember what they were paid but it wasn't very much. I do remember that the working conditions weren't good. They had to work long hours and many days in a row without a day off. Also the equipment they had to work with was substandard and they were always short of supplies. They were always busy since the majority of the passengers were geriatric.

Katnip, RN · Feb 4, 2004

I worked with an agency nurse who worked on a cruise line for a couple of years. She was at sea 6-9 months at a time, like most crew members. They rotated time off in ports of call.

The pay wasn't great, but she said it really was challenging. When you're at sea and hundreds of mile from land, and maybe a storm at the closest port that keeps helicopters grounded, and you've got someone with an MI going on...

It's a busier job than I would have thought. More than just sunburns and tourist stomach for sure.

LZ-RN-EMTP · Apr 28, 2010

I was just offered a position on a Cruise Ship with Royal Caribbean. It was simply me calling the Medical Recruitment office at their HQ in Miami and speaker to the recruiter herself. (DON'T GIVE UP UNTIL YOU GET HER/HIM) I had told her that I had been on cruise the week before, spoke with the RN's on board, and was told to call her specifically. It was a very nice conversation, she asked about my QUALS (RN/Paramedic with ER, ICU, and Flight Experience) we went through a basic scenario and was told " I think you would be a great fit with us"....They verified all the necessary stuff (employment, Criminal checks, certs, etc....) and poof...here I go. Pay is $5000 per month, with single OFFICER cabin, all perks that come with being an officer, access to all paying customer things..bars, clubs, shows, excursions when off (usually 2-3 days a week)...plus I'm going to Europe for 6 months....Not a bad deal......Hope this helps.....BON VOYAGE.....

nursestudentAZ · May 13, 2010

Congrats LZ-RN-EMTP! Please post updates of your cruise adventure!

Although I have never been a cruise RN, I worked aboard cruise ships for 5 years prior to pursuing nursing. The nurses on my line seemed to have a great life (4-month contracts, lots of swimming pool time :)), and a single cabin which is a major perk because most of the crew w/my former company share a room. The nurses' husbands were also allowed to live onboard with them. I hope to one day get back to the "seas" as a nurse! Please let us know what you experience w/Royal Caribbean.

Fort Worth · May 26, 2010

Please share the cruise line that allowed spouse on board..thanks

nursestudentAZ · May 27, 2010

My company was Disney Cruise Line--however, the medical staff actually are employees of Vanter Cruise Health Services which provides staff for Disney and Crystal Cruise Line.

Since the nurses have single cabins, they are allowed to have guests sail with them and live in their cabin (as of 2008 when I left the company). Guests are not limited to spouses--they can be boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, sibling, parent, etc. Some simple paperwork was required prior to the guest boarding the ship.

Scootie · Jun 11, 2010

This might be a crazy question, but is there internet aboard cruises? My husband travels with me, but to do his job he needs a reliable internet question.