How to Apply as a Cruise Ship Nurse

CRUISE SHIP NURSES work with the onboard doctors to provide and maintain high standards of individualized patient care for passengers and crew, responding to emergencies whenever they occur on the ship. Nurses are expected to have a broad range of experience in acute care areas and clinical care skills in order to handle the varied and challenging clinical caseload.

Most cruise lines expect that candidates will have at least 3+ years of either Emergency or Intensive Care experience. Typically, current BLS certification and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) is preferred. Here are some additional specifics on requirements for cruise ship nurses as well as information on how to apply.

Cruise Ship Nurse Jobs with Holland America Group

Nurse applicants must hold a Registered Nurse Qualification, and current registration and licensing with an appropriate governmental or national regulatory body. Applicants must have at least three years post graduate clinical experience in emergency medicine, acute care or ICU, and most recent work experience should be in a clinical setting. Additional requirements include a valid accredited ALS/ACLS certificate prior to joining a vessel.

How to Apply with Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Group
To apply with Carnival Cruise Line or the Holland America Group cruise brands (Holland America, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, and P&O Australia), applicants can apply online via the Carnival Medical Jobs website.

Contact:  Joe Scott (Director of Fleet Medical Operations for Holland America Group)
Contact:   Grant Tarling (Group SVP and Chief Medical Officer for Holland America Group and Carnival Cruise Line)

Cruise Ship Nurse Jobs with Royal Caribbean Group

Applicants are required to have a good-standing RN license; ACLS and BLS certificates; minimum of three years post-graduate clinical training; minimum of one year practical experience in Advanced Cardiac Life Support; a minimum of one year experience in the Coronary Care, Emergency, or Intensive Care units; and a minimum of one year experience performing Basic Life Support.

How to Apply with Royal Caribbean Group
The Royal Caribbean Group encompasses the cruise line brands, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, and Silversea Cruises. To work for any of these brands, apply online through Royal Caribbean’s CTRAC career resource. Alternatively, Royal Caribbean Group works with the hiring partners, Hospitalio Recruitment and Faststream Recruitment to assist with recruiting medical personnel.

Contacts at Royal Caribbean Group
Ruben D. Parejo (Fleet Director of Medical and Public Health for Royal Caribbean Group)
Calvin Johnson (Chief Medical Officer for Royal Caribbean Group)

Nurse Jobs with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

To be hired as a nurse with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the applicant must have a good-standing RN license; ACLS certificates; minimum of three years post-graduate clinical experience; Intermediate to Advanced verbal and written level of English; minimum of one year practical experience in Advanced Cardiac Life Support; and minimum of one year experience working in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care or Coronary Care Unit.

How to Apply with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises are all brands that are part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. To work with any of these brands, apply online through their shipboard employment page if there is a job posting. Alternatively, Norwegian works with a global network of hiring partners.

Medical Contact at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Carlos J. Gonzalez (Chief Medical Officer at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings)

Other Cruise Ship Nurse Jobs

Crystal Cruises and Disney Cruise Line – Crystal Cruises and Disney Cruise Line are both partnered with Vanter Cruise Health Services to recruit nurses for their onboard medical department.

Cunard Line and P&O Cruises – To join P&O Cruises or Cunard Line as a Ship Nurse, you must be a level 1 registered nurse with current registration with the United Kingdom Nursing and Midwifery Council or appropriate Governmental regulatory body, three years post qualification. They ask that you have a broad range of experience in acute care areas with recent experience within A&E and a wide variety of clinical skills. Apply through the Carnival UK job pages.

Vikand Solutions offers careers at sea for a number of cruise lines including Viking Cruises, Hurtigruten, Azamara, Virgin Voyages, American Cruise Lines, and many others.

Updated: November 5, 2021.