How to Be a Massage Therapist on a Cruise Ship

Have you ever had the chance to go on a cruise? These relaxing voyages offer passengers an escape from everyday life and sunny fun in exotic places. If you enjoyed the environment of the cruise ship on your journey, you may have wondered what it would be like to stay on the ship year-round.

This doesn't have to just be an idle daydream, though. Cruise lines provide opportunities for talented and hard-working individuals to join their crews. Although many jobs on a cruise ship are technical and maritime-related, licensed massage therapists are often present to help cruise passengers relax in their shipboard spas.

Travel the World

Massage Therapy can be practiced nearly anywhere in the nation ... as well as on worldwide cruise lines. Working on a cruise ship offers the opportunity to see exotic destinations. As shipboard spas are often not busy (or are even closed when the ship is at port) crew members are often given the opportunity to go on excursions to the port of call. With cruise lines that dock in far-away locations in Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean, these mini-vacations are one of the biggest draws of working as a cruise massage therapist.

A Home On Board

One unbeatable benefit of working on a cruise ship is that crew members are furnished free room and board aboard the vessel. Crew accommodations may not be lavish like the guests' rooms, but meals, snacks, laundry service and entertainment are also provided. Maritime law also requires health insurance.

Massage Therapy On The Waves

Life as a massage therapist on cruise lines allows you to work hard and play hard. Workdays can be long - as much as 12 hours a day - and workweeks may only offer one and a half days of downtime, but this hard work reaps rewards. Highly skilled therapists can earn significant gratuities and these tips are divided in a pool among all therapists on board, according to Massage Magazine. There may also be commission sales opportunities for sales of spa beauty products during or after appointments.

Required Skills and Education

As a cruise ship massage therapist, you may be required to perform the following duties:

• Provide guests with therapeutic massages including Swedish, sport, and deep tissue massages
• Maintain therapeutic inventory, spa equipment, and room facilities
• Educate and inform passengers regarding health and wellness
• Promote beauty salon and spa treatments to passengers
• Achieve and maintain all licensure requirements and continuously learn and train in new techniques

Candidates for spa positions can expect a certain degree of training in the specific methods that the cruise authorizes, and some cruise lines have in-house techniques that they train all therapists in, but significant amounts of prior education and training are required for all positions.

While specializing in a particular procedure with a high degree of skill may make you more marketable in the industry, firm knowledge of all treatments is a virtual necessity. Becoming a licensed massage therapist is necessary, and a two-year degree in massage therapy covers most of the techniques and best practices that these employers are looking for.

Your Adventure Begins In the Classroom

Is work as a cruise ship massage therapist sound like something you would like to do? Your first step toward this exciting field is in the classroom. Earning your Associate of Applied Science in Massage Therapy can be accomplished at ECPI University. With accelerated classes and a year-round schedule, you could find yourself on the high seas in as little as 15 months. For more information, connect with a friendly admissions advisor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.

For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.