shore excursion staff job description

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A Day In The Life Of A Shore Excursions Staff Onboard Cruise Ship

Shore excursions staff is one of the most interesting and dynamic job positions onboard a cruise ship that consists of selling, promoting, and dispatching the shore excursions offered by the cruise line. It is part of the Shore excursions department managed by the Shore excursions manager and assisted by the Assistant shore excursions manager. This department is usually small, consists of 5-15 team members, depending on the class and capacity of a cruise ship. 

I have been working in the Shore excursions department for a few years now, and in this article, I will tell you how a typical day in the life of the Shore excursions staff looks like and what the main advantages and disadvantages of this job are. 

To make the article more clear, I will divide the typical days of the Shore excursions staff into five different parts within a cruise, as the duties are different and vary on daily basis. Those are embarkation day, sea days, port days, port days for a person on duty, and a debark day. 

EMBARKATION DAY

Embarkation day is the first day of each cruise when the guests from the previous cruise leave the ship, and new ones arrive on board on a new cruise. This day is usually a busy and long day for Shore excursions staff as it requires a lot of standing, talking to guests, patience, and mental energy. 

On embarkation day, the shore excursions desk is usually open from 10 am to 9 pm, and our main goal is to promote and sell as many tours as possible. Besides selling, we deal with guest requests and all potential issues: guests want to switch or cancel the tours, they have special requests, etc. On this day, there is a lot of talking involved, and you are expected to know the answers to all guests’ questions and inquires. 

While the Shore excursions staff team members are at the desk (we do rotations, so everyone can have a break), the Shore excursions manager and Assistant manager are normally at the office, dealing with the paperwork.

The day when a ship is sailing is commonly referred to as “sea day”. For crew members in general, it is a hard day because all guests are onboard and almost all venues are open. For the Shore excursions department, it varies. 

At the beginning of a cruise, before port days, we are normally at the desk trying to sell as many tours as possible. After the ports, we have no more tours to sell, but we still have to deal with guest complaints, issues, and other requests. 

If the day before last is a sea day, a part of the team is at the office handling paperwork and preparing for the next voyage. The office part usually consists of printing the tickets for the guests who prepaid their shore excursions, doing changes in the system, stuffing tickets, writing letters to the guests, cleaning the office/desk, etc. 

There are also some other duties to perform, such as helping other departments and participating in their onboard activities. Sea days can be tough at the beginning of the cruise, but by the end of the cruise, they become more easy-going. 

One of the main advantages of the Shore excursions staff position is the chance to join the tours for free when the ship is in port, and get the same experience as guests. That’s why port days are the favorite days of Shore excursions staff.

On port days, approximately an hour before the ship docks, the Shore excursions department organizes a tour dispatch for the guests who are joining the tours. The dispatch is organized either onboard or outside on the pier, depending on the port, and the whole team works together so that everything goes smoothly. The dispatch process is very dynamic, as there are hundreds of guests joining the tours, and sometimes we have to improvise to make it right.

While almost the whole team does the dispatch, there is usually one team member (or more, if needed) at the desk in the morning, who needs to be there for the guests in case they want to book tours last minute. 

The desk closes after the ship docks, and the tour dispatch is done in a couple of hours, after which we are free to go explore the port or join one of the tours. 

Sometimes, we are required to go on specific tours to inspect them, or have a familiarization trip with the rest of the team, organized by a tour operator. Port days are great and we don’t open the desk until an hour before the ship sets sail, which leaves us the whole day to spend in a port. 

In the evening, once everyone is on board, we re-open the desk for a couple of hours, and that’s it for the day.

PORT DAY FOR PERSON ON DUTY

Port days sound too perfect, right? Well, not for the Shore excursions staff who is on duty that day. On port days, there is always one team member in charge of leading the tour dispatch process and he/she is required to stay on board for the whole day in case there are some issues or problems on the tours. 

The person on duty is responsible for the whole dispatch (sometimes there are tours in the afternoon or evening, and a person on duty has to be there to make sure everything goes right) and write the daily report once all the tours are back. Port day for a person on duty is long and exhausting, both physically and mentally, as many issues and changes can occur. 

DEBARK DAY 

Debark day is the last day of the cruise and is the same as embarkation day, as one cruise finishes, and another one starts. 

On debark day, there are always one or two team members on duty, in charge of dispatching debark tours. Debark tours are a few shore excursions organized for guests on the last day of their cruise and consist of a tour followed by an airport drop-off. 

Debark day for the team members on duty is not demanding, it usually takes a couple of hours and the process goes smoothly. The rest of the team starts their day at the desk around 10 am, as I mentioned in the "Embarkation day" part. 

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE JOB

To conclude, being a Shore excursion staff has both positive and negative sides. As the main advantage, I would highlight the opportunity to go on tours for free and enjoy amazing and unique experiences that guests normally pay for. Working in a small team is also one of the advantages, as well as the commission-based salary which motivates us to sell more and do our jobs passionately. 

As for the negative aspects, the contracts of Shore excursions staff are quite long – they vary from 6 to 8 months, which can be challenging sometimes, especially when your contract is reaching the end and you are fed up with everything. We don’t have a day off (like most departments), and sometimes we have to do perform some activities that are not part of our department and our job. That is all I could think of. 

If you are into traveling, have excellent communication skills, and are passionate about selling and promoting tours, this is a job for you! I encourage everyone to try, as the experiences you’ll get happen once in a lifetime. 

If you need more insight into a ship and crew life, or you have other questions, feel free to reach out and check out some of my articles on the topic:

• Working On A Cruise Ship: How To Apply For A Cruise Ship Job?
• 10 Things To Know Before Applying For Cruise Ship Jobs
• New Hire? This Is Your First Day On A Cruise Ship Looks Like

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Why is Shore Excursions Staff One of the Best Cruise Ship Jobs?

Shore Excursions Staff is a position onboard cruise ships whose main duties consist of promoting, selling, and dispatching shore excursions in various ports of call worldwide. It is part of the Shore Excursions Department whose direct supervisor is Shore Excursions Manager, assisted by Assistant Shore Excursions Manager.

In this article, I want to give you a quick overview of why I love my cruise ship job of Shore Excursions staff!

If you want to read a detailed article about my job, check out: Life of Shore Excursions Staff onboard a Cruise Ship: Job Description & Daily Duties

Also, if you consider applying for a cruise ship job, you might want to have a look at the following posts:

Working on a Cruise Ship: How to Apply for Cruise Ship Jobs?

10 Things to Know before Applying for a Cruise Ship Job

New Hire? This is How your First Day on a Cruise Ship Looks Like

So, back to the topic! Read below the 3 reasons why I love my cruise ship job !

1. Going on Tours for Free as Part of Job

Have you ever imagined having a job whose part of the description is swimming with dolphins in Jamaica, driving ATV through the Mexican jungle, or going volcano trekking in the Canary Islands ? All that in just a few days? FOR FREE ? 

Welcome to the everyday life of Shore Excursions Staff! 

When I officially got employed by Royal Caribbean International and started preparing myself for becoming part of the Shore Excursions team, one of my main concerns was  how I was going to absorb all information regarding excursions  that I was supposed to sell.  

When ship docks in a port, there are sometimes more than 40 excursions offered to guests. So, how do they expect me to answer all guests’ inquiries about the tours if I’ve never been on any?

Being a perfectionist, I put myself under pressure and started studying all the tour descriptions I found on the company’s website. And, guess what? It turned out to be completely useless once I stepped on a gangway the very first day of my 7-month long journey! 

Long story short, as time was passing by I got to realize one thing!  Shore Excursions Staff was actually “required” to go on as many tours as possible  and get the same treatment and experience as guests!  FOR FREE ! 

On one hand, it was logical and I knew Shore Excursions Staff normally went on some tours. As their job is to promote and sell a tour, they need to experience the exact tour flow so they can explain and sell it to the guests.

But, come on!  Some of those excursions cost a fortune and guests pay a lot of money to go on them ! Helicopter ride over Grand Cayman ? Or Royal Dolphin Swimming (with TWO dolphins?!) It sounded unbelievable! That was the moment I realized how lucky I was to join this amazing department.

Not always it’s possible to go on tours, though . Sometimes it depends on business needs and also management. Sometimes it depends on a tour operator the company has a contract with. But most of the time all Shorex team members get to go and enjoy the tours they prefer!

 That’s why if you ask anyone working on the ship who’s got “best life” or “easy life” onboard, a lot of crew members will reply “Shorex”. Not always easy for sure, but beautiful!

2. Working in a Small Team

One of the advantages of working as Shore Excursions Staff is that the team you are part of is relatively small,  usually counts 7-15 team members , depending on the ship capacity. 

Working on a big ship means long working hours EVERY DAY (no day off) and very often dealing with challenging management. Non written business rule is that management is more careless and difficult to work with if the department is larger. Housekeeping Department or Restaurant Department onboard cruise ships can count more than 200 team members each, which makes it quite challenging as a working environment.

Onboard a cruise ship  more than 60 nationalities work together  and sometimes it’s extremely difficult to find a common language with crew members. 

Luckily for me, that’s the issue I’ve never had as Shore Excursions Staff! Of course, I witnessed many times my colleagues’ arguments, but it’s much easier to sort things out when your manager or assistant manager is focused on resolving an issue in a team of 8 people  rather than 150.  

Not to mention that  you get to know your team members  as you spend most of your day with them. You  go to events together, dinners, crew parties, team buildings, and fam trips  (familiarization trips or tours you go on together as a team, to get to know the content of a tour). You share a large amount of time daily and sometimes stay in the office until late hours – just because it’s fun to hang out with your team!

Besides,  communication gets much better   in a group of 8 or 10 people (it’s easier to work on it, at least), both communication with management and among other Shore Excursions Staff. You  get to organize things properly  on time and split the duties if required. 

3. Decent Salary, Plus Commissions

Salaries onboard cruise ships largely  depend on the position you perform . They can vary from 800 USD (or even less) up to more than 15 000 USD (Marine Department). 

Some departments, like the Food and Beverage Department or Housekeeping Department, rely on the tips they get from guests. Some other departments, like Marine Department (engineers, electricians, blue boys, Staff Captain, Captain…) have fixed salaries, while most of the departments (including Shore Excursions) have  fixed salaries followed by commissions . The amount of commission depends on whether the team reached the target set by the head office at the beginning of each cruise. 

The salary of Shore Excursions Staff can vary and sometimes depends on how many contracts you’ve done with the company . It can vary from 1500 USD, depending on the company, while Shore Excursions Manager has a higher salary, up to 5000 USD, but also a much wider range of responsibilities (and doesn’t get to go on tours often!). Of course, these numbers are not official and vary from company to company, but it’s good to have at least an idea if you decide to apply for this job. 

Commissions

In regards to commissions, those can vary, too. The Head office normally calculates the shore excursion revenue required to earn each cruise and sets specific targets. Your commission depends on whether you hit the target or not . Commissions can be lower or higher, from 0 USD to 400 USD per cruise (rarely, but I hit more than 400 USD commission on a 5-day Christmas cruise! – Holiday time, so guests were extremely generous). Sometimes you work your ass off for nothing. Sometimes you get more than you expected. The rule doesn’t exist and different companies have different commission policies. Truth is that one shouldn’t set high expectations when it comes to commissions. Less is sometimes more, remember? 

The point is –  you can   earn decently onboard a cruise ship as you don’t have to worry about paying bills, food, or accommodation . If you know how to save money, you can do so, but if you don’t – then traveling and work experience are the most you can get of it. 

As for myself, I’ll just say that my last contract started in June and we were doing Spanish and Italy cruise itineraries. July and August were fatal to my budget – discounts everywhere (or “ventas” in Spanish) !!!  

To Conclude

We all know  there are pros and cons for every single job position , and the same goes for Shore Excursions Staff. Being part of the Shore Excursions Team can bring you enormous experience related to customer service and organizational skills, but also includes many side duties and negative aspects. 

You can read about typical day-by-day cruise flow in the life of Shore Excursion Staff in the article: Life Of Shore Excursions Staff Onboard A Cruise Ship – Job Description And Daily Duties

Until then, stay tuned!

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Location Select Manila Miami

Work Style Select Hybrid Onsite Remote

Shore Excursions Operations Process and Optimization Manager

Job description.

The Manager, Shore Excursions Operations Process and Optimization will support the day-to-day operation of the apportioned existing 2000+ excursions provided by 300+ partners in 60+ ports of call covering 20+ countries. Focused on improving operational effectiveness, including tour dispatch and all other processes, including tour signage and tour operator uniforms. Follow up with Tour Operators on: Tour Operator evaluations, Bazaar Voice & TGEM comments, major incidents/ accidents. The Manager will be the main point of contact for tour operators with regards to the shore excursion program, to include but not limited to the quality of shore excursion provided by a tour operator and its delivery to the guest; the safety factors pertaining to each shore excursion; the operational/logistic set-up for each tour provided.

Essential Functions: 

• Provides operational support to the shipboard teams on issues escalated through the respective Fleet Ops Manager and accountable for overall performance of the ships assigned. 
• Review and advise on shipboard policies, procedures and guidelines that ensure a safe and efficient working environment for the Shore Excursion staff. Continuous improvement of the tour dispatching process and focused on the efficiency of all operational processes.
• Serves as the main point of contact for tour operators with regards to the shore excursion program, to include but not limited to the quality of shore excursion provided by a tour operator and its delivery to the guest; the safety factors pertaining to each shore excursion; the operational/logistic set-up for each tour provided.
• Train tour operators and guides on sales/service skills and emergency response. Responds to incidents, accidents and major guest complaints. Handles all itinerary changes and deviations, payments, and customer service. Partner on safety factors pertaining to each shore excursion and ensure proactive prevention plans. 
• Analyze and recalibrate the performance of all shore excursion offerings for quality, guest satisfaction and overall impact on the program. Partner with the Shorex Product Development Managers to make improvements. Perform visits for site inspection to ensure service provider are performing as contracted and address accordingly.
• Monitors feedback on tour quality (tour operator’s quality of service) provided by guests via TGEM, Bazaar Voice, ICare, Clara Bridge and the operational feedback received from the Shore Excursions teams. Compiles feedback qualitative data and follows up with the tour operators concerning the quality of shore excursion provided by a tour operator and its delivery to the guest; the safety factors pertaining to each shore excursion; the operational/logistic set-up for each tour provided.
• Assure the delivery and quality of the contracted services with every call. Assure constant communication between shipboard teams and Tour Operators. Works to troubleshoot and resolves any Shore Excursion matters that may arise. 
• Maintain and build strong relationships with all service providers, outside entities, management and internal colleagues by implementing communication strategies that promote open, honest and effective dialog.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Management, Hospitality, Logistics, Business Administration
• 8+ years of experience, position requires a minimum of 3 – 5 years’ logistics and quality assurance experience, preferably in the travel industry.     
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher and PowerPoint   
• Project Management skills    

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• The ideal candidate should have the ability to analyze large amounts of data; think critically or be able to analyze situations or statements and determine their validity; ability to manage complex projects; big picture & systemic thinking  - always think in terms of integrated, interconnected systems and how they interact with and affect each other;  tech-savvy and ease with new products; ability to spot details in complex projects; soft and hard sales skills; awareness of internal and external customer needs; adaptable and comfortable with the urgent pace imposed by the shipboard operations. 

Physical Demands : Must be able to remain in a stationary position at a desk and/or computer for extended periods of time. Requires regular movement throughout CCL facilities. Must be able to lift in excess of 50 pounds. May need to stand for long periods of time.

Travel : Less than 25% non-shipboard travel likely

Work Conditions : Work primarily in a climate-controlled environment with minimal safety/health hazard potential. Work may require employee to work inside and outside with exposure to changing climate and/or operate machinery.

The range for this role’s base salary is $75,900 - $110,000.  Offers to selected candidates will be made on a fair and equitable basis, taking into account specific job-related skills and experience.  

At Carnival, your total rewards package is much more than your base salary. All non-sales roles participate in an annual cash bonus program, while sales roles have an incentive plan. Director and above roles may also be eligible to participate in Carnival’s discretionary equity incentive plan. Plus, Carnival provides comprehensive and innovative benefits to meet your needs, including:

• Cost-effective medical, dental and vision plans
• Employee Assistance Program and other mental health resources
• Additional programs include company paid term life insurance and disability coverage 
• 401(k) plan that includes a company match
• Employee Stock Purchase plan
• Holidays – All full-time and part-time with benefits employees receive days off for 7 company-wide holidays, plus an additional floating holiday to be taken at the employee’s discretion. 
• Vacation Time – All full-time employees at the manager and below level start with 14 days/year; director and above level start with 19 days/year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 84 hours/year.  All employees gain additional vacation time with further tenure.
• Sick Time – All full-time employees receive 80 hours of sick time each year.  Part-time with benefits employees receive time off based on the number of hours they work, with a minimum of 60 hours each year.  
• Complementary stand-by cruises, employee discounts on confirmed cruises, plus special rates for family and friends
• Personal and professional learning and development resources including tuition reimbursement 
• On-site preschool program and wellness center at our Miami campus

In addition to other duties/functions, this position requires full commitment and support for promoting ethical and compliant culture. More specifically, this position requires integrity, honesty, and respectful treatment of others, as well as a willingness to speak up when they see misconduct or have concerns.

Carnival Cruise Line is the most popular cruise brand in North America and operates a fleet of ships designed to foster exceptionally safe, fun and memorable vacation experiences at an outstanding value. Our employees have a responsibility to be accountable for all actions. We consider the environment in all aspects of our business and have a responsibility to put safety and sustainability first. We live and share a positive attitude which is based on fostering an environment of inclusion, trust, a willingness to listen, openness and integrity. Doing this helps us to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to include FUN in everything we do! Speaking of fun, we are officially certified as a Great Place to Work aboard our ships as well as in our global corporate headquarters!

Carnival Corporation & plc and Carnival Cruise Line is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. In this regard, it does not discriminate against any qualified individual on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, mental, physical orsensory disability, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, federal, and/or international law. 

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Below you will find the most common positions found onboard. Imagine that a cruise ship is like a huge floating hotel and like so, many of the jobs you could qualify at home apply here.

There are many different positions onboard ranging from food and beverage, deck and engine, and entertainment, to name a few. 

Go ahead and research away what could be your next job at sea!

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