Carnival Cruise Line has announced expanded partnerships and new scholarships to two Philippine colleges in an effort to hire thousands of new Filipino workers over the next few years.
This will help create the larger workforce necessary as the cruise line brings new and larger ships into its fleet, ensuring adequate staffing for every vessel.
According to ABS-CBN News, the cruise line’s president, Christine Duffy, is currently in the Philippines to advance these initiatives that will create more opportunities for interested workers to get the training necessary to join one of the world’s largest cruise lines.
“We’re visiting STI and we’re awarding some scholarships,” Duffy confirmed. “We’re also expanding the work that we’re doing with PMMA [Philippine Merchant Marine Academy] because these really create even better opportunities for Filipino employees that join us where historically, perhaps they’ve come in more entry-level roles, by providing an expanded curriculum.”
Filipino workers serve in a variety of roles with Carnival Cruise Line, including deck and engine roles as well as part of the hotel and hospitality programs.
From general deck hands to engineers to cabin attendants, bartenders, and wait staff, the cruise line employs roughly 12,000 Filipino crew members.
When all the cruise lines under the Carnival Corporation and plc umbrella are combined, there are around 50,000 Filipino crew members across the eight brands, including Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and P&O Cruises.
STI is an extensive group of colleges in the Philippines, offering a wide range of programs useful to future cruise employees, including Hospitality Management, Culinary Management, Business Administration, Tourism Management, Marine Engineering, and Naval Architecture.
The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy is a public maritime school that offers programs and certifications in Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering, along with training courses in Fire Fighting, Handling a Free-Fall Lifeboat, and more.
More Workers Needed for Growing Fleet
Carnival Cruise Line just announced on July 23 that a new class of ships measuring almost 230,000 gross tons per vessel was being ordered, with three ships to join the fleet in 2029, 2031, and 2033. This follows the two additional Excel class ships already ordered for 2027 and 2028.
Furthermore, the P&O Cruises Australia brand is being dissolved early in 2025, with two of the ships – Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter – to be renovated and join the Carnival fleet for continued operations.
When these seven new ships are considered, Carnival Cruise Line could need as many as 10,000 or more new workers over the next nine years, even if all the crew members from Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter remain with the company.
Of course, the company will also need to account for retiring crew members in that time period, as well as those who choose different career paths and do not renew their contracts with Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival has regularly been recognized as an excellent employer for many different career options. Just days ago, the cruise line was recognized as the highest-ranked cruise line of America’s Best Employers for Women by Forbes.
Carnival Cruise Line also prides itself on the diversity of its workforce, celebrating unique cultures and all they can contribute to the global company.
Read Also: The Top 6 Best Cruise Lines to Work For
“At Carnival Corporation, we proudly support a workforce of over 160,000 team members representing 150 countries, and it is imperative that we cultivate a positive environment that celebrates the diversity of our people and empower all walks of life,” said Bettina Deynes, global chief human resources officer for Carnival Corporation.
The cruise line has earned similar accolades for diversity, LGBTQ+ equality, a top company for Latinos, and being an overall excellent employer.
