After a pandemic that nearly wiped out the sector, the cruise industry is finally seeing a robust comeback in the Caribbean, along with the jobs that have benefitted our people for years.

For just the first half of this year alone, Grenada, Jamaica, and The Bahamas are among the Caribbean nations that have seen the promise of cruise jobs that are much-needed as the region continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most countries in the region have faced severe unemployment as the pandemic nearly decimated our number 1 tourism industry. The majority of cruise liners themselves were forcibly docked for the better part of 2020 and a large portion of 2021 as a result of the pandemic, with the CDC issuing a mandatory no-sail order. Hence, the promise of cruise jobs is an incredibly promising sign that cruising is finally getting back to full swing.

Caribbean Employment Services Inc., one of the leading online talent recruitment services in the region, has been closely monitoring these developments. We specialize in helping businesses and organizations recruit the best candidates for their roles and job seekers find their ideal position. As such, we’re delighted to see the upswing in cruise jobs.

While we support an agenda of economic diversification that has been touted in many tourism-dependent Caribbean countries, we also acknowledge that the tourism industry has played and likely will continue to play a major role in providing our region’s citizens with gainful employment.

Further, we note that Royal Caribbean, which will be hosting a job fair in Grenada this week, is pledging to provide critical training to new hirees, which we believe can contribute to a more skilled workforce in Grenada in the future.

The upcoming job fair will be the second installment in what has been hailed as a “large-scale recruitment drive for Grenadians interested in working onboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships”.

The Royal Caribbean job fair in Grenada is just the latest of several recruitment drives for cruise jobs taking place around the Caribbean.

Just last month, Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett confirmed that some 10,000 jobs were being offered to Jamaicans who want to enter the cruise industry. Shortly before that, Carnival Cruise Line broke ground on a new port in The Bahamas, pointing to more jobs to come.