Cruise line has more than 2,000 jobs to fill

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Norwegian Cruise Line will be looking for people to hire at a job fair this week to fill more than 2,000 positions aboard its cruise ships.

At Norwegian's job fair tomorrow and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort, the cruise line will recruit candidates for entry-level shipboard jobs and positions in management, accounting, food and beverage operations, concessions, shore excursions, entertainment and medical care.

Norwegian's first U.S.-flagged ship will begin sailing in Hawai'i next July with a requirement that it be staffed with an American crew operating under U.S. labor laws. Other cruise ships employ mostly foreign workers.

The cruise line gained the right to fly U.S. flags on foreign-built ships through a federal exemption signed into law earlier this year. A second ship will be reflagged and staffed by a U.S. crew for cruises in Hawai'i starting in October 2004.

Norwegian executives said they plan to hire most of the ships' employees from Hawai'i, and will conduct job fairs on the Neighbor Islands later this year.

The work requires crew members to live on board. For more information, call (800) 327-7030, visit www.ncl.com or e-mail shipboardemployment@ncl.com.