Princess Cruises?

This is one of the most interesting threads I have came across in the employment section on this forum, ever. Great info guys.
 
Princess Cruise - Paramedic postion

In February 2012, I applied for this position and didn't make it past the 1st (skype) interview. I thought the interview was interesting in that the young lady interviewer (HR employee for a contract company) did most of the talking and explaining about the position itself, and asked just a few questions of me. The interview did not last longer than 20 minutes.

I'm interested in re-applying for the position with Princess and would like some insight from anyone that has been employed by them.
 
I'm going to the November training session. There's bi-weekly dynamic scenarios on the ship, participation in various drills. Will have a better idea of things after I get back. Anyone else going?
 
Princess Cruise employment

Jayson: can you SEND THE MEMBER A PM FOR CONTACT INFORMATION. Looking for more info on employment strategies with Princess Cruise Line as Paramedic.
 
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jaysonsd said:
Someother things I'll add to from my interview:
NR vs state - your state is fine but they would want you to get your NR within a year

I would think of it as skill sets also. There's no radiologist, no lab, no surgical team.

You have five paid training days, wasn't 100% clear on that. But, one thing I like is they will pay for your PALS, ACLS, ITLS, and so on if you can justify it being a necessity on the job. Considering the widened scope you'll have onboard, I don't see that a problem.

There's some flexibility for the schedule. As my interviewer put it, they want 8 months of a year out of you. So, 4 on 2 off then maybe a 3 on 1 off if something important comes up (like a wedding). The time you have off is yours however you want to spend it.

Costs on the ship are basically zero except for, of all things, detergent. Your room is cleaned daily and they do your laundry for you.

They are doing a training session in LA for Sept 12, 13th and then they take it from there. There's a mountain of paperwork and a requisite physical and dental check-up.

This is my take on it:
I've worked in a very advanced system as far as equipment and electronics. Didn't change the calls, and my scope was becoming increasing narrower. I was becoming a specialist in... nothing medical. That's fine if you want to end up working for an FD that doesn't fight structure fires very often and running the same number of medical aids.
I want to travel and I don't want to dissappear for 1-2 years from friends and family. Also, I need to work. Stupid me bought a house :P You don't spend a lot of time at the exotic locals, but you can learn where to go, where not to go. You also have a great opportunity to meet/work with people from other parts of the world and network. Say you end your rotation in SE asia or aussie. Don't think you HAVE to go home and stare at the walls; go take a month to explore then go home for a month (take ITLS or any certs you can nab) then back to it.

And, if all my lofty extrapolations are wrong, and the high turnover is because you're always working, not learning, and can't have much fun then... bail.
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I see this post is a few months old. Any luck on getting the position? What can you say about accommodation now that you are there, and your overall experience?
 
Okay, I just saw that you said you are going to training in November. I'm new to this haha. Good luck and if you don't mind updating what you learn and what you think about the process on here I'm sure we'll all appreciate it. Thanks!
 
Princess Cruise Line

I'm still interested more of any strategies for employment. As I posted, I did send my resume and a first interview with an HR person. I was not offered another interview and have no explanation as to why. I have 31 years in EMS with the last 11 as a Police Office/Paramedic, etc., etc., I am sure there were many well qualified individuals applying for this position. I was hoping for some posts related to the pre-employment interview process. I am enjoying reading about the hiring experience and work aboard the ship as a medical officer as well. Thanks for the input. Private messages welcome as I'm not able to PM anyone yet. Thanks!
 
Irish Paramedics on Princess

I suspect all nationalities are welcome. I think you might be required to be licensed to include having what we call here in the U.S. "Nationally Registered" This is a guess, as there is not much on the their web page in terms of minimum qualifications, other than stating: "At this time we are considering candidates who have at least 2 years of paramedic experience and current professional certifications."
 
We have a medic that left our organization and moved to NC, got laid off and now works for a cruise line. We got to see pics of his cabin and it was a decent size room, he gets his own room steward. He says the food is good. He's over in Europe at this point but is headed to the Caribbean during their off season. The hours of work are very minimal. The only downfall aside from being separated from family according to his experience is the pay. He wasn't specific but it's barely enough for his family to survive on compared to his prior salary.
 
I've yet to know or hear what the pay/salary is for meidcal officer (paramedic) on Princess. From my first interview, and what they post on their web page, it was noted that your room and board is obviously covered.
 
TacMedic said:
I've yet to know or hear what the pay/salary is for meidcal officer (paramedic) on Princess. From my first interview, and what they post on their web page, it was noted that your room and board is obviously covered.
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Its not my place to discuss pay, especially considering this is now my employer. It all depends on how use the time you're on and save money while aboard. On my Kelly schedule down in SD, factoring in gas, chow, the small things that add up, and not working any OT, I was treading water. Now its cancel the insurance, store the car (my garage fortunately), rent my room out, cancel the gym, and decide what to do with the cell. The only thing you pay for (assuming you're not using the ship's satellite or phone) is detergent for your clothes/uniform.

There is a lot of info b/t BeachMedic's posts, mine, and several others. Lemme make it on the boat before I put anything else up. Lotta conjecture, not a lot of facts.

PM me if you have questions, I'll try to answer 'em.
 
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Hey jason, Good luck and please up date us once your on the ship. I would love to hear what a typical day is like aboard both on duty and off.
 
schulz said:
Hey jason, Good luck and please up date us once your on the ship. I would love to hear what a typical day is like aboard both on duty and off.
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absolutely ^
 
Medical Officer - Princess

Thanks, keep us posted on the experience. I'm hoping to re-submit my resume and get past the first interview. I have no clue as to what kept me from a 2nd interview or further look and consideration for employment by Princess.

Pay is not a large factor for me, rather I'm looking for interesting experience as a Medical Officer/Paramedic aboard a ship. I'm sure none of us got into public service (Fire/EMS/Police) thinking we'd be rich...it's the adventure. I'm soon retiring from my 31 years in law enforcement/Paramedic for a municipal service. I thought this would be a great job and have no ties to keep me where I live.
 
Long time reader, first time poster

Hey guys and girls. I think I may be able to shed some light and hopefully answer some questions. I am on a Princess Cruise Line Ship currently as a medic and am quickly nearing the end of my first contract.

Currently, only the bigger class of ships have medics deployed. The medical team on these ships is usually 2 doctors, 3 nurses, and 2 medics. The nurses have been difficult to staff fully due to a number of reasons that are not easily resolved. You work both a morning clinic (usually 8:30 to 10:30) and an afternoon clinic (usually 4:30 to 6:30). If you are not on call for the day the rest of the time is yours. If the ship is in port, enjoy the sights. If the ship is at sea, enjoy whatever entertainment, or workout, or resting, or whatever activities you want to do. If you are on call, you are restricted to the ship but that is it. Do what you want as long as you are on board. The nurses and doctors try very hard to make sure that you get to see as many ports as possible and you are always welcome to split your on call day with the other medic.

The uniform consists of scrubs that are provided. Depending on the ship and the captain, many of them do not require you to change into the standard white uniform unless there is a special occasion or you just get tired of scrubs. I have worn my standard uniform 5 times in 4 months. The scrubs are the norm and the passengers like seeing that we are around.

Living conditions are normally a cabin by yourself with a window. However, with any new program like this, sometimes there are kinks that can't be solved as quickly. This does not mean you share a cabin it simply means that for a little while you may not have a window. You do not have a roommate.

You are a one and a half stripe officer. That really means nothing other than you have almost free reign of the ship. All resturants and public areas are open for you to use. You also have the option of eating in the crew, staff, or officers mess. Think McDonald's to Ryan's Steakhouse to Red Lobster.

The pay is right along the lines of many midwest and southeast EMS agencies. Keep in mind that nothing comes out of your pay unless you purchase something with your officer's account (think running a tab that is due the first week of the following month).

The job itself is not your run and gun paramedic life. I came from a very busy EMS agency that did six figure runs yearly. Shipboard medicince is mainly preventative medicine for the crew (flu shots, blood pressure monitoring, and the other more mundane tasks) and community health medicine for the passengers (follow-up procedures needed while on vacation, wound dressing, lab work). This job will take you out of your element and introduce an entirely new skill set that will make you a better medic all the way around. Our clinic has 14 beds in 8 rooms that allow us to do everything from STEMI's to X-rays and everything in between with a full pharmacy and lab. We have had several patients kept multiple days as inpatients (nurses only) and have disembarked critical patients after stabilizing them on board.

It's not all rainbows and lollipops though. Working with the same team everyday for 4 hours a day will lead to some head butting. You will not always get along with each other but the bright side is even on the worst day at work, I was still either just off the coast of someplace cool or preparing to go ashore to snorkel, chase a bear, or cross a couple of things off my bucket list.

The program is new to the industry and the kinks are still being worked out. I will say this, the majority of our passengers come from the US and love it when they look at my name tag and see a paramedic from USA. It's not as much a "USA! USA! USA!" moment, but we serve an older clientele and they truly love knowing that there is a standard of care they are used to present on the ship.

One last thing. My first contract has literally been the experience of a lifetime. You can make it however you want it to be. I have had made some good friends who started this job and then left for any number of reasons but they have still learned and enjoyed at least part of their time here.

Hope this dissertation helps.
 
WOW SeaMedic, GREAT INFORMATION! Thanks for updating us, this is all really fascinating information and a great opportunity for many single guys. How does it work with federal and state taxes?
 
Also do you guys have a solid internet connection on the ship?
 
We have a medic from ABQ that is doing it and she loves it. I'm looking into it now too :-)
 
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