Contracts can vary between 4 to 8 months depending on which cruise line you will be working for and the position. After each contract, you will have a work break from 4-8 weeks. Smaller cruise lines may have a larger waiting time between contracts. You may request to shorten your break or extend it, but it needs to be confirmed by the Human Resources department, your manager, and the schedulers in advance.
Most companies may pay a percentage more per month that you are onboard “in lieu” of vacation pay. That means that work breaks between contracts are usually unpaid, so put some money away for your “time off.”
Breaks can be up to months on exception cases, but if you are away for 6 months, you will be considered a new employee upon return and required to re-apply. You may lose benefits such as “time counted towards retirement packages” that some companies offer, if they offered a new contract and you refused the date given.