Want to know how to become a Personal trainer on a cruise ship or even a private yacht?
This article covers all you need to know from how much you can earn as a Personal Trainer on a cruise ship, which qualifications you will need, what the day to day duties are, what a typical day looks like and where to find a job.
In order to become a personal trainer on a cruise ship you are going to need two main qualifications.
Firstly, you are going to need a CIMSPA recognised Level 2 in Gym Instructing which is the entry level qualification to becoming a PT.
This qualification is a mandatory pre-requisite requirement as it covers modules not covered in your personal training such as health and safety and teaching groups, which is essential when becoming a PT on a Cruise ship.
Secondly, you’re going to need to complete a Internationally acclaimed Level 3 certificate in Personal Training.
Most training providers will package them together in the format of a diploma as many people require both qualifications, but must complete the Level 2 prior to moving onto the level 3.
See here an example by our partner company OriGym, who just won the 2024 Training provider of the Year award at the National Fitness Awards who package their two qualifications together:
Some cruise liners only offer fitness classes to holiday makers and thus only require the Level 2 in Gym Instructing as this covers the delivery of exercise in group based formats.
This however will limit the companies and roles that you can apply for as many high end cruise liners or even yachts offer one to one personal training as part of their service, which requires the Level 3 in Personal Training.
Download OriGym's Personal Training Brochure to to find out more on their Award Winning Training including course costs, modules covered, locations, latest offers and packages
Many cruise liners need adaptable trainers that are multi-skilled over a variety of disciplines of both training and training types.
Take this job post for example, you can see that this cruise liner is looking for individuals with other areas of expertise on top of the Level 3 in Personal Training including yoga, pilates, Les Mills qualifications or if you specialise in a particular martial arts.
This does not mean that you need every qualification, just an area of expertise that the cruise liner offers as a service to their guests.
When contemplating how to become a Personal Trainer on a cruise ship, you need to gain experience within a gym, studio or as a freelancer instructor prior to applying for roles as most cruise ships request between 6 months and 2 years worth of professional experience.
See this job post below as an example, where as part of their job requirements that have clearly stated that you need to have at least two years experience in a gym offering both personal training and group based exercise classes:
Cruise liners will firstly ask you to supply a valid passport as naturally you will be traveling around the world and thus this is a mandatory requirement.
Another thing to consider is if you have a criminal record, most cruise liners, like most employers will require that you have had no past misdemeanours, especially as this can prevent you from entering certain countries.
Some cruise liners will prefer if you are multi-lingual so that you better communicate with the wide demographic of guests, however this is a rare requirement for UK based cruise liner companies.
As you may have noticed on one of the above screenshot from one of the cruise ship personal trainer job descriptions, some companies don’t even want you to have any visible tattoos such as on your hands or neck as a mandatory requirement.
There are a large number of skills needed to be a Personal Trainer, but there are some really key ones needed specifically to being a PT on a Cruise Ship:
Interpersonal Skills
Having strong interpersonal skills and rapport building skills is important for any fitness professional, however this is even more prevalent if you are a personal trainer working on a cruise ship as not just can you top up your earnings via tips, but you need to make guests feel welcomed, comfortable and relaxed in your presence.
Culturally Sensitive
You need to be culturally sensitive as you are going to be interacting with a passengers from all types of backgrounds and where English may not be their first language or where mannerisms differ.
Adaptable and Prepared for the Unusual
When becoming fitness Instructor on a Cruise Ship, you need to be adaptable to the ever changing client demands and potential circumstances that can arise on the ship. For example, there could be an emergency evacuation or where there is a shortage due to sickness in another department, finding yourself covering the front of house.
Broad Knowledge of Fitness
You need to posses a broad knowledge of fitness disciplines and training types as you can find yourself teaching yoga one minute, then running a conditioning class another.
Having a holistic awareness and understanding of different types of training will help you deliver the vast variety of classes and training aims that both the cruise ship and its passengers demand.
Mental Resilience and Stamina
Being a Personal Trainer on a Cruise Ship is very hard work, it is very long hours and you get very limited time-off. This requires you to be someone who is resilient in nature and have a certain level of mental toughness about you.
There are three main ways that you can qualify as a Personal Trainer in the UK.
They all result in the same end result, they are simply different ways courses can be taken for you getting qualified and where you want to be.
Distance learning is exactly how it sounds, you will be learning in the comfort of your own home, studying your personal training diploma at a pace that suits you as an individual and digesting the course material in your own way.
Distance learning through most training providers is either delivered via an online course platform with videos, interactive e-learning or pre-recorded webinars, whilst others will send you booklets and hardback manuals to complete that you post back for marking.
The volume of support varies from provider to provider depending on the quality of the course provider that you elect to study with. Some providers will offer 7 days per support through multiple mediums, such as chat box, phone and face time, whilst others will just offer you email support, which is why you need to do your due diligence.
You can study your course part-time, which generally comes in two formats.
Blended learning, where you will learn the theoretical components of the course in the same fashion as the distance learning course is delivered, however you will get face to face workshops in a gym setting to tackle the practical aspects of the course.
The other common way part-time learning is delivered is through fixed days that you attend over a set period of time, traditionally 16 weeks for a PT diploma normally on a weekend or via evening classes that are set primarily in a classroom based environment.
Intensive learning or full-time learning as it is also referred, is when you attend a course that is generally Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm for 4-6 weeks where you will complete the qualification in a classroom setting with a qualified tutor and other aspiring fitness professionals.
You will do a mix of learning on the gym floor and learning the theory in the classroom. This course method does cost a little more, as you're paying for a tutor to be physically there and towards the venue, however you get constant help and support, plus it's a really fun way of ascertaining your certificates.
Pro Tips for picking the right Course Provider:
CIMSPA Accredited - Check they are a CIMSPA Partnered Training Provider as you will need CIMSPA accredited qualifications to work as a PT on a Cruise ship.
How long have they been operating - Find out how long they have been running for as you don't want to gamble with your hard earned money with a new company that has only a few years of trade behind them.
Check Review Sites - Check reviews and what other customers say via neutral review websites like Trustpilot and Google to see what other customers are saying. Look at both the umber of reviews and the star distribution.
Ask for a demo - Ask for a demo of their learning platform or resources so you can assess both how you are going to be learning and the quality of the resources. Reputable companies will always oblige.
How much support - Ask how much support you will get during your studies, how that support will be administered and how fast will that support be given.
Download OriGym's Personal Training Brochure to find out more on their Award Winning Training including course costs, modules covered, locations, latest offers and packages
If you are thinking of what it is like working as a Personal Trainer on a Cruise Ship, you first need to see if it is worth it financially.
Most Cruise Ship companies often contract their entire staff on fixed term contracts as it is naturally a seasonal job or that brand only operates within certain aspects of the world.
Contracts seem to vary from brand to brand, however the standard is a 6 month contract where the pay structure normally is where you get paid a basic personal trainer cruise salary, with commission for upselling products and services that ship provides, as well as getting the opportunity to gain tips from guests.
The Personal trainer cruise ship salary that you could pick up varies depending on where the company is based, where they travel to and the demographic to which the cruise is aimed at:
Free Gym Access - You will get free use of the gym to ensure that you stay physically active and on point with your own training
Free Accommodation - Free accommodation, which not many jobs can offer you and that means you have limited outgoings.
Free Wifi - Free wifi, which is paramount when your far away from home and want to communicate to friends and family.
Free Food - Most Cruise ships give their staff free snacks and meals, so you don't have to budget for this or have it as an extra expenditure.
Ship amenities - Free or discounted access to other ship amenities, from entertainment through to drinks and activities.
Activity Discounts - Discounts on excursions and specific bars at particular locations where the ship ports.
The biggest benefit of working on a cruise ship as a Fitness Instructor or Personal Trainer though is the opportunity to see new places, the adventure and the experience of it all.
When working on a cruise liner either in a fitness instructing or personal training capacity you will have some common tasks that will be required of you.
Warm greeting and rapport building with guests to ensure they receive a 5 star experience
You will be responsible for the gym’s upkeep and cleanliness, so do expect to be spending some of your time cleaning apparatus and tidying.
You will design workouts for guests that are tailored around their ongoing fitness needs.
You may find yourself delivering fitness classes depending on your qualifications and experience including the likes of spin, yoga, pilates, bodypump, aerobics and bodybalance to name just a few.
You will have secondary spend targets on things like supplements, healthy foods and portable gym apparatus such as yoga mats.
You will provide some nutritional and health advice and guidance to gym goers.
It is notorious that all staff on cruise ships, irrespective of position or rank, have to work very long hours and the fitness staff are no different.
This is because the gym will typically open early normally around 6am for those passengers who like an early workout, as well as catering for passengers in the evening too.
Most reported jobs are between 60 and 80 hours per week.
Take this example below from a job posting on Shiplife, where their trainers are expected to work 77 hours per week, which is an 11 hours a day, 7 days per week:
When deciding to become a personal trainer on a cruise ship or yacht it is always good to know what this all equates to in terms of a typical working day.
We asked one of our Personal Trainers who completed two contracts working on a cruise ship as a PT what their typical working day looked like and this is what they said:
As you can see it's a very broad role and requirss you to switch mindsets between teaching classes, offering personalised sessions and is very intense work.
There are a couple of ways you can find a job as a personal trainer on a cruise ship.
You can apply direct to each respective cruise liner through their individual career pages. You just need to create a list of cruise liners, which you can do via Google and typing in
Leisure specific jobs boards that specialise in jobs just for the fitness sector like ours attracts cruise liners to post their fitness instructing jobs and personal training roles as we have a large database of the type of people they are looking to attract, qualified fitness professionals.
Make sure to update your fitness CV though before applying for roles.
Cruise specific jobs boards like "all cruise jobs" has plenty of active roles within a whole range of different types of ships that cover different parts of the world.:
