UK. Cruise Retail Academy has launched a new global careers platform, Academy Onboard.
The Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) platform is designed to connect candidates worldwide with cruise lines across multiple onboard departments.
The scheme addresses what the company sees as a growing imbalance in traditional cruise recruitment models that favour prior shipboard experience.
Academy Onboard has launched against a backdrop of sustained cruise industry growth and increasing competition for talent.
Cruise Retail Academy said the platform aims to open pathways for candidates without previous maritime experience, positioning the cruise sector as a viable entry point for a new generation of globally mobile professionals.
The platform is fully accredited to Maritime Labour Convention standards by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, a move intended to reinforce trust and compliance in candidate recruitment.
Cruise Retail Academy said it currently supports a community of more than 10,000 members and is recruiting across more than 25 roles with 24 cruise lines.
CEO Adrian Pittaway, who spent more than eight years as Head of Retail at MSC Cruises, said the launch represents a natural evolution of the business.
He commented, “I am really proud of the journey we have been on in launching Cruise Retail Academy over the past 18 months and adding a wider Academy Onboard careers platform to our services seemed to be the natural next step.
“Rather than following the tried and tested recruitment model with a bias to shipboard experience, we are thinking differently. We believe the cruise industry is the perfect stage for a new generation who value flexibility, opportunity and innovation.
“With exceptional long-term global growth, looking inwards is not an option. The time to innovate is now and support our many partners to find, attract and nurture new talent, we think it’s that simple.”
Cruise Retail Academy Recruitment Director Robi Gaine highlighted the platform’s focus on potential rather than traditional credentials.
“There is an incredible pool of untapped talent globally – people with the right mindset, values and service DNA, but without a clear pathway into the cruise industry,” he said. “For me, finding new talent has never been about ticking boxes or chasing CVs; it’s about seeing the person behind the experience.
“Academy Onboard has been built to support, nurture and guide individuals throughout their journey, matching people to opportunities that truly align with who they are, how they think and where they want to go.”
Integrated with Cruise Retail Academy’s existing E-Academy, the Academy Onboard platform incorporates learning, insight and recruitment tools intended to prepare candidates for life onboard before joining a vessel.
More than 12,000 courses have already been completed through Cruise Retail Academy’s learning business.
According to the company, Academy Onboard also reflects shifting employment patterns within the cruise sector, including demand for flexible working models and emerging onboard roles.
These, it noted, include freelance and short-term opportunities aimed at digitally mobile candidates, alongside non-traditional positions such as luxury influencing, shopping concierge services and destination-focused speaker roles. 🛳️
