Why no American Captains?

[Turbo6ta]

I was reading that almost all cruise ship Captains are Italian, however, the major cruise lines are not Italian companies.

 

Take Carnival Cruise Lines for instance ... It's an American / British company with an American CEO ... however, none of the Captains or his 1st officers are American.

 

Seems strange that these cruise lines don't hire Americans ... The US has the largest Navy in the world. Certainly there is alot of talent getting out of the US Navy that have experiance operating large ships like aircraft carriers and such.

 

Lots of Americans flying large commercial airplanes ... but not commanding cruise ships.

 

So, anyone know why there are no American cruise ship Captains?

 

Do they get paid so little by these cruise lines that no American that has experiance commanding aircraft carriers, large cargo ships, etc would ever want the job?

 

Confused ....

[LHP]

Italy is not the only country that provides cruise line Captains.

 

Different cruise lines use different countries, but most are European.

 

 

When you think about how these individuals train (going through college) and then serving as officers for YEARS before (hopefully) reaching one of the few Captain spots available....and then continuing with a lifetime of being away from their families for 6 - 8 months at a stretch....

 

I would think that would deter a lot of folks.....

[angelndscz]

I was reading that almost all cruise ship Captains are Italian, however, the major cruise lines are not Italian companies.

 

Take Carnival Cruise Lines for instance ... It's an American / British company with an American CEO ... however, none of the Captains or his 1st officers are American.

 

Seems strange that these cruise lines don't hire Americans ... The US has the largest Navy in the world. Certainly there is alot of talent getting out of the US Navy that have experiance operating large ships like aircraft carriers and such.

 

Lots of Americans flying large commercial airplanes ... but not commanding cruise ships.

 

So, anyone know why there are no American cruise ship Captains?

 

Do they get paid so little by these cruise lines that no American that has experiance commanding aircraft carriers, large cargo ships, etc would ever want the job?

 

Confused ....

 

No American Stewards either. I think the only "Americans" you find on Carnival are the entertainment staff and they are not always American either

 

Years ago, one of my brother's friends worked on a Cruiseline. I was researching the option for my 20-year old son since we live near the port of Tampa. They do not hire from the U.S.

Edited February 17, 2013 by angelndscz

[smeyer418]

Italy is not the only country that provides cruise line Captains.

 

Different cruise lines use different countries, but most are European.

 

 

When you think about how these individuals train (going through college) and then serving as officers for YEARS before (hopefully) reaching one of the few Captain spots available....and then continuing with a lifetime of being away from their families for 6 - 8 months at a stretch....

 

I would think that would deter a lot of folks.....

 

 

Captains don't serve 6-8 month contracts. I think its 6-8 weeks on and then 6-8 weeks off.

[Turbo6ta]

I would think if someone retiring from the US Navy that commanded an aircraft carrier for years would certainly be able to captain a cruise ship around the mediteranian ... don't ya think?

 

Like I said ... Lots of American 474 Captains .... but no American cruise ship Captains

 

Just seems strange to me

[marym933]

There was an American captain on the NCL Pride of America out of Hawaii. His first name was Buzz. Of course, that is a US flagged ship.

 

The question of why all captains on Carnival ships are Italian came up on the behind the scenes tour I took on the Paradise. The captain said that Christopher Columbus was Italian and that there are Maritime schools on every corner in Italy.

[Turbo6ta]

 

Italy is not the only country that provides cruise line Captains.

 

Different cruise lines use different countries, but most are European.

 

You are right there .... I mentioned that most Captains were Italian. Well, that's pretty true for Carnival. Other major cruise lines will have Scandinavian Captains, Greek, etc.

 

But again, no Americans for some strange reason

[airmj2123]

RCL has at least one American captain.

[RyanDMB99@aol.com]

Imho i think Americans aren't much for seafaring... Many want a family and work 9-5 jobs. Not making a sweeping generalization there are the career military, as well as over-the-road truck drivers who aren't always home, but otherwise i dont think the vast majority consider jobs at sea.

Countries like Italy have maritime life at sea in their blood...

[Turbo6ta]

 

The question of why all captains on Carnival ships are Italian came up on the behind the scenes tour I took on the Paradise.

 

The captain said that Christopher Columbus was Italian and that there are Maritime schools on every corner in Italy.

 

That was true a couple of hundred years ago, but I would bet that the US Navy trains more crews than anyone today.

 

You will see Americans commanding large container ships, oil tankers, large nuclear powered military ships ..... but they just are not found commanding cruise ships.

[forwardcabin]

Americans would demand an extremely high salary plus expensive benefits in addition to a parachute clause, stock options, and onboard amenities that cruise lines would not pay.

[Clamett]

RCL not only has an American captain but also a female captain.

[smeyer418]

http://www.usmma.edu/about/History.shtml

 

one of the five military academies...

 

the four others are Army, Navy, CG and Air force.

 

"Americans are lazy, drunks and can't fight" A. Hitler.

[Turbo6ta]

Some may say that commanding a US Navy ship is not anything like commanding a cruise ship (no similarities).

 

.... But, the majority of airline pilots come straight out of the US Air Force and other military branches.

 

Why, because they have the experience flying heavy jet aircraft that there civilian trained counterparts just don't have. And these guys get the airline jobs first.

 

And I would think that it would be the same for the crew on the bridge of a large cruise ship ..... but it's not.

[w&k]

Different line, but there are at least 2 US captains currently on Royal Caribbean ships.

 

We also had a bridge tour from a 3rd officer on Celebrity that was American. He was asked if there were many Americans, and his response was that there were a few, but increasing slowly.

 

Otherwise, we have typically had Norweigian, Greek, or Italian captains.

 

Wendy

[Florissouri]

I would think if someone retiring from the US Navy that commanded an aircraft carrier for years would certainly be able to captain a cruise ship around the mediteranian ... don't ya think?

 

Like I said ... Lots of American 474 Captains .... but no American cruise ship Captains

 

Just seems strange to me

 

Why would they want to? You do know what the meaning of "retired" is don't you?

[Turbo6ta]

 

Americans would demand an extremely high salary plus expensive benefits in addition to a parachute clause, stock options, and onboard amenities that cruise lines would not pay.

 

Not at all ......

 

"Cruise-liner captains, who were paid an average US $153,379 last year, receive substantially more than the average airline pilot's annual salary in the UAE".

 

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/tourism/cruise-line-captains-have-highest-salaries-among-ocean-goers

 

.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Turbo6ta

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

They don't really want us to understand what the captain is reporting from the bridge.:)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Columbus didn't need no stinking military academy.

[Rudyard]

Just a shot in the dark here, but it could be that Cruising, Merchant, and Military might all have different career paths where you have to make the decision early. The few Naval officers I've known were/are all looking forward to retirement and dry land eventually. Usually by the time you get your own command in the Navy, you've decided to make a career out of it. Most cruise ship captains seem a bit younger than the retired Navy officers I know. That makes me think they chose that path shortly into their seafaring career.

 

Also, as someone else pointed out, we don't really have the seafaring tradition that a lot of European countries do.

[dwjoe]

Most of the cruises I've taken on other lines have had Norwegian officers.

[Kamloops50]

RCI has a couple of American Captains. Capt Richard Wright of the Oasis is an American.

[Florissouri]

I was reading that almost all cruise ship Captains are Italian, however, the major cruise lines are not Italian companies.

 

Take Carnival Cruise Lines for instance ... It's an American / British company with an American CEO ... however, none of the Captains or his 1st officers are American.

 

Seems strange that these cruise lines don't hire Americans ... The US has the largest Navy in the world. Certainly there is alot of talent getting out of the US Navy that have experiance operating large ships like aircraft carriers and such.

 

Lots of Americans flying large commercial airplanes ... but not commanding cruise ships.

 

So, anyone know why there are no American cruise ship Captains?

 

Do they get paid so little by these cruise lines that no American that has experiance commanding aircraft carriers, large cargo ships, etc would ever want the job?

 

Confused ....

 

Because the Mediterranean is where most of the maritime schools are. Carnival has a contract with one of the Italian schools and I think the link below is the one, but I'm not sure.

 

http://www2.units.it/dinmasnm/

[Turbo6ta]

Ok .... I understand what you folks are saying.

 

But, for the few here that think these cruise ship captains may not be paid as much as US standards ... read this:

 

http://www.crew-center.com/22-higher-salaries-cruise-ship-captains

[Sargent_Schultz]

One isn't made a cruise ship Captain overnight - they need extensive experience on cruise ships. There isn't a 2 week correspondence course to bridge someone into the position.