April 11, 2023
For Cleveland McNabb, working in the cruise industry is a chance to make friends around the world without leaving Seattle. McNabb starts his job in late February to prepare for cruise ships coming into the Port of Seattle's Pier 66 cruise terminal between April and October.
McNabb, who has managed security at the cruise terminal since 2018, takes this responsibility very seriously – ensuring a ship of 3,000 people arrives in port and sets sail safely and securely. When he’s not working at Pier 66, McNabb, who retired from the U.S. Army after 25 years, manages a branch office for American Guard Services, a security firm that contracts with retail and government accounts.
The 2023 Seattle cruise season is expected to be the biggest season ever as it welcomes 291 sailings and over 1.4 million revenue passengers between April and October.
A day on the job
On a typical day at the cruise terminal, McNabb shows up bright and early, an hour and a half before the cruise ship arrives. First, he makes sure the Pier 66 perimeter, facility, and pier is secure. He helps the traffic control team set up traffic cones and screens cruise terminal employees as they come in for the day. As security team members show up for work, he assigns them locations throughout the terminal, and makes sure staff are in the right place as cruise ship employees and passengers begin to exit the ship.
After the cruise ship arrives McNabb oversees security staff as passengers exit the ship to enjoy Seattle. Throughout the day, he continues leading security staff and monitoring the facility to ensure the safety of passengers and employees. McNabb’s day ends when the ship departs after a 12-hour day. He makes sure to secure the perimeter and all gates and doors, checks that the facilities are locked and secure, and completes his end-of-day report.
A rewarding career
McNabb said to work in cruise security, you need to be a people person and you must have patience.
“It’s customer service-based; you have people from different nationalities that come through so there can be a language barrier. You have to be patient, and you have to give them the right information and guide them to the right place.”
McNabb loves his job for the following reasons:
1. Making friends from near and far
“I love working with people and providing service to people,” he said. “I meet a lot of different people from different places – all over the world. That’s what is enjoyable.”
2. The opportunity to serve others
“After 25 years in the military, it’s just one of those things that becomes instilled in you,” he said. “You want to do things that you feel is for a purpose. I ensure 3,000 people get on the ship and sail to Alaska safely, and that there is nothing dangerous coming on the ship.”
3. Mentoring young people
He advises young people on his team on how to work on their skill sets to help pursue future career goals. Cruise jobs offer opportunities to develop many skills they will need to be successful on a variety of career journeys. The skills they learn on the cruise security team can transfer easily into other professions, especially Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at airports.
“We provide the same function and the same services TSA provides at an airport but we do it at cruise terminals,” McNabb said. “If you look at the security field in the cruise industry, a lot of people think about someone working security at the mall, but our roles and responsibilities are different.”
They receive the same training that the Department of Homeland Security provides for TSA. They also interact with longshoremen and union representatives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), canine handlers, and logistics staff (who track all the trucks that arrive at Pier 66) which can be helpful connections for those interested in expanding their career horizons.
A critical need
Now that travel is back, thousands of visitors will arrive in Seattle at any given time to begin their cruise vacation to Alaska. With that comes openings for hundreds of seasonal jobs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and the Port’s two cruise terminals.
The pandemic put the brakes on many tourism and cruise jobs, but as a manager McNabb was able to keep working. With cruise back and bigger than ever, he said the industry is still trying to get back to pre-pandemic staffing levels. The need for workers is critical as many former workers moved on to jobs outside the industry or lost contact with employers during the pandemic.
