July 5, 2023
Alecia Willits knows how to thrive in chaos, and the growing cruise industry is the perfect environment for her to stay afloat. She's enjoying her second cruise season as Assistant Operations Manager, Ground Services for Metro Cruise Services in Seattle.
“I’ve been loving it,” she said. “It’s very intense and fast-paced, and I work with such a great group of individuals from all walks of life and all ages. I love how well everyone can work together.”
With Willits’ retail management background, supporting the cruise industry has allowed her to dive into a new world — but supporting staff has remained a constant. As Assistant Operations Manager, she is a pier supervisor and acts as a liaison between ship staff and shoreside staff.
Willits loves the unity, culture, and environment at Metro Cruise. Regular morning meetings help keep staff informed and help everyone stay on track and connected.
“We take the time to understand what is happening through the entire operation. It’s a good environment,” Willits said.
Willits said Metro Cruise employees form a close-knit community. The majority of Metro Cruise applicants come from word-of-mouth recommendations or returning staff who loved their experience at the organization the first time around.
“Everybody is close and everybody talks,” she said. “It opens up all kinds of doors. Seasonal staff get to interact with ship staff and passengers. Who knows what kinds of doors it will open?”
Record cruise season brings new jobs
Nationwide, Metro Cruise Services provides cruise terminal management, stevedoring, ship’s agency, and terminal security services. In Seattle Metro Cruise Services provides ground guest services to cruise ships. With more cruise passengers in Seattle than ever before, Metro Cruise is accelerating hiring to meet the demand. So far this year, Metro Cruise has hired over 200 staff members and looking to hire 50 more on Fridays only.
The current Seattle cruise season is expected to be the biggest season ever as it welcomes 290 sailings and over 1.4 million revenue passengers between April and October. A bigger season means more openings for hundreds of seasonal jobs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and the Port’s two cruise terminals. The Port of Seattle is committed to creating jobs and has partnered with the cruise industry to provide employment for students, seniors, teachers, and others. Minimum age is 16.
Now hiring
Metro Cruise is currently hiring Customer Service Cruise Agents for seasonal work through the end of October. Pay is $20.50 an hour.
Customer Service Cruise Agents include check-in and directional staff with the following:
- Disembarking and embarking
- Answering guest questions
- Directing guests to luggage and transportation
- Providing greetings and directions
- Verifying the validity of documents at check-in
These agents service Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Line, ships that are in port Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. A people person who is able to problem solve would be a great fit for this role, Willits said.
“It’s a great first job for people and the communication piece is really big,” she said. “And there is such a variety of ages that work with us. It is a great opportunity to grow skills and be able to expand on skills people currently have. Every position within the operation is extremely important. We all lean on each other.”
