Salaries and Allowances Cruise Ship Workers Earn Per Month as Authority Opens Application

Cruise ship employment is fast becoming one of the most accessible routes to international earnings for young Kenyans, with monthly pay ranging from KSh 77,400 for entry-level crew to KSh 3.23 million for a ship captain.

According to 2026 industry salary guides, pay varies sharply by department and seniority. Waiters and bartenders can earn between KSh 232,200 and KSh 412,800 once gratuities are added, while cabin stewards take home KSh 232,200 to KSh 516,000.

Cooks earn from KSh 193,500, while executive chefs can make up to KSh 1.16 million. At the top, a chief engineer can earn up to KSh 1.93 million and a hotel director up to KSh 1.55 million.

Crew members also get free accommodation, meals, medical care and flights, with uniforms and laundry usually covered. Contracts generally run between four and nine months, giving workers a chance to save heavily.

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) has licensed five recruitment agencies. Four are in Mombasa: MSC Ship Management, Alpha Oceaneering, Seaforth Shipping and East Africa Fishing Management.

Somoserve Management Company is in Nairobi. Applicants are not required to pay agency fees, and dealing with unlicensed recruiters is an offence.

Most employers want applicants aged at least 21 with hospitality or technical experience, who have completed Basic Safety Training.

Required documents include a Seafarer’s Identification Document, a seaman’s book, a valid passport, a C-1/D visa for US ports and a pre-employment medical certificate. Chef Eve Wambui, 24, said she spent about KSh 150,000 on training, documentation and a medical examination before joining a cruise ship.

Parliament’s Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers Committee has flagged several bottlenecks, among them delays in identification documents and visas, high medical costs, fake qualifications and crew abandoning contracts abroad. It has urged stronger partnerships between government, training institutions and cruise operators.

Source; https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19ZrAnde6v/

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