Royal Caribbean signs MOU with Barbados to recruit locals in cruise ships

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI) and Royal Caribbean International to recruit locals for various posts on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

This announcement was made on Tuesday by Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins, during a press conference.

During the press briefing, Minister Lisa Cummins and Michael Bayley- President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The fine-tuning of details for the start of the recruitment process is expected to take place soon, and Minister Cummins said that she was looking forward to the new partnership with Royal Caribbean, where Barbadians are afforded the opportunity to work but also travel and see the world, and spread the brand of Barbadian hospitality.

Royal Caribbean Group is the world's second-biggest cruise line operator after Carnival Corporation in terms of the fleet. But, it is the biggest in terms of revenue. There are currently 24 ships in the fleet of Royal Caribbean, with the largest ship capable of 6780 guests. There are currently 85,000 people employed by the RC Group, including the hospitality and other staff members.

The world's biggest cruise ship "Wonder of the Seas" is also part of the Royal Caribbean fleet. It is is known to bring much bigger experiences to the award-winning Oasis Class. The ship was launched in November 2020.

Wonder of the Season was constructed in 2018 at te famous Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It also the fifth in Royal Caribbean's Oasis class of cruise ships.