Cruise Ship Engine Department
Terminology inversion — read before applying to any cruise engine vacancy.
Cruise engine rank titles do not align with merchant convention. Cruise "First Engineer" = merchant Second Engineer Officer (management level, 2/E CoC). Cruise "Second / Third / Fourth Engineer" = merchant Third/Fourth Engineer (operational level, OOW Eng CoC). The ordinals do not match.
The certificate layer is STCW Chapter III — the same CoC instruments as any ocean-going vessel. The title layer is operator-defined. Every card below identifies the STCW instrument underneath the cruise title.
Chief Engineer and Staff Chief Engineer
The Chief Engineer Officer commands the engine department under the same STCW Regulation III/2 CoC as on any ocean-going vessel. The Staff Chief Engineer is the cruise-distinctive deputy — a dedicated management role analogous to the deck department's Staff Captain.
Management level · STCW Regulation III/2
Chief Engineer Officer
Commands the engine department; responsible for propulsion, hotel engineering, electro-technical systems and fuel management; overriding authority on all technical safety matters; ISM responsible person for the machinery spaces.
Certificate: CoC — Engineering, Management Level, capacity "Chief Engineer Officer" (STCW Regulation III/2; Table A-III/2)
Staff Chief Engineer / Staff C/E
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Holds C/E CoC · Reports to Chief Engineer Officer
Deputy to the Chief Engineer Officer. Manages engine department crew administration, safe manning and certification compliance; oversees the planned maintenance system (PMS); controls spare parts budget and procurement; coordinates technical training aboard. No direct merchant equivalent at this seniority. Holds a Chief Engineer CoC — the company assigns the "Staff" title to this management function.
Certificate held: CoC — Engineering, Management Level, capacity "Chief Engineer Officer" (STCW Regulation III/2; Table A-III/2)
First through Fourth Engineers.
Cruise ordinals shift by one compared to merchant rank. The First Engineer (cruise) holds a management-level 2/E CoC — the equivalent of a Second Engineer Officer in the merchant navy. Second, Third and Fourth Engineers are all operational-level OOW Engineering CoC holders, equivalent to Third and Fourth Engineers in merchant service.
First Engineer
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Management level · Holds 2/E CoC · Reports to Staff Chief Engineer
Senior watchkeeping engineer; responsible for engineering watch organisation, machinery watch handover procedures, engine room log keeping and machinery space fire plan. Merchant equivalent: Second Engineer Officer.
Certificate held: CoC — Engineering, Management Level, capacity "Second Engineer Officer" (STCW Regulation III/2; Table A-III/2). Not a Chief Engineer CoC.
Second Engineer
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Operational level · Holds OOW Eng CoC · Reports to First Engineer
Engineering watch officer; responsible for a designated machinery watch period; auxiliary machinery assigned area. Merchant equivalent: Third Engineer Officer.
Certificate held: CoC — Engineering, Operational Level (STCW Regulation III/1; Table A-III/1)
Third Engineer
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Operational level · Holds OOW Eng CoC · Reports to First Engineer
Engineering watch officer; typically carries dedicated machinery maintenance area alongside watchkeeping duties. Merchant equivalent: Fourth Engineer Officer.
Certificate held: CoC — Engineering, Operational Level (STCW Regulation III/1; Table A-III/1)
Fourth Engineer
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Operational level · Holds OOW Eng CoC · Reports to First Engineer
Engineering watch officer on large vessels with a four-tier engine watch rotation. Also found on vessels running UMS (unmanned machinery spaces) with a daytime watch role. No fixed merchant title equivalent — corresponds to an additional STCW Regulation III/1 CoC holder.
Certificate held: CoC — Engineering, Operational Level (STCW Regulation III/1; Table A-III/1)
HSE / SSE / FMM and tradesmen.
The hotel engineering team maintains all passenger-facing building systems — HVAC, lifts, plumbing, joinery, hotel electrical. These are company-standard roles; none carry a dedicated STCW CoC. The senior role has three operator names for the same position.
Hotel Services Engineer / SSE / FMM
Cruise ship onlyCompany title · Three-way synonym · Reports to Chief Engineer Officer
Three operators, one role: Hotel Services Engineer (HSE) at Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, MSC, Disney, Holland America · Ship's Services Engineer (SSE) at Carnival UK (Cunard, P&O Cruises) · Facilities Maintenance Manager (FMM) at Carnival Corporation North American brands.
Responsible for all hotel-side building systems: HVAC, lifts and escalators, plumbing, laundry equipment, hotel appliances, carpentry. Supervises the hotel engineering tradesmen team.
Certificate: STCW OOW Engineering CoC preferred but not universally mandatory — some operators accept trade qualifications (City & Guilds, HND Marine Engineering). BST mandatory.
HVAC Engineer
HVAC systems, refrigeration plant, chiller and fan-coil units, galley refrigeration. Reports to HSE/SSE/FMM.
Refrigeration & AC trade certificate (C&G 6187 or equivalent) · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
Plumber
Plumbing and sanitary systems, grey water and sewage system maintenance, freshwater system. Reports to HSE/SSE/FMM.
Trade qualification · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
Carpenter / Joiner
Cabin and public-space joinery repairs, furniture maintenance, door and lock maintenance. Reports to HSE/SSE/FMM.
Trade qualification · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
Hotel Electrician
Cabin and public-area electrical maintenance, lighting systems, stage and show lighting. Reports to HSE/SSE/FMM.
Electrical trade qualification · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
Senior ETO, ETO and ETO Cadet.
Large cruise ships carry multiple ETOs, creating a tiered structure under a Senior ETO. Both tiers hold exactly the same STCW certificate — the ETO CoC under Regulation III/6. STCW Regulation III/6 creates one ETO tier with no distinct management-level capacity; "Senior ETO" is a company seniority title, not a separate STCW class.
Senior Electro-Technical Officer (SETO)
Cruise ship onlyCompany seniority title · Operational level · Holds ETO CoC · Reports to Chief Engineer Officer
Supervises the ETO team; responsible for all shipboard electrical, electronic and automation systems; navigation electronics and GMDSS equipment oversight; integrated bridge system maintenance coordination. Found on vessels large enough to carry multiple ETOs.
Certificate held: CoC — Electro-Technical Officer (STCW Regulation III/6; Table A-III/6 — Manila 2010). Operational level. Same certificate as ETO below.
Electro-Technical Officer (ETO)
Operational level · Holds ETO CoC · Reports to Senior ETO
Electrical and electronic maintenance of designated systems; GMDSS radio maintenance; navigation sensor maintenance; automation systems support.
Certificate: CoC — Electro-Technical Officer (STCW Regulation III/6; Table A-III/6 — Manila 2010)
ETO Cadet
Support level · Training towards ETO CoC · Reports to ETO
Accumulating STCW-approved sea service toward the III/6 ETO CoC. Works under ETO supervision on assigned systems.
IT Manager and AV Technician.
IT and AV staff sit within the engine department organisationally. Both are company-standard positions with no dedicated STCW CoC — BST is mandatory; IMO cyber risk awareness training applies to the IT Manager role.
IT Manager
Cruise ship onlyShipboard network infrastructure; passenger Wi-Fi and internet systems; point-of-sale systems; crew IT; cyber security implementation per IMO MSC.428(98). Reports to Chief Engineer Officer.
IT degree or equivalent · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
AV Technician
Cruise ship onlyTheatre and show-lounge AV systems; public address system; CCTV; entertainment system maintenance. Reports to IT Manager.
AV trade qualification · BST mandatory · No STCW CoC
Ratings hold CoPs, not CoCs.
Engine ratings on cruise ships hold the same STCW Certificates of Proficiency as on any vessel — Able Seafarer Engine (Regulation III/5) and Rating Forming Part of an Engineering Watch (Regulation III/4). The title and CoP structure follows the standard merchant engine ratings ladder.
The certificate pathway.
Cruise engine officer careers begin with the same CoC pathway as merchant shipping — the STCW Chapter III ladder. India and the UK are among the principal entry routes. The pathways pages cover the full training structure and sea-time requirements.
Talk to cruise engine officers.
The Career & Recruitment category on the Marine One forum covers cruise engine questions — from engineering officer contracts to the Hotel Services Engineer route.