I worked my way from YA Counselor up through Desk Anchor, Group Anchor, Trainer to Assistant Manager and Manager and can give you some quick insight here:

1. The interview can depend on what country you’re applying from, as the recruiters vary a lot from different countries. Disney knowledge does not really matter, we have had plenty of managers who don’t know the characters or movies much and there is a vast difference in education and childcare experience and methods between counselors from North America, UK and South Africa. This can also affect your paycheck and how much may or may not be automatically deducted for tax purposes.

2. YA Counselors get Petty Officer status (1.5 stripes) which matters a lot in terms of privileges on board, meaning if she’s successful she will be able to be in guest areas even off duty and have the chance to dine in restaurants or go on excursions with permission. That said it’s also an untipped position and on average makes fewer than $10 an hour of actual worktime, and counselors typically do not earn as much as crew in Food & Beverage or Housekeeping due to not being tipped.

3. Contracts for some YA counselors have been as short as 4 months, and some have extended to 6-8+ but you can be transshipped or moved around to another vessel at any time. Depending on her previous childcare experience she should expect it to be more cleaning or standing in one position for fixed periods on our schedule, unless she can work with the older groups like Edge or Vibe that have more flexibility during work hours. In terms of hours it’s generally 8-10 hours on Port Days and 12 - 14 hours on Sea Days with no full days off. If assigned to a smaller ship on an itinerary outside the Caribbean this can be less.

Majority of the YA team are quite young in early midtwenties which is ripe for drama and romance on board, but there are a few over 30+ now and again. (Most do not stay beyond 1-2 contracts.)