I have bombed interviews. Here is everything I learned — from 13 years coaching candidates — about what river cruise hiring managers are really asking.

What decides between candidates is something harder to define and easier to recognise: sustainable, genuine enthusiasm. The kind that would still be present at hour eleven of a long guest day. The kind that's real rather than performed.

Interviewers are specifically assessing whether you could carry that energy for a four-to-six month contract, day after day, guest after guest. They've seen candidates who present beautifully in a 30-minute call and collapse under the weight of the actual job. They're trained to tell the difference.