I Worked on a Cruise Ship for 7 Months—Here’s What It’s Really Like

Have you ever been on a cruise?

If you have, you might have noticed that most people working there are from developing nations and it's not that easy to find an American, Canadian or other people from developed nations there. You might have already figured out that the reason for that is the low salaries, but how low do you think they are? What are the living and work conditions and what happens behind the curtains that you probably haven't seen?

Let's take a look at some of those things, based on my experience working for an Italian cruise line for seven months.

Where do the workers come from?

You'll see people from all over the world, but the ones that take over most of the spots are, in order, the Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Italians, Brazilians and Eastern Europeans. This is actually a very positive and interesting aspect of the job, since you get to meet people from almost all over the world and are able to share experiences and cultures. It does cause a few misunderstandings at times, like when I tried to greet a Vietnamese girl I had just met with a kiss on the cheek, which is completely natural and expected in Brazil, and her face and body language made it seem like I was assaulting her.

How much does it pay?

It varies widely depending on company and, of course, position. Taking the company I worked for, I can assure you, it's not a lot. I worked at the buffet for 11 hours a day, seven days a week. The pay? About $1000 after discounts.

Doesn't sound like a lot, right?

In some positions, which was not the case for me, you have high chances of getting tips, and that will boost your gains considerably. Someone working at the bar, for example, might get a base salary of about $1500 but could double that with tips during a good season or on a popular cruise. Waiters, room service and housekeeping also have that option.

Do the workers have time to explore the locations when the ship is at port?

That will depend on your schedule. If you are free, sure. Like I mentioned before, you work 11 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you do have the free time to go out, you also have to decide if you prefer to sleep and rest for the next excruciatingly long shift or if you're okay giving that away. I explored more often than not, but, honestly, those seven months I worked there were the longest and most exhausting time in my life because of it. I felt horrible most of the time, always tired and sore. My feet hurt, the veins in my legs began to bulge, my muscles hurt all the time and my energy levels were low and I put on about 7kg (15 pounds).

So, you never get a day off?

Well, no. What you can get is a meal off. For example, I worked a horrible schedule at one time, in which I had to be there for breakfast, lunch, tea time and dinner, with two to four hours free between some of those shifts, and what I did get about once a week was the chance to skip one of those meal shifts - skipping lunch, for example, but still working breakfast, tea time and dinner. In seven months and one week, there was only one day I didn't go to work, which was when I got the flu and had a bad fever. The next day I was back at work already, still not completely healed.

Where do the workers sleep?

There are basically four tiers of workers and that defines their sleeping quarters:

Officials: the captain and everyone else who works at the bridge, the lead engineer, lead hotel manager, etc. Those get their own private cabin in an area that is either together with the guests' or on a separate section entirely, depending on the ship. The higher ranking ones get an ocean view, as well.

Entertainers: singers, dancers, actors, and the like. They usually have a private cabin, or they share with one more person, in the passenger area, so they get good quarters.

Staff: the people who work at the casino, spa, pool entertainment, children entertainment, shops, etc. They could either get a single or shared cabin with a private bathroom. Usually, these cabins are on the upper decks, but always internal, never with a view or anything like that, and always separate from guests.

Crew: those are the lower-tier workers, which I was one of. They are the most numerous workers and take all the cleaning and serving positions, from the person you see cleaning the decks at the end of the day, to the waiters who serve you at the restaurant and also the security guards and firefighters. Cabins range from four to eight square meters and are shared by two people. The bathroom is shared by two cabins, so four people per bathroom. But everyone has widely different shifts, so it's not really a problem (sometimes the cleanliness is, though). These cabins are usually located in the lower deck. Mine was probably right at water level, if not a little lower.

Do you eat the same food as the passengers?

Officials and entertainers, yes. Staff members have their meals in the lower decks. Staff food is usually decent. Crew members have a separate place where they get much lower quality food most of the time with the occasional nice treat thrown in just so we don't go insane. The crew mess usually serves pretty repetitive food. Most of the time, you'll have saltless rice, chicken curry, salad and things like that, which is great if you're Indian, Filipino or Indonesian, but not much if you hail from Brazil or other Latin American countries.

Can workers use all the facilities on the ship?

Most definitely not! Unless you are an official or entertainer, only the facilities in the lower deck, where we have a bar; the crew mess and staff mess, where meals are served; a gym; a chapel; a laundry room; and an open deck with a jacuzzi are accessible. And that open deck is the reason you can't go all Jack and Rose with your arms spread in the wind shouting you're the king of the world; that area is for workers only.

Do workers hook up with passengers?

There is a rule that forbids romantic or sexual interactions between workers and passengers, but yeah, people absolutely break that one.

I think it doesn't really sound like a great job, right? Add to that the fact that you will probably go through some awful situations with your coworkers and bosses that you never thought you would, and it gets much worse. I, for instance, was harassed by two supervisors. One of them in a more reserved but insistent way, and the other went so far as to grab my butt and ask how big my d*ck was, not to mention telling me to cheat on my partner (whom I had left on land to have that experience of working on a ship and traveling the world). It didn't cause me many issues because, first of all, I'm a man, and second I'm very combative, so it never really felt like I was in any danger or that they would use my refusals against me, but sadly, that wasn’t the case for many of the women working there, who faced much worse situations without the same sense of security. I had close friends in the same position as me break out crying and even quitting the job because of that, so it really wasn't a joke.

So, as you can see, it wasn't as nice as most people think, but it wasn't all that bad. I wouldn't have stayed for so long if it had been.

There is still a lot that I can tell you all about, some really nice things, some juicy gossip and things like that, so be sure to follow me and check out the next posts!