Random Cruise Ship Employees Reveal What Day-To-Day Is Like (17 items)

• (#3) '14-Hour Days And Next To No Internet'

  From a former Redditor:

  Don't remind me of the countless 14-hour days and next to no Internet. Ugh.

  The only thing to do was drink after my daily report.
• (#16) 'Any Vice That You Have... You Will Do More Of It' 

  From Redditor /u/PowdrdToastMan21:

  So here are snippets of my experience, based on a one-year stint back in 2011:

  • You are in very close proximity to anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 crew members (depending on ship size), and these people become your friends, family, lovers, and enemies. There is no such thing as division, and there is no such thing as private time unless you are one of the few lucky ones who have a private cabin...

  • Any vice that you have, whether it be drinking, smoking, [hooking up] - you will do more of it. Alcohol is super cheap in the crew bar, and there really is no such thing as being cut off (as long as you don't get caught in a guest area being very drunk). Cigarettes can be purchased duty free and at really reasonable prices, meaning you can smoke as much as you really want. And most people are lonely and craving human interaction, making for the perfect opportunity to sleep with just about whomever you want...

  • You will learn a TON about other cultures, pick up phrases in other languages, and really respect the lives that people have left behind to be there.

  • Most of the guests think they are far wittier and funnier than they actually are. They will inundate you with questions that make you wonder what time they chose to turn off all common sense. Some of my favorites... "Do these stairs go up?" "Will this elevator take me to the front of the ship? "Do they accept US dollars in Alaska?" "Does the staff live on the ship?"

  • At the end of the day, you will meet some amazing people (the crew primarily, though there are some guests who are genuinely good people as well), see some amazing places, and be humbled by the work ethic of others and just how much you are capable of enduring yourself.
• (#8) 'US Citizens... Aren't Paid Well'

  From Redditor /u/MirtaGev:

  Everyone sleeps with everyone.

  The food for crew is nearly inedible.

  You will never find a free washer unless you camp out in the laundry room for a few hours. There are usually about five to 15 washers/dryers, and anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 crew members.

  The rooms are tiny, and your shower curtain will always be trying to get to know you biblically.

  [United States] citizens aren't paid [very] well, but some countries, where the conversion rate is really good, make some serious bank. South Africa, especially.

  We do get to get off in port and go have a good time. Many ports have crew discounts for food and drink. However, most contracts last for around six to eight months, so after a while, the same old ports every week start to really wear on you.

  There is a crew-only bar, and beers are $1.50. Some ships have a crew-only hot tub.
• (#2) 'Every Night Is A Friday Night'

  From Redditor /u/rmmyyz:

  We had a saying: "Every night is a Friday night and every morning is a Monday morning. Every day is Groundhog Day."
• (#1) 'High School Mixed With Jail'

  From Redditor /u/JMPBass:

  Cruise ship musician here... Ship life is basically high school mixed with jail.

  Remember high school, where everyone knew everything about everyone's business? Who was [with] whom, cheating on so-and-so, doing this-and-that, being a such-and-such? Well, that's ship life in a nutshell. The bar is where we all congregate, it's where we all commiserate, and it's our only meat market option, because sleeping with guests is not tolerated. Oh, and cheap booze is great...

  Now, let's add in the jail factor: you're in a tin can and you can't leave. Some people can never get off in port because their jobs don't allow for it. I was lucky - musicians have an evening schedule that revolves around guest schedules, so we could easily get off in port as long as we weren't working on skeleton crew that day. Oh, and that involved us staying in and doing nothing (or laundry) unless a fire broke out somewhere, and even then we'd stand at a staircase and lead people to a muster station...

  Now, my gig was always easy... We'd go, play for a few hours, then off to the bar or for food.

  Speaking of food - crew mess was always horrible. It's mostly geared toward the crew who are from Asia/India. It's not always bad, per se, but it's not what you always want. We had access to the guest buffet, where we'd normally eat. Some ships give more; some give less. 

  Ships are a very classist system! I can't stress that enough. If you're into social justice, it's a case study worth exploring. Sometimes, the work is exploitative, other times it's demeaning, but these crew have to support their families somehow, and often it's better than what's at home. I've tried to curb my entitlement each time I've been on board.

  My last contract featured the party band doing a '20s/30s-style party. We'd take newer songs and put them to a swing beat and a walking bass line... Another party was back-to-school style, where we'd dress up in stereotypical prep school uniforms and play 1960s-2000s tunes. Sometimes it was a bore; sometimes it was awesome...

  Our job is basically to drive bar sales and make people want to stay. If we failed, they'd have to run extra events in the lounges, which meant more work for the bar staff and the entertainment staff... and then the band would get in some heavy sh*t...

  I made good bank on both ships, more than most musicians and entertainers. I didn't mind it because I knew what other jobs people had and how much they made in other departments, and when you take in to account how few actual hours we worked on board, it was best not to complain...
• (#13) 'Fighting For An Open Washer Or Dryer In The Laundry Room Is Hell'

  From Redditor /u/too-tsunami:

  Worked on a cruise ship for three years. Some key points:

  • If you're American, you are a minority. My ship had over 2,100 crew members, and only about 40 of us were American...

  • Fighting for an open washer or dryer in the laundry room is hell on earth... 

  • Food is provided, but the two most common ethnicities on my ship were [Filipino] and [Indian], so the crew cafeteria was usually full of food I wasn't used to... I ate a lot of salad and mashed potatoes on my contracts.

  • Think of a time you did something embarrassing while drunk at a bar. Now imagine having to see every single person who saw you do that embarrassing drunk thing, every day for months and months. That's what ship life is like.

  It was awesome, though. You travel for free, drink for cheap, and save a lot of money since you aren't really paying for anything unless you want to. I'd suggest it to anyone who has no strings attached, and is willing to work hard for six to eight months at a time.

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