Why don t cruise workers get days off?
That mostly comes down to cabin space. Cabin space is at a premium. If crew were to have days off you would still need other crew to cover those responsibilities – this means more crew onboard taking up more cabin space.
There are no days off
On ships, weekends and holidays don't exist. You work every day of your entire contract and just have hours off between shifts each day. On land, you can go hard on a Friday night and have a couple of days to recover. On ships, you still have to get up and go to work the next day.
After each contract you will receive approximately 60 days of vacation before your next assignment. Your daily work schedule while onboard will depend on your particular position, but you can expect to work seven days a week and anywhere between 10-13 hours per day.
Usually staff have their own dining room, away from the passengers and on days off, employees can hang out by the pool, sunbathe, or use the spa. Some ships provide extra amenities for employees, such as televisions for each room, a special crew bar and lounge and special recreation lounges near the crew quarters.
On a cruise ship, the secret symbol of an upside-down pineapple is regularly used as a code for swinging or “wife-swapping”. In most cases, an illustrated and upside-down pineapple is fixed to the cabin door of a guest interested in swinging and partner swapping.
As cruise ship vessels are manned around the clock, crew members have access to food and drink 24/7. The terms of their contracts specify break and meal times, so even the busiest crew members will always have set rest breaks when they have time for a snack or main meal.
According to Business Insider, a cruise ship crew member for Carnival, Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Line can earn an annual average between $16,000 to $20,000. For leadership staff on board cruise ships, the annual salary can be much higher from $30,000 to $100,000.
The average CRUISE LINE monthly salary ranges from approximately ₹ 60,000 per month for Assistant Cook to ₹ 75,000 per month for Security Officer. Salary information comes from 16 data points collected directly from employees, users, and past and present job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months.
Cruise-ship crews are known for partying after work, and let me tell you, we (sometimes) live up to that standard. There are very strict alcohol policies for the staff, but the crew-bar drinks are cheap and the parties are so much fun, so learning a level of self-control is crucial.
Some cruise lines do give employees the opportunity to eat at one of the onboard restaurants once a week. You will work long hours, and the work can be stressful and demanding. This is especially true if you work as a server in a restaurant or in housekeeping.
Do cruise ships have curfews?
Royal Caribbean's teen activities regularly run late at night until 1 a.m. -- and even later for older teens. But with the exception of these activities and spaces, on most 2022 Royal Caribbean sailings, ships have set a curfew of 1 a.m. for all cruise passengers 17 and under.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie is the code for a security threat aboard Royal Caribbean ships and the code for upcoming helicopter winch operations aboard c-bed accommodation vessels. Code Blue usually means a medical emergency. Delta, Delta, Delta is the code for a possible bio-hazard among some cruise lines.

Pink flamingos may also symbolize the swinging lifestyle. Although less common, the flamingo symbolizes someone looking to swing. Yet the pink flamingo is mostly a harmless RV patio feature that dates back to the Vintage Era (1945-1970).
The reality is that we have no direct control over how you or anyone else can get laid on a cruise ship and as a general note, dating and finding a sex partner on a cruise really isn't much different than any other place that you might visit on vacation.
There's strict rules to prevent crew members from fraternizing with passengers. "I worked on cruise ships for 3 years and have had three friends sent home over this. Essentially you get busted, you have a Masters Hearing and you're sent home at the next port (on your dime).
Do cruise ship employees get free food? A majority of cruise ship lines offer their employees free food throughout the duration of their contracts. There's typically a special kitchen on the boat that prepares food for staff members. Employees may eat in separate dining areas, depending on their classifications.
The highest-paying job at Carnival Cruise Lines is a Food Operations Manager with a salary of ₹34.3 Lakhs per year. The top 10% of employees earn more than ₹13.92 lakhs per year. The top 1% earn more than a whopping ₹36 lakhs per year.
Can you live on a cruise ship? Yes, and here's how much it costs. Buying into a ship like the MV Narrative is a way to travel the world with fewer hassles, one buyer told CNBC Travel.
Overtime pay does exist on cruise ships depending on the contract. It could be given based on working over a certain number of hours in a day (e.g. 10) or in a week (e.g. 70). The amount that overtime pay is depends greatly on the job and base wage of that crew members position.
While working onboard, you can enjoy the following living essentials provided by the company: Furnished living accommodations. Crew-specific cafeterias (also known as the Crew Mess) with a variety of menu items from around the world. Laundry facilities and services.
How much do cruise ship workers make in tips?
What are the cruise industry tipping standards? For a seven-night cruise on the major lines, the "auto-gratuity" currently has a wide range starting under $20 a day, per person, up to over $100 a day, per person. Passengers staying in suites will usually pay a bit extra per day, per person.
As a cruise ship nurse, you will end up working long hours. Depending on the ship you are working for, each nurse works an average of 10 -12 hour days or longer with no scheduled time off. At least 4 months out of the year is spent at sea, which means there is no opportunity to have a vacation day during these times.
Cruise ship workers receive additional benefits apart from their salary, including room and board, medical care and meals. This reduces living expenses while employees are on board a scheduled cruise.
A cruise ship crew member for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Norwegian Cruise Line can earn an annual average between $16,000 to $20,000. For leadership staff onboard cruise ships, the annual salary can be much higher from $30,000 to $100,000.
Some cruise lines do give employees the opportunity to eat at one of the onboard restaurants once a week. You will work long hours, and the work can be stressful and demanding. This is especially true if you work as a server in a restaurant or in housekeeping.
The average CRUISE LINE monthly salary ranges from approximately ₹ 60,000 per month for Assistant Cook to ₹ 75,000 per month for Security Officer. Salary information comes from 16 data points collected directly from employees, users, and past and present job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months.
Yes, you can work onboard a cruise ship if you have a child. A huge percentage of people working on cruise ships have kids. Most of those kids are not onboard though. The majority of crew member that have children have family members at home taking care of them while the crew member works onboard.