10 Things To Know Before Working On a Cruise Ship

Working on a cruise ship is a great, often life-changing experience. When you join a cruise ship as a crew member there are parts of life that are different than most anything you’ve experienced before. There are so many things to know before working on a cruise ship and so many things I wish I knew before my first contract.

I had been on a cruise as a passenger before so I thought I knew what to expect… but there was so much more going on behind the scenes than I ever could have guessed. While there are about a million things that are helpful to know before working on a cruise ship, today I’ve put together a list of the top ten things to know before working on a cruise ship.

This list was compiled from my own experience and those of other past and present crew members. When I reached out for what crew wished they knew before their first contract there were a lot of responses. Hope you enjoy and that it helps you prepare for your time at sea!

*Disclosure: All views are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer, previous employer, or husbands employer.*

10 Things to Know Before Working on a Cruise Ship

#1:
There Are a Lot of Rules…

Working on a cruise ship there are about a million rules. When asked what one thing a former cruise ship employee wished she knew, she responded with, “that we were only allowed to drink beer and wine!”

It can be surprising on your first contract just how many rules there are for cruise ship crew to follow. Rules are endless and not always consistent between cruise lines and can change over time. For instance, not being allowed to drink hard liquor onboard is not a rule on every cruise line and for some cruise lines is a rule that has come and gone.

As a fun bonus – the rules aren’t always consistent between different ranks or positions onboard. Rules are loosening up on this over time but there are still definitely some things that certain crew can do that other crew can’t.

For instance – some positions might be allowed to use a passenger pool on port days (a half hour after arrival until a half hour before departure, you can only get to the pool in “street clothes” using crew elevators and stairs, do not go through passenger areas in non-uniformed attire), or some might be allowed to go to the bar (but not sit on a bar stool unless you are 3 stripes or higher or directly invited to by a guest, make sure to leave passenger areas by your 1:00am curfew – and, it’s encouraged to socialize with the guests, but never fraternize).

From rules about protocol onboard the ship to rules about your uniform (and never have wet hair in public – if my hair is in a tight bun assume I didn’t have time to blow dry!) to knowing the rules of your specific job – that’s a lot to remember. Add to that the public health and Coast Guard rules and requirements and it’s a lot.

All of the rules exist for a reason. Some of them may seem like common sense but it’s much easier to enforce a rule when it’s written down and not relying on someone’s common sense.

Are some of these rules restrictive for crew? Absolutely. It’s weird to get used to. Then when you cruise as a passenger it’s weird to get un-used to. But, all of those rules are there to help ensure that the passengers have a good cruise experience and so that everyone is safe.

2. You Don’t Get a Day Off

The majority of people that work onboard a cruise ship will work every day they are onboard – from the day they join the ship to the day they leave. Every. Single. Day. Maybe you have a morning off, maybe you get an afternoon off to go ashore. But most crew work every day they’re onboard.

This can be a lot if you aren’t used to it. Honestly, it’s a lot even when you are used to it. One of the most challenging things for new crew is that your time off is really measured in hours instead of days. If you get a block during the day of 5 or 6 hours off it’s golden – and a morning off is often like a dream come true.

While there are some crew that get days off (typically musicians or singers/dancers) the majority of the crew work every single day. Concerned you’ll work too much? Here we’ve broken down how many hours crew are allowed to work.

Now, that’s not to say that you don’t get to have some fun, too. If there is something really special coming up (think climbing the Great Wall of China or riding camels in Petra, seeing the pyramids in Egypt) most supervisors will work with you and your schedule to make sure that you get to go experience the awesomeness of where you are in the world.

You probably still won’t have the whole day off though and either before or after you get back from your tour you’ll have to work that day.

#3 Crew Can Get Discounts in Port (but you have to ask!)

When you are sailing a popular cruise ship route the ports often rely on the business brought in by cruise ships. Many businesses in these busy cruise ship towns will offer discounts to crew members. Typically to get this discount you need to show your crew ID. The discounts can be anywhere from 5-10% off, to a set rate special for crew.

It’s always worth asking at any shop or restaurant you visit. I’ve personally had the best luck with crew discounts in Alaska – but other places – the tram going up the hill in Santorini comes to mind – also offer crew discounts, so it’s always worth asking. Not all of the businesses do though, and if they don’t, please be respectful of it.

Why would businesses offer discounts to cruise ship crew? Advertising is the biggest reason – if you enjoy it there is a good chance you might mention it to the passengers on the next cruise. Positive word of mouth can do a lot to promote local businesses. I think there is also an element of nice-ness to it and I will say that crew discounts have kept me going back to certain businesses when I might not have otherwise.

4. Knowledge is Power

I was onboard working when I got pregnant with my daughter. There is a huge misconception that if you are pregnant you get fired. In fact, I didn’t get fired and I got some maternity pay.

I knew the company policies on onboard pregnancy. Before I went to see the doctor onboard to let the company know I was pregnant you can be sure I had those policies printed out. And, when it came time to get my maternity pay I was ready to fight for that, too.

And, it’s not just about fighting for those big policies. The company I worked for had a “free cruise” policy that practically no one working onboard knew about. Sometimes there are great and fun policies that exist that crew don’t take advantage of because they don’t know about them.

5. There Can Be a Lot of Visa Requirements – C1/D, I-95, etc.

You get your contract, you’re going to embark in San Diego and then head out to Hawaii! You’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii, what a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Before you even get onboard, actually before you get your contract you’ll need a C1/D visa if you are from anywhere except the US and Canada. But then once you get onboard it’s not a free-for-all. The C1/D just gets you from the airport to the ship.

You’ll then need an I-95 visa to go ashore in the US (most non-US citizens do) to actually go ashore in the US.

This means you will be looking longingly at Hawaii from the ship as to get that I-95 visa you have to leave the US, then be seen by US Customs and Border Patrol, and then get the visa. So, you will have two long weeks onboard looking at your friends having fun getting drinks at the Hooters next to the Aloha Tower in Honolulu.

You get your contract – you are going to China! You will get to walk on the Great Wall of China! Oh my gosh, dream come true! Well, here’s the thing – if you’re from the US (and some other countries) you need a visa to go ashore there. Not to be on the ship – you can be on the ship in port – but to go ashore you need it. Also, the cruise line won’t organize that particular visa for you.

These are just a couple examples of places where visa requirements would keep you from going ashore and exploring. It’s always worth taking a look at the visa situation of the places you’re visiting to make sure you’ll get to really take advantage of seeing the world while working on a cruise ship.

#5 Relationships Onboard Can Be Challenging and Complicated

When I asked the question, “what’s one thing you wish you knew before your first cruise ship contract”, one of my friends did not hesitate with this one. I think she’d been duped before. Hell, I think I was onboard with her when she was duped (that was literally 10 years ago).

There’s a sad truth that some people have their ship life and their home life – and might be married even if they say they aren’t.

There are definitely those that are into the whole double life thing. I’m sure there is some percentage of the people that have the whole separate ship life thing that have an agreement with their spouses at home. I don’t know their situation and if they’ve got that kind of a relationship, well, more power to them.

This isn’t to scare you off from dating onboard or looking for love. I met my husband onboard and 10/10 think you can find love at sea. There are a lot of great people that work on cruise ships. The good ones far outweigh the ones that are trying to have you as their side fling.

But, just be careful, especially if you want something more than a ’til gangway do us part’. Ask around, maybe look them up on Facebook. It’s probably easier than having his kid and finding out he wasn’t leaving his wife – oh and she just had a kid, too. (And, that my friends is what they call a true story…yup.)

6. You Can Get Fired For Partying Too Hard

Cruise ships can be a lot of fun – like, a lot of fun. Some people can get a bit carried away with it though. When working onboard one of the many rules you have to follow is to not drink too much.

There are different requirements depending on whether you’re at work and/or going to work, and within that which job you have, etc. In general though it’s always best to keep it in check.

One of the challenging ways to do that is because people are friendly and want to offer you drinks. You want to be part of the cool club. The best advice that one of my friends has was, “don’t drink the weng wengs when people offer them to you.”

For those of you unfamiliar with what drink a “weng weng” is, it’s basically like a long island iced tea but made with some fruit juice instead of cola. It is surprisingly delicious and entirely dangerous because they are strong. Different cruise lines have different go-to specialty drinks and people are friendly so they will offer you some, too.

I’ve known more than one or two people that have gotten fired because they were caught drinking too much. It’s very much a real thing.

Be friendly, be social, then drink some water, eat a snack, and don’t drink more than one weng weng.

#7 You Catch More Flies with Honey

There are so many times that something goes a bit wrong onboard and you pretty, pretty please need help with something. Like most places in life, you’ll catch more flies with honey.

One time my supervisor forgot to email the programs for the kids club to the printer. I go to the printer to pick them up and he’s like “so and so never sent them.” Queue frustration 10,000 that I didn’t have an email address to send them to him myself.

Let’s back up a few days though to when the kids club got snack and had an extra tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a few happened to make their way to the print shop.

Did we need to bring chocolate covered strawberries to the printer? No. But, did that help soften the blow when I had to ask him to print out several hundred programs in his already super busy day so that the embarking families the next day would have them? I think so.

Favors and general niceness is like currency onboard. It’s not that someone wouldn’t do their job without them – the printer still would have printed those programs for me – but, it’s a way to show appreciation, to soften the blow, to get someone a bit more on your side so they’ll go above and beyond when the situation calls for it.

8. Be Nice to Everyone and Make Friends

It should seem obvious that you should be nice to people and make friends. And, while it’s always great to have friends in high places – and, I don’t mean the Captain, the Staff Captain, or the Chief Engineer (though they are lovely people to befriend, I’ve also heard 1st Engineers are pretty cool, too). A former crew members advice to newbies joining the ship: “Befriend security, bar staff – and housekeeping for the good towels!”

Okay, first let’s talk about the towels – this could be a whole conversation topic, but the towels in most crew cabins are just not as nice as the towels in passenger cabins. They work fine, but they don’t give you that plush, relaxation feeling.

Will being friends with housekeeping get you good towels? Maybe. I once bought a raffle ticket for the crew raffle and gave it to the housekeeper that cleaned my department on the ship – he won an I-Pad from said raffle ticket and suddenly I had chocolates on my pillows every night. (Wherever you are Fadli, I hope you’re doing well!)

Be nice to everyone, that should be a given. Over time there will be people that get under your skin and are kind of annoying, but being nice to people doesn’t cost you anything other than a smile and a hello. Start there and make friends with all kinds of people onboard.

Being friends with the people that can find you gold fish crackers (the bartenders) doesn’t hurt though. Seriously – this is how ship life works. It’s the concept of “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” but within the confines of a ship. Being nice to people, making friends, sharing some drinks with people makes your contract so much better, easier, and nicer.

#9 Hidden Storage Places in Your Cabin

This one is such a game changer especially if you are in a bunk cabin with a roommate. Storage is at a premium! The top storage place that you might not know about is under the bed. Most cabins will have a couple of drawers under the bed as well but often if you lift up the mattress you will find access to space under the bed that is big enough to fit a suitcase. Serious space saver right there!

In single cabins or cabins where the TV is on kind of a stand or cabinet there is usually storage underneath that TV stand. It’s often slightly oddly shaped but you can fit a lot under there. One year in my husbands cabin we looked under there and found a Christmas wreath. Random, but alas, storage.

Want more ideas on storage and what to pack for your first cruise ship contract? Take a look at our packing guide.

10. Get Creative To Keep the Food Interesting

This will someday be a post unto itself (oh wait, it is!) Food onboard a ship can get repetitive. When you are on the same ship for months at a time the food will repeat itself. It’s no fault of the culinary team onboard.

If you are doing a one week cruise and you know what the passengers like than that’s what you do every week. For the crew that eat that same food every week though it can sometimes get a bit old. You start to look forward to certain days of the week though, and eventually you start to come up with your own combinations and food hacks that help keep it fresh and original.

As one superb human once said, “The Lido is a grocery store, not a restaurant. You got to get creative to get you through the same menu rotations.”

Whether it is bringing your favorite hot sauce onboard to literally spice it up to taking things from three different stations to make a great taco salad, sometimes you’ve got to get creative to keep it interesting.

This is also why you will see the crew come back onboard with take-out pizza even though the food on the ship is free – sometimes you just need to change it up.

Bonus: Crew Can Get Mail Sent to the Ship

Most of the time it’s not fun using your time in port shopping for things like new socks. Crew can get packages sent to the ship. Now, this works a lot better if you are going back to the same homeport over and over again (incase the shipment is late you can get it the next time the ship is in town), but it can still be a very helpful way to get the things you need onboard without using up precious time ashore (or time to nap!)

Conclusion: Things to Know Before Working on a Cruise Ship

There is so much to know before working onboard a ship. It is a totally different way of life where it’s a mix of partying and having fun but also interacting with people from so many different cultures, where every aspect of your life onboard is pretty much written in a rule but then you also get to go to some of the coolest places on earth.