Ten Things Crew Look Forward to When They Go Home At the End of a Cruise Ship Contract

I recently got home from a cruise ship contract. My brain didn’t know what time zone it was in but I was so excited to cook the food that I wanted to eat, not wake up to an alarm clock, sleep in my own bed, and shower in a regular sized shower. Yes, I was excited to see my family – I hope that goes without saying. But, goodness, to be able to cook what I wanted to cook – no alarm clock, no uniform every day. I decided to ask the internet and past and present cruise ship employees what they most looked forward to when they went home. Here’s a look at the top ten things crew look forward to when they go home at the end of a cruise ship contract – number 1 might surprise you!

Disclosure: All views are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.

10. Vacation Mode

Life onboard a cruise ship can look like a vacation to those at home. You’re cruising from one incredible port to the next. The pictures you post to social media are those of you on a beach on a Greek Island, exploring Venice, climbing the Great Wall of China, hiking in Norway – wherever your contract has taken you, you’re living out a vacation dream for someone. Except for you it is work. There are a thousand parts of it that are magical and wonderful and like a dream. It can also be completely exhausting and is in fact work.

That’s why when you leave a ship at the end of your contract, it’s vacation time! Time to explore on your own time. One friend even used to use the trick where you ask to deviate your flights, or change them, to leave from your disembarking port a few days later. Start off your vacation exploring Barcelona a bit, or maybe spend a few extra days in Sydney. (Note, different countries have different immigration laws so you can’t always do this).

9. Having a Car And the Ability to Go Where You Want, When You Want

I grew up in rural Vermont, USA. Let’s be honest – most of Vermont is rural. Public transportation is making progress here but getting around without a car isn’t the easiest feat to manage. I love having the freedom to go where I want when I want and was surprised how many fellow crew members responded with something along the lines of “having a car” or “driving my car”. There is something about being able to hop behind the wheel and go where you want to go. And, even if it’s not a car – maybe it’s being able to take the bus somewhere. Whatever it is, it’s the freedom to go where you want to go.

8. Wet Hair, Don’t Care.

A huge benefit about being at home is not having to worry about your professional appearance constantly.

This one hits people differently. Some people regardless of where they are do their hair and makeup every day. I am not one of those people. I also loathe blow drying my hair (although every time I do it does give it some lovely volume). Regardless, on a ship it’s a pretty common place rule that you aren’t allowed in guest areas with wet hair. This means if you have a passenger facing job (which the majority of jobs onboard, are), you have to blow dry your hair before going to work. If you have a job like mine – where you primarily eat your meals in the passenger buffets – this also means blow drying your hair before you go to eat. The joy of being able to take a shower and not have to worry about wet hair is lovely.

Add to that – many passenger facing roles also require or expect you to have a certain professional presentation. For myself this would include makeup. On the scale of “front of house” positions I am somewhat back of house, but during traditional sailing I still feel that to reach professional grooming standards this means at least some make up each day. For some this means makeup, for others maybe it means having to shave your facial hair daily. Whatever it is there is some aspect of daily grooming/getting ready that can be skipped at home that you can’t get away with onboard.

7. Good Internet.

Cruise ship internet is getting better. I have to give credit where credit is due. If you compare it now to a decade ago it is leaps and bounds better. The speed is faster, the plans are better, and the affordability is getting better still. Part of the reason I also think it is better is I rely on it less after having made the switch to Google Fi which covers me internationally nearly everywhere on the globe. (If you make the switch we can both receive $20 credit.) However, having service in port doesn’t equal having service when the ship is crossing an ocean. At some level we all still need to rely on ships internet.

And, aside from the strides it’s made it is still not the greatest or the fastest. Want to watch that clip on YouTube? How bad do you want to watch it? What about that next episode of your favorite Amazon show? Again, good luck. When you get home and just have internet (and are paying normal prices for it), it is an absolute joy.

Want to know more about why I switched to Google Fi? Take a look at this post.

6. Having a Regular Sized Shower / Taking a Bath

This list is going to show you that it’s really the simple things in life that make you happy. Let’s just say a large majority of cruise ship cabins are very small and the showers are tiny, too. Not having a shower curtain get up close and personal with you, or choosing the alternative of basically flooding your bathroom, is a joyous occasion. Oh, and shall we talk about how much easier it is to shave your legs in a regular sized shower? It’s the simple joys in life!

Not sure who else out there is a bath lover. I sure am. It’s a simple luxury in life that I decided I enjoyed probably a decade too late. Give me a bubble bath, a good book or a good pod cast and leave me be. I think if I had a pool or a hot tub I’d feel similar. I love to be in water – on a cruise ship I get to be on the water but in it a lot less. A bath is one of those pleasures in life you just don’t get onboard.

5. Home Life – Comfy Bed, More Space, No Roommates (maybe?)… the Joy!

Cruise ship passenger cabins are known to be on the smaller side. Cruise ship crew cabins are even smaller. The majority of cruise ship crew live with roommates in bunk bed cabins. The bunks will be twin bed sized, with one closet each, a desk, some storage space, and a bathroom. I’ve lived in these cabins with a roommate and without and to be honest – they are fine (ish). Does that mean I complained when I got a promotion that means that I get my own cabin with a full sized bed? Hell no. Bring on that proper sized bed and no roommate.

When you get off of a ship, space feels like such a luxury. Space to yourself without a roommate, a bed you could sit up and read a book in without a bunk above you. Some privacy to yourself. A comfy bed with nice sheets and good pillows.

Fun Fact: Often my contract lines up with my husbands (we, plus our corporate supervisors work to make this happen) and part of that deal is that I move into his room (as it’s bigger) for the duration of our time sailing together.

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4. Food. Yes, Food.

This may seem like an odd thing to have on the list. After all, so many people go on a cruise ship because of the wonderful food. The food life for crew is a mixed bag. Overall I really can’t complain. I don’t have to pay for groceries, spend the time cooking it, or do the dishes to clean up. My position also allows me to eat in the passenger buffet and go to specialty restaurants on occasion (although had neither of these on my last contract). Many crew are only allowed to eat in the various crew mess rooms, and even then the food isn’t bad – it can feel repetitive though.

Most of the time when food starts to feel repetitive onboard you just go ashore for dinner. But even that isn’t the same as being able to cook something you love in your own kitchen – and that is the part that I miss. Being able to make the food you want when you want it. Or go visit your grandma when she makes chicken pie. It’s the freedom of choice to have what you actually are craving for food when you are craving it. Plus, I enjoy cooking and making up delicious meals.

Another big bonus on being able to cook your own food – if you are like me and have a food allergy, you can actually enjoy meals without having to ask about most everything or be on the constant lookout for cross contamination.

3. Not Worrying About All Aboard Time / Not Worrying About Time

When you are working onboard a ship your entire day is scheduled. What time you have to be at work in the morning, afternoon, and evening is all scheduled. And, if you manage to have some time off to go ashore, you’re constantly worried about when all aboard is, dreading missing the ship.

It’s nearly impossible to work onboard a ship and not feel bound by time and the fear of being late for something. You loathe the sound of your alarm clock. Try to negotiate with yourself to get those extra couple minutes of sleep. Push the limit on getting back to the ship for all aboard. Needless to say, when you get home from your cruise ship contract it’s only normal to look forward to not setting an alarm clock multiple times a day. Such bliss.

2. Friends and Family

When I ask fellow crew what the hardest part of working on a ship is, the answer is rarely the long hours or the work itself, and instead is nearly always being away from friends and family. This is especially true when you miss out on big life events like weddings, births, birthdays, or funerals.

It makes no surprise then that one of the things that crew most look forward to when going home at the end of a contract is being able to see those friends and family that they miss so much. (We’re going to toss pets into this category, too).

For months or however long your contract is, your life is largely what’s happening onboard. Balancing that with what’s happening at home can be challenging. So, when you finally get time off of work, time to be home, it’s so incredible to be able to spend that with your family and friends. Making up for lost time as it were. Getting that quality time. Having your grandma say things to you like, “do you ever listen to the trees whisper? Sometimes they’re so quiet and then you hear them start to speak.” She talks like that sometimes and I tell her she sounds like a poet. You just don’t get grandma moments like that while you’re on a ship.

1. The number 1 thing that crew look forward to when they go home at the end of a cruise ship contract: Solitude

In stark contract to number 2, which is seeing friends and family, number one is complete solitude. This isn’t solitude for the whole vacation. No, this is when you first get home. After spending months being surrounded by people constantly, just finding a few days and a little bit of solitude.

Whether it is not having to smile and greet everyone on the way to breakfast. (The downside to eating in the passenger buffet. Even in the crew mess you’ll still likely have to smile and say hi to someone while getting breakfast).

Or not have to make pleasantries to your roommate after a shitty shift.

Not have to smile to guests as you walk around the ship.

Maybe it’s going a whole day just doing whatever you want to do without anyone asking you to do anything or about anything.

No deck phone (or dect phone) to answer. (It always rings when you’re trying to take a nap. Always.)

The number one answer, by a landslide, is solitude. Alone time. Time where you can turn all your devices off and be quiet to everything.

One of the best things about being onboard is meeting so many people from different cultures and places. But, between the life upstairs with the passengers and downstairs with the crew, it can be very tiring.

Several crew wrote back saying that they tell their family they get home 2 days after they’re actually home – just to get a couple days of peace and quiet to recuperate. I get it. It can be a lot.

So, the number one thing that crew look forward to when they go home at the end of their contract is a little bit of peace and quiet.

Working onboard is incredible – but it’s hard work!

Everyone deserves a day off at some point. Crew just save up all those weekend days and squish them together. Having some time to recuperate from a contract is important. Unwind and enjoy the simple joys in life.

Have you worked onboard? What things do you most look forward to when you go home at the end of a cruise ship contract?