Do cruise staff get days off?

There are no holiday entitlements, but crew members can choose when they take the six- to eight-week break that automatically comes with longer contracts.



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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.

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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.

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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.

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You'd think cruise ships would hire a few extra people so crew members can take a few days off, but that's just not the way it works. Cruise ships won't hire more crew than they absolutely need, and here's why. First, it keeps costs down. Each crew member represents another salary, more food, and administrative costs.

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While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $102,500 and as low as $14,500, the majority of Cruise Ship Worker salaries currently range between $30,000 (25th percentile) to $58,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $90,000 annually across the United States.

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There is an enormous amount of pressure that crew members deal with every single day at sea. It is essential to maintain sanity and a clear mindset when working on cruise ships, regardless of the daily difficulties and high-stress levels that life on board the ship inevitably brings.

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It comes as no surprise that the ship's captain has the biggest salary from working on a cruise ship. The master of the vessel has a huge responsibility for ship safety for crew and passengers along with navigation. The captain can earn almost $100,000 manually depending on the cruise line and experience.

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Upon successful completion of their training, crew members are offered a contract, typically ranging from two to nine months. There are no holiday entitlements, but crew members can choose when they take the six- to eight-week break that automatically comes with longer contracts.

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Among many difficult jobs on cruise ships, handpicking the toughest one is tricky. Still, one job will stand out in terms of horrific working conditions and cruel working hours-the galley steward.

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On ships, you live where you work. Unlike life on land, there is no rent to be paid or monthly utility bills that need to be taken care of. All basic living expenses are covered at sea for crew members: accommodation, water, electricity, and food.

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The Pros of Working on Cruise Ships
  • You get paid to travel. ...
  • Little to no cost of living. ...
  • Free medical care. ...
  • Flights to and from the ship are provided. ...
  • Easily rack up airline flight miles. ...
  • Short work commute. ...
  • 6-8 week vacation in between contracts. ...
  • Save money.


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To complete their responsibilities, cruise ships require their employees to live on the boat. Most cruise lines offer their staff free room and board throughout the duration of their contracts. They often cover the costs of basic living expenses, such as water and electricity bills.

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What will happen is the cruise line will fly you home, but will deduct from your wages what you owe, Jim Walker, a Miami-based maritime lawyer who represents cruise workers and passengers, told Insider. So it's a very punitive type of step if you try to quit and go home.

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How long will I be onboard? Contract lengths vary by position but range between four and ten months. After each contract you will receive approximately 60 days of vacation before your next assignment.

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Do all cruise crew members receive tips? As mentioned above, not all members of the ship staff receive a share of the gratuities paid by passengers. Bartenders, main show entertainers and third-party shop employees are some of the more obvious ones, but they're not the only ones.

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After subtracting overhead costs, a ship will make out with roughly $291 in net profit per passenger, per cruise. That means that at full capacity, a single ship like Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas might make $9.8m in revenue ($1.7m of which is profit) during one 7-day excursion.

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Many have complained about inadequate pay and long hours with little chance for change. Contracts can require workers to put in more than 70 hours a week and go without any days off for six to eight months. Due to the nature of cruise ships, workers are often exploited and unfairly compensated without much recourse.

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Staff members often expect to work around 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Some employees may work early in the morning, like those who prepare food, while others work late into the night, like bartenders and entertainers. Your work schedule might depend on the specific cruise line and your position.

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Cruise job contracts can be as short as 1 month long, but only in cases when seasonal staff are needed, for example, when school kids are on vacation, meaning a larger than normal amount of children will be onboard for a few sailings and children's facilities will need extra people.

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How much does a Cruise Ship Worker make? As of Aug 24, 2023, the average annual pay for a Cruise Ship Worker in the United States is $49,005 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $23.56 an hour.

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Employee Benefits at our Headquarter Offices
Additionally, some other benefits include paid parental leave, employee discounts on cruises, and a complimentary cruise for employees upon starting with the company.

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Minimum Salary in Cruise Ships As of 2020, the minimum wage was ?$7.25? per hour. During the first 90 days of employment, the minimum wage doesn't apply to exempt workers, which includes executives, babysitters, companions for the elderly and anyone under the age of 20.

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