- Chris Libreros worked on a cruise ship for eight months after working in the hotel industry.
- He said he was shocked by the crew's rigorous work schedule, lack of free time, and low pay.
This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Chris Libreros, who worked for a major US cruise line from March to November 2022. He has chosen to exclude his employer's name, but his position has been verified by Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I've lived in Miami my entire life, so I've always watched the cruise ships go in and out of the port — but I never really understood what happens on board.
Last year, I was working at the Ritz Carlton and decided I wanted to try something new. I had a friend who worked for a major cruise line and I heard they were sailing in Asia, an area of the world I've always wanted to explore. So he helped me get a job in the Guest Services department, which is like the general front desk of a cruise ship. My role was mainly customer service, assisting guests with questions and complaints.
I left the US in March and returned in November. I was paid $2,100 a month (before taxes). We were originally scheduled to depart from Hong Kong, but because of China's COVID restrictions, they moved the cruise ship over to Singapore. From there, we sailed to Malaysia and Thailand.
My contract was originally five and a half months but I ended up extending it to eight months because I wanted to see some parts of Thailand before going back.
For the first few months, we were doing "cruises to nowhere" which is when you just go out to sea for a few days and then come back without stopping at any ports. During those cruises, we worked around eight to nine hours a day. But once the normal cruises began, we worked between nine and 11.5 hours a day depending on staffing levels. On a cruise ship, most crew don't get any days off. It's continuous work, seven days a week.
You have to give up the lifestyle you had back on land
The thing that surprised me most about working on a cruise ship for the first time was the complete change in lifestyle.
When you leave a land-based position to work on a cruise, you lose a lot of your freedom. It's not like you can go out and do whatever you want during your free time and you always have to be ready for work the following day.
The living conditions were also much different than what I was used to. You're in a very small room that you probably share with another person. Plus, in Singapore the COVID restrictions were still very strict so there were different rules about group gatherings, even sitting at the same table. Later in my contract, those became more relaxed.
For me, not having any days off was the most difficult part. I worked every single day for eight months. Working long hours back to back like that really drains you.
In the US, workers are protected by labor laws and regulations that don't apply to foreign-flagged cruise ships. Under maritime law, the maximum amount of time crew members are allowed to work is supposed to be 14 hours. I couldn't go on break until I worked six hours and 30 minutes. Back in Miami, that's like a full shift.
The only time you could get a day off is if you had a medical issue. I had a cavity that was really painful so I had to get off the ship in Singapore to get it checked out. They ended up ripping my tooth out which was one of the most traumatic things I've ever gone through. When I got back onboard, they gave me one day off.
But the pay had to be the most shocking part. Myself making $2,100 a month is pretty bad as a US citizen, but there were other people there working in different departments that made almost nothing, like around $700 a month. That breaks down to less than $2 an hour.
A lot of crew members were paid wages that I would consider unlivable. And given that many of them came from nations who's national currency was worth less than the US dollar, I felt that the company had a lot of control over crew members and really paid them the bare minimum.
I was the most sleep-deprived I've ever been in my life
You have to choose between enjoying yourself after your shift or catching up on sleep. Even if you do have time to sleep, there are so many factors that could impede you from having a good night's rest.
There's your roommate, noise in the hallways, machinery moving about, emergency calls, and crew announcements that blast over the speakers into your room. You also have to attend maritime drills early in the morning after the guests have left the ship.
I think I was the most deprived I've ever been in my life while working on the ship. If I got more than six hours, it would be a miracle.
I was one of the only Americans working on the ship. When I first arrived, maybe 90% of the crew was Chinese. Thankfully, I was practicing Mandarin before I even got to the ship, but there was still a big language barrier.
At times, it was hard to find friends who shared similar interests as me. I'm gay, and some cultures aren't as accepting of that. I definitely did get pretty lonely at times, especially during the first few months.
But most people were friendly and outgoing and I really enjoyed meeting new people from all over the world. Even coming from Miami which is super diverse, I was exposed to nationalities I had never met in my life before.
I'm relieved to be back in a stable, 9-to-5 job with weekends off
Now I'm back in Miami working in hotel event management. I'm just relieved to come back to a job where it's Monday through Friday, a stable schedule without sudden changes or surprises.
I don't think I'll ever work on a cruise ship again. I expected to work long hours but I anticipated having more free time to get off the ship and explore different ports. My cruise was particularly bad because of Asia's COVID restrictions but a lot of my time was spent on board rather than outside.
My advice for people who are interested in cruise ship jobs is to first establish which department you want to work in — beyond guest services, there's the restaurant, the casino, finance, and entertainment to name a few.
If someone from the US were to work on a cruise ship, they would have to expect a decrease in salary. Especially if you're working a position that isn't in entertainment, or a top managerial or bridge position. Figure out your finances and what your plan is going to be going forward. And then brace for the fact that your life is going to completely change and you'll have to adapt to a completely new set of rules and regulations.
Personally, I would say it probably wasn't worth it. Maybe if I would have done it at a different time, my experience would be different. But right now I just see it as if I have missed out on a lot — there's so much more in Asia I wanted to explore.
Do you work on a cruise ship? Have a story or tip to share? Email this reporter from a non-work address at htowey@insider.com