As with many jobs in the hospitality industry, cruise ship workers depend largely on tips to maximize their paychecks. They are just as entitled to tips as anyone working in a bar, restaurant, or even a hotel. Most cruise lines even have a mandatory gratuity, which is automatically added to a customer’s bill and then split fairly among employees.
And since there are little to no living expenses when you’re on board, you can save that money very easily! In that respect, working on a cruise is pretty sweet and you can make a pretty sweet living while travelling the world.
Hiring Americans Is Not Common Practice
A lot of the time, cruise lines try to avoid hiring Americans. But, why? Well, Americans are spoiled in the sense that we are used to 40-hour workweeks, which is not the case with much of the rest of the world. Americans are also used to working the standard Monday through Friday schedule and taking their weekends off.
Hours can very much exceed 40 hours on a cruise ship, and you can forget about taking an entire weekend off. Most of the time, you would be lucky to get a single day off for your entire contract. And therefore, most people who hired on cruise ships are not American.
Cruise Ships Wreak Havoc on the Environment
We know the last thing anyone wants to think about when they are packing up to go on a tropical cruise vacation is their decision’s effect on the environment. But cruise ships can do some serious damage, as far as air pollution is concerned. And the devil is in the details.
One cruise ship alone can produce an equal amount of air pollution in a single day to one million cars! Even though cruise companies are fully aware of the damage the ships do to the air, they have not done much to address the problems they cause and to control the pollution.
Your Opinion Matters…if You’re a Passenger
Most people who have been on a cruise are fully aware of the existence of comment cards. If you’ve cruised as a passenger, you may think they’re just a technicality, and you probably care very little about them. But as a crew member, those comment cards can actually have a serious impact on your life aboard the ship.
Reviews on comment cards are taken so seriously that they can influence an employee’s paycheck. Positive feedback can lead to bonuses and raises, while negative feedback can ultimately lead to an employee’s termination if they’re bad enough. Yikes! We will make sure to leave positive reviews for great service on cruise ships!
Dodging the Illusive Rogue Wave
Potential threats from pirates and humans aren't the only thing that cruise ships need to keep an eye on while out on the treacherous waters. The water itself can be dangerous. Rogue waves are waves that seem to come literally out of nowhere, quickly and with fury.
Rogue waves are the stuff pirate nightmares are made of. These waves can also be known as “freak” or “monster” waves, because of how insanely large and random they are. Rogue waves have been known to tear even the largest of ships apart. So cruise ships need to be super vigilant when these kinds of waves come out nowhere.