“What if the glamorous world of cruise ships – with all-you-can-eat buffets, Broadway productions, and turquoise vistas – isn’t quite as relaxed as it seems? Behind the shining decks and smiling faces is a reality that few get to see, where the needs of the luxury tourism industry put a lot of pressure on those behind the operation of this endeavor.”
The cruise lines have learned to sell a dream, and yet the staff who are there to make those dreams a reality are working in conditions that push their physical and mental limits to the extreme. Extreme working hours to toxic environmental issues, the untold story of cruising is one of resilience and sacrifice. “The Listicles on CrewLife” series casts a spotlight on nine telling aspects of crew lifestyle and industry traditions, giving a complex rendering of what goes into maintaining the façade of effortless lounging at sea.
1. Exhausting Hours: No True Rest
Workers usually put in 12 to 14 hours per day, seven days a week, for eight months at a time. When out of commission, there is always work that has to be done, such as drills and inspection. Workers have very little time to rest. Sources from previous employees report that fatigue is always present, and their sleeping time averages five or six hours per day. The International Labour Organization recommends not more than 14 hours per day or 72 hours per week, but many workers have been found to work beyond that.
2. Cozy Cabins Below Decks
Crew housing is light-years away from what passengers enjoy. Crew cabins can be no bigger than 90 feet, housing from two to four, often without any windows, just low ceilings. There is even little storage space, and any engine noise is sure to be above 70 decibels. While officers have bigger rooms, portholes, and regular housekeeping, all crewmembers are responsible for their own facilities, settling for the inevitable sense of claustrophobia found below sea level.
3. Surveillance & Strict Rules
Today’s ships operate with thousands of CCTV cameras to monitor workers in working and communal spaces. Policies regarding curfews, access to passenger areas, and alcohol consumption – usually no more than a daily total of two drinks – can be enforced with workers being dismissed on the spot and required to finance return trips home upon any misconduct. Situations such as a search of a Jamaican crewman’s cabin by US Customs officials based upon an incorrectly construed demand for milk illustrate a minor incident escalated by an observant management.
4. Limited Medical Support at Sea
Medical facilities on board the ships address all minor ailments but lack the capacity to respond to serious emergency care. They have one doctor and a handful of nurses serving thousands of crew members and must turn to expensive helicopter evacuations, sometimes over $20,000, to deliver critical patient care. Their personnel work despite ill health to keep their incomes from dwindling, a strategy that can often worsen their health condition, an experience the pandemic magnified.
5. Pressure to Maintain Guest Satisfaction
With thousands of passengers on board, employee performance has a direct correlation to reviews from these passengers. A bad review can influence their contract renewals or affect their tips, which could comprise up to half of their total income. Workers are also expected to exhibit perpetual cleanliness and friendliness, even towards the end of long and tiring hours of service. A hostess employee reported that she was asked to smile when she just came from crying from their seasickness.
6. Isolation from Home
Six- to nine-month contracts mean that there are long periods of separation from families. The use of the internet is slow and pricey – going for $5 to $10 an hour – and the speed is below 2 Mbps. The time difference does not make communication any easier. Friendships are easily established in the short time of sailing together, but just as easily dissolved through crew turnarounds. The pandemic made all of these worse as stayovers were prolonged and shore leaves denied.
7. Inequalities of Compensation and Contract Ambigu
“Housekeeping” positions start at around $600 per month, and specialized “officers” get well over $4,000 a month. Remuneration is often in relation to country of origin rather than to position, causing tension in multiracial crews. Contracts are only temporary and renewable with customer satisfaction and “reputations” earned at sea in consideration.
8. Environmental Impact Behind the Glamour
Large cruise ships can consume above 200 tons of fuel per day and result in the generation of up to 15-20 tons of trash. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, a ship with a capacity of 3,000 people produces an estimated 176,400 gallons of sewage each week. Even with the presence of sewage treatment facilities, the presence of toxic chemicals such as heavy metals and non-biodegradable chemicals persists. In the year 2022, the cruise ships in the European region produced over one billion cars’ worth of sulfur emissions.
9. Pandemic’s Toll on Mental Health
The pandemic has highlighted existing sources of stress experienced by seafarers. Crew change problems left some seafarers marooned on the vessel outside the terms of their contract, with no clear indication of when they might be able to get back to their homes. Research has reported increased levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms, lately aggravated by the lack of shore leave, financial worries, and concerns about COVID-19 exposure. Helplines to the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network experienced triple the normal calls at the start of 2020.
Enhanced respect and understanding, along with autonomy, are currently recommended to prepare seafarers to withstand future challenging circumstances. Cruise ships remain a testament to the power of engineering and the center of international tourism. However, a function of a successfully running cruise ship is that its crew has to work through a set of challenges that remain unseen by the common man. It is imperative to understand this unseen reality to be able to grasp the human and environmental efficiencies that go into making this reality. This begins with recognizing that the costs of making this reality can be high.”
