What's it like to work on a cruise ship?

There's a reason you see mostly foreigners working on a cruise ships; few Americans would agree to the working conditions. I don't low a lot of the details, but I know they work for several months at a time, then get a month or so off. During a regular working period, they don't get days off, they get hours off. Their shore time is limited and you never see them on excursions. It isn't really traveling if you can't get off the ship. All of the cruise line web sites have employment information. There are some areas where you will see Americans, Canadians and Brits working, such as child care, and some professional areas. Those individuals generally have degrees and a minimum of 2 years experience. If you have a marketable soil, such as massage therapy, or something like that, you can enter into contracts for specific periods of time, in which case you get to experience it more similarly to a passenger than crew. Many of the people are from countries with really bad economies, so while they have to work their butts off for minimal pay, they are better off than what their home countries have to offer.

It is Work and the shifts are continuous in some areas where sleeping or resting may only be a few hours between the day's schedule. Shore leave may or may not occur and usually only for an hour or 2. Only the passengers have the luxury of cruising. It is not the "Love Boat" - just a job where you live and work for the duration of your contract. And then wherever the ship happens to be at the end of your contract, you are dropped off to somehow find your own way home. Not plush nor pampered working conditions.