The standard contract for a crew member like a cleaner or dishwasher requires a mandatory 308 hours per month — 11 hours a day, 7 days a week, for as long as 8-10 months, with no days off — for the equivalent of $400-700 per month, or $1.62 to $2.27 per hour.
“With no days off”, if that was true I have to wonder just who were those guys and gals leaving the ship from the crews gangway? I have often seen crew members acting as tourist while in port.
Personally I would not want to be a crew member on a ship but if I had no other prospect and I qualified I would take the job.
They get time off during the day....they do shifts...they do NOT work 11 hours a day.
There are NO GRUMPY PEOPLE on CRUISE SHIPS except some OBNOXIOUS passengers! The crew is always happy......we have been 0n 89 cruises, and know many of the crews on Celebrity and Crystal River Cruises and we have NEVER run into a grumpy one!
Also they presumably get room and board the whole time which is certainly a factor
Could also add that’s $1.62 to $2.27 with free room and board. Not an expert so I won’t dispute the 8-10 months, but in my experience most crew talk about 3 month contracts, with a month or two off between contracts. And by implication he’s comparing cruise ship contracts with US wages. US based employees, port employees, and US suppliers are governed by US law. I suspect for the 3 major lines he’s addressing the overwhelming number of passenger port days are non US. Other than Alaska and a few New England cruises, most cruises and thus their crew spend either zero time in the US, or largely embarkation and debarkation day. Most of their time is in areas where average wages are quite different from the US. As to no time off, you’re right, they get time off, though that might be dependent on the position. All in all a poor comparison. Crew wages, as opposed to officers, should be compared to the alternatives at home, most frequently Central and South America, Asia and Eastern Europe.