Whether you are applying for a job on land or at sea, you’re probably thinking about how much your new employer might pay you – not what you might have to shell out as part of your role.
Even crew members, who arguably live more budget friendly lifestyles as their contracts come with meals and rent-free housing, still have to pay for certain amenities.
As the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival employs tens of thousands of people from around the world to operate its 27 Fun Ships. So, what do these crew members spend onboard?
One Carnival employee – a 29-year-old vocalist named Lizzie, who has performed onboard Carnival Liberty, Carnival Vista, and Carnival Valor – offered an inside look at her budget as a crew member.
She assessed what she spent on an 8-night voyage both to improve her own budgeting skills and to lift the curtain for her followers at home – and posted her findings on her YouTube channel (@Lizzie HJ – Curvy Girl Cruising).
“Every single year, I try and get better with budgeting…but I’ve never actually kind of sat down and seen how much I spent in a week whilst onboard,” Lizza said.
The cruise in which she tracked her spending was one where she was “port-manning,” which means she could not get off the ship to explore any of the destinations on the itinerary because she was on call to handle any potential emergencies.
Even as a performer, Lizzie is still required to partake in crew safety drills and be prepared to spring into action should the need ever arise.
If she had gone ashore, anything she bought in port – such as snacks or souvenirs – would have been an additional expense.
While Lizzie’s port expenditures weren’t included, her biggest expense on the ship is at the coffee shop – although, thankfully, she does get a crew discount.
“The biggest place I spend my money, I already can tell you wholeheartedly, is the coffee shop…it can range between $3 to $5 every time,” the British crew member confessed.
She also tips the crew members who man the coffee shop, but didn’t include that in her tally.
Similar to guests, crew members also have to pay if they need to use the internet – although their Wi-Fi usually comes at a much lower cost than the packages offered to guests.
Although she sometimes splurges, Lizzie usually selects the social media plan, which costs $26 for a week.
Alternatively, she (and the other crew members) are provided with a free WhatsApp plan that can be used without an internet package and allows employees to message with their loved ones at home.
Much of the food onboard is also free to Lizzie – but specialty restaurants and drinks from the crew bar do come at an additional charge. She did treat herself to dinner one night at JiJi’s Asian Kitchen, which cost her $24.
How Cost Effective is Life at Sea?
In the end, Lizzie calculated her grand total for just about a week onboard as $127.70 before added gratuities.
I can certainly spend that in a mere day or two living in the heart of Los Angeles, California, so I was quite impressed.
Lizzie, however, still saw room to improve and set a goal for keeping her weekly costs to under $100.
“When you break that down, that is including a nice three course meal with all the extras, it’s including a party, it’s including daily caffeination, it’s including my internet bill,” Lizzie summarized.
“It includes a lot of stuff so I’ve very grateful in the sense that it is that much money. But would I have preferred it to be under $100? Absolutely. So there’s some little tweaks that I need to do,” the YouTuber continued.
Read Also: What Working on a Cruise Ship is Really Like
But even if Lizzie wasn’t completely satisfied with her budget, her 1.64K subscribers agreed that her money goes a lot further at sea than when she is home in the UK – especially without needing to pay rent or a mortgage.
“Very interesting, crew can save so much compared to us on land. Definitely a perk you have living onboard,” one person wrote in the comments section of her video.
Depending on the country the crew members come from, the money they earn from the cruise line may be significantly better than what they would make if they pursued a career at home – which offsets their expenditures onboard.
Celebrity Cruises’ Captain Kate McCue, for example, once made headlines for interviewing a crew member about what he could do with a $5 tip back home in India.
While this might not seem like a lot of money in the US or UK, the crew member said he could likely purchase two shirts, three cases of potatoes, or two cases of sugar with that amount.
That said, the amount cruise ship workers are paid varies based on their experience, rank, and job title.
