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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
I worked on cruise ships. Here's the rookie mistake that could ruin your trip
Excursions to palm-fringed beaches and spellbinding coastal cities are part of what makes a cruise so special. But a former cruise-ship worker has urged first-timers to avoid a mistake that could lead to them being stuck onboard while others disembark to explore. Alley Kerr, who has worked on more than 100 cruises as a singer and dancer, declares that the No.1 blunder by cruising rookies is to leave booking shore excursions until they board on the first day. Twenty-eight-year-old Alley, whose bright, breezy and insightful videos have earned her 303,000 subscribers for her Wanderlust Alley YouTube channel, explains over a Zoom chat with The Independent: "On embarkation day, it is absolutely insane. That's the day that everybody is trying to book their shore excursions, trying to get their internet sorted, trying to book restaurants and any extra add-ons. "So, if you can avoid waiting for embarkation day and get it done in advance, your life is going to be so much easier." Alley, from southern California, stresses that many activities have limited spaces. She adds: "People who have never cruised before often get on the ship and then suddenly at the end of the day, they're like, 'Oh, everything's sold out.' "I feel that this is one of the worst things that could happen, because you've missed out. There's limited availability for a lot of things." Alley's cruise ship career was cut short by a back injury. But one thing she doesn't miss is the food. She reveals: "Sometimes you just get slop — not great quality food. Which can be quite difficult. "On some of the more luxurious ships, the crew members eat better. "But the quality of the vegetables is not great. For example, you get the runt of the melon and you're like, 'Does it really make me want to eat fruit? Not really.' "So, everything gets a bit meh and repetitive. But even when there is some good food, the energy of the mess is not super exciting. People don't look forward to it." Alley certainly enjoyed her pay packet, though, and the fact that "there's nothing you actually have to pay for", except logging on. She reveals: "You don't have to pay for rent, your food is free, you have free health insurance. You don't have to pay for anything, really, except internet stuff." The lowest earners make around $500 a month, but performers like Alley would start on around $2,000, and could earn a lot more. Alley remarks: "It depends on whether you're a specialty act or a lead, or how long you've been in the company — you get little bumps over time — but I know some people who made over $10,000 a month. "I think most dancers got hired at around $2,500 per month and most singers somewhere from $3,000 to $3,500. And then in musicals, that bump goes up. "On my first ship, I was a dancer, and then a dancer/vocalist on my second. So, my pay got bumped up to $3,500 from $2,900. "I then became a manager and dance captain and I was in an aerial show. You get paid extra for the different roles. "So, I ended up getting all these extra things tacked on top of my salary and making around $6,000 a month. That's a lot."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Cruise ship worker explains shocking protocol put in place if you get fired whilst working onboard
Being fired from your job is unpleasant – but what happens if you're dismissed while floating in the middle of the ocean? Those unlucky enough to be sacked from a job on a cruise ship face that reality. And now a professional dancer who worked for one of the world's biggest cruise operators has shared what really happens if you're let go while onboard. Alley Kerr used to perform on Liberty of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's 3,600-capacity vessel. She's now a content creator who documents her insights into the cruise world – as well as her travel adventures – online. And she describes what happens when you're sacked at sea as 'weird'. 'Obviously they can't just get rid of you right away', she said in a video uploaded to YouTube. 'They will usually wait until the next turnaround day where they can have you disembark' 'But until then, any time someone is on the verge of being fired or [has been] fired, they usually have security outside your room to watch you. 'Yeah, it's weird.' Last year, a cruise worker explained the one way on board staff can quickly find themselves without a job. The one situation that catches people out is the random breathalyser tests the morning after a big night out, reports Lad Bible. 'What gets people is the random alcohol tests every month at 10am where people are still drunk from the night before,' a ship employee wrote on Reddit. 'Drinking is a huge part of ship life because of how cheap alcohol is in crew bar. It's like $1.50 per drink.' In her previous videos, Alley discussed how much her colleagues would get paid while working on ships. And shockingly, she claimed some of her colleagues would make a loss at times, especially during the rehearsal periods on land. She said: 'I find that during this time, for a lot of dancers especially, it's a net loss. 'There are ways to budget and everything but grocery stores are not close by, everything is really far away, and then even though you're getting housed it has nothing in it so you end up spending quite a bit on services like food, Ubers, and cleaning supplies.' The influencer also explained the other ways to make additional money while sailing.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
I worked on over 100 cruises... here's the reality — from the surprising pay to the best and worst parts of the job
"There are so many things I really loved about it… but then there's the slop." Travel YouTuber Alley Kerr is telling The Independent about the ups and downs of life working on a cruise ship. The 28-year-old, whose bright, breezy and insightful videos have earned her 299,000 subscribers for her Wanderlust Alley YouTube channel, reveals over a Zoom chat that she worked on more than 100 cruises as a singer and dancer. And she thoroughly enjoyed life at sea, from visiting an "unreal" number of countries to the pay, which was "a lot". But she doesn't miss the food. Alley, from Southern California, recalls: "Sometimes you just get slop — not great quality food. Which can be quite difficult. "On some of the more luxurious ships, the crew members eat better. "But the quality of the vegetables is not great. For example, you get the runt of the melon and you're like, 'Does it really make me want to eat fruit? Not really.' "So, everything gets a bit meh and repetitive. But even when there is some good food, the energy of the mess is not super exciting. People don't look forward to it." The other reality check for cruise-ship workers, notes Alley, is the fact that the dazzling amenities on the vessel can't necessarily be enjoyed. She explains: "Amenities are off-limits for workers. Especially performers. "Sometimes they would do things like midnight surf simulator or midnight laser tag, or something like that, where crew members could have an event for themselves. "But as performers, you can't participate in those for safety reasons. For instance, you could get hurt, and then that would impact your job. "So, the fun stuff that's associated with cruising is often out of bounds for workers." Another challenge for Alley was continually "putting on a show", even when she wasn't working. And facing up to the fact that because "performers get more privileges", other crew members would try to "get them in trouble". She reveals: "Every other crew member is always looking for a way to get performers in trouble." She says that a common ploy was to tell on a performer not wearing their name tag, which was mandatory whether they were working or not. Alley continues: "I was a manager as well. So, if someone in my team wasn't wearing their name tag, then I was the first one to hear about it. And I had to be like, 'Who wasn't wearing their name tag? We got a call.' It's never a fun thing to hear, but it's part of the territory. "So it felt very much like below deck is normal life, and above deck you have to put on a show, because if you have a name tag on, people are looking at you. "Even if you're not directly working at that time, like if you're just going out to dinner or you're just going for a walk around the promenade, you still need to have your name tag. I felt like my shoulders were always back a little bit more. You still felt like you were representing the company. It didn't feel like I could just enjoy the ship." Alley certainly enjoyed her pay packet, though, and the fact that "there's nothing you actually have to pay for", except logging on. She reveals: "You don't have to pay for rent, your food is free, you have free health insurance. You don't have to pay for anything, really, except internet stuff." The lowest earners make around $500 a month, but performers like Alley would start on around $2,000, and could earn a lot more. Alley remarks: "It depends on whether you're a specialty act or a lead, or how long you've been in the company — you get little bumps over time — but I know some people who made over $10,000 a month. "I think most dancers got hired at around $2,500 per month and most singers somewhere from $3,000 to $3,500. And then in musicals, that bump goes up. "On my first ship, I was a dancer, and then a dancer/vocalist on my second. So, my pay got bumped up to $3,500 from $2,900. "I then became a manager and dance captain and I was in an aerial show. You get paid extra for the different roles. "So, I ended up getting all these extra things tacked on top of my salary and making around $6,000 a month. That's a lot." Alley describes visiting 82 countries during her time working on cruise ships as "crazy" and easily one of the other major plus points. She adds: "It feels unreal to have visited that many countries. "But if you've worked on a ship in the Mediterranean, and then you relocated to Australia and that part of the world, and then you're in Asia, and then you're here and there, you do end up ticking so many locations off the list. "And even though it's not a deep dive into every single country, each one has so much to offer "I feel very fortunate to have gone back to the same place multiple times. "I went to Rome once a week, every other week, at one point." Alley left cruise ship work behind after sustaining an injury, but admits she would consider a "very short contract". She says: "If that lined up in my life, maybe I would consider it. There were so many things I loved about it. But then also… there's the slop."
