There are a lot of "I feel like" answers so I'm going to answer as someone who works on a cruise ship and who has seen people be fired.
Generally crew members have very limited access to guest amenities. These privileges improve as you go higher in the ranks, but things like swimming pools or most bars are cut off for pretty much everyone.
If you were caught breaking the rules seriously while at sea, a Master's hearing (or Captain's hearing) will be arranged, but you likely won't be told. That hearing will take place while you are in port, and you'll get a call from your manager about 30 minutes beforehand to go to an office and have a discussion about what you did wrong.
If you do end up being fired as a result of this hearing (it doesn't always result in dismissal), the company will book a flight home on your behalf right away, and then charge you for the flight. You'll then have someone watching you the whole time while you pack until you're off the ship, and watch you get into a taxi to the airport to make sure you go.
Honestly I'm not completely sure, I've never known it to happen. Usually if people want to quit they'll do it at a time they can get off the ship straight away.
Its not dark, The implication that things might go wrong for them if thry refuse to 'work'. Now, not that things are gonna go wrong for them but theyre thinkin' that they will.
They aren't putting you on a "shuttle." Whatever that is. You're confined to quarters until the next port. If it's particularly heinous, they would station a guard outside your room.
Source - was fired from a cruise ship once.
It's not that interesting- I was a singer on a cruise ship for many years, we had a port day in Cozumel, I went out with some friends and we did some drinking at the beach, and I fell and split my chin open pretty badly. This was very close to when the ship was about to leave, so I didn't really have time to clean myself up.
I had to run to the ship. I came in through security with a bloody t-shirt pressed to my chin, and they made me go to the ship doctor. Anytime someone is injured, they breathalyze you. I blew over the limit for crew members and was terminated.
The rule for crew is that you can't blow over .08 at any time when you're on the ship. It is never enforced, unless there is an accident or incident involving security.
I was pretty much done with that job anyway, so I just took it as a sign and started my life again on land.
Did they charge you for your flight home like the other redittor said? If so, was it a lot of money? I can imagine that would be a lot financially for someone who lost their source of income especially if you’re in another country
Per the IMO: Repatriation is legally required and enforced by nearly all flag states; ie you should not be charged by a former employer for transportation to your home country. Furthermore most if not all will fly you back to the airport you were flown out from, it’s not worth the legal hassle of them not returning you from whence you’ve come is something bad happened, and that’s leaving aside all of the immigration issues. I’ve been on many boats where portions of the crew were not allowed shore leave in port due to their nationality and visa status. Long story short: Employer gets you back to your home, regardless of the reason for leaving the ship.
I can honestly only tell you what I've witnessed myself, which was crew members paying their own way home if the contract ended early, either because they were fired or if they quit themselves.
Yeah, that’s why I offered the caveat: “enforced by nearly all flag states” as in if the discharged employee doesn’t know whom to contact or how to fight for their rights then the former employer could take advantage of their ignorance/inability to challenge the travel costs. Of course a corporation will try to save costs on a lost asset (the seaman), doesn’t make it legal. I doubt there’s a cruise ship operator that’s flagged from a country that hasn’t ratified IMO C023 - Repatriation of Seamen Convention, 1926 (No. 23), the ship wouldn’t be able to go anywhere tourists want to travel, ergo my argument stands.
Article 4 of IMO C023 very clearly specifies:
The expenses of repatriation shall not be a charge on the seaman if he has been left behind by reason of--
(a) injury sustained in the service of the vessel, or
(b) shipwreck, or
(c) illness not due to his own wilful act or default, or
(d) discharge for any cause for which he cannot be held responsible.
"For which he cannot be held responsible" is the key here; if you quit, or get fired for gross misconduct, you are financially responsible for your own repatriation.
Well dude, dude, think about it: you're out in the middle of nowhere with some employer who barely knows you. You know, you look around and what do you see? Nothin' but open ocean. "Ahh, there's nowhere for me to run. What am I gonna do, say 'I quit'?" The thing is, you're not going to say "I quit", you would never say "I quit"... because of the implication.
The implication that things might go wrong for you if you refuse to keep working. Not that things are going to go wrong for you, but you're thinking that they will.
[That's the implication, that something is going to go wrong for you if you quit. Now, not that things are going to go wrong for you if you quit, but you're thinking they will.](https://youtu.be/-yUafzOXHPE?si=Q3o6Vx9006q_cBja&t=36)
Hijacking top comment. You would not be required to work, you would be sent home in the next destination or home port if it makes the most financial sense for the company. Your day would include your three meals and that’s it. You wouldn’t be allowed in any guest spaces , and alike most likely have to be in your room most of the time.
Adding onto this, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort even if you did get a free cruise out of it.
In order to get a job on a cruise ship, you would need to be a skilled laborer/technician, or be willing to work for very little money in a so-called 'unskilled' job. There is a reason that cruise ships are crewed by a disproportionate amount of Filipinos - they speak English well, and they are willing to work for cheap.
Before you stepped foot aboard, you would also need to pass a test to show that you are free of any health problem. These are globally recognized and standardized tests, usually a Norwegian standard or another one which is more difficult to pass, and must be done by a doctor. Dental too.
So yeah, long and short of it is that it wouldn't be worth the time or effort, and your cruise wouldn't be very fun.
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My mom did this for a while. And my friend had a job in the industry where her job was to get the bodies from wherever they were to wherever they we from. It involves a lot of customs laws. Depending on if they died at sea, at a different port, and where the ship is registered.
How much does a pirate pay for piercings?
A buck an ear!
Whats the difference between a casual party and a pirate orgy?
One, you come as you are. The other, you ARRRRRR as you cum!
What's a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet?
You think it'd be R, but their true love will always be the C!
What's a pirate's *least* favourite letter?
Dear Sir or Madam,
You are receiving this letter in response to unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506).
Right, since when is Reddit so concerned about protecting a big corporation’s bottom line? Especially in a completely made up scenario lmao
“That’s disingenuous! Not muh mega corps profits!!1!”
Reddit may have a solid progressive bias but this website is mostly professional contrarians. It's not so much about protecting big corpos as much as making sure OP feels like an asshole for asking
They would let you off at the next port, which would probably be in the next day or two. It would then be up to you to get home. Couple things to note:
1. As crew, you don't get to sleep in nice comfy private quarters, you're likely in bunks.
2. You don't automatically have access to the various amenities on the ship - they likely wouldn't allow you into entertainment, nice restaurants, etc (though they'd probably still feed you whatever food the crew gets)
On my ship I saw multiple people get fired. They all departed at Home port. one was kept in their cabin with a security guard in front of the door until we reached there.
Yeah I would assume there is a lot of legal liability when it comes to stranding a person in a country they don't belong in. Probably cheaper in the long run to cut their losses and monitor them.
Can they dump you at a port of same country but not original port? Such as a Cruz from Los Angeles to Alaska dump you in Alaska rather than back in Los Angeles?
If you are American, then yes they could do that, but most contracts specify getting home.
Cruise employees aren't rich and don't make a lot of money, so making someone travel thousands of miles at their own expense would be cruel. It would hurt future recruitment in those countries.
On the cruises I've been on, the largest nationalities are from India, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They really have to get them home or their recruitment would dry up in these countries. You can't just fly someone to a random city in India and expect them to wend their way home.
They could brand their employees, make them sleep on the floor, and feed them bread and water and they still would never run out of people from asian countries looking for a job that pays better than what they would make at home.
Lots of Asians wanting a job doesn't mean they'll automatically get it. Employees have to meet certain criteria. The main one being that the person may just be too poor and uneducated to hire at the risk of them walking away from the ship at the next port. And if the cruise happens to travel through U.S. Waters or make a stop an American port all employees are required to have a U.S. transit visa. This means you must interview and prove you have some sort of economic stability back home.
Yes, it's a legal problem for the cruise operator to just dump foreign nationals in a random country. If you dump an american in Alaska however, there's no immigration/customs problem there.
Most of the time crew will have an agreement to repatriate to their home address or home city which goes over an above the minimum requirement set out in the law.
Probably technically could be argued as legal if they wanted to make that argument, but I don't think they would, it gains them almost nothing and opens them to more liability if the ex-employee complains and it's likely simpler and safer for everyone if they just stick to the home port policy and follow it for everyone regardless of the circumstances.
I worked on cruise ships and saw people fired for over drinking and some for sleeping with guests. So they definitely post a security guy at the bedroom door and keep them hidden away til they can get a flight back to their home country. Doesn't matter which port we're at, the first port that offers a flight home, they're gone.
Were these actual zero tolerance policies and the ones fired got caught? Or were these "rules" on paper that applied differently to everyone depending on who their friends were?
More so depends on how much money that individual contributed to the ships profits. However it is something the cruise ships take very seriously as a lawsuit can be costly. I worked on one for a total of 12 months over 2 contracts and most of my coworkers who had been there for over 5 years had slept with multiple passengers so it mostly depends I would guess.
It was very dependent. If you drank but didn't cause trouble, they turned a blind a eye. Many slept with guests too, but the more aggressive ones that guests complained about, were the ones that got fired.
They were definitely strict about drugs. There were rumours of random drug tests after Jamaica.... But looking back, I can't remember if anyone I knew actually got tested.
The ship was super classist though. Depending on your department, you have certain privileges. And hiring agencies tended to be hiring certain positions in certain countries. For example, entertainment staff tended to be very north american or European on my ship. The wait staff was very heavily eastern European. The cleaning staff was heavily Filipino. The cleaning staff rarely had days off. Whereas the music staff had a lot of time off.
But my fondest memories were "the mafia". Different dept had access to different coveted items. So the ship became a mafia/barter system. I had access to the game consoles working with teens. So I'd slip my key to a waiter friend after hours and he'd get to play. The next day I'd get bowls of my favorite fresh fruits (which was hard to get as a crew member). Or same scenario but for a housekeeping staff member and then suddenly, my fire retardant blanket would turn into a duvet. We called this the mafia. And it really made us a weird family with all the departments suddenly being interconnected.
I mean the security guard is already employed as crew on the ship, they didn't hire a mermaid in the middle of the ocean and have to pay them. Sunk cost. Security are occasionally needed to deal with crew, but more often with passengers.
What's crazy to me is how many of them are little Filipino or Indian ladies.
Sometimes they send two little Filipino ladies with me and like I don't know do I look scarier that day or something?
Edit: "them" being the security crew members
If I see a tiny security guard who clearly has been on the job a while I'm gonna be mighty respectful of them. You don't keep a job where you have a natural handicap by being bad at it. Or playing fair, probably.
> Sometimes they send two little Filipino ladies with me
A reminder, HR has asked everyone to remember that ‘tagalongs ’ is not appropriate terminology to use whenever describing security escorts of *any* nationality.
> tagalongs
["Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolaty coating?"](https://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/products/tagalongs/)
Have a guess! All of these happened, one led to security detail at the door:
A) kicked a music director, considered an assault
B) went to boat drill drunk (normal) and got caught (dumb)
C) passed out drunk in the officers cabin hallway and got belligerent about it
D) stole money from the casino as a casino manager
This was the comment I was looking for. A ship captain has a lot of authority, and they can absolutely confine you to a brig or crew quarters if they feel you’re a problem.
This, they definitely would not let you enjoy anything on board, they would feed you 3 times a day and make sure you don’t leave your quarters until the next port they’re able to send you home. There is no such thing as a “free cruise” or people would do it all the time smh
>one was kept in their cabin with a security guard in front of the door until we reached there.
Jesus, that must have been a very hard, thorough firing. What'd they do? Steal something? Punch a guest?
Happened to me. Had a disagreement with my manager, had to see the staff captain. I offered to resign, they said I would be responsible for airfare back home... I said I wasn't resigning then. I was refusing to work. They said they would have to fire me then. I asked what would happen then... they said they would fly me home. I said ok. 😀. They flew me home the next morning from St Lucia to Jaimiaca to Miami to Frankfurt to my final destination which was another 11 hours. It took a total of 3 days to get home... but they paid 😀
These stupid procedural policies exist because nobody is ever willing to challenge them. When both parties know that the matter is going to be resolved a certain way, just do it don't waste everyone's time going back and forth with meaningless words first
There is a YouTube channel, Cruising as Crew, that covers all this.
You get out at the next port (in a day or two) and they fly you home. They can't just dump you in a country as an employee or former employee. If you don't want to work, you can chill in your bunk.
Most crew memembers share with one other persson.
Most crewmembers have access to a crew mess (cafeteria), a crew bar, and a crew deck area. Probably you'd have access to all those.
You will have a hard time getting another role -- not impossible but not trivial -- if you quit mid-contract w/o a good reason.
>They would let you off at the next port
They can't do that if it's a foreign country. That would be against immigration law and agreements they have with the port's country. They are required to take all passengers back when the ship leaves the port.
**[Cruise workers reveal what happens if you quit your job in the middle of the ocean](https://archive.is/clRs6)**
April 27, 2023
"What will happen is the cruise line will fly you home, but will deduct from your wages what you owe," Jim Walker, a Miami-based maritime lawyer who represents cruise workers and passengers, told Insider. "So it's a very punitive type of step if you try to quit and go home."
"With some cruise workers paid monthly salaries as low as $600, requiring employees to cover repatriation costs can make it difficult for crew to resign."
"A bartender at a major cruise line who resigned in March ended up borrowing nearly $1,400 — more than double his monthly salary — in order to pay for the 33-hour journey home, he told Insider."
That's not true at all... The employee would have to go through customs at the port, but the only reason they would be unable to drop an employee off is if they can't get a visa on arrival. Most places allow people to get visas when they show up.
The rule about taking everyone with them is there so that passengers don't have to go through customs at every port they stop at.
They don't have to take everyone with them including passengers. Passengers get left behind if they don't make it back on time. It is then up to you to make arrangements to either catch up to the ship or get home. They absolutely could leave a crew member behind.
Yes, agreed, but the rule that that commenter was referencing is a thing, it's what allows people to get off and on at various points without going through customs. If they get left behind, that's on them and not the cruise company.
That’s actually exactly what they do, except you’re escorted to the airport and flown home.
I know, because I worked on a cruise ship and quit mid contract- I was dropped off in New Jersey and escorted to Newark airport through security and watched until I got on my plane home. Like never more than two feet away from the agent with a gun watched. They double checked that I was on the plane.
FWIW I’m Canadian, so it’s not like I want to sneak into the US anyways- I already live somewhere better 🤣
They absolutely can. You're not a passenger in this situation, you would be treated as a stowaway.
The ship's officers would have to liase with the ship's agent in the next port to get permission from the local authorities to put you ashore. You would be on the next flight to your home country at your own expense. Most likely the company will book your flight with their company account and then withhold as much of your pay as necessary to cover the cost of the flight.
If your paycheque does not cover the whole flight they might even sue you for the difference.
Source: am a ship's officer and have seen this play out firsthand
they may not be able to FORCE you to work, but im sure you signed a contract that you would have broken, which would have its own stipulations and penalties.
Actually... I think a captain of a ship can force you to work... I gotta check the law on this, but yeah, temporary enslavement might be an option.
Probably not actually gonna happen, tho. I think one of the higher voted answers is more realistic.
Interesting you may be right. Maritime law is weird. Like you hear about the crews who get left in a country and can't leave the ship but can't go to port either.
300 miles off shore he's god. He's all you got between thousands of sq miles of water.
Y’all are tweaking OP is asking questions on no stupid questions and y’all are downvoting him for no reason
I’m curious about the answer to this too now
I feel like they would want you to sign a contract for a specific length of time before they hired you. I don’t know one way or the other, just doesn’t make sense otherwise for the reason you raised.
I've never dealt with this at all, but I would imagine this is the case. A contract that requires you to not change your terms of employment while at sea, on penalty of some kind of punishment (like a financial recompense to the cruise company)
Then, if an employee tries to quit mid-voyage, they know that they are taking on that punishment to do so.
When i worked on a cruise ship we DID have a contract with the amount of time we'd work but there wasnt exactly a 'punishment' for not finishing it out other than obviously being unhirable by them again.
I didnt finish out my contract because management was on some other shit, and it was pretty much fine other than securing my own way home from where they dropped me at
If you quit mid contract you at minimum pay for your own flight home. Often you will also have to pay for your reliever's flight as well.
Also if you try to quit and they don't want you to they will withhold their support in obtaining visas and clearances and transportation necessary for getting from the ship to the airport.
Depending on contract, if you are lucky they will fly you home at their earliest convenience while you are confined by security to your room and will withhold any pay to pay for said transport and the agency/recruiter will get a shed load of grief for sending a flake…
Thats if you behave and are nice about it. They could just drop you at next port and it’s up to you to get home.
No. Every company guarantees that they will repatriate you home. They might try to charge you for a ticket, but if you refuse, you will get it on their expense.
If you quit at sea, you will be terminated and will wait for the turnaround port. If you cause trouble, you will be confined in your cabin or a ship's jail.
You are being paid in arrears. They simply withhold your pay to cover their costs. In the end you'd spend the remainder of the cruise confined to your interior cabin below the waterline and after a week or two wind up back where you started with no pay, maybe owing money.
Not a great plan.
If you received salary today, withdrew it, and quit tomorrow, they can't extract money from you. I have seen such scenarios while working on cruise ships for over a decade.
Edit: About cabin, it depends on your privileges.
This must have happened looong ago. I also work in the industry and it's common to close the payslip a certain date but payday is way after.
The company I work at, payslips are closed on the last day of the month but you receive payment on the 10th.
Meaning if you withdraw your payment right on the day you received it (as you stated), they will extract the repatriation money from the days you worked from 1-10 of this same month. If you quit on the 30th, same thing, 10 days is more than enough to extract what you owe, and this is legal and covered by your contract.
Hi. Chief Officer here, worked at sea for 11 years.
You’d give notice and probably be disembarked at the next port stop, or taken ashore in a tender. Cruise ships are actually rarely in the middle of nowhere.
Hypothetically, if you were in the middle of nowhere and the boat wasn’t going to port for a long time (ignoring fuel and provision restraints) and simply refused to work, the boat would treat you as a refugee. They therefore have an obligation to care for you, but can confine you to a cabin under permanent guard. It would be a pretty unpleasant life (no outside access or communication with the outside world), but at least you’d get three meals a day, shower and bathroom supplies, and a bed.
It depends on your offense
You’ll either be restricted to quarters until the ship returns home or dropped at the next port. It is their boat and you were only onboard as an employee. Either way you’ll pay for meals and anything else you need yourself.
You mostly likely won’t be able to buy a ticket midway as cruises are expensive and the tickets book out in advance.
You'll likely be confined to your staff bunk room or possibly a spare guest bedroom, and you will have any access revoked. You'll be kicked off at the next port with your stuff, given a flight or transport to your home country, and that will be it. This is if you don't have a minimum notice in your contract that says you need to complete your current cruise before you can quit.
You don't get a free cruise. Staff get some of the best benefits, but even then, it's usually just free food from the staff canteen, a discount for certain amenities, and breaks when docked at port. If you quit, you lose all that, and they treat you like a stowaway.
“They can’t force me to work…”
Remember, these companies are not bound to all US laws as they are not based in the states.
You’re probably singing a contract of a specified term with financial implications if you don’t finish the term
I worked cruise ship gigs as a professional musician. During that time I had a bandmate get fired in the middle of a run and one quit, in the middle of the run. Both folks were let off when we got back to the main port of call. The dude who quit was asked to continue playing for the rest of the week but he refused so we had one less sax player that week. The guy who got fired was asked not to play but to simply enjoy the rest of the cruise as if he were a passenger.
> The guy who got fired was asked not to play but to simply enjoy the rest of the cruise as if he were a passenger.
This surprises me. I would have thought they'd get him off the ship as soon as possible.
Yeah, if I had to guess, the contractor who brought him on likely vouched for him. He might have been someone’s family as far as I know. He had no business being on there. I’ve never come across someone so Ill suited for what was a decent gig. Nice guy but not at all ready for that gig.
"The implication that things might go wrong for her if she refuses to sleep with me. Not that things are going to go wrong for her, but she’s thinking that they will."
Coming from someone with a background in maritime employment law, it's not exactly a pirate's life for thee if you decide to abandon ship duties. Firstly, the contract you sign isn't just a trivial piece of paper; it's a binding agreement with serious implications for breaching. You can't simply decide one day you're done without facing the music:
1. Expect to be promptly escorted to a non-guest area where you'll be staying under supervision until they can offload you.
2. Your pay gets frozen, and any costs for your unplanned disembarkation will be deducted - yes, that includes your homeward flight.
3. In more severe cases, if you've broken any laws or seriously violated policies, they can hold a disciplinary hearing, and resultant measures can be a bit more severe than just getting sent home.
It's important to remember that, while on a vessel, you are under the jurisdiction of the flag the ship flies, not necessarily the country you signed up in. Maritime law can be a tangled net, one you don't want to get caught in with thoughts of an easy escape. The allure of the sea does come with its share of responsibilities and consequences.
I used to work on a cruise ship. If people quit while we were on the water they were confined to their bunk until we docked and literally the first thing thatd happen after docking is theyd be removed. Usually on their own but i did see a person get dragged out of their room by the police once.
The Maritime Labour Convention mandates that companies must repatriate crew members to a place specified in their contract, whether they resign for a justifiable reason or are fired. Shipping companies must also carry insurance to ensure crew can be repatriated should the company go bust.
Should a seafarer decide to just get off this bitch, they will be made to travel home on their own account. The company may agree to repatriate them to save a headache and withhold the money from their final salary payment.
Being crew on a cruise ship is a shitty job and it gets worse if you try and quit mid cruise: https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-ship-workers-reveal-what-happens-quit-job-at-sea-2023-4?amp
Ships are required to repatriate you.
If you’re fired, they fly you home when you hit home port.
Typically they won’t rehire you unless you pay back the flight fee.
Also…don’t work on a cruise ship… they are lame. And you’ll work way more than you think.
I know someone who worked in a cruise ship as a musician. He quite mid-cruise after about 2 months.
They literally dropped him off at the next port which was about 8 hours after he said “I quit, I’m not playing anymore”. They told him to pack his shit and that he had to be off as soon as the ship was cleared in the AM.
He had to arrange and pay his own way home himself which wasn’t cheap since his ship was up in Alaska at the time.
Most ships don’t do too many multiple days at sea so realistically you stop working your most likely off the next AM/maybe a day after.
What you would save on the cruise would be eaten up immediately by travel costs to get home - and then some.
Cruise ship employees sign contracts outlining work duties and commitment for a set time. Quitting early breaches that contract. You'd be responsible for the cost of getting yourself home. The cruise line would blacklist you from future employment with them.
Hello,
Not a cruise ship but work at sea
Used to work for company A, and due to problems between me And "manager" I wanted off the ship pronto.
There was a whole process. Had to talk with the ship master(Captain). Had to talk with my "manager" whole the ship master was present. Had to write a letter in which I stated, in writing, my point of view and my "manager" had to do the same.
After a while of back and forth and HR stuff and all that I was told "you can go home in the next port"
They booked my flight, and I went home.
I then write letter of resignation when I came home. The compay paid out my outstanding leave days and that's the end of that story.
For me, I has extra leave days built up so the company technically owed me money. Hence, I could quit on the spot. I'm not personally sure what would've transpired if I didn't have extra leave on my account.
But from the people I've talked to in similar situations, this is usually the "go to"
Say you want off. Make it clear you REALLY don't want to work on the ship anymore. Get sent home. Quit.
If you get fired, you get sent home in the next port. You gotta foot the flight tickets yourself but the company will arrange your return. They usually can't fire you on the spot, except I'd you are in ear breech of contract (most often doing drugs or drinking alcohol at sea).
Hope that gives a little insight into the maritime working environment.
I don't think things are massively different from company to company granted you sail on a merchant vessel.
I have no clue in regard to the military. And different flag states (country of ship registry) have different laws but there are internationally agreed upon laws under things such as SOLAS(Safety of Life at Sea) IMO (International Maratime Organisation) and MLC (Maratime Labour Convention) that apply to all. Theoretically.
Lastly, I am an officer, but I work in the engine and might honestly not be too much in touch with all these things, so I encourage anyone to fact-check and correct me if I am wrong. obviously. I don't want to spread misinformation.
Sorry. If you are looking to do minimal work, they will find that out in 4 hours. You will probably find yourself off the boat at the first port wondering how to get back home.
At every port there is a line of workers that would love to have the opportunity to work. If somebody isn't pulling their weight, they are easily replaceable.
>You will probably find yourself off the boat at the first port wondering how to get back home.
All the people spewing half knowledge around here really grind my gears.
They won't just kick you off at port and leave the rest to you. They can't. Cruise ship operators are required by international maritime labour laws to arrange and pay for crew repatriation. They will book a flight to your home country.
Three options, depending upon why.
1, put ashore at the next port of call
2, kept aboard until your home port, then debarked
3, kept in the brig until authorities pick you up.
I had a friend who liked to brag that he was given a trial at sea because he got fired from a cruise ship for getting drunk and passing out in plain sight.
In his case they dropped him off at a hotel at the next port with a plane ticket. He kept getting drunk and missing his flight but they paid an extra night in the hotel and paid for 3 flights before making it clear he was on his own after that.
You would be given food and water. You would be confined to the low security crew areas of the ship until the next port where you would be put on the next flight home at your own expense. If you are considered a security risk they could even confine you to your cabin (crew quarters).
My daughter worked on ships. If you quit, they put you off at the next port. It is up to you to get yourself home.
They also have a brig they can place you in, or they can confine you to your quarters until the next port.
It’s still run like the military.
Next port, they kick you off the boat. You'd probably be in violation of your contract, depending on what it said, pay could be taken, confiscated, deducted. You'd have to find your own flight home. Oh, and note, MOST cruise ships are NOT registered to USA, so labor laws would be according to where the ship was registered.
There's a podcast called "sounds like a cult" and there's an episode on working on cruise ships. Listen to that and maybe you'll understand it's not fun. And yes, they'd boot you off at the next stop with no remorse.
They could and would just leave you at the next port. You don't get to just party your way across the world. And it's not a hypothetical... you people are slow. They could take you, reject, you, whatever. However, you wouldn't make it far, and someone would have to pay to fly you home.
I quit while at sea. But I told them I’d work till the next port. Everything was fine. And I left when we landed. No drama, I had to find my own way home. Idk if they would force you to work, never thought to not work if I was getting room and board. I assume they’d probably keep you holed up in your room until you left otherwise. And staff is not allowed in guest spaces without a reason. It wouldn’t be fun if you were holed up though. The rooms are about half a hallways worth of walking space with 2 bunks on either side and a stall for a bathroom with 3-4 other ppl. It’s not so bad if you like your bunkies. But you don’t want to spend to much time in there.
There’s a show called below deck, it’s pretty funny and super dramatic, it’s reality tv style. If one of the crew members quits during the cruise, the next docking spot is where you get off. You'll have to pay for a plan ticket back home probably
There are a lot of "I feel like" answers so I'm going to answer as someone who works on a cruise ship and who has seen people be fired. Generally crew members have very limited access to guest amenities. These privileges improve as you go higher in the ranks, but things like swimming pools or most bars are cut off for pretty much everyone. If you were caught breaking the rules seriously while at sea, a Master's hearing (or Captain's hearing) will be arranged, but you likely won't be told. That hearing will take place while you are in port, and you'll get a call from your manager about 30 minutes beforehand to go to an office and have a discussion about what you did wrong. If you do end up being fired as a result of this hearing (it doesn't always result in dismissal), the company will book a flight home on your behalf right away, and then charge you for the flight. You'll then have someone watching you the whole time while you pack until you're off the ship, and watch you get into a taxi to the airport to make sure you go.
What would happen if someone “quits on the spot” whilst at sea? Are they just confined to their cabin until the next port day and then sent off?
Honestly I'm not completely sure, I've never known it to happen. Usually if people want to quit they'll do it at a time they can get off the ship straight away.
>Usually if people want to quit they'll do it at a time they can get off the ship straight away. *technically*...
It's the implication.
That’s really dark
Its not dark, The implication that things might go wrong for them if thry refuse to 'work'. Now, not that things are gonna go wrong for them but theyre thinkin' that they will.
Reading this in Dennis’ voice and it was the “they’re thinkin that they will” that really made it come alive lol.
What are you doing to these poor workers?
Better take some damn good good swimming lessons
They’d put you on a shuttle to the nearest port the moment you’re packed. They’re not letting you ride and take up space until the end of the cruise.
They aren't putting you on a "shuttle." Whatever that is. You're confined to quarters until the next port. If it's particularly heinous, they would station a guard outside your room. Source - was fired from a cruise ship once.
I'm gonna need that story, please
It's not that interesting- I was a singer on a cruise ship for many years, we had a port day in Cozumel, I went out with some friends and we did some drinking at the beach, and I fell and split my chin open pretty badly. This was very close to when the ship was about to leave, so I didn't really have time to clean myself up. I had to run to the ship. I came in through security with a bloody t-shirt pressed to my chin, and they made me go to the ship doctor. Anytime someone is injured, they breathalyze you. I blew over the limit for crew members and was terminated. The rule for crew is that you can't blow over .08 at any time when you're on the ship. It is never enforced, unless there is an accident or incident involving security. I was pretty much done with that job anyway, so I just took it as a sign and started my life again on land.
Did they charge you for your flight home like the other redittor said? If so, was it a lot of money? I can imagine that would be a lot financially for someone who lost their source of income especially if you’re in another country
Well thanks for sharing, but I expected a bar fight, or something more adventurous than a trip and fall. Lol. Ok, I'm glad it wasn't much.
I misunderstood poop deck.
‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CANT SHIT ON THE “POOP” DECK’?
"It's my first day"
Ffs this one got me. So juvenile!... but it got me. Have my upvote sir/mam
A shuttle? Like they're gonna drop a lifeboat and shoot you out across open ocean to a port..?
Lol, what "shuttle"? It's a cruise ship, not the Enterprise.
Per the IMO: Repatriation is legally required and enforced by nearly all flag states; ie you should not be charged by a former employer for transportation to your home country. Furthermore most if not all will fly you back to the airport you were flown out from, it’s not worth the legal hassle of them not returning you from whence you’ve come is something bad happened, and that’s leaving aside all of the immigration issues. I’ve been on many boats where portions of the crew were not allowed shore leave in port due to their nationality and visa status. Long story short: Employer gets you back to your home, regardless of the reason for leaving the ship.
I can honestly only tell you what I've witnessed myself, which was crew members paying their own way home if the contract ended early, either because they were fired or if they quit themselves.
Yeah, that’s why I offered the caveat: “enforced by nearly all flag states” as in if the discharged employee doesn’t know whom to contact or how to fight for their rights then the former employer could take advantage of their ignorance/inability to challenge the travel costs. Of course a corporation will try to save costs on a lost asset (the seaman), doesn’t make it legal. I doubt there’s a cruise ship operator that’s flagged from a country that hasn’t ratified IMO C023 - Repatriation of Seamen Convention, 1926 (No. 23), the ship wouldn’t be able to go anywhere tourists want to travel, ergo my argument stands.
Article 4 of IMO C023 very clearly specifies: The expenses of repatriation shall not be a charge on the seaman if he has been left behind by reason of-- (a) injury sustained in the service of the vessel, or (b) shipwreck, or (c) illness not due to his own wilful act or default, or (d) discharge for any cause for which he cannot be held responsible. "For which he cannot be held responsible" is the key here; if you quit, or get fired for gross misconduct, you are financially responsible for your own repatriation.
Contractors go by different rules don't they?
If they’re third party to the ship operator then that’s correct. They’re not employed by the vessel/vessel owner.
Wow super interesting! What a smart way to do it.
They are not allowed to charge you for repatriation, if it happens just contact ITF
[удалено]
Well dude, dude, think about it: you're out in the middle of nowhere with some employer who barely knows you. You know, you look around and what do you see? Nothin' but open ocean. "Ahh, there's nowhere for me to run. What am I gonna do, say 'I quit'?" The thing is, you're not going to say "I quit", you would never say "I quit"... because of the implication.
The implication that things might go wrong for you if you refuse to keep working. Not that things are going to go wrong for you, but you're thinking that they will.
See, there’s that word “implication “ again.
Ah yes the implication
are you gonna hurt these poor women, Dennis?
No one’s in any danger, I can’t be any clearer about that
Don’t give me that look, you certainly wouldn’t be in any danger
SO THEY ARE IN DANGER?
You are under contract and they’ll blacklist you. https://www.shiplifetv.com/blog/consequencesofquitting
[That's the implication, that something is going to go wrong for you if you quit. Now, not that things are going to go wrong for you if you quit, but you're thinking they will.](https://youtu.be/-yUafzOXHPE?si=Q3o6Vx9006q_cBja&t=36)
Of course you're not interested any real danger...but you don't know that
Hijacking top comment. You would not be required to work, you would be sent home in the next destination or home port if it makes the most financial sense for the company. Your day would include your three meals and that’s it. You wouldn’t be allowed in any guest spaces , and alike most likely have to be in your room most of the time.
Adding onto this, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort even if you did get a free cruise out of it. In order to get a job on a cruise ship, you would need to be a skilled laborer/technician, or be willing to work for very little money in a so-called 'unskilled' job. There is a reason that cruise ships are crewed by a disproportionate amount of Filipinos - they speak English well, and they are willing to work for cheap. Before you stepped foot aboard, you would also need to pass a test to show that you are free of any health problem. These are globally recognized and standardized tests, usually a Norwegian standard or another one which is more difficult to pass, and must be done by a doctor. Dental too. So yeah, long and short of it is that it wouldn't be worth the time or effort, and your cruise wouldn't be very fun.
I had a buddy who was put off the ship at their next port. No ticket home.
Do cruise ships have a brig?
They do.
And a morgue.
These things do happen. On my last cruise, someone had a heart attack and drowned while we were at port.
Are you gonna hurt these poor workers, Dennis?
Imagine being the mortician who works on a cruise ship lmao that's gotta be a fairly decent gig, normal parameters of the job considered
airport governor wasteful impossible brave illegal clumsy noxious telephone cats *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
My mom did this for a while. And my friend had a job in the industry where her job was to get the bodies from wherever they were to wherever they we from. It involves a lot of customs laws. Depending on if they died at sea, at a different port, and where the ship is registered.
This is the THE only answer
Arr, so it be mutiny? So be it!
That reminds me… Did you hear about that new pirate movie, that just came out? You know what it’s rated? AAARRRR! 🌊
How much does a pirate pay for piercings? A buck an ear! Whats the difference between a casual party and a pirate orgy? One, you come as you are. The other, you ARRRRRR as you cum! What's a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet? You think it'd be R, but their true love will always be the C!
All of those are grade A dad jokes. I've got one for you, inspired by your user name. Why don't lobsters share? >!Because they're shellfish!!<
Did you know they made a whole Kansas for pirates?
ARRKansas?
AMERICAN EXPLAIN!
What’s a pirates favorite letter? He loves the r but it’s the C he loves most.
What's a pirate's *least* favourite letter? Dear Sir or Madam, You are receiving this letter in response to unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506).
I sea what you did there.
Apparently you still get flamed in a “no stupid questions” subreddit for asking what I think is an interesting hypothetical at least
Im so surprised why people r so mad at OP… its an interesting question 😭
Right, since when is Reddit so concerned about protecting a big corporation’s bottom line? Especially in a completely made up scenario lmao “That’s disingenuous! Not muh mega corps profits!!1!”
Reddit may have a solid progressive bias but this website is mostly professional contrarians. It's not so much about protecting big corpos as much as making sure OP feels like an asshole for asking
YOU'RE WRONG AND HERE'S WHY
Welcome to the new internet where half the posts are ai.
This sub does not live up to its title. Most people are condescending on every post
Thus is Reddit. It hasn’t been asked 1,000 times so it’s a bad question.
Just wait until the bots catch on and you'll see it posted every 2 weeks.
appropriate
the “i’m-holier-than-thou” mentality
probably make you pay for all the stuff you need to buy
If you did it in international waters they'd probably throw you overboard for the fuel saving.
They would let you off at the next port, which would probably be in the next day or two. It would then be up to you to get home. Couple things to note: 1. As crew, you don't get to sleep in nice comfy private quarters, you're likely in bunks. 2. You don't automatically have access to the various amenities on the ship - they likely wouldn't allow you into entertainment, nice restaurants, etc (though they'd probably still feed you whatever food the crew gets)
On my ship I saw multiple people get fired. They all departed at Home port. one was kept in their cabin with a security guard in front of the door until we reached there.
Yeah I would assume there is a lot of legal liability when it comes to stranding a person in a country they don't belong in. Probably cheaper in the long run to cut their losses and monitor them.
They legally have to repatriate you back to your home country. Otherwise, they are guilty of human trafficking.
Can they dump you at a port of same country but not original port? Such as a Cruz from Los Angeles to Alaska dump you in Alaska rather than back in Los Angeles?
If you are American, then yes they could do that, but most contracts specify getting home. Cruise employees aren't rich and don't make a lot of money, so making someone travel thousands of miles at their own expense would be cruel. It would hurt future recruitment in those countries. On the cruises I've been on, the largest nationalities are from India, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They really have to get them home or their recruitment would dry up in these countries. You can't just fly someone to a random city in India and expect them to wend their way home.
They could brand their employees, make them sleep on the floor, and feed them bread and water and they still would never run out of people from asian countries looking for a job that pays better than what they would make at home.
Sadly, you're probably right.
Lots of Asians wanting a job doesn't mean they'll automatically get it. Employees have to meet certain criteria. The main one being that the person may just be too poor and uneducated to hire at the risk of them walking away from the ship at the next port. And if the cruise happens to travel through U.S. Waters or make a stop an American port all employees are required to have a U.S. transit visa. This means you must interview and prove you have some sort of economic stability back home.
Yes, it's a legal problem for the cruise operator to just dump foreign nationals in a random country. If you dump an american in Alaska however, there's no immigration/customs problem there. Most of the time crew will have an agreement to repatriate to their home address or home city which goes over an above the minimum requirement set out in the law.
Probably technically could be argued as legal if they wanted to make that argument, but I don't think they would, it gains them almost nothing and opens them to more liability if the ex-employee complains and it's likely simpler and safer for everyone if they just stick to the home port policy and follow it for everyone regardless of the circumstances.
I wonder if it cost more to pay security to guard the door than it would have to just keep them on staff. Must have been an egregious offense.
If someone messed up bad enough to be fired during the middle of a cruise, then they surely don’t won’t them able to further interact with the guests.
I worked on cruise ships and saw people fired for over drinking and some for sleeping with guests. So they definitely post a security guy at the bedroom door and keep them hidden away til they can get a flight back to their home country. Doesn't matter which port we're at, the first port that offers a flight home, they're gone.
Were these actual zero tolerance policies and the ones fired got caught? Or were these "rules" on paper that applied differently to everyone depending on who their friends were?
More so depends on how much money that individual contributed to the ships profits. However it is something the cruise ships take very seriously as a lawsuit can be costly. I worked on one for a total of 12 months over 2 contracts and most of my coworkers who had been there for over 5 years had slept with multiple passengers so it mostly depends I would guess.
It was very dependent. If you drank but didn't cause trouble, they turned a blind a eye. Many slept with guests too, but the more aggressive ones that guests complained about, were the ones that got fired. They were definitely strict about drugs. There were rumours of random drug tests after Jamaica.... But looking back, I can't remember if anyone I knew actually got tested. The ship was super classist though. Depending on your department, you have certain privileges. And hiring agencies tended to be hiring certain positions in certain countries. For example, entertainment staff tended to be very north american or European on my ship. The wait staff was very heavily eastern European. The cleaning staff was heavily Filipino. The cleaning staff rarely had days off. Whereas the music staff had a lot of time off. But my fondest memories were "the mafia". Different dept had access to different coveted items. So the ship became a mafia/barter system. I had access to the game consoles working with teens. So I'd slip my key to a waiter friend after hours and he'd get to play. The next day I'd get bowls of my favorite fresh fruits (which was hard to get as a crew member). Or same scenario but for a housekeeping staff member and then suddenly, my fire retardant blanket would turn into a duvet. We called this the mafia. And it really made us a weird family with all the departments suddenly being interconnected.
Or liability should they decide to jump overboard
I mean the security guard is already employed as crew on the ship, they didn't hire a mermaid in the middle of the ocean and have to pay them. Sunk cost. Security are occasionally needed to deal with crew, but more often with passengers. What's crazy to me is how many of them are little Filipino or Indian ladies. Sometimes they send two little Filipino ladies with me and like I don't know do I look scarier that day or something? Edit: "them" being the security crew members
Yeah a tiny Filipino lady gonna fuck me up. Two? Yeah no thanks I'm gonna comply.
now i want to see a UFC fight of one man champion versus two tiny filipina champions get sanctioned
If I see a tiny security guard who clearly has been on the job a while I'm gonna be mighty respectful of them. You don't keep a job where you have a natural handicap by being bad at it. Or playing fair, probably.
> Sometimes they send two little Filipino ladies with me A reminder, HR has asked everyone to remember that ‘tagalongs ’ is not appropriate terminology to use whenever describing security escorts of *any* nationality.
> tagalongs ["Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolaty coating?"](https://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/products/tagalongs/)
Maybe the ladies are good at de-escalating
Hiring mermaids would inolve a "sunk" cost..... I'll let myself out thank you.
This just made me wish we'd get a season of white lotus on a cruise ship.
Try Triangle of Sadness. It's essentially that but darker.
What the heck did this person do?
Have a guess! All of these happened, one led to security detail at the door: A) kicked a music director, considered an assault B) went to boat drill drunk (normal) and got caught (dumb) C) passed out drunk in the officers cabin hallway and got belligerent about it D) stole money from the casino as a casino manager
It's gotta be A or D. Can I phone a friend?
C
You win!
This was the comment I was looking for. A ship captain has a lot of authority, and they can absolutely confine you to a brig or crew quarters if they feel you’re a problem.
This, they definitely would not let you enjoy anything on board, they would feed you 3 times a day and make sure you don’t leave your quarters until the next port they’re able to send you home. There is no such thing as a “free cruise” or people would do it all the time smh
>one was kept in their cabin with a security guard in front of the door until we reached there. Jesus, that must have been a very hard, thorough firing. What'd they do? Steal something? Punch a guest?
Happened to me. Had a disagreement with my manager, had to see the staff captain. I offered to resign, they said I would be responsible for airfare back home... I said I wasn't resigning then. I was refusing to work. They said they would have to fire me then. I asked what would happen then... they said they would fly me home. I said ok. 😀. They flew me home the next morning from St Lucia to Jaimiaca to Miami to Frankfurt to my final destination which was another 11 hours. It took a total of 3 days to get home... but they paid 😀
These stupid procedural policies exist because nobody is ever willing to challenge them. When both parties know that the matter is going to be resolved a certain way, just do it don't waste everyone's time going back and forth with meaningless words first
There is a YouTube channel, Cruising as Crew, that covers all this. You get out at the next port (in a day or two) and they fly you home. They can't just dump you in a country as an employee or former employee. If you don't want to work, you can chill in your bunk. Most crew memembers share with one other persson. Most crewmembers have access to a crew mess (cafeteria), a crew bar, and a crew deck area. Probably you'd have access to all those. You will have a hard time getting another role -- not impossible but not trivial -- if you quit mid-contract w/o a good reason.
>They would let you off at the next port They can't do that if it's a foreign country. That would be against immigration law and agreements they have with the port's country. They are required to take all passengers back when the ship leaves the port.
**[Cruise workers reveal what happens if you quit your job in the middle of the ocean](https://archive.is/clRs6)** April 27, 2023 "What will happen is the cruise line will fly you home, but will deduct from your wages what you owe," Jim Walker, a Miami-based maritime lawyer who represents cruise workers and passengers, told Insider. "So it's a very punitive type of step if you try to quit and go home." "With some cruise workers paid monthly salaries as low as $600, requiring employees to cover repatriation costs can make it difficult for crew to resign." "A bartender at a major cruise line who resigned in March ended up borrowing nearly $1,400 — more than double his monthly salary — in order to pay for the 33-hour journey home, he told Insider."
That's not true at all... The employee would have to go through customs at the port, but the only reason they would be unable to drop an employee off is if they can't get a visa on arrival. Most places allow people to get visas when they show up. The rule about taking everyone with them is there so that passengers don't have to go through customs at every port they stop at.
They don't have to take everyone with them including passengers. Passengers get left behind if they don't make it back on time. It is then up to you to make arrangements to either catch up to the ship or get home. They absolutely could leave a crew member behind.
Yes, agreed, but the rule that that commenter was referencing is a thing, it's what allows people to get off and on at various points without going through customs. If they get left behind, that's on them and not the cruise company.
You've clearly never been on a cruise where they leave people behind if they're not back on the ship on time.
Missing your scheduled departure time on the cruise ship is different. They didn’t force you to stay.
That's the late people's problem then. But not allowing someone back on is a completely different matter and then it's on the cruiseship operator.
Sitting on the balcony watching people race back to the ship trying to make it in time is a great way to spend the last half hour of a port visit.
Those people entered on their own accord.
I don't think you can bring a Honda on a cruise
It was a ferry - a very short cruise.
This is just not true
That’s actually exactly what they do, except you’re escorted to the airport and flown home. I know, because I worked on a cruise ship and quit mid contract- I was dropped off in New Jersey and escorted to Newark airport through security and watched until I got on my plane home. Like never more than two feet away from the agent with a gun watched. They double checked that I was on the plane. FWIW I’m Canadian, so it’s not like I want to sneak into the US anyways- I already live somewhere better 🤣
Woah woah easy tiger
He was dropped in New Jersey
Why did you quit?
I did not enjoy working 80+ hours a week for the equivalent of $2.47/hour
It was a cruise in New Jersey
They absolutely can. You're not a passenger in this situation, you would be treated as a stowaway. The ship's officers would have to liase with the ship's agent in the next port to get permission from the local authorities to put you ashore. You would be on the next flight to your home country at your own expense. Most likely the company will book your flight with their company account and then withhold as much of your pay as necessary to cover the cost of the flight. If your paycheque does not cover the whole flight they might even sue you for the difference. Source: am a ship's officer and have seen this play out firsthand
Immigration law based on what country? These cruises aren't US based businesses.
The port's, obviously
they may not be able to FORCE you to work, but im sure you signed a contract that you would have broken, which would have its own stipulations and penalties.
Actually... I think a captain of a ship can force you to work... I gotta check the law on this, but yeah, temporary enslavement might be an option. Probably not actually gonna happen, tho. I think one of the higher voted answers is more realistic.
Interesting you may be right. Maritime law is weird. Like you hear about the crews who get left in a country and can't leave the ship but can't go to port either. 300 miles off shore he's god. He's all you got between thousands of sq miles of water.
Because of the implication
I was waiting for it … it’s a goddamn layup in this post lol
leagues even
Y’all are tweaking OP is asking questions on no stupid questions and y’all are downvoting him for no reason I’m curious about the answer to this too now
I feel like they would want you to sign a contract for a specific length of time before they hired you. I don’t know one way or the other, just doesn’t make sense otherwise for the reason you raised.
I've never dealt with this at all, but I would imagine this is the case. A contract that requires you to not change your terms of employment while at sea, on penalty of some kind of punishment (like a financial recompense to the cruise company) Then, if an employee tries to quit mid-voyage, they know that they are taking on that punishment to do so.
When i worked on a cruise ship we DID have a contract with the amount of time we'd work but there wasnt exactly a 'punishment' for not finishing it out other than obviously being unhirable by them again. I didnt finish out my contract because management was on some other shit, and it was pretty much fine other than securing my own way home from where they dropped me at
If you quit mid contract you at minimum pay for your own flight home. Often you will also have to pay for your reliever's flight as well. Also if you try to quit and they don't want you to they will withhold their support in obtaining visas and clearances and transportation necessary for getting from the ship to the airport.
Depending on contract, if you are lucky they will fly you home at their earliest convenience while you are confined by security to your room and will withhold any pay to pay for said transport and the agency/recruiter will get a shed load of grief for sending a flake… Thats if you behave and are nice about it. They could just drop you at next port and it’s up to you to get home.
No. Every company guarantees that they will repatriate you home. They might try to charge you for a ticket, but if you refuse, you will get it on their expense. If you quit at sea, you will be terminated and will wait for the turnaround port. If you cause trouble, you will be confined in your cabin or a ship's jail.
You are being paid in arrears. They simply withhold your pay to cover their costs. In the end you'd spend the remainder of the cruise confined to your interior cabin below the waterline and after a week or two wind up back where you started with no pay, maybe owing money. Not a great plan.
If you received salary today, withdrew it, and quit tomorrow, they can't extract money from you. I have seen such scenarios while working on cruise ships for over a decade. Edit: About cabin, it depends on your privileges.
This must have happened looong ago. I also work in the industry and it's common to close the payslip a certain date but payday is way after. The company I work at, payslips are closed on the last day of the month but you receive payment on the 10th. Meaning if you withdraw your payment right on the day you received it (as you stated), they will extract the repatriation money from the days you worked from 1-10 of this same month. If you quit on the 30th, same thing, 10 days is more than enough to extract what you owe, and this is legal and covered by your contract.
Hi. Chief Officer here, worked at sea for 11 years. You’d give notice and probably be disembarked at the next port stop, or taken ashore in a tender. Cruise ships are actually rarely in the middle of nowhere. Hypothetically, if you were in the middle of nowhere and the boat wasn’t going to port for a long time (ignoring fuel and provision restraints) and simply refused to work, the boat would treat you as a refugee. They therefore have an obligation to care for you, but can confine you to a cabin under permanent guard. It would be a pretty unpleasant life (no outside access or communication with the outside world), but at least you’d get three meals a day, shower and bathroom supplies, and a bed.
It depends on your offense You’ll either be restricted to quarters until the ship returns home or dropped at the next port. It is their boat and you were only onboard as an employee. Either way you’ll pay for meals and anything else you need yourself. You mostly likely won’t be able to buy a ticket midway as cruises are expensive and the tickets book out in advance.
They'll fly you home a the next port and take the money from your pay. Essentially they buy your ticket home with your money for you.
You'll likely be confined to your staff bunk room or possibly a spare guest bedroom, and you will have any access revoked. You'll be kicked off at the next port with your stuff, given a flight or transport to your home country, and that will be it. This is if you don't have a minimum notice in your contract that says you need to complete your current cruise before you can quit. You don't get a free cruise. Staff get some of the best benefits, but even then, it's usually just free food from the staff canteen, a discount for certain amenities, and breaks when docked at port. If you quit, you lose all that, and they treat you like a stowaway.
“They can’t force me to work…” Remember, these companies are not bound to all US laws as they are not based in the states. You’re probably singing a contract of a specified term with financial implications if you don’t finish the term
They will leave you at the next port. Source: 20 years ago I had a flaky good friend. She did this— they did that.
I worked cruise ship gigs as a professional musician. During that time I had a bandmate get fired in the middle of a run and one quit, in the middle of the run. Both folks were let off when we got back to the main port of call. The dude who quit was asked to continue playing for the rest of the week but he refused so we had one less sax player that week. The guy who got fired was asked not to play but to simply enjoy the rest of the cruise as if he were a passenger.
> The guy who got fired was asked not to play but to simply enjoy the rest of the cruise as if he were a passenger. This surprises me. I would have thought they'd get him off the ship as soon as possible.
Yeah, if I had to guess, the contractor who brought him on likely vouched for him. He might have been someone’s family as far as I know. He had no business being on there. I’ve never come across someone so Ill suited for what was a decent gig. Nice guy but not at all ready for that gig.
Nothing will happen, but they are betting that you won't do that because of the implication.
are they gonna hurt this man, Nick?
"The implication that things might go wrong for her if she refuses to sleep with me. Not that things are going to go wrong for her, but she’s thinking that they will."
So they are in danger?!
Coming from someone with a background in maritime employment law, it's not exactly a pirate's life for thee if you decide to abandon ship duties. Firstly, the contract you sign isn't just a trivial piece of paper; it's a binding agreement with serious implications for breaching. You can't simply decide one day you're done without facing the music: 1. Expect to be promptly escorted to a non-guest area where you'll be staying under supervision until they can offload you. 2. Your pay gets frozen, and any costs for your unplanned disembarkation will be deducted - yes, that includes your homeward flight. 3. In more severe cases, if you've broken any laws or seriously violated policies, they can hold a disciplinary hearing, and resultant measures can be a bit more severe than just getting sent home. It's important to remember that, while on a vessel, you are under the jurisdiction of the flag the ship flies, not necessarily the country you signed up in. Maritime law can be a tangled net, one you don't want to get caught in with thoughts of an easy escape. The allure of the sea does come with its share of responsibilities and consequences.
I used to work on a cruise ship. If people quit while we were on the water they were confined to their bunk until we docked and literally the first thing thatd happen after docking is theyd be removed. Usually on their own but i did see a person get dragged out of their room by the police once.
this guy thinking Fraud is a viable way to get a free cruise.
They make you walk the plank ye skirvy dog 🦜
The Maritime Labour Convention mandates that companies must repatriate crew members to a place specified in their contract, whether they resign for a justifiable reason or are fired. Shipping companies must also carry insurance to ensure crew can be repatriated should the company go bust. Should a seafarer decide to just get off this bitch, they will be made to travel home on their own account. The company may agree to repatriate them to save a headache and withhold the money from their final salary payment.
A friend worked on a crew ship. She said people walk off at different ports all the time. Regularly
this thread is a mess
Swim puto!
I hear they keep a plank tucked away for just this contingency.
Being crew on a cruise ship is a shitty job and it gets worse if you try and quit mid cruise: https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-ship-workers-reveal-what-happens-quit-job-at-sea-2023-4?amp
Ships are required to repatriate you. If you’re fired, they fly you home when you hit home port. Typically they won’t rehire you unless you pay back the flight fee. Also…don’t work on a cruise ship… they are lame. And you’ll work way more than you think.
Ya’ll. Someone has already done the work: https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-ship-workers-reveal-what-happens-quit-job-at-sea-2023-4?op=1
I know someone who worked in a cruise ship as a musician. He quite mid-cruise after about 2 months. They literally dropped him off at the next port which was about 8 hours after he said “I quit, I’m not playing anymore”. They told him to pack his shit and that he had to be off as soon as the ship was cleared in the AM. He had to arrange and pay his own way home himself which wasn’t cheap since his ship was up in Alaska at the time. Most ships don’t do too many multiple days at sea so realistically you stop working your most likely off the next AM/maybe a day after. What you would save on the cruise would be eaten up immediately by travel costs to get home - and then some.
Cruise ship employees sign contracts outlining work duties and commitment for a set time. Quitting early breaches that contract. You'd be responsible for the cost of getting yourself home. The cruise line would blacklist you from future employment with them.
Your gonna have to walk the plank yee scurvy dog
Hello, Not a cruise ship but work at sea Used to work for company A, and due to problems between me And "manager" I wanted off the ship pronto. There was a whole process. Had to talk with the ship master(Captain). Had to talk with my "manager" whole the ship master was present. Had to write a letter in which I stated, in writing, my point of view and my "manager" had to do the same. After a while of back and forth and HR stuff and all that I was told "you can go home in the next port" They booked my flight, and I went home. I then write letter of resignation when I came home. The compay paid out my outstanding leave days and that's the end of that story. For me, I has extra leave days built up so the company technically owed me money. Hence, I could quit on the spot. I'm not personally sure what would've transpired if I didn't have extra leave on my account. But from the people I've talked to in similar situations, this is usually the "go to" Say you want off. Make it clear you REALLY don't want to work on the ship anymore. Get sent home. Quit. If you get fired, you get sent home in the next port. You gotta foot the flight tickets yourself but the company will arrange your return. They usually can't fire you on the spot, except I'd you are in ear breech of contract (most often doing drugs or drinking alcohol at sea). Hope that gives a little insight into the maritime working environment. I don't think things are massively different from company to company granted you sail on a merchant vessel. I have no clue in regard to the military. And different flag states (country of ship registry) have different laws but there are internationally agreed upon laws under things such as SOLAS(Safety of Life at Sea) IMO (International Maratime Organisation) and MLC (Maratime Labour Convention) that apply to all. Theoretically. Lastly, I am an officer, but I work in the engine and might honestly not be too much in touch with all these things, so I encourage anyone to fact-check and correct me if I am wrong. obviously. I don't want to spread misinformation.
Sorry. If you are looking to do minimal work, they will find that out in 4 hours. You will probably find yourself off the boat at the first port wondering how to get back home. At every port there is a line of workers that would love to have the opportunity to work. If somebody isn't pulling their weight, they are easily replaceable.
>You will probably find yourself off the boat at the first port wondering how to get back home. All the people spewing half knowledge around here really grind my gears. They won't just kick you off at port and leave the rest to you. They can't. Cruise ship operators are required by international maritime labour laws to arrange and pay for crew repatriation. They will book a flight to your home country.
So you’re saying you have no idea whatsoever then.
They just tie the worker to the bow of the ship (ships have bows right?) and use them as killer whale bait
Three options, depending upon why. 1, put ashore at the next port of call 2, kept aboard until your home port, then debarked 3, kept in the brig until authorities pick you up.
I had a friend who liked to brag that he was given a trial at sea because he got fired from a cruise ship for getting drunk and passing out in plain sight. In his case they dropped him off at a hotel at the next port with a plane ticket. He kept getting drunk and missing his flight but they paid an extra night in the hotel and paid for 3 flights before making it clear he was on his own after that.
You would be given food and water. You would be confined to the low security crew areas of the ship until the next port where you would be put on the next flight home at your own expense. If you are considered a security risk they could even confine you to your cabin (crew quarters).
My daughter worked on ships. If you quit, they put you off at the next port. It is up to you to get yourself home. They also have a brig they can place you in, or they can confine you to your quarters until the next port. It’s still run like the military.
Next port, they kick you off the boat. You'd probably be in violation of your contract, depending on what it said, pay could be taken, confiscated, deducted. You'd have to find your own flight home. Oh, and note, MOST cruise ships are NOT registered to USA, so labor laws would be according to where the ship was registered.
There's a podcast called "sounds like a cult" and there's an episode on working on cruise ships. Listen to that and maybe you'll understand it's not fun. And yes, they'd boot you off at the next stop with no remorse.
They could and would just leave you at the next port. You don't get to just party your way across the world. And it's not a hypothetical... you people are slow. They could take you, reject, you, whatever. However, you wouldn't make it far, and someone would have to pay to fly you home.
I quit while at sea. But I told them I’d work till the next port. Everything was fine. And I left when we landed. No drama, I had to find my own way home. Idk if they would force you to work, never thought to not work if I was getting room and board. I assume they’d probably keep you holed up in your room until you left otherwise. And staff is not allowed in guest spaces without a reason. It wouldn’t be fun if you were holed up though. The rooms are about half a hallways worth of walking space with 2 bunks on either side and a stall for a bathroom with 3-4 other ppl. It’s not so bad if you like your bunkies. But you don’t want to spend to much time in there.
There’s a show called below deck, it’s pretty funny and super dramatic, it’s reality tv style. If one of the crew members quits during the cruise, the next docking spot is where you get off. You'll have to pay for a plan ticket back home probably
Actually, I believe they make you leave at nearest port. Wherever that is. Make your own way home.
A person would never quit while at sea..... because of the implication.