From engineers to cabin stewards, dining staff, and officers, running a cruise ship requires a massive team. Among them are bartenders, who work long shifts shaking cocktails. A good bartender can make any vacation more enjoyable, but have you ever wondered how much pouring drinks on a cruise ship pays?
Posting to the r/Cruise Reddit thread, Queasy-Objective250 shared some insight into life as a bartender at sea. She received over 130 comments on their post titled, "I worked as a bartender on a cruise ship for 6 months. [Ask me anything]."
While she didn't explicitly state what ship she worked on, it appears she was on Norwegian's Pride of America, a U.S.-flagged vessel sailing exclusively in Hawaii. It's the only mainstream cruise ship that sails in Hawaii year-round.
"[T]he ship I worked on was US flagged, so we had to follow US Coast Guard employment guidelines at all times," she explained.
"This included being randomly breathalyzed at any moment, and if you blew a .04 or above at any given time on the ship(even at the crew bar), whether on or off the clock, you’d be fired and kicked off at the next port."
How much do cruise ship bartenders make?
According to Queasy-Objective250, she would make around $2,500 to $2,800 (after tax) every two weeks while working on board, including gratuities split amongst other bartenders. Being based on a U.S.-flagged ship in Hawaii meant that she earned the state's minimum wage of $12.75/hour, plus overtime.
"My bar team at the pool bar would split cash tips at the end of the week, which usually came out to $100-$200 per person. Most cash tips would be given on embarkation day or the last night of the cruise," she added.
The tips varied from week to week depending on how full the sailing was and how many passengers were ordering drinks. For example, she'd earn fewer tips during the summer because it was mostly families on board with younger children who drank soda, though she'd occasionally serve a good tipper.
"I had a passenger who was a crew member on the same ship 15 years prior. He would tip me $20 in cash every time I made him a margarita, and he’d order about 4-6 from me per day," she said.
Aside from cash tips, gratuities were also added to each drink, regardless of whether it was ordered in a bar or restaurant. Those were split between the bar staff, too. On NCL, the automatic service charge is 20%. Additionally, guests sailing to Hawaii are charged an extra 4.275% GET tax.
She also talked about how fortunate she was to work on board a U.S.-flagged ship since, from her understanding, crew make more than on international ships:
"I’ve heard the international ships’ base pay is extremely low, since they do not have to follow US labor laws. Everyone I talked to who worked on international ships said they pretty much relied on cash tips for the majority of their pay."
Read more: Crew member reveals shocking truths about cruise ship tipping
During her 6-month contract, she worked 7 days a week
The days were long, too. While on board, Queasy-Objective250 worked 10 to 12-hour days. The only day she had off was when she was quarantined for 24 hours with norovirus symptoms. Plus, she'd work overtime every week, recalling that there wasn't a single week she didn't work less than 60 hours.
"[I]t was nice to have a paycheck that reflected the time you put in," she remarked.
Despite the intense schedule, she described the experience of working on a cruise as a great way to save money quickly and doesn't regret the experience. She found she was typically so busy she didn't have much time to spend her earnings!
Even after treating herself to food ashore, she earned enough money to treat herself to a weeklong stay in Maui. Not only that, but she had enough savings to last her more than six months on land.
Read more: Passenger thanked crew member with money. The extra tip started a debate
She couldn't tell whether guests had prepaid gratuities or not
"We can see if they’ve paid for the drink package by looking at their room card or charging their room number, but other than that, we have limited access to passenger info," she explained.
"Gratuities were included and they’re split between both the bar and restaurant staff for that week. Most passengers didn’t leave an extra tip though."
Knowing that, she said she loved serving guests who were kind, friendly, and patient. She wouldn't rush to serve passengers who snapped their fingers or whistled at her.
Being friendly was also key in getting strong drinks.
Queasy-Objective250 said, "We have cameras on us 24/7, and the Food and Beverage Director would frequently reprimand us for not measuring our pours exactly and made us charge for any extra alcohol. However, if you were nice and respectful while asking, I’d “accidentally” lose count of my pour and add a little extra for you."
Another Reddit user shared their salary offer with Royal Caribbean
Under the same r/Cruise thread, Reasonable-Dinner-18 revealed they were offered $1,012 per month to work as a snack attendant aboard a Royal Caribbean ship. The contract would last 34 weeks, or roughly 8 months. This means they'd earn roughly $8,000 working on a cruise.
They weren't sure whether it was a good offer or not, and a lot of current and former crew chimed in to give their honest opinions.
"The salary itself doesn't seem amazing, but if you factor in room and board, you have very few expenses and can save a large percentage of your salary," reads one comment.
"[W]hen i was training for NCL i asked about getting on an international ship. i was told not to expect more than around 1k per month. pride of america pays [Hawaiian] minimum wage which i think is 14 an hour time and a half over 40. dont forget about all of the overtime. it really is a low wage but its to be expected on most ships. compare almost any cruise ship job to the same one on land and the wage is terrible," another added.
Read more: 11 do's and don'ts of cruise ship tipping
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on nearly 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
