Travel6 min(s) read
Published 12:22 13 Jul 2026 GMT
A woman who has spent two years working on cruise ships has revealed exactly how much she earned - and the amount may surprise you.
Making a living while getting to travel the world might seem like the dream come true, but how much you actually make can vary greatly depending on what your role is on board.
Nonetheless, Alley - a dancer and vocalist who goes by Wanderlust Alley online - revealed exactly how much she was making on her contracts.
She caveated it by saying that salaries vary greatly depending on the country the employee is from, the cruise line they are employed by, where the itinerary is for, and whether their role receives or relies on tips.
Alley also revealed: "One of the pros of working on a cruise ship is that there are a lot of things that are either free or heavily discounted, and then this as a whole just lowers your spending."
All of the food in the crew area is free, but crew members may or may not be able to access the guest food on board depending on your status.
There is, of course, free accommodation for workers on board, and they also get free access to the ports, meaning no crew members have to pay to get off the ship but whether they can go onto the shore depends how busy they are.
Crew also get free access to shore excursions as well as discounted rates on cruises for themselves and their friends and family. Alley revealed that on her ship, it cost just $10 a day for family member to stay with them in single crew cabin.
They also get free health insurance which covers them for 80% of their salary if they are injured and unable to work, until they are ready to return.
However, not everything is free on board as crew have to pay for their internet usage. They get free WhatsApp and 120 minutes of free internet a week, after which it costs a massive $3.99 per 60 minutes of internet. They can sometimes get free WiFi after 11PM on holidays, depending on the ship.
While they can often save a fair bit of their salary, crew do have to pay for taxis and other transportation when off the ship, as well as food, souvenirs, and personal hygiene products themselves.
Alley revealed that their pay varies whether they are on or off the ship, as she spent two months working on land rehearsing for the shows she was going to perform in, when she was paid "significantly less" compared to on board.
She revealed: "Mind you this was now over a year ago, so they're probably getting paid more now, but I got paid $300 a week (on land).
"So that ends up being around $1,328 per month, which even though you're not paying rent, is honestly not a lot. I find that during this time, for a lot of dancers especially, it is a net loss."
During the two months working on land, the dancers' accommodation was covered but they had to spend a lot on food, Ubers, and even cleaning supplies as nothing was close by.
However, once stepping foot on the ship, the pay increases significantly.
Alley revealed: "So when it comes to base pay (on the ship), this is the only pay that I'm actually guaranteed during the contract. Everything else, supplemental salary wise, is extra. Obviously it does have an impact but it is not guaranteed whatsoever.
"So as a dancer-vocalist in a Broadway show, they're paying for me to know the shows, maintain the shows, rehearse the shows, and then as well as do things like muster 2.0, spotting and dressing for the ice skaters, and then pretty much any other thing that the cruise director would ask us to do in the realm of entertainment."
She revealed that the base pay for her role was $3,800 a month, adding: "But mind you there are a lot of things that contribute to this amount, for example being a dancer-vocalist is different from being a dancer.
"I got a $1,000 pay jump from my last contract to this one solely because I am a dancer-vocalist instead of a dancer. And on top of that, it's now my second year with the company which means that there's room for more negotiation.
"On your first contract there's not really much wiggle room because they don't know you, but for your second contract and pretty much there on out, there's a lot of room for negotiation with your salary."
The day you start on the ship is when that salary kicks in, as well as the supplemental salary, which consists of various added avenues where some serious cash can be made.
Alley revealed that she received 'fly pay', which was niche to their ship regarding aerial work, and which changed continually but it added around $450 a month on average.
She also received understudy pay of around $180 a month to maintain a role in case one of the leads in a show is unable to perform, and by the end of her contract she was an understudy for two roles which got her an extra $360 a month "just for having the knowledge of the character", plus an extra $100 per show that you perform as the understudy.
In December she got an extra $1000 for going on stage for her understudy role, but admitted it varies month to month.
She also received extra pay for dance captain and company manager roles, which are two separate roles with one looking after how the show looks while the other deals with admin and liaising between departments.
For this, she received an extra $1,200 a month for the added responsibility that comes with it, but doesn't think it was worth it for the workload that was expected alongside her main role and would not do it again.
Alley revealed that the total she was making changed every single month, but worked out that she made about $6,500 a month on average.
While this may seem like a princely salary, Alley revealed it was a big jump in her earnings from her last cruise ship contract, where she only made around $3,500 a month.
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