What Cruise Ship Crew Spend on While Working Onboard
If you’re planning to work at sea, it helps to understand cruise ship crew expenses. The perks of life on board can make it seem almost free at first glance. Meals are provided, you have a bunk in a shared cabin, and basic medical care is covered. There’s no rent, no electricity bills, and no commute.
That said, crew still spend money on a variety of things, from small daily purchases to occasional treats. These costs aren’t mandatory. What counts as an essential expense versus a comfort or indulgence depends on personal habits and priorities.
To give you a clear picture, here’s a snapshot of what crew typically spend on – and what comes free – during a contract…
What the Expenses for Cruise Ship Crew Members Are at a Glance
Here’s what usually isn’t free:
Internet – slow, expensive, but tempting.
Water – bottled for most crew, despite refill stations.
Groceries – snacks, coffee, treats, or small comforts.
Crew bar – alcoholic drinks.
Restaurants & specialty outlets – occasional discounted meals.
Shore leave – taxis, excursions, souvenirs, meals off ship.
Haircuts – grooming.
Retail & spa – shopping or a little luxury self-care.
Crew events & activities – celebrations, competitions, or social outings.
What’s free:
Crew gym (and, depending on privilege, passenger gym)
Laundry machines
Cabin movies
Library books
Basic onboard entertainment (board games, table tennis)
Seasick pills
Other amenities may be available depending on the ship
If you’d like a closer look at each of these costs, let’s break them down in detail…
Breaking down the Main Cruise Ship Crew Expenses
Internet
Staying connected at sea means buying a crew internet package. Cruise ships run on satellite, which makes the connection slower and more expensive than what you’re used to on land. Guests get priority on bandwidth, so crew wifi is usually limited and less reliable.
Packages differ between ships and cruise lines, but most crew can buy data bundles that last for a set amount of megabytes or minutes. It’s not unusual to see crew stretching a package as far as they can, while others prefer to always keep one active.
In recent years, the ships I worked on have added free instant messaging services like WhatsApp, which make things easier for keeping in touch.
Outside the ship, there are cheaper and faster options. Some crew pick up local SIM cards or international eSIMs to use while in port. That way, they can download everything they need before sailing again.
Water
If you want bottled water for your cabin, you’ll need to buy it onboard. There are free refill stations around the ship, and water is always available in the crew mess or work areas, but many crew still prefer bottles. It’s convenient, familiar, and easy to keep in your cabin.
Depending on the ship, bottled water might be sold in cases or individually. Some crew get by with refill stations and a reusable bottle, while others stock up on bottles throughout their contract.
Groceries
Meals are always provided in the crew mess, sometimes with small extras like buns or sandwiches outside meal hours. Technically, you don’t need to buy food at all – you’ll be fed.
Still, most crew end up doing grocery runs for convenience. If you’re on a night shift, or just want to rest in your cabin instead of walking all the way to the mess, you’ll want easy comforts: coffee, instant noodles, biscuits, or something sweet.
Groceries for crew don’t mean cooking ingredients – no one’s allowed to cook in their cabin – but the little extras that make life easier.
Alongside food, crew often pick up toiletries to top up or replace, and laundry detergent if their ship doesn’t provide it. Even those who pack enough from home sometimes run out on longer contracts, so topping up ashore becomes routine.
On my ships, detergent and machines are free, and we’re not encouraged to use our own. Other cruise lines may not provide it, so laundry may or may not appear in your budget.
The onboard shop usually stocks the basics, but most crew prefer to buy outside on shore leave for more variety or better prices. Personally, I pack enough toiletries for my whole contract, so the only things I usually buy are coffee and a few treats.
Crew bar
The crew bar is the ship’s social hub. After a shift, this is where people go to unwind, catch up, or just feel like they’re not at work for a while. Drinks are cheaper than guest bars, but they’re still not free.
For some crew, it isn’t really about the alcohol. The bar is one of the few places onboard where you can meet people outside your department, share a laugh, and feel part of a wider community. For others, it is about the drinking, and the crew bar becomes part of their daily rhythm. Both sides exist, often at the same table.
There’s food on offer too – hot dogs, wings, nuggets – but it’s the drinks that keep people coming back.
Shore leave
Shore leave is often when spending begins. Even if you only mean to wander and enjoy the air, ports have a way of pulling you in. It might be groceries, a SIM top-up, or just the comfort of sitting down in a café. Sometimes it’s a shared taxi to the nearest beach, or the metro to get further than you can walk.
Shore excursions are also available. Crew discounts make them more accessible, but many still prefer to organise their own days ashore. A bus ride, a local meal, or simply time to breathe somewhere off the ship can feel like a luxury in itself.
Souvenirs and gifts appear along the way too. A small token for family or friends back home doesn’t seem like much until you look back and realise how many you’ve gathered across a contract.
For me, shore days were what I looked forward to most. Not for shopping, but for the experience itself. The best parts of a port are rarely right at the pier, so you end up paying for transport, and once you’re out exploring, a meal somewhere local is almost inevitable.
Haircuts
Getting a haircut onboard comes with choices, and compromises. Crew can book appointments in the ship’s salon, where a crew discount is usually offered. Even with the discount, it’s still on the luxury end, and appointments need to fit the salon’s available slots, so crew often have to align it with their free time.
Some ships have a crew barber, or fellow crew members may offer haircuts as a side job near the crew cabin areas, providing a cheaper, quicker option. Many crew members also prefer to get haircuts during shore leave, especially on repeat itineraries where they are familiar with the port.
Haircuts are both a practical grooming necessity and, for some, a small comfort treat.
Restaurants & specialty outlets
I can’t say how often other ships do this, but on mine it was once a month. Certain guest restaurants would open for crew while passengers were ashore. Café-style spots, hot pot, or other venues served us for a few hours at discounted prices.
I don’t think most people minded paying. It was more about the change of scene, and the chance to sit down with friends over something other than mess food.
These occasional meals are an onboard treat, much like eating out on land.
Retail & spa
Crew discounts are standard in the onboard shops, but once a month there’s usually a bigger crew sale, timed neatly after payday (a clever move by the company, in my opinion). Perfume, chocolates, and even luxury goods – as well as spa treatments – suddenly felt a little more within reach.
Many crew enjoyed these purchases as a personal indulgence, or as gifts for family and friends back home. Spa treatments, of course, were only for themselves.
Crew events & activities
Just like on land, there are birthdays, national days, or department get-togethers. Sometimes that means chipping in for a cake, decorations, or drinks. Onboard, there’s even a system for it: you fill in a function form, choose the food and cake you want, set a date, and pay.
Depending on the ship, there may also be crew activities organised by a committee – anything from sports competitions to marathons or bingo nights. These often come with a small entry fee or ticket price, which helps fund the prizes.
Not a huge expense, but it’s one of those things you join for fun.
For me, the biggest expenses came from shore days exploring new ports – transport, meals, groceries, and the occasional excursion. Add in a local SIM or eSIM, coffee and snacks for the cabin, the crew bar, and the occasional wifi package, and that’s where most of my salary went.
Other crew have different habits – some prioritise internet, others social nights at the bar.
Spending at sea isn’t just about meeting needs; it’s shaped by what makes life easier, more comfortable, or simply a little more enjoyable during a long contract.
If you’d like to plan your onboard spending further, you might like my guides on saving money and budgeting while working on a cruise ship.
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