Musician working onboard cruise ship shares incredible amount of money they make per hour

There’s no denying that cruise ships are a very popular way to travel. So popular in fact some people actually choose to live on them.

And while some passengers are splashing thousands to enjoy the cruise lifestyle, others are getting paid to work on board them.

Plenty of cruise ship workers have taken to social media to give an insight into employee life - from what they get to eat to what they make fun of passengers for.

And one musician has shared the incredible amount of money they make per hour while onboard.

Jack Nolan documents his time as a musician working on cruise ships like Virgin Voyages.

He spends 10 months a year working onboard, travelling the world ‘and getting paid at the same time’.

In one video, he worked out the ‘hourly wage of a cruise ship musician’.

Jack explained that musicians tend to earn $4,000 (£3,129) a month while working for one and a half hours a day, six days a week.

So, in total, he said he does ‘just nine hours ‘work’ a week’, which equates to approximately just 36 hours a month.

“In other words that’s $111.11 an hour!” Jack explained. “And by the way, it’s an awesome job.”

Yep, the musician said he earns around £86.90 per hour of work he does. Although, he did explain that rehearsal and practice time isn’t included in those hours he’s counted - that typically happens before they embark.

And of course, Jack has to live on board for this job - something he lists in another video as a major perk.

“I can easily save thousands each month,” he said. “Because two of life’s biggest outgoings in rent and food are totally free - even the flights are paid for.”

He also added in the comments that it’s ‘not compulsory’ to do other jobs during the day on the ship, but you ‘can volunteer and help out other departments like a side hustle’.

Another cruise ship worker, called Amber, previously explained the things they do have to pay for.

Obviously it depends on the cruise liner but the entertainer said they do have to pay for alcoholic drinks but they have access to their own ‘crew bar’ where the drinks are ‘heavily discounted’.

She also said that on the ships we works on, the crew have to pay to use the WiFi and that there isn’t actually a lot of freebies for them.

Amber added: “If we want to buy any snacks, souvenirs, we do have to pay for it.

“But once again, it is at a discounted price to what the guests pay and we get about 20 percent off, which helps so, so much.”

Featured Image Credit: @jackcruisesaround/TikTok/Getty Stock Image

Topics: Travel, Music, TikTok, Social Media, Cruise Ship, Money

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_