Cruise worker explained why employee parties are actually 'wild' despite 'weird rules' on board

A cruise worker has explained just why the onboard employee parties are actually ‘wild’. And that’s despite the ‘weird rules’ the staff have to be following.

I mean, after the rumours of employees having a ‘free-for-all’ dating pool on ships or the specifically ‘spicy cruises’, it might not be totally surprising to hear the bashes described as ‘wild’.

YouTuber ‘Wanderlust Alley’ is one of many cruise workers opening up about the realities of their jobs online, with an ‘expectation vs. reality’ video exposing some interesting details.

Part of this did mean addressing the idea of ‘wild’ parties, revealing it to be relatively true as she spoke with her co-workers about their experiences.

Having been part of a crew returning to work following Covid, she says there are now parties ‘way more frequently’ compared to that period.

Apparently things get 'wild' (YouTube/WanderLust Alley)

What happens at the employee cruise ship parties?

One worker told Alley ‘there’s always a crew event, there’s always a drinking bingo moment’ on board as another said the Halloween dos are their favourite.

“Everyone dresses up, everyone really gets into it,” they said, as clips showed plenty of costumes, décor and flashing lights as staff party on the dance floor.

And one simply said the best thing about crew parties is the ‘free booze’.

So, essentially if there’s any kind of occasion or even if there’s no excuse, this lot of staff have found there’s always going to be some kind of party going on with alcohol.

“There’s never a quiet night on board a cruise ship,” another added.

What are the weird rules on board cruise ships?

Well despite that mention of ‘free booze’, the staff say it gets a bit weird when it does actually come to drinking.

A co-worker explained that (on their ships at least) there are ‘weird rules’ about alcohol intake.

There's a limit on alcohol intake. (YouTube/WanderLust Alley)

“You need to be under, about two beers,” he explained. “You could be risking your job if you’re caught over that amount.”

Yeah, you read that right, more than two beers and it’s overboard.

While they talked about being able to take shifts in ‘giving out drinks’, there’s apparently a ‘weird double standard’.

“Sometimes there’s no guests and they throw these huge parties,” one said. “Everyone [goes] all out, they have a big costume contest but [then] also saying, ‘hey if you’re caught with over two beer amount we can fire you’.

“That’s always in the back of my mind whenever I’m at a crew party.”

What does Wanderlust Alley think about the cruise ship parties?

Alley says that she doesn’t typically go to the parties ‘unless it’s a big event or a birthday’ for a friend.

“But I will say whenever I’ve gone, it’s always been an amazing time,” she added.

Her favourite was on Independence Day for the Philippines as the event had a live band.

“It was so awesome to be immersed in their culture and just enjoy with everybody,” she said.

And while she’s not there very often, Alley does say the parties are an ‘amazing’ way of meeting people on board.