Woman who lives on cruise ship for free shares the four strict rules she has to follow

A woman who lives on a cruise ship has revealed there are four rules she needs to follow while on board that big old boat.

You might have heard of the people who decided to quit the life of a landlubber and just go live on the high seas because at this point it's actually cheaper than dry land.

This is not one of those times as Christine Kesteloo lives on board a cruise ship because her husband is the staff chief engineer, so she gets to come along for the ride too.

She explained that she gets to live the life of a guest while on board 'but also as crew', so while she can do whatever the guests are getting up to, she's also able to get herself wherever the crew can go as well.

Christine gets to live on the ship for free and can eat in any of the on-board restaurants for free as well, while if she wants to buy anything, she gets a big discount.

It sounds like a pretty cushy life, but before you update your Tinder profile to say you're really looking for cruise ship staff who can bring partners on board, you might want to hold your proverbial horses.

That's because Christine has rattled through four main rules she's got to follow while on board the ship.

No gambling

The first rule is a strict 'no gambling' policy, as she explained it'd look bad if the partner of a crew member was raking in a jackpot at the slot machine.

She said: "It would look a little weird if I, as the wife of the staff chief engineer, won a big jackpot. So I am not allowed to gamble on the ship."

Badges must be worn

Another big rule was that she had to wear a badge whenever she was in crew sections of the ship so nobody thought she was a passenger poking around the place.

"I am allowed in crew areas and guest areas but with that said when I am in crew areas I always have to wear my badge visible so they know I'm 'one of them' and allowed down there," she explained.

Sorry to those of you who love gambling and hate wearing badges who'd always dreamed of living on a cruise ship.

The customer comes first

As for rule number three, this wasn't so much an official one as it was Christine figuring out for herself that having the run of a cruise ship has got to have its limits.

While she's allowed to do pretty much anything on board, she knows the customers have to come first.

She said: "If the pool is packed I make sure to get up and give the guests a seat, it's just the right thing to do.

"I used to be cruise director so I totally understand how to give guests the best time."

She also explained that when passengers disembark at a destination, the crew have to wait an hour, and while she was technically both, she had to wait too.

Insurance is key

Fourth and finally, and this one sounds more like life admin than anything, she's got to make sure she's insured to travel round the world.

She said: "When I'm on the ship travelling with my husband I do have to at all times have international travellers insurance, medical, if something were to happen.

"Because we live in the Netherlands we have coverage there, my husband holds it on me and we just pay a little bit extra every single month."

Honestly, those rules sound pretty easy to live with in exchange for a free cruise.