“There are so many things I really loved about it… but then there’s the slop.”
Travel YouTuber Alley Kerr is telling The Independent about the ups and downs of life working on a cruise ship.
The 28-year-old, whose bright, breezy and insightful videos have earned her 299,000 subscribers for her Wanderlust Alley YouTube channel, reveals over a Zoom chat that she worked on more than 100 cruises as a singer and dancer.
And she thoroughly enjoyed life at sea, from visiting an “unreal” number of countries to the pay, which was “a lot”.
But she doesn’t miss the food.
Alley, from Southern California, recalls: “Sometimes you just get slop — not great quality food. Which can be quite difficult.
“On some of the more luxurious ships, the crew members eat better.
“But the quality of the vegetables is not great. For example, you get the runt of the melon and you’re like, ‘Does it really make me want to eat fruit? Not really.’
“So, everything gets a bit meh and repetitive. But even when there is some good food, the energy of the mess is not super exciting. People don’t look forward to it.”
The other reality check for cruise-ship workers, notes Alley, is the fact that the dazzling amenities on the vessel can’t necessarily be enjoyed.
She explains: “Amenities are off-limits for workers. Especially performers.
“Sometimes they would do things like midnight surf simulator or midnight laser tag, or something like that, where crew members could have an event for themselves.
“But as performers, you can’t participate in those for safety reasons. For instance, you could get hurt, and then that would impact your job.
“So, the fun stuff that’s associated with cruising is often out of bounds for workers.”
Another challenge for Alley was continually “putting on a show”, even when she wasn’t working.
And facing up to the fact…
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