Base Pay

• Cruise lines pay all of their service staff a low base pay of around a few hundred dollars a month. Cocktail waitresses and other service staff make most of their money from tips, which enables the companies to pay waitstaff very little. Note that companies generally do not publish their base pay rates; be sure to call and talk with a representative.
  
  

Tips

• Cocktail waitresses and other service staff receive most of their income in the form of tips from passengers. Prior to embarking, company representatives usually tell passengers that they are expected to tip and suggest tipping amounts. Tipping varies across companies, with cocktail waitresses working for higher-end companies generally making more. Waiters and waitresses split their tips with busboys, dishwashers and other service staff that do not interact with clients. At the end of the month, a cocktail waitress can have anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 in tips.
  
  

Benefits

• Cruise lines provide employees with room and board for the duration of the contract (the amount of time that they are assigned to one ship). Most cruise lines also offer transportation to and from the ship. Cocktail waitresses and other crew members have access to a doctor and other health facilities while on board the ship.
  
  

Considerations

• Cruise ship work is grueling. You work long hours but are paid per week or month, in the end often making less than minimum wage. If the cruise line is registered in the U.S., your employer can legally pay you less than minimum wage because as a cocktail waitress you receive tips and because the company provides room and board. However, many cruise ships are registered outside the U.S. and abide by much looser labor laws.