Ranked by the evidence — what crew surveys, interviews, and happiness data say matters most, first. Not slogans invented in an office.
Not WhatsApp text only. Real video calls home. Family contact is seafarers' #1 way of coping with stress (29%, Gard 2025). Virgin Voyages and Viking already give crew free Wi-Fi — it can be done.
Demand beyond MLCWatch: Do Cruise Ship Crew Pay For WiFi?
Record your real hours without punishment, and enough crew on board that honest hours are actually possible. Demand uninterrupted rest, not just 10 split hours.
MLC rest limits + protectionNo routine drills or training scheduled into your only port window. Organised, affordable transport from remote terminals so shore leave is real, not theoretical.
Demand beyond MLCSee how we fix it → The Port Day Engine, our working system for real port days off
Before you sign: is the figure basic only, or guaranteed total including gratuities? What is the floor if passengers remove gratuities? Show the pool maths on the pay slip.
MLC pay transparencySingle cabins where possible. Where sharing remains: matched-shift cabinmates, enforced quiet hours, never opposite split shifts in one cabin.
Demand beyond MLCFresh food — not passenger leftovers or near-expiry stock. Rice and Filipino, Indonesian, and Indian staples at every service. Mess hours that match split shifts.
MLC: free, quality foodReport illness early without penalty or automatic contract loss. Clear sick-pay rules — including whether gratuities stop. Confidential mental-health support off the chain of command.
MLC medical + sick payAnonymous, off-ship reporting routes promoted before the onboard procedure. Complaining about pay, safety, or conditions must never quietly end your career.
Protection demandPlacement fees are banned for seafarers under the MLC and, for Filipino crew, under the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers. Only your medical certificate, record book, and passport are chargeable to you.
MLC guarantees thisHome at contract end — no rolling extensions past 11–12 months — with wages paid to the last day. Photograph your SEA and the financial-security certificates on day one.
MLC guarantees thisYour wages are paid onto a debit card the line chooses, and they can sit there for weeks before you spend them or send them home. All that time, the money earns interest, and the line and its card company keep it. You, whose money it is, get none of it. The interest earned on crew pay, from the day it lands on the card to the day it leaves, is paid to the crew member it belongs to. Not kept by the cruise line. Not kept by the card company.
Demand beyond MLCRead the labels carefully. Cruise-only figures come from Cardiff SIRC 2025. Figures marked “all seafarers” include cargo and tanker crew and are shown as benchmarks — not passed off as cruise numbers.
Tap an issue for what crew report, what the law says, and what to check on your own ship.
Your employer is the parent group, your law on board is the flag state, and your pay deal is your SEA and CBA. You need all three names. Filter by parent group: