Massage Therapist Cruise Ship Work Contract Caveat: Act of War

Working on a cruise ship as a massage therapist has its pros and cons.  Each individual would have their own opinion whether it's the best option for themselves.  Some enjoy it and some don’t. 

During a cruise in April 2026, I had a massage with a woman who was contracted to provide massage therapy on a ship that was supposed to cruise in the Arabian Sea and around Africa.  She was from the Philippines, and this was her 8th contract with the cruise line. She signed up for an 8th contract because she wanted to tour this new area of the world.  

Some time later once she was actually on the ship, the US and Israel started bombing Iran, which made cruising around these areas unsafe.  As a result, the cruise line cancelled their sailings, and repositioned the ship without passengers to the Caribbean.

When the cruise line decided to move their ship from this new war-time vulnerable area, they cancelled their itinerary and sailed without passengers, but the staff remained. This personally makes me wonder about the company’s concern for their own staff.  If it wasn’t safe for passengers, why did they keep over 1,000 staff on-board? 

Let’s review what happened to the massage therapist who had a work contract in this predicament:

1. Massage therapists with this particular cruise line earn a base salary with service commissions and gratuity pooling, so her earnings were much less when the ship sailed without passengers for several weeks while it waited to sail when it was safer, and then repositioned itself through an empty trans-atlantic cruise to the Caribbean.  

2. She was unable to see the region she had originally signed up for, which is why she had sought that 8th work contract on this cruise line.  The ship was sailing back to the Caribbean where she had already worked for several other contracts, so she was deprived of going to a new region that she really wanted to travel and see.

3. When they were able to sail out of this war zone, they did so quite quickly through rough waters which made her sea sick. Luckily free medical care provided her what she called “injections” and other medications to combat this illness, which is commonly given to staff who become sea sick while working onboard.*

4. On the bright side, she still received her base salary which was fairly low and had the benefits of free meals, housing and medical care while the ship waited, and then repositioned itself into a safer area with staff only. 

5. She received extra industry training and lighter work duties (such as cleaning) while guests were not on-board.

6. She said the staff enjoyed a lot of parties after work hours that they normally would not have.

7. She also said they got to use some of the guest areas on the ship which are off-limits restricted to staff.

So, if you’re seeking to work on a cruise line, these are some of the things that you might want to consider, beyond some of the more recent concerns that could leave a massage therapist with less income or personal opportunity. There are other obvious concerns with working on cruise lines which have become more prevalent today, such as contagious viruses (RSV, norovirus, COVID, etc.) that would make working on a cruise ship less desirable, and negatively affect income. But can you imagine signing up for your 8th contract to see a new area of the world and then miss it, plus earn less too? 

Some massage therapists work on cruise lines because they earn more on ships than what they can earn in their native country. Also, cruise ships on international waters do not need to meet various government licensing requirements which makes employment easier for the ship and staff. However, if you’re a massage therapist thinking that you can sign up with a cruise line to see the world, and contract for a particular area of the world you wish to see, just remember these harsh realities. While everyone’s work can be affected by unforeseen circumstances, it seems that massage therapists employed on cruise ships have more to consider than other employment.

* On two of my last cruises, I met a few massage therapists who became sea sick during work. They stated they received these same “injections” and medications to combat sea sickness, and were sent back to work to provide massage appointments! They said they normally don’t get sea sick, however, those cruises encountered unusually rough waters as we sailed through Cyclone Erminio and other storms. So please be aware that sea sickness on cruise ships does not mean you will get the day off.  One of the therapists stated she had been vomiting, and was sent back to work on medication.  Tip to massage therapists working in treatment rooms with windows on cruise ships through rough water: the therapist kept the window blinds closed in the treatment room so as to not see the rough waters we were sailing through, and claimed that seeing the waves made her feel worse. So, if you’re working on a cruise ship and develop sea sickness and are still required to work, it might be best to request a treatment room that doesn’t have a window, and if it does, close the blinds such as what's pictured below!