She Quit Disney Cruises After 4 Months, Says Made $6 an Hour

^{This story originally appeared on Business Insider.}

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gianna Alexis, a former crew member of Disney Cruise Line. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was three years old when I sailed on my first Disney cruise, and I thought it was the coolest thing. It was the best vacation ever, so I went every few years after that.

I had always been excited about the idea of working for Disney, so I applied for a job at Disney Cruise Line in 2017. When I found out I got the job, I was so excited I cried.

Before work started, Disney took us through training that was designed to get us excited about the work. On the last day of training, we were told to get ready at 4 a.m. Then, the company had a sniffer dog to smell our suitcases, which I didn’t expect at all — it all seemed so different because the only experience I had embarking on a cruise ship was from a guest’s point of view.

I was first hired as a merchandise person to work in the shops, and then the company moved me to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which was a total dream of mine. This boutique is the place where kids between three and 12 get makeovers — we do their hair, makeup, and nails.

A lot of girls that I did hair for would come back the next day just to see me. In their eyes, I was like their fairy godmother — that made me feel it was the most magical job that I’ve ever had.

In addition to that job, I also helped workers bring food, merchandise, and toys to the shops. I didn’t know the job would be physically demanding — I thought I would just be doing kids’ hair, makeup, and nails.

I quit after just four months

As a young 24-year-old, I went into this job blindly and wasn’t fully prepared.

I worked from 8:30 a.m. until 9 or 10 p.m. Before starting this job, I didn’t, or couldn’t, conceptualize what an 80-hour work week without a day off would look like at all. There was no work-life balance.

I had so little time to myself. In my downtime, I didn’t even want to watch TV or movies. Once I got 30 minutes into watching, I’d rather just sleep because I was so tired — sleeping had become my priority. The only “me time” I would have for myself was a quick sheet mask in my room, and that’s all. My room was so small that I could nearly touch both walls with outstretched arms.

I got a stress fracture in one of my feet from standing 80 hours a week in my costume shoes — it got so hard for me to stand. With a normal job, you can call in sick if you’re not feeling well. But for me, if I didn’t show up to work, my manager could come downstairs from the shop to see me what was wrong, how long I would need off, and if I needed medical attention or if I was faking it.

Working on the cruise ship meant my living space was also my workspace. Managers and coworkers could spot us whenever we were out at night. I had to be “on” a lot of the time, and it played a big role in how quickly I burned out.

In the fourth month of my contract, I felt defeated and exhausted to the point where I decided to quit.

^{The Disney Dream cruise ship at sea. David Roark/photographer via BI}

I was making less than the minimum wage

I worked a minimum of 70 hours weekly and got paid $423 a week, so it was about $6 an hour. There was no overtime rate at all.

We did receive benefits, including shipboard medical care, complimentary Disney theme-park admission, discounts at selected resort hotels, and Disney merchandise at worldwide Disney locations.

Many cruise members come from all over the world. They’re making US dollars and sometimes even making more than doctors or lawyers in their home countries. One girl from Portugal had worked on the ships for 10 years. She loved it because she was making a great living for herself and for her family overseas — she regularly sent them money.

The cruise life was totally worth it to her, but for me, there were other higher-paying jobs I could have easily applied to. Some crew members on the ship thought I was taking a job from someone for whom it could have been more beneficial, like someone who needed to support their family in another country.

We don’t eat the same food as the guests

The crew members eat in the crew mess, a large cafeteria where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. There is a small salad bar and some cooked options. For breakfast, I usually ate hard-boiled eggs. For lunch and dinner, I ate veggie burger patties (I was a vegetarian at the time). During holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, we had specialty food items like cake and ice cream.

Sometimes, the company threw parties for us. For example, if our service got high marks on guest surveys and feedback, that’s when we got to have the better-tasting guest food. I remember they brought jalapeño poppers one time.

^{The Buena Vista Theatre inside the Disney Dream cruise ship. Matt Stroshane/photographer via BI}

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