Cruise ship worker explained why most of her colleagues are left at a 'loss' after they're paid

A former cruise ship worker has revealed why her colleagues would be at a 'net loss' when they're paid within certain periods.

Content creator Alley Kerr used to work as a professional dance captain and general manager for Royal Caribbean.

The influencer recalled what it was like to dance on board the cruise line's 'Liberty of the Seas' ship in a video last year.

Taking to her YouTube channel Wanderlust Alley, she shared what her monthly wage was and how it changes depending on where she is.

On the ship, her base salary as a dancer vocalist in Broadway-style shows started at $3,800/month, before her contract negotiation.

It was higher than a regular dancer because she also sang. After taking on more work, the amount increased to a whopping $6,500/month.

Content creator Alley Kerr previously worked for Royal Caribbean as a professional dance captain (YouTube/Wanderlust Alley)

Some of her cruise colleagues, however, would end up with 'a net loss' during on-land (rehearsal) periods.

Alley claims they were paid only $300/week, or about $1,328/month.

"I find that during this time for a lot of dancers especially it's a net loss," she explained.

"Sure, there are ways to budget and everything but grocery stores are not close by, everything is really far away, and then even though you're getting housed it has nothing in it so you end up spending quite a bit on services like food, Ubers, and cleaning supplies."

Different types of additional pay on cruise ships

Alley said there are a lot of extra ways to make money on board (YouTube/Wanderlust Alley)

Fly Pay

This is extra monthly pay for performing aerial roles in the shows, which amount to roughly $450/month. The pay is changed monthly based on specific roles.

Understudy Pay

So, for learning and being ready to step into other roles, understudying pay can lead to around $180/month per job.

Given that she had two roles, she got double that amount and $100 extra per show performed as an understudy.

Dance Captain Pay

This is pay for overseeing the quality of performances, giving notes, leading rehearsals and ensuring consistency.

Company Manager Pay

When it comes to handling administrative and crew management duties, which are important tasks, this can equate to $1,200/month.

"The only things that were consistent was the company manager, dance captain pay and the supplemental salary," Alley noted.

"That stayed the same the whole time I was there. But if we're going to give an approximation, I made about $6,500 a month.

"And just for context, this is not same across the board for everyone. There are so many different circumstances that play into this amount."