100-hour working weeks, sex below deck... and what they REALLY think of passengers: Confessions of a cruise ship worker

It sounds like the dream job, travelling the world from port to port on a grand all-expenses-paid tour.

But life working on a cruise ship could be considered one of the hardest roles in the world, with 100-hour weeks, three-month stretches with no days off and wages so low that workers rely on tips.

So perhaps it is no surprise that life below deck consists of riotous parties, frequent liaisons and heavy drinking... despite the cramped shared cabins.

One American who tried life on the high seas has penned a warts-and-all book about his experiences. 

Brian David Bruns now lives in Las Vegas, but before settling down he abandoned everything at the age of 30 to chase a fellow female cruise worker to sea, became the first American in Carnival Cruise Line history to complete a full contract without quitting.

The result of his experience was a tell-all book, Cruise Confidential, documenting what it's really like to work on a ship. 

MailOnline Travel caught up with best-selling author and former cruise waiter to find out what life is really like on board the floating palaces that are fast becoming the most popular way to see the world... 

One of Bruns' main concerns is how workers are only recognised as a cog in the machine, which he described as being 'owned by the corporation'.

'The work is constant and also very menial. In America, for example, we have empowered employees: they have rights, a voice, a modicum of respect. Crew members at sea have none of those things,' he says.

As a waiter on Carnival's Legend I worked over 100 hours a week for 15 straight weeks, after which I stopped counting. Crew work seven days a week without a day off for up to ten months. 

Pay is not commensurate with hours worked, hence the lack of First World crew. Sailing international waters and flying flags of convenience allow cruise ships to break labour laws found in First World nations. 

'That's why cruise ship employees are almost unanimously from Third or Second World nations, barring entertainers and a few vendors, such as Steiners. 

'Cruise lines claim this as an issue of the past, but 'official' 80-hour weeks ignore the extra work crew must continue in order to avoid being fired. 

'On Legend I was given two lunches off every eight days. Otherwise I worked breakfast, lunch, dinner every single day, and sometimes also midnight buffet.'

'The worst part of the job is being 'owned' by the corporation. They control what you eat, when you eat, when you can go use the toilet, how cold it is in your cabin, everything. If you've already worked 12 hours that day and they need you for another four, you work it no questions asked. 

'Also annoying is how your day is structured: you are never given a full night's sleep in ten months. We averaged four or five hours a night (that's after 12 hours of labor). Most crew will nap when they can because after months of that you're in perpetual zombie-mode.'

Working long hours is unfortunately not made better by a healthy wage. Bruns claims workers are paid below the minimum wage, and describes the process as being similar to a 'sweat shop.'

He says: 'Crew members are working way below minimum wage because that's a First World concept. These are sweat shops. There's always a line of desperate folks trying to land horrible jobs at sweat shops. This is no different. 

We all know we are modern-day slaves. Because the jobs are so hard to get, once aboard we all take it without (too much) complaint. International exchange rates make the work more palatable. 

'You'll note there is a complete absence of First Worlders from the crew. The staff, such as gift shop, spa, photographers, who are paid equally poorly but don't work 100 hours a week, will see a small percentage of Canadians, English, and Australians. 

The sea is wild and there are no rules except what the powerful create to protect their own interests.

'Regarding tips, that's where the majority of a waiter or bartenders money comes from. I was paid less than $50 a month from Carnival as a waiter. That's for working seven days a week without a day off in ten months!'