The Cruise Ship Workers Fix Kit
Built for cruise ship workers.
Crew search what the job pays. What comes off the top is the part nobody explains at sign-on: a recruiting fee you may not have owed, flight home costs taken from your pay, wire and exchange fees on every allotment, a service charge split you never saw in writing, and a U.S. tax bill that the foreign earned income exclusion often does not cover at sea. I wrote this kit so you can check each one against your own contract and wage slips.
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The 6 leaks it covers
1 you can close it · 4 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Recruitment or placement fees charged to youWhere to look first: List every payment you made to get the job: agency fee, training fee, 'processing' fee, visa cost, uniform deposit.Keep it from coming back: Ask for every fee in writing before you sign, and check it against the allowed list.The other side owes it
- Flight home or repatriation costs taken from your payWhere to look first: Check your contract and final wage slip for any deduction for travel home, a 'repatriation deposit' or an advance taken at sign-on.Keep it from coming back: Read every final wage slip before you sign off.The other side owes it
- Wire, allotment and currency exchange fees on every transfer homeWhere to look first: List every way your pay reaches you: ship payroll card, allotment to family, wire transfer, cash.Keep it from coming back: Check the amount received against the amount sent on every transfer.You can close it
- Service charge and gratuity share never shown in writingWhere to look first: Find what your contract says about gratuities or service charges: which positions share, the formula, and when it is paid.Keep it from coming back: Compare your share to the prior month on every slip.The other side owes it
- Assuming the foreign earned income exclusion covers time at seaWhere to look first: If you are a U.S. citizen or resident, you generally report your worldwide income, including ship wages. Ask your preparer how that applies to you.Keep it from coming back: Update the location log each week from the itinerary.A pro decides
- Overtime and leave pay not matched to your own hours logWhere to look first: Keep your own log of hours worked and rest each day, and any overtime approved.Keep it from coming back: Write hours down daily, and photograph every wage slip.The other side owes it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 6 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Recruitment or placement fees charged to you
The other side owes it- List every payment you made to get the job: agency fee, training fee, 'processing' fee, visa cost, uniform deposit.
- Under the Maritime Labour Convention, no fees or other charges for recruitment or placement may be borne by the seafarer, directly or indirectly (VERIFIED: ILO MLC FAQ, Standard A1.4).
- The exceptions are your own documents: a national statutory medical certificate, a national seafarer's book, and a passport. Visa costs are not an exception; the shipowner pays them (VERIFIED: ILO MLC FAQ).
- Sort your list into allowed and not allowed. Keep the receipts.
- Ask the agency in writing for a refund of anything not allowed, and copy the ship's HR or crew office.
Your part: Keep receipts and send the request. If it is refused, the flag state or a seafarers' welfare organization can advise you.
Letter to the recruiting agency: To [AGENCY], On [DATE] I paid [AMOUNT] for [FEE] to be placed with [CRUISE LINE] on [SHIP]. Under the Maritime Labour Convention, recruitment and placement fees may not be charged to seafarers. Please refund [AMOUNT] to [ACCOUNT] by [DATE], or explain in writing why this fee falls under an exception. [YOUR NAME] | Crew ID [#]
Ask for every fee in writing before you sign, and check it against the allowed list.
What this kit can't decide for you: Whether the convention applies depends on the ship's flag state and its laws. A seafarers' welfare group or lawyer can tell you.
That's 1 of 6. The other 5 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When cruise ship workers go looking for answers, they search things like “cruise ship jobs salary”, “cruise ship worker pay”, “cruise ship crew salary” and “cruise ship employee taxes”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 6 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Recruitment or placement fees charged to you: where do I start?
Start here: List every payment you made to get the job: agency fee, training fee, 'processing' fee, visa cost, uniform deposit. To keep it from coming back: Ask for every fee in writing before you sign, and check it against the allowed list.
Flight home or repatriation costs taken from your pay: where do I start?
Start here: Check your contract and final wage slip for any deduction for travel home, a 'repatriation deposit' or an advance taken at sign-on. To keep it from coming back: Read every final wage slip before you sign off.
Wire, allotment and currency exchange fees on every transfer home: where do I start?
Start here: List every way your pay reaches you: ship payroll card, allotment to family, wire transfer, cash. To keep it from coming back: Check the amount received against the amount sent on every transfer.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
12-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-CRUISE-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.