A woman who has spent an astonishing 13 years living on cruise ships says life at sea is far more “mysterious” than people imagine – and shared the one thing she can’t do.
Christine Streets-Kesteloo first swapped life on land for life at sea after realising how much money she could save.
The 44-year-old worked her way up to becoming a cruise director, travelling the world while earning a living.
READ MORE: ‘We left the UK because of cost of living – now we can’t afford to go back for Christmas’
Christine even met her now-husband, Pieter, on board, where he works as a staff chief engineer.
After eventually stepping away from her role to become a full-time content creator, she still lives on board for free for half of every year as her husband’s guest.
It means she doesn’t have to cook, clean or do her own laundry for six months – and she spends the other six travelling the globe.
Christine – who is originally from the US but owns a home in the Netherlands – began sharing behind-the-scenes snippets on TikTok and has built a massive following of one million fans.
Her clips show every corner of cruise life – from room service spreads to day-in-the-life vlogs on the open ocean, as reported by What’s The Jam.
But there’s one thing she’s not allowed to do as a crew member’s plus one: gamble.
“The ship is my floating home,” she said.
“The only thing I can’t do on the ship is gamble.
“I also refrain from filming guests or crew members in my videos.
“If you see a guest or a crew member in my video, I have asked them permission to film them.
“Unlike many other creators, I respect the privacy of other people and their vacation and personal time.”
As a staff member’s partner, Christine is able to access both crew and passenger areas onboard the ship, but she needs to wear an identification badge.
She is unable to leave at the same time as the guests, as they have priority when it comes to disembarking when at port.
But she can use the guest amenities such as the pool and the spa..
She insists that there’s “a lot more” to cruise life than most people realise – which is why rare occurrences tend to spark fear.
She said: “Living and working on a cruise ship is its own world that many do not understand.
“People are fascinated by cruise ships, that’s why when any incident happens it makes the news.
“Cruise ship life is very mysterious and the inner workings are very interesting.”
Despite common misconceptions, Christine is adamant that cruise ships are safe and that the chances of falling ill are surprisingly low.
She added: “There are over 260 cruise ships on the water every single day owned by over 60 different cruise lines.
“Incidents on cruise ships are actually very rare with hundreds of thousands of people being at see every single day.
“Also, people like to say that cruise ships are a floating petri dish.
“With that said, my husband has been at sea for 34 years and has only been sick once.
“That’s thousands and thousands and thousands of days it all comes down to washing your hands.”
