Do crew members working on a cruise ship get to see the ports which the cruise ship is visiting?
Yes, crew members are free to visit the ports of call when they are not on duty. In fact this is encouraged. Leisure time varies between shipboard positions. Crew are allowed on shore until two hours before the ship sails. Unless of course, they are working on the ship. The ports of call and sheer number of destinations reached by cruise lines today offer cruise employees an unparalleled opportunity for travel. For instance, last year a Princess Cruises cruise ship traveled from Acapulco, through the Panama Canal, around the Caribbean, across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Then headed down to North Africa, around the British Isles, through the Baltic Sea, and back across the Atlantic to New York.
