Cruise secrets: Crew member divulges the effect ‘men in uniform’ has on ‘ladies’

However, should feelings develop between crew members, it can make life very hard indeed and the perk quickly becomes one of the greatest challenges.

“The most difficult thing I feel most crew members endure is the hardship they face if they fall in love with another crew member on a cruise ship,” Kinser told Express.co.uk. 

“There is a constantly changing group of crew members on ships. Every cruise many crew members finish their contracts and pack up and head home or to their next ship.

“The peril of falling in love on a cruise ship is that the person you fell in love with will one day pack their bags and walk down that gangway.

“Sometimes the love lasts. Sometimes life on land or ship life pulls you in different directions. A lot of true love has fallen overboard and been lost at sea in ship life. Ocean currents are a mysterious force, and many times they pull the love of crew members apart.”

It’s not just romance between crew members that can spring up on board cruises, however.

Cruise passengers can often be keen to develop a fling with crew even though it’s forbidden – and they sometimes have a codeword for it. 

Jay Herring wrote in his book The Truth About Cruise Ships: “Even though it was company policy not to sleep with the passengers, it happened so often that we had a nickname for it,” he wrote. “It was called ‘coning,’ from the infinitive ‘to cone.’ Passengers were referred to as ‘cones.’