Woman who lives on cruise ship shares the four rules she can't break under any circumstances

Published on Jun 15, 2025 at 8:21 PM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards

Last updated on Jun 11, 2025 at 7:07 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Emma Matthews

This woman is living the dream on a cruise ship, but while she lives there for free, she does have four rules from the cruise company that she can’t break under any circumstances.

Christine Kesteloo’s husband is the ship’s Staff Chief Engineer, so he is seen as a part of the crew and can have a ‘wife onboard’ on the cruise ship.

Her accommodation and food are free, but she has to pay for alcohol and sodas if she wants them, although they do come with a 50 percent discount.

While it sounds like she is on a 24/7 vacation, there are four non-negotiable rules she must live by, but they don’t seem that bad for that cruise-wife life.

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Imagine traveling the world, being on a vacation all day every day, it sounds dreamy, doesn’t it?

Meet Christine Kesteloo, wife to a Staff Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, who is living as an ‘onboard wife’, so she gets free accommodation and food, but pays 50 percent for drinks.

Christine is half guest, half crew, but the cruise company sees her as a crew member. So while she gets to take advantage of all the onboard amenities, the cruise company also gave her four specific rules she must abide by.

Firstly, she is not allowed to gamble. As the wife of someone high-powered working on the ship, it would look really bad for the cruise company if she sat at the slot machines all day and hit the jackpot.

@dutchworld_americangirl I go through four things I can, and cannot do it while living on the cruise ship with my husband #weliveonacruiseship #4things #alaskacruise #cruiseship #cruiseshiplife #cruise #alaska #caribbeancruise #cruiselife #livingstsea #getreadywithme ♬ Chill in a good mood, calm and fun(1263486) – zukisuzuki

Secondly, because she is both guest and crew, she is allowed in both guest and crew areas, but she needs to wear her crew badge at all times.

That’s because the crew needs to know she is one of them, but also so the guests know that she’s allowed to go into crew areas and won’t follow her.

Next, she has to leave the ship with the crew, rather than the guests. The crew departs one hour after the guests depart the ship, so if the it docks at 1pm, she gets to get off at 2pm.

She’s also not allowed to be late back, just like her husband. The ship won’t wait up for them, even though they’re both technically crew.

Lastly, in guest areas, she needs to give up her spot to a guest if it’s busy. She isn’t allowed to take up a poolside beach chair, for example, if a guest needs it. Which is fair enough – she is there for free.

That onboard-wife life sounds pretty sweet, and these rules, which aren’t even bad, seem very reasonable. Where do we sign up?

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Daisy Edwards is a Content Writer at supercarblondie.com. Daisy has more than five years’ experience as a qualified journalist, having graduated with a History and Journalism degree from Goldsmiths, University of London and a dissertation in vintage electric vehicles. Daisy specializes in writing about cars, EVs, tech and luxury lifestyle. When she's not writing, she's at a country music concert or working on one of her many unfinished craft projects.