Former and current cruise staff reveal how the pandemic affected their work. Some describe unpleasant experiences but others say it helped them bond with colleagues.

• The cruise industry has changed in many ways since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
• Insider spoke with former and current cruise employees about how their roles have been disrupted.
• They explained how they dealt with suspended shore leave, mandatory quarantines, and loneliness.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

After nearly 18 months of halted operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cruises are finally returning to the seas.

So what has it been like working in the cruise industry during the pandemic? We asked former and current cruise ship staff to explain how the unprecedented disruption has affected them.

A 'difficult and sad' experience

For crew members who remained on board during the pandemic, it was a "difficult and sad" time, said Eva Pavlou, a bridge officer for Celebrity Cruises.

"Seeing the Celebrity Edge ship empty for so many months was devastating," she said. "We were wandering around the empty ship and it was devastating seeing all these venues being empty with lights off and sheets on top like an abandoned house."

Ioanna Tzovara, also a bridge officer for Celebrity, agreed that working on an empty ship was unpleasant at times.

Self-service suspended

Buffets have long been a tradition on cruise ships. But in an age where social distancing and hygiene take precedence, where do they stand?

Buffets are still available on Celebrity's ships, said Tzovara, "but guests are being served by the crew members so they won't touch any surface that can potentially be infected by COVID."

The number of people on each table does not exceed six people in an effort to maintain social-distancing rules, Tzovara added.

Meanwhile, Carnival recently announced it would only serve bacon to guests on alternate days as it's struggling with a shortage of the breakfast-buffet staple.

Mandatory quarantine for cruise ship workers

Staff were obliged to stay in quarantine for 14 days before they performed any working duties at the start of the pandemic, Tzovara said.

For her, this was an enjoyable experience. "In my point of view, quarantine gave me time and space to think, read, and complete all my training. So, I spent quality time with myself."

This was also the case for Pavlou, who listed some benefits of quarantining onboard a cruise ship. "In these 14 days, you have the opportunity to enjoy a guest stateroom with a balcony or a veranda. You get three meals every day, and [can] relax until these 14 days pass."

Only essential crew members were allowed to work during this time, including the deck-engine department, Tzovara said.

But a former cruise ship staffer who worked aboard Carnival Cruise Line told Insider that his friends who still work on ships found quarantine experiences frustrating.

"My friends that still work on ships were stuck aboard with no money for many, many months. They were confined to their cabins, which is literally like jail," said Brian David Bruns.

They were able to walk the ship for a single two-hour period throughout the day, he added. Otherwise, food was delivered to their cabins.

In a statement to Insider, Carnival said: "We are very proud of our efforts to take care of our team last year during unprecedented times. We safely repatriated more than 30,000 crew members during a time when borders were closed and travel options were limited or non-existent."

Suspended shore leaves

Part of the appeal of working on a cruise ship is visiting many different destinations for the day. But due to the pandemic, the perk has been suspended for crew members aboard Celebrity's ships.

"Before the pandemic, all crew were allowed to enjoy a shore leave, something that these days has been suspended due to COVID," said Tzovara.

In its statement to Insider, Carnival said: "We took guidance from public health experts to keep our crew safe, which required sacrifice at times. If there are a few team members that were unhappy, we are sorry to hear that, but the health and safety of our guests and crew is always front and center in everything we do."

Building close relationships

While living and working on a cruise ship during a pandemic can undoubtedly be difficult, there are also some silver linings for staffers. These include building tighter friendships with other crew members.

"I definitely did bond with my colleagues because we spend such long contracts together and we have to deal with all these difficulties in our daily lives, away from our families," said Tzovara.

"I gained great friends for life during this pandemic," she added.

This was similarly the case for Bruns. Despite the hardships, a lot of crew members love ship life, he said.

"The whole world is below decks - in the form of people. This is why we love it." He said the pressure-cooker environment, due to all the experiences he previously mentioned, "makes us brothers-in-arms."