Why are the vast majority of cruise ship employees foreign?

Because the vast majority of passenger ships are not registered in the US, they are not subject to US minimum wage and other labor law requirements. And indeed they do not. The vast majority of crew in housekeeping, food service, deck department, and other of the lowest-paying jobs are recruited from areas of the world in which the wages paid are considered very good, and those crew members who save their wages and tips are able to send money home to support their families. Of all of the nationalities of crew members I have met on ships, the largest number are from the Phillipines, where ships' wages go very far. The most "international" crew I have ever seen is on Cunard's ships, and they have large numbers of crew members from England. (Cunard is English.) Costa ships have more crew members from Italy than I have ever seen on other ships (Costa is Italian). I have not seen crew or officers from the US, although I understand that there is a ship in Hawaii that is US-registered and car ... more