Cruise ships typically operate twelve months a year with little or no low season. Happy crew members smiling, greeting, and serving guests 24 hours a day to fulfil their holiday dreams and wishes are famous images of cruising. However, little research within cruise tourism focuses on the crew members and their life on board. It is, therefore, of particular interest to explore how on- and off- duty social interactions and performance are managed by employees intimately involved in guest satisfaction and tied to a place. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with former crew members of German cruise ship companies. Semi-structured interviews provided the flexibility to go deeper into the participants' experiences. Former crew members are used as participants in this research as they have an overall view of the entire contract and not only the current situation while living on the cruise ship. The interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach, as the focus is on the data in the interviews. The findings present an in-depth insight into the crew's life, social dynamics, and relationships among them and with themselves. This research contributes to the research on cruise crew members’ lives, social interactions, and relationships on board.