Life Below Deck

You might imagine that life aboard a luxury liner is paradise. While this may be the case for paying guests, the reality for the workers below deck is far less idyllic. Filmmaker Melissa Monteiro worked undercover as a cruise ship waitress and experienced first-hand the hellish conditions endured by the onboard team – including cell-like shared rooms, exploitative pay and punishing shifts. After five months of sailing all over the world, she was forced to terminate her contract in Rio de Janiero due to health reasons. Treated like second-class citizens, constantly monitored for misbehaviour and generally maltreated, the journalist and her hidden camera expose not only the strictly regimented lives of cruise workers but also the tricks and techniques they use to stay sane while stranded at sea.