I bet the celebs that get to lecture on the cruises get better treatment too! Yet the customers need the below deck staff more for their day to day comfort! It is a crazy world where we look down on the jobs ( & people who do them) that provide essential or wanted services and revere the less necessary ones!
Having been on a couple of cruises - different lines each time, I have come to the conclusion that all the staff are treated like that except the officer class, just shows what happens if companies can get away with it and not controlled by laws laid down by the country.
Just read in Grauniad about the poor treatment of Indian waiters on the cruise ship Arcadia, paid apparently, a basic wage of 75p per hour. When they made a protest they were sacked Sounded a bit exploitative to me. If we feel we should boycott Nestle what about P&O!