Our cabin steward had been working for Princess for about 25 years. No days off - he worked 7 days a week so was not able to get off the ship at the ports although I know some crew members are able to get off at some ports. They aren't paid a lot, but compared to jobs in their home countries it obviously pays better. His contract was typically about 9-10 months - and then he would go home for a couple of months before coming back to work again. I'm not sure I could handle that kind of workload for years on end.