Even the most committed couples can grow apart especially if they are for a long period of time separated. This is the most common issue of married crew members who spent 6 to 8 months away from home and away from their spouses. There are numerous cases when these couples decide to break the wedding vows because they are becoming strangers due to the distance. Most often the crew members find someone else onboard, start a new relationship and once the news spreads, which is quite easy these days with the social media, then problems rise to the surface and finally divorce kicks in. However, this is a two-way street and there are also cases when spouses find someone special back home and the outcome is the same.

The Indonesian newspaper “Tribune Bali” released an article named “Divorce Rate in Bali Worrying. These are the most Vulnerable High-Risk Categories” placing the cruise ship crew members among most volatile groups.

Based on data from the Population and Civil Registry (Disdukcapil) and the Religious Courts of Denpasar, divorce rates among Indonesian crew members are on the rise. The head of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) APIK Bali, revealed that women who are in the process of divorce, in general, have confessed that their husbands work on cruise ships.

"Of the divorce cases we handle, most are the men working on cruises. Because husbands work far and apart for a long time, indeed households can be at stake and prone to divorce. There are also husbands who took the boat and for years did not come home, they already have a new wife elsewhere. Many cases of wives from cruise ship workers here ask for mentoring and select divorce, "Nilawati said to Tribune Bali. He revealed cases like this on average exist in all districts/cities in Bali.

If this is the case of Indonesian crew members, which are the most humble and hardworking people on the cruise ships, then this statement can also apply for the other nationalities as well.

In a pursuit of happiness and a better life for our families did we become so distant from our loved ones and they finally said: “I have had enough” and choose to step away from the marriage?

Did the money we earn on the ship has changed us?

One advice is to stay on your original plan. The one that you had the very first time you boarded the ship because if the money kicks in your head and you lose a touch to reality the whole world will break apart. Cruise ships are like small villages where everyone knows everything. So if you decide to be unfaithful, someone will find out. Next thing you know your Paisano will spread the word on the social media and your spouse will find out. So before you do something think with your head, the one that has brains.