The crew of the cruise ship MS Charming, operated by the Chinese startup company Foresee Cruises, claims they didn't receive salary for almost two months. According to our source, there are 121 crew members on board, mostly Filipino nationals, who say that the company violates the terms of their contracts.

Crew members say that during the first 3 months since the company took over the cruise ship Sea Princess from Princess Cruises, the salary payment was delayed by a maximum of 7 days but now the situation got worst. They believe that the company is taking advantage of the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic as the crew members are afraid to lose their jobs. The crew is in desperate situation because they have bills to pay back home and families to feed.

The crew didn’t receive any written notification explaining why the payment is delayed for almost two months. Instead, they only receive periodical updates via PA systems about the progress of the salary, which they believe is just an empty excuse from the cruise line.

Aside from the problems with salary, the crew says that the food and accommodations are good. But their main priority is to get paid for their work. After all that’s the main reason why they are on the ship.

The company is telling the crew that they will fix the problem but it’s already long time and bills back home are piling up. This behavior by a startup cruise line is highly irresponsible and disrespectful to the crew who are in charge of keeping the company’s most important investment running, the cruise ship.  

Foresee Cruises operates one cruise ship, the former Sea Princess, which was renamed MS Charming after the company took over the vessel and completed an extensive drydock refurbishment in China Merchants Industry Holding Co shipyard at Mazhou Island. 

After Princess cruises announced the sale of two of its ships in September 2020, Sea Princess was handed over in Manila to Sanya International Cruise Development Co LTD, becoming China's Second Domestic cruise operator.

Foresee Cruises didn’t reveal a concrete plan when the company will start with cruises, and MS Charming is currently out at the sea, anchored near mainland China.

Update (February 18, 2021): Today we received information from our source that Foresees Cruises crew members onboard MS Charming received their two monthly wages.