Bakers working on Celebrity Cruises say a long-running issue is starting to wear them down: extended vacations between contracts that keep getting longer, and keep happening over and over again.
Several bakers report being left off ships for four to five months after finishing a contract, far longer than what’s usually expected in normal crew rotations. What’s raising eyebrows is that this problem seems to hit bakers almost exclusively, while other positions rotate more smoothly.
The pattern is familiar. A baker signs off, gets a tentative rejoin date, and then watches that sign-on date slide again and again by months. When crew members reach out for answers, they’re often told there are “too many bakers” in the fleet at the moment.
While crew understand that staffing needs can change, many are asking a simple question:
If there are already excess bakers, why is the company still hiring more?
From their point of view, keeping existing bakers on months-long unpaid leave isn’t a fair way to manage overstaffing, especially when it happens contract after contract.
This isn’t a one-off complaint. Bakers say colleagues in the same role are dealing with the exact same delays, making it feel like a broader, ongoing issue rather than bad luck or individual scheduling problems. The constant uncertainty makes it hard to plan finances, support families, or even look for temporary work ashore while waiting to be called back.
Celebrity Cruises is widely seen as a high-standard employer in the industry, and bakers say they’re not asking for special treatment. What they want is consistency, clearer communication, and a fair rotation system that doesn’t leave them in limbo for months at a time.
For now, many bakers are still waiting, not just for their next contract, but for changes to a system they feel has quietly been failing them for far too long.
