It has been on my radar for a long time but I just recently was able to obtain Cruise Confidential: A Hit Below the Waterline, a book published in 2008 by Brian David Bruns. It seems everyday, there’s yet another tell-all coming out, written by some former crew member from a major cruise line. Brian’s is notably one of the best. If you’ve cruised, if you’re going to cruise, or if you simply love a good read, you must take a look at this gem.

Cruise Confidential – A Hit Below The Waterline

Cruise Confidential is the first in a series of four book by Bruns and is 364 pages of adventure. Brian is noted as the first American to ever finish a full contract for Carnival Cruise Lines on the high seas in the restaurant side of the business. Typically, all but the entertainers and upper management on a cruise line are incredibly low paid and overworked employees that came from third world countries. It would be ridiculous for someone from North America to take on a position like this, unless…

Brian Bruns was chasing a girl. Bianca is from the Transylvania region of Romania and Bruns is in love with her. She works for Carnival, therefore, for Brian to be with her, he too must work for Carnival.

The story starts with his training on board Carnival Fantasy. After graduating at the top of his class, Bruns has a management position dangled in front of him like a carrot as he moves to Carnival Conquest to be with Bianca. Soon after, however, Bianca is sent to another ship and Brian is demoted to Carnival Legend with his promised management position seemingly a distant memory.

After surviving horrible working conditions with hardly time to sleep or eat, in the end Bruns takes a position as an art auctioneer. To find out how that works out, one must move on top Cruise Confidential 2 – Ship For Brains.

What’s Between The Covers

Brian’s story chronicles life on what is basically a floating city at sea. It tells of how the nationalities group together to form alliances. It tells of the rampant sex between crew members, the partying, the drinking and the terrible living conditions below the waterline.

Bruns is from Iowa. Iowa, according to most of the international crew is the state where the potatoes come from, not Idaho. Because he is America, he is treated unfairly by foreign middle management which creates some very dramatic anecdotes.

What Brian brings to the table is life among that portion of the crew that serves food. Lines don’t seem to cross on cruise ships and there are no tales of life as a bartender, entertainer, security guard, etc.

I just recently read an equally entertaining book by Joshua Kinser titled Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member: Answers to All the Questions Every Passenger Wants to Ask. Kinser was a musician with Carnival. Although he too spoke of the sex, alcohol and poor living conditions, his life was considerably different than Brian’s. Musicians are generally American, higher paid and work just a few hours per day. They also generally room with and hang out with other musicians. Such is the segregated lifestyle of a cruise ship crew member. Kinser’s Kindle book is a steal at just $2.99.

Brian David Bruns

As mentioned, Cruise Confidential – A Hit Below The Waterline is the first in a series of four books by the author, chronicling his life in the cruise ship industry. The follow-ups include Ship For Brains, Unsinkable Mister Brown and High Seas Drifter. Bruns also writes gothic fiction.

All four books are still readily available through Amazon. The Kindle edition of the first book is a very reasonable $9.99. The book has received excellent reader ratings on Amazon with an average of 4.5 stars out of a possible 5.

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