This is the latest installment of Crews on Cruise, a column spotlighting the people who work behind the scenes of the world’s most memorable voyages—from bartenders and entertainers to ship captains and expedition leaders.
For the first 25 years of his life, Josh Simonetti rarely ventured beyond the Delaware Valley. Vacations meant going down the shore; the wider world felt abstract. Then, shortly after Pennsylvania legalized table games, a job dealing cards in a Philadelphia-area casino “kind of fell into my lap,” he says—and with it, a realization: casinos exist everywhere, and he didn’t have to stay put.
Simonetti joined Crystal Cruises in 2014, got a passport for the first time, and reported for his inaugural contract in Reykjavík the day before his 26th birthday. Over the next six months, he saw some 43 countries. After a pandemic-era detour back to land casinos in Philly, Florida, and Las Vegas, Simonetti is now back at sea on his 14th contract with Crystal, having visited 116 countries and counting—some of them more than a dozen times.
Today he’s the casino manager aboard Crystal Serenity, where Simonetti oversees the only Casino de Monte-Carlo at sea—an intimate, chandelier-lit room designed to evoke Monaco glamour without the intimidation. That sensibility mirrors Crystal itself: The ultra-luxury line was acquired by Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group in 2022 and relaunched following a $170 million refurbishment of its two ocean ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.
With fewer than 750 guests, a nearly one-to-one guest-to-staff ratio, and a culture built around enrichment (think PGA-level golf instruction and guest lecturers ranging from astronauts to comedy writers) Crystal attracts travelers who are curious as much as they are comfort-loving. That ethos carries through to the casino, where Simonetti and his multinational team prioritize approachability over pressure. “Nobody’s trying to pay off their mortgage on their cruise winnings,” he says. “It’s entertainment. We want people to have fun.”
We caught up with Simonetti at his home in Las Vegas earlier this year to talk about his favorite Norwegian fjord town, making first-timer card players feel at ease, and the indignity of winning bronze in the Crew Olympics.
What does a typical day on the job look like?
“In the casino world, we can’t operate until we’re in international waters or a certain number of nautical miles from land, so port days are usually spent catching up on sleep or going out exploring. I’m heading into my 14th contract now, and sometimes I catch myself thinking, Maybe I’ll just stay on board today. Then I remind myself: No, this is not why I’m here. Even if it’s a port I’ve been to 50 times, I force myself to go out—even if it’s just for a cup of coffee and a walk around town. Once we set sail, we start getting ready for the night. The casino usually opens around 7 p.m., so there’s time to eat, and then it’s off—you’re busy all night.
Sea days are different. We open the slot machines at 10 a.m. and table games around 1 p.m. We have blackjack, roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em, three-card poker, and tournaments. When guests start getting ready for dinner, we’ll pause the table games so our team can eat, rest, shower, and change, and then we’re back again by 8 p.m., entertaining guests until they turn in for the night.”
What is your favorite part about this job?
“What really warms my heart is when we get repeat guests—they remember our names, we remember theirs. We also get to know the world cruisers—about 120 people who sail with us for four months straight. By the end, it really feels like a real community.”
