- Cruise ship workers are tasked with making guests as happy as possible just like other employees in the hospitality industry.
- Workers can’t always be honest with passengers about their behavior or about the realities of working on a cruise ship, which can be a grueling experience.
- Trust the crew members for the best places in a port
- Sometimes situations are out of control and workers can’t remedy it
The current and former cruise ship workers were currently asked by the Business Insider what they wish they could tell passengers but can’t. The answers are as varied and interesting as it gets. This provides an insight into cruise ship etiquettes and manners.
Don’t ask annoying questions
A contractor who has worked for Norwegian Cruise Line said questions like “Where do you live?” and “Are you always on the ship?” are annoying.
Don’t get too rowdy
“Most of the guests were genuinely nice people, but there were a few who took the ‘being American’ thing a little too far,” a former Seabourn Cruise Line employee said. “They were raucous and got way to drunk each night, so it would have been nice to slap the privilege out of them, but unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to strike the guests.”
Be kind
It’s important to have a good attitude toward cruise ship workers, a former Carnival Cruise Line bar waitress said.
“You never know how physically, emotionally, and mentally tired a crewmember can be,” she said.
Tips are important
The former Carnival bar waitress said tips, on top of automatic gratuities included in drink purchases, made up a large percentage of her overall pay.
“Extra tips pretty much were my strongest source of income,” she said.
Talk less, listen more
“Shut up and listen. Just listen,” a Carnival hostess said.
Crew members know the best places to go at ports
“Get to know a crew member and find out where the truly good places are to go when the ship pulls into port,” a Royal Caribbean employee said.
Workers can’t control everything
During situations like delay in arrival at a port due to traffic or inclement weather which might force passengers to remain on the ship might frustrate some passengers but it is out of workers’ control, would have been nice to be honest with passengers.
Former cruise director for Holland America Line said that,”You have to kind of bite your tongue,” he said. “I wish you could be more honest with some of them.”
Driving a ship isn’t as hard as it looks
“Driving the ships isn’t that hard,” a first officer for Royal Caribbean said.
The bridge is the area where the captain and officers control the ship’s speed and direction. And it’s not that hard as it appears.
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Source: Business Insider
