Cruise ship workers dish the dirt about what goes on below deck
Even if you’re an experienced cruiser, odds are you’ve only seen one side of life on these ships as a passenger. But for the crew members on these vessels, life at sea is a very different prospect, and once the boat leaves port anything goes.
Reddit user willfulpool posed the question: “Cruise ship employees, what are things that happen aboard the ship that the guests don’t know about?”
And the response was staggering:
One user said: “You work with like, 20 other people in your department, all in this little prison of a job for six months at a time, except every few weeks two to three of the people might just be swapped out to other people.”
Another useer revealed: “A family friend use to work for a cruise line and told me deaths are common, especially with the elderly.
“Senior/nursing homes are expensive and for a much smaller price tag the elderly can be gone for a week or two at a time and have people constantly checking on them and they get all their meals.”
Yet another added: “I did a behind-the-scenes tour of a cruise ship once and they showed us the morgue.
“They also have two full ICUs on board since, even with helicopters, it can be days between someone falling ill and getting them to a proper hospital.”
One more really spilled the beans, saying “You would be amazed at what people will flush down the toilet. Pool noodles, T-shirts, shoes... pretty much anything that people don't want to pack with them when they leave.
“The ship also needs to fuel up (bunkering) and sometimes passengers are on board while that is going on. No open flames are allowed outside while bunkering is ongoing and this becomes a problem with passengers who need a smoke.
“To get around this they smoke in their rooms, which sets off the smoke detectors. There is also a regulation that bunkering must immediately stop if a fire alarm goes off until the hazard of a fire has passed. So somebody from the crew has to go to your room and make sure it isn't on fire. Then they call down to the engine room to report it's a false alarm. Then we can start the pumps again.
“On average, bunkering is usually interrupted three or four times due to this and it's annoying as hell.”
Were you aware of the secret life at sea?