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Significance of Epaulettes worn by Cruise Ship Staff

November, 19 2012

Staff on board a cruise ship are identifiable by uniform and name tags. The stripes (epaulettes) worn on their shoulders denotes their rank on the ship.

To understand the significance of these Stripes, we have compiled the following guide:

Four stripes:

Chief Engineer
Hotel Manager
Staff Captain
Staff Chief Engineer

Three stripes:

A/C Engineer
Casino Manager
Chief Housekeeper
First Purser
Guest Relations Manager
Second Engineer

Two and a half stripes:

Assistant Bar Manager
Assistant Chief Housekeeper
Assistant Food Manager
Guest Relations Officer
Second Electrician
Second Electronic Engineer
Second Officer
Security Officer
Third Engineer

Two stripes:

Second Deck Officer
Second Engineer Officer
Second Purser

One and a half stripe:

Third Purser

One stripe:

Fourth Deck Officer
Fourth Purser
Petty Officer

Departments

Colour between the stripes indicates the department:

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Topics Details

Cruise Ship Staff and Epaulettes on their Work Wear, their Significance and Denotations

October 30, 2018

BestMarine Admin

Uniforms give a sense of pride to the wearer. Initially, not all the officers from the merchant navy were required to wear a uniform. Uniforms came into popular culture when the ships began taking passengers along. The officers and the cruise staff started wearing uniforms to help identify the crew from the passengers. The epaulettes and the stripes on it denote the rank of the officer and the crew member.

The epaulettes are the type of shoulder piece used to determine the rank and the position of any officer in the force. The merchant navy also uses the same to denote the rank of officer on the cruise ship. The epaulette worn by the merchant navy officers have black color in the background with yellow or golden stripes over it as per the rank specified for it.

Specifications of the epaulettes:

The stripes worn on the epaulettes denote the rank and the nature of work of that particular officer on a cruise ship. The number of stripes on the epaulettes tells the rank of the officer; the higher the number of stripes, higher is the rank of that officer on the cruise ship. The epaulettes in the merchant navy have different and recognized designs for all the officers of different ranking.

When it comes to Cruise or Navy, there are various epaulettes that are worn by the staff. These epaulettes are a part of the coveralls and an integral part of the workwear. There are some of the epaulettes and their significance and denotion:

Epaulettes with four stripes: The epaulette with four stripes is worn by the Captain of the ship. The Captain is of the highest rank of the cruise ship and hence has an epaulette with four stripes. Chief Engineer, hotel manager, staff captain and staff chef engineer have a badge with four stripes on it. Four golden stripes on an epaulette denote that the person wearing it is of the highest rank on the ship. It also determines the nature of work of that officer.
Three stripes: A/C engineer, casino manager, guests relation manager, doctor, Chief Housekeeper wears an epaulette with three stripes on it.
Two and a half stripes: Nurse, assistant food manager, third engineer, assistant chief housekeeper, sous chef, second officer etc wears an epaulette with two and a half stripes.
Two stripes: second deck officer, second engineer officer, second purser are the people wearing the epaulettes with two stripes.
One and a half stripe: the third purser wears a uniform with epaulette that has one and a half stripe on it.
One stripe: Cadet, fourth deck officer, petty officer etc have an epaulette with one stripe on it.

Customization of the uniform epaulettes:

Merchant navy epaulettes are sold by many big companies like Best Marines, 3M, Honeywell, Ansell etc. The PPE workwear suppliers are the also the sellers of navy uniforms and epaulettes. The epaulettes are the major part of a marine uniform.

Best Marines offers a variety of marine epaulettes that can be customized as per the need of the navy officers. Best Marines has a wide range of merchant navy uniforms, epaulettes shirts, and protective workwear, to choose from. We have the best quality epaulettes at an affordable price. The materials used are durable and sustainable.

Best Marine is the major seller and a prominent dealer in the Indian market for the industrial protective workwear and uniforms for marine. The uniforms are customized according to the needs of the client. Comfort and safety is the main purpose of Best Marines, all the products are manufactured accordingly.

The PPE workwear required for the marines are designed keeping in mind the necessity of the naval forces. The protective clothing is made from sustainable material. Best Marines have thermally insulated suits to keep the wearer warm and comfortable during harsh weather.

Best Marines is easily accessible to all on their website. The website allows the user to search for the desired products and makes it easy for the customer to buy them from the comfort of their own house.

Best Marines is the most recommended website and company to go for when one needs to purchase the PPE workwear or a merchant navy uniform and the epaulettes. Best Marines ensures the durability and the quality of the products. The goods are produced in an environmentally friendly process. The high-quality products with great value for money is the main mantra of sales at the Best Marines, helping it mark its position in the Indian as well as the global market.

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Ranks (epaulettes & neckerchiefs)

By Worldtvlr , November 12, 2021 in Ask a Cruise Question

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Sorry, I have no clue about ranks and epaulettes and the various neckerchiefs worn by chefs.

I always thought a white towel worn over the arm identified the person with the most important rank on a cruise ship.

Waiters Clipart Imgs For Gt W - Serve Food And Beverage - 410x630 PNG Download - PNGkit

Every company has slightly different insignia for ranks & ratings.

Colours - shipping companies that use colours to differentiate departments, normally use:

No colour - Deck & Security Dept
Purple - Engineering/Electricians/HVAC
White - Hotel
Red - Medical
Green - Used to be Radio Officers, but now tends to include electronics types
Traditional Merchant Navy will have a diamond incorporated into the stripes for those with Certificates of Competency (Deck & Engineering), however others just have straight stripes
Master - on commercial ships must come from the Deck Dept and traditionally has 4 stripes. However on cruise ships, you may see variations to differentiate from Staff Captain
Staff Captain - some have 3.5, others have 4 stripes
Senior Deck Officer - 3 stripes
Senior 2nd Officer - 2.5 stripes
2nd Officer - 2 stripes
3rd Officer - 1 stripe
Cadet - normally 1 very thin stripe running the length of the epaulette

MBP&O2/O

When I started out I worked for BP … they had RN style curls, but 3/8 inch as opposed to the RN 1/2 inch. If memory serves me correctly the ER staff had red, but it was that long ago and my brain has faded accordingly 😵 ‍ 💫

Apparently this is not allowed (mistaken identity?) but they were given some kind of permission due their war efforts?

Am I correct in thinking that P&O just had plain stripes? No diamonds at all?

1 hour ago, MBP&O2/O said: When I started out I worked for BP … they had RN style curls, but 3/8 inch as opposed to the RN 1/2 inch. If memory serves me correctly the ER staff had red, but it was that long ago and my brain has faded accordingly 😵 ‍ 💫 Apparently this is not allowed (mistaken identity?) but they were given some kind of permission due their war efforts? Am I correct in thinking that P&O just had plain stripes? No diamonds at all?

Affirmative, P&O had a dispensation from many years ago that they used the wider stripe, without the diamond.

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Every company has slightly different insignia for ranks & ratings.

That has been my experience as well.

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Cadet - normally 1 very thin stripe running the length of the epaulette

That is what I recall seeing for a Cadet Officer on HAL rather than what was shown by the OP for an Apprentice Officer.

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Let me take you on a journey through the wonderful world of cruise!

Knowing Your Officers – Deck Department

A quick and easy introduction to the Deck Department officers on your ship and what it is they do.

Commodore – This is the highest rank cruise ship officers can reach and is similar to the rank of Admiral. The Commodore is not only in charge of the vessel on which he is aboard but, he is also in charge of the entire fleet. It’s actually quite rare to come across a Commodore onboard. Some cruise lines don’t even have one.

Epaulet – One gold ring or large block of colour sometimes with a small motif above

Captain – I think the role of Captain is a pretty obvious one. This individual is the highest ranking officer on the ship and is responsible for the ships entire operation. All decisions regarding operations, navigation and so on are made by the Captain.

Epaulet – 4 gold stripes (often with a small motif above)

Deputy Captain or Staff Captain – The Staff Captain or Deputy Captain as they are also known is second in command onboard the ship. The job of the Staff Captain is to assist the Captain with the running of the ship as well as heading up the Deck Department.

Epaulet – 4 gold stripes

First Officer – The first officer is a navigation officer, his or her responsibility is the overseeing of bridge operations.

Epaulet – 3 gold stripes

Second Officer – The role of the Second Officer is navigation, usually working in shifts as officer of the watch.

Epaulet – 2 gold stripes

Third Officer – Similar to that of a Second Officer. Understanding of all navigational equipment is required.

Epaulet – 1 gold stripe

Safety Officer – The role of this individual is exactly as the title describes. His or her job is to conduct and organise the onboard safety drills for both passengers and crew. If there were an emergency situation it would be the job of the Safety Officer to head up operations related to the abandonment of the ship.

Security Officer – Again the title is self explanatory. The Safety Officer is responsible for all aspects of the ship’s security this including any issues during embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and crew.

Epaulet – Sometimes displaying the word Security often with 2 stripes

Cadet – The role of cadet is self explanatory, they are there to learn, usually straight out of Marine school and into a type of apprenticeship.

Epaulet – One long thin gold strip across the length of the epaulet

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What about the doctor’s uniform?

NCL Restricts Privileges for Staff Members and Officers With Less Than 2-stripes - It's Not Just Benefits, It's Our World NCL is Altering

Norwegian Cruise Lines is undertaking changes related to staff benefits on board its cruise ships that will be affecting greatly on decision making moving forward to many staff, the company and guests in retrospect. The recent changes will affect most staff members and officers who carry less than 2 stripes on their uniform, while some reduction of benefits will affect all staff across the board. While the changes are coming initially from staff members on NCL, Crew Center was sent a confirmation of the changes from a Corporate memo dated November 18th, 2022.

What are these mentioned changes and what is the big deal about them?

Some of the mentioned changes at this time are no further stewards cleaning staff cabins for all staff, and officers at and below 2-stripes access to guest areas such as the gym, buffet, bars, restaurants to include sushi and pizza will be terminated.

"In order to ensure that our guests consistently experience the very best our ships and crew have to offer, the privilege of full public access has been redefined and will be effective with your next sailing. At that time, only 2-stripe, and 2-stripe equivalent officers and above will maintain full access to public areas and outlets.

Officers and crew with less than 2-stripes will follow the availability-based sign-up process when requesting acess to public areas." NCL’s memo sent to the shipboard management reads in parts.

While this does not sound like benefits that are worthy to be fussed about, many of the staff members chose these positions due to quality of life and ability to access these areas. Majority of the cruise industry and recruitment when attracting staff to the cruise ships utilize these benefits as a selling point of the salary based positions. These positions often receive less than what one may make from tip-based positions.

Crew Center received several messages from staff members who strongly disagree with this decision.

“I had hope when I joined this company after a bad experience on another cruise line. I had goals and dreams to grow with them but now, this is ground for reconsideration. At the end, it is proof that no matter what, you are just a number. I urge NCL to reconsider these changes as crew/staff members are gathering fleetwide to protest about those changes. Enough is enough!” said one staff member.

“Turns out Norwegian removed all the benefits for staff members. How do they expect us to give our best if we don’t have any of the things that were helping us? You can’t ask people to give in if they have nothing to offer” said another.

As a previous crew member and also a staff member when it came down to making the decision between the tip ability to make double as a crew member and staff to make double less was the quality of life that the above mentioned benefits provided on a ship work/living lifestyle. And while many of my coworkers also made the same transitions for the same reason brings me to wonder with the current lack of crew and staff on board cruise ships across the industry, how will this affect not only the staff, but NCL moving forward?

A generalized assumption that staff and officers who are under 2 stripes at least will place much thought on potential transitions to another cruise line. Some may consider the transition to land-based positions where they make continue to receive their sense of quality of life. Finally, we need to also consider the ones who may feel trapped in their current positions without the option of land-based or alternative fleet solution should this change greatly affect their work/live lifestyle on board they initially did not sign up for, as well as their mental, emotional and psychological well-being. Recently we covered a story related to the suicide of a crew member on board of a different cruise ship company who felt trapped and without a way out because his contract was extended. We need to acknowledge that when cruise companies make what may appear to us land folk small and insignificant changes, to the crew members and staff can be life and world-altering, and as such cruise companies should consider as mental health providers are still not readily available on cruise ships for crew and staff to process changes in their worlds.

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Inside Cruise Ship Crew Cabins – Full Review (2021)

Crew cabins on cruise ships vary by size and mainly depend on the job position, rank or title you have as a crew member. Crew cabins’ appearance also varies from ship to ship. Older cruise ships’ crew cabins are usually old and used, while newly built ships feature prettier and more comfortable cabins for their employees.

In this article, I want to give you an overview of crew cabins so you can get familiarized with life at sea.

Crew Cabins’ Size

As mentioned above, cruise ship crew cabins vary by size which is mainly determined by your rank or title onboard.

Most of the crew members have double-shared cabins , meaning that they need to share a cabin with someone else. It is normally the person of the same sex and from the same or similar department. For instance, I’ve worked as a Shore excursion staff , and almost always I shared my cabin with my coworker from the same department. Crew members from the same departments normally have cabins close to each other, and close to their workplace (in my case, crew cabins were near our Shore excursions office).

If you are friends with someone or you want to live with a particular person, you can request to live together. The crew HR department will then consider your request and accommodate you based on the vacancy.

If you have a partner onboard, you can also request to live together which is approved in most cases (again, based on the vacancy and your status/job positions).

Double-shared cabins are in most cases very tiny and they don’t have portholes (windows). Each crew cabin is equipped with its own bathroom, which is also very small. Crew members living in these cabins are responsible for cleaning their cabins regularly by themselves.

There is a cabin inspection on a regular basis led by designated officers from higher positions and different departments, so they can check if your cabin is maintained and regularly cleaned. You can borrow the cleaning products from the Housekeeping department or Laundry, but I always preferred to have my own products that I would buy in a crew shop (yes, we do have one!) or outside in the port.

Officers, managers and supervisors in higher positions normally have single cabins , which means they don’t have to share with another crew member. These cabins are slightly bigger (but not necessarily more luxurious), they have a porthole (window) and a larger, full-size bed. Some single cabins also have an additional fold-down bed. They have their own bathroom (equally small) and daily housekeeping service, which is one of the best perks.

Single cabins are usually given to the officers with 2.5 stripes and above (stripes worn on officers’ shoulders denote their rank on the ship). The higher your position is, the better your living space is. For example, Captain, Staff Captain, Chief Engineer have 4 stripes and their cabins are on deck 10 near the Bridge, so their cabins are of the same size as guest cabins on that floor. Some of these cabins even consist of two rooms. However, this widely varies by company and depends on the ship itself.

What’s Inside Crew Cabins?

Crew Cabins are equipped with the following:

Bunk beds/full-size beds – Standard double-shared cabins have bunk beds with privacy curtains and a ladder. If you came to the cabin first, you are most likely to claim the bottom bed (crew members’ preference), while newcomers don’t have other choices but to take the top bunk.

Once you move in, you will be provided with clean sheets and a pillowcase (clean, but not necessarily new). However, I always used to bring my own sheets because I wanted to have a little piece of home with me. I always used to bring old sheets, so I could toss them away after I finish my contract and not overload my luggage with it. Underneath the bed, there is enough space to store two suitcases of large/medium size, and this is where the crew keeps their luggage.

Each bunk has a lamp so you can read if you want, and some even have their own flat-screen TV installed (this varies by company and only applies to newer or refurbished ships).

As I said before, officers with 2.5 stripes and above have single cabins with one larger bed (two people can easily fit) and an extra foldable bed.

The bathrooms are really tiny and they consist of a shower cubicle, a toilet, a small sink, and a few shelves where you can put your products. Make sure you organize your space smartly, or otherwise you won’t have enough space to fit your stuff. For the bathroom, I definitely recommend you get a foldable toiletry bag , it’s extremely useful and you can hang it over the door.

I share some useful tips in my article 18 Crew Cabins Must-Haves , so I hope they make your onboard life easier!

You can take the toilet paper and ship approved cleaning chemicals from the Laundry for free, however, you can also purchase your own products as well. Crew members have their own laundry where they can wash their stuff for free, but they need to use their own detergent and softener. You can buy all of this in a slop chest (a crew shop) that every ship has for their crew.

A closet – Every crew cabin is equipped with a medium-sized closet with shelves and drawers that you share with your roommate (for double-shared cabins). The space is extremely limited, so if you are planning to keep it tidy, make sure you bring only the essentials.

A hanging shoe organizer is an amazing item that I highly recommend, as well as a mesh pop-up laundry basket where you can dispose of your dirty laundry.

On top of the closet, there’s space for two life jackets. It’s mandatory for every crew member to keep their life jackets in their cabins and use them during the drills or in case of an emergency.

A small desk with a chair – Due to the size of a standard crew cabin, only one chair can fit but you can always get an extra one if you need it.
A mini-fridge – You’ll find a mini-fridge in every crew cabin. Here, you can keep your drinks or snacks. Keeping fruits and vegetables in the fridge is normally not allowed on most ships.
TV and Phone
A large mirror
A trash can – Crew members are required to sort their own trash. We are required to bring our garbage to the incinerator room where we separate glass, paper, metal into the designated bins.

Crew cabins mini fridge, safe box, bunk bed

Crew Cabins Location

Crew cabins are located on several decks, from deck zero (below sea level) to deck 2 or 3, with the exception of bridge officers who live higher up closer to the Bridge and their workplace.

The location depends on your job position and the workplace. For example, the majority of restaurant and bar staff normally live on deck zero close to the crew elevators that can bring them fast to their workplace (bars, galleys, a dining room, restaurants). Officers and managers who have single cabins are usually situated on decks 1 or 2 on the port side and starboard side, as they have portholes and windows.

Life inside the Crew Cabins

A tiny crew cabin is your new home for the next several months, so always keep it clean and tidy.
Get along with your roommate! After all, that’s the person you share your life with, so always be considerate regarding his/her working hours, shifts, needs, and habits (don’t slam the doors, don’t be noisy, don’t turn on the light in the middle of the night, etc.)
I recommend you only bring the essentials, as the space is extremely limited and you will be buying new stuff onboard a ship and outside in ports (trust me!). Here is my list of 18 Crew Cabins Must-Haves !
It’s forbidden to smoke inside the crew cabins. There are designated areas onboard the cruise ship where smoking is allowed (such as crew open decks).
You can’t keep electrical appliances in your cabin (kettles, irons, etc.). Fruits, vegetables, fresh food are normally not allowed to be kept in the fridge.
You are responsible for changing your bedsheets and linen. You can discharge the dirty/get clean ones in the laundry. You can use the ship towels for free during the entire duration of your contract.
Cabin inspections are mandatory, so make sure you keep your cabin clean and according to the ship’s standards.
Respect your roommate’s privacy and don’t invite other crew members inside your cabin if your roommate disapproves of it.
You are responsible for any valuable items/credit cards/money you may have. Always keep an eye on your belongings. Some ships have safety lockers available.
If you don’t get along with your roommate, you can always report it to the HR department and they will do their best to accommodate your request and move you to another cabin.

Wrapping Up

Life inside cruise ship crew cabins is unique, extraordinary, unconventional experience! Your life suddenly needs to fit in a few square meters for over half a year, not to mention that you need to share that space with a person you (most often) don’t know! It’s fun, challenging and tough at the same time, but definitely an experience that you will remember for a lifetime!

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Stripes On Yachts: What Do They Mean?

Whether you are new to the yachting industry or an experienced professional, we’ve all asked ourselves the same question at least once in our career, “what do those stripes mean?” This article breaks down the meanings behind these cryptic stripes.

What do Yacht Stripes Mean on Epaulettes?

The epaulettes worn on the shoulders of superyacht crew are a legacy of 17th-century military dress in France —when they were used both as a decorative sign of status and a handy way of stopping your sword belt from slipping off your shoulder.

Epaulettes (also epaulets) were adopted by most world navies by the 18th century as a formal insignia of rank and then made their way into the merchant and leisure cruising industries.

The word ‘epaulettes’ comes from the French ‘épaule’, meaning shoulder, and are black with stripes in either gold or silver braid, with a symbol to designate department.

Why and When do Yacht Crew Wear Them?

Yacht crew wear epaulettes in their formal dress as a way of signifying their rank and department, as well as adding a certain status to an occasion.

Epaulettes are usually worn while welcoming guests onto the yacht at arrival and on evening service and passerelle watch, but rarely during daytime activities. These small bits of material add formality and are used as a sign of respect to the guests. You will also often wear epaulettes during boat shows or, less commonly, when welcoming officials or marine pilots on board.

Guests can use the epaulettes to know the rank and department of the crew member they are talking to (even if few guests probably know what they all mean!) Knowing the epaulette system is also helpful for crew to identify another’s rank and department at a glance. In contrast, the epaulettes act as a valuable code for the wider industry — for instance, for port officials to recognise a captain upon arrival.

Not all superyachts use epaulettes in their uniform, as they are in no way a legal requirement (as they are in the Navy). But most do — even if just for that first welcome of the boss from the airport.

The Epaulette ‘Ranking’ System The stripes run from 4 to 1 in descending order of rank. Unlike in the cruise ship industry, there are no half-stripes.

You might have noticed that the different colours of the stripes are significant: The gold braid is reserved for deck and engineering roles, while the silver is for interior roles.

Symbols

The symbols of anchors and propellers for deck and engineering roles are (hopefully!) self-explanatory.
The stew’s crescent moon is a throwback to the 1800s when Napoleon introduced crescent-shaped bread to feed his army.
The quills on a purser’s epaulettes refer to their administrative role.

How to Wear Epaulettes Like You Know What You’re Doing

Now that you know what an epaulette is and what each variation means, it’s your job to a) not lose them and b) wear them the right way up. You might wonder how you could lose an epaulette in a closed environment like a yacht, but trust us, those tiny bits of material sprout legs when you’re not looking.

We strongly suggest that you make a first-day-and-forever habit of always taking your epaulettes off and putting them on the same shelf in the bathroom. And once you’ve found them, always take a quick look to see that you haven’t put them on upside down.

Slipping on your epaulettes for the first time is a rite of passage for any new crew member. Relish the moment. Take a look in the mirror. Look sharp, don’t you?

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Laurie Lechene

Saverocity Travel

Travel - Better

A Rough Guide to Cruise Ship Hierarchy – and Cruise Ship Mafia

July 3, 2013 by Matt 5 Comments

If you do decide to embark upon a Cruise Ship career, or even for a contract or two after college it is highly advisable that you get to know the Hierarchy of the ship. One of the most frustrating things will be the forced sense of power and authority that some people have, and also where the real dangers are in terms of messing with the crew. I’ve seen everything from Random Drug Testing (actually happened to me) that wasn’t so Random, to what was claimed to be an arranged ‘hit’ on the ship. Both of these incidents came down to the internal politics of the unique work environment.

Here’s a diagram that roughly outlines the lines of command in a ship. I tried to simplify it, and in reality it is a lot more complex than the figure below. Basically you have the Captain in charge of the Vessel, and below him a Staff Captain that will be responsible for a Key Department, such as Engine Department. Some lines have the Staff Captain coined as Executive Officer (as in the Navy) and they are responsible for other aspects and command lines.

The Executive Team will include: Captain, Staff Captain, Hotel Director, Chief Engineer. These typically are 4 Stripe Officers, below them in the chain at 3 Stripes would be Casino Manager, AC Engineer (Air conditioning is an important job on a ship!) Chief Purser, F&B Manager etc. All of the different routes to management have Entry level roles, from Cadets in the Officers rankings, through to trainee positions in Hotel and Concession operations.

Generally speaking the Entire Crew is divided into Three Distinct Categories:

Officer – Sub divided into Engineers, Deck Officers and Hotel Operations Officers.
Staff – Concessions such as Casino, Gift Shop, Spa, Music and Entertainers. Certain senior Staff have a synthetic officer status
Crew – Support staff such as Cabin Stewards and Cooks. People from Crew can become Officers over time when they rise to management positions.

Got all that? Great, it will take you quite some time to figure out who is who on the ship and what that means to you, and generally being polite and courteous to those above and below you will stand you in good stead. However there are times when a ship becomes very ‘rank’ centric and you need to know where you fit in overall, and who your peers are.

The model breaks down when you compare ranks and time to get into position – for example an Officer Cadet can move to a 2 Stripe Third Engineer within a contract or two, whereas a person working in Housekeeping as a Cabin Steward might work for 15 years before they pick up their 2 Stripe Status as Assistant Housekeeping Manager. So when someone is around that level, and the newly promoted Cadet is throwing their weight around things can get tense between people.

Cruise Ship Mafia

Beyond the Stripes that you see in chains of command there is an unofficial ‘Mafia’ that works along Ethnicity – this was created unofficially to protect the hard working, low paid Crew from being messed around with by dumb Officers and Staff. So basically if you mess with or are mean to a Filipino Cabin Steward, he will talk to his people, and they will take measures to rebalance things. Typically this means getting a message through to the Filipino line supervisor in your department, who will bust your balls for your troubles, and that’s the end of it. An example of how the Cruise Ship Mafia could help set you back in place would be assigning ‘random’ drug and alcohol testing after a night you were seen in the bar late.

Typically though, they are friendly and nice people, and are a great resource if you are looking for anything you need outside of regular hours – they run an unofficial barber shop, have a cabin assigned to storing beer and snacks and can gain you access to the Galley for late night munchies.

There are times though, when Departmental Heads are too far out of line for the likes of the Crew, and things get a little more serious, as was the case when I worked on my first contract. The Food and Beverage Manager from the Cruiseline had been gathering a reputation for being abusive to his people, he was hated in the Kitchen for his punishments (like keeping people on extra shifts to clean the entire place if he found a single speck of dirt).

One evening he was attacked by a member of the Department, it happened away from the Kitchen and the rumor was that he was assigned the task as an arranged hit by the Mafia, though that was never proven. The F&B Manager survived the attack after being airlifted from the vessel whilst at sea, and the Captain decided to skip port in order to reach a different country which imposed the most severe sentence. I never knew what came of that mans fate, but do know that the Captain did what he could to ensure he got the maximum sentence. Quite a scary thing to see on your first time from sea, and a stark reminder that you are living in a hotbed of Rich and Poor, and Privileged and the Not. Best to keep to your good manners at all times.

I mention this story because it is easy to fall into the trap of your own ‘Rank’ on a ship and forget that you need to respect those around you, and those who don’t have your rank either, because they have a right to your respect and every now and then if pushed hard enough they can snap.

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July 4, 2013 at 12:56 am

Fascinating! Should my son think about cruise ship work, I will be sure to send him this link! He does have a friend who works on a yacht, and he did consider that at one point, but I think for now he is a safe landlubber.

July 4, 2013 at 1:05 am

After saying goodbye to our friend on Friday we almost went back- I think if it wasn’t for a few commitments and that entry level at our age is tricky we would be there. I would highly recommend it for people 18-22 or 65 and over. Unless you are in the Entertainment industry as a Musician or comic in which case you are always living like a kid or or retiree! If they ever consider it let me know and we will get on the phone to talk about the ins and outs.

July 4, 2013 at 6:01 am

OK, thanks. He’s 26 and probably wouldn’t do it at this point, but you never know since most of his jobs involve travel. He has alternated traveling on his own in Latin America with short-term jobs since he graduated college. He has done quite a lot of event marketing and right now he is working for an agency that does events for BMW dealers. It’s a four month gig and involves 100% travel. Before that he was just traveling on his own in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and before that he led a summer tour for teens in Costa Rica and Panama. So you can see why working on a cruise ship might appeal to him. And then there’s my college professor husband – I keep urging him to apply to teach for Semester at Sea or to see if he can get hired on a cruise ship to give lectures – mainly so I can go along too!

July 4, 2013 at 1:00 am

Very interesting! I’ve never been on a cruise ship. 🙂

February 9, 2018 at 5:11 pm

n2people.nl

Uniforms on Cruise Ships: Who Provides Them and What to Expect

The experience of working on a cruise ship can be thrilling and gratifying, but it also presents some special challenges, such as learning how to put on a dress. We'll discuss the suppliers and specifications for the outfits needed by cruise ship staff in this blog article.

Uniform Requirements:

Cruise ship staff members frequently need to put on a specific outfit when on duty. Different dress codes may apply, depending on the ship line and the crew member's position. Cruise ship outfits usually incorporate the elements below:

Shirts and blouses

Pants or skirts

Jackets or blazers

Hats or caps

Shoes or boots

Employees on the team might also be expected to dress differently depending on the environment they work in. There may be a requirement for crew members working in the cleaning department to don a different attire from those working in the eatery or eating department, for example.

Considering working on a cruise ship?? Get started with the Shiplife TV recruiters list!

Who provides the uniforms.

Most of the time, owners of cruise ships provide the appropriate clothing for their employees. The staff members typically receive these costumes when they arrive, and they are required to wear them while carrying out their tasks.

However, some cruise companies might demand that workers get their own shoes or other accessories for their outfits. In these cases, the cruise company may grant the employee a gratuity to assist in defraying the cost of these things.

It is imperative that staff members check with their specific cruise line about the required outfits and who is in charge of providing them.

Benefits of Uniforms:

While wearing a uniform while working on a cruise ship may seem like a bother or a nuisance to some employees, there are several benefits to doing so. These benefits include:

Professional Appearance: When staff members wear uniforms, their professional look is enhanced and guests can identify them more easily.

Safety and Security:Wearing a dress helps to keep the ship and its passengers safe and secure by establishing who belongs and who doesn't.

Branding and Marketing: Additionally, uniforms can be used to promote and identify the cruise line, giving it a unified appearance.

Conclusion:

It's crucial to understand the outfit requirements for staff members and who provides them if you want to work on a cruise ship. The advantages of wearing a uniform while on employment, the specific uniform standards, and who is responsible for supplying them may vary depending on the cruise company. Uniforms make a substantial contribution to the entire cruise ship experience through the creation of a professional appearance, maintenance of safety and security, and support of branding and marketing initiatives.

Want to know the 7 alarming secrets that are hidden in your cruise ship contract?

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photo of Icon of the Seas, taken on a long railed path approaching the stern of the ship, with people walking along dock

Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

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MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optical nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

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“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

selfie photo of man with glasses, in background is swim-up bar with two women facing away

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

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The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

photo of elaborate twisting multicolored waterslides with long stairwell to platform

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

2 photos: a ship's foamy white wake stretches to the horizon; a man at reailing with water and two large ships docked behind

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

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I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

2 photos: 2 slices of pizza on plate; man in "Daddy's Little Meatball" shirt and shorts standing in outdoor dining area with ship's exhaust stacks in background

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

photo of sheltered sandy beach with palms, umbrellas, and chairs with two large docked cruise ships in background

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

photo from inside of spacious geodesic-style glass dome facing ocean, with stairwells and seating areas

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

photo of author smiling and holding soft-serve ice-cream cone with outdoor seating area in background

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

Crew Code of Conduct and Rules on Cruise Ship

Cruise lines have a set of rules and regulations in place for all crewmembers to live by. These policies and procedures govern how you should conduct yourself, how you treat others, your personal appearance, and your work ethic and performance. When policies have been violated, discipline is necessary. Here’s what to expect from the code of conduct and rules for crew on cruise ships.

Personal Conduct of Cruise Ship Crew

Crew members are expected to behave a certain way on the ship which is not only their work place but their home. Since you have the right to work and live in a safe and professional environment, cruise lines have put these policies and rules in place. Here is a typical list of what is not tolerated or allowed on a cruise ship and which may lead to disciplinary action:

Drunkenness is not tolerated and cruise lines practice blood alcohol content testing.
Do not chew gum in passenger areas.
Do not use offensive language.
Vandalism is not tolerated.
Theft of ship’s property or a guest’s property is not tolerated.
Fighting is not tolerated.
Drugs and weapons are forbidden.
Sexual harassment is not tolerated.
Smoking is not allowed in unauthorized areas.
Guests are not allowed in crew areas.
Unauthorized persons are not allowed to board the ship.
Absenteeism of safety drills is not tolerated.
Violation of USPH rules concerning hygienic working practices is not tolerated.

Cruise Ship Crew Dress Code

Cruise lines expect that their employees take pride in their presentation and conform to the cruise lines’ appearance standards. Here are some typical rules that pertain to cruise ship crew dress codes:

Wear the appropriate uniform with regards to time of day, ship’s itinerary, function or location.
Name tag must be worn on the side of the uniform determined by the cruise line.
Shoes and socks must be conservative and some cruise lines require women to wear pantyhose. Shoes should be polished and in good shape.
Only the top button of a shirt may be open as to not show cleavage or hairy chests.
Safety clothing and equipment must be worn as required.
All clothing worn as part of your uniform must be clean, pressed, and free of stains or damage.

Cruise Ship Crew Grooming Rules

Cruise ship crew are also expected to adhere to personal hygiene standards and other appearance standards at all times. Most cruise lines have similar grooming rules when it comes to cleanliness, hair care, shaving, tattoos, makeup and jewellery. Here are some guidelines to follow.

Crew member must be clean and odour free this includes hair, hands, nails, mouth, body and clothing.
Avoid use of strong perfumes and colognes.
Beards and moustaches are only allowed if kept well-trimmed. (Crewmember is not allowed to start growing facial hair during their contract.)
Visible tattoos are not permitted.
Visible body piercings are not permitted (except one earring in each ear for women).
Women should wear only conservative makeup and jewellery.

Men’s hair must not be longer than to a shirt collar

Crew member Use of Guest Areas

Depending on cruise line and rank will determine if you are allowed to use or be in guest areas while off duty. Some cruise lines allow officer-ranking employees to use the pool deck, passenger gym and restaurants. If you are allowed to be in passenger areas during off duty times, remember that guests have first priority.

For example, in Royal Caribbean’s “Getting Onboard” employee handbook, they specify the following crew restrictions for public areas:

If you are found in a guest stateroom and you are not fulfilling a guest accommodation (ie. cabin service), you will be dismissed immediately.

Shipboard casinos, guest swimming pools, and whirlpools are off-limits to shipboard employees.

Elevators are for guest use only.

Crew Members Conduct with Guests

How you conduct yourself with the guests can make or break your career working on a cruise ship. This is exceptionally important. To start, never argue with a guest. Instead, report any problems with a guest to your supervisor.

Second, never cross the line between guest and crew member. Never invite a guest into a crew area. Avoid guest elevators. Be aware of young guests with parents that misinterpret your interaction with their son/daughter. Also, be careful with how overly social you are with a guest that it isn’t interpreted as romantic or worse yet, sexual harassment.

Crew Member Conduct While Working

You are expected to follow all rules and regulations set out for the department that you work in. At the very least you must be punctual to all shifts and follow all USPH rules concerning hygiene. Other policies may include accuracy if dealing with money or sales quotas when dealing with concessionary departments.

In addition, a crew member’s actions must not impede the progress or navigation of the ship. This could mean anything from phoning the bridge during a red zone period or arriving back to the ship after the allowable time for crew.

Furthermore, each Captain has the authority to establish additional rules and regulations for his ship (known as Captain’s Standing Orders). He may have different uniform requirements for a turnaround day. He may specify passenger areas that officer-ranked employees are able to use or not use such as pool areas and bars. Understanding the basic code of conduct for cruise lines may make you reconsider if ship life is for you.

Cruise Lines Code of Conduct – Additional Resources

To learn more about what happens when a crew member violates the code of conduct, read Disciplinary Action and Appraisals for Cruise Ship Crew.

Here are a few specific cruise lines’ code of conduct and rules for shipboard employees:

Royal Caribbean: Getting Onboard 2006
Princess Cruise Lines: Terms and Conditions of Employment 2007 [PDF]
Holland America Line: House Rules

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Here’s your chance to set sail with the crew of ‘Old Ironsides’ on July 4

USS Constitution goes underway in Boston Harbor in celebration of Independence Day, 2022. USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat. (Alec Kramer/U.S. Navy)

Want to “serve” on the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat? Now is your chance.

A free lottery to win a spot aboard USS Constitution’s July 4th underway demonstration opened Tuesday. The lottery will select, at random, 150 people to join the crew as they set sail in Boston Harbor. Each person selected will be allowed to bring one guest.

Passengers will be able to engage with active-duty sailors on board to learn about the Navy and the history of the USS Constitution, and they will have a front-row seat as the crew fires a 21-gun salute in honor of Independence Day.

A link to the invitation is available on the Constitution’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

The USS Constitution, known as “Old Ironsides” and America’s Ship of State, was launched in 1797 and played a crucial role in the Barbary Wars in the early 1800s, and famously in the War of 1812. It actively defended sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.

The Constitution remains both a training and ceremonial ship for the Navy, served by active-duty sailors, as well as an educational experience for visitors. The ship is open for tours Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Direct any questions about the lottery to USS Constitution’s Special Events Division at: 617-593-2025 or [email protected] .

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Carnival Cruise Ship Catches Fire – Was It Weather?

March 27, 2024

Watch this video that shows a fire aboard the Carnival Freedom, which was headed to the Bahamas. The cruise line said reports that it was sparked by a lightning strike remain under investigation. No passengers were injured, but two crew members were treated for smoke inhalation.

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2 crew members die on cruise ship during ‘incident’ in the Bahamas

Published: Mar. 25, 2024, 9:11 a.m.

FILE - A Holland America cruise ship is shown in Victoria, Canada on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship's engineering space, the cruise line said. The unidentified crew members died Friday, March 22, 2024, while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) AP

The Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said.

The unidentified crew members died Friday while the Florida-based Nieuw Amsterdam was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America said in a statement.

Authorities were notified and the cause of the accident is being investigated, the cruise line said. Crew members were being offered counseling.

“All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with our team members’ families at this difficult time,” the statement said. “The safety, security and welfare of all guests and crew are the company’s absolute priority.”

The cruise line did not offer any further details about the crew members. It later said the Bahamas Maritime Authority was leading the investigation. The ship set sail out of Fort Lauderdale on March 16 for a seven-night trip.

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Cruise Ship Crew Life

Working on a cruise ship is unlike any other experience out there. Part of it feels like living in a college dorm where you don’t have homework and go to a bar every night. This page takes you through cruise ship crew life from someone that’s been there. Hopefully this page gives you some helpful information to decide if working on a ship is for you or to help you know what to expect as you go to work at sea. Cruise ship life for crew is different than really any other kind of life out there. Here’s a look at cruise ship crew life and what it’s like as crew on cruise ships.

Working on a cruise ship is an incredible opportunity to explore the world, save a bit of money, have a career, or maybe even meet the love of your life (or maybe just your love for a night), but it’s not for everyone. We try to answer as many questions as we can to help you on your way to find out if the life of a cruise ship crew member and life at sea is for you. Have questions about what cruise ship crew life is like? Or maybe about what it’s like to be crew on a cruise ship? Comment below and we’ll try to answer it for you.

*Disclosure: All views are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.*

Thinking about working on a cruise ship? Wondering what cruise ship life for crew is like? Have questions? Start here:

Which cruise line is the best to work for?

Picking which cruise line to work for might be the biggest decision (other than which job) that you have to make in your cruise ship career.

There are pros and cons to nearly every cruise line. From onboard different onboard perks to better itineraries to salary and time off.

Take a look as we take a deep dive into things to think about before working taking the job.

FAQ's About Living and Working on a Cruise Ship - What Crew Life at sea is like.

In this post we answer the most common questions about cruise ship crew life , what a crew members life at sea is like, and what it’s like to be crew on cruise ships.

5 Questions About Cruises & Crew Life at Sea

Questions about ship life seem to be never ending. These questions dive into whether or not cruise ship crew pay taxes, where cruise ship crew sleep, and more. In this post we take a look at five new questions about cruises and crew life .

5 perks of working on a cruise ship - some advantages of crew life at sea

There are a lot of perks to being crew on a cruise ship. Cruise ship life for crew can be pretty great. In this post we take a deeper look at five perks of working onboard a cruise ship.

things to know before working on a cruise ship - crew life at sea is different. Here are things to know before you go.

There are some things that I wish I knew before I worked onboard… when I asked my friends, I guess they did, too. Take a look at 10 things to know before working on a cruise ship .

What kinds of jobs are there on a cruise ship?

So, you’re still thinking of working onboard. Great! What kind of jobs are there on a cruise ship? On a ship there are seemingly a million different jobs suited towards every background and every personality. Cruise ships have anywhere from a hundred to over two thousand crew on a cruise ship. This means there is likely a job suited for you.

Cruise Ship Jobs You Probably Don't Know About?

You’ve probably heard of the Cruise Director and the Captain – well, here are ten cruise ship jobs you probably didn’t know about .

Technical Things to Know About Ship Life:

You’ve made it this far – fantastic! Being crew on a cruise ship isn’t just about the fabulous islands and it’s not as simple as just hopping onboard. There are all sorts of parts of cruise ship crew life, crew life at sea, and what cruise ship life for crew really is like working onboard a ship and being a cruise ship crew member that would be nice to know before you go. Here’s a good place to start:

Do Cruise ship crew pay for their flights?

If you’re joining a cruise ship most likely you’ll have to fly somewhere – it might be a few hours or it might be literally around the world. Wondering who pays for what? And what about those air miles? (Spoiler – you get to keep them!) Take a look as we dive into who pays for air travel and transportation costs getting to and from a ship.

Which Visas do I need to work on a cruise ship?

One of the first steps in your journey to work onboard – aside from applying for the job – will be to secure the right visas. If you are on a ship heading to the United States this is a great place to get the basic knowledge of which visas cruise ship crew members need to work onboard .

Think that you’ll be ashore every time the ship is in port exploring the incredible places, lounging on the beach drinking margaritas? That’s now quite how it works. In this post we explore what shore leave and in-port manning is and how it impacts your life onboard.

So, you can’t go ashore every port, and you’ve got to work pretty much every day. But, how long do cruise ship crew members work ? Is there a limit to how much you can work? Take a look at how many hours cruise ship crew can work to find out.

Working onboard a cruise ship might look like a vacation but it’s hard work, often working every day for months at a time. But do cruise ship crew really work every day? Or do cruise ship crew get days off?

Wondering when you’re working onboard a cruise ship if you can still get packages from Amazon? What about a care package from you great Aunt Suzie? How does it all work. Take a look.

You might be able to get snail mail while onboard a cruise ship, but sometimes the internet is so frustrating you’ll think it’s the dial up you used to have at your parents house on your family Compaq Presario.

Can You Work On a Cruise Ship With a Child?

One part of working on a cruise ship is how it affects your family. Bringing your kids onboard is one way of getting that family time… but only if your position allows it. In this post we answer, “ can you work on a cruise ship with a child ?”

Can you work on a cruise ship as a couple

Sailing around the world with your dearly beloved is a lovely idea. How often can that happen though? What do you need to do to make that happen?

It’s possible to work on a cruise ship as a couple and a happy crew makes for a happy cruise. It’s not simple though. Take a look at some of the challenges to be able to work on a cruise ship as a couple .

For those first contracts as a Cruise Ship Crew Member:

You’ve gotten your assignment and you are so excited for this adventure in life. Congrats! It’s an incredible, wild, unlike anything else experience. These posts will get you started about cruise ship life for crew.

What to Pack for cruise ship crew life at sea.

Wondering what to pack for your first cruise ship contract? Crew life at sea is unlike anything else. Take a look at this packing list with some of the more unusual things you might want to consider bringing onboard. There’s a lot to fit into your suitcase (and your cabin) but this will help you start things off right.

In cruise ship crew life - how do you get to the ship?

You’ve got your first assignment and you are so excited…but how does all of this work? How do you get to the ship for your cruise ship contract ? So many questions! In this post we explore what it’s like getting to the ship.

In cruise ship crew life - what is your first day onboard like?

Will you have to work on your first day onboard? What about paperwork? There are so many questions to answer about what your first day working onboard a cruise ship will be. This posts dives into a bit of what to expect as your first day as a cruise ship crew member and why you should get a good nights sleep the night before.

Is there a difference between port days and sea days for cruise ship crew?

Think port days and sea days are equal? Which one is better? The answer actually depends on your job onboard. Cruise ship life at sea is very different between port days and sea days. Take a look as we dive into port days vs. sea days .

Another helpful packing list put together by a whole bunch of world travelers. Take a look at what experienced travelers take with them .

Wondering how do cruise ship crew get home from the ship ? What do those last few days look like as a cruise ship crew member and what are some things that you need to get done before heading home. Take a look.

Nevermind work… Do Cruise Ship Crew Hook Up?

You’ve seen The Love Boat and watched Below Deck . From falling in love, to hookups, to breakups you have no idea how much of it you should believe and how much is, well, just on a TV show. Take a look at these posts as we go through all the stages of dating on a cruise ship. Crew on cruise ships still date and hook-up and all of it. Crew life at sea lends itself to lots of love, fun, and of course…drama.

Crew Life at sea lends itself to romance. Here's what dating on a cruise ship is like.

Can cruise ship crew date each other? Do cruise ship crew hook up? Are the rumors and gossip worse than high school? (Often, yes.) Find out all the gossip and drama that goes into cruise ship crew life. In this post we look at whether or not cruise ship gossip really is that bad (it is) and what dating on a cruise ship is like.

First comes love, then comes… living together on a cruise ship. It’s not all romantic walks on the beach and drinking champagne. Take a look at what the next stage of romance at sea looks like in this post about living together on a cruise ship .

Some cruise ship relationships end in marriage… go figure. Take a look at some of the ups and downs that go along with navigating an often long distance, bi-continental, long term, ship relationship .

Understanding Ship Life Rank/Stripes Side of Cruise Ship Crew Life

Crew life at sea includes a whole different rank structure than you might know.

Wait, what’s a rank? Why does it matter? I have a rank? The rank system onboard a cruise ship is a huge part of life onboard. Crew on cruise ships have a rank and it impacts your life onboard – from where you can eat to what cabin you have, this post explains how cruise ship ranks work .

Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes

Trying to figure out who is who onboard? Maybe you’re trying to figure out who is actually even sort of maybe your boss? Take a look at this to help understand those cruise ship officer stripes .

Reframing Misconceptions of Cruise Ship Officer Perks

Those officers walking around have a pretty good life… right? In this post we dive into some of the misconceptions about life as an officer onboard a cruise ship . Full disclosure, my husband is an engineering officer so I am totally biased.

Crew Onboard During the Pause

Oh the pandemic. Oh how we are all sick of it. The pandemic decimated the cruise industry – and I was onboard for the first few months of it, spending 100 days at sea sailing around hoping anyone would take us in. Otherwise, here are some posts for for those onboard during this time. Crew life at sea during this time has been very different. Crew on cruise ships during the pandemic had it rough (everyone had it rough though, right?). Take a look at some thoughts on it.

Ships sitting at anchor for months at a time. Sailing back and forth the Indian Ocean hoping a country will let crew go home. Cruise ship crew life has been interesting over the last year. Take a look at 100 days at sea , during the first 100 days of the cruise ship layup.

Will crew want to go back to cruise ships?

Thinking of going back to work? Sweet! (But, seriously, so happy for you!) A lot of places are having a hard time getting help – I don’t think cruise ships will though. Take a look at why .

Why Are There Still Crew On Cruise Ships?

Wondering why there were still cruise ship crew onboard ships during the layup? You’re not alone. Take a look at why there were still crew onboard even with no passengers .

Most cruise ship crew joining during the pandemic have had to or will have to quarantine. Here’s a look at some things to do to make quarantine the best it can be .

Just a Quick Disclaimer:

This blog is in no way affiliated with any particular cruise line. All views are my own, those of a contributor, and do not in any way represent the views of a particular cruise line. They do not necessarily represent those of my (or my husbands) employer.

When presenting information I do my best to remain unbiased and base it on my personal experience or the recommendations and experience of others. However, I am employed by a major cruise line, and as such my opinion is likely biased.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own or are those of a contributing writer, reviewed, and published by myself. All information provided on this blog is true to the best of my knowledge and was done with no malicious intent to any party.

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Tangled in Steel With No Way Out: How the Crew Stuck in Baltimore Is Faring

Twenty-two seafarers from India find themselves not only trapped in the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but also in an unexpected spotlight.

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By Eduardo Medina

Reporting from Baltimore

Even from miles away, the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is a jarring visual: Chunks of steel jut above the water like metallic icebergs. Twisted gray beams protrude in crooked positions. From a park near Fort McHenry, visitors can see the giant cargo ship that struck the bridge and remains lodged in the wreckage.

Less visible, however, are the 22 crew members from India who have remained on the ship, named the Dali, since the disaster on Tuesday.

Little is publicly known about them other than that they are seafarers who embarked on a journey aboard the 985-foot-long cargo ship that was on its way to Sri Lanka, carrying 4,700 shipping containers, when it lost power and struck the Key Bridge, causing the structure to collapse.

Since the accident, which killed six construction workers, the crew members have found themselves in an unexpected spotlight. While keeping the ship operable, they are answering a deluge of questions from officials investigating the nighttime catastrophe, as the evidence of what occurred lies around them in mangled ruins stretching across the bow and deck.

While officials investigate what could have caused the tragedy, another question has emerged this week: What could the crew members, who have limited access to the outside world, be going through right now?

“They must feel this weight of responsibility that they couldn’t stop it from happening,” said Joshua Messick, the executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center , a religious nonprofit that seeks to protect the rights of mariners.

Even so, officials have praised the crew’s swift mayday message that was transmitted over the radio as the ship lost power on Tuesday. Before the Dali struck the bridge, traveling at a rapid eight knots, the mayday call helped police officers stop traffic from heading onto the bridge, most likely saving many lives, the authorities said. A local harbor pilot with more than 10 years of experience was onboard, as well as an apprentice pilot in training.

As the ship remains stuck in the Port of Baltimore, where it may remain for weeks, the lives of the crew members have entered an uncertain phase. But one thing is certain: They will no longer cruise through the sea around South Africa toward their destination in Sri Lanka anytime soon.

But they are not going to imminently dock at the port either, as they must wait for enough debris to be cleared to free the ship and reopen the channel to one of the busiest ports in the United States. On Saturday, the governor of Maryland said officials planned to remove the first piece of the debris.

So, for now, crew members are most likely working a grueling schedule to maintain the ship that is similar to the one they would be if they were out at sea. The difference, though, is that they are in an immobile state as the eyes of the world fixate on them, experts said.

“The captain of the vessel and the crew have a duty to the ship,” said Stephen Frailey, a partner at Pacific Maritime Group, which helps with marine salvage and wreck removal.

According to Chris James, who works for a consulting firm assisting the ship’s management company, Synergy Marine, the crew members have ample supplies of food and water, as well as plenty of fuel to keep the generators going. Indeed, when Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, went onboard the ship this week, she observed the cook cooking. “It smelled very good,” she said.

But there is still no exact timeline for when the ship might be extracted from the wreckage, Mr. James said. Once the N.T.S.B. and the Coast Guard finish their investigations, he said, “we’ll look at potentially swapping the crew out and getting them home.”

India, the home country of the crew members, is one of the world’s largest hubs for seafarers, according to John A. Konrad, a ship captain and the chief executive of gCaptain, a maritime and offshore industry news website. Though Indian captains and engineers are paid less than their American counterparts, Mr. Konrad said, they make a decent living when they work for three or more months out of the year at sea.

Working on a cargo ship, he said, is a 24-hour ordeal with no weekends off: Every day, decks are checked for maintenance and safety, cooks and cleaners serve the other members, and workers in the engine room keep things on track.

Cargo ship crew members do have some leisurely activities available to them onboard, though, such as video game breaks in cabins, workouts in gyms, table tennis sessions and movie nights. The Dali crew has at least a TV, magazines and books onboard, said Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of the Sea, a program that ministers to sailors coming through the port.

Clistan Joy Sequeira, an Indian seafarer who was not on the Dali but who docked in Baltimore from another cargo ship on Friday, said in an interview that he feared the repercussions that the bridge collapse could have on his industry and his country.

“I’m scared that because this crew is Indian, our international image will suffer,” said Mr. Sequeira, 31. “Maybe we lose jobs.”

Some in Baltimore’s port community have had some contact with the Dali crew, albeit brief, through third parties or WhatsApp. Mr. Messick said he sent the crew two Wi-Fi hot spots on Friday because they did not have internet onboard.

Mr. Middleton said he had been keeping in touch with two crew members, reminding them that “we’re here for them.”

“When I’ve asked how they’re doing, their answers range from ‘good’ to ‘great,’” he said. “So, by their own accounts, they’re OK.”

Mr. Messick said he had also sent a care package to the crew through a salvage company helping with operations. In the package were candy, home-baked muffins from a concerned local and thank-you cards from children.

With so many questions still unanswered about the crew members’ next steps, Mr. Messick said he was eager to provide them with trauma care and emotional support. On Friday, he wrote a letter to the captain, which was delivered by another vessel.

“We’re here to support you,” it read.

Mike Baker contributed reporting.

Eduardo Medina is a Times reporter covering the South. An Alabama native, he is now based in Durham, N.C. More about Eduardo Medina

Baltimore bridge collapse wasn't first major accident for giant container ship Dali

Propulsion failed on the cargo ship that struck the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday as it was leaving port, causing it to collapse into the frigid Patapsco River. Its crew warned Maryland officials of a possible collision because they had lost control.

“The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel” and a collision with the bridge “was possible,” according to an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report. “The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.”

An official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed to USA TODAY that the DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with federal, state, and local officials “to understand the potential impacts of this morning’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”

Clay Diamond, executive director, American Pilots’ Association, told USA TODAY power issues are not unusual on cargo ships, which are so large they cannot easily course correct.

“It’s likely that virtually every pilot in the country has experienced a power loss of some kind (but) it generally is momentary,” Diamond said. “This was a complete blackout of all the power on the ship, so that’s unusual. Of course this happened at the worst possible location.”

The ship in Tuesday's crash, Dali, was involved in at least one prior accident when it collided with a shipping pier in Belgium.

That 2016 incident occurred as the Dali was leaving port in Antwerp and struck a loading pier made of stone, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation determined a mistake made by the ship’s master and pilot was to blame.

No one was injured in that crash, although the ship required repair and a full inspection before being returned to service. The pier – or berth – was also seriously damaged and had to be closed.

VesselFinder reports that the Dali was chartered by Maersk, the same company chartering it during the Baltimore harbor incident.

The 9-year-old container ship had passed previous inspections during its time at sea, but during one such inspection in June at the Port of San Antonio in Chile, officials discovered a deficiency with its "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

The report provided no other information about the deficiency except to note that it was not serious enough to remove the ship from service.

Follow here for live updates: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship strike; construction crew missing: Live Updates

Why did Dali crash into the Baltimore bridge?

Officials said Tuesday they’re investigating the collision, including whether systems on board lost electricity early Tuesday morning, which could be related to mechanical failure, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Accidents at sea, known as marine casualties, are not uncommon, the source told USA TODAY. However, “allisions,” in which a moving object strikes a stationary one with catastrophic results, are far less common. The investigation of the power loss aboard the Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel, will be a high priority.

In a video posted to social media, lights on the Dali shut off, then turned back on, then shut off again before the ship struck a support pier on the bridge.

Numerous cargo and cruise ships have lost power over the years.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requires all international vessels to have two independent sources of electricity, both of which should be able to maintain the ship's seaworthiness on their own, according to a safety study about power failures on ships , citing the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

The Dali's emergency generator was likely responsible for the lights coming back on after the initial blackout, Diamond said.

“There was still some steerage left when they initially lost power,” he said. “We’ve been told the ship never recovered propulsion. The emergency generator is a diesel itself – so if you light off the generator, that’s also going to put off a puff of exhaust.”

Under maritime law, all foreign flagged vessels must be piloted into state ports by a state licensed pilot so the Dali's pilot is licensed by Association of Maryland Pilots .

Diamond described the incident based on information from the Maryland agency that licensed the pilot aboard the ship. His organization represents that group and all other state piloting agencies in the US.

“The pilot was directing navigation of the ship as it happened,” he said. “He asked the captain to get the engines back online. They weren’t able to do that, so the pilot took all the action he could. He tried to steer, to keep the ship in the channel. He also dropped the ship’s anchor to slow the ship and guide the direction.

“Neither one was enough. The ship never did regain its engine power.”

How big is the Dali ship?

The Dali is a 984-foot container vessel built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. With a cruising speed of about 22 knots – roughly 25 mph. It has traveled the world carrying goods from port to port.

The ship, constructed of high-strength steel, has one engine and one propeller, according to MarineTraffic.com.

The Dali arrived in Baltimore on Sunday from the Port of Norfolk in Virginia. Before that, it had been in New York and came through the Panama Canal.

It remains at the scene of the collapse as authorities investigate.

Who owns and operates the Dali?

It is owned by the Singapore-based Grace Ocean Pte Ltd but managed by Synergy Marine Group, also based in Singapore. It was carrying Maersk customers’ cargo, according to a statement from the shipping company.

“We are deeply concerned by this incident and are closely monitoring the situation,” Maersk said in the statement.

Synergy, which describes itself as a leading ship manager with more than 600 vessels under its guidance, issued a statement on its website acknowledging the incident and reporting no injuries among its crew and no pollution in the water. There were two pilots on board and 22 crew members in all, according to Synergy, all of them from India.

USA TODAY reached out to Synergy on Tuesday, but the company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Contributing: Josh Susong

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Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes
Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes
Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes
Help with Interpreting Epaulets
Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes
Cruise Ship Officer Ranks

COMMENTS

Significance of Epaulettes worn by Cruise Ship Staff
Staff on board a cruise ship are identifiable by uniform and name tags. The stripes (epaulettes) worn on their shoulders denotes their rank on the ship. To understand the significance of these Stripes, we have compiled the following guide: Four stripes: Captain; Chief Engineer;
Who's Who on Cruise Ship and What's a Stripe?
Each department on the ship is distinguished by its own stripe pattern. After a brief overview of the different uniforms you will have enough to get started onboard. Captain - The only five stripe officer, the Captain wears a wide gold bar, two regular gold stripes, plus a loop. Chief Officer - Sports four regular gold stripes plus a loop.
Cruise Ship Ranks and Hierarchy
Cruise Ship Ranks and Hierarchy. Working on a cruise ship is a unique environment. Although one may argue that it's just a floating resort, a look closer identifies that hierarchy and ranks are embedded in each cruise job onboard. By understanding the difference in stripes and ranks you'll get to know how the chain of command works on a ...
Cruise Ship Staff and Epaulettes on their Work Wear ...
The epaulettes and the stripes on it denote the rank of the officer and the crew member. The epaulettes are the type of shoulder piece used to determine the rank and the position of any officer in the force. The merchant navy also uses the same to denote the rank of officer on the cruise ship. The epaulette worn by the merchant navy officers ...
Ranks (epaulettes & neckerchiefs)
Master - on commercial ships must come from the Deck Dept and traditionally has 4 stripes. However on cruise ships, you may see variations to differentiate from Staff Captain. Staff Captain - some have 3.5, others have 4 stripes. Senior Deck Officer - 3 stripes. Senior 2nd Officer - 2.5 stripes.
FAQ's About Living and Working on a Cruise Ship
Cruise ship crew do have strict alcohol guidelines - basically crew have to be able to respond to an emergency regardless of the time of day or whether they are "on-duty" or not. While onboard the ship you can get called to work at any time. The crew bar is overall a lot of fun.
Why Do Yacht Crew Wear Epaulettes?
Naturally, the captain sits at the top of the pecking order with four stripes while green crew will likely be given just the one, although this can vary from yacht to yacht depending on size and number of crew on board. Four stripes: Captain, chief engineer. Three stripes: First officer, first engineer, chief stewardess, chef. Two stripes ...
Crew Life on Cruise Ships: Ship Life & Crew Areas
The majority of crew areas are located on decks zero, 1, 2, or 3, however, this varies by ship size and layout. Read below about the main crew areas onboard cruise ships. 1. Crew Cabins. Most people and new hires are curious to know how our crew cabins look like. First of all, there are two types of crew cabins - single-shared and double ...
Knowing Your Officers
Deputy Captain or Staff Captain - The Staff Captain or Deputy Captain as they are also known is second in command onboard the ship. The job of the Staff Captain is to assist the Captain with the running of the ship as well as heading up the Deck Department. Epaulet - 4 gold stripes. First Officer - The first officer is a navigation ...
301 Moved Permanently
Moved Permanently. The document has moved here.
NCL Restricts Privileges for Staff Members and Officers ...
Norwegian Cruise Lines is undertaking changes related to staff benefits on board its cruise ships that will be affecting greatly on decision making moving forward to many staff, the company and guests in retrospect. The recent changes will affect most staff members and officers who carry less than 2 stripes on their uniform, while some reduction of benefits will affect all staff across the board.
Inside Cruise Ship Crew Cabins
Inside Cruise Ship Crew Cabins - Full Review (2021) Crew members / November 1, 2021. Crew cabins on cruise ships vary by size and mainly depend on the job position, rank or title you have as a crew member. Crew cabins' appearance also varies from ship to ship. Older cruise ships' crew cabins are usually old and used, while newly built ...
Understanding Cruise Ship Ranks
Rank on a ship is part of how life onboard works. Ship ranks is a huge way of determining where you can eat onboard, what cabin you get and so much more. In this post we will dive into how the ranks on a cruise ship work. Your rank onboard directly corresponds to your job onboard. The Captain has a higher rank than the Dining Room Manager, the ...
Demystifying Stripes on Yachts
The epaulettes worn on the shoulders of superyacht crew are a legacy of 17th-century military dress in France —when they were used both as a decorative sign of status and a handy way of stopping your sword belt from slipping off your shoulder. Epaulettes (also epaulets) were adopted by most world navies by the 18th century as a formal ...
What Do Officers Wear On A Cruise Ship?
Did you know? Different departments, ranks, voyages, events, and times of day dictate different uniforms for cruise crew members? Here's a peak of what I wea...
A Rough Guide to Cruise Ship Hierarchy
Cruise Ship Mafia. Beyond the Stripes that you see in chains of command there is an unofficial 'Mafia' that works along Ethnicity - this was created unofficially to protect the hard working, low paid Crew from being messed around with by dumb Officers and Staff. So basically if you mess with or are mean to a Filipino Cabin Steward, he ...
Cruise Ship Uniforms: Who Provides Them and What to Expect for Crew
Cruise ship staff members frequently need to put on a specific outfit when on duty. Different dress codes may apply, depending on the ship line and the crew member's position. Cruise ship outfits usually incorporate the elements below: Shirts and blouses. Pants or skirts. Jackets or blazers. Hats or caps. Shoes or boots. Name tags
Seafarer's professions and ranks
Seafaring is a tradition that encompasses a variety of professions and ranks. Each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful operation of a seafaring vessel. A ship's crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward's department, and other.The reasoning behind this is that a ship's ...
Ranks on a Cruise Ship: I'm staying as Senior 2nd Officer!
Time to update you on my rank and the chance of promotion, but why stop there? I run you through all the departments onboard the ship and describe their epau...
Officer Rank Structure
Deck crew has a diamond, electricians a lightning bolt, and a few others I don't remember. The Captain is the only person with 4.5 stripes and the rest of the executive committee (chief engineer, hotel director, etc) would each have 4 stripes, and it proceeds downward from there. Sorry if this topic already exists.
Norwegian Takes Away Popular Crew Member Privilege
Norwegian Cruise Line is now taking those benefits away from crew members that have a rank of fewer than two stripes. The cruise line said that it was due to making sure the guest experience was ...
Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever
The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew.
Crew Code of Conduct and Rules on Cruise Ship
Here are some guidelines to follow. Crew member must be clean and odour free this includes hair, hands, nails, mouth, body and clothing. Avoid use of strong perfumes and colognes. Beards and moustaches are only allowed if kept well-trimmed. (Crewmember is not allowed to start growing facial hair during their contract.)
Here's your chance to set sail with the crew of ...
The ship is open for tours Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Direct any questions about the lottery to USS Constitution's Special Events Division at: 617-593-2025 or [email protected] .
Carnival Cruise Ship Catches Fire
March 27, 2024. Watch this video that shows a fire aboard the Carnival Freedom, which was headed to the Bahamas. The cruise line said reports that it was sparked by a lightning strike remain under ...
2 crew members die on cruise ship during 'incident' in the Bahamas
FILE - A Holland America cruise ship is shown in Victoria, Canada on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an "incident" in the ship's ...
Two Holland America crew members killed in cruise ship 'steam release'
Two Holland America Line crew members died on the line's Nieuw Amsterdam ship on Friday.. The deaths occurred following "an accidental steam release in an engineering space" around 9:20 a.m ...
Cruise Ship Crew Life
Ships sitting at anchor for months at a time. Sailing back and forth the Indian Ocean hoping a country will let crew go home. Cruise ship crew life has been interesting over the last year. Take a look at 100 days at sea, during the first 100 days of the cruise ship layup.
How the Crew Stuck in Baltimore Is Faring After the Bridge Collapse
India, the home country of the crew members, is one of the world's largest hubs for seafarers, according to John A. Konrad, a ship captain and the chief executive of gCaptain, a maritime and ...
Dali ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse was in prior accident
The ship in Tuesday's crash, Dali, was involved in at least one prior accident when it collided with a shipping pier in Belgium. That 2016 incident occurred as the Dali was leaving port in Antwerp ...