Cruise Curiosities for New Cruiser

[FGJones]

I have booked my first cruise and am in the research stage of the May 2019 trip.  I've been wondering a few things about the inter workings of the experience.   For instance, if a ship runs four weeks straight Monday - Monday, as seen in the screen shot below, does that mean the crew is working 28 days in a row without an off day or do they have days off while on board?  

 

 

I've asked a few questions here and the answer is often that the cabin steward can get me whatever I may need,  I don't expect to need anything personalized aside from some extra pillows the first day but the frequent mention of stewards makes me wonder what hours they work? Because it sounds as if they will be at your beckon call, but also that it is the same person for the entire duration who looks after your room. 

 

On that same note, the crew on the ship I booked (MSC Armonia) is only (?) 721 crew members for 2,679 passengers and 976 staterooms.  That seems like a small number of crew to staff the bars, dining, kids clubs, room stewards, maintenance, bridge, guest service, photo, shopping, casino, laundry and every other roll I'm not thinking of over two or three shifts.  It sounds like cruises must be staffed with some really hard workers.

 

What other curiosities are there in the behind the scenes running of a ship?

[paul929207]

Staff rarely gets a day off. There schedules are such that each port day some will get enough time off to go ashore.

 

As to the Cabin steward, we sail on Princess, but I am sure the answer is similar for MSC. They work two shifts a day. the morning and early afternoon are spent cleaning and supplying your cabin. They take about 15  minutes or to so each cabin. Mixed in during the morning  will be training (some days) and breaks for breakfast, etc. So it is roughly 8am to 1pm they work.

 

In the evening from about 5pm to 9pm, they straighten your cabin, turndown the sheets, etc. They will also do little things like leaving a candy on your pillow, distribute the schedule for the next day, put out a reminder if there is a time change.

 

On our last Princess cruise our steward had 19 cabin.

[FGJones]

29 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

Staff rarely gets a day off. There schedules are such that each port day some will get enough time off to go ashore.

 

As to the Cabin steward, we sail on Princess, but I am sure the answer is similar for MSC. They work two shifts a day. the morning and early afternoon are spent cleaning and supplying your cabin. They take about 15  minutes or to so each cabin. Mixed in during the morning  will be training (some days) and breaks for breakfast, etc. So it is roughly 8am to 1pm they work.

 

In the evening from about 5pm to 9pm, they straighten your cabin, turndown the sheets, etc. They will also do little things like leaving a candy on your pillow, distribute the schedule for the next day, put out a reminder if there is a time change.

 

On our last Princess cruise our steward had 19 cabin.

 

Thank you.  Does the crew to passenger ratio seem in line with Princess?

[spookwife]

41 minutes ago, FGJones said:

I have booked my first cruise and am in the research stage of the May 2019 trip.  I've been wondering a few things about the inter workings of the experience.   For instance, if a ship runs four weeks straight Monday - Monday, as seen in the screen shot below, does that mean the crew is working 28 days in a row without an off day or do they have days off while on board?  

 

 

    Time off is measured in hours, not days.  contracts are generally 6-8 months on board followed by 3 months or so off 

 

41 minutes ago, FGJones said:

 

I've asked a few questions here and the answer is often that the cabin steward can get me whatever I may need,  I don't expect to need anything personalized aside from some extra pillows the first day but the frequent mention of stewards makes me wonder what hours they work?  Because it sounds as if they will be at your beckon call, but also that it is the same person for the entire duration who looks after your room.   

 

they work from breakfast until lunchtime  servicing the cabins.   then for turndown thats during the dinner hour.  in between they are in the back of the house  folding towels, stocking their carts and doing little things to get ready for the next wave.   then there is a a group 'on call'  for other requests late at night( like when our toilet flooded at 11 pm and they sent someone to mop up the mess)  

 

41 minutes ago, FGJones said:

 

On that same note, the crew on the ship I booked (MSC Armonia) is only (?) 721 crew members for 2,679 passengers and 976 staterooms.  That seems like a small number of crew to staff the bars, dining, kids clubs, room stewards, maintenance, bridge, guest service, photo, shopping, casino, laundry and every other roll I'm not thinking of over two or three shifts.  It sounds like cruises must be staffed with some really hard workers.

 

What other curiosities are there in the behind the scenes running of a ship?

 

a ship is just a giant floating  hotel.. 4 or 5 star rated.  

 

the dining staff covers the buffet and  all dining areas.   so it is not unusual to find the  assistant waiter who brings the bread tray over to your table at dinner to be pouring the OJ at breakfast and  squirting  hand sanitizer  at you as you enter the  buffet for lunch.  

 

the kitchen staff can also volunteer to run a room service order up to your cabin in between  slicing onions.  

 

a typical work day on board is easily 14-16 hours  for most  staff.  7 days a week for months on end.  not unlike the  crew aboard a US Navy warship while deployed.  only they get to drink on their off duty time.....and they only have to share their sleeping space with one or two others.   not 50.  

[FGJones]

Very informative.  Thank you Spookwife.  

[chengkp75]

Well, by law, the crew can only work a maximum of 14 hours per day, or 91 hours in any 7 day period.  Now, the "work day" from start to finish may be more than 14 hours long, but there are "rest periods" during that time.  As with all jobs on ships, there are no "days off", you work every day from the day you join the ship until the day you leave the ship, for many cruise ship crew that is 8-10 months long. Most of the crew you interface with (cabin stewards, wait staff) will share a cabin smaller than the smallest guest cabin with 3 others, not just one or two.  

 

I've never heard of galley staff "volunteering" to run room service orders, there are dedicated room service staff.

 

Passenger to crew ratios are typically based on the double occupancy capacity of the ship, not the maximum capacity.  From your data, the ship has 976 cabins, for a double occupancy (nominal capacity) of 1952 passengers, so the 2679 figure you quote is most probably the maximum capacity (3rd/4th guests in some cabins).  This gives a pax/crew ratio of 2.7, which is pretty typical for mainstream cruise lines.  Luxury cruises will have ratios closer to 2.0, and some cruise lines go up to 3.5.

 

Not all functions on the ship are staffed "3 shifts" as you think.  Essential jobs like the engine room watch and the bridge watch are of course manned 24/7, but the vast majority of staff work "days":  stewards work hours as noted above, wait staff and galley staff only work when dining venues are open, bar staff only during bar hours, most maintenance staff during the day only (with one of each specialty (plumber, electrician) on call for problems during the night, laundry staff during the day, deck gang working during days to clean windows or paint and others working only nights to clean pools and pool decks, etc.  Room service is manned around the clock (unless the line has limited room service hours), there will always be security working, there will always be Guest Services at the desk, and they will have Housekeeping runners working nights to bring things needed after hours.

 

Having spent 43 years at sea as an engineer, and a few as a Chief Engineer on cruise ships, feel free to ask away about whatever you'd like to know about cruise ship operations.  Searching my past posts will lead you to some threads that others have started for just that purpose, to learn about cruise ship operations.