The Other Half of the Ship

A crew-only area aboard Celebrity Summit.

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

Ever wonder what it's like to work - and live - aboard a cruise ship?  Cruisemates blogger Paul Motter takes us on a tour of the crew quarters aboard Norwegian Epic and compares them with his own experiences working aboard the ships of Holland America Line and the now-defunct Royal Viking Line.

In my own experiences touring ships 'behind the scenes', I am continually impressed and awed by how clean, organized, and well laid-out everything is once you venture below the lowest passenger deck.  Most ships usually have a large alleyway one deck below the passenger accommodation that runs the length of the ship.  Usually, this is nicknamed after a large US or European highway, and from that, all the major functions of the ship branch off.  

In the refrigeration spaces - where food is stored in separate rooms according to type - rooms are so clean you could eat off the floor.  Really.  The layout of everything is ingenious, and lends itself well to easy organization and storage.  Of course, it has to be that way: the amount of provisions needed weekly on a 3,000-passenger vessel are mind-boggling.  

For me, my biggest surprise was the discovery of a machine as large as a 1970's photo-copier whose sole task was folding napkins.  Somehow, I still imagined that was done by hand - not so.  Clean linens are fed through one side, and folded dinner napkins spit out the other side of the machine, somewhat affectionately dubbed "The Mangler."  Innovative as it may be, you don't want to get your hands anywhere near it.

In fact, in most crew spaces - while they are more starkly decorated than their passenger counterparts - seem very comfortable.  In fact, the only real sign you're on a ship is suggested by markings on the floors and walls at various lengths.  Covered in bright, striped paint lasting a foot or so and topped by an emergency warning light, these are the watertight doors designed to prevent flooding or eventual sinking in the event of an emergency.  And when that light goes off and that door starts to close, you get out of the way - unlike an elevator, kicking the door with your foot will not stop its relentless move forward.  Indeed, the motors that drive the door will continue to push it forward until it has made a complete seal with the bulkhead opposite.

Curious about working aboard a cruise ship?  Visit your favorite cruise line and search for their Employment page - and get ready to begin your career at sea.