You think your stateroom is small

[Eph60]

I know none of the staterooms on a cruise ship are gigantic. Even a suite is smaller then say a suite in a hotel. The storage is actually pretty good and the rooms can be comfortable.

Now think about the crew rooms. The smallest passenger room is much larger then a crew cabin. The number of people in a crew cabin depends on your rank. Of course the captain would have the biggest room. The majority of crew members are 4 or 5 to a room. Lower ranked officers have 2 to a room.

The general crew will have a couple bunk beds in their room and they will have a stand up locker for their clothes and personal items. There may be a small desk or a table that they all can sit at. There will be a small TV. If all crew members are in the room at the same time the room is totally filled up. There is one small bathroom that they all share and the shower is basicaly about half the size of the shower in the passenger cabins.

I was an officer that shared a room There was a bunk bed in the room and I could literally spread my arms and reach both walls side to side in the room. The room was about 10 feet long. The extra space past the bed was taken up by our locker and the bathroom.

Now you know why a crew member would rather be working or in the rec room on a ship then spend time in their room.Their room is to sleep in, clean up and change clothes and that is it.

[GottaCruz]

Very interesting, Eph. I knew the cabins for crew were small but I had no idea that 4 adults would be in one small cabin. I had assumed it was 2 . The showers are half the size ? Wow, can't imagine how you even turn around in that or how 4 adults share one bathroom. Now I see why the crew is so cheerful . Like you said, Eph, they're glad to be out of that small space and in the beautiful common areas of the ship. Great info. Thanks for posting it

[GottaCruz]

Eph, do they train the crew on how to live together in such small quarters without fighting over the bathroom and who gets the uppers and lowers?

[Eph60]

GottaCruz who gets which bed depends on who was in the cabin first. Not everyones contract starts and ends at the same time. The person that was there first gets first choice, when they leave the next oldest can change beds or pass it on to someone else. The new person coming in the room will probably get the worst bed in the room.

No there is no class for the crew to get along. If you are not getting along or want to change rooms there is an officer in charge of just the crew. You can put in a request for a new room. Room changes do not happen often because the crew are not in the room much. They do try to keep people from the same departments in the same room so that you know each others work hours and possibly each other. The majority of the crew try to be respectful because they know how hard everyone works and how tired they get. I usually saw my roommates in passing in the room. I saw them more often at work or in a recroom or the crew bar.

Yes there is a crew bar, however the crew are never allowed to blow over .04 so they are basically always sober. Crew members that get caught blowing over .04 anytime are immediately dismissed and let off the ship at the first opportunity. Believe me they do get rid of employee's when they catch them because I saw many crew members let go for drinking to much. There is random drug and alcohol checks.

[WeCruiseToo]

Paul, thank you for the fascinating incites! Do they try to put roommates together who have opposite schedules, or was it just luck that you only saw your roommates in passing in the room?

[jacketwatch]

Wow! The only sleeping spaces smaller are those tube hotels in Japan. Amazing info. It's a wonder how the crew appear so cheerful all the time.

[Jan115]

Thanks for the interesting post, Eph. Sounds more cramped than the smallest college dorm rooms I've seen.

[Eph60]

WeCruiseToo as far as room assignments go they try to put people working in the same departments or related departments together. This way they know each others schedule or can have their supervisors work out a schedule that works for the room. The only time it really gets to be a problem is if some roommates must work in the middle of the night and their alarm clock may wake up the others for a short time while they get ready for work. Most crew try to be respectful of the other crew members becuase they know how tired the crew can get.

[WeCruiseToo]

Thanks Paul!

[Sarge6870]

OK eph, adding to the question I posted on another subject, since you had mentioned that there are some crew members that are married onboard, how does the line work out the sleeping arrangements for them?