What really happens below deck at a crew party?

When I go on a cruise I am always blown away by the amazing service I receive & how incredibly hard the staff work. They are working extremely long hours (up to 100 a week is not unheard of), but always have a smile on their faces and are turned out impeccably.

Our lovely hard-working waiters on Splendour of the Seas

So what happens when they do get a little downtime? One thing is for sure there are lots of opportunities to party below the passenger decks in the crew bar. It’s always been my secret ambition to try and sneak in to one of these one day, however hearing some first hand reports of what goes on it may well be that they are a bit too wild for me now. so what really happens?

Most parties don’t start until around midnight as many of the crew are still working. The crew are treated to cheap alcohol – as little as 50p for a bottle of beer and £3 for a bottle of wine, although some cruise lines only serve beer in the crew bar to stop too much drunken behaviour. A friend of mine that worked on the ships even told me that they were treated to free alcohol back in the day. Although the crew bar on the ships that my friend worked on closed at 3am it was not unheard of for alcohol to be stock-piled and the parties carried on in their cabin.

The crew get to mix & mingle with their co-workers and I am told there is definitely a ‘hook up’ culture on board. Fraternising with the paying guests is a definite no-no and anyone caught doing this is promptly offloaded at the next port – and sometimes made to find their own way home. The crew generally work a minimum of 6 months on their contracts, so are at sea for a long time. There is definitely a heavy male to female ratio – as high as 5-1 on some ships, therefore if a female member of staff did want to meet a man the odds are heavily stacked in their favour. I was told that there was an unspoken rule that you shouldn’t get together with someone from your own country!

Some cruise lines also organise parties in one of the public lounges on the ship on special occasions. This is a rare treat for some workers who never get to see the passenger areas of the ship. For these parties free food & booze is provided as well as a DJ & dancing – a real chance for them to let their hair down.

My opinion is that the staff work so hard, being away from family and friends for long periods of time, so their parties are well deserved, so let’s raise a glass and say cheers and thank you!


About Me

Hi There!  My name is Collette and as the blog suggests I am a big lover of cruising and have travel in my blood. I have worked in the travel industry for 25 years, starting as a holiday rep in Turkey back in 1993. After 4 years I returned to the…

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