cruise ship crew meals

Good Food, But Fewer Options: Crew Members Describe Their Cruise Food

• July 10, 2021

Food is a crucial part of the cruise ship culture and one that many guests look forward to the most before sailing. But how does the food rank for crew?

Cruise Industry News has talked to crew members from several cruise lines to find out. They answered food questions on the grounds of maintaining their anonymity.

Food Places

Regular crew members can only eat in the crew mess, said all cruise employees Cruise Industry News had talked to. Staff and officers get more privileges and choice.

“There are a few places to eat onboard, depending on your rank,” said a crew member who’s worked for several major cruise lines. “Basically, you get separated into three groups: officers, staff and crew. To avoid congestion and overcrowding, you have separate dining rooms with the same food.

“Officers are able to eat in any dining room. Staff can only eat in staff or crew mess and crew in crew mess… They are not strict about the crew and staff eating in either mess,” he added.

This was confirmed by other crew members.

“The officers can eat in other restaurants, together with guests, but this has to be approved as guests come first,” said a crew member. “If the restaurant is busy, then they may be denied. There is only one restaurant onboard where all crew can book and dinner only. This still depends on how busy the restaurant is that day.”

Food Options

The crew members said that in crew messes they receive their food buffet-style, in line.

“You normally have a lot of food choices from different nationalities to accommodate for all crew. Usually, you have three types of meat with your choice of pasta, rice, potatoes, and so on,” said a crew member who’s worked for different major cruise lines.

“There is a salad bar and dessert line. If you are vegan, vegetarian (or have other special dietary requirements), you don’t have a lot of choices. However, the chefs are always willing to help where possible,” he added.

The officers’ mess offers food restaurant-style.

“(Officers can) sit down, menu-style, and order food from a waiter. This takes longer, so if you don’t have much time to eat, which is usually the case, you would eat in the self-service mess,” a crew member told Cruise Industry News.

“There is a menu every day for every meal, and you can choose whatever you like. There are usually four to five options given,” said another crew member.

All the crew members Cruise Industry News spoke with said that the food is free for them, and there’s no shortage of it.

“To dine in restaurants onboard – like the specialized dining rooms – you will need guest area privileges, which most staff and all officers have,” said a crew member who’s worked for several large cruise lines.

“You are then able to book and pay to go to a steakhouse or Italian restaurants, for example. There is no discount for the crew in guest restaurants. Access to guests’ restaurants will possibly be changing for now until things get back to normal. If you are crew without guest privileges, you will need special permission for access,” he added.

A crew member working on an older vessel ship said that his food was free and there were no options to get paid food. Another crew member on a major cruise line noted that all food is free of charge for staff – including most specialty restaurants.

“There is only one specialty restaurant where food needs to be paid for, but for crew members (the pay) is something symbolic only,” he explained.

Food Quality

The food standard for crew members is normally similar to that served to guests, most crew members said.

“Guests get more of a variety and more in-front-of-you cooking, which is understandable as crew members usually come in to eat quickly and don’t have the time to wait for an omelet to be made, for example,” described the difference of another crew member.

“The quality of the food depends on the ship: the food manager and captain. The last four contracts I have been on, on four different ships, I have seen food from being terrible to brilliant. In general, I would still say the quality is good. (But) guests, when they are onboard, get better food than the crew,” said another source.

He added that the pandemic – and the absence of guests – has improved that food quality considerably.

The crew member working on another ship said that the food served to crew members on his ship is of a “very low standard” with not many different options on offer.

However, none of the crew members Cruise Industry News spoke with had said that they were unhappy with their food.

“It’s okay. I know I can’t expect amazing food experiences,” said one crew member. 

“At times, you will wait until the end of the line and not find what you would eat, so you have to settle for what there is or eat toast with a hotdog (instead),” said another crew member in a written response. “If you are someone looking for gluten-free, unsalted dietary-fiber-filled croissants for morning tea, a cruise ship is not the place for you.”

Cruise Industry News Email Alerts

• Breaking News

Get the latest breaking  cruise news .  Sign up.

54 Ships | 122,002 Berths | $36 Billion | View

Highlights:

• Mkt. Overview
• Record Year
• Refit Schedule
• PDF Download
• Order Today

• 2033 Industry Outlook 
• All Operators
• Easy to Use
• Pre-Order Offer
• Advertising
• Cruise News
• Magazine Articles
• Quarterly Magazine
• Annual Report
• Email Newsletter
• Executive Guide
• Digital Reports

Privacy Overview

• TV & Film
• Say Maaate to a Mate
• First Impressions - The Game
• Daily Ladness
• Citizen Reef

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories , we're happy to send you some reminders

Click ' OK ' then ' Allow ' to enable notifications

Cruise ship worker reveals what crew members are given for meals and it's got people shocked

Crew are given free food every day they're on board, but what exactly are they eating.

Tom Earnshaw

One of the biggest perks of working on a cruise ship is the freebies, according to those who take up the jobs.

For the ordinary passenger, it usually costs you thousands to truly enjoy everything a cruise ship has to offer.

But for those heading on board for work, a lot of what you'd have to pay for as a customer comes with the job.

Accommodation? Free with the job. Food ? Also free, it you stick to the crew mess. Not everything comes without a cost, mind, with some left open-mouthed at the cost of one particular expense .

One cruise ship worker, Bryan James, is currently travelling on board Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas and regularly takes to TikTok to share updates on life while working on a cruise ship.

He's on Odyssey for six months in total, where he is performing as a solo guitarist to entertain guests - of which there are more than 4,000. Quite the crowd.

As part of his social media journey , he's recently shown off exactly what food crew members get in the crew mess.

For a start, it's free, so any minor complaints automatically have an acceptable rebuttal.

But hold the complaints because it actually looks... good?

Showing off what there is on offer at lunch time for staff members, Bryan says: "Here's what a typical lunch looks like for crew members on cruise ships. It's actually pretty good.

"Number one: rice. Every single meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner - rice.

"And in the mornings for breakfast, fried rice [thumbs up].

"Secondly, you're always going to find a salad bar. And it's a very typical salad bar.

"It's really similar to what you'd find at a Pizza Hut or something.

"And then on every single ship you're always going to have Indian food. And then of course Filipino dishes because the majority of workers on cruise ships are Filipino.

"On Royal Caribbean ships you're always going to get two choices for soups. This one [picking up a ladle in the soup] actually looks pretty good but I didn't eat it, maybe next time.

"And then every so often you see items that you've just never seen before like boiled yucca - which looks very yucca to me. No I'm just kidding it looks delicious.

"This ship is a lot smaller than my last ship and so we just have two little seating areas. It can get pretty packed during the lunch hour but that is only like a 20 minute rush.

"So if you don't have to eat at that very specific time then you can kind of avoid all the craziness."

Bryan also showed off a Valentine's Day spread that was put on for 14 February, full of fresh fruit and a giant cake in the shape of a heart.

Some of the dishes shown off by the cruise ship worker was a Dahi Kadhi curry, Filipino dish Bistek Taalog, pepper pot soup, boiled yucca and bean stew.

Viewers of Bryan's video were shocked at just how good the food looked.

"Honestly would prefer the crew mess to the passenger buffet if I were cruising," one TikTok user wrote.

Another said: "This is actually pretty decent. I've been told something much worse, more like a prison food. Did they just exaggerate things up?"

A third added: "It looks pretty damn good to me."

And a fourth wrote: "Thanks for sharing this, it looks delicious."

Topics:  Cruise Ship , Food And Drink , Travel , Money , World News , US News , TikTok , Social Media

Tom joined LADbible in 2024, specialising in SEO and trending content. He moved to the company from Reach plc where he enjoyed spells as a content editor and senior reporter for one of the country's most-read local news brands, LancsLive. When he's not in work, Tom spends his adult life as a suffering Manchester United supporter after a childhood filled with trebles and Premier League titles. You can't have it all forever, I suppose.

@ TREarnshaw

Choose your content:

Strict duty free rule that saw Ryanair passenger escorted from Benidorm flight in emergency landing

The ryanair flight from manchester to benidorm was grounded.

Brits warned over £1,000 fine for visiting Benidorm beaches

There's a very specific rule that you don't want to fall foul of.

Wetherspoons customers baffled after restaurant issues confusing warning to vegans

Punters were left puzzled by the sign in wetherspoons informing vegans of an issue.

$1 billion cruise ship will have swings that dangle you over the ocean

It's the first of its kind experience on any cruise ship in the world.

• Cruise worker reveals very strict rule that crew often break with the guests
• Brutal cruise ship footage shows why you should always follow departure times
• Cruise ship passenger captures moment total solar eclipse turns ocean in to darkness
• Cruise ship traps all 1,500 passengers on board over travel issue

What do cruise ship crew eat?

Food is free, for the most part, on board all cruise lines for crew, staff and officers. Their hierarchy determines the extent of service and options which these categories of employees are allowed.

Cruise ship crew are often restricted to the crew messes – a self-service buffet where they can eat their fill during the hours of operation. So if they are on shifts and absolutely must have a certain meal, such as breakfast, it is up to them to wake up early and get to the buffet in time.

Staff also have a buffet, generally the same one as the crew, but have the option of ordering table service from those under training to wait on guests. They also have more options at their disposal compared to crew.

Officers on the other hand have many other options, including a full range salad bar, and typically order table service from staff waiters under training. Some staff – who interact with guests on work – and officers are also able to access passenger areas like the main dining room and certain restaurants where they can eat certain meals.

The cruise crew menu largely depends on the composition of nationalities. It’s often noticed that Asians make up a large part of the cruise ship crew demography so catering tends to lean towards their sort of fare. However, to keep things interesting, cruise ship companies ensure a variety. They rotate the menus each day, so one day might feature Indian food, another day Italian, Filipino, Mexican, sometimes even Eastern European.

However, since a large percentage of the cruise crew are Asian, steamed white rice forms an important part of the menu each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Indians have made their presence felt in crew numbers and are guaranteed ‘home-style’ food. Indian guests have been known to befriend compatriot crew members to get a taste of familiar food during their stay on board. It is certainly important for cruise companies to offer more authentic traditional meals, especially when the demographic is so skewed, to keep crew happy.

For breakfast, crew can expect a decent range of Continental fare – the usual suspects such as cereal, milk, hot beverages, fruit juice, toast, eggs any way you like them, and a rice dish that is often a popular morning meal in places like The Philippines.

For lunch and dinner, the menu varies each day, but you will certainly find rice and a broth or curry to go with it. Some cruises offer a health menu with salads, fruit and low-calorie dessert, although this might be restricted to staff and officers. There will be vegetarian dishes as well as meats – fish, pork, beef and chicken mostly. You may also find turkey.

A midnight buffet is also available for those on odd shifts. A full range of fast food such as hot dogs, burgers, pizzas and more are made available for crew. Items like soda pop and dry items like instant noodles or cookies may be charged, but at a nominal fee.

It is important to note that cruise ship crew are not permitted to take food back to their cabins on most ships to ensure hygiene and prevent pest infestation. Companies sometimes treat their entire crew to a meal in the main dining room or one of the restaurants during which time they can relish dishes generally served to passengers.

In general, all cruise ship companies ensure their employees are well-fed and keep the menus consistent with the kind of demographic that populates the crew roster most.

Recent Posts

• India- Manning hub for Global Cruise Industry
• What To Expect When Getting Hired Through A Cruise Recruitment Agency
• What Does Applying For A Us Visa Involve
• The Draw Of Private Dining
• Top Tips On Writing A Good Resume For Cruise Ship Jobs

Connect Us on Facebook

Do Cruise Ship Employees Get Free Food? – Insider Guide

This post is brought to you by cruise ship employee iris from lifeofiris.com.

When you think of food onboard a cruise ship you might imagine fancy dining rooms and incredible buffets, but what about the crew?

Do cruise ship employees get free food? Is the food the same as the passengers?

In this post, we will answer some common – and not-so-common – questions about eating on board as a crew member. 

Do Cruise Ship Employees Get Free Food?

All cruise ship employees get free food onboard cruise ships.

Maritime law states that there needs to be adequate and nutritious food provided for the crew at no extra cost. Maritime Labour Convention law also stipulates that there must be access to clean drinking water and that the food served should take into account cultural and religious sensitivities.

Some crew members are allowed on special occasions to eat in one of the Speciality Restaurants or to order items like Gelato or speciality coffees.

While some crew members have onboard perks that cover these expenses the majority would have to pay for these “extras” just like a passenger would.

How is it Decided Where Crew Members Can Eat?

There are many different crew dining venues onboard, however, which one a crew member can eat in is based on their rank.

The rank of a crew member is determined by their job onboard.

While there are lots of differences and subtleties to this amongst the cruise lines, it’s usually in three to four main categories: Crew, Petty Officer, Staff/Officer status, and Officers.

On some cruise lines, it is broken down even further. This is done to afford additional privileges to officers of a certain rank and above, for instance, 2 or 3 stripes or more.

There are often separate dining rooms for each of the main rank categories.  

Where Do the Cruise Ship Employees Eat?

Most cruise ships have multiple areas where the crew can eat.

How many exactly depends on the cruise line as well as the size of the ship. The majority of cruise ship crew members eat in what is called the “Crew Mess. “

Smaller ships will typically have fewer and larger ships will have more.

Some of these mess rooms (or at least some of the extra seating of the mess room) will also double as crew bar areas depending on the cruise line and what their crew bar setup is. 

What is The “Crew Mess” on a Cruise Ship?

The majority of the crew eat in an area called the Crew Mess.

The Crew Mess – along with a number of other crew areas – is located on a crew deck down below the passenger decks.

The Crew Mess is the largest crew dining area and is set up in a buffet style.

They tend to look a bit like a cafeteria, although cruise ships lately have been moving towards using booths for seating which makes it feel a bit more like a restaurant.

There is also usually a TV on the wall, and the mess is located so it can have portholes to allow some natural light in.

What is The Petty Officer / Staff Mess Area on a Cruise Ship?

The Petty Officer (PO) / Staff Mess is set up somewhat similarly to the Crew Mess.

There is a buffet and then some booths or tables and chairs. There might also be a TV and usually a couple of portholes.

The biggest difference is that this dining area will be smaller as there is less crew able to eat there. Whereas technically everyone can eat in the Crew Mess, the PO / Staff Mess is only for the crew that has that rank and above.

Where do Officers Eat on a Cruise Ship?

Some lines have an Officer’s Mess room where officers can eat.

The officers may have the option to order their dinner off of the dining room menu and have it brought to the Officer’s Mess. These rooms usually have tables and chairs that are a bit nicer than the other crew dining areas. Again, most often they will have portholes to allow natural light in.

Can Cruise Ship Crew Members Eat in The Buffet?

You may have also noticed on some cruises various crew members eating in the passenger buffet.

Eating in the buffet is a privilege most often reserved for Officers – or a category known as “staff” or “Officer Status/Privilege” depending on the cruise line.

Officer Status/Privilege are usually entertainers, part of the Entertainment Department, or other front-of-house positions.

Can Cruise Ship Crew Eat in Speciality Restaurants?

On occasion, you will see crew members eating in a speciality restaurant.

More often than not this is for a special occasion, based on availability, and with prior approval. Guests come first!

Can Cruise Ship Crew Use Room Service?

Depending on rank and cruise line, some crew are able to get room service (except at breakfast).

They may or may not have to pay for this depending on the cruise line and would be expected to tip the room service steward

What Kind of Food is There in the Crew Dining Areas?

In the Crew Mess, it’s not uncommon to find Eastern-based foods such as curries, fish head soup, and lots of rice.

While the more speciality items of the day tend to rotate, there is usually a cooked veggie option, a small (and quite basic) salad station, and a dessert option.

The food for each mess room takes into account the most common nationalities and tastes of the people that will be eating there.

Pretty much all of the dining areas will have food on a rotation of a week or two weeks.

This rotation can get a bit monotonous. Almost everyone has a favourite day on the rotation though – and when that day comes up it is quite exciting.  

The food in the Petty Officer/Staff Mess tends to incorporate more Western foods than the Crew Mess.

You’ll often see some curries and such, but also pasta, pizza, or sometimes even a hamburger.

There’s usually a small salad station and either ice cream or a dessert of some sort.

Is the Food for the Crew on a Cruise Ship as High Quality as the Passenger Food?

The food that the crew eats on cruise ships is different than passengers’ food but the quality is still high.

Presentation is not a priority and the focus is more on Eastern foods.

Some cruise lines have better crew food than others. The quality of food between the mess rooms is pretty similar – with the exception of the officer’s mess- when they get meals from the dining room.

The specialties like Lobster and Steak are pretty much reserved for the passengers. Crew food isn’t very fancy and there isn’t really anything in the “cooked to order” category.

It really comes down to the cruise line trying to accommodate so many different styles of food. It’s hard to make all the food exciting every day for everyone from every culture.

Every once in a while they’ll be something special and you learn to appreciate those days.

The days when there is something extra special tends to be when a quantity of something gets ordered incorrectly for the passengers.

I have enjoyed a few delicious Fish and Chips nights thanks to that!

The food is overall fine and it is a great opportunity to try food from different cultures, although I still can’t say I’ve ever tried the fish-head soup !

If You’re Allowed to Eat at the Passenger Buffet, Why Wouldn’t You?

One reason: Passengers! – I say that in jest, but it’s true!

Think about it this way, if you only eat in the passenger buffet, before you can grab your morning coffee you need to have your makeup on, dry hair, in full uniform, with a smile on your face.

Not only do you have to do all of that, but you will also be interacting with the passengers and need to be “on”.

Now – interacting with passengers isn’t bad. There are just times when you want to sit and have a quiet cup of tea on your own.

This isn’t to say that passengers shouldn’t interact with the crew in the buffet. Almost everyone that works in a passenger-facing position actually enjoys the passenger interaction

Absolutely say hello and tell them what a great cruise you’re having!

But, if the crew member looks like they’re only half awake or seem like they’re in a rush, maybe don’t tell them your whole life story right there and then.

Crew Members Have to Wear Uniform

The other part of this is that to eat in the passenger buffet, crew needs to be in the appropriate uniform.

For a lot of crew (especially in the technical department) they get dirty while they are working.

To eat in the passenger buffet they would have to change into their clean uniform (and likely shower/clean up) whereas in the crew areas they can stay in their working uniform.

This creates enough of a time constraint that isn’t worth it for every meal.

When do Cruise Ship Employees Eat? 

Each of the crew dining areas has set times. Most often it is something like:

• 5:30/6:00am-8:00/8:30am for Breakfast
• 11:00 am-1:00 pm for Lunch
• 4:30-6:30/7:00 pm for Dinner

There is also often a late-night snack available.

The timing for each mess room is different on each cruise line and the dining times would be set to accommodate the schedules of the most crew members onboard.

There are times that a work shift is over the course of the entirety of a mealtime.

If this happens the supervisor would schedule a half hour or so out to go and get some food.

There are also various crew events thrown to help improve camaraderie as well as crew welfare. While the “Crew Party” is the most well-known – there are things like ice cream sundae/dessert party, noodle night, and on a rare occasion a wine and cheese night.

These mostly happen late at night so that more employees are able to attend after finishing work.

The crew aren’t required to attend meal times though. Often they will skip a meal in favor of sleep. It might be a quick nap at lunchtime or sleeping a bit longer in the morning!

Can Cruise Ship Employees Bring on Food from Land?

It is not uncommon to see crew members bring food onboard from land.

It might be a pizza, a burger, or some delicious local fare to enjoy.

More often than not it is some small snacks for the cabin.

If it’s a frequently visited cruise port with a favourite restaurant, crew members might order food as a group and send one person ashore to pick it up for everyone.

A staple of this is Burger Queen in Ketchikan, Alaska. There’s usually a rule that any hot food (and not packaged food) has to be consumed in one of the mess rooms.

Can Cruise Ship Crew Eat in Their Cabins?

The majority of cruise lines would say that they frown on crew having food in their cabins.

This is in an effort to keep the crew from letting food go bad (and the corresponding pests that this might bring).

In spite of this, most crew members have some snacks in their cabin. It might seem odd to buy food ashore when the food onboard is free.

It is often nice to have some different snacks to eat when you are on board for six months or more. Plus, the snacks come in handy when you miss a meal in favour of sleep!

Can Cruise Ship Crew Bring Alcohol Onboard?

A little known fact: Some cruise lines will also allow the crew to bring on (some) alcohol – and they’re allowed to consume it on board.

If you cruise regularly, you know that most cruise lines do not allow passengers to bring alcohol onboard to consume. Rather, if you bring it onboard it gets stored until disembarkation.

For the crew, the rules are a bit different and each cruise line has slightly different rules.

To learn more about which alcoholic drinks can be brought onto cruise ships on different cruise lines, check out this post:

You Can Bring Alcohol on These Cruise Lines – Cruise Line Guide .

Many cruise lines don’t allow the crew to drink hard liquor at all.

Others will even monitor alcohol content in beers and wines and nearly all lines have limits to what is allowed to be kept in crew cabins.

So, while they might be allowed to bring some alcohol onboard from shore, it is typically closely monitored and with a lot of rules.

Can the Crew Dine with Passengers?

The short answer to this is… sometimes.

It’s largely dependent upon what role they have onboard. If their position is allowed (on special occasions) to eat in the passenger dining room or a speciality restaurant, then they would probably be allowed to “host” a passenger’s table.

The crew regularly hosts tables Gala/Formal evenings, but some lines allow it to happen on other occasions when requested by a passenger.

If you aren’t sure what the policy is for the cruise line you are on, just ask!

2020 Cruise Ship Layup: During the cruise ship layup caused by the coronavirus pandemic, things were different. All of the crew were eating in one dining area – whether that be the passenger buffet or the Crew Mess. While the food in both of these areas is conventionally buffet style, during the cruise ship layup all food was being served to the crew to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus. 

About The Author:

Iris has spent approximately 1,100 days at sea between working, living, and sailing on cruise ships. Iris shares her time between the United States and Scotland, and a cruise ship where she often sails with her cruise ship engineer husband. You can read more about Iris and her travels on her blog www.lifeofiris.com and find her on Twitter here .

Before You Go

Another fascinating behind-the-scenes tour, this time by Lucy at Cruising as Crew, tells all about the ships lifeboats. Read that here:

Inside a Cruise Ship Lifeboat (Crew Tour) – Emergency Food, Engine, Seating Plan and More

To find out about a hidden secret bar that isn’t on any of the deck plans on New World Europa read the article below. The entrance is via a red British telephone box!

I Went To A Secret Bar On A Cruise Ship That Isn’t On The Deck Plans

Free Insiders Cruise Line Guide

Enter your email address below:

Crew Life on Cruise Ships: Ship Life & Crew Areas | Ultimate Guide

All You Need to Know about Crew Life onboard a Cruise Ship: Ship Life & Crew Areas

Before I joined a cruise ship for the first time as a Shore excursions staff , I couldn’t imagine how the life onboard cruise ships actually looked like. All I knew was that I was going to spend seven months at sea, with people I didn’t know and doing a job that I didn’t know much about.

The first few days on a cruise ship were confusing, both fun and challenging… On the first day, I didn’t manage to find my cabin for 45 minutes. I was literally wandering around corridors trying to figure out the ship’s layout. The first days were stuffed with trainings, familiarization with the crew areas, rules, regulations, ship in general, and learning about the job itself, of course.

Whether you are joining a ship as a new hire , or you are just curious to see how the crew life onboard a cruise ship looks like, in this article, I share with you useful insider information and an insight into the crew areas and how we spend our days at sea.

Cruise Ship Crew Life – What to Expect

One of the things you will often hear people saying is that once you experience life at sea, the life on land will never be the same – and I couldn’t agree more.

Living and working on a cruise ship is one of the most rewarding experiences you can get for a lifetime. It involves not only getting paid for what you do but also traveling and seeing the world, interacting with people from different social backgrounds, meeting new cultures and traditions. Working on cruise ships is more of a lifestyle than a simple job where you get to earn money for what you do.

Depending on the ship’s size, you will be sharing your living space with hundreds and thousands of people from all around the world. You will be eating, sleeping, working, hanging out, partying, and spending time together. You will make new friends, relationships, experience break-ups, tough times with your coworkers, go through ups and downs.

Be prepared for hard work! Your free time will mainly depend on your job position, as well as your “privileges” and rights. However, whatever your job position is, we all get the same chance to enjoy the ship life and the opportunities offered.

Suggested articles:

10 Things to Know Before You Apply for a Cruise Ship Job

11 Things You Would Never Expect to Be Part of Your Cruise Ship Job

In the sections below, I want to share with you some basic things you need to know about the organization of crew life on a cruise ship and walk you through the crew areas where the crew spends most of their free time.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that many things have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that rules, regulations, and ship life organization mainly depend on current cruise line policies and health protocols. 

Given the fact that crew members’ contracts vary from 2 to 9 months, crew life is organized in a way to facilitate the crew members’ life onboard. Accommodation, food, and the use of crew areas are free for all crew members during the whole duration of their contract, which allows us to save money and not spend it on basic life needs.

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-shared cabins , meaning that most of us need to share a cabin with a roommate, usually from the same or similar department.

They are normally located on decks zero, 1, and 2, whereas Bridge officers have their cabins on higher decks closer to the bridge.

Crew cabins are tiny and usually consist of a bunk bed, a closet (with drawers and shelves), a mini-fridge, a TV, a small desk, a chair or two, and a bathroom. Each cabin has its own bathroom, which is good because you share it with only one person.

Depending on your job position and title, you may be assigned a single cabin, meaning that you will have your own privacy and most probably housekeeping service.

If you want to read an in-depth review of crew cabins, I suggest you read my article Inside Cruise Ship Crew Cabins Full Review (2021)

2. Main Crew Corridor

Known as I-95 onboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships (named after the famous highway in the USA), every cruise ship has the main crew corridor that runs from the aft (the back of the ship) to the forward of the ship on deck 1.

The majority of the crew cabins are located around this main corridor, which can get extremely busy during the embarkation/debarkation times.

On the surrounding walls, you will find numerous boards filled with important ship rules, regulations, announcements, trainings, activities, and all relevant information for the crew.

While walking down the i-95 corridor, make sure you wear appropriate footwear as it can be very slippery and busy with trolleys and working crew.

Suggested article: Life Onboard a Cruise Ship: 18 Crew Cabins Must-Haves

3. Crew Mess

Crew members onboard cruise ships have their own places to eat, known as “crew mess” and “staff mess”. These are practically buffet-style canteens offering various food choices, from Asian to international cuisine. Depending on the ship size and the number of crew members, there might be a couple of these, two or more, onboard each ship.

Accommodation and food are free for all crew members. Besides the three main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), there are snacks in between and you can always go for filtered coffee, tea, or water in a crew mess. If you want to drink a cappuccino or more quality coffee options, you can order it in a crew bar for an extra fee.

Water on cruise ships is usually potable, however, it is strongly recommended to use bottled water that you can buy in a crew shop for a reasonable fee. You can always buy a case of water and store them in your cabin.

Now, the canteens for crew members are known as crew mess and staff mess .

“Crew mess” is normally dedicated to crew members without stripes, and the food served here is usually Asian cuisine, as the majority of crew members come from the Philipines, India, and other Asian countries.

“Staff mess” usually offers international cuisine and is dedicated to staff and officers.

However, there is usually no difference and everyone is allowed to eat whenever they want.

Based on your rank or title, you may be allowed to eat in guest areas and restaurants in the evening, and this applies only to staff members and higher positions. You may also be allowed to have dinner at specialty restaurants for an extra fee with discounts applied.

Bridge officers and higher management positions are welcome to eat in guest restaurants whenever they want.

4. Crew Bar

Crew bar is one of the most lively areas on a cruise ship. Based on the size of the ship, there might be one or more crew bars on each ship.

It normally consists of an inside area and so-called “back deck”, an open deck where smoking is allowed and where parties and crew events take place. You need to pay for the drinks in a crew bar (starting at $2 per drink), except when the HR department throws theme or “all crew parties” where they offer free soft drinks and beers for all crew members.

There are various events organized on a weekly level, including bingo, raffle, music and food events (wine and cheese, fish and chips nights, etc.), movie nights, and more. These are announced on an information board that you will find in crew areas hanging on the wall.

However, keep in mind that due to the new regulations following the Covid-19 pandemic these might be limited, and vary by companies’ and ships’ management.

5. Crew Laundry Area

Crew members have their own dedicated laundry area that consists of a multitude of washing and dryer machines that are operational 24/7.

The laundry service is free and every crew member is responsible for washing their own clothes and uniforms (although there is an option to have your uniforms washed by the laundry department, however, this takes a few days and I always used to wash uniforms on my own).

You need to use your own washing products that you can purchase in a crew shop known as “slop chest”. Inside the laundry area, you will find ironing boards where you can iron your stuff as ironing inside the crew cabins is not allowed.

As for your cabin sheets, pillowcases and towels, you don’t need to wash these – You can simply discharge the dirty items in the main laundry room and ask the laundry crew to get you the clean ones. Here, you can also grab toilet paper and cleaning products for your bathroom.

Useful tip: I mentioned that the laundry is operational 24/7, however, it usually gets busy during specific peak hours when the majority of crew members have their break. If you are planning to wash your stuff, make sure you avoid these hours.

6. Slop Chest

Every cruise ship has its own slop chest, which is basically a store where the crew can buy snacks, water, soft drinks, hygiene products, cleaning items, and more.

Prices here may be higher than if you buy the products outside in port, so I suggest you buy all you need in a supermarket/shops outside the ship if you find any because that will most probably save you some money.

7. Crew Gym

Every cruise ship has a dedicated gym for its crew members. The size of a gym varies by the ship size and the number of crew members, and these are free, fully equipped, and open 24/7.

Some job positions (staff members, stripe officers) are allowed to use the guest gym at specific time slots (mostly in the evening) however this is now vastly limited and is nowadays based on the Covid-19 regulations.

8. Internet Cafe

Cruise ships feature an internet cafe where crew members can surf and chat with their friends and family back home. This room is equipped with a multitude of computers that crew members can also use to do their job duties, more specifically the company-assigned tasks and trainings, and other online and IT-related jobs.

Some programs and websites can be accessed for free (if it’s for business purposes), however, you need to pay for the internet you use.

Wi-fi internet can be quite expensive and there are several packages you can opt for (daily, weekly, monthly packages). During the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies have provided their crew with an hour or more of free internet.

9. Playroom/Crew Lounge

Besides the crew bar and a coffee shop, there is normally a dedicated area for the crew who wants to play pool table games, table tennis, table football, darts, and other social games.

There is also a library filled with books that the crew members can borrow for free.

10. Incinerator Room

You have probably been wondering where the crew members throw their garbage. Saving and taking care of the environment is a high priority for cruise lines, and there are numerous programs applied to maintain and save the ocean and the environment in general.

Recycling is widely promoted among the crew members and there is a multitude of trainings that enforce us to take the whole save-the-environment concept very seriously.

All crew members collect the garbage inside their crew cabins (bins are available) and once it’s full, the trash needs to be taken to the incinerator room where the items are sorted into differently designated bins. There are bins for glass, paper, plastic, electronics, cans, and there are a couple of incinerators where the rest of the trash is burnt under the supervision of trained staff working in that division.

The incinerator room is normally smelly and can be very slippery, so it’s very important to wear comfortable shoes while walking around (avoid flip-flops, slippers, etc.).

The incinerator crew is always there to assist you to separate the trash in case you need it.

11. Medical Facility

Guests’ and crew members’ health is a top priority for cruise lines and there is a dedicated medical facility onboard each cruise ship for both guests and crew. This medical facility is usually located on deck 1 and is shared, however, there are separate entrances for guests and crew.

All crew members are provided with health insurance and medical care free of charge during the whole duration of their contract. Depending on a cruise ship size, there are a couple of doctors and nurses in charge of the Medical department that you can always address to.

Besides performing their job duties, crew members spend most of their free time outside in ports when available, or inside the crew areas that I mentioned above.

The crew life is organized in a way to make life easier and fun for all crew members, and the department in charge of this is the crew HR department.

Crew HR Department

Every cruise ship has a dedicated HR department that takes care of crew members’ needs, paperwork, payments, crew activities, and everything related to the crew members in general.

This is the first place where you’ll go once you join the cruise ship, regardless of whether you are a new hire or a returning crew member.

The HR department will assign you a cabin based on your job position and vacancies available; they will issue you a cabin key, an ID card that you’ll use for payments onboard the ship, exiting/entering the ship, etc., an emergency card…

If you have some special requests, or you want to complain about something, you can head to the HR team who will help you resolve your issues.

The HR department is also responsible for organizing all crew-related activities, including parties, bingo, raffle, movie nights, and more. These can widely depend on the HR team and HR manager themselves, so the organization of the crew life is not the same on all the ships.

There are usually a couple of crew ATMs onboard each ship and they are located within crew areas. They allow you to withdraw your money in dollars and there is a small fee to pay for each withdrawal transaction (around $2 per transaction). In case that these don’t work, you can go to the HR department who will assist you.

Crew Drills

Safety and security are the top priorities for all crew members working onboard a cruise ship. There are drills organized every cruise, and each crew member is assigned an emergency function and muster station during the whole duration of their contract.

All crew members must be familiarized with the ship’s layout, fire zones, main crew/guest areas, emergency stations, and all relevant to the ship’s safety and how to manage emergency situations.

There are many trainings that all crew members need to go through, both online and onboard, and these are constantly updated.

Whether you are joining a ship as a new hire or a returning crew member, there will be a lot of trainings that you need to do, both online before joining a ship and onboard.

The trainings are organized on various topics, including environmental topics, zero tolerance, safety and security topics, crowd management, and many others.

You will be advised which trainings to do by your direct supervisor or a dedicated app.

In this article, I did my best to give you a simple overview of our crew life and areas where we spend our time when working on a cruise ship.

However, bear in mind that many rules and regulations have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and these widely depend on the cruise companies’ health protocols and policies.

If you want to read more about crew life, I suggest you take a look at my articles:

Working on Cruise Ships: How to Apply for a Cruise Ship Job?

Inside Crew Cabins on Cruise Ships – Full Review 2021

Food and Beverage Department – Working as a Cruise Ship Waiter?

10 Things to Know before Applying for Cruise Ship Job

Security Jobs onboard Cruise Ships – What You Need to Know

New Hire? This is How Your First Day on a Cruise Ship Looks Like

Life Onboard a Cruise Ship: 18 Crew Cabins Must-Haves

Life of a Cruise Ship Photographer – Crew Member’s Story

Working as a Guest Services Representative on a Cruise Ship

This article may contain Amazon affiliate / compensated links. For full information, please see my disclaimer here.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

11 cruise dining hacks to enhance mealtime at sea

You can hack your way to better cruise dining no matter which cruise line you choose. You just need to be clever and use smart strategies to create your own best food experiences.

Knowledge is key. Sometimes it's as simple as knowing where to find the best ice cream and toppings – even when the two aren't located in the same place. It might be watching for special food events and organizing your schedule to access the best dining opportunities.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

And never be afraid to ask for what you want so you get the best vacation meals. The worst anyone can say is no. With that in mind, here's my list of 11 cruise dining hacks to help you eat your way to cruise food nirvana.

Upgrade your ice cream

Finding the ice cream station — be it a soft-serve machine or a hand-scooped gelato bar — is a high priority for me and many cruisers. One of the easiest and most rewarding cruise dining hacks is figuring out creative ways to upgrade your frozen treat on the cheap.

Create DIY ice cream sandwiches using cookies from the buffet or snack counters. If brownies are on the buffet, a brownie sundae could be in your future. Just put your treats in a bowl and take them to the self-serve station to top with a creamy swirl.

Have your kids save Froot Loops from the breakfast buffet to crunch up and sprinkle over a midday ice cream snack. Your adult cruise mates might like a shot of Bailey's drizzled over their cup of vanilla; the pool deck bar is often conveniently located near the soft-serve machines.

Plus, on some cruise lines, the ice cream served in the main dining room is a cut above the soft serve and might include flavors you can't get anywhere else on board. I've been known to pop into the main dining room after I've eaten elsewhere to see what the flavors are. Servers will happily bring you a dish to go if one sounds tasty to you.

My mom recently discovered a fun Carnival Cruise Line ice cream hack in the main dining room: She orders the cute little banana splits from the kid's menu. No one thinks to ask her age.

Related: Best cruise ship desserts to tempt you at sea

Make friends with a bartender

Nobody ever said bars on cruise ships were just for alcoholic beverages. I drink Sprite, but I like it topped with lime and cherries. Whether you buy a soda package or pay by the glass, order your soft drinks at a bar, and you can have all the add-ins you want. I also enjoy orange slices in my water bottle. Bartenders will happily provide these at no charge.

Who has most of the ingredients and blenders needed to accommodate well-deserved vacation whims like milkshakes or root beer floats? Most often, it's the poolside bartenders. My go-to is the solarium bar because it's usually less busy. You might need to bring your own ice cream, but the bar should have the rest.

I keep my first weird requests simple and always ask with a smile and a "would you mind?" Pleasant banter goes a long way, as do tips. By the end of the cruise, they'll whip up almost anything for you if you've been asking nicely the whole cruise.

Research your way to a better dining experience

Knowledge is power when it comes to thoroughly hacking your cruise dining experience. Sometimes the best meals are easily missed unless you're trying to learn about all the available dining options.

Check out the cruise line app and the interactive TV screens in your stateroom to browse menus and hours of operation for the week. You want to know when the best dishes will be served so you don't miss lobster night in the main dining room because you reserved a specialty dinner on the same night.

Scour the daily newsletter (or schedule on the ship's app), and check signs around the ship for pop-up food and beverage events. These will alert you to various options like brunch or afternoon tea, some of which are only available on sea days.

Related: 12 dining mistakes you must fix on your next cruise

Once, on a Viking cruise, I noticed the head chef buzzing around the poolside burger bar late one afternoon. I promptly made my way over to investigate. Apparently, I had missed a tiny notice in the daily briefing about a poolside surf-and-turf dinner. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had on a cruise, accompanied by a live band and a fabulous dessert bar, but it was only attended by about a hundred lucky people in the know.

Enjoy specialty dining at a discount

If you want to try specialty restaurants but don't like the hefty price tags, it is possible to get a reduced-rate reservation.

Some cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises , offer discounted specialty dining reservations on the first night of the cruise when most people go to the main dining room. Carnival keeps the cover charge the same but offers free or half-priced wine with your meal. You might need to reserve your spot pre-cruise through your travel agent or the cruise line's website to get the best prices.

Lunch in select specialty food venues also costs less than dinner, even though the menu and portion sizes vary only a little. Specialty lunches are often served only on sea days, and reservations are almost always required. If you don't book pre-cruise, do so soon after you board. Holland America 's Pinnacle Grill and Royal Caribbean's Chops Grille are among the specialty restaurants offering discounted lunch.

Some cruise lines sell specialty dining packages for a select number of nights at a discounted price from the full daily rate. Again, these rates could be even lower before your cruise begins. You should be able to shop for them along with excursions and beverage packages. Or, look for booking promotions offering free meals in these extra-fee dining venues.

Discover the secret breakfast venues

Some cruise ships have an almost secret breakfast venue beyond the main dining room or buffet. These hidden gems are typically less crowded than the main morning venues, so you get your food more quickly and with less stress.

On a coastal cruise with American Cruise Lines , I discovered the Back Porch Cafe has a short-order cook who can whip you up an omelet or breakfast sandwich on the ship's back deck. Celebrity has the AquaSpa Cafe in the Solarium for healthy breakfast treats, and Carnival dishes out spicy breakfast tacos at Blue Iguana each morning.

Viking offers Scandinavian breakfast fare at Mamsen's in the Explorer Lounge, while Norwegian Cruise Line offers complimentary alternative breakfasts in a pub atmosphere at The Local and O'Sheehan's.

It's not complimentary, but on select MSC ships, the Butcher's Cut steakhouse serves an a la carte brunch with some fabulous items you won't find elsewhere on board.

Related: Cruise ship restaurant nirvana: The 9 best meals you can have at sea

This cruise dining hack works best early in the cruise before the rest of your shipmates stumble upon these lesser-known breakfast venues.

The same principle applies to lunch options on embarkation day . Check for quieter choices in lounges and specialty venues before you head to the buffet for your first meal of the cruise.

Don't skip the snack counters

You won't always find the best snack locations on the ship's app. When you're looking for a mid-afternoon snack, you might need to do a little undercover snooping to find the best options.

Check the specialty coffee counters, bars that offer daytime coffee service and health food eateries near the spa. I've scored free treats at the Viking Bar on Viking cruise ships and the Yacht Club bar on Windstar Cruises ' ships.

Snacky spots are likely to have food and beverages that cost extra, but additional snacks, ranging from gooey cookies to tasty sandwiches, are often complimentary. If there's a charge, they will usually have prices listed either on the menu board or in the case next to the food.

Examples on mainstream lines include the free sandwiches, cookies and pastries at Carnival's Javablue Cafe, Royal Caribbean's Promenade Cafe and Celebrity's Cafe al Bacio.

Take advantage of free room service

Mainstream cruise lines charge for most room service orders, but Continental breakfast delivered to your stateroom is often yours for a simple cash gratuity. I like to call it "first breakfast." Sometimes you need a cup of tea or coffee, along with a flaky pastry and a bite of fruit, to start your day before you're ready to leave your cabin.

Free room service extends to other meals on luxury lines and in upper-level suites on the mainstream lines. It's an ideal way to add a bit of decadence to your cruise. In these cases, it pays to check out the room service menu at the start of your cruise. There are almost always items on the menu you won't find elsewhere. But I'll let you in on a secret: You don't have to be in your cabin to order them.

I once ordered a slice of chocolate layer cake for dessert in the main dining room that I'd only seen on the room service menu. It caused a tiny bit of a "don't-tell-anyone" fuss, but I got my cake. My husband has done the same with a chef's salad from a room service menu.

Plus, if you're sailing on certain lines — like Princess, which offers food, drink and gift shop item delivery anywhere on board for a fee; Carnival, which offers anywhere-on-the-ship pizza delivery; and Virgin Voyages, which allows you to shake your phone to have Champagne brought to wherever you are while you're on the vessel — you can have food and drinks delivered to you in various onboard locations.

Hack the main dining room menu

You don't have to order three courses every single night or follow the menu's suggestions for what to eat first. Hack the menu to create the meal you want.

Try a selection of appetizers, or ask for a half portion of an entree. Soup and salad is a fine meal if it suits your mood. Most cruisers know they can have two desserts, but consider taking one with you for a midnight snack. As long as it won't melt, it's perfectly fine.

You can also reorder a dish you particularly enjoy for another night. Sometimes your wish will be granted but not always. It's easy with appetizers, but if you ask a day ahead, you might even be able to order a rerun of an entree or a dessert.

I once had Grand Marnier souffle served three nights in a row on a Celebrity ship, and I've heard of people requesting that a specific type of bread be served every night. It never hurts to ask, but keep your special requests in mind when it comes to extra tips at the end of your cruise.

Dining room hacks also apply to breakfast. On a recent Royal Caribbean cruise, I inquired in the dining room about the sticky buns they serve in the buffet and was treated to a plate of them every time we ate breakfast in the dining room.

I've also witnessed cruisers ordering things that don't exist on any menu on board. Several cruise lines are known to happily prepare Asian or Indian meals. I've seen it happen on Carnival and Viking, as well as on AmaWaterways river cruises . Speak to the head waiter for special requests; he'll need a couple days' advance notice.

Save your wine, or take it with you

Experienced cruisers know it's cheaper to order a bottle of wine than several individual glasses. If you want the savings but can't finish a bottle in one sitting, try one of these two cruise dining hacks.

Ask to have an opened bottle of wine held for you by dining room staff, and you can finish it another night, even in another dining venue on board. Just ask your waiter the next night to find the bottle for you.

Alternatively, you can take the rest of the bottle back to your stateroom. It's nice to have a nightcap on the balcony or a pre-dinner glass of wine while you get ready for the evening. Your room steward will be happy to supply glasses if there aren't any in your cabin already.

Related: Cruise ship drinks packages: A line-by-line guide

Dress up that cruise burger

Cruise ship hamburgers have improved a lot over the years, but in most cases, there's quite a bit you can do to improve the basic burger from the poolside grill. The trick is to hit the buffet salad and sandwich bars after snagging your burger.

Why? You've got more options for burger toppings. The buffet will usually have better choices of cheese, a variety of lettuce and bacon bits. You can find sauces like ranch, bleu cheese or thousand island dressing, as well as barbecue sauce. Do you adore hot peppers or relish? Snatch them from the buffet, and have your burger your way.

Bring your own mixers

Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, can blow up your cruise tab in a hurry. One hack is to bring items from home to spiff up the free beverages so you don't need to pay extra for specialty drinks.

If your cruise line allows it, you can bring your own soda or juice to avoid purchasing soft drinks at inflated prices on board. You can also lower your overall costs by packing flavored drink packets and powdered sports drink mixes to combine with tap water.

Plain drip coffee and a variety of tea bags are readily available on board most ships at no cost. If you have a favorite, don't waste your vacation budget on trips to the extra-fee specialty coffee counter. Instead, bring your own tea bags, powdered sweeteners, flavored instant coffee or even ground coffee and a French press. (Electric coffee makers are a no-no and fall on cruise lines' lists of banned items .)

Bottom line

Everyone has their own idea of how to best eat their way through a cruise. You might love the buffet or hate it, prefer complimentary dining venues over the added costs of specialty restaurants, or perhaps you like a smattering of all of those.

Any way you slice and dice it, food plays an important role on any cruise. Cruise lines want to satisfy your every craving — even if it means crew members going out of their way to serve you something different. The best cruise food hack is arming yourself with the knowledge to find what you want when you want it.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• 15 ways cruisers waste money
• The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

• Follow Cruise Jobs on Facebook
• Follow Cruise Jobs on Instagram

Free emails with tips and advice on how to get a job on-board a cruise ship.

What will be my expenses while working onboard a cruise ship?

• Scarlet Perez
• 10 October 2010

One of the most questions regarding working onboard a cruise ship is: "How much money will I make / can I save?" The most common answer to this is: “It depends on your position and on the cruise line.”

With the position come the privileges you are able to enjoy. The higher your rank onboard the ship, the more privileges – and of course the more responsibility you will have.

However, while your actual salary depends on your position, there are certain things onboard for which you do not need to pay, others for which you will need to pay and those, where it is up to you, if you want to utilize the services offered.

Here you will find a list of locations/areas typically available for personnel onboard a cruise ship, a quick description to each, and which facilities are available for free.

You will be assigned a cabin by the ship, you will be provided with towels, bed linen, cleaning material. Some cruise ships supply soap to their employees. Once again, depending on your position you will share your cabin with 1-3 other co-workers or have a single cabin.

When you are sharing your cabin, you and your colleagues are responsible for the up-keeping of the cabin, cleaning, changing of linen. Ship’s management will do weekly cabin inspections to ensure, that this is done.

When something technical is not functioning in your cabin, it is your responsibility to report this. Your colleagues or supervisor will be able to tell you the procedure of reporting.

You will be (according to your position) assigned a mess-room, where you will be allowed to eat. On most ships there is an Officer’s mess (for Officers), a Staff Mess (for Staff members) and a Crew mess (for crew members). While a higher ranked employee can eat in a lower mess-room, this does not apply the other way around.

On several ships there are also mess-rooms, which serve only a certain kind of food (Food from the Philippines, West Indies, etc).

Besides an extensive choice for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, also morning coffee (10:00 am), afternoon tea, and late/midnight snacks are available on most cruise ships.

There is no room-service onboard the ships for crew members and no food is allowed to be brought from the Mess to the Cabin.

Many cruise lines offer a choice of juices during Meal hours, or soft drinks can be purchased. During off-meal hours, tea, coffee and water are normally available in the Mess rooms.

Once again, this is/can be different for different cruise lines.

However, room and board are free of charge for you, while you are under contract by the cruise line.

Laundry services for Uniforms are free of charge. For personal belongings (this includes underwear and socks) the ships laundry will be available to crew, at a reduced rate. In addition, washing machines and dryers, as well as the availability of washing powder and ironing boards are available for a fee.

On most ships a crew internet café is available to the crew, as well as wireless access for those with their own laptops. Internet access is available at a reduced rate for crew versus guests. Access can be obtained with the purchase of an internet card in the crew area. These crew internet cards will not work in guest areas and vice versa.

Many cruise lines sell telephone cards, which can be purchased onboard. They can be used with the crew public telephones and with the phones in crew cabins. You will get an access code and a password on the card.

Many cruise lines also offer now pre-paid sim cards for purchase to use in mobile phones.

Calling from the ship can be expensive and your fellow colleagues will know the best deals.

Most ships have a crew shop or also called slop chest available for the crew. There you can buy such things as Toiletries.

Crew Library:

Many ships have a library for the crew onboard, where they rent out books and DVD’s.

The ones I know, do not charge for renting, one just has to provide their crew card for record keeping and then return them after a certain time.

The regular Gift shop for the guests is available to some positions of the Officers/Staff members. Goods from the Passenger gift shop can on most ships be purchased at a reduced rate.

I have seen ships which organize crew sales from the gift shop, for the people holding positions which are not allowed in guest areas – also at a discounted price.  

Crew Bar/Recreational Area:

On ships exists one or several bars, in which the personnel can purchase alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, soft drinks and bottled water, at a reduced rate.

Most ships nowadays have a crew gym and the usage of the equipment is free of charge.

The same goes for a crew pool – if available on your ship.

Spa/Hairdressers:

Onboard the ships I’ve worked, we had the possibility to get a haircut, a massage, a pedicure, a manicure and much more – at certain times for a reduced price, in the hair salon/Spa.

This was mostly available in port days, where most of the guests where on a shore excursion.

Shore Excursions:

If time allows and space is available on shore excursions for guests, often there is a possibility to go along for free. You would need to assist the shore excursion staff in counting guests, helping them into/out of the bus, etc.

Some cruise lines offer Shore Excursions to crew at a discounted rate. Each ship and cruise line is different - your colleagues onboard will know more.

Crew Welfare Program:

On most cruise ships exists a Crew Welfare Program, with a chairman, treasurer and members. Often soccer games, crew tours, evening entertainment and competitions, raffles and much more are organized by the crew welfare team. Some activities do cost a minimal fee, others are for free.

The above is only a brief overview of possible activities/venues on some of the ships which are sailing the seven seas. Since there are so many ships, so many different cruise lines it is not helpful to provide a pricelist for various activities.

Because the basic answer applies here as well: “It depends on your position and on the cruise line.”

Cruise ship buffet taboos: 10 things you should never do at mealtime

MSN has partnered with The Points Guy for our coverage of credit card products. MSN and The Points Guy may receive a commission from card issuers.

Whether you adore a cruise ship buffet with its myriad dining choices or fret about communal tongs and food lingering on steam tables, you ought to follow the unwritten rules of buffet dining if you choose to partake in it.

Most of these rules are common sense, but not all are obvious to the uninitiated. Ignore them, and you risk getting the stink-eye for being rude or unsanitary. Or, you might simply have a less satisfying meal.

Follow these 10 things you should never do at a cruise ship buffet if you want to have an optimal onboard smorgasbord experience.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG’s cruise newsletter .

Approach the buffet with unwashed hands

All cruise lines offer hand sanitizer at the entrance to the buffet, either in a wall-mounted pump or distributed by a staff member. Some even have hand-washing stations. Use them every time you enter the buffet area.

While public restrooms are typically nearby, this isn’t the moment to declare that you just came from the bathroom and already washed your hands. The sight of everyone hand sanitizing is comforting to many a germ-o-phobic cruiser — and who knows what you touched on the way back from the loo. Extra sanitization has never hurt anyone, so lather up before you grab a plate.

Related: How to avoid getting sick on a cruise

Pick up food with your hands

Some cruise lines have policies against self-serving and station attendants at each section of the buffet. Others have plastic “sneeze guards” set up and plenty of servingware. Whatever the policy is, follow it.

No matter what you do, never use your hands instead of the provided utensils to pick up a bread roll, cookie or other food item. It’s unsanitary, and you will get some well-earned glares from other passengers.

Related: Buffet breakdown: Which cruise lines have self-serve buffets, and which ones don’t?

Bring your plate up for seconds

For sanitary reasons, cruise lines ask that you take a new plate if you return to the buffet. Leave your old plate on the table, and it will be scooped up and taken to be cleaned — often before you return to your seat.

Yes, this policy does create more dirty dishes, which might not be the best practice from a water conservation standpoint. However, it’s important as a health protocol, so swallow your grumbles and take a clean plate.

The same rules apply to drinking glasses. Get a new cup each time you need a refill. If you want to fill your reusable water bottle or coffee mug, pour a beverage from the drinks station into a cup, then pour the contents of the cup into your on-the-go drink container.

Skip the made-to-order options

When you think of a buffet, you might assume that all of the dishes are premade. Not so on cruise ships.

You’ll often find made-to-order options, such as an omelet or waffle station at breakfast and a pasta or noodle station, carvery or deli counter at lunch or dinner. While you may have to wait to order or for your meal to be prepared, the results are often fresher and made more to your liking than the steam table choices.

Don’t make the mistake of always choosing the fastest option.

Related: What not to eat on a cruise

Keep quiet if you have dietary concerns

Buffets can be risky for passengers with dietary concerns, as cross-contamination is possible, and ingredients are often not detailed. However, they can also present a wealth of dining choices for restricted eaters.

Don’t be shy about asking for assistance in selecting food items when you dine at a cruise ship’s buffet restaurant. Ask the buffet attendant the same questions you would ask your server in a restaurant. If the crew member doesn’t know, he or she can always find a manager or chef to ask.

Staff might also be able to bring you special food items from the galley that are reserved for folks with dietary restrictions and not set out for everyone to take.

If you have more serious allergies, alert a maitre d’ on your first day for help throughout your sailing.

Related: I never thought I’d miss a cruise ship buffet — until now

Select dishes that are better when made to order

Like it or not, buffet food is prepared in bulk and sits on a steam table until the tray is empty before being replaced with a fresh one. Some dishes hold up better to this treatment than others. It’s a rookie mistake not to know the difference.

When I eat at a cruise ship buffet, I always regret choosing the premade scrambled eggs at breakfast or fried foods, like shrimp or calamari, at dinner. Anything that loses its quality when it gets less crispy is worth avoiding, such as fully loaded nachos on a Tex-Mex night. In general, avoid foods that get overcooked easily or are best made to order (such as sushi rolls filled with raw fish and avocado).

The exception to this rule is on special nights when the cruise line offers some luxury dishes, such as caviar or foie gras, at the buffet. In that case, take the treats when you see them.

Related: The ultimate guide to cruise ship food and dining

Pile your plate so high you can barely carry it

It’s easy to load up a plate with every dish that looks delish, but you tend to waste food when you take this approach. Plus, all the flavors run into each other, and you can’t tell which dish you’re eating.

I suggest coursing out your meal even when eating dinner at a cruise ship buffet. Start with a salad or other appetizer, then return to the buffet for an entree and sides. Finally, make one last trip to the dessert station if you’re still hungry. (Yes, this means getting a new plate each time — you did read rule #3, right?)

The chance that the cruise ship will run out of something you have your eye on is slim, so you have no reason to rush. The exception is if you stroll up to the buffet minutes before it closes. But even if you need to take all your food at once, you could still arrange your courses on separate dishes and eat them one plate at a time.

Carry multiple plates and cups at once

Even if you are a trained waiter, you do not want to balance multiple plates and cups in your arms as you pick your way through a crowded cruise ship buffet restaurant. It’s a surefire way to drop and spill.

Take only what you can carry safely, then return to the buffet for condiments, additional drinks or seconds. The extra steps will helpd burn off the calories you’re about to consume.

Related: 11 cruise dining hacks to enhance mealtime at sea

Skip the first-day, self-guided buffet tour

Always scope out the buffet well on the first day of your cruise to get the lay of the land.

Some cruise ship buffets have duplicate stations on either side of the restaurant. Others have specialty stations, such as a deli counter or pizzeria, available only on one side or in the back. If you don’t do some reconnaissance, you might not discover some intriguing options until late in your cruise.

On certain cruise lines, the buffet offers a similar menu to the main dining room, just in a more casual, serve-yourself setting. Other lines offer a separate menu, complete with made-to-order stations or casual favorites such as burgers, pizza and chicken fingers every night. Knowing your cruise ship’s MO will help you decide which meals are best eaten at the buffet and when you should dine elsewhere.

Start plating before you’ve surveyed all the options

Don’t get in the first buffet line you see and fill your plate before you’ve checked out all the selections at the various stations in the marketplace. You might not want those fish and chips when you realize there’s an Indian buffet, roast beef carved to order or a wok station stir-frying noodle dishes on the spot.

If you take the time to plan your meal, you will be less likely to waste food and will have a more satisfying lunch or dinner.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• Top ways cruisers waste money
• The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

SPONSORED:  With states reopening, enjoying a meal from a restaurant no longer just means curbside pickup.

And when you do spend on dining, you should use a credit card that will maximize your rewards and potentially even score special discounts. Thanks to temporary card bonuses and changes due to coronavirus, you may even be able to score a meal at your favorite restaurant for free. 

These are the best credit cards for dining out, taking out, and ordering in to maximize every meal purchase.

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.