Like every other emergency, fires breaking out on board are terrifyingly NOT uncommon. After all, there are plenty of sources of fire on a cruise ship. There are engines. There is gas. There is electricity. The list goes on and on. And yet, if you have ever been a cruise passenger you might not have even been made aware of a fire emergency.
That’s right, it is generally a Cruise ship policy to only alert passengers of fire if it’s necessary for their safety. So while you’re enjoying your dinner above deck, below there could be a fire raging! Yikes.
Isolation Station
Since it is no easy (or cheap) feat to get continuous internet access while on board, most cruise crew members lose touch with the outside world for the duration of their work trip. This can lead many crew members to feel extremely isolated, and a sense of hopelessness knowing that they don't have direct access to the outside world.
Not only do they lose touch with family and friends, but the world news events often go unnoticed until they return to shore. Talk about going off the grid! Thankfully, many cruise ships are improving their Wi-Fi capabilities, addressing this problem for the long term.
Code-Dependent
When you join a cruise crew, you not only have to go through rigorous training, but you also have to learn a new language! Ok, ok... Not an entirely new language but you do have to speak in code so you can communicate with the crew without letting passengers know what's going on.
There is pretty much a term for every single eventuality imaginable. For example, Code Alpha is code for a medical emergency, while Code Bravo is a signal for Fire on board. Then there is Code Oscar, which is what the crew says when they mean "man overboard." There are many other examples too.
Stay on the Ship!
Cruise workers have their schedules planned out in detailed shifts. This includes telling them when they can disembark from the ship. This way, the ship can always guarantee that they are adequately staffed in absolutely every single department. And it goes both ways. Not only do they need to make sure they're never understaffed, but overstaffing can lead to burnout.
It's strictly forbidden to get off the ship if you're on shift. Even if you are particularly sneaky, there's no way of breaking this rule! Why? While it's your shift, your identification documentation and passports are confiscated by the captain.
Stuff Happens
One of the alluring factors about cruise ships is that they have everything you could ever need while you are floating in the ocean. The only problem is when there is a malfunction and even the basic necessities can no longer be provided to passengers and crew...while isolated at sea.
That very nightmare took place in 2013 on a Carnival Cruise ship. Midway through the week-long cruise the elevators and toilets...just..stopped...working. We can leave it to your imagination to guess what happens over the next few days. One thing we can confirm is that the place did not smell so good.