He spilled some deep seacrets.
A cruise ship crewmember has pulled back the curtain on what it’s like to work on a pleasure vessel, revealing the worst customer antics, best-paid employees and other insider secrets. The high seas employee spilled the beans in an “Ask Me Anything” forum making waves on Reddit.
“I work in guest services — ask me anything,” declared the worker, who didn’t disclose their position or company to keep their gig safe.
When it came to biggest pet peeves on the high seas, the professional voyager said he was tired of passengers “demanding to see my supervisor/manager.”
“{Most of these people I would be happy not to have to deal with, however what they fail to realize is that I might get in trouble if I immediately call a superior without trying to resolve the issue by myself first,” the Redditor declared. “If seeing the manager is warranted, I promise you won’t have to say it.”
Of course, this was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to problem cruise customers, of which there have been an abundance of late.
The industry insider recounted one time a “lady was p–s drunk and yelled at me because the restaurant wouldn’t let her take a wine bottle to her room.”
“That was the first time I ever got flipped off at work, I was about a month in my first contract,” the customer service pro recalled.
Perhaps the “craziest guest incident” entailed a “p–s drunk” passenger who “took off his underwear in the atrium full of people” and had to be “removed by security.”
“I don’t he was aware what he was doing, but I think he paid a hefty fine,” recalled the Reddit poster, who said that no “sane person” would work in guest services for an extended period.
This comes as crime rates aboard cruise ships leaving the US have reached a two-year high with 48 crimes reported aboard vessels from Jan. 1 to Mar 30 this year. There’s even a jail to hold offenders aboard the ship, per the Redditor.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways passengers can help cruise employees feel appreciated while working this grueling gig.
“Any sign of gratitude is GREATLY appreciated from our end,” said the Redditor. “Just coming up and saying that would be more than enough.”
He also implored people to tip in cash instead of gifting auto-gratuities and to make sure to leave extra moolah for “guest services” as they don’t “really get tips.”
However, people shouldn’t expect a free upgrade because they shelled out extra — the voyaging veteran pointed out that there’s “no way” for passengers to get upgraded once aboard.
“It’s actually not even our job to decide about upgrades, that’s done by the reservations office, which is on land,” said the Redditor, who added that they keep extra vacant rooms but for emergencies only.
If you want to get compensated well while working the high seas, the poster advised getting a job as an entertainer as they have “the most time off” and “are very well paid.”
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