They’re saying R.I.P. on the high seas.
Smooth sailing isn’t guaranteed while vacationing on a luxury cruise liner.
And in times of sudden crisis — such as a death aboard the boat — crew members communicate using a set of cryptic codes, discreetly conveying the unfortunate information to one another to avoid passenger panic, so claims a chatty insider.
“We have loads of different codes that get announced,“ Amber Olivia, a cruise ship entertainment staffer from the UK, told her more than 100,000 TikTok fans.
She conceded, however, that the secret language — typically transmitted over the vessel’s loudspeaker for all to hear — often triggers a wave of “gossip” and “confusion” among the uninitiated.
Olivia revealed the hidden meaning behind the most macabre messaging to clear up any uncertainty regarding the curious speak, which includes phrases like “Code Alpha,” “Code Victoria, and “Code X-Ray.”
“Code Alpha means it’s something to do with medical,” she explained of the subtle siren. “It’s a medical emergency, somebody needs medical assistance.”
“It could be something as little as someone’s fallen over and hurt their leg,” she said. “But it also could be something as big as death.”
“Usually,” continued Olivia, letting frequent seafarers in on an even deeper secret, “if it’s’Code Alpha,’ and then a few bits after you hear them asking for a stretcher team — and it’s going to a cabin in the middle of the night — sometimes it means that somebody has unfortunately passed away.”
The startling divulgence prompted a series of questions from concerned commenters, including, “What happens if [the emergency] is fatal?” to which Olivia replied, in part, “We have a morgue onboard.”
It’s a freaky fact that was recently backed by a separated ship worker, who confirmed that most watercrafts come complete with built-in morgues below deck.
Ahh, there’s nothing like cruising with a corpse.
Coded announcements, however, aren’t the only warnings travelers should be aware of while aboard.
Pineapples, in all their forms — whether it’s a towel clip or hung on the handle of your cabin door — are the symbol used to signal you’re interested in swinging, revealed Jenny Hewitt, a self-proclaimed “bougie boutique cruiser.”
But hopping a cruise isn’t all death and stranger sex.
Instead, Hewitt says the gigantic tub often becomes a humble abode.
“Exploring new places [is] the reason we cruise, but there’s something blissful about getting back on the ship each day, returning to your little home at sea,” she gushed. “Where you don’t have to think about where your next meal is [coming] from, and without any of the hassles you might encounter in real life.”
Read the full article here
