Every crew member, staff, and officer aboard a cruise ship come from different parts of the world where different laws and rules apply. It is the responsibility of the cruise company to draft some sort of policies which would bestow order and understanding aboard one cruise ship. Every employed member aboard the cruise ship signs an agreement with the company that he or she would abide by the policies which are drafted by each particular company. These policies are most often referred to as the “Code of Conduct.”


Even though the “Code of Conduct” it is different from one company to another, the just of it is all the same which is to set boundaries and laws for every member to follow in order for the safety and dignity for all. There are certain parts of the “Code of Conduct” in every company which pertain to the high standards of appearance for crew members, staff, and officers, as well as priority for passengers when it comes to on board services.


It is true that a lot of people around the world break the laws and rules daily and never get caught, but this is not as easy on such a limited square footage, as well as population. In the real world back in the home countries of the crew members, breaking a rule might pass with simply a slap on the ego or character of the person and breaking the law might mean a warning, a slap on the face, or some form of a fine dependent on the case. Unlike the previous, in the world of the cruisers this most of the times does not apply. Breaking the rules might mean a warning, but most often may mean losing the job that might be helping one person to feed an entire family back home. Therefore, we are presenting a few rules taken out of a generic “Code of Conduct” for crew members, staff, and officers aboard one cruise ship.


Rule 1: No inappropriate interactions between employees, as well as employees and passengers.


This might be considered as the number one rule due to the fact that people who work on cruise ships are from all over the world and from so many different cultures. What might be appropriate for one culture might not be for another, so every company is very clear cut when it comes to propriety and most of the times they would make new hires take classes to determine the boarders of such propriety.


When it comes to interactions between crew and passengers, this rule applies due to the fact that every person who is employed on the cruise ship, in one sense or another, represents the company itself. From waiter to officer, every person is a representative of the company which may or may not be the reason why a passenger decides to return on another or the same ship from the same company. Every company knows that the passenger is not limited to their company and that choices are being born every year, thus constituting a big pool of competition.


Some of the inappropriate interactions which may get a crew into trouble with not only the company, but with the local authorities as well, would be assault, sexual assault, threatening behavior, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination. Most of these offenses are followed with termination of ones position as well as prosecution by the local authorities of the home port. We should mention that inappropriate intimate relations between a passenger and crew are not punishable by the local authorities if the passenger is of a legal age, but it most defenetly puts an end to the career of the crew member and most likely with the entire cruise industry.


Rule 2: Performance = Employment


Most cruise companies have evaluations 30 days from entering the ship, 3 months from entering the ship, and 6-8 month final evaluation. This means that through out the working day there are supervisors, managers, even co-workers who are constantly judging everything one person does on and off the clock. Performance on a cruise ship can mean a promotion and a letter for another contract, or even an instant termination. Here are few advices which may save one crew member from the embarrassment of being fired:


    Perform your duties to the best of your abilities.

    Be courteous to the passengers because they are the ones who pay for your salary, as well as your bosses bonus.

    Always appear clean, showered, shaved, and with a clean pressed uniform on which you would have your name tag attached at all time.

    Piercings and tattoos in your off time away from the sight of the passengers are fine, but once you enter passenger areas make sure there are no visible piercings, such as nose piercings, as well as ear piercings for boys. Most companies would not hire people who have large tattoos on their arms, necks, and so on. If a crew member has a small tattoo or piercing which can be hidden with a band it is a different story, but anything other than that would result in not being hired or being fired.

    Be always on time or few minutes early. The cruise ships are well oiled machines which may not be functioning well if one person is late all the time. Most companies give warnings for first time misconduct followed with a very loud supervisor, who probably already got yelled at by his boss. More than once may result in demotion or dismissal.

    Every crew member gets a free time to go off shore once in while. Failure to be back on board once that free time I done may mean either being late for work, or even missing the ship. The first one may pass with a warning, but the second one is a little more complicated. Remember, the ship waits for none, not even for crew members. This would be a big problem because the ship's office has your passport and that your entry in the country is only provisional, meaning you are allowed to stay until the ship is in the port. If another ship from the same company is in the same port you may get lucky to get a lift back to the home port where you would get your passport and belongings, as well as a one way ticket back home with a guarantee that you would never be able to work for the company again and maybe even the cruise industry.

 Rule 3: Respect and care for the ship


This rule may be the most important as it does apply to the material wealth and property of the cruise company. This rule include theft, vandalism, lack of personal cabin maintenance, computer misuse, as well as misuse of any other amenities of the ships inventory. The lowest one would be lack of cabin maintenance because it could pass with a simple warning, but the others would most definitely result in dismissal due to misconduct.


Rule 4: Everyone is a safety and security officer


Working on a cruise ship may mean that you might pick up a lot more responsibilities than being just a waiter, just a cook, and so on. Every person who is hired by a cruise company is considered in one way or another a safety officer. This title does not apply only in events of emergencies, but it applies at all time on or off duty. One might wonder what may this mean? Well, it means that if one crew member notices something which may jeopardize crew or passengers safety and security, that that crew member is responsible to report even if the person they may have to report is their own roommate.


Every ship has a “Zero Tolerance for Drugs” policy and this does not apply only to consumption to paraphernalia, but wearing any accessories or clothing which may pertain to it. People can be fired from their positions for simply wearing a t-shirt with a marijuana leaf, or for wearing a pendant with the shape of such leaf. On another note, drug tests are randomly implemented through out ones contract.


Another big one is alcohol. Now we all know that there is not much to do on a cruise ship when you are not the passenger, but to work, have sex, eat, sleep, and drink. Cruise ships have a strict rule to consumption of alcohol and sometimes for a good reason. Having few drinks with friends to relax after hard working day is understandable even by every cruise company. That is why every cruise ship has a crew bar where alcohol is open for consumption. Becoming incapacitated may mean dismissal from duties if reported or caught by security.


Drill attendance is a must for everyone, especially crew members who are the safety officers aboard a cruise ship. Being late, missing drills, and not applying to the officers and captains orders are a big NO. Since all cruise companies imply that their motto is “Safety First,” one may imagine that the crew member who does not follow this motto would be dismissed and possibly may run in with some problems with the law once on the home port.


Rule 5: Maintain the ship health safety


Ships are closed armors where people communicate on daily bases. It is very important that people have healthy habits which would ensure the health of not only each individual, but the ship as a whole. We use the old ship saying “one sick, all sick” because it is true when it comes to cruise ships. When one person gets sick on a cruise ship, does not receive the needed medical help, has bad health habits, and gets in contact with another person, and so on, an epidemic outburst would be most certain. When this happens, the ship gets quarantined without guests and crew members clean the ship for days. This might mean no naughing guests, but it also means no money since there are no ships.


This is why every cruise company has strict health policies in their “Code of Conduct” manual. Few of the most important may be the food safety, management of illness, and no outside and unauthorized consumption of food aboard the cruise ship.


Rule 6: Crew area is for crew and passenger areas are for passenger


On a cruise ship there is a place for everyone. Crew has their authorized areas and passengers has their own authorized areas. When crew members are on duty dressed with their uniform they have the right to be present in passenger areas in which they work. Once off duty it is up to rank and authorized presence according to the ships policies. Ranks which are authorized to roam in passenger areas off duties are that of the staff and officers. Sometimes crew members when they have friends and family aboard the ship as passengers may obtain authorization to be present in passenger areas, but it is limited to the dates to which their friends and family are on board the ship.


As far as passengers are concerned, they are restricted to their passenger areas and may not enter crew area under any given circumstances unless instructed otherwise by the captain.