Your average cruise ship can have hundreds to thousands of crew members on board. While it's obvious that they must have their own bunks, passengers may not realize that crew members have an entire ecosystem hidden belowdecks.

Image: Cruise Hive

Crew members have to be physically fit to meet the demands of the job, and staff must be physically presentable as they're in the hospitality industry. They need to blow off steam between shifts, and eat, and drink, and party. Mingling with guests is a no-no, so crew members have separate gyms, hair salons, laundromats, restaurants, bars, clubs, jacuzzis, swimming pools and more. The quality of these differs from ship to ship, and we'll take a look at a range of them here.

Cruise Hive is an enthusiast website run by Emrys Thakkar, a longtime cruise ship employee. On the site he provides a guided tour of the crew facilities on a Carnival ship:

The Main Corridor

Image: Cruise Hive

Thakkar refers to this as "I-95," as it's the main corridor that crew members use to travel the length of the ship.

Laundry Facilities

Image: Cruise Hive

The crew laundry, along with ironing stations so staff member stay crisp-looking.

Internet Cafe

Image: Cruise Hive

While crew members have WiFi throughout their quarters, the dedicated crew internet cafe is where the signal is strongest.

Crew Barber

Image: Cruise Hive

Since crew members are out to sea for months at a time, they need a dedicated place to manage those coifs.

Crew Mess

Image: Cruise Hive

Not just a dining area, but the after-shift hangout spot where crew members can watch sporting events on the TV. And Thakkar provides this poignant bit of information: "One of the best times to eat in the mess is at midnight, it is when food not used in the guest dining rooms head on down to the crew," i.e. the fancy desserts that guests have taken a pass on.

Staff Mess

Image: Cruise Hive

There's a distinction between crew and staff. The former help operate the ship and its systems, while the latter are the retail and hospitality employees. Staff dine in a separate area from crew.

Officers Dining Rooms

Image: Cruise Hive

Thakkar says there are two side-by-side dining rooms that only the Captain and the Officers are allowed to use. Inside they are waited on, like guests.

Crew Gym

Image: Cruise Hive

It doesn't offer the ocean view that the guest gyms do, but there's plenty of iron to pump.

Crew Bar

Image: Cruise Hive

Image: Cruise Hive

The social hotspot for crew members, it opens every night and gets "really busy" around 9 or 10pm, Thakkar writes. And drinks here cost a lot less than they do abovedecks: "Prices are very cheap, I'm not going to tell you how much because it is so cheap you won't like it!"

Crew Pools and Jacuzzis

Image: Cruise Hive

"You might have wondered what that area is with the jacuzzis or small pool down below near the ship's bow. This is an area where the crew can head on out for some fresh air. When off-duty they can relax in the pools as much as they want and enjoy the stunning ocean views."

You'll notice there are no shots of sleeping quarters. I couldn't find any on the site, but I did find this YouTube video of a crew or staff member on an unnamed ship giving a tour of her room. It's pretty dang tight:

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Depending on the cruise line, facilities can get a lot swankier, as we'll see next.

Crew Center is a website run by ex-crew members who share experiences and offer helpful tips to newbies. On their Crew Facilities section, they feature photographs from different ships to give you a sense of the range. For instance, check out the facilities on a Celebrity Cruises Edge Class ship:

Crew Bar/Lounge

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Crew Mess

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Image: Crew Center

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Crew Game Room

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Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

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Crew Pub

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Crew Outdoor Lounge

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Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

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Crew Coffee Shop

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

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Crew Gym

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Not too shabby, eh? And I have to say it goes up a level from there on an AIDA Cruises Hyperion Class ship:

Crew Restaurant

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Crew Hair Salon

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Image: Crew Center

Crew Sauna

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Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Crew Gym

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Image: Crew Center

Crew Jacuzzi (w/ hilarious slogan)

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Image: Crew Center

Crew Laundry

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Crew Recreation Room

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Crew Bar

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Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Crew Bar, Open Deck

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Image: Crew Center

Of those three companies, I know which cruise company I'd prefer to work for! (I mean, like, in a parallel universe where people were taking cruises.)

See Also:

The Part of the Plane You Never Get to See: What Do Cabin Crews' Chillaxation Spots Look Like?