Photo gallery: Faces of the Hotel Department

Here are some photos of crew working in the biggest department on board the ship.

One of the most important crewmembers for the guest on board is his/her cabin steward. Quite often he is the first friendly face that they will see when coming out of the cabin. When not in another cabin, the cabin steward is hovering in the corridor to keep an eye on which cabin is empty. Especially the first day he keeps a close eye on who is leaving at what time until he has figured out the living pattern of all the guests in his section. A day starts a seven and runs until 2 pm, with a hour lunch break at 11 am. The evening shift starts at 5 pm and last until 8.30 or 9 pm. For the evening gaining access to the cabins is easier as he knows which sitting the guests is attending. Unless they have room service………. Using the do-not-disturb/make-up room signs on the door is of great help to the steward but not all guests use them.
To the right a totally different photo. A row of dinningroom stewards waiting to be paid. Three times a month, the purser organises “pay day” so the crew can cash in some of their wages. Most of the wages are sent home direct by a company deposit system but a certain amount is cashed in on board. To avoid 300 crew decending on the purser at the same time, a system has been setup in the crewmessroom. A 100 chairs are lined up in a L shape and everybody takes a seat. As soon as the first crewmember is being paid, he/she vacates the seat and everybody moves one seat closer to the table. Nobody has to stand and nobody is looking over the shoulder of the person who is getting paid.

MORE TO COME.