A Royal Caribbean crew member explains how to break a strict rule

Having sailed on Royal Caribbean dozens of times, I’ve been lucky enough to befriend some of the musicians on board.

Solo musicians, at least on Royal Caribbean, have full passenger privileges when not working. They are not required to wear name tags or uniforms outside of business hours and are permitted to socialize with passengers as long as this socializing is not physical and takes place in public areas of the ship.

Related: Royal Caribbean Quietly Updates Banned Items List

As I watched a guitarist friend of mine perform on various Royal Caribbean ships, it was clear that some of the women in the crowd fell for him. Some would frantically slip booth numbers into his tip jar, while others might try to get his phone number.

This was flattering, but it was also something she had to completely ignore (or politely decline) because hooking up with guests is strictly against Royal Caribbean rules.

He had full passenger privileges, but he still had to be careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

One night, for example, security asked him to leave a hot tub because a woman who had been a regular at his shows came in after him. He didn’t know this or recognize the woman, and she made no effort to talk to him, but security thought it best to find another location to relax.

On another occasion, he told me about a piano player at the Schooner Bar who got in trouble for recreating the “I’m King of the World” picture on a public deck with a passenger. She wasn’t fired, but she could have easily been, since crew members aren’t allowed to get physical with passengers.

This is a hard and fast rule, but one that gets broken, according to a popular Reddit user who claims to be a Royal Caribbean crew member.

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The pub on Royal Caribbean ships has live music almost every night.

Image source: Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean crew member says key rule is being broken

There’s no way to fully verify that the Reddit user who identifies herself as RoyalCaribbeanTea actually works for the cruise line. His posts seem credible, though, and some of the insights he’s described match the discussions I’ve had with crew members.

He was recently asked about a crew member hooking up with a passenger.

“My best friend was a passenger on one of your boats and had an affair with a guy in the engine room (Oiler). They met on Grindr and Oiler said he could do whatever he wanted if a guest invited him to their room. But he could not propose guests or invite them to his crew room. How true is that? asked a Reddit user.

RoyalCaribbeanTea quickly corrected this Reddit user.

“Oiler must not have read company policies properly,” RoyalCaribbeanTea wrote. “It’s not allowed at all. Zero tolerance — may be grounds for termination. If a guest invites a crew to any activity, there is a form from the HR department that must be completed by the guest crew and the inviter. invited, signed by the head of the department, the human resources manager and the staff captain. It’s a drama.

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Royal Caribbean rules are being broken

Just because hooking up with a passenger is against the rules doesn’t mean it never happens, according to RoyalCaribbeanTea.

“BUT! The crew can sneak into the guest cabins at any time. As long as no one reports it to security, no one will check the CCTVs in the lobby,” he added.

The cruise line has cameras monitoring all public areas of its ships, and crew members are sometimes disciplined for being in parts of the ship where they shouldn’t be.

Even musicians who have booths in the passenger areas of the ship (which is somewhat common) should only be in the area where their booth is, not in other passenger cabin hallways.

A second poster rudely asked RoyalCaribbeanTea if she had sex with any passengers.

“I personally don’t,” RoyalCaribbeanTea replied. “But that’s a pretty common thing. It’s not allowed, so they sneak in just to get ugly.”

Royal Caribbean, it should be pointed out, strictly prohibits crew members from entering passenger rooms. A pianist friend of mine almost got fired for going into her aunt’s room to collect a present. (She was forgiven once she proved the family relationship.)

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The cruise line’s official policy is pretty clear.

“Crew members are prohibited from engaging in physical relations with guests. Crew members are not permitted to socialize with guests beyond their professional duties and are not permitted to be in guest cabins except in the performance of their onboard duties.”

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