Understanding Cruise Ship Ranks

Rank affects nearly every aspect of life onboard a cruise ship. Rank on a ship is part of how life onboard works. Ship ranks is a huge way of determining where you can eat onboard, what cabin you get and so much more. In this post we will dive into how the ranks on a cruise ship work.

Your rank onboard directly corresponds to your job onboard. The Captain has a higher rank than the Dining Room Manager, the Dining Room Manager has a higher rank than a dishwasher, and so on and so forth.

The rank structure on a ship in some ways is not that different than it is in the majority of large corporations, hotels, or businesses. The higher up you are the more responsibility there is and the more perks you get. Conversely, the lower on the ladder you are the less responsibility and the less perks you get.

The part that makes the cruise ship ranks structure a bit different than land based is that everyone that is needed (save for a few various specialty technicians or training officers) to keep a cruise ship running has to live on the ship all the time. It is not just a revenue generating resort but also employee housing and a vessel. As a vessel it also comes with the navigational, safety, environmental, engineering, and maintenance demands and those professionals responsible for it.

Want to understand cruise ship stripes and what stripes correspond with which ship ranks? Take a look at this post on Understanding Cruise Ship Officer Stripes.

Ships are Truly Floating Cities

On land a company and it’s building exists within it’s environment and society and it can utilize resources from that society. Most likely the building doesn’t have it’s own sewage treatment plant or diesel generators to power it. (Although more and more are utilizing solar power which is awesome). Those services are likely run by the municipality that they’re a part of.

And, if the building needed painting, windows washed, a plumber called, or maybe some wiring fixed – there are professionals you can call in for those jobs. If one of your employees gets sick they can go to their physician. In addition, the company and it’s building on land aren’t also expected to house everyone that is needed to keep that branch of the company and it’s building running smoothly and then also maintain that employee housing.

But, Which Crew Member Gets the Biggest Cabin? And Other Things to Think About

What does all that have to do with the rank structure on a cruise ship? Everything. Think for a minute if your office building suddenly needed to house everyone that contributes to not only that part of the business but also the building. How would you decide who got the biggest room? Who do you want eating dinner with your highest paying client?

These are hard truths to think about. On land society and the money in your pocket deals with answering these questions. If you are higher up and getting paid more maybe you will choose to spend that money buying a bigger house or apartment. The company can quite easily decide who goes to dinner with the high paying client.

They can’t necessarily stop another employee from being in the restaurant at the same time as that high rolling client, but society probably will. A fancy dinner on a Wednesday for the lower to middle level employees is probably only reserved for special occasions.

Now, exist in the world where everyone that keeps your company, it’s building, and your transportation going all lives, eats, and works in the same structure. You need to decide how to best serve your clients (guests), while also maintaining some level of employee satisfaction. What has developed is the cruise ship rank structure. It is somewhat a mix between a naval structure and high end resorts and hotels.

Each crew members rank corresponds to what their job onboard is. That rank determines so much of your onboard life. Here’s a short list of the ways that your rank affects your onboard life:

What Does Cruise Ship Rank On a Ship Affect?

• Cabin – roommates, bunk beds, window?  
• Food – crew mess, petty officer/ officer mess room, passenger areas, the dining room? Room service?!!
  • Note: I will be writing a separate post diving into the differences between these various dining venues and options!
• Laundry – Can you get your laundry sent out? Can you use the super secret hidden Officers laundry room?
• Shows & Passenger Areas – can you go enjoy a show, listen to the band, or grab a drink in passenger areas?

What Ship Ranks Are There?

The crew ranks are typically divided into three to four main categories. The names might be different depending on the line, but in general: crew, petty officer, staff/officer status, and officer. In addition there are a few other funky categories, too, like guest entertainers and contractors.

While from a passenger perspective the easiest and most obvious rank differentiations are among the officers. As they literally wear their rank by the stripes on their shoulders; however, the greatest differences in privileges lie between these other more broad categories of rank.

The Different Ship Ranks:

Note: What is outlined below are generalizations. There are differences between cruise lines and even differences within each rank category. They also adjust and change over time.

Below is meant to give you a basic idea what cruise ship rank affects and impacts in your day to day life onboard outside of work. It is not meant to denote hard and fast rules. The information gathered below was based on research of many cruise lines, other cruise bloggers, YouTubers, as well as my own experience and experiences of people I know.

Crew/Rating:

• Cabin – bunk cabin with a roommate. Most likely a bathroom between two crew members; however, there are set ups where there’s a bathroom between two bunk cabins so then those four crew members would have to share a bathroom (more common on older ships).
• Food – Crew mess
• Laundry – Main crew laundry room
• Shows & Passenger Areas – Not except when you’re working or for very specific occasions

2023 Update: Big changes they are afoot! There has been a big push by many cruise lines to more equalize some privileges. This includes some cruise lines opening up the ability for Crew/Rating positions to go to things like shows and specialty restaurants when not on duty.

Petty Officer:

• Cabin – The majority of Petty Officer positions will have a roommate in a bunk cabin and your own bathroom (no sharing with another cabin for you!) Depending on the position you may not have a roommate but still be in a bunk cabin.
• Food – Crew Mess or Petty Officers Mess
• Laundry – Main crew laundry room
• Shows & Passenger Areas – Maybe – depending on position and cruise line (in uniform).

Staff / Officer Status:

• Cabin – There is some variety here. Some of these positions will have roommates in a bunk cabin. For example: shop workers, photographers, youth staff, or dancers. Sometimes there are supervisors in bunk cabins without a roommate. You can also find people in these categories in single (non bunk) inside cabins that might even have a full size bed!
• Food – Petty Officer / Staff mess. Depending on the ship and set up, the Officers mess as well. Very possibly the passenger buffet. Passenger Dining Room or Specialty Restaurants on special occasions with prior permission. And, on some cruise lines: room service!!!
• Laundry – Main crew laundry room – some positions may be able to send their laundry out (for a small fee)
• Shows & Passenger Areas – Quite often, depending on cruise line, and always on a “passenger first” basis. The more luxurious the line the more restrictive they tend to be with this particular privilege. (In uniform; there tends to be more leeway about uniforms on Formal/Gala nights to wear your own gown/suit)

Officers:

• Cabin – Officer cabins start from inside full sized bed cabins, to porthole cabins with a full sized bed and a couch, to cabins with big windows, king sized beds, a bathtub, and for the very highest up on newer ships – a balcony!
• Food – Officer Mess/ Dining Room. If there is a separate Officer Dining Room they can likely order food off of the dining room menu to have delivered to them. Typically allowed to eat in the passenger buffet, dining room, and specialty restaurants (with prior permission). Some luxury lines only allow 2 or 3 stripes and higher to eat in the passenger buffets. Most can get room service!
• Laundry – The higher up officers may have a small separate (super secret) laundry room. They can also have their laundry sent out.
• Shows & Passenger Areas – On some luxury lines it may only be 2 or 3 stripes and higher, but most main stream cruise lines will allow their officers to go to shows, various lounges, and bars onboard.

Is the Ship Ranks System A Good System?

There are times onboard when it doesn’t feel “fair” or “right”, but on any given cruise ship there are usually people from 40+ countries working onboard in relative harmony. Everyone has good days and bad days, but overall it works. There are some things you can bring with you onboard to make it feel more like home, and for the most part people are onboard to make a living (often to send home to their families) and to travel and explore.

It would be lovely to think that everything was equal amongst the crew for everything. That everyone gets a nice cabin with a big window and can order room service and can go to the shows – but, as much as I would love that to be so, it’s just not possible.

The cruise ship rank has such an affect on so much of life onboard. And, while the rank system might be more obvious on cruises but the rest of the world is certainly not insulated from it and these can be hard truths to think about.