After a long day of sightseeing, deck activities and fine dining, cruise passengers have the privilege of returning to their cabins to enjoy a piping hot cup of tea or coffee before they rest – a luxury cruise staff may not have. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, a former cabin crew member revealed a simple ‘everyday’ item that staff are banned from having but passengers can enjoy.
When asked about electronics in cabin rooms, the former cruise musician, who wishes to remain anonymous, admitted that staff were not provided kettles in their rooms, but passengers are. He shared: “Passengers are allowed kettles in their room if they want to make tea or anything like that. And that’s one thing crews were not allowed.
“We weren’t allowed kettles and we couldn’t make a cup of tea in our rooms – well not legally, like sometimes people had to sneak it on like an electric kettle.”
Some cruise lines ban passengers and staff from bringing their own electronics, such as kettles and irons, due to safety and fire hazards. However, UK travellers can still board some cruise ships that provide hot-drink facilities in cabins.
Voyages such as the Royal Caribbean offer kettles in cabins when sailing from the UK, and Marella Cruises offer kettles in every passenger cabin. However, the Norwegian Cruise Line does not offer kettles; instead, the company provides a coffee machine.
The anonymous cruise worker continued: “I don’t know why you, as staff, cannot have a kettle but a passenger can. I’m not sure. Maybe it’s a safety thing, because when we get on board at some point in time, they do a drill where we have to take over all our electronics to engineering.
“We have to take all of our charging cables and chargers and stuff like that, and they have to run and check on them, and that I understand in case there’s a fire.”
“I think there was a case where somebody left their phone charging on a piece of paper for a long time, and it caught fire, so I get why it needs to be checked.”
For a singer who entertained passengers nonstop for hours, he noted that having a hot drink in his room would have been a welcome luxury, but he understands the business comes first.
He said: “Cabin passengers don’t really have rules. Cabin passengers have the freedom to do whatever they want to do, they are always right.
“It’s still a business, so how they manage their business is to keep the passengers happy.”
What cruise lines offer kettles in cabins?
- Celebrity Cruises
- P&O Cruises
- Royal Caribbean
- Cunard
- Princess Cruises
- Marella
