Ship Life…EXPLAINED! (pt.1)
Many of you have asked me over the years, “What’s it like to live on a ship!?” So I figured this blog would be a good way to show everyone some of the finer points of ship life.
So…where best to start then where we live. Without getting into the hierarchical system in place on ships I can tell you that the cabin you are assigned is based on your rank. I am a ‘petty officer’, which sounds fancier than it really is but does award me the privilege of having my own cabin. I also have a cabin steward who will come in and clean my room, bathroom, and change all my linens every other day if I want…..I don’t even clean my room that much at home! So, I usually ask my steward to clean my room every 4 to 5 days.
Most people have to share a cabin with a ‘cabin mate’ and once you see the picture you will understand how cramped that is. Some unlucky people have to share the space with TWO people! Although those cabins are a bit bigger it’s by no means spacious. In the ‘old days’ they used to build ships with 4 person ‘births’ but since the 90’s they no longer do that due to psychological and medical proof that it is unhealthy to be in that close of quarters for long periods of time. Now I’m not sure if they still do that in the military though…subs are an entirely different world!
As the rank gets higher, the cabin gets nicer. The next rank above me is the same cabin but with a ‘port whole’ which is a small round window. Side Note: NONE of the windows on the ship open due to obvious reasons…if they are left open and we start to sink the open windows will cause us to sink faster. So although the port hole offers natural light, it does not offer a breeze. It’s nice to have though regardless. Now, the Captain essentially has a small house on the top deck. His quarters are AWESOME! Maybe one day…but for now I’ll settle for my single birth cabin on deck 4.
So what's next? The food?
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