Cruise ship boss explains why staff will ignore cabin 'do not disturb' signs after 24 hours

Another day, another cruise ship rule explained by those who run the industry.

It's no secret that the massive floating holiday boats come with their own specific rules that passengers have to follow.

Staff aren't exempt from this either, with one very strict rule often broken by cruise liner employees.

And when it comes to departures, there is one timing rule that has been brought to light in some very brutal footage.

The latest little known rule issue has been brought to light by one of the bosses of Florida-based Carnival Cruise Lines.

Englishman John Heald, a senior cruise director for the company, took to his official Facebook page to share a complaint he had directly received following a customer's recent trip on a Carnival cruise liner.

The complaint revolved around 'do not disturb' signs placed on cabin doors by customers.

For Carnival Cruise Lines, they don't have actually have 'do not disturb' signs. In their place, they have 'Snoozin' signs that come in a variety of designs.

Other ships opt for magnets, with most walls on a cruise ship magnetic due to the metal frame throughout the vessels.

A do not disturb sign to let staff know not to enter your room (Getty Stock Images)

Sharing a customer complaint about the 'do not disturb' signs on Carnival cruises, they asked John: "How would you like it if the cabin cleaner walked in on you John Herald.

"Our cleaner knocked and walked in on us ignoring the do not disturb sign we had out. This was not acceptable.

"We took away the gratuity and gave it to other crew people. Is this how Carnival trains their workers?"

Responding, John explained exactly what had happened in this particular case after investigating it within the Carnival cruising company.

Explaining the situation on his Facebook page so other cruise-goers could see it, he carefully said the exact reason for why cleaners went in to their room.

John wrote: "The reason I am sharing this post is because when it was made, early last week, it had lots of you adding your thoughts saying that this was indeed wrong and that it should not have happened.

Gorgeous waters surrounding a cruise ship (Getty Stock Images)

"I have since spoken with the Housekeeping Manager who explained what had happened. The guests had their 'SNOOZIN' sign out for more than 24 hours.

"So it is company policy that we check the safety and well being of the guests and that is what happened here.

"The state room attendant did knock as they always do before entering and as there was no reply they entered the room with the floor supervisor also there.

"The crew member was simply doing her job. I hope this explains the other side to the story. Thanks so much."

More than 1,500 people responded to John, with one saying: "Two sides to every story. I’m glad there is a policy to check on guests, this is good."

A cruise ship cabin (Getty Stock Images)

A second wrote: "Simply answering yes, we’re OK or opening the door would suffice. I’m glad it’s a policy if something happened to me while I’m on the ship I’m glad they’re looking out for my health and safety."

And a third added: "I’d definitely want someone to check on me if I hadn’t been seen or had a sign up for an extended amount of time.

"I think it’s especially important on a cruise, we run into our room attendant multiple times a day so if they don’t see me they know it’s weird."