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A woman who spent years working on cruise ships has revealed some interesting secrets about what it's really like onboard.
Lauren Heavner - who goes by @laurenheav online - is a professional vocalist who spent a decade working on cruise ships.
From onboard dating disasters to working through covid, Lauren has even opened up on one of the most terrifying times of her career.
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Health
Speaking to the Mail Online, Lauren explained that while there are plenty of medics onboard a cruise ship, it can be difficult to stop the spread of certain bugs, such as norovirus which typically causes sickness and diarrhoea.
"Over the years, I’ve seen my share of medical emergencies on cruise ships - too many falls ending in broken bones, a couple of heart attacks that claimed lives and norovirus outbreaks that spread faster than gossip at the crew bar," she said.
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"Medical emergencies onboard aren’t exactly an everyday occurrence, but they’re not rare either."
One illness that Lauren describes as a 'nightmare' was the covid pandemic.
"Nothing compares to the chaos of covid-19. Being a crew member on a cruise ship during that time was like living a nightmare with no shore in sight," she added.
"Isolation, fear and uncertainty hung in the air as heavy as the ocean fog. It wasn’t just terrifying - it was the kind of terrible that leaves a mark, the kind you carry with you long after the seas have calmed."
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Wildlife
Lauren explained that sadly, a ship she was once on collided with a whale, which she described as being 'outside anyone's control'.
"The reactions from both passengers and crew were strikingly similar - helplessness mixed with an unsettling sense of guilt, even though it was beyond anyone’s control," she said.
Relationships
Lauren explained that, despite rules against it, relationships between passengers and crew do happen.
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"Fraternising with passengers is strictly forbidden for crew members - a rule that comes with one of the harshest consequences: immediate termination," she said.
"But rules, as we all know, are only as strong as the people following them. And let’s just say, not everyone on the ship is a fan of playing by the book."
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And when it comes to relationships between crew, Lauren says they're about as common as 'sunsets at sea', no matter who might be waiting at home.
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"The real question isn’t whether they’re in a relationship - it’s whether their spouses back home know," she said.
"... But there’s one hard-and-fast caveat: no relationships between a supervisor and their subordinates."
Topics: Travel, Sex and Relationships, Health
Lucy Devine