Has anyone accidentally wandered into an off-limits area?

[smellycruzer]

On my last cruise on Ruby, there were a few times I lost my bearings and ended up in a "crew only" section below deck on ship (I saw crew members playing billiards so I imagine I was in an employee rec area). I realized that a poorly marked door had been left open and allowed my access. Has this ever happened to anyone else on Princess, basically taking your own Ultimate Ship Tour by accident?

[tserface]

I've never entered a crew area, but I've seen into them through open doors before. My experience was that the crew area looked more like a ship and less like a cruise ship so it was pretty easy to tell the difference. Not very fancy at all.

 

Tom

 

On my last cruise on Ruby, there were a few times I lost my bearings and ended up in a "crew only" section below deck on ship (I saw crew members playing billiards so I imagine I was in an employee rec area). I realized that a poorly marked door had been left open and allowed my access. Has this ever happened to anyone else on Princess, basically taking your own Ultimate Ship Tour by accident?

[Shogun]

Hi

 

Simple answer is no, flooring, deco etc tells you that you are in a crew only area,

 

have been to most crew areas, but it was with the Captain showing me his ship.

 

yours Shogun

[smellycruzer]

I also have walked through "off limits" areas after leaving my muster station in the Princess Theater. Technically I guess this is isn't off limits. I wonder if anyone has gotten lost on the Ultimate Ship Tour for an extended period of time?

[john watson]

Just after the Muster Station Drill on Grand Princess we were all told to go back to cabins to return life jackets. To make this quicker we were told, along with everybody else to use the emergency stairs which were usually "crew only". We had a long trek to get to the Lido Deck in the central crew corridor area.

 

Regards John

[pablo222]

On my last cruise on Ruby, there were a few times I lost my bearings and ended up in a "crew only" section below deck on ship (I saw crew members playing billiards so I imagine I was in an employee rec area). I realized that a poorly marked door had been left open and allowed my access. Has this ever happened to anyone else on Princess, basically taking your own Ultimate Ship Tour by accident?

 

Accidently? Seems unlikely -- just notice where the carpet stops.

 

There was some problem with the mid-ship pontoon, and they

led a group of passengers through a crew hallway to the forward

pontoon to board the tender there.

 

It was pretty easy to tell that I wasn't in a passenger area.

Even so, I still spoke only english.

[Dudleydog73]

I also have walked through "off limits" areas after leaving my muster station in the Princess Theater. Technically I guess this is isn't off limits. I wonder if anyone has gotten lost on the Ultimate Ship Tour for an extended period of time?

 

Lost on the UST? LOL you must be kidding. With only 12 people on the tour accompanied with several crew members constantly opening doors and counting to make sure all were together that was impossible to "wander" away.

[Kenswing]

Crew areas are pretty "sterile" looking.. It's hard not to notice that you're not in the right place..

[Woobstr112G]

Lost on the UST? LOL you must be kidding. With only 12 people on the tour accompanied with several crew members constantly opening doors and counting to make sure all were together that was impossible to "wander" away.

 

Yup.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Pam in CA]

There is a big and very noticeable difference between passenger and crew-only areas: passenger areas are "finished"; crew-only areas aren't.

 

The only times I've been in crew-only areas were on the UST and the Regal Princess I years ago. I had a solo cabin (the ship had single cabins that were great) on deck 4 and on the other side of the elevator area towards the aft was the crew area. There was a very large room just inside their area that was used for luggage sorting/distribution on embarkation day and during the cruise, was set up as a rec room with ping pong tables and other things. I peeked in one day when the door was open and I heard them having so much fun I couldn't resist. I just peeked, though.

[Wehwalt]

I accidentally entered a crew stairwell on the Pacific Princess when I was less familiar with her. I immediately realized my mistake and left.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Not on Princess, but I did this once on the Celebrity Mercury 15 years ago. I was traveling solo and trying to get off the ship in port (so I was already "below decks" so to speak). I was much younger then (probably looked more than 15 years younger :() with a baseball cap on my head and carrying scuba gear and I didn't stand out amongst the crew nor did anyone take notice of me not belonging there. I eventually went beyond a curtain and that's where we were supposed to leave the ship, but meanwhile had wandered the entire length of the crew corridor.

[smellycruzer]

Not on Princess, but I did this once on the Celebrity Mercury 15 years ago. I was traveling solo and trying to get off the ship in port (so I was already "below decks" so to speak). I was much younger then (probably looked more than 15 years younger :() with a baseball cap on my head and carrying scuba gear and I didn't stand out amongst the crew nor did anyone take notice of me not belonging there. I eventually went beyond a curtain and that's where we were supposed to leave the ship, but meanwhile had wandered the entire length of the crew corridor.

 

Sounds like a fun experience!

 

On a related note, isn't everyone here curious just to see a little more? Even if you know it's a crew area, don't you just want to stumble in and see the "behind the scenes" part of the ship?

 

IMO, the UST lacks quite a few spots on the ship that I would like to see up close and personal. Anyone else feel that way?

[OCruisers]

No, never ACCIDENTALLY! ;)...:D

 

LuLu

[francot]

Walked into the women restroom. Does that count?

[SadieN]

I did on Carnival. Turns out sister ships aren't necessarily identical.

 

Going up a 'hidden' guest stairwell, out a door and up an outside stairwell to a passenger area. One ship it's ok for guests to use these stairs and landing, the other ship it wasn't. None were marked.

[yoyosma]

Sounds like a fun experience!

 

On a related note, isn't everyone here curious just to see a little more? Even if you know it's a crew area, don't you just want to stumble in and see the "behind the scenes" part of the ship?

 

IMO, the UST lacks quite a few spots on the ship that I would like to see up close and personal. Anyone else feel that way?

 

Lisa Ball did a presentation on our Royal cruise last march about crew living on board and behind the scenes ship stuff. It was very interesting, I would like to see it again. It was in Princess Live but I don't recall if it was recorded and added to the on demand TV stuff.

[Nāmaka]

Sounds like a fun experience!

 

On a related note, isn't everyone here curious just to see a little more? Even if you know it's a crew area, don't you just want to stumble in and see the "behind the scenes" part of the ship?

 

IMO, the UST lacks quite a few spots on the ship that I would like to see up close and personal. Anyone else feel that way?

 

Do a search on YouTube. You can find lots of behind the scenes stuff that the crew films and posts. ;)

[bdjam]

On a related note, isn't everyone here curious just to see a little more? Even if you know it's a crew area, don't you just want to stumble in and see the "behind the scenes" part of the ship?

 

IMO, the UST lacks quite a few spots on the ship that I would like to see up close and personal. Anyone else feel that way?

 

What other areas would you like to see? Crew cabins? Crew mess? Crew store? Crew laundry? One of the things I learned from my interaction with staff and crew is that they like some respite from the passengers. Not having passengers traipsing through crews living areas is part of that.

Edited May 29, 2015 by bdjam

[Cruisin' Chick]

On our last cruise, during one of our walks around the deck, we noticed some curtains that were slightly open. We could tell it was part of the crew area as there were some people (obviously not passengers) using computers, so maybe their own Internet cafe.

 

I would imagine crew members would like some privacy and not be on part of any passenger tour.

 

Usually I see signs or ropes with signs indicating that passengers were not allowed.

[DougH]

The only times I've been in crew-only areas were on the UST and the Regal Princess I years ago. I had a solo cabin (the ship had single cabins that were great) on deck 4 and on the other side of the elevator area towards the aft was the crew area. There was a very large room just inside their area that was used for luggage sorting/distribution on embarkation day and during the cruise, was set up as a rec room with ping pong tables and other things. I peeked in one day when the door was open and I heard them having so much fun I couldn't resist. I just peeked, though.

 

I used to book those cabins, I remember seeing the ping pong players also. They seemed to be having a very good time. Totally forgot about that, I sure miss the old Crown & Regal. Loved the movie theater and pizzeria

[smellycruzer]

What other areas would you like to see? Crew cabins? Crew mess? Crew store? Crew laundry? One of the things I learned from my interaction with staff and crew is that they like some respite from the passengers. Not having passengers traipsing through crews living areas is part of that.

 

Yes, yes, yes, and yes! Every crew member I've spoken to is delighted to share their experiences and life onboard. It also motivates me to tip more, they deserve every bit!

[donaldsc]

I can see where someone could accidentally open a door into a crew area or maybe even step foot into the area. However, the ambience of the crew area is so different from the ambience of the guest area that going any further would be uninvited curiosity.

 

DON

[Oh2B@C]

I walked into the ladies' room once by mistake, I wasn't paying attention and went through the door on the left rather than the right... :eek:

[skf]

I took an unauthorized tour of the Promenade Deck forward in Royal...went thru the unmarked door and could not get back inside until a crew member walked by.