24 March 2024 , 13:37
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Cruise ships can be floating theme parks, stunning hotels, spas, and vehicles for world discovery, with all kinds of activities and people on board.
There are all manner of amenities aboard many — water parks, tattoo parlors, multiple restaurants — but a secret network lies beneath the passenger's surface, that many may have no idea about.
Their size is impressive, giant masses on the horizon as thousands of guests hop aboard to explore and unwind. Cruise ships began to exceed ocean liners in size and capacity in the mid-1990s when more and more people chose to get out and see the world, and many spend their hard earned cash aboard the ships every year. According to Yahoo Finance, The Global Cruise Ships Market Size was valued at £7.2billion in 2023 and it is seemingly ever growing.
But, despite their popularity, you'll be shocked to hear about these five things many ships have aboard, that you may never actually see.
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Jail cells
Jail cells are commonplace on board (Getty Images)What happens if someone commits a crime at sea? What happens if you are drunk and disorderly? Or perhaps conflict kicks off? Is the cruise world truly a lawless place? Of course not.
The brig is a jail cell which tends to usually be a very basic room with a bed and bathroom facilities. It does not have iron bars like a traditional jail cell, but it is still meant to be a secure place used to detain guests who commit serious crimes on board before they are able to be handed over to the relevant authorities.
Morgues
Morgues are necessary (Getty Images)Gruesome it may be, but with some cruises stretching out for months on end, particularly the recent 9-month cruise which rose to internet notoriety, and the somewhat aged demographic of many cruise ships, a morgue is necessary.
Most cruise ships have to have a morgue on board as well as a number of body bags in case of an emergency. If someone dies on board, the body will be kept at the morgue until it can be disembarked at the next major port or at the port of origin. The cruise ship morgue is usually a stainless steel refrigerated room where bodies can be stored safely.
Magnetic walls
It may sound obvious, but cruise ships, being made of metal often have metal walls that are magnetic.
The walls of your cabin are made of metal and therefore magnetic, so if you take magnets on your cruise you will be able to pin up lists, wash bags, and, anything else you would like on your cabin walls.
Hidden doors
Ships have all manner of secrets (Getty Images)Take a wrong turn and you may find yourself in a hidden corridor, or face to face with a secret door or trap door. Maybe staff seem to get from point A to point B really quickly and you wonder how they do it. Well, there is often a whole network of hidden entrances and exits according to cruise ship insiders on Reddit.
Lion cages
In another Reddit thread, it was revealed that the NCL Spirit actually has lion cages on board from when they used to do live big cat shows aboard the ship.