The Master of the vessel has complete control and responsibility of the vessel. His/her Officers, have charge of matters from Navigation to Engineering. We then have what is referred to as the hotel' side of the operation where we have the crew.
The day to day operation of the ship lies in the capable hands of the crew. The number of crewmembers ranges from the hundreds to well over a thousand. I would like to share with you what you may or may not know about your crew. You have heard that they may have come from many different countries and that is very true. The crewmembers work for the cruise line being hired through an agency. The details of such an arrangement are not known to me. There are a few things that are common to most crewmembers onboard. They have a work contract of anywhere between 6 months, 8 months or even 10 months depending in part on the position of work. Crewmembers work onboard for any number of reasons. It is better than a job available to them at their home country, they can save money for future purchases of a home or to start a business. Some work onboard to visit other parts of the world where they might not otherwise have that opportunity. What they do is something that has escaped a lot of us. They sacrifice being away from their family and home to make something in their life better.
The crewmembers are hired to work in departments such as; housekeeping, food and beverage, security, engineering, reception/front office as well as behind the scenes positions. Passengers only encounter a fraction of the crewmembers onboard. However, each crewmember of each department plays a role in ensuring that your cruise is enjoyable.
Many of the crew that I have encountered are college educated. The fact that English is not their first language is a credit to them that they know English well enough to perform their duties onboard which includes the interaction with the passengers. A knowing passenger will know and understands that their cabin attendant, for example, knows what you want, the attendant just needs a few additional seconds to process the information. I have rarely encountered a cabin attendant not meeting the specifications of their job. There is a hierarchy onboard and each crewmember has a supervisor who is aware and responsible for the crewmembers in their charge. So, as a matter of procedure, a cabin attendant will notify their supervisor or any request or issue with a stateroom.
I remember one instance when I was touring the galley area of one ship where they washed the pots and pans. I remember stopping and mentioning to a crewmember that his good work is meaningful. I have some doubt that he did not understand English, but he might have. After the tour, the Environmental Officer told me how I had made the day of that worker just by speaking to 'pot washer number two'. A kind word has great value all around.