There’s no doubt that working on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is a unique job, but what is life actually like in the crew-only areas onboard?
Aside from the 2-hour behind-the-scenes tour offered by Royal Caribbean, most guests have no idea what life is like in the crew-only areas of the ship.
It’s possible to catch a glimpse of a crew-only stairwell from the hallway or peek down into the crew-only bar from the Promenade deck, but most of these “secret” crew areas are left up to our imagination.
In the age of social media, however, we’re able to learn more about the life of crew members onboard Royal Caribbean ships. Several crew members run YouTube and Tik Tok channels, and today we’re going to go behind-the-scenes on the world’s biggest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas.
Wonder of the Seas crew member's Tik Tok
Bryan James works onboard Wonder of the Seas as the guitarist and vocalist in The Mason Jar Bar. When he isn’t singing country tunes in Royal Caribbean’s newest restaurant and bar, you can find him making videos for his Tik Tok following of almost 700,000.
While all of his Tik Toks revolve around life on a cruise ship, he has several that focus on the day-to-day life of crew members onboard. In these videos, we can catch a glimpse of crew-only areas and learn more about the hangout spaces, food, and cabins reserved for crew members.
Let’s take a look at six of James’ Tik Toks to learn more about life for crew on the biggest cruise ship in the world.
#1: Secret hangout in the ship’s funnel
Located at the very top of Wonder of the Seas is the ship’s funnel, but did you know that this is a crew-only hangout space?
Accessible from a crew-only stairwell is a spacious deck with views of the ship’s aft and Sports Court. The hangout space has tables and chairs, allowing crew to relax with expansive ocean views.
James states that “It’s like a secret hangout that’s by the funnel of the ship… and not even by the funnel. I mean, it’s like… in the funnel and it’s so pretty.”
@bryanjames.music Who's sneakin round the crew areas? #royalcaribbean #wonderoftheseas #cruiseshipcrew #🛳 #cruiseship ♬ original sound - Bryan James
#2: Shop for crew members
Crew members on Wonder of the Seas can purchase items like snacks, toiletries, laundry detergent, and other day-to-day essentials in a “secret” shop reserved just for crew members.
James mentioned that this shop was extremely helpful when crew members were not allowed to disembark the ship during the pandemic. Now that crew members are able to disembark in port, they can choose to purchase items at the onboard shop or in local stores in port.
When asked about the prices at the crew-only shop, James mentioned “It’s not too bad! There are weird taxes being overseas right now so everything is about 30 percent more expensive than it should be.”
In front of the shop appears to be a dining and lounge space for crew members, as seen in James’ Tik Tok.
@bryanjames.music What other below deck areas do you wanna see? #cruiseshipcrew #belowdeck #wonderoftheseas #cruiseship ♬ original sound - Bryan James
#3: What is the food like for crew members?
A major part of going on a Royal Caribbean cruise is dining at the ship’s restaurants, but what type of food do crew members eat onboard?
James gave an insight into dining options for Wonder of the Seas crew members on a recent Tik Tok, where he mentioned that “it changes quite a bit.”
In his Tik Tok, we can see a crêpe station at the buffet. This is similar to the live cooking stations we passengers see in the Windjammer buffet. This section seems to change day by day; he explains that this area sometimes offers other made-to-order dishes like fried rice or pad thai.
In addition to the live cooking station is a standard buffet, which has a salad bar, fruits, cheeses and cold cuts, and a section of hot foods like meats and side dishes.
James also shows an extensive selection of desserts, many of which are the same desserts you’ll find in the guest dining areas onboard. Crew members dine in the crew-only dining space located near the buffet.
@bryanjames.music Would ya trade the guest buffet for this one? #cruiseship #cruiseshipfood #cruiseshipcrew #royalcaribbean ♬ original sound - Bryan James
#4: “World’s smallest cruise ship cabin”
Bryan James moved into what he called the “world’s smallest cruise ship cabin” earlier this year as Wonder of the Seas geared up for its inaugural voyage in March.
He gave followers a behind-the-scenes look at where crew live, which is, unsurprisingly, quite different from the ship’s biggest guest suites 15 decks above.
James lived in a single room, which had one twin bed, a tv, mini fridge, small wardrobe, drawers above the bed, small desk, sink, toilet, shower, and full-length mirror. The bathroom is shared between two cabins.
The cabin is anything but spacious. In fact, he later shared in another Tik Tok that “I can touch every single wall at the exact same time!”
Not every crew cabin is the same size, however, and many crew members share a room. In another Tik Tok, James’ friend Zoe shared her crew cabin and it appears much more spacious. It also has a virtual balcony.
@bryanjames.music A biiiittt smaller than I expected. #cruiseshipsinger #cruiseshipdancer #cruiseshiplife #cruiseshipcrew #cruiseship #cabintour #🛳 ♬ Wii - Mii Channel - Super Guitar Bros
#5: A day in the life on a cruise ship
We caught a few more glimpses of crew life onboard Wonder of the Seas with a “Day in the Life” Tik Tok from Bryan James.
What you may not know about cruise ship operations is that there are frequent training, drills, and events for crew members.
James explains how, on this day, he had a CPR training in the morning followed by the weekly crew drill, during which crew members practice the ship’s safety procedures. Following the safety drill was a crew meeting in the Royal Theater led by the captain to discuss how the ship is doing.
After an afternoon in port, Bryan and a fellow crew member headed to the crew laundry room. Crew members have access to self-service laundry machines unlike guests.
Later in the evening, we see the crew members enjoying a crew-only party in the Solarium followed by a game of foosball in a crew-only space.
@bryanjames.music Looking for suggestions of where to hide the duck. #royalcaribbean #wonderoftheseas #symphonyoftheseas #utopiaoftheseas #iconoftheseas ♬ original sound - Bryan James
#6: Lifeboat drills for crew members
Our last Tik Tok doesn’t show a secret crew space per se, but Bryan James revealed an interesting snippet about lifeboat drills for crew members on his Tik Tok channel.
He mentioned how crew are randomly selected to test the capacity of the lifeboats on Wonder of the Seas. During this test, crew members must put on lifejackets and board the lifeboat, and red dots in the lifeboat indicate where to sit.
He jokes how “It’s just as hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable as it looks, but technically I’m getting paid to do this, so I guess it’s not too bad!”
@bryanjames.music How do we know the lifeboats still work? Pack em up with crew members. #cruiseshipcrew #royalcaribbean #belowdeck #wonderoftheseas ♬ original sound - Bryan James
