Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/TNS via Getty Images A bartender on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas.
- If you're ever on a cruise, you should ask the ship's employees where to go at ports, a Royal Caribbean employee told Business Insider.
- Casino workers, retail workers, dancers, and guest services employees are among the best people to ask for recommendations since they get enough free time to explore ports.
- But there are some desirable spots employees won't reveal to you, like bars that are designed specifically for cruise-ship workers.
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If you're ever on a cruise, you should ask the ship's employees where to go once the ship docks at a port, a Royal Caribbean employee told Business Insider.
The employee said that, when he is asked for recommendations, he directs passengers to avoid crowded spots that are popular with tourists, like Sunset Beach Bar in St. Maarten, which is located on a beach that is next to the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport. (Planes fly low to the ground over the beach when they're landing at Princess Juliana.) The Royal Caribbean employee recommends that passengers see one plane land, then go to nearby Mullet Bay Beach, which is much less crowded.
Read more: Cruise ship workers reveal the 7 most annoying things passengers do
Casino workers, retail workers, dancers, and guest services employees are among the best people to ask for recommendations since they get enough free time to explore ports, the Royal Caribbean employee said. But there are some desirable spots employees won't reveal to you, like bars that are designed specifically for cruise-ship workers. Telling a passenger about them would be a major faux paus.
"There are bars in certain islands that are designed and cater only to crew, and we would never, ever tell a guest to go to one of those places," the Royal Caribbean employee said. "If you were ever caught telling a guest, 'Go into a crew bar,' I don't think you'd ever be allowed back."
Those bars appeal to cruise-ship workers because they can relax without the pressure of having to act as representatives of their employers.
"When a crew member's off the ship and they're not working, the last thing they want to do is deal with guests or see guests, because as soon as you see a guest, you have to be polite again," the Royal Caribbean employee said.
Have you worked on a cruise ship? Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.
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