Crew Bar
Trip Start
Feb 12, 2010
1
10
11
Trip End
Mar 05, 2010
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, International
Sunday, February 28, 2010
My nineteenth birthday was another cruise. My mom and I did the Mexico route again, this time with just the two of us. She wanted to take me somewhere as the "Can't travel outside of the US with either parent until 18-years of age" clause in their divorce decree was now expired. She also thought that a wild teenager would be best suited corralled- and a ship was a pretty good way to know where I was at all times. I mean, where's a kid to go, right?
Royal Caribbean didn't have strict rules at that time regarding crew and passengers. I met two great people: Erfrain and Tom. Erfrain was from Jamaica and was a bartender, Tom was from the US and one of the dancers aboard the ship. Erfrain was a flirt, and fed me alcohol any opportunity he could, without charging me (how I still managed to run up a $1000 bar bill, I'll never know), and Tom was handsome, sexy, and very gay. Regardless, I had two people to hang out with for my seven days of vacation. I had two people to have a great time with, all the while staying corralled on a ship.
The last night before we disembarked back in Los Angeles, Tom snuck me down to the 3rd deck. The deck that was reserved for crew only, was somewhere I was now traipsing along on. It was on that deck that I found, without a doubt, the coolest part of the ship: the crew bar.
Smokey and dirty, this was the place the crew could let down their hair. It didn't matter that a passenger was in there- as long as that passenger was cool, she could stay. So a few drinks later, and one of the funnest nights I had on that trip, I climbed back up the stairs to the passenger area.
Silversea has a much different perspective on crew and passenger fraternization; "Frowned upon" is an understatement of what they think about it. After my first Silversea cruise, I friended the bartender on the ship. Only after I got home did I see the parties and the fun that was going on one deck below. Though I begged while on the ship, Jerry made it very clear the he would lose his job if I was seen on Deck 3. I never even risked it, for that reason alone. But seeing those pictures after I got home... frankly, it pissed me off. I could have had a GREAT time, had I been granted access!!!
The second cruise to Mexico, I didn't even think of Crew Bar. There were enough young people on board that I had a blast without having to rely on the crew to entertain me. The passenger list was different- younger, more partying types were on board. It was later explained that shorter cruises to tropical climates tend to bring out the younger passengers... Tahiti to LA with a million days at sea was definitely NOT something the party scene was in to. Moreover, since returning from the Mexico cruise, I friended a few other crew members on the ship. Directions to Crew Bar were explained to me over a conversation on Facebook one day- opening up the possibility that I might be able to get down there. I never really considered there might be a strategy- but it seems that one existed!
Though I am easily entertained and love talking to everyone, I still craved chatting it up with people my age. I wanted to learn what single 20/30-somethings do in all the other countries around the world. I knew it was similar to the US, but it just wanted to hear it from people with cool accents. I wanted so badly to just hang out; not get trashed, but just talk to people I could relate to. Besides, if I wanted to get tanked on booze, I could do that (and was doing that, anyhow) in any of the other bars. Why would I go to the 3rd deck and pay for alcohol if it wasn't for the people there?
The second day on the ship I wrote the captain a letter requesting special permission to go to Crew Bar. As expected, my request was denied. I knew it wasn't for any reason other than insurance reasons, so I rationalized my impending attempt as "if nobody gave me permission and I do it myself, I take my own responsibility and won't get anyone in trouble". I knew the way to get down there, as I'd memorized the directions a couple of months prior, but I just didn't know if I should risk it. I'd heard mixed reviews as to whether or not I should try- and finally thought, "fuck it- let's give this a whirl". As recommended, I donned a pair of jeans, a baseball cap pulled low to cover my eyes, and walked confidently down a white staircase marked "Crew Only". I followed the directions I had in my head, and walked right up to a room I could hear music coming from. I could see the smoke bellowing from the room, and see the colored disco lights shining all around. I felt my heart skip a beat as I realized I might actually be able to get away with this! So, in my most confident (and already hammered) swagger, I walked right up to the entrance.
There stood the F&B officer, partially in uniform, but disassembled as he was obviously off the clock. Cocktail in hand, he was the first to see me. I watched his eyes bulge out, then his head kicked back as he let out a roar of laughter. Immediately, he had the attention of the people he was talking to: Chef and the staff captain. Right then, I knew I was busted. And if I wasn't busted, someone who had been seen talking to me (most of the crew) would be, so it was time to leave.
I embarrassingly walked back up the rabbit hole and walked right back in to the main bar. There stood the head bartender and main bartender, Oliver and Gerardo. They couldn't believe I did it. They had a new-found respect for me, though I had lost whatever self-respect I had left in the same maneuver. Oliver poured me a drink and repeated over and over again in his Indian accent, "I can't believe you actually did it." Gerardo's only comment was (in his Italian accent), "I'm impressed that you did it, but more impressed that you got out of there right away". It seems my presence wasn't as welcome as I thought it might have been.
Crew Bar now stands as the most elusively appealing place on the planet for me. I am returning on the ship in April as an employee of the art gallery- so still passenger status for all the amenities. My one request: I want to go to Crew Bar. My fingers and toes are crossed, and my hopes remain high. Somehow, someway, I'm going to make it there.
