Cruise Ships

[Icosahedron]

Partly thanks to a PbP I've joined and partly from something I'm writing up for myself, I'm taking a look at cruise ships.

Swap ya some info?

This looks like a great site:

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com

But... I've never been on a cruise ship (nothing bigger than a local ferry) so I need some details. Can someone walk me through the typical boarding procedures, from entering the port building to entering your cabin?

Cheers.

 

[Rover]

Very cool site. I may not use this in traveller, but I am kicking around the idea of running a Top Secret one-shot for nostalgia, and part of that is set on a cruise ship.

R

 

[PathfinderAP]

Oh crap dude, shades of Poseidon,

Now I'm getting paranoid o:

 

[sabredog]

I went once on a Caribbean Cruise Lines ship back in like 1985-ish with my parents.

The biggest impression it made on me was that it felt more like just walking onto and around a big mall or hotel (albeit with narrower hallways in some spots) than being on a ship. If I never went on deck or on the balcony I'd probably never really know I was at sea. It wasn't as big as they have been getting lately, but the ship was so big it couldn't get all the way into some of the harbors so lighters carried on board ferried us to shore and back.

The boarding procedures were not as sophisticated as they are now (pre-9/11 and less computer tech), but it was pretty much like getting on a plane: Stand in line, present your pass and off you go. The cruise director had his assistants running around to keep people from getting lost trying to find their cabins, and our luggage was waiting for us in our rooms (we had a 1st class suite - which wasn't like the ones I see on the Travel Channel nowadays - holy cow they look nicer now!!).

Most of the time was spent kinda like you see on TV - eating, exploring shopping malls, I remember a lot of time was spent by me in the video game area (this was the 80's after all), there was golfing off the fantail, but mainly I found it pretty dull. I would have preferred spending more time on the islands but instead it all felt rushed and all about shopping.

It wasn't quite the relaxing old liner experience I expected. Of course it probably depends on if you are on one of those monster party cruise ships (like we were), or a smaller ship that feels more like you are at sea.

 

[BigLEE]

These days, boarding a ship is similar to boarding an airplane.

Typically you arrive at the terminal, and drop off the luggage which you don't plan on carrying on board with you. From there, you go through x-ray screening and passport control. Once through, there, you go to a ticketing agent, where you are checked-in and given your room key. Once you are checked-in, it's off to the gangway. You present your room key at the gangway entrance (when boarding most ships, you are entering foreign territory.) At some point aloong the gangway, you will be stopped for pictures, (expect to see a lot of photographers throughout your cruise), and perhaps given the chance to sign up for some kind of soft-drink or wine plan.

Typically, from the gangway, you will board the ship at the ship central Atrium or lobby. There will be numerous ship's personnel on hand to great you and offer directions or other assistance.

Depending on how early you arrive, your cabin may or may not be ready yet. If the cabin is ready, you can drop off any carry-on luggage, and head to the buffet for lunch, head to the excusion desk, change into your swimsuit, or start exploring the ship. If the room is not ready, you will have to carry it around with you for a little while. At some point, while wandering around deck, you'll be offered a drink, typically in a "collectors" cup. Just be warned, when asked "Would you like a drink?" they are really asking "Would you like to buy a drink?" Most of the food on cruise ships is free. Soft drinks and adult beverages are not.

Cruise ships will often let folks start boarding around noon, with the final boarding call around 5:00pm. Around 5:30pm or so, there is a mandatory lifeboat drill. The life boat drill requires you to don your lifejack, and head down to the designated deck, and hang around for a little while. Once that's done, you can head back to your room, drop off your life jacket, and head up to the upper decks for the sail-away party. Or, if you have a room with a balcony, you can hang out there.

The casinos typically don't open until 7:00pm or 8:00pm.

Hope this helps.

 

[JAFARR]

My class trip (68) form high school was a Bahamas cruise, but as someone pointed out things have changed a lot over the past 40 years. I managed to get put in the same room as our chaperons (the principal and the coach). The most I remember is the steward at our table was more concerned about getting his tip than he was concernrd about earning it. As for the casinoes opening times, only as long as it took to get into international waters.

 

[sabredog]

Watch The Fifth Element again for how a cruise liner might be in Traveller. Whatever you may think of the movie overall the scenes in the cruise ship are what I've always thought it would be like in a space-going cruise ship.

Just one never-ending party, unbelievable views, and since you don't have to worry about storms and if the port is deep enough you can make the thing as big as you want.

If a line company wanted to do something really different (or save money) they could use the old hull from a cruiser or carrier and refit it for a themed liner - similar to the ones you can find today where you are on a sailing ship and get to act as part of the crew.

 

[Icosahedron]

Thanks for these replies, guys, useful stuff there.
You get your room key before boarding? Is that common practice? It's little details like this that help to paint the picture.
I wondered if there would be procedures for preventing huge queues, since the passenger numbers are larger on a ship. I suppose a five hour boarding window helps, but there might still be rush periods.

 

[BigLEE]

Yes, you are handed your room key when you check-in, before you board.

And if you book a land/see trip on Disney, your room key is good at both Disney World and on the Disney Cuise Ship. I beleive Disney, and perhaps some other cruise lines are now letting you check in at the airport, rather than at the cruise terminal.

The lines tend to be longest earlier in the boarding process. Most folks try to build in some extra time, in case of travel delays, so they don't miss the boat. Because once the boats leave the dock, they don't turn back.

A few years back, we were pulling out of St. Thomas, and I saw a cab pull up to the dock, and a family hops out and starts waving desperately. Fortunately there was a shore patrol boat nearby, so they loaded the folks onto the boat, and race them out to the ship. The ship opened a side hatch, and the people and bags were helped aboard. The cruise ship never slowed.

If you book an excursion through the cruise line, and the excursion runs late, the boat will wait for you. Otherwise, you will most likely have to arrange your own transportation to the ships next port of call to reboard.

 

[sabredog]

The newest and largest ship that is sailing now, Freedom of the Seas...under Royal Caribbean, uses a combo computer card-key that passengers are issued when they present their boarding pass before boarding that unlocks their cabin, ID's them at ports, and tracks purchases made onboard the ship.

A similar system for Traveller would, in my game, enable the security crew to track the movements of those passes within the ship for security and medical reasons.

 

[WarriorKnight]

Yes, you are handed your room key when you check-in, before you board.

And if you book a land/see trip on Disney, your room key is good at both Disney World and on the Disney Cuise Ship. I beleive Disney, and perhaps some other cruise lines are now letting you check in at the airport, rather than at the cruise terminal.

I was supposed to go on a Disney cruise w/a client(I work in the MR/DD field) back in 1999;but he saw a story on the news of a fire in the laundry on a cruise ship & he changed his mind.We ended up going to Branson,Mo. instead.

 

[jatay3]

Actually a cruise ship would make a good campaign. The PCs are the security for the Arden Express, a luxury ship carrying high-level passengers to conferences on Arden. A passenger is murdered. And the PC's must find who while dealing with a web of intrigue.

And yes, that does sound like Star Trek "Journey to Babel". And none the worse for it either.

 

[sabredog]

Actually a cruise ship would make a good campaign. The PCs are the security for the Arden Express, a luxury ship carrying high-level passengers to conferences on Arden. A passenger is murdered. And the PC's must find who while dealing with a web of intrigue.

And yes, that does sound like Star Trek "Journey to Babel". And none the worse for it either.

Or "Murder on the Spinward Express"

 

[Icosahedron]

It's been done as an adventure in one of the original Jtas mags, but I can't remember which one.

As it happens, I have an 'Orion Express' IMTU.

 

[Ran Targas]

Despite having spent a large portion of my adult life at sea, I still enjoy a nice cruise. Oddly, it's sometimes tough to be at sea though and not be doing something constructive (other than consuming alcohol and evaluating the scenery at the pool). I've managed to visit the bridge on a number of occasions and even get a tour of the engineering plant on one ship. Call it professional curiousity.

On a number of the larger civilian deckplans I've used for games, I've identified red (engineering spaces, ship's lockers, etc.), yellow (crew staterooms, bridge, cargo, airlocks, etc.), and green (passenger all-access) zones by opening the file in MSPaint and coloring the areas appropriately. Then I hand a hard copy to the players as something they received when coming aboard and let them have at it.

The yellow areas require crew escort, the red areas are strictly crew access only.

Where this gets fun is when a player decides he wants to hack his way into crew country or engineering just to peek about; can't suppress curiousity no matter how many locks you put on the box. Gives the computer a chance to run all that anti-highjack software!

 

[Commander Truestar]

Wow!

We you on the same cruises we were???
It all sounds so bizarrly familiar

Marc

These days, boarding a ship is similar to boarding an airplane.

Typically you arrive at the terminal, and drop off the luggage which you don't plan on carrying on board with you. From there, you go through x-ray screening and passport control. Once through, there, you go to a ticketing agent, where you are checked-in and given your room key. Once you are checked-in, it's off to the gangway. You present your room key at the gangway entrance (when boarding most ships, you are entering foreign territory.) At some point aloong the gangway, you will be stopped for pictures, (expect to see a lot of photographers throughout your cruise), and perhaps given the chance to sign up for some kind of soft-drink or wine plan.

Typically, from the gangway, you will board the ship at the ship central Atrium or lobby. There will be numerous ship's personnel on hand to great you and offer directions or other assistance.

Depending on how early you arrive, your cabin may or may not be ready yet. If the cabin is ready, you can drop off any carry-on luggage, and head to the buffet for lunch, head to the excusion desk, change into your swimsuit, or start exploring the ship. If the room is not ready, you will have to carry it around with you for a little while. At some point, while wandering around deck, you'll be offered a drink, typically in a "collectors" cup. Just be warned, when asked "Would you like a drink?" they are really asking "Would you like to buy a drink?" Most of the food on cruise ships is free. Soft drinks and adult beverages are not.

Cruise ships will often let folks start boarding around noon, with the final boarding call around 5:00pm. Around 5:30pm or so, there is a mandatory lifeboat drill. The life boat drill requires you to don your lifejack, and head down to the designated deck, and hang around for a little while. Once that's done, you can head back to your room, drop off your life jacket, and head up to the upper decks for the sail-away party. Or, if you have a room with a balcony, you can hang out there.

The casinos typically don't open until 7:00pm or 8:00pm.

Hope this helps.

 

[Commander Truestar]

The newest and largest ship that is sailing now, Freedom of the Seas...under Royal Caribbean, uses a combo computer card-key that passengers are issued when they present their boarding pass before boarding that unlocks their cabin, ID's them at ports, and tracks purchases made onboard the ship.

A similar system for Traveller would, in my game, enable the security crew to track the movements of those passes within the ship for security and medical reasons.

This is what Norweigian does too.
Amd it is the basis for my "Ident" System

In systems with TL 8+(rarely, more regular at A+) Idents are used.
The first level of an Ident is publically shared records and items

The second level would be commercially used items or items for regular legal use(Credit cards, Licenses,...) and requires an official code(or Admin skill check)

The third level is for professional credentials and can only be accessed by specialized organizations(IE, a hospital will have the codes to look at my char's medical certs but not his ship piloting certs)

The levels above three are governmental or organizational to Government, Military or Intelligence organizations.

Ident Cards are litterally a plam sized card with a reader screen that uses a system similar to e-Ink(but presenting full color and scalability). They recharge(dependant on the local TL) either by a charger or wirelessly. Ther is an "advance key", a "print reader" to read the print of a person(like the owner) to see if they have authorizations to see a class of record they are opening, and a wired and wireless connction to receive display requests. However they can only show data via the video display or an official reader station(which still must need the credentials)

So you come off a ship and present your Ident at customs. They can see the official documentation on who you are, what citizenship youhave and health and debarkation documents. They uase that to accept or deny your entry to their system. You are walking out of the terminal when you see som,e nice munchies and decide to buy some. You stop and order your food and hand the merchant your Ident. they plug it into thir register and debit your account data for the food. You are eating the munchies as you head out when BOOM!!!!!! a terrorist bomb goes off(or perhjaps it is your enemies catching up?). You are not badly hurt but you get dragged to the hopsital. They take your Ident and plug it into their system so they can read your medical and insurance data from it. The Hospital has an Authoritiative Access code to Read that section of your Ident only. Later one, when you are healthy, you can grant them access to bill you for uninsured services or they can call the cops)

Marc

 

[BlackBat242]

I just read all of your sig-line (I know... about time, right?).

So, when you say "I am 'A' Marc and I approved this message", are you claiming to be AMARC*?



* Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (United States Air Force aircraft storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base).

In which case, shouldn't you change your name to AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group) to keep up with current USAF organizational policy?

::rofl::smirk:

 

[Commander Truestar]

I just read all of your sig-line (I know... about time, right?).

So, when you say "I am 'A' Marc and I approved this message", are you claiming to be AMARC*?

::rofl::smirk:

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHH

No :d In truth, I posted looking for leads on Mr. Sanger. And despite the fact that I never claimed o me Mr. Miller, a moderator here decided I was making that claim and so, banned me and locked that thread.
Then the moderator re-read the post and recanted.

But, in the event ANYONE thinks I am ever claiming to be Mr. Miller, I now have the sig to keep me safe.


Marc

 

[cajon5]

"I may not use this in traveller, but I am kicking around the idea of running a Top Secret one-shot for nostalgia, and part of that is set on a cruise ship."

Hmm, I stil have to learn who to do quotes...

Top Secret had an adventure set on a cruise ship, but I don't recall if it had complete deckplans or not. My group had prepared for a completely different mission, and were in a plane in route, when we were retasked to this cruise ship which had been taken over by terrorists. We had to parachute in--I landed in the bloody swimming pool!