Does the crew sleep on the ship?

“Does the crew sleep on the ship?” is a question many people who have cruised before will have heard. However they will probably not have heard it off a fellow passenger but from the Cruise Director. The last night routine of many cruise directors is often the 10 stupidest questions asked in the last week. Whilst the is no doubt that each question has probably been asked at some point it is unlikely they were asked in the last week. We are not that stupid….are we?

Here are 10 are the most common supposedly asked questions in the last week. How many do you recognise?

Do these steps go up or down?

What do you do with the beautiful ice carvings after they melt?

Is this island completely surrounded by water?

Has this ship ever sunk

How do I know which photos are mine?

If we arrive at the pier after the ship has sailed, will they still let us on?

Does the ship make its own electricity?

How high above sea level are we?

Does the crew sleep on the ship?

What time is the Midnight Buffet being served?

Of course the truth is when guests ask these questions the is always something else they are really wanting to know. The Disney Institute highlight the similar “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?” question. Disney state that guests know the time of the parade but what they probably want to know is more information e.g. “What time will the parade get to me?” “When should I start waiting to get a good viewing spot?” and “Where is the best place to stand?”

Look again at the above questions and instead of laughing think what the guest really wanted to know. Often the question isn’t as funny & actually fairly sensible when you spend a bit longer thinking. It seems we often ask questions too quick but then it is interpreted even quicker by others.

So what does a guest mean when they ask “Does the crew sleep on the ship?” Probably “I have been all around this ship and I can’t see a crew area where is it?”

If we take our time the true question becomes more obvious even if it is less funny. The is a lot we can learn from approaches used by Disney Institute and others.