Ship Terminology

[HattieCR]

I am new to cruising - my first cruise will be in February - but worked for almost 15 years as a commercial fisherman on a small boat. Boat, not ship. For those of you who are nautically challenged, here are a few terms you might not know.

 

Bow - the front of the ship - or as one person said, "the pointy end."

Stern - the back of the ship

Aft - towards the back of the ship

Forward - towards the front of the shp

Beam - the width of the ship at its widest point

Deck - floor - can mean the floor under your feet or the level of the ship

Bulkhead - wall

 

This is just a few - feel free to contribute more, you experienced sailors.

[uppitycats]

The two most often asked about:

 

port: left side of the ship as you face forward. One way to remember this -- "port" and "left" each have 4 letters.

 

Starboard: the right side of the ship as you face forward.

[paul929207]

Bridge -where the crew steers the ship.

[silentbob007]

Ship: the cruise ship

Boat: the things hanging off of the side of the cruise ship for emergencies and tendering

[kitty9]

Tender----the small boats that take you to the port when the ship cannot dock

 

Gangway---the ramp that takes you from outside the ship to on board the ship and vice versa

 

Code Oscar---terminology for someone overboard

 

Code Alpha---terminology for a medical emergency on board the ship

 

Bravo---code for a fire on board the ship.

[Fredr]

Hattie,

 

Purser This is the traditional name of the all purpose help desk on a cruise ship, similarto the front desk of a hotel. But several cruise lines call this "Customer service" or something close.

 

Staff Captain He or she is the second in command on a cruise ship.

[dna1990]

Buffet - a serving line of food, grub, chow. One should review choices and be expedient, or just take samples of each.

 

Utensil - not your fingers, to be used in buffet lines.

[rjm1cc]

Thanks or the hint. I have never remembered port from Starbord.

[Sailor2Cruiser]

To really drive home the port and starboard issue, all cabins accessible on the port side are even numbered and all cabins accessible on the starboard side are odd numbered.

[Bels]

Hattie,

 

Purser This is the traditional name of the all purpose help desk on a cruise ship, similarto the front desk of a hotel. But several cruise lines call this "Customer service" or something close.

 

Staff Captain He or she is the second in command on a cruise ship.

 

Traditionally ( historically ), purser means the "person on a ship responsible for the handling of money on board" or "who handles financial accounts and various documents relating to the ship and who keeps money and valuables for passengers" ... but maybe the modern usage is as Fred says or maybe we are saying the same thing.

[uppitycats]

Traditionally ( historically ), purser means the "person on a ship responsible for the handling of money on board" or "who handles financial accounts and various documents relating to the ship and who keeps money and valuables for passengers" ... but maybe the modern usage is as Fred says or maybe we are saying the same thing.

 

And the "purse" that women (and some men, particularly some European men) carry comes from the same root.

[holly_hypocrisy]

Galley - the place where all the amazing food is cooked. :D

 

[That's about the only one I know, besides port and starboard, lol.]

[Fredr]

Bels,

 

I was trying to keep it simple. You are right about the Purser. But after spending quite a lot of time on these threads, it seems to me that the term" purser" would be badly miscontrued. Such as...

 

Do all passengers have to carry a purse while on the ship?

 

What do you do with your ship's purse when visiting ports?

 

Must you carry your cruise documents and passport in your ship's purse?

 

Are there different colored ship's purses for men and women? And...

 

I went to the Purser's Desk on the ship and the people behind the desk were in nice uniforms but it looked like a meeting of the United Nations.

 

I went to the Purser's Desk and asked a very nice lady where she was from...she said Manilla and I said is that anywhere near Florida?

[Bels]

Gosh I hope I don't have to carry a purse. My camera-with-lens weighs over 10 lbs. and I don't think I could manage a purse as well.