Cruise worker reveals real reason why passengers and staff are not allowed to sleep together

If you've booked a cruise this year, it's time to start planning your activities while on board.

Relaxing by the pool, enjoying some live entertainment, taking part in a trivia, and getting it on with the staff, of course.

Just to confirm, unless I missed something in most cruise lines brochures, that last one isn't normally included as an advertised activity, but that doesn't stop some people from trying, staff included.

According to Lucy, who worked as cruise ship crew for 10-years, staff and passengers making a connection while on board is much more common than you might think.

On her YouTube channel, Cruising As Crew, she recently shared a video explaining the rules around cruise line staff and passengers sleeping together.

Lucy starts by asking the question 'are crew members allowed to hook up with passengers', to which she quickly answers 'no, but does it happen? Yeah.'

It might be exciting, but is it worth it? (Getty Stock)

What happens if cruise staff and passengers sleep together?

As Lucy explains in her video, cruise lines are a business, and just like any other business, they will do anything to protect their profits.

Of course, as with any relationship, things can go sour. But, in this case, that could lead to accusations being made, staff being fired, and HR as well as security teams getting involved - all of which costs the cruise line money. By enforcing a rule stopping passengers and crew sleeping together, cruise lines can avoid something that starts out seemingly innocent becoming a costly incident.

Passengers and crew sleeping together could become costly for cruise lines (Getty Stock)

Not only can it lead to the cruise line losing money, it could get out, causing the company to get a bad reputation and impacting their sales, something no business wants to have to deal with.

What are the rules on cruise lines?

According to Lucy, each cruise line has its own rules. Of course, family cruises such as Disney Cruise Line tend to be much more strict about how passengers and crew interact than adult only cruises, such as Virgin Voyages.

While she does state that all cruise lines have a policy against passengers and crew sleeping together, some cruise lines are a little more lenient about sharing social media, contact details, and generally getting friendly with passengers.

She even admits that she herself has become friends with several passengers over the years, some of which she still considers friends now and visits.

Towards the end of the video, Lucy recalls meeting a new crew member who had been applying to work on cruise lines for years and had finally, after months of waiting, started his first cruise line contract. But only one week into the job, he decided to 'get busy with a passenger', which led to him loosing his dream job only one week after starting.

So, no matter if you're a passenger or a crew member, while it might seem exciting to have a fling on board, just remember someone's job is on the line.

It's simply not worth it.