Have you ever been so bothered by something that you decided to take care of it yourself?
One cruise ship passenger on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas sailed a few weeks ago and noticed a broken cup holder in the ship's theater.
Reddit user Asorensen1989 originally shared a photo of the broken cup holder, using it as an example of the state of the ship and why Royal Caribbean needs to retire her.
"Having just spent the week on Enchantment of the Seas, I can say, it’s time for her to retire. She’s just done. Everything is worn out and dated. The technology is seriously lacking. The service is great, but they can only make up for so much."
The cup holder was simply an example to prove the person's point.
A different Reddit user Shot_Bread_9657, noted he could make the necessary repairs with the proper materials. With a cruise already booked on Enchantment coming up, the Reddit user brought the necessary materials from home and fixed it themself.
Photos were shared on Reddit of the repaired cup holder that he decided to work on because no one else did.
"Couldn’t say why- just seemed like a funny, and possibly helpful, thing to do," he wrote in his post.
They posted photos of what they did, and how it was repaired.
First, they packed caulk, sandpaper, epoxy putty, and brushes that they already owned.
"It cost me all of $0...Used a $5 coupon at Michael’s for the paint and lacquer," he explained in the total cost of the project.
He admitted he could have done a better job restoring it with the proper materials, but he wanted to get it back to working condition.
He brought the broken cup holder to his stateroom, where he documented how he repaired it.
Finally, he brought the repaired cup holder back to the theater and returned it to its proper place.
"I’m glad to say I delivered," he wrote triumphantly.
"Can't decide if you should be thanked or disembarked"
The reactions to Shot_Bread_9657's post sparked all sorts of reactions.
One person wrote, "Royal should hire you to be Handyman of the Seas."
Another posted, "You're just a normal passenger? ...I can't decide if you should be thanked or disembarked at the next port. LOL"
Others took the opportunity to note the lack of proper maintenance in the first place that left the cup holder broken for weeks.
"I admire your tenacity. The world needs more of this," Unhappy-Actuator9674 wrote.
Right or wrong?
While I've seen passengers use pieces of paper to level a wobbly table, or attempt to quiet noisy parts of their cabin, this is a new level of proactive work by a passenger.
Whether or not this person's repair work was helpful or not, it's likely against Royal Caribbean's policy to do so.
Within the cruise line's Guest Health, Safety, and Conduct Policy, is a section specifying this sort of behavior is not allowed:
"Additionally, tampering with any of the ship’s equipment, facilities or systems is not permitted."
There are potential safety and policy implications of a passenger attempting repairs. There are potential safety risks associated with unauthorized repairs, even if they seem minor, and it could impact the guest’s and other passengers’ safety.
When a problem is spotted by a guest, they should report it to Guest Services onboard and/or a nearby crew member so they can flag it for the ship's maintenance team to address.
It's questionable if security should have prohibited items such as epoxy putty or caulk from being brought onboard in the first place. While those items are not specifically on Royal Caribbean's prohibited items list, the line exercises a certain degree of discretion as to what can or cannot be brought onboard.
Every passenger's belongings are scanned before being brought onboard. Any suspicious items are flagged by security, confiscated, and returned after the cruise.
Background on cruise ship maintenance
Just like hotels, restaurants, and every place of business on land, things break on cruise ships from time to time, especially from wear and tear.
Every Royal Caribbean cruise ship employs a team of maintenance workers. Their job is to attend to all repairs on the ship, big and small.
Since they are a limited workforce, their attention is relegated to the top priority tasks first. Issues related to guest safety, comfort, and enjoyment are where a ship's maintenance workers go.
You can spot maintenance workers on a Royal Caribbean ship usually by their blue uniforms. When an issue is reported, a crew member is dispatched to work on it.
Not all issues can be fixed while on the ship, either because of the scope of the project or lacking necessary materials. In some cases, work has to wait for the ship to go into drydock for routine maintenance.
