Cruise Cabins Are Known for Being Efficient
The beauty of small rooms on boats is that they use every inch to satisfy basic needs. For example, rooms often have bunkbeds packed like sardines for small kids to sleep in and use a space no smaller than a foot for the shower.
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Even larger, more executive suits will use small compartments under the bed for storage and ensure that all walls are made of metal so that magnetic hooks can be used to hang personal items.
How Small Are the Rooms?
The rooms need to be ultra-efficient because of the lack of space on a larger boat. The more people that a ship can comfortably fit, the more revenue that the company can make.
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The average room on a cruise ship is roughly 160-185 square feet. This is about half the size of an average hotel room with two double or queen beds. Unlike most hotel rooms, you’ll notice some components missing, such as a tub in the bathroom and a sitting area near the window, unless, of course, you spring for a room with a balcony.
Cruise Lines Continue To Get More Clever
With the added benefit of customer reviews and instant feedback from social media, cruises have dutifully updated their cabins in recent years.
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Lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines have worked hard to make the rooms more updated and functional. They have added items like sofa beds and Murphy beds that pull out of the wall to save precious space.
Misunderstandings Can Easily Happen on a Big Ship
Due to the ultra-resourcefulness that companies have put into their rooms, taking the time to explore the hidden secrets is a necessary step when unpacking. You might find a USB outlet inside a drawer or a hidden compartment in the bathroom for storage.
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Because of the spread of information on socials and the aspect of hidden treasures in each room, many guests have made a fatal error concerning an empty box in their room on a Carnival Cruise Line.
A Small Mistake Can Cost Big
Brand Ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines John Heald took to social media to write a message about one of these big mistakes.
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He took to FaceBook to share the following message: “It appears somebody on another Facebook group page has been informing people that the box on the Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee cabins is in fact a cooler/refrigerator.” Heald was concerned about the spread of misinformation and wanted to use his large platform to clear up the error.
What Is the Box?
The box that Heald spoke about was actually just a standalone square without a cord, plug, or any visible means of power.
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The cruise line had taken notice of guests complaining that their beverages had not been cooled properly in the “fridge” supplied by the room. But the line never meant for the box to be used as a fridge. In a statement, they claimed, “They are not coolers. They are stools and they are storage units.”
Clever Use of Space, but Not a Refrigeration Unit
Although the small box can definitely be considered a clever use of space, many guests think that it misled them into thinking that they had a fridge in their room.
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Heald added in his statement that guests should “Turn around the top lid and you have a side table,” he added. “Thank you, just wanted to help, and a huge thanks to our brill Lead Hotel Director Pierre for bringing this to my attention.”
Carnival Passengers Are in Disbelief
Many guests took to Heald’s comment section on the Facebook post to express their disappointment in discovering that the box was not, in fact, a cooler.
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In reality, the mistake is innocent enough, as most other cruise lines add a small cooler in the rooms to keep small items cold, like drinks and medication.
Passengers Could Become Seriously Ill From the Mistake
Unfortunately, one grave error of using a box as a cooler is that essential medication will not be kept at the correct temperature.
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Using insulin or other medication that needs to be refrigerated at room temperature can have severe health repercussions. As well, eating or drinking food that has been left out for too long can result in serious food poisoning.
Rumours Spread Through Social Media Are Partly To Blame
Since the use of social media is so widespread, videos on room tours and cruise cabin hacks have become their own brand on social media.
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Now, cruise lines are worried that guests could be spreading false information on YouTube and TikTok videos where they share their favourite hacks on a boat or information about secret compartments.
Many Commenters Surprised at the “Dumb” Mistake
Instead of being sympathetic to the situation, many commenters on Heald’s post were largely unkind to the people who thought that the box was a fridge or cooler.
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Many added nasty comments like, “Whatever takes out the human race, I think I’ve decided we deserve it. I can literally feel my IQ fall each time I read some of the questions/comments and requests here. I don’t know how JH does this every day,” Malcolm Landry wrote.