Cruise Ship Sailor’s Name Tag
date: label: date made
content: ca 2007
label: date made
content: 2007
notes: label: Description
content: This plastic name tag was pinned to the uniform of a sailor named Handriyo, a member of the Nautical Department aboard the Holland America Line’s cruise ship <I>Zuiderdam</I> in 2007. The classic sailor’s uniform consisted of a blue shirt with a white-trimmed collar, dark blue pants, and a beribboned hat. Handriyo held the position of “sailor AB (able-bodied)” and he reported to the ship’s boatswain.
label: Description
content: The job involved performing maintenance and cleaning duties aboard the ship, including painting the ship inside and out; cleaning the outside decks and accommodations; working the mooring ropes; driving the ship’s tender; making small maintenance repairs; assisting in the maintenance of boats, rafts, and other gear on the deck; rigging cargo, baggage, and tender gear; opening and closing hatches; baggage handling; and performing shore duties. In 2009, an entry-level, able-bodied seaman working aboard a typical cruise ship earned about $1,500 to $1,800 per month, with room and board provided on the ship.
label: Description
content: Taking a cruise has become a popular leisure activity for many Americans. In 1980, 1.4 million Americans took a North American cruise and by 2005, that number had increased to 9.6 million. As both the number and size of cruise ships have grown, the number of people required to keep them running smoothly and to serve the needs of passengers has increased as well. Aboard the <I>Zuiderdam</I>, 800 crew work around the clock to fulfill the needs of 1,848 passengers.
label: Description
content: Cruise ship employees are recruited from around the world for a wide variety of jobs, from waiters to chefs, housekeepers to hair and nail technicians, and excursion leaders to shop managers. For the many jobs requiring interaction with passengers, workers must have a good command of English, and English-speaking workers from the Philippines or Indonesia (like Handriyo) fill many hospitality and service jobs aboard modern cruise ships. Americans are not typically attracted to most cruise-ship hospitality and service jobs because of low wages, long workdays at sea, and the hardship of having to be away from home and family for long periods of time.
topic: label: Subject
content: Sailing Ships
label: Subject
content: Fishing
label: related event
content: Contemporary United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
label: See more items in
content: Work
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Holland America Line
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2007.0172.09
label: catalog number
content: 2007.0172.09
label: accession number
content: 2007.0172
objectType: label: Object Name
content: name tag
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 in x 3 in x 1/4 in; 2.54 cm x 7.62 cm x .635 cm