The Ship's Crew

The ship's crew consisted of two relatively large main departments, and one smaller department.  The two main departments were the deck department and engine department.  The smaller department was the 2-person mess (cooking and dining) department.

On a ship like the Atlantic Sky the person at the top of the food chain is the ship's Master. Apparently a ship's Master works his or her way up through the deck department.

In the deck department the senior person is the First Officer, followed by Second Officers (there were two on the Atlantic Sky), and then a Third Officer.  These are the people who oversee the watch on the bridge and who -- theoretically -- aspire to be a Master someday. 

The next level down in the deck department are the seamen.  There are Ordinary Seamen and Able Seamen.  I think this is more of a pay structure than a rank structure.  These are the folks who are out painting the deck and whatnot.  If you know anything about Navies, you can think of them as Boatswain's Mates (and I will refer to them as such from here on out).   And these people are overseen by the ship’s Bosun.

Boatswain Mates' Work 

Boatswain Mates' Pride

The engineering department is headed by the Chief Engineer, or CHENG.  He or she is the engineering equivalent of the First Officer.  Under the CHENG are Second Officer, and (on this ship) Two Third officers.  These are the people responsible for the engines, the generators, etc.

Under the engineering officers there are oilers, fitters, and motormen.  Honestly, I could not get two identical answers as to what the jobs are in the Engineering Department, so best I can do is cite Wikipedia and other Internet sources.

According to my Internet queries, oilers "are members of the engineering department which help keep large shop motors and engine parts properly lubricated. They also record gauge readings, do machine repairs and perform routine maintenance and cleaning tasks." 

Fitters are workers who "ensure that the components of a ship are attached together by welding or riveting."

Finally, according to Wikipedia, motormen "perform a variety of tasks connected with the maintenance and repair of the engine room, fireroom, machine shop, ice-machine room, and steering-engine room equipment."

There was also a ship’s electrician in the engineering department who was responsible for all electrical matters on the ship.

Finally, there was the Mess Department.  This consisted of the Chef and the Messman.  The Messman serves meals, cleans the cabins, and in general takes care of living conditions for passengers and crew.  In the Navy they used to be called Stewards, and that's what I called the Messman on the Atlantic Sky.

There were also three British maritime cadets: two English lads who were working in the Deck Department, and a Scottish lad in the Engineering Department.

All-in-all there were 22 regular crew members, as well as the three cadets, for a total of 25.