# What is the Brig on a Cruise Ship Like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381 "2009-11-21T05:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/1 "2009-11-21T05:31:27Z")
I’ve seen descriptions online of cruise ships (e.g. the Oasis of the Seas, etc.), and many seem to mention that cruise ships have brigs. What would the brig be like on a cruise ship? Would it have bars like a jail cell? Just how secure would it be? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/2 "2009-11-21T05:53:16Z")
Here’s a discussion: [http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1045483](http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1045483) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/3 "2009-11-21T10:47:19Z")
I saw one on a Cunard or P&O vessel once (I used to do travelling audits on lots of different cruise ships so I can’t remember which one it was). It was much like the cells in a police station (which I hasten to add I have also only experienced as a non-participatory observer). A plain room with no furnishings except a fixed flat bench/bed and a mattress coverd with tough waterproof vinyl canvas. Walls painted with white gloss, floor with green floor paint. A strong door with a peephole and no internal handle. A general lack of objects, fittings or protrusions on which one might contrive to injure oneself. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/4 "2009-11-21T13:43:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > A strong door with a peephole and no internal handle. In the unlikely event that the ship starts sinking, I hope there’s someone whose job it is to let you out. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/5 "2009-11-21T14:29:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In the unlikely event that the ship starts sinking, I hope there’s someone whose job it is to let you out. I’m guessing the earlier model, with a door handle on the inside and a stern warning not to let yourself out unless the ship is sinking, didn’t work too well. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/6 "2009-11-21T22:48:47Z")
I wondered then if there was a brig, were there security staff on board who were trained (in the interest of health and safety) to haul people into them. Or if the captain just called on some of those blokes who shovel coal in the engine room to come up and lend a hand. [Seems](http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/deck.htm) the former. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-brig-on-a-cruise-ship-like/518381/7 "2009-11-23T02:26:54Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > I wondered then if there was a brig, were there security staff on board who were trained (in the interest of health and safety) to haul people into them. Or if the captain just called on some of those blokes who shovel coal in the engine room to come up and lend a hand. > > [Seems](http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/deck.htm) the former. The stokers whould probably just snort at the captain and walk away from him.