On one of our cruises we were told all about the different colors and stripes of the epaulets of the cruise ship officers. I can remember that the number of stripes and the colors meant very specific things, but we can't remember much more that that. Can someone here refresh our memories?

Hello Seabound,

In broad terms, the stripes on the epaulets worn by officers on a cruise ship tell the rank of that officer, and the colors of the stripes and the gaps between identify the department that officer belongs to.

The deck department for example is identified by black and gold epaulets, and the highest ranking officers, the Captain and the Staff Captain can be recognized by the 4 gold stripes of this rank’s epaulet.

The engine department is identified by purple and gold epaulets, and the highest ranking officer, the Chief Engineer can be recognized by the 4 gold stripes with purple between of this rank’s epaulet.

The hotel department shows white and white and gold epaulets, and the officers of the medical department display epaulets of red and gold.

WE hope this is helpful, but if you want to know more about the officers and departments, check out our advice section at Prow’s Edge where we have a page devoted to the officers of cruise ships at http://www.prowsedge.com/cruises-advice-officers.html