Cruise ships may be filled with the latest technology and top entertainment – but there is one thing many vessels do not have.
Numerous cruise ships will omit one important place from the boat.
Some of the world’s biggest cruise lines refuse to have a 13th deck.
Instead, the decks will be numbered up to 12 and then skip straight to number 14.
Deck 13 simply doesn’t exist on these boats – but why are so many cruise companies doing this?
The reason behind such a glaring omission is not due to a construction error.
In fact, the explanation is entirely down to superstition and the belief that number 13 is unlucky.
Cruise liners are not alone in this. Many hotels also refuse to have a floor 13 or a room 13.
There is, in fact, a name for the phobia of the number 13 – triskaidekaphobia. This translates to a morbid fear of the number 13.
According to Otis Elevators, up to 85 per cent of lift panels don’t include the 13th floor.
However, the omission of deck 13 on cruise ships is in fact to help passengers who might suffer from triskaidekaphobia.
Some cruisers may simply refuse to book rooms of the 13th floor.
Andy Harmer, SVP Membership & Director, CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) said: “As superstition goes, in some cultures the number 13 is considered ‘unlucky for some’.
“Like hotels around the world that don’t have a floor 13 or room 13, the cruise sector is very much the same with many of the cruise lines skipping out deck 13.
“With so many international holidaymakers choosing to take a cruise holiday, a number of cruise lines have chosen to do this, simply in line with the tradition.”
However, not all cruise lines conform to this superstition. A Cunard spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “We actually have a deck 13 on Queen Mary 2.”
The MSC Meraviglia also has a deck 13, as seen on the new deck plan valid from Summer 2019.
But passengers have reported the absence of 13 on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas as well as on several Carnival ships, including Dream and Glory.
Express.co.uk has contacted Carnival for comment and Royal Caribbean declined to comment.
Cruise ship superstitions do not stop at deck 13, however. It’s also considered very bad luck to bring bananas on board a ship.
