Rooms and Living Situation:
Berthing
On board, there are two houses. The bridge and the deck officers live in the forward house while the rest of the MSC crew living quarters and the MSC galley reside in the aft house. Officers and CPOs will have their own staterooms while non-officers will be in berthing. The MSC berthing is usually 2-4 people per room. Overall, the MSC living situation is much better than the Navy. Enlisted Navy personnel live in large open berthing area and Navy Officers/Doctors live in 6 person rooms. When crew space is limited, they will have Marines and other military members live in unused hospital wards.
Though berthing may not be ideal, CIVMARs are paid berthing pay if there are in a room with more than 2 people. Rooms are assigned by the vessels leadership and not freely chosen. If you remain on the vessel after the transition to reduced operating status, all MSC crew members will have their own staterooms. However, not many crew members are retained in ROS after the deployment.
Mess Deck and Lounges
There are a few crew lounges on board and MSC has their own lounge, galley, crew mess and officers mess in the aft house. The MSC food is prepared by MSC CIVMARs, and the MSC food service operation is separate from the Navy. Also, on the aft house outside of the mess deck, is a large area that is often used for MSC steel beach picnics. Additionally, there is a Chapel, library and other lounges for Navy personnel. On deployment, the Navy hosts numerous MWR events and depending on MSC and Navy relations are at the time, MSC is usually welcome to attend.
Gyms
Both the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy have 2 gyms: a cardio gym and a weight gym. The gyms are decently sized, but when fully operational with 1100 people on board they get VERY crowded.
What to Read Next
The maritime industry can be unpredictable. Missions, ports, policies and procedures frequently changes, and not having the most up to date information is frustrating. If something we wrote needs an update, or if we missed something important that should be added or highlighted, drop us a line via the form below and we will work to get the information updated as soon as possible! Safe sailing!