A guest lies back on the master bed and looks straight up. Above her is a supply vent with a grey fur of dust on the blades, and a downlight ring with a dead insect in it. Everything at eye level is perfect. Everything above eye level has been invisible to the interior team for six months.
High level and behind the scenes
The dirt that guests notice least is the dirt that damages most: dust that recirculates, feeds mould and settles onto gloss where it becomes abrasive.
- Work top down: headlining, coving, light fittings, curtain pelmets, high shelves, tops of doors and frames, picture tops, then down to furniture and floor.
- Use a long-reach microfibre duster and clean the head frequently. A saturated duster just moves dust around and drops it on the carpet you are about to vacuum.
- Behind and under: sofas, beds, bedside units, wardrobes, appliance plinths, bar fridges, washer-dryers. Lint behind a dryer is a fire risk, not a cosmetic issue.
- Headlining panels are often stretched fabric or alcantara — vacuum with a soft brush, do not wet.
Air handling and vents
Vents are the lungs of the interior. Dirty grilles mean dust, smell, poor cooling and complaints.
| Item | Interior task | Engineering task |
|---|---|---|
| Supply/return grilles | Vacuum, remove and wash where designed to be removed, dry fully before refitting | Confirm removal is permitted |
| Filters | Report visible loading | Change or clean to schedule |
| Ducting | Report smells or dust blow | Specialist duct cleaning at yard period |
| Fan coil trays and drains | Report water marks or musty smell below a vent | Clear condensate drains |
- Coordinate with the engineers. Do not pull a grille off a fan coil unit without agreement, and never spray cleaner into a vent.
- A musty smell at a vent means moisture in the system. That is an engineering report the same day, not a scented spray.
AV, electronics and screens
- Power down and, where possible, isolate before cleaning around AV. Static, moisture and stray cloths cause faults that get blamed on the AV contractor.
- Screens: dry microfibre, or the manufacturer-approved screen cloth. No glass cleaner, no alcohol, no ammonia — they strip anti-glare coatings and matt the panel.
- Never spray anything near a screen, a speaker grille, a projector or a control panel. Spray the cloth, well away from the equipment.
- Vacuum equipment cabinet vents with a soft brush and low suction; heat build-up from dust kills amplifiers.
- Speaker grilles and acoustic panels: soft brush only. Do not push the fabric in.
- Cables and racks are engineering property. Dust around them; do not tidy, unplug or re-route.
Onboard Notes
- Working at height in a seaway is a hazard. Use a proper step, both hands, and never at sea in a swell.
- Dust the light fittings when they are cold. Dust burns onto a hot bulb and smells for hours.
- If you find water staining on a headlining or around a vent, treat it as a leak until an engineer says otherwise. Cosmetics can wait; the source cannot.