Different class passengers together

[LLWH]

Hi! I'm trying to write a novel, and I was wondering if there were any areas on the ship where a third class passenger (female) and a first class passenger (male) could be together, privately or otherwise? Were there areas where all passengers were allowed? Were first class passengers pretty much allowed wherever they wanted, barring private rooms? Could first class passengers at least be in public areas of the third class? What about third class passengers? Could they be in the first class areas if they were accompanied by a first class passenger? Were there any decks where they could mingle?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I was wondering if there were any areas on the ship where a third class passenger (female) and a first class passenger (male) could be together, privately or otherwise?

Perhaps at the extreme stern where the tafrails on either side meet? But from there Ross and Jackie would not be "flying"!

 

[RileyGardner17]

Hi! I'm trying to write a novel, and I was wondering if there were any areas on the ship where a third class passenger (female) and a first class passenger (male) could be together, privately or otherwise? Were there areas where all passengers were allowed? Were first class passengers pretty much allowed wherever they wanted, barring private rooms? Could first class passengers at least be in public areas of the third class? What about third class passengers? Could they be in the first class areas if they were accompanied by a first class passenger? Were there any decks where they could mingle?

The short answer is no. If you're going for fiction, that's your call, but historically this would've been close to impossible. The classes were strictly segregated for a multitude of reasons, but a major reason was to comply with US immigration policy. There was a fear that poor people in Europe would be carrying more illnesses and therefore could spread disease in the US. If the US officials discovered class mixing to be going on, they could (in theory) prevent anyone from coming ashore and quarantine the ship.

Quite dramatic, but the White Star Line (indeed, any line looking to stay in the immigrant trade) took this with the upmost seriousness. There were no areas where every class could mix, and all were requested to stay in their respective spaces. Second class passengers could enter first with special permission from the crew if they were invited by a first class passenger, but I suspect such things were rare.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Short version: Strict segregation would have been the rule for the reasons which Riley mentioned, and this was taken very seriously. It wasn't unknown for people in the First Class to make their way into Third Class to check things out, but this practice....known as slumming if I recall correctly....was highly frowned on.

So, a place where a 1st and 3rd class couple to meet openly and without breeching the rules would likely be on some sort of boundary somewhere.

However, ILLEGALLY, well, that's different. It still would have been something of a trick to avoid getting caught.

 

[Edith]

Hmm it is possible. There were some compartments of the ship where first, and second class accommodations, met on same deck.For instance, first and second class dinning saloons, first and second class aft grand staircases... And so on, to help you some bit, I would advice you to go looking for simplified plans of the ship 's decks ,and the corresponding compartments and rooms according to class. Greetings and good luck, dear..

 

[LLWH]

Thank you! I was 95% sure this was true, but was hoping for a work-around. Better to keep it accurate, or keep the “slumming” secret. Thanks again!

 

[Edith]

I know this as I was studying myself the ship deck's plans. And came across by fortune with a few surprises. Yes, romance was on Titanic as it was all around, since the beginning of times. Regardless class, social status and more. It could have been a moment in which the crew were not on their rounds, and (the couple in love) could elude them for a few minutes. I do believe so. Even more some of these compartments from different class were divided only by a partition of wood,as is the case with first and second class aft staircases....

 

[~{ Kevin W. Hudson }~]

Hello again. Thanks to the assistance of Mister Andrews (Thomas Krom), I've established one believable way this could happen. Still, I'm just curious on what others think, or can come up with. Thank you for your time, and I'll truly appreciate any replies.

 

[Oliver James]

It could be possible but I cannot think of any examples off the top of my head.

 

[~{ Kevin W. Hudson }~]

It could be possible but I cannot think of any examples off the top of my head.

At least we can both agree that it's possible, or believable.

 

[Ryan Burgwin]

So allow to to clarify my confusion:

I'm wondering how they prevented third class passengers from accidentally (or deliberately) wandering into second class areas, or second class into first class.

I know there were gates, but it seems difficult to place them so strategically based on the layout of the ship.

The only two classes that were "geographically" separated were first and third, as far as cabin placement goes.

But other than that, it's not like certain decks were mutually exclusive to certain classes.

Some decks housed both second and third class cabins.

Other decks housed both second and first class cabins.

There were also decks that houses facilities for two classes.

Example, both first and second class had a barbershop/souvenir shop. And they were located on the same deck, not far down the hall from one another.

So any gates would have to be placed more strategically from simply putting them on certain stairwells.

So if I'm a second class passenger going there, how do they stop me from accidentally going to the first class barbershop to get my haircut and buy my postcards?

Do you have to show your ticket? Do they place gates at varying points in the hallways on the same deck?

And even then, I'm wondering about another problem with that.

Not all first and second class cabins were permanent. There were some "Primarily first class/alternative second class" cabins, and vice versa to be used in periods of high booking, depending on whether first or second class tickets sold more.

That further complicates gate placement, if that's what they did, because a first or second class cabin on one voyage could have been the opposite on the next.

Had it not sunk on it's maiden voyage of course.

So, how did they handle all this?