Unpacking who would do it

[Hitch]

I have a little question: If you where in first class, and you did end had a maid, who would unpack your stuff? If you did end want to do it yourself.

 

[David F. Smith]

Hi Carl.

Your cabin steward would do this for you. They were tipped handsomely for these services as well.

 

[Hitch]

It was kind of like a bell boy then? And could he do it before you where onboard? (If you had your luggage allready brouth aboard.)

But the steward who fild in your name and check't your ticket (at boarding) was he the one who escorted you to your cabin, or where there stewards waiting to guide a passenger?

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Carl, checking the passengers' credentials would not have been done by the stewards, but rather by clerks in the Purser's department or by land-based officials in the terminal building. The Purser himself would be on hand to greet the 1st Class passengers. The surgeons would be needed also for 3rd Class passengers (health documents and inspections). At this stage of the voyage, stewards acted as guides and porters and helped the passengers to settle in. The bell boys, whose role during the voyage was to deliver messages, probably also helped with carrying hand luggage when the passengers arrived. Stewardesses helped with unpacking and arranging personal items in the cabins. Violet Jessop's autobiography provides a lot of detail about what was reasonably (and in some cases unreasonably) expected of her by the passengers in her section.