Listen. Which is the best reply?
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Nauti Test ProIndependent practice · Marlins English Language Test for Cruise Ship Staff · free test 2 of 3
Marlins cruise ship staff practice test 2
polite requests, complaints and what you say back.
Ten new questions, none from test 1. The cruise test lives on service English: a guest asks, complains or thanks you, and the right answer is the polite, natural reply — not the grammatically possible one. Listen to each recording twice at most, as on Marlins' own free practice test, and read the explanation even when you were right.
- 10questions
- 2with audio
- 100 %explained
- Freeno sign-up
01Practice test 2
Tap the option you think is right and the answer appears at once, with the reason. Each recording can be played twice before you answer, as on Marlins' own free practice test, and freely afterwards — with the transcript. Questions have three options, as the real Marlins cruise ship staff test does.
The treatment rooms are being painted, so at the moment the spa therapists ____ in the gym.
The pool has been closed ____ Monday because of a technical problem.
The sea is rough, so we ____ probably arrive in port an hour late tomorrow.
We look forward to ____ you on board again soon.
Where must the man go first when he hears the signal?
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The guest sent his steak back because it was so ____ that he could hardly cut it.
Frozen fish must be ____ slowly in the fridge overnight, never on the worktop.
____ the carpet in the corridor before the guests come back from their excursion.
The daily programme says the dance class starts at 14:45. How do you say this time on the 24-hour clock?
02Answers and explanations
The answer to every question above, and why the other options are not it.
Q1 — Listening
C · I'm very sorry, madam. I'll send a technician.
The guest is complaining about a noise, so the right reply apologises and offers a solution. 'I'm glad to hear that you slept well' says the opposite of what she said: 'I couldn't sleep at all'.
Transcript: I'm afraid the air conditioning in my cabin is making a terrible noise, and I couldn't sleep at all.
Q2 — Grammar
B · are working
'at the moment' describes a temporary situation happening now, so the present continuous 'are working' is needed. 'were working' is past continuous and does not fit 'at the moment'; 'works' does not agree with the plural subject 'therapists'.
Q3 — Grammar
B · since
'since' is used with the point in time when the situation started ('Monday'). 'for' is used with the length of time, for example 'for three days'.
Q4 — Grammar
B · will
A prediction about the future is expressed with 'will' + infinitive without 'to': 'will probably arrive'. 'are' would need 'arriving' or 'going to arrive'.
Q5 — Grammar
B · welcoming
In 'look forward to', 'to' is a preposition, so the verb takes the '-ing' form: 'welcoming'. 'welcome' would only be correct if 'to' were part of an infinitive.
Q6 — Listening
C · To his cabin
The trainer answers 'Not straight away' and explains that his warm clothes and lifejacket are 'in your cabin, so that is your first stop': he goes to his cabin first. 'the crew mess on deck three' is where he reports at the end, not at the start.
Transcript: If I hear the general emergency signal, do I go straight to my muster station? Not straight away. Your warm clothes and your lifejacket are in your cabin, so that is your first stop. Then take your emergency card, use the forward stairs, not the lifts, and report to the crew mess on deck three.
Q7 — Vocabulary
B · tough
Meat that is hard to cut and chew is 'tough'. 'Tender' is the opposite (soft) and 'juicy' is a good quality, so the guest would not send the steak back for that.
Q8 — Vocabulary
B · defrosted
Letting frozen food return to a normal temperature is to 'defrost' it. 'Melted' is for a solid that becomes liquid (ice, butter), and 'heated' means made hot, which does not happen in a fridge.
Q9 — Vocabulary
B · Vacuum
A carpet is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, so the verb is 'vacuum'. You 'mop' hard floors with water and you 'polish' metal, wood or glass, not a carpet.
Q10 — Time and numbers
A · fourteen forty-five
On the 24-hour clock you say the hour and then the minutes: 'fourteen forty-five'. 'fourteen fifty-four' reverses the minute digits (14:54), and 'forty' is 40, not 14.
03The other practice tests
3 free tests, 30 questions, none repeated. They are ours, written in the format of the Marlins test for cruise ship staff.
- Practice test 1guests, cabins and the restaurant — three options, like the real test.
- Practice test 2you are here
- Practice test 3the last free one — then the 50-question simulation.
Taking a different Marlins test? There are free practice tests for the Marlins test for seafarers and the Marlins test for offshore workers too, and the speaking test (TOSE) has its own free pack.
04After the free tests
The real test is 50 questions, with 30 minutes recommended and the result is a percentage, with no pass mark — the score you need is the one your employer asks for (see what score you need, by rank). Nauti Test Pro has 466 questions in that format, 140 of them recorded, and a timed simulation with the weighting Marlins publishes, scored section by section against the minimum for your rank.
- Create an account — international accounts start with 10 free tokens, plus 5 when you verify your email and phone.
- One token = one practice — a unit of up to 50 questions, a drill or the full simulation.
- Buy tokens when you need more — small packs by card, no subscription.
Before the real one, read how to pass the Marlins test, section by section and what it costs, how to book it and how long it is valid.