As a ham myself it’s worth getting your tech license it’s very simple and doesn’t cost more than about $15.
The test is very simple
I studied 1 night and took my tech and general the next day
The baofeng 888 is a great radio and UHF is the way to go shipboard I’ll tell you from personal experience from my time in the navy
Although remember a closed room is a faraday cage and your not going to get rf out of a cage
Just my $.02
KK4WIC
73’s