HOW OFTEN DO SHIP's PERSONEL RENEW THEIR CONTRACTS FOR THE SAME SHIP?

Not that I frequent the same CCL ships often, but I recall some passengers referring to certain personnel on particular ships as "their favorites". I have yet to "bump into" a familiar crew member.

Have any of you ?

A few years ago, I was told that the crew members sign a 6-month contract in which they work EVERY day. When the contract was up, they could (1) leave and go home for good; (2) take a month or two off then return to the ship or (3) move to another ship altogether. Whether or not this has changed, I couldn't tell you.

No matter how you look at it, these people work their tails off during the time they are aboard the ship. Some work 16-hour days. They truly deserve the tips that we leave them!

Last year we sailed the Sunshine in January and again in May in the same cabin. There were a few familiar faces including our cabin steward but not many. Our favorite was a young lady that bused tables in the Havana Bar area at lunch time. Her name was "Precious" and she was precious :D. We felt a desire to slip her a bit of "green" at the end of each cruise because she went out of her way to make us feel so welcome both trips. She remembered us at least by sight the 2nd time.

What we did like was that the band in the Ocean Plaza every night - "Deja Vous" - was contracted for both cruises - we loved them and at the very least sipped our night-cap while listening to them.

I am friends with an Alchemy bartender and here is what she told me: Her contracts can be anywhere from 4-9 months depending on what Carnival offers and you accept. After that initial contract, they can either leave altogether or request a new contract after some time off. That new contract could be the same ship or it could be different and then they can choose to accept again or not. They can request the same ship, but they might not get it. Note that this is only for bar staff, which moves around quite a bit. I sailed with this particular bartender on the Conquest and then again on the Sunshine, and now she's on the Fascination. All just since January of 2017.

We went to Beaches Negril in Jamaica in 2012. We had butler service -- our butlers were Conrad and Garfield. We went back to Beaches in 2013. Garfield was gone. My parents-in-law, who had traveled to Beaches with us, sailed on the Dream in 2014, and ran into Garfield. He had gone from a butler at Beaches to a server on Carnival, but he remembered by father-in-law.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2017 -- we all sailed on the Dream out of New Orleans. Lo and behold, Garfield was there again! So it is possible to run into the same people on the same ships.