Are stateroom attendants salaried?

[Barum]

Just as a matter of interest, the minium wage(by law) in the uk is about $9.5 dollars an hour. In the small town in which I live, earning $24000 per annum is a norm.

That's before tax at 20% and National Insurance of 11%. (after a personal tax free allowance of about $9440 per annum)...they then have to pay Rates (about $1000 per month ). So although these people may appear to be poorly paid, I do think it is difficult to compare their circumstances with either UK or USA residents.

[smoosh21]

I'm all for tipping the stewards and wait staff. But I gotta tell ya I'm SO SICK of hearing how horrible their lives are (over and over on these boards). They may make a rumored $50/month but they make QUITE good money in tips. Even if they only make a few hundred a week, they're NOT paying room and board. Most Americans make a few hundred a week and still have to pay their mortgages or rent.

 

 

 

So while I appreciate all they do, I'm SOOOOO sick of the tip police on these boards telling us how HORRIBLE the ship workers have it, and how they work 37 hours a day for $.58 cents an hour and they send all that money home, so PLEASE make sure you throw dollar bills at them. They do QUITE well in tips. Otherwise there wouldn't be tons and tons and tons of people applying for these jobs...whose salaries WE have to pay!!!!!

 

While these wages may be good for someone in a third world country, they are still not good for Americans. If the cruise lines did pay so well and if tips were so high, then the cruise lines would not need to go to third world countries to find employees, Americans would want these jobs. Don't forget that their tips also get shared with behind the scenes people like those that work in the laundry rooms.

 

Instead of complaining that you are tired of hearing how put upon these workers are, maybe it would be more constructive to encourage people to treat low paid workers here in the US better. Make sure you always tip servers well at restaurants (15% no longer cuts it).

[smoosh21]

On the Explorer this past May, We were enjoying dinner in the Wind Jammer with several members of the entertainment cast (The regualr singers and dancers, as well as the acts exclusive to our sailing). They were ordering their pasta and pizza from the servers right there next to us... so, some actually do get to eat with/the same food as the passengers... but these aren't employees who rely on tips. Maybe thatis where the difference is.

 

A~

 

This is because the entertainment is considered Crew and they work for the Cruise Director. The Room Stewards are staff and they are treated differently.

[brfan]

This is because the entertainment is considered Crew and they work for the Cruise Director. The Room Stewards are staff and they are treated differently.

 

Actually you have that backwards. There are 3 classes of employees on the cruise ship:

 

Officers

Staff - eg. entertainment, activities staff and Guest Relations

Crew - eg. wait staff, room stewards, etc.

 

Tipped crew work on a contract basis so are probably not really considered employees of the cruise line as their jobs are not guranteed. If they do a good job and receive positive comments, then they will likely be able to get another contract. I seem to recall reading somewhere (could have been here) that what they receive from the cruise line is more like a "signing bonus" that works out to around $50 a month, the rest is through tips.

 

As far as expenses on board, this depends on the cruise line, but from what I understand, they have to pay for their personal items (toiletries, etc), uniforms, laundry/cleaning and they may be required to tip the person who cleans their cabin and staff who work their mess (though not 100% sure on that). Also to ensure good service from the behind the scenes areas, I have heard (but don't know if this is true) that they need to tip those people (eg. room steward tipping laundry to get their towels, clean sheets, etc. on a timely basis).

 

Some cruise lines, I believe require tipped staff to pay for one way transportation (this has to be paid early in their contract in case they are sent home or decide to quit/return early due to a family emergency). They are also required to pay for all documentation that they need (eg. visas) and pre-work medical examination and I believe any training that is required prior to starting work (eg. safety, etc.). This also includes any extra expenses to get the documentation/training - eg. they may need to travel to another city and stay overnight to go to the embassy/consulate to get visas and visit the cruise line approved doctor, etc.

 

Plus they have whatever expenses at home to pay, such as rent/mortgage, schooling for their children, medical care for family, etc.

[podemos]

Wow, didn't mean to raise a kerfuffle here...=P

I understand that the salary they get from working on a cruise is exponentially higher than what they would get paid in their own country...I wonder just how adequate that is for everything they pay for back home (childrens' tuition, rent, electricity, etc.).

The reason I posted this question was because, well...we felt we had the nicest stateroom attendant we've ever had on our recent cruise. He told us all about his children and family in Romania, and we felt at many times sympathetic towards him. Just wondering about his life onboard and if the tip we gave him was good enough for him to go home and reunite with his family (it's his last contract).

Anyhoot, thank you all for answering.

[kkpcruiser]

I am almost afraid to enter this thread but wanted to share something i discovered on my last Princess cruise. DH and i had a full suite celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary. We like the space and large decks and rarely use any of the perks offered by suite other than the accomodations. We had a great cabin steward, a sweet humble guy with 3 children. On the last day, when he was leaving our luggage tags for disembarking, he accidently left his "wage statement" in the pile of papers he left for us. DH is a CPA and looked at it and said that is NOT his pay stub. I disagreed. I didn't want to embarass the guy by bringing it to him so we left it in the cabin upon leaving the next day.

 

To say i was shocked is an understatement. I had no idea what a cabin steward makes but knew from these boards that it was low. Granted they are tipped and often tipped well ( esp in a suite) but even with an automatic tipping system, adjustments are made by passengers for cabin stewards and wait staff .

 

I understand what Amybeth was saying in that this always seems to come up no matter what the thread topic. No one wants to have anything shoved down their throat.

 

If you have a great cruise , i hope you leave the automatic tip as is or make the suggested tip amount. If you have a fabulous cruise and your waitstaff or steward was part of that, if you can, i am sure your crew/staff would appreciate the extra $$. If you can't...i am sure a note to that staff member would be as much to them. If you had a crummy cruise with poor service, it is your perogative to cut the tip. While i never have on a cruise, i certainly have in a restaurant.

 

By the way, I am not positive what the dollar amount was on that wage statement but it was in the vicinty of the amount being thrown out here on this thread.

[Mrsg324]

The entertainers do hang out with guests & eat in the dining room. We spoke to a couple that were from Tx when we were on Rhapsody last. They said they love the traveling & that the cruise lines pay them well. They have the perk of getting to travel to places to do their job. They reherse & play basically.

If a cruise line hired a big name singer, do you really think they would agree to eat in the crew room? I don't think so.

[willyguy]

I don't disagree with you, there are many who do make what you stated and they are struggling big time. My guess is few have mortgages and are not living the American dream. amybear4 said many were make a few hundred and $400 or $600 hundred a week is more than a few.

 

Having said all that, I too am grateful for what I have and I am compassionate towards ship employees who leave their families behind to make a better life for them. Some leave their families for years on end with a short visit home once a yr. For some one to rant about being sick of the "tipping police" and how good these employees have it literally turned my stomach.

 

As to the towel animals, well some can be cute, but that hanging monkey.:(:confused:;).

 

Obviuosly, like you tip well.

Well that is a job that they want to do. For what ever reason We have people here in the service over sea and they too may be going for over a year they to leave their families behind and the too die have any body here thank their familes for what they did for you? For are service people are die every week. And what are the basic service person making??

[carhirer]

It really doesn't matter what their basic wage is and what they do with the money

 

We have to live with this stoopid system under which cruise lines "recommend" a specific tip for each member of staff and staff expect/hope for it. Cruisers who tip more than the guidelines possibly compensate for cruisers who tip less.

 

Cruisers who use their own discretion as to who to tip also add to the distortions

 

Bottom line - people who tip subsidise people who don't. It is an individual decision as to which camp you want to join.

[luckyprincess]

 

Bottom line - people who tip subsidise people who don't. It is an individual decision as to which camp you want to join.

I used to be a server and can tell you that as much as non-tippers want to believe the above (no, I'm not saying that's what carhirer was saying about themselves - before anyone pounces:rolleyes:) it's not really true. I knew servers that gave really good service and had nights where a table would not tip out of ignorance or cheapness and maybe they would get a couple 5 - 10% tippers (same breed :p) and the rest of their tables did the normal 18 - 20% range. So because the regular tippers where tipping in a normal range the server wasn't subsidized for the poor or no tippers. You just can't assume that your server will get overtipped by someone so you're crappy tip or no tip will be covered by another diner.

As I said, I'm not saying that's what carhirer does, I'm saying I've seen tippers with the attitude that 'I don't have to tip because someone else will overtip and they'll get the same amount in the end.'

I will say, though, that if you go to facebook and read the cruise crew discussion boards you'll find that a lot of the crew that 'have families and children and give every penny back home' also have girlfriends on the ship quite often :eek: I was shocked by how many girls posted that the guy they were hooking up with ended up having a wife and kids back in his third world country. Many of them posted it as a regular occurence to look out for for newbies. No, I'm not saying all but I'm saying it happens enough to be considered common place. As well, I've read stats that said most cruise crew are single young people from third world and poor countries. I can't remember where but I'll see if I can find it. I've also known some people (Americans) that have worked on ships and said that tipped crew make a very decent salary - even with paying stuff back home (remember that the bills in those countries are very small compared to the American dollars they get as tips.) I understand what Amybeth said before and I find it absolutely unacceptable that any crew would talk about their salary with guests. I find it more unacceptable for guests to ask about it - very rude.:(

And I don't believe that the wage statement that one of the posters found in their cabin was there by accident. I've worked with too many servers to think otherwise....:p

[libertylover]

According to the news show Cruise, Inc. (I think is on CNBC) that I watched for the 3rd time last night, a room steward on Norweigen (?) makes approximately $2500, salary + tips, a month.

[Happy ks]

According to the news show Cruise, Inc. (I think is on CNBC) that I watched for the 3rd time last night, a room steward on Norweigen (?) makes approximately $2500, salary + tips, a month.

 

 

I think that is including tips :) NCL implements what they call "service charge" of $10 per day/per pax, so they don't have as many non-tippers as would be the case on another line. Perhaps the + tips comments would be any extra gratuity they received??? If not, with average tips/service charge, they would be making around $5000 a month...not very likely.

[luckyprincess]

I think that is including tips :) NCL implements what they call "service charge" of $10 per day/per pax, so they don't have as many non-tippers as would be the case on another line. Perhaps the + tips comments would be any extra gratuity they received??? If not, with average tips/service charge, they would be making around $5000 a month...not very likely.

Yes, I think that's what they were saying - $2500, that total being the 'salary + tips' together. At least thats how I understood it. And that is about right according to my friends that have worked on ships. I think about $2000 - $3000 a month. If you think of what private school, rent or mortgage, food, etc. actually costs in third world countries compared to this American dollar amount the chunk it takes out is not large. And if they send the rest back to save it surely helps. They have very small expenses onboard - toiletries, personal items, alcohol (lots:p) and whatnot so yes, the pay they recieve is fair and actually quite good. My bf is a chef and works 15 hour days 6 days a week in a very hot, hectic atmosphere - if a job is so horrible and not worth the pay then people wouldn't do it. And if people do think they have a miserable existence and don't get paid enough then they should boycott the employer - not make them more successful....:confused:

[carhirer]

I used to be a server and can tell you that as much as non-tippers want to believe the above (no, I'm not saying that's what carhirer was saying about themselves - before anyone pounces:rolleyes:) it's not really true...............You just can't assume that your server will get overtipped by someone so you're crappy tip or no tip will be covered by another diner.

 

LuckyP - I was not suggesting that people should undertip. i was simply making the arithmetical and sociological fact that people who pay subsidise people who don't. This is true for tips and taxes.

 

Another way of looking at this is people who pay less scrounge off people who pay more.

[Miss Vickie]

Cruise Ship Job - Cabin Steward

 

 

 

Passengers on cruises expect their rooms to be prepared several times a day, with beds waiting for them in the evening. They even expect towel animals! How much does the cabin steward / stewardess make?

 

The amount of course varies from line to line, and based on the tips given. The salary is typically about $1,800/month. Remember - that's not for 40 hours of service. That is usually for 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day, of reasonably hard work. That's about $5/hr. You usually work during the day - so you can't enjoy the ports you're visiting - and you're not allowed to be on deck with the passengers in your off hours. Instead, you have a crew room below decks, and eat from the crew kitchen.

 

Your room is a small one in the lower end of the ship, and you'll be sharing it with three strangers. You have to clean your own room of course :)

 

But that being said, you are getting free room and board. You can in essence save every penny of what you make and send it back home to your family, or store it away in a saving's account. For many people coming from third world nations, this is an incredibly lucrative deal. They make far more on the cruise ship than they could possibly make in their home village.

 

That being said, remember that ships are not registered in places like the US or UK with fair labor laws. They are registered in countries explicitly set up with ship-friendly (but not employee-friendly) regulations. The ship expects you to pay your own fare to and from the ship. So often if the ship lends you the money for both air fares (which must be purchased up front as a requirement of employment), you now can owe the ship 2 months salary or more before you even begin. Also, you can be forced to sign a 2-3 year contract in order to join up with the cruise line, meaning even if you hate your job, you are trapped there.

 

Some people love cruise jobs - but usually those are the bartenders and entertainers, who can work up in the sun and enjoy the "real food" and luxury of the boat. Be sure to go into any cruise line job with open eyes!

 

http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/cruise/jobs/steward.html

 

myth - they get to save everything they make - there's lots they have to pay for. Uniforms, food that isn't from the crew mess (which isn't open 24x7), drinks that aren't water or iced tea, there is a charge for medical/dental care, haircuts that aren't provided by other crew members (and they are strict about hair length), and other miscellaneous stuff. Some staff members have cabin stewards, and they have to tip them. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but suffice it to say, they don't get to save every dime they make, or send it home.