My friend just got a job on a ship...

[Maybaybie10]

I don't know if anyone can help me or knows where to look, but my friend's daughter just got a job on a cruiseship (not RCI). She applied for a waitress, but was given more of a busser position. The hourly pay seems really low and she was wondering if the bussers are included in the tip pool that we as passengers pay. I know they are 'earmarked' for the room steward and the waiters, so I couldn't answer her question as to whether or not bussers are given a small percentage as well. She was emailed the job offer after attending a recent job fair so there wasn't anyone to ask at the time of the offer. She is going to do it nonetheless, but I was just curious if anyone had any inside info.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Melissa

[caribbeanboy]

Sorry can't help, but in all my cruises I have never seen an american waiter/waitress or cabin steward.

[madforcruising]

I don't know if anyone can help me or knows where to look, but my friend's daughter just got a job on a cruiseship (not RCI). She applied for a waitress, but was given more of a busser position. The hourly pay seems really low and she was wondering if the bussers are included in the tip pool that we as passengers pay. I know they are 'earmarked' for the room steward and the waiters, so I couldn't answer her question as to whether or not bussers are given a small percentage as well. She was emailed the job offer after attending a recent job fair so there wasn't anyone to ask at the time of the offer. She is going to do it nonetheless, but I was just curious if anyone had any inside info.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Melissa

 

How could anyone tell without even knowing the cruise line?:confused:

 

 

ETA: This is something that should be discussed with the employer anyway. JMHO

[rubrrick]

Sorry can't help, but in all my cruises I have never seen an american waiter/waitress or cabin steward.

 

Doesn't NCL America have one ship left in the Hawaiian Islands. The do not touch foreign soil, and I believe that most that work aboard are from the U.S.

 

Maybe someone can correct me on this.

 

Rick

[caribbeanboy]

Doesn't NCL America have one ship left in the Hawaiian Islands. The do not touch foreign soil, and I believe that most that work aboard are from the U.S.

 

Maybe someone can correct me on this.

 

Rick

 

Yes, you are right but I think that's the only cruise ship also and i'm 100% positive that they have other salary criteria. I have read once that lot of people don't renew their contract either. Job is too hard.

[thelion]

I don't know if anyone can help me or knows where to look, but my friend's daughter just got a job on a cruiseship (not RCI). She applied for a waitress, but was given more of a busser position. The hourly pay seems really low and she was wondering if the bussers are included in the tip pool that we as passengers pay. I know they are 'earmarked' for the room steward and the waiters, so I couldn't answer her question as to whether or not bussers are given a small percentage as well. She was emailed the job offer after attending a recent job fair so there wasn't anyone to ask at the time of the offer. She is going to do it nonetheless, but I was just curious if anyone had any inside info.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Melissa

 

If she is American, I am going to take a shot in the darks and say she got hired on to NCL America. If that is the case, it sounds like she is either a Dining Room Steward or a Jr. Waiter. If she is a Jr Waiter, she gets tips. If she is a Dining Room Steward, she does not.

 

NCLA is unionized and their pay is negotiated every five years. This means that towards the end of those five years, their pay can seem REALLY crappy. But on the plus side, there are long hours and uncomfortable shoes (tell her to buy her own non slip shoes, the ones provided will KILL her feet, literally).

 

If she is with NCLA, tell her to enjoy the America. I miss it :(

[Shippy]

Doesn't NCL America have one ship left in the Hawaiian Islands. The do not touch foreign soil, and I believe that most that work aboard are from the U.S.

 

Maybe someone can correct me on this.

 

Rick

 

I think NCL pulled that cruise quite awhile back.

We took that cruise a few years ago & were prepared because we read all the reveiws on cruise critic. Service was awful because it did have to be an American crew following american labor laws. It was part of a deal made to get that itinery exclusively.

Americans just don't have the work ethic that people from other countries do. On most ships a lot of the workers actually make a career of it & stand to lose a lot if they are not their best. On that NCL cruise, it was just a way station for most employees. They were lazy & rude & would even tell you they had no intention of keeping the job for long.

Read the posts from awhile back for NCL & you will see what I mean.

 

We went because we had never been to Hawaii before. The cruise was cheap & did all the islands.

[Maybaybie10]

You guys sure know your stuff from the sad little information I gave! Yes, she did get hired by NCL for the Hawaiian Islands cruise. She said she was a "utility worker" which she said was like a junior waiter. She is the hardest working and most personable young person I know. She loves people and everyone who meets her instantly falls in love with her good nature and warm personality. She used to wash dishes for me while she was in high school (my family owned a small diner) and ended up waitressing after she graduated. We live in a very small town and she wants to get out and do some 'life experiences' before she decides to settle down. I have told her it will be hard work with long hours and I also told her that her starting pay may not seem like much, but she also doesn't have to pay for room and board, food, or utilities and if she does a good job, she could work her way up the ladder if she decides she likes it or she could come home if she decides it isn't for her. I certainly hope she likes it and the other staff members are as friendly and caring and have the work ethic she does. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Doesn't NCL America have one ship left in the Hawaiian Islands. The do not touch foreign soil, and I believe that most that work aboard are from the U.S.

 

Maybe someone can correct me on this.

 

Rick

 

 

You are correct. They must employ 75% American's. They are mostly Hawaiians that work on board. NCLA does not have a good track record when it comes to American ships.

 

If the OP friend does not know the answer to her questions she is in for a bit of a reality shock!! :eek:

 

***

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I think NCL pulled that cruise quite awhile back.

We took that cruise a few years ago & were prepared because we read all the reveiws on cruise critic. Service was awful because it did have to be an American crew following american labor laws. It was part of a deal made to get that itinery exclusively.

Americans just don't have the work ethic that people from other countries do. On most ships a lot of the workers actually make a career of it & stand to lose a lot if they are not their best. On that NCL cruise, it was just a way station for most employees. They were lazy & rude & would even tell you they had no intention of keeping the job for long.

Read the posts from awhile back for NCL & you will see what I mean.

 

We went because we had never been to Hawaii before. The cruise was cheap & did all the islands.

 

 

You are so right!

NCLA is still sunning the Pride of America doing all the islands.

Like you said, they are rude, lazy and can't or don't want do the work resulting in the passengers suffering from that.

Certainly not my idea of a fun cruise.

 

***

[sf2]

check the crewmember forum on cruisemates - dot -com (there's a couple ex-NCLA people who frequent) and also search facebook for a NCLA group.

 

Even if you just google "NCLA crew facebook", you'll get a LOT of 'interesting' info.

 

For your friend - as long as she keeps her wits about her, keeps to her values and saves her wages . . she'll be ok. Unless you've been there, you can't imagine what working on ships is like. I worked for NCL for a couple contracts and then moved to RCI - character building experiences out the ying yang . . . but I'm glad I did it. If she even just does this one contract ever, it'll make her a strong worker for the US market.

[Cruising89143]

I think NCL pulled that cruise quite awhile back.

We took that cruise a few years ago & were prepared because we read all the reveiws on cruise critic. Service was awful because it did have to be an American crew following american labor laws. It was part of a deal made to get that itinery exclusively.

Americans just don't have the work ethic that people from other countries do. On most ships a lot of the workers actually make a career of it & stand to lose a lot if they are not their best. On that NCL cruise, it was just a way station for most employees. They were lazy & rude & would even tell you they had no intention of keeping the job for long.

Read the posts from awhile back for NCL & you will see what I mean.

 

We went because we had never been to Hawaii before. The cruise was cheap & did all the islands.

 

NCL still has one ship sailing for NCLA and it's the Pride of America.

[emilygrace]

NCL still has one ship sailing for NCLA and it's the Pride of America.

 

Kind of an ironic name for the ship, considering the attitudes of a lot of the American employees on board.

[johneeo]

I don't know if anyone can help me or knows where to look, but my friend's daughter just got a job on a cruiseship (not RCI). She applied for a waitress, but was given more of a busser position. The hourly pay seems really low and she was wondering if the bussers are included in the tip pool that we as passengers pay. I know they are 'earmarked' for the room steward and the waiters, so I couldn't answer her question as to whether or not bussers are given a small percentage as well. She was emailed the job offer after attending a recent job fair so there wasn't anyone to ask at the time of the offer. She is going to do it nonetheless, but I was just curious if anyone had any inside info.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Melissa

 

Whether it is a waitress, steward, or captain of the ship, the terms of any employment should include the terms of compensation in writing.

[JAMESCC]

Interesting topic. How does employment work with British labor laws cause there are a lot of Brits on RCCL ships? Just curious if it works differenly with the Bitish as opposed to Americans?

[JAMESCC]

Same question for Canadian works?

[madforcruising]

Interesting topic. How does employment work with British labor laws cause there are a lot of Brits on RCCL ships? Just curious if it works differenly with the Bitish as opposed to Americans?

 

Same question for Canadian works?

 

 

Pretty simple answer, unless the ship is registered and flagged in the UK / Canada there are no British / Canadian labor laws on the ships.

 

It doesn´t matter what nationality the workers are, but under what registration the ship operates.

 

US workers don´t work under US labor laws on a ship registered in Liberia.

 

The point is NCL America ships are US flagged and thus have to abide US labor laws.

[JAMESCC]

Pretty simple answer, unless the ship is registered and flagged in the UK / Canada there are no British / Canadian labor laws on the ships.

 

It doesn´t matter what nationality the workers are, but under what registration the ship operates.

 

US workers don´t work under US labor laws on a ship registered in Liberia.

 

The point is NCL America ships are US flagged and thus have to abide US labor laws.

Ah that was the part I was over looking. Makes sense. Here is another question I have. On "Explorer" we had Jimmy as our cruise director and he is from Alabama so does an American get paid in US dollars? or is that a dumb question? JC

[madforcruising]

Ah that was the part I was over looking. Makes sense. Here is another question I have. On "Explorer" we had Jimmy as our cruise director and he is from Alabama so does an American get paid in US dollars? or is that a dumb question? JC

 

 

I don´t know if all lines handle it the same, but on a behind the scenes tour on Princess we were told the crew get paid in cash USD.

[wwcruisers]

The experience will probably be quite different on an American-flagged ship, but a great read is: Cruise Confidential, by Brian David Bruns. He's one of the few Americans to ever be hired by Carnival as a waiter -- it's very informative, as well as entertaining! :p

[caribbeanboy]

I don´t know if all lines handle it the same, but on a behind the scenes tour on Princess we were told the crew get paid in cash USD.

 

I think in the "Current Captains" thread it is mentioned that the captains are paid in USD, so one left the company b/c it wasn't very favorable living in Norway and getting paid in USD. So my guess is that all cruise lines pays the crew in usd.

[phred119s]

The experience will probably be quite different on an American-flagged ship, but a great read is: Cruise Confidential, by Brian David Bruns. He's one of the few Americans to ever be hired by Carnival as a waiter -- it's very informative, as well as entertaining! :p

agreed! I bought it to read on our upcoming flight to Europe...now I need new reading material! :D veryyyy interesting stuff in the book!

[Cruising89143]

The experience will probably be quite different on an American-flagged ship, but a great read is: Cruise Confidential, by Brian David Bruns. He's one of the few Americans to ever be hired by Carnival as a waiter -- it's very informative, as well as entertaining! :p

 

I agree with the above. A good book.

[Cruising89143]

agreed! I bought it to read on our upcoming flight to Europe...now I need new reading material! :D veryyyy interesting stuff in the book!

 

 

There are a couple of other rather entertaining and interesting books.

 

Below the Waterline by Steven Barber.

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea - Kristoffer Garin

[wwcruisers]

There are a couple of other rather entertaining and interesting books.

 

Below the Waterline by Steven Barber.

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea - Kristoffer Garin

 

Hi Gator! Haven't read Barber's book, but Devils on the Deep Blue Sea is my absolute favorite cruise book! Wish Mr. Garin would write a sequel. :cool: