Question about crew changeovers

[KarinaGW]

I've read a few threads the past couple of days where uneven to poor service is hypothesized as a result of a crew changeover (either last cruise before (short-timers attitude) or first cruise after (where the heck is anything on this ship?)).

 

When do crew changeovers typically happen. One thread intimated that they use transatlantics for this purpose. But, really, I haven't decided if that makes a lot of sense or no sense.

 

So, what's the scoop...if there is, indeed, any kind of rhyme or reason?

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Most crew members are on a 6 or 8 month contracts. Each have individual dates. It is not the entire crew that switches out at once. Crew members have explained to us that RCI provides them with a voucher for their flight home if needed (ie home port or stops not their home). From what we could understand RCI arranges the booking for them. My have been lost in translation, but that is what we understood. While they are on the ship they work everyday, no days off.

[sf2]

It's a continual process - differents positions are on different contract lengths - i.e. Marine 10 weeks, management 4 months, most crew 6 to 8 months. So at any given turnaround there will be on average 5% of the crew coming and going.

 

There is a black out period around the Christmas holidays, so there will be a bigger turnover mid December and then again mid January. Transatlantic's and repo's might have a slightly high count due to travel expenses, languange skills, visas, itinerary programming, etc, etc

 

As far as the above post - most crew are responsible for paying their own way to their first ship and then get hotel/flights/etc for the rest of their stay with the company. Some positions and concessions are totally responsible for their flights to and from the ship (though hotel is usually picked up)

[tahqa]

I don't know about other countries, but Brazil apparently requires the cruise ships to have a certain percentage (thinking it was 50%) of Brazilian employees if they want to home-port in Brazil. I was on the last roundtrip Venice cruise on Splendour of the Seas last fall before they went to Brazil for the winter and several employees mentioned that they were transferring off to other ships so that percentage could be met. Funny thing was that our waiter at dinner wasn't a fan of that rule as he felt that the Brazilians were some of the laziest workers. :rolleyes:

 

So, anyways, I guess it is possible that some countries have similar laws which would necessitate a large crew changeover.

[musik07]

We must have been the exception for having staff with crew turn over, we were on the freedom in January and the captain and a bunch of the waitstaff (including the two waiters who we had in MTD) were leaving that week (the CD may have been as well?). I think our service at dinner was better than we had ever had, we even treated our waitress that we had most nights to a bag of magazines that we had planned to leave in the room or at the airport so we didn't have to carry them home!

[KarinaGW]

Thanks for the responses.

 

I knew that everyone has individual contracts which is why I've been puzzled by the threads.

 

But, I guess kind of, too, that at some point the ship was new and everyone contracted for her at the same time and a bunch of contracts would have expired at the same time. And they would have filled/renewed those contracts at the same time....lather, rinse, repeat...

[emilygrace]

When a new ship debuts the crew is picked from other ships in the fleet (I'm sure there are SOME new hires too, but it's usually the crew with the highest customer ratings that go to the new ships), so they would just continue with their current contract, thus staggering the changeovers.