Salaries for Cruise Employees

[pollux]

The rest off the story is when working on the ship 5 years the crew can built a house and send their children to college.

Is that possible here in the USA?

If the ship job is so bad how is it that there is a long line at the employment office.

[Lottycruiser]

The rest off the story is when working on the ship 5 years the crew can built a house and send their children to college.

Is that possible here in the USA?

If the ship job is so bad how is it that there is a long line at the employment office.

 

I don't think anyone is questioning the job being a bad one , those crew members sacrifice 7 months of their time away from home and family ,they wouldn't do that if the pay was bad , they are obviously getting what they need to make those sacrifices .

[Lou_70]

The rest off the story is when working on the ship 5 years the crew can built a house and send their children to college.

Is that possible here in the USA?

If the ship job is so bad how is it that there is a long line at the employment office.

 

Wonder why most are foreign? Not just cause of pay. The crew usually works 12-15 hours a day 7 days a week then they can get a half of a day off.

 

Not too many americans would work as hard as they do.

 

Plus in their homelands houses are 1/10th the cost of ours. They make American dollars and a decent pay for anyone ......if your willing to work

[Lottycruiser]

Wonder why most are foreign? Not just cause of pay. The crew usually works 12-15 hours a day 7 days a week then they can get a half of a day off.

 

Not too many americans would work as hard as they do.

 

Plus in their homelands houses are 1/10th the cost of ours. They make American dollars and a decent pay for anyone ......if your willing to work

 

Maybe they can't get work in their country , so many crew members in the MDR spoke about their children and how they missed them , some so young they are missing out on their best years , the money they send home obviously is good enough to warrant what they do , let's face it they don't have many outgoings as they are fed and housed ,I was surprised to be informed on the backstage tour by the entertainment team that they do not eat the same food as the guests , they have their own little canteen where they have a limited choice of meals , one told me that a big part of stopping off in port was to get off the ship and eat out in a restaurant just for a change of food .this conversation came when the tour was over they asked us if we had any questions , this was one of them .

Edited to add that this question had been answered from the entertainment team ,the headliners , so I don't know if they were speaking on behalf of all crew or just certain crew members , but its definitely what happens with them .

[Ocean Boy]

Maybe they can't get work in their country , so many crew members in the MDR spoke about their children and how they missed them , some so young they are missing out on their best years , the money they send home obviously is good enough to warrant what they do , let's face it they don't have many outgoings as they are fed and housed ,I was surprised to be informed on the backstage tour by the entertainment team that they do not eat the same food as the guests , they have their own little canteen where they have a limited choice of meals , one told me that a big part of stopping off in port was to get off the ship and eat out in a restaurant just for a change of food .this conversation came when the tour was over they asked us if we had any questions , this was one of them .

Edited to add that this question had been answered from the entertainment team ,the headliners , so I don't know if they were speaking on behalf of all crew or just certain crew members , but its definitely what happens with them .

 

Back in my college days the food choices in the dining room were quite limited compared to what is available on a cruise ship. But we were fed well and, somehow, I managed to survive eight years of it.

[Lou_70]

the rccl website on employment says something like they are offered the same buffet choices, a meat, a chicken a fish and a vegetarian.. and it changes weekly..

[Lottycruiser]

Back in my college days the food choices in the dining room were quite limited compared to what is available on a cruise ship. But we were fed well and, somehow, I managed to survive eight years of it.

 

As they do ,I did ask what sort of food they got and they said it was mostly pasta dishes ,goulashes , casseroles things that are like a one pot dish for quickness , so needless to say a meal out no doubt would be welcomed for a change , I can't remember ever seeing a crew member sat in the windjammer eating , yet on our P&O cruise it was the norm to see White coats with what I call scrambled egg on their sleeves ( their ranks ) sitting eating in there ,oh and medical staff were eating in there too , never seen it on RCI .

[Lou_70]

As they do ,I did ask what sort of food they got and they said it was mostly pasta dishes ,goulashes , casseroles things that are like a one pot dish for quickness , so needless to say a meal out no doubt would be welcomed for a change , I can't remember ever seeing a crew member sat in the windjammer eating , yet on our P&O cruise it was the norm to see White coats with what I call scrambled egg on their sleeves ( their ranks ) sitting eating in there ,oh and medical staff were eating in there too , never seen it on RCI .

 

I have several times... Officers are allowed at certain points to eat in public places.. and some eat to "test" the food

[cruisenfever]

As they do ,I did ask what sort of food they got and they said it was mostly pasta dishes ,goulashes , casseroles things that are like a one pot dish for quickness , so needless to say a meal out no doubt would be welcomed for a change , I can't remember ever seeing a crew member sat in the windjammer eating , yet on our P&O cruise it was the norm to see White coats with what I call scrambled egg on their sleeves ( their ranks ) sitting eating in there ,oh and medical staff were eating in there too , never seen it on RCI .

We have seen staff and officers eating in the WJ both at lunch and dinner on the ships we've been on. It is not unusual at all. Depending on the Captain, you may even see him/her walking around with a plate of food in the WJ.

[dellaroo]

The crew eat a lot of their homeland type food as well, think curry. Lots of rice.

[Ocean Boy]

As they do ,I did ask what sort of food they got and they said it was mostly pasta dishes ,goulashes , casseroles things that are like a one pot dish for quickness , so needless to say a meal out no doubt would be welcomed for a change , I can't remember ever seeing a crew member sat in the windjammer eating , yet on our P&O cruise it was the norm to see White coats with what I call scrambled egg on their sleeves ( their ranks ) sitting eating in there ,oh and medical staff were eating in there too , never seen it on RCI .

We stopped using the MDR many cruises ago. We have dinner in the Windjammer almost every evening and I see many crew members in there every night having dinner. I also see crew members eating in Johnny Rocket's later in the evening. And since they instituted the cover charge, sometimes crew members are the majority of the people that I see in Johnny Rocket's later during the evening.

[Shammy1]

Knowing this from being a waitress for many years, in the states only get 2.83 an hour to the present time. You really depend on those tips.

[BILLSFAN83]

Knowing this from being a waitress for many years, in the states only get 2.83 an hour to the present time. You really depend on those tips.

 

 

Just to note, each state in the US are different, not everyone is 2.83/hour

 

That being said, I do understand that wait staff do depend on their tips, and deserve so based off of their performance.

 

I agree with a couple of the posters here, why are people having this conversation with employees. It is incredibly rude to talk money, I am embarrassed for cruisers that bring the conversation up to satisfy their curiosity.

 

I don't know how I would react if a cruise line employee was somehow the one to bring up the topic.... but I would immediately redirect the conversation or there wouldn't be one.

[shaggyofwv]

But in all honesty who cares??? I don't care what u make and I'm sure no one cares what I make.

 

No one is held prisoner on these ships and it must be ok because they are filled with mostly happy staff week after week.

 

 

Agreed.

[danp]

I was informed that the pool waiters rely on the sales of the drinks for their wages , they get " commission " on their sales , if they don't sell any drinks they don't get paid ,I found this hard to believe but the info came from a good source and one that convinced me that this was the case .

 

If you look at your receipt this get 16% of how much you charged.

[csk]

I do not understand the obsessive need to know what the crew earns in salary. Do you question people when you go on a land vacation? Doubt it. What they earn is none of my business. I tip because I received great service. We tipped our dining team extra on our last cruise because they did a great job. I would never tip because I feel bad for someone. I feel that is insulting and condescending.

 

I agree 100%, do we go to the local restaurant and ask the salary of your waitress, or the local hardware store and ask wages, why do people care, it is a job and they are working that is what is important in todays economy!

[Sunebeach]

I have several times... Officers are allowed at certain points to eat in public places.. and some eat to "test" the food

 

 

I don't know if they were 'testing' the food or the service, but on our recent FOS cruise the DH and I were booked for Portofino's and we had a late seating, 8:30...real late for me...the dining room was nearly deserted when we were seated...except a table of about 12 officers with lots of stripes on thier sleves...and they certainly had the bulk of our waiters attention...granted there were 12 of them, but seriously we had to wait for a very long time for our food between courses. Then he was rushing and plunked the food in front of us so he could rush to stand over the other table and cut their meat for them... [not that I wanted him to cut my meat for me] but I felt slighted, like we [the real paying public] didn't matter as much as the ships crew. The food was awsome and it was served hot however so I got over it pretty quickly...I was just really starved by the time we were seated being that we couldn't get res' earlier, [i waited a bit too long to book it, so that was MY fault.]

About half way through our meal another table of 'lesser officers' or ships crew were seated on the other side of us...again our waiter was serving all three tables. I guess he was the only one scheduled that late?

THE MDR waitstaff was superior to this experience, for us anyway.

[goouchjac]

I think someone lie to you

 

 

Yeah,,,me too:mad::mad::mad:...

[time4u2go]

I agree 100%, do we go to the local restaurant and ask the salary of your waitress, or the local hardware store and ask wages, why do people care, it is a job and they are working that is what is important in todays economy!

 

I guess for me, it's not that I "care", it's that I'm curious. I would never ask, but if someone wanted to tell me, I would certainly be interested in knowing. Not just what a waiter gets paid, but any profession. I'd love to know what the captain of the ship makes, but I'd never ask. I just like to learn new things, whether it's how much a person gets for doing a particular job, or how something works, or whatever! I guess I'm just a curious person.

[csk]

I guess for me, it's not that I "care", it's that I'm curious. I would never ask, but if someone wanted to tell me, I would certainly be interested in knowing. Not just what a waiter gets paid, but any profession. I'd love to know what the captain of the ship makes, but I'd never ask. I just like to learn new things, whether it's how much a person gets for doing a particular job, or how something works, or whatever! I guess I'm just a curious person.

 

I guess that is what makes us all different, I feel that is very personal information and should not be shared with the general public

[teddie]

I don't have any knowledge of exactly what crew make or how well they are treated by RCI. I know that the staff works hard and have long stints away from country and family. They do work that many Americans would pass up. Some of the posts that suggest that the job must be great since the ship is well-staffed are a little out of touch, IMHO.

 

Good working conditions don't always figure in for many international workers, especially those from poorer countries. The ships are well-staffed because people are desperate to work and support their families, and will do what they must. For every waiter hired, I am sure that there are scores more from their country wanting to be hired, just for the opportunity to work.

 

Teddie

[fdthird]

I was surprised to be informed on the backstage tour by the entertainment team that they do not eat the same food as the guests , they have their own little canteen where they have a limited choice of meals , one told me that a big part of stopping off in port was to get off the ship and eat out in a restaurant just for a change of food .this conversation came when the tour was over they asked us if we had any questions , this was one of them .

Edited to add that this question had been answered from the entertainment team ,the headliners , so I don't know if they were speaking on behalf of all crew or just certain crew members , but its definitely what happens with them .

 

You need to remember that those folks you were talking to on the backstage tour are a very small percentage of the "crew" and are in reality very different from most of the crew members. Unlike the majority of the folks in the crew, the entertainers are not ones who are making a career being at sea. This is a stop along the way and for the vast majority of them shipboard life is very different for them than anything else they've done or will probably do in their lives. The days in port are a way for them to get back to "normal" if for at least a couple of hours. Being trapped aboard a ship - even the world's largest cruise ship - is not something they are use to and port days are very important to them. Also, remember that they have very different duties than do most crew members with much more down time and freedom. I wouldn't base impressions of the crew on a discussion with those in the entrainment staff.

[cruiseguy1016]

We have seen staff and officers eating in the WJ both at lunch and dinner on the ships we've been on. It is not unusual at all. Depending on the Captain, you may even see him/her walking around with a plate of food in the WJ.

 

We ate lunch with the Captain and the Cruise Director in the Compass Deli on Majesty two years ago. While planning for the cruise I had heard that the food in the compass Deli was fantastic. When the Captain and Cruise Director were eating in there, that just verified it.

[wieslaw]

Just off the Oasis of the Seas and learned that the waiters and assistant waiters work solely for the tips they receive at the end of each week. They receive NO hourly wage, stipend, salary, etc. from Royal Caribbean. If they do not earn tips, they do not get paid. I was shocked to learn this. It makes you really consider how important the gratuities are and to be even more generous in what you give them. Does anyone else have any information on the earnings of cruise employees?

 

Hi,

looks that you have many answers and comments already but I will add just a little more.

 

From what I know what you have learned about the waiters, head waiters assitant waiters and cabin attendents is mostly true. The tips are their main source of income.

I am not concern what they make but I always follow the guideline for tipping that the cruise line provides ( and sometimes I add a little extra).

 

I look at that this way:

Royal Carribean Cruise Line ( present RCI) got started in 1968 and it is still here at a much larger numbers - they must be doing something right.

 

They had the tipping form for paying their wait staff and stewards back then and they have now - it must be working.

 

RCI and every other cruise line as well wants to provide the cruisers / guests with the best service they can, so they are concern about having good 'help'. If the people working for them were not happy with their earnings or whatever - they would not renew their contracts.

Next time you are on a cruise ask your waiter how many years he / she has been working there.

[Lottycruiser]

I am a little sad at the amount of posters that are criticising our behaviour in regards to getting this information , I would just like to say that we do not go onboard and start questioning any members of staff , during the cruise we make friends with various crew members , especially our cabin steward and table waiters , after a few days of getting to know them they probably feel quite happy to talk about their families , we listen as it's obvious their talking about them brings some comfort to them , by the end of the week we feel like we know them and vice versa , if during conversation something comes up about wages I am not going to tell them to shut up , I will listen as I would any other topic , if they think it's their way of making you feel sorry for them then that's up to them , it doesn't change my view that they must be ok with the way things are or they wouldn't do it , nor does it change my views on tipping , I tip when I feel it's deserved .not for one moment do I go onboard with the intent of questioning anyone on how much they earn , I wouldn't do it anywhere else so why would I do it on my cruise ?