Off-Duty Crew in Passenger Bars

[WetToes]

Now we have to feel guilty? They are servants

 

 

They clean your room

They serve your food

 

They do not do this for free

 

They are not forced to do this

 

Last I noticed they are not in chains and the pax do not beat up on them

 

They are servants and are paid to be such.

 

 

 

They can choose to take these jobs or not

 

If they are not respected or a pax abuses them they can lodge a complaint

 

Please note that my above comment does not say anything about the crew in bars but rather comments on why the quoted poster has an issue with the word servant

 

If it is semantics well then just call them cabin crew or wait staff

 

But they still are serving you

 

 

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Hmmm! A lot of this sounds like it could fit our mothers.

[luvtheships]

Hmmm! A lot of this sounds like it could fit our mothers.

 

Yep and while they may be their kids servants they are still respected. Lol. Well sometimes

 

 

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[loubetti]

Gee wizz, one night I found myself in the Chart Room bar on QE2, sitting at a table chatting with the staff captain, chief engineer, and a first officer. I forgot how I got there, but I was there. I think they invited me over when I overhead a conversation they were having and commented to them. Whatever....

 

Oh, yeah, I had a huge issue the night the chief radio officer on Regal Empress was dancing with me and my wife in the disco. NOT!

 

Then, Heaven forbid, the chief engineer joined my wife and I for drinks in the Captains Club! Another time, we found ourselves sitting there having drinks with the PRESIDENT of the cruise line!

 

Yeah, I've been into crew cabins and crew bars too with members of the hotel staff.

 

This thread makes absolutely, positively no sense, as the VAST majority have no problem with it. Maybe I should post a poll? :rolleyes:

 

"Servants"? I think not!

[jandros]

One thing that sold me on cruising in the first place was the crew (of Carnival Triumph 2008) being so friendly and personable. I'll never forget the Romanian photographer taking my photo on the Lido Deck before we left port, and I asked her, "Can I take your picture too?" BIG smile, and I still have the pic. As a smoker I got to know a dozen or more of the crew as "buddies" during their smoke breaks; the Olympia (or Olympic?) Bar right off the casino. Adam, one of the entertainment managers, Svitlana, one of the casino dealers, the dining hostess from Slovakia, the Romanians, Serbians and others roaming the Lido and elsewhere, and Louie from Indonesia in the dining room. What a great guy. By the end of the week some of those people were friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way. On every subsequent cruise where the crew have been less than friendly or at least approachable, on duty or on break or whenever, I've actually felt a little cheated.

Edited July 22, 2014 by jandros

[golfadj]

Gee wizz, one night I found myself in the Chart Room bar on QE2, sitting at a table chatting with the staff captain, chief engineer, and a first officer. I forgot how I got there, but I was there. I think they invited me over when I overhead a conversation they were having and commented to them. Whatever....

 

Oh, yeah, I had a huge issue the night the chief radio officer on Regal Empress was dancing with me and my wife in the disco. NOT!

 

Then, Heaven forbid, the chief engineer joined my wife and I for drinks in the Captains Club! Another time, we found ourselves sitting there having drinks with the PRESIDENT of the cruise line!

 

Yeah, I've been into crew cabins and crew bars too with members of the hotel staff.

 

This thread makes absolutely, positively no sense, as the VAST majority have no problem with it. Maybe I should post a poll? :rolleyes:

 

"Servants"? I think not!

 

Thanks for your post. Often disagree with you but you are right on the money with this one.:):)

[paytonjsplace]

Talk about elitism... ugh.

[SailingRNC]

There is a difference between staff and guest. Staff is there to take care of the guest. Many companies have rules that prevent staff and paying guest to mingle. Staff is not on vacation!

 

They are also provided with entertainment, bars, gyms, food etc. They have their own space equipped with everything they need. They also, signed a contract, and agreed to the life of a ship. They are not poor lonely souls. They live and work with over a thousand others. No need to feel sorry for them.

 

 

 

 

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[diamondcharl]

I don't have a problem at all with this but I do remember years ago when I was young and single, I was on a cruise with my two sisters and quite a few of the crew members were hitting on us,offering us drinks and being inappropriate. There was one in particular that was doing shots all night and obviously drunk. I don't feel this portrays an image that is professional. I guess it depends on their behavior.

[TNDeb]

Good GRIEF!!!! Wouldn't you like to buy some people for what they're worth and sell them for what they think they're worth?!?!? :eek:

 

I have absolutely no problem with any crew member enjoying themself in "passenger" areas. Most times I'd rather be around them than some of the selfrighteous passengers.

[babyher]

I see someone's NOT having fun at all!:eek:

 

Need a hug?;):D

 

 

And who gets stuck with that detail? :)

[DocF]

When I met Mickey Arison, who was traveling incognito, on one of our cruises, some of our posters would, I guess, like to have restricted him to crew bars.

 

I only approached him because it was a quiet time. We chatted for a few minutes and then went on our respective ways.

 

Point being that the cruise lines have a very definite hierarchy as to which members of the crew and staff may congregate with the passengers. I have no problem with that at all. Rest assured, the guy who swabs out the scuppers or the Chinese laundryman will never be in the public areas when off duty.

 

If someone has issues with this, they need to look at a different form of vacation.

[princessa]

On the second night of our Pride cruise in December 2013 cruise there was a group of guests at Beauties nightclub. Including family members. Mike, the singer for the Taj Mahal and singing shows and Darnel the comedy club manager were at the Beauties nightclub after their shift just hanging out.

Mike the singer started up with this group of guests because he was very very intoxicated. He was swearing, insulting, and making racial remarks to say the least. Security had to escort him out of Beauties. I have a portion of it on video.

The response from the ship when I complained about the remarks was non existant. They didn't even care to see my video.

I let it go and never mentioned it again until I saw this post.

It is situations like these that ruin it for all the wonderful and friendly staff Carnival hires.

[golfadj]

I don't have a problem at all with this but I do remember years ago when I was young and single, I was on a cruise with my two sisters and quite a few of the crew members were hitting on us,offering us drinks and being inappropriate. There was one in particular that was doing shots all night and obviously drunk. I don't feel this portrays an image that is professional. I guess it depends on their behavior.

 

Surprising because they can get fired for being in a guests cabin or bringing a guest to their cabin. Bet that doesnt happen that much these days.

[sparks1093]

On the second night of our Pride cruise in December 2013 cruise there was a group of guests at Beauties nightclub. Including family members. Mike, the singer for the Taj Mahal and singing shows and Darnel the comedy club manager were at the Beauties nightclub after their shift just hanging out.

 

 

Mike the singer started up with this group of guests because he was very very intoxicated. He was swearing, insulting, and making racial remarks to say the least. Security had to escort him out of Beauties. I have a portion of it on video.

 

 

The response from the ship when I complained about the remarks was non existant. They didn't even care to see my video.

 

I let it go and never mentioned it again until I saw this post.

 

It is situations like these that ruin it for all the wonderful and friendly staff Carnival hires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think the entertainment staff is hired under the same type of contract that the rest of the staff is hired under and it's probably likely that they are not considered to be employees of the cruise line, which limits what the cruise line can do in the event of a complaint (although one would hope that many such type complaints would result in non-contract renewal).

[princessa]

I don't think the entertainment staff is hired under the same type of contract that the rest of the staff is hired under and it's probably likely that they are not considered to be employees of the cruise line, which limits what the cruise line can do in the event of a complaint (although one would hope that many such type complaints would result in non-contract renewal).

 

That does make sense. I never thought of it that way. Mike was the lead singer so I guess they didnt want to mess around with him and lose him, which would in turn would ruin the entertainment for the guests.

[DocF]

On the second night of our Pride cruise in December 2013 cruise there was a group of guests at Beauties nightclub. Including family members. Mike, the singer for the Taj Mahal and singing shows and Darnel the comedy club manager were at the Beauties nightclub after their shift just hanging out.

 

 

Mike the singer started up with this group of guests because he was very very intoxicated. He was swearing, insulting, and making racial remarks to say the least. Security had to escort him out of Beauties. I have a portion of it on video.

 

 

The response from the ship when I complained about the remarks was non existant. They didn't even care to see my video.

 

I let it go and never mentioned it again until I saw this post.

 

It is situations like these that ruin it for all the wonderful and friendly staff Carnival hires.

 

I am quite certain that the offender did not get his contract renewed, and it would not surprise me to find that he was terminated as soon as the ship returned to port. If security is called, there is a report made. Thus, there is no need for guest services to see your video. As information, the entire entertainment staff works for the Cruise Director.

Edited July 23, 2014 by DocF
clarification

[diamondcharl]

Surprising because they can get fired for being in a guests cabin or bringing a guest to their cabin. Bet that doesnt happen that much these days.

 

 

You are probably right. This was about 20 years ago. ( plus I do look a lil bit older now!) ;)

[Ajl437]

In general, I think the crew have every right to enjoy the restaurants and bars on the ship. I have had two instances it has been very annoying. One night in the piano bar on the Valor - there was only one waitress working and the place was packed. The table with officers got two to three rounds of drinks for every round the rest of us got since she obviously was going to serve her boss first. I don't think it's fair to put the wait staff in that position.

 

The other time was in the Red Frog Pub on the Breeze. A group of 20 - 25 entertainment and spa staff took over a corner of the bar and monopolized the bar staff. Rounds of shots. The 15 of us non-staff in the bar were exasperated trying to get a drink. I understand they are like the "regulars" and we are just guests, but some bar manager then needs to bring in extra staff to make sure all the guests are taken care of.

[Grammie1950]

Our daughter worked for CCL as an onboard I/S Manager from 2001 – 2006. She was an officer so she had more privileges than staff or crew. This is normal chain of command in any setting. She had full guest area access as long as she was in uniform. Her job kept her very busy and away from the guests usually. When she went into the ports she had to wear her name tag, but not her uniform. She was raised to be very respectful and professional so she had no problems. CCL trains their employees to uphold a high professional relationship with the guests. Some guests can be very friendly with the crew and make it uncomfortable for the crew. The officers, staff or crew can get into a lot of trouble if they “mingle” too much with the guests. That can be difficult because they are also told the guest is always right. Appropriate behavior is a good call for everyone. We were very fortunate to get to cruise with our daughter several times. And we loved being with the crew. Our first cruise was on the Jubilee and by the end of the cruise most of the crew was calling us Dad and Mom. The crew bar and the crew parties are great. There are some amazing young men and women from many countries who work on the ships. They are very hard working, polite and respectful. We were glad to get to meet them on a personal level. It would not matter even if we had never had that opportunity to see behind the crew doors, we would still treat anyone who works in the service industry with respect. It’s not an easy job. There are some people you can just never please. It doesn’t bother me where the crew has a drink or meal. What I hate is the fact that I don’t get to go the crew bar or crew parties anymore.:) Some people just need to get over themselves.

Smooth Sailing to all!!

[Cruisin Lolly]

I work in a very high-end day spa in Las Vegas, and as an employee I am allowed to use the facilities, take classes offered to guests, and receive services at a discount right alongside our guests. Of course, if the facility is busy we are asked to be courteous and yield to the guest.

 

I would hope that none of our guests feel about me the way some of these posters feel about Carnival employees. I wouldn't want them to think I was "mingling" inappropriately.

 

Then I wonder if the same posters would feel the same about me if they knew we were cruising together. If you look down upon me because I'm an employee in the spa you visit, would you feel the same when we're both paying guests aboard the cruise? That is, if you knew...

 

:(

[Grammie1950]

Cruisin Lolly, my husband is a Captain with a security company he has been with for 40 years. And when he is in full uniform with his weapon most people think he is a policeman. But you would be surprised how some people look down on him when they realize he’s in security and not a policeman. Unfortunately some people think they are above others. We just have to remember they are the ones with the problem. I am always amazed at how entitled some people think they are. That’s one of the many things I like about cruising, once we board that ship we are all the same. So don’t give it a second thought. Smooth Sailing to all!!

[jp12687]

The staff and crew have their own bar, game rooms, dining room, etc....they have no reason to "mingle" when off duty.

 

If i spent 6+ months in only those few areas i'd go stir crazy and offer worse service.

[MV Wiggle]

That can be difficult because they are also told the guest is always right.

 

Not to take the thread OT, but I think I found where CCL went wrong.

 

Sorry, but the customer is NOT ALWAYS RIGHT. When you have that customer service attitude, you open yourself to being taken advantage of and stepped all over.

[BlondieB]

I love being able to mingle with the crew/staff. I actually have 2 waiters from different cruises as "friends" on FB and we chit chat every now and then.

 

We were on the Conquest one year and our group of 20+ ppl had the sweetest, most adorably bashful waiter named Alex. One night on that sailing, his level of staff were allowed out in the passenger areas for a few hours. When we ran into him outside the nightclub we asked if he was going to join us but he said he wasn't allowed in because he didn't have any black pants (he was in jeans). Despite our begging with the door security, it was a no go.

 

I fail to see the issue with "the help" (insert sarcasm) being out and mingling. Those that do should have the bartender pour them an extra shot in their souvenir DOD cup and loosen up!

[Linerguy]

I love to talk to the crew, so I have no problem if they are in public areas during their down-time.

 

The only issue I've had was years ago on the COSTA ALLEGRA. I walked into the Murano Bar and all twelve seats at the bar were taken by officers and other gentlemen in 'whites.' I left and came back about 90 minutes later, and they were still there....so I left again and that was that.

 

But, then again, what did I expect from an Italian ship that runs out of pizza?

Edited July 23, 2014 by Linerguy
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