Employee Wages

[davekathy]

9 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I worked in a Rubber Stamp factory in a building that should have been condemned for $1.10 an hour ,a 12 hour day.No air conditioning,no fans ,sweat pouring all over my body.That was the worse job I ever had.

AKA, sweat factory. 

[lenquixote66]

Just now, davekathy said:

AKA, sweat factory. 

Exactly

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, drsel said:

the room stewards average 900-1200 USD per month. A basic pay of $50 a month and another $850-1150 a month from gratuities.

 

Similarly waiters average 1800 USD a month.

Bartenders average 2800 to 4000 USD per month including gratuities and extra cash tips.

Are their meals included? 

I wonder if they have to pay tax on their gratuities.  How about the cash tip I always give to our room steward, waiter in mdr, etc etc.  They probably dont have to report those tips.

[lizzius]

6 hours ago, Heymarco said:

Then why did you click on this thread? 🤣

Some people like to feel outraged

[lizzius]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Are their meals included? 

I wonder if they have to pay tax on their gratuities.  How about the cash tip I always give to our room steward, waiter in mdr, etc etc.  They probably dont have to report those tips.

I think it includes meals in the crew mess and basic refreshments... Soda and alcohol would not be included. Crew is definitely not paying $15/drink at the crew bar, though. 

[yogimax]

Why do I have a feeling the real reason for this thread is to justify stiffing the staff on their tips?

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, lizzius said:

Some people like to feel outraged

Speaking for yourself. 🤣

[tcrandal]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Either way, I don't care. 🙄 NOMB.

 

Which way do you care less about? 

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, tcrandal said:

 

Which way do you care less about? 

You first. 

[tcrandal]

1 minute ago, davekathy said:

You first. 

Thank you, you're not so bad yourself. 

[drsel]

10 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 Can you validate that base rate or is that’s your guess or did one of the crew tell you that to entice an extra tip?

It's available on Google if you search for Cruise ship jobs and salaries.

However, 2 bartenders on Carnival told me they average 4000 USD a month.

 

One of them said that he even touched 8000 USD in one month, during the booze Cruise season.

This was the maximum he ever made in his life, because of the extra cash tips in addition to the service charge on drinks, daily gratuity and commission on sale of drink packages.

 

He was working many years as a bartender and has invested a huge amount of money in property in his hometown.

Edited March 4, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Are their meals included? 

I wonder if they have to pay tax on their gratuities.  How about the cash tip I always give to our room steward, waiter in mdr, etc etc.  They probably dont have to report those tips.

All crew get free boarding and lodging and the salaries are tax free in many countries.

[drsel]

8 hours ago, lizzius said:

I think it includes meals in the crew mess and basic refreshments... Soda and alcohol would not be included. Crew is definitely not paying $15/drink at the crew bar, though. 

Meals are included, but not the same food as the passengers. Their food is much cheaper.

They get alcohol very cheap, for example a pint of beer is 50 cents.

[Mapleleafforever]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

It's available on Google if you search for Cruise ship jobs and salaries.

However, 2 bartenders on Carnival told me they average 4000 USD a month.

 

One of them said that he even touched 8000 USD in one month, during the booze Cruise season.

This was the maximum he ever made in his life, because of the extra cash tips in addition to the service charge on drinks, daily gratuity and commission on sale of drink packages.

 

He was working many years as a bartender and has invested a huge amount of money in property in his hometown.

I can see that easily. For our first 2 cruises I always signed a tip not realizing that there was already a gratuitity charged, the more I drank the better the tip got. On the first day of our third cruise a nice Green Bay Packers fan saw me signing the receipt and he asked me if it was my first cruise and showed me the auto grat charge. I'm not one to ever really go over receipts so I never even noticed it before. I'm guessing quite a lot of people leave double tips without realizing it, it can't only be me....I hope hahaha. 

[chengkp75]

18 hours ago, drsel said:

the room stewards average 900-1200 USD per month. A basic pay of $50 a month and another $850-1150 a month from gratuities.

 

Similarly waiters average 1800 USD a month.

Bartenders average 2800 to 4000 USD per month including gratuities and extra cash tips.

 

12 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 Can you validate that base rate or is that’s your guess or did one of the crew tell you that to entice an extra tip? I don’t buy that $50 a month for a second. Most work twelve hours a day, seven days a week. 84 hours a week times 4 weeks is 336 hours a month $50 a month dived by 336 equals $.15 an hour without time an one half or double time. I’m not including tips. Don’t even mention room and board and other things provided them for being away from home.

The estimates in the first post are about right.  The Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 (MLC) sets a minimum wage for all seafarers.  This is currently $641/month, for a 40 hour work week (170 hour work month, or $3.77/hr).  Hours worked in excess of 40 per week are to be paid at 125% of the base wage ($4.71/hr).  Now, having said that, cruise ship crew (especially the hotel crew) are not paid hourly, but a monthly wage that is made from totaling the 170 hours of base wage and the roughly 220 hours of overtime required each month.  So, these figures roll out to be around the upper figures quoted in the post above.  Now, how is this money "paid"?  The seafarer's contract ("shipping articles") will clearly state that if the crew member is in the "DSC pool" (they receive a share of the Daily Service Charge), then this monthly wage will be made up partially of "wages" and partially of DSC share.  This is completely legal, and the crew know this when signing on.  Now, if some passengers remove DSC, then the amount each crew in the DSC pool goes down.   Their wages can go down to the minimum wage set by the ILO ($641), if many people removed the DSC.  In many jobs the "wages" that the crew receive is as little as $50/month, with the balance made up of DSC share.  Only if the wage total for the crew drops below the $641/month minimum, is the cruise line required to make up the difference, up to the minimum.

 

People who say the crew receive "free room and board" forget that most of the crew have family back home, or at the very least an apartment where they live when on leave, and they have to pay for their home regardless of whether they are home or on the ship, and the family expenses continue whether the crew member is home or on the ship.

 

Taxes vary by home country, but to use the Philippines as an example (they supply 1/3 of all cruise ship crew), the wages are fully taxable, and since the DSC (what others call "tips") is not received directly from the customer, but is paid by the customer to the employer and then to the crew member, that income is taxed as normal income.

 

However, as noted in charts above, an entry level cruise ship crew member makes what a higher middle class person makes in their home country.

 

Regarding long hours, I have worked 84 hour work weeks, for months on end, six months a year for 46 years.  It is something you either get used to in your first couple of work tours, or you leave the maritime industry.  I've had cruise ship engine crew who were on their 3rd consecutive 10 month contract (no leave in between).

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Mapleleafforever said:

I can see that easily. For our first 2 cruises I always signed a tip not realizing that there was already a gratuitity charged, the more I drank the better the tip got. On the first day of our third cruise a nice Green Bay Packers fan saw me signing the receipt and he asked me if it was my first cruise and showed me the auto grat charge. I'm not one to ever really go over receipts so I never even noticed it before. I'm guessing quite a lot of people leave double tips without realizing it, it can't only be me....I hope hahaha. 

I did the same with my first couple Spa visits.   I rarely look at the receipts but found at after I got home and looked at receipts that I had put in an envelope while onboard.  

I still add a little extra but usually as cash directly to the person.

[Sunshine3601]

I have sailed on serenade several times, many b2bs and always requested to be seated at table in mdr for this server.  We became very friendly with her.  She had met her husband on the ship.  Both of them would work consecutive contracts and would go home together 2 months every year.  They would stay with their parents when home.  They had saved a substantial amount of money and in 2019 had bought a plot of land and in 2020 they planned on building their new home.

I hope they have been successful in their new build while having off from sailings for the last year.

[drsel]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I have sailed on serenade several times, many b2bs and always requested to be seated at table in mdr for this server.  We became very friendly with her.  She had met her husband on the ship.  Both of them would work consecutive contracts and would go home together 2 months every year.  They would stay with their parents when home.  They had saved a substantial amount of money and in 2019 had bought a plot of land and in 2020 they planned on building their new home.

I hope they have been successful in their new build while having off from sailings for the last year.

Which city and country are they from?

Edited March 4, 2021 by drsel

[cb at sea]

If the staff didn't make the money they needed, they wouldn't sign the contracts.  They are not "slave labor" you know.  Do they work hard?  Yes....don't YOU?  I would hope so!   

[drsel]

Another bartender on Costa told me that the bartender's job is the most sought-after and highly in demand.

there is a lot of competition to get it.

 

however, the room stewards do not earn much, like I mentioned earlier and the worst job on any Cruise ship is that of the galley staff--kitchen cleaners and helpers

[Iamcruzin]

12 hours ago, cb at sea said:

If the staff didn't make the money they needed, they wouldn't sign the contracts.  They are not "slave labor" you know.  Do they work hard?  Yes....don't YOU?  I would hope so!   

I think a lot of these "They work hard " comments come from retirees who forget what it was like in the workforce. There are many professions where long hours are par for the course and a lot of those jobs are salary so there is no overtime being paid out. The crew members get to travel and have opportunities and a chance for advancement that are not available for them at home. How many people have had military careers and were away from their families for long periods of time? Thank you for your service. 

[DISFANS3]

Going to tip more next cruise..

[drsel]

15 minutes ago, DISFANS3 said:

Going to tip more next cruise..

That's a good idea because cash tips are 100% tax free for the crew!

Edited March 5, 2021 by drsel

[yogimax]

11 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

 

There are many professions where long hours are par for the course and a lot of those jobs are salary so there is no overtime being paid out. The crew members get to travel 

Respectfully disagree...

 

1.  How many Americans, retired or not, worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day, 84 hours a week for $1000 a month?

 

2.  Get opportunities to travel?  What can they actually see when they are working seven days a week?  They are not visiting the London Eye or Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Their visits to shore will be limited to seeking out free internet and finding food they enjoy.

 

I respect and celebrate the housekeepers, kitchen staff and others who are there for us.

[davekathy]

12 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Respectfully disagree...

 

1.  How many Americans, retired or not, worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day, 84 hours a week for $1000 a month?

 

2.  Get opportunities to travel?  What can they actually see when they are working seven days a week?  They are not visiting the London Eye or Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Their visits to shore will be limited to seeking out free internet and finding food they enjoy.

 

I respect and celebrate the housekeepers, kitchen staff and others who are there for us.

I did and know others also that worked for a lot less a month, horrible living conditions, horrible food, longer hours a day and weeks, and went to three different countries I will never go back to. And I never volunteered or applied for the job.