Cruise Consultant- The Perfect Job

[hammybee]

I was reading in another post about the hours kept by cruise consultants. It sounds like the perfect job. No office hours on port days and a few hours on at sea days. HAL does not have to pay me. Just give me cabin and board and I am there for them. How about you?

[bdcbbq]

I was reading in another post about the hours kept by cruise consultants. It sounds like the perfect job. No office hours on port days and a few hours on at sea days. HAL does not have to pay me. Just give me cabin and board and I am there for them. How about you?

 

If you ever see behind the scenes any easy job, you can bet you would change your mind. :)

[elmorejj]

I think some of the entertainment crew, shop assistants and spa people thought they had an easy job too. They probably didn`t know they have to work Muster, library and anything else the ship personel can think up so they don`t have too much down time........jean:cool:

[jhannah]

Cruise consultants also accompany shore excursion groups. All the ship's staff have duties to keep them occupied and "earning" their bunk space.

[sail7seas]

Just speculation.....but I wonder if their only pay may be on a commission basis?

 

[kryos]

Just speculation.....but I wonder if their only pay may be on a commission basis?

 

No, I think the consultants work for HAL. I overheard a conversation between the onboard cruise consultant and a friend in the Ocean Bar one evening when I was onboard the Amsterdam. She said that HAL was very pleased with her because she had written something like $7 mil worth of bookings so far on the voyage (this might have been into perhaps day number 25 of 30). I'm not saying she doesn't get commission ... she probably does get something ... but she and about five others work for HAL out of Seattle. At least that's the impression I got.

 

Their job is not as easy as some on this board may think. I remember her telling the guy she was talking to that she used to have it a whole lot worse. Back in the days before HAL had secure payment servers, she wasn't allowed to transmit the booking info to HAL over the internet since bookings also involved transmitting credit card info. So, she had to wait until certain hours when due to time differences the HAL offices would be open, and she could call everything into her contact there. She said she was doing something like 12 hour days back then. Now, she said, it's much easier because she can transmit everything over the internet using secure socket technology.

 

But believe me ... those people put in a lot more hours than those you see them working at the cruise consultant's desk in the atrium. They have all the paperwork to do ... following up on various things with the HAL offices for some customers who may have special requests ... doing her own internal reports ... participating in social events onboard the ship ... hosting tables in the dining room ... you name it. I wouldn't be surprised if the cruise consultants actually worked an average of maybe at least ten hours a day. And who says they don't have hours on port days? Depending on the amount of time in port, I believe they did have some hours. Also, I'd be willing to bet that other than their general desk hours, they probably go to see certain passengers on an appointment basis ... like perhaps if someone from one of the S suites or the penthouse suite requested a consultation via the concierge. After all, her workstation is a laptop, so there is no reason she can't book a cruise for a penthouse guest right there in the guest's suite just as well as she can do it from her own desk in the atrium.

 

Like someone else here said ... the most cushy jobs turn out not to be as cushy as they may seem. I'm sure her job is a fun one ... and I'd love to have it ... but I don't for a minute doubt it's a lot of hard work.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

Rita.....Thank you. Interesting post.

 

When I speculated they may be paid by commission, that did not preclude that HAL is their employer.

 

Whether paid by salary or by commission, they would still be HAL employees.

 

I have absolutely no knowledge (or real interest :) how they are paid. It simply occured to me while reading this thread.

 

[Copper10-8]

Jim is correct! We've seen/had them on shore excursions as well as helping the Shorex crew with the morning check-in inside the show lounge. The last one we had, Cindy Lee Ayala, was actually introduced on stage with the rest of the senior staff during the captain's welcome aboard reception. There's got to be quite a papertrail with advanced bookings so I don't think the job is as easy as it sounds. I know the big thing with some of the cruise consultants is to get assigned to the world cruise. One of them, Janice Hermann-Carlin, very nice lady, did a lot of talking about that and was hoping to be assigned.

[hammybee]

I am in agreement that it's probably not a cushy job and entails generating 24/7 good will for HAL. I supect it's a salaried position with known incentives like most corporate sales jobs. Nonetheless, it sounds like a great ways to spend 6 months a year at sea.

[Copper10-8]

I am in agreement that it's probably not a cushy job and entails generating 24/7 good will for HAL. I supect it's a salaried position with known incentives like most corporate sales jobs. Nonetheless, it sounds like a great ways to spend 6 months a year at sea.

 

I can think of a lot worse!;)

[sail7seas]

;) Really!!! :D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Actually it is the job I would love to have when I retire out of the Car Business, I would not mind working long hours 7 days a week as long as I am on a "Dam" ship.:D My TA knows someone who was offered a Cruise Consultant job with HAL and she was told it was a mostly commission job but paid very well.

[SabreSailor]

The cruise consultant on our last cruise was not all that knowledgeable, and it turns out that she was a recent "retiree" from a HAL desk job - instead of retiring, she took this assignment. She did show up on some shore excursions carry the famous HAL paddle signs.

[jhannah]

While being aboard ship for your job is a great thought, just remember that staff members are not assigned aft corner suites!! ;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

While being aboard ship for your job is a great thought, just remember that staff members are not assigned aft corner suites!! ;)

 

Good Thought Jim, but I wonderful if I can use my salary/commission for the upgrade:D Put a whole new spin on "Will work for cruising";)

[bookworm0911]

---- She said that HAL was very pleased with her because she had written something like $7 mil worth of bookings so far on the voyage (this might have been into perhaps day number 25 of 30).

 

--rita

$7 MILLION in bookings??? It may have been over 25 days of cruising and I don't know the average cost of the normal cruise booked on HAL ($5000?, $10000?), but we can pretty well figure she didn't book all world cruises. $7 MILLION in bookings would be an unbelievable number of individual cruises, IMHO. Maybe, but I'd have to see the figures to believe it. :eek:

[jhannah]

... use my salary/commission for the upgrade ...

Well, that would certainly be an incentive. "Make your goal today, or it's back to the hold for ye!"

[kryos]

Rita.....Thank you. Interesting post.

 

When I speculated they may be paid by commission, that did not preclude that HAL is their employer.

 

Whether paid by salary or by commission, they would still be HAL employees.

 

I have absolutely no knowledge (or real interest :) how they are paid. It simply occured to me while reading this thread.

 

Well, I found it interesting too. Some employers pay people as "independent contractors" ... i.e., they work for 100% commission ... no salary or benefits at all. My company calls these "commission sales representatives." They get their pay on a 1099 form ... not a W-2 ... and are responsible for paying their own taxes and all of that stuff ... as well as managing their own workload. All the company does is gives them a desk, computer and telephone. I had just assumed that these onboard cruise consultants had the same deal ... until I heard this woman talking. She also said in a presentation on exotic voyages that she did that there were about six of them in the department ... and that the booking onboard bennies were gonna increase soon because apparently one particular superior had reduced them and these five or six onboard reps had ganged up and were lobbying to get them put back. She said that the particular boss who cut them was gone now ... and they were optimistic that the onboard booking bennies would eventually be restored.

 

So, they all apparently are employees and have a boss they report to in Seattle. This lady, by the way ... I think her name was Mary ... said that HAL wanted her to do the World Cruise in 2007 ... and well ... her comment was along the lines of "it's a lousy job, but I guess someone has to do it." :)

 

Wish that someone could be me. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

$7 MILLION in bookings??? It may have been over 25 days of cruising and I don't know the average cost of the normal cruise booked on HAL ($5000?, $10000?), but we can pretty well figure she didn't book all world cruises. $7 MILLION in bookings would be an unbelievable number of individual cruises, IMHO. Maybe, but I'd have to see the figures to believe it. :eek:

It was some really high figure like that ...

 

Remember, this cruise was a 30-day Hawaii/South Pacific voyage ... not your typical one-week Caribbean cruise. This cruise was also somewhat pricey. So, there were quite a few people of "substantial" means on this cruise ... up on that Navigation Deck. I'm willing to bet she booked several 2007 World Cruises ... probably many of them in suites. Also, there were some other "exotic voyages" being pushed onboard ... including an Orient Explorer Cruise of 60+ days that HAL only does every other year. A lot of people were looking into that one.

 

I don't doubt for one minute that she booked tons of business. Everytime I walked past her desk in the Atrium when she was on duty she had someone talking with her, along with a few others waiting to see her.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

Well, I found it interesting too. Some employers pay people as "independent contractors" ... i.e., they work for 100% commission ... no salary or benefits at all. My company calls these "commission sales representatives." They get their pay on a 1099 form ... not a W-2 ... and are responsible for paying their own taxes and all of that stuff ... as well as managing their own workload. All the company does is gives them a desk, computer and telephone. I had just assumed that these onboard cruise consultants had the same deal ... until I heard this woman talking. She also said in a presentation on exotic voyages that she did that there were about six of them in the department ... and that the booking onboard bennies were gonna increase soon because apparently one particular superior had reduced them and these five or six onboard reps had ganged up and were lobbying to get them put back. She said that the particular boss who cut them was gone now ... and they were optimistic that the onboard booking bennies would eventually be restored.

 

So, they all apparently are employees and have a boss they report to in Seattle. This lady, by the way ... I think her name was Mary ... said that HAL wanted her to do the World Cruise in 2007 ... and well ... her comment was along the lines of "it's a lousy job, but I guess someone has to do it." :)

 

Wish that someone could be me. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

 

:eek: Sounds to me like Mary talked an awful lot about her job. I'm not sure that's a terrific idea. ;)

[kryos]

:eek: Sounds to me like Mary talked an awful lot about her job. I'm not sure that's a terrific idea. ;)

I don't think she realized that there was such a nosy person sitting on the other side of her in the Ocean Bar eavesdropping on her private conversation. Ahhhhhh, what can I say ... it's the writer in me. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I think some of the entertainment crew, shop assistants and spa people thought they had an easy job too. They probably didn`t know they have to work Muster, library and anything else the ship personel can think up so they don`t have too much down time........jean:cool:

I still don't think they have it too bad. They might work at the most a two-hour shift in the library on some ships. I never saw an entertainer working in the Explorations Cafe on the Amsterdam ... with the exception of the DJ after he blew out his knee while on shore and couldn't do his normal job for a while. They were training him in the librarian's tasks ... which would be understandable. He could do those sitting down.

 

I think the entertainers work more on some days than on others ... and more on some itineraries than on others. If the entertainers are on a series of 7-day Caribbean runs, I think they have to perform two to three nights in the week. So, that's two shows each night. They also have to lead some dance classes during the day, and maybe give a couple of backstage tours. They also have some rehearsal time scheduled in as well. So, I'd bet they are pretty busy on those runs. But, on the 30-day cruise I did, they had ... I believe ... about five production shows. I'm sure they had to do some rehearsing and I did see them leading some dance classes during the day. But they only need one or two dancers to lead those classes, so I am sure they all take turns for that duty. They had a couple of backstage tours ... again, one person leads them ... and maybe a couple of "coffee chats" with the social hostess. All in all, they've got a great life. I'm not saying they don't work ... they sure as heck work up a sweat during those shows ... but they get to enjoy their time on the boat too ... and that's the important thing.

 

Now the people I feel really sorry for are the waiters, cabin stewards, bartenders, etc. Those are the folks who really do non-stop work. If a waiter is not assigned in the dining room, he's up in the Lido. If he's not in the Lido, he's assigned to serve at maybe the Captain's or the Mariner's party. Those folks really get very little down time, and they get very little shore leave time as well. But, the rest of the folks onboard do have a decent life ... and I've said it before ... I only wish I had discovered the seafaring life when I was younger and had less responsibilities. I would have loved it.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bepsf]

While being aboard ship for your job is a great thought, just remember that staff members are not assigned aft corner suites!! ;)

 

Precisely what put me off asking HAL for a job - I just wouldn't be happy without my verandah and my jacuzzi-tub!

;)

 

 

BTW - If there was a way for a PH pax to get a private auduence with the future cruise consulant, it wasn't happenin on Noordam - the future cruise consultant was either not at her station, or the line was into the atrium - and the ladies in the Neptune were able to provide information, but couldn't make arrangements for the PH passenger we were traveling with to make an appointment....

:(

[HeatherInFlorida]

Actually it is the job I would love to have when I retire out of the Car Business, I would not mind working long hours 7 days a week as long as I am on a "Dam" ship.:D My TA knows someone who was offered a Cruise Consultant job with HAL and she was told it was a mostly commission job but paid very well.

 

And what is Tom going to do while you're sailing the seas?:D Or do you have a job in mind for him onboard, too?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

And what is Tom going to do while you're sailing the seas?:D Or do you have a job in mind for him onboard, too?

 

He will be my own private Cabin Steward;)