Crew earnings?

[Happy ks]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=261

 

Thanks for reference. I wonder when it was written.

p.s. to Piet Hein - You do sound rude in the manner you question my curiosity about crew earnings. Your attitude makes no sense to me. The topic is one of general interest and relevance.

 

While I agree that perhaps Piet Hein didn't ask very politely I don't think they were rude. A better question to you would have been "Why do you need to know?".

 

If you are interested in that position for hire, then it is a valid question. If not, do you mind if people ask what you earn??

 

I highly doubt the staff and crew that makes tips earns the same amount every week, some people don't leave a gratuity, some are generous, their tables are not always full. A multitude of other factors can make their income fluctuate one week to the next.

 

But, I'd never have the nerve to discuss earnings with them, it's simply not my business.

 

If you truly want to know, figure out what you think they "may" be earning, based on number of tables, number of diners X tips.

 

I do have to add that my take on questioning a staff or crew member on their income will not yield a very accurate answer, I think they may play a sympathy card and cut the amount, perhaps thinking you will feel guilty and pad your gratuity.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I agree with pointhein and maryellen. it is none of our business. to the OP would you ask your waiter at home how much he makes? what about the haircutter you go to? whoever else? i doubt very much if you ask the people at home how much they make. so why do it for people who work on a ship? is it the relaxed atmosphere that makes you think you can do it? for me, i don't care how much they make.....and i know that my tips supplement their income....just as it does at home to the people i tip (among them waiters, hairdresser, newspaper delivery person, etc).

[BruceMuzz]

owl61,

 

Thank you. I am a Senior Officer on Cruise Ships now, but have worked my way up from the bottom. I formerly held all those positions we are currently talking about.

Supervisors and Managers on ships generally do not participate in the tipping scheme or tipping pool. They are paid a set salary by the company and very occasionally receive tips for exceptional favors or very special services.

Generally speaking, passengers should not feel obligated to tip them unless they have gone above and beyond expectations.

[Podorama]

If you are interested in that position for hire, then it is a valid question. If not, do you mind if people ask what you earn??

 

To answer your question, I don’t mind if people ask. I do however reserve the right not answer the question. Often I am very candid about my wages since I am blessed with making a high middle-income wage (90-100K) in a field with outstanding job security. (Electric Power Generation) Since my field of work has a fast graying workforce and large numbers of people retiring, I will openly discuss my wages and my career to help do my part in recruiting the next generation into the field. I love my job, my career, and not only does it pay well, have endless opportunity, but it has enough risk to life and limb to keep it interesting and exciting (High voltage power, big machinery and 1800 psi steam will kill you cold dead in a blink of the eye, and I LOVE IT!)

 

Just to show that few things are cut and dried, black and white. As I said in my previous post, I am very much a free market capitalist. I am also a member of the IBEW, and know that it is collective bargaining that allows the balancing of the needs of management and workers to create a situation that benefits all involved thus allowing me a good and fair wage. (By the way, I contend collective bargaining is a valid and reasonable aspect of a free market and capitalism)

 

Now if I am asked by people other then ones I have invited to inquire or close friends about how I SPEND or USE the money I earn, that is a far different issue. As a rule I take the view that how I spend my money is my business and no one else’s. (and that includes the Government by the way) I will in no uncertain terms quickly make it clear that how I spend my money is of my concern and not theirs.

 

Again, I hold the point of view having a understanding of the wages , conditions the employees of a cruise line (ships crew) work for/under is not only reasonable but is information everyone should consider when making the choice to do business with any cruise line. (Or any business for that matter)

 

Also, count me as well in the camp that says "if you can't afford the tips, you can't afford the cruise." Build them into your cruise costs, and THEN decide when to cruise and at what price.

[wieslaw]

Hello,

I have read the OP question and most if not all of the answers and comments. Personally I did not find any answers / comments that were rude even that it might appear that way. I have also learned something from some of the posts that I was not aware of.

I would like to add a little to some of the good information already provided by others.

To start with I do not look at just the numbers that someone earns per day, or week or per month. I also do not look at the numbers and try to judge if that is enough or too much.

IMO, it does not matter if the job is on a ship or on land, if it is in the USA or else where.

I believe the job earnings of a waiter or a captain will be determined by the cruise line depending on the supply and demand.

If there is going to be way too many captains and not much demand for them - their salaries will drop.

If there is going to be shortage of waiters on cruise ships - there is no doubt in my mind that they will be paid more ..... either paid by the higher price of the 'tickets' for the cruise or by a higher amount of recommended tip.

At the very beginning when I started going on cruises, I was wondering why there are / were so few if any, waiters / stewards from USA , Canada, Germany, Sweden , Norway or any other nations with high standard of living - the answer is / was, there was not enough money to be made to justify for them working on the ships in those positions.

There were people from those countries working on ships but in different - higher paying positions.

So the waiters, assistant waiters, stewards, were mostly from countries with low standard of living. In addition what made the jobs attractive for them was the exchange rate of the US dollar to the currency of their home land.

I have met and got to know a number of waiters / stewards from Poland. At that time ( 80s and 90s) the US dollar was very strong in Poland. Some of the people made 6 even 8 times as much money working as a waiter on a cruise ship than they would have working in Poland at that time.

So the job was worth of being away from family and working long hours ......... but that is not the case anymore. There is very few people from Poland working on the cruise ships as waiters / stewards - the cost of living there is so much higher, the wages paid there are so much higher, the dollar is worth maybe half or less what it was before - so it is not worth for them to do these jobs anymore.

So even that the actual amount of tips or number of dollars is the same as it was few years ago ........ but what they can buy with that at home is not - so regardless if it is an automatic tipping or the old traditional tipping the job lost its attractiveness for them.

But they got replaced by some other nationals, that still have the same advantage as the Polish guys did few years ago. And as long as there is going to be the advantage for some people to work on the ship instead of working home, the present salary / tipping will supply the demand. Once the advantage disappears, the supply will drop and to meet the demand the salary / tips will go up.

So it really is not so important what they make in 'our dollars' as long as 'they' are satisfied with that ........ the moment they are not satisfied - 'they' will leave the ship and find something better, ...... or 'we' will need to pay them more. Like any other job - supply and demand ...... or like the price of cruising - ship not full - there is a price drop.

Wes

[vjmatty]

While I agree that perhaps Piet Hein didn't ask very politely I don't think they were rude. A better question to you would have been "Why do you need to know?".

 

If you are interested in that position for hire, then it is a valid question. If not, do you mind if people ask what you earn??

 

I highly doubt the staff and crew that makes tips earns the same amount every week, some people don't leave a gratuity, some are generous, their tables are not always full. A multitude of other factors can make their income fluctuate one week to the next.

 

But, I'd never have the nerve to discuss earnings with them, it's simply not my business.

 

As I said above, there is a BIG difference between asking a specific person "Hey, how much do you make", which was not done by the OP, and simply wondering what is the salary range of a particular profession. I can't believe we are treating them the same on this thread, or saying that one has to be in the process of applying for a position in order to ask this on a general, non-personal basis.

[TravelerThom]

If a question of tipping is involved, I feel strongly that it is our business to know how and, in general, what people who serve us are paid. In some areas of the world such as much of the Western Pacific [Australia, Japan, etc] servers are paid a living wage and tips are not expected. Indeed in Polynesia I have seen signs in the international arrival airports that tipping is not customary and requesting that it not be done [in some cultures a tip is considered a gift which would require a reciprocal gift in return, lack of which would cause great loss of face]. Waiters in the US are often paid half the legal minimum wage by their employer, and the other half and more comes from tips. In some areas of the world service people may get paid nothing by the business, and all of the individuals income comes from tips.

 

To travel and feel that you have no need to know how things work and how your actions will be perceived is arrogant. Certainly an understanding of what your tip is covering [a free will gift for truly exceptional service, the individuals total income, whatever] is necessary unless you think that the entire world has to conform to your standards.

[hammybee]

THOM:

 

Most cruise lines recommend minimum tips. This is their way of communicating usual and customary compensation.

 

Most cruise lines have gone to automatic tipping because too many passengers stiffed the staff when compensation was voluntary.

 

Some of the high end luxury cruise lines ( Sea Dream, Seaborn, Silver Sea and Regent) include the cost of compensation in the base cruise fare.

 

This should satisfy anyone's need to know, in terms of tipping protocol.

[wieslaw]

 

Most cruise lines recommend minimum tips. This is their way of communicating usual and customary compensation.

 

Most cruise lines have gone to automatic tipping because too many passengers stiffed the staff when compensation was voluntary.

 

Some of the high end luxury cruise lines ( Sea Dream, Seaborn, Silver Sea and Regent) include the cost of compensation in the base cruise fare.

 

This should satisfy anyone's need to know, in terms of tipping protocol.

 

 

Hi,

 

I do agree with you, that what you have posted should satisfy the cruising passenger's / guest's need to know, ........ but some people just have no idea if the tips get divided, shared or whatever, if there is an additional compensation / deduction or whatever - and they are just curious for whatever reason what are the earnings of the crew.

So if they have the need to ask ( on this board) and others are willing to supply the figures - I do not see any thing wrong with that. I do not believe that it is a big secret. There are web sites showing the compensation being paid.

 

But even after finding out what the compensation is, one must understand how the compensation translates to the actual usage by the person that receives the money.

As I have mentioned in a post above the 100 dol or whatever per day might mean something completely different to someone from US and to someone from Philipines, or some other country.

It depends what one can make working at home in comparison what one can make on the ship. It also makes a big difference what one can buy with the money earned.

So the whole picture of the crew earnings does not tell anyone much.

 

I feel that the cruise line that hires the people knows best what they should be earning and what they need to do to keep the supply and demand in balance.

On my part I follow the guidelines what is recommended by the cruise line as far as the tipping protocol and I go above if the service rendered is above average.

 

Wes

[hammybee]

 

I feel that the cruise line that hires the people knows best what they should be earning and what they need to do to keep the supply and demand in balance.

On my part I follow the guidelines what is recommended by the cruise line as far as the tipping protocol and I go above if the service rendered is above average. Wes

 

Do we know how tips are divided in the back room of the restaurants we frequent? Many restaurants have a pool or an informal arrangement to take care of the folk who support the wait staff.

 

Do we know what the person delivering the room service order in our hotel is making and /or what percentage, if any, of the service charge they receive?

 

There are hundreds of web sites touting the wages of onboard staff. These sites are owned by people who want to sell you something, not the cruise lines.

 

There are crew onboard every cruise ship who will tell you a sob story, if you listen and are apt to pity tip.

 

None of us know, with certainty, the royalty a cruise line employee paid a local recruiter for the job, if the job includes the flight to / from the ship, uniforms, dry cleaning, internet and so on. And frankly, it's way too much information.

 

Most cruise lines have determined a minimum amount for a service charge. They are trending away from the term tip as it is subject to too much interpretation. It's our obligation to pay it and if we are inclined, to reward additional amounts as we see fit.

 

Wieslaw, I am not directing this at you as you sound like you get it. It's a service charge, not a discretionary gift of whim.

[standby 06.30]

Hello,

I have read the OP question and most if not all of the answers and comments. Personally I did not find any answers / comments that were rude even that it might appear that way. I have also learned something from some of the posts that I was not aware of.

I would like to add a little to some of the good information already provided by others.

To start with I do not look at just the numbers that someone earns per day, or week or per month. I also do not look at the numbers and try to judge if that is enough or too much.

IMO, it does not matter if the job is on a ship or on land, if it is in the USA or else where.

I believe the job earnings of a waiter or a captain will be determined by the cruise line depending on the supply and demand.

If there is going to be way too many captains and not much demand for them - their salaries will drop.

If there is going to be shortage of waiters on cruise ships - there is no doubt in my mind that they will be paid more ..... either paid by the higher price of the 'tickets' for the cruise or by a higher amount of recommended tip.

 

At the very beginning when I started going on cruises, I was wondering why there are / were so few if any, waiters / stewards from USA , Canada, Germany, Sweden , Norway or any other nations with high standard of living - the answer is / was, there was not enough money to be made to justify for them working on the ships in those positions.

There were people from those countries working on ships but in different - higher paying positions.

 

So the waiters, assistant waiters, stewards, were mostly from countries with low standard of living. In addition what made the jobs attractive for them was the exchange rate of the US dollar to the currency of their home land.

I have met and got to know a number of waiters / stewards from Poland. At that time ( 80s and 90s) the US dollar was very strong in Poland. Some of the people made 6 even 8 times as much money working as a waiter on a cruise ship than they would have working in Poland at that time.

So the job was worth of being away from family and working long hours ......... but that is not the case anymore. There is very few people from Poland working on the cruise ships as waiters / stewards - the cost of living there is so much higher, the wages paid there are so much higher, the dollar is worth maybe half or less what it was before - so it is not worth for them to do these jobs anymore.

So even that the actual amount of tips or number of dollars is the same as it was few years ago ........ but what they can buy with that at home is not - so regardless if it is an automatic tipping or the old traditional tipping the job lost its attractiveness for them.

 

But they got replaced by some other nationals, that still have the same advantage as the Polish guys did few years ago. And as long as there is going to be the advantage for some people to work on the ship instead of working home, the present salary / tipping will supply the demand. Once the advantage disappears, the supply will drop and to meet the demand the salary / tips will go up.

So it really is not so important what they make in 'our dollars' as long as 'they' are satisfied with that ........ the moment they are not satisfied - 'they' will leave the ship and find something better, ...... or 'we' will need to pay them more. Like any other job - supply and demand ...... or like the price of cruising - ship not full - there is a price drop.

 

Wes

Wes the reason the EU exists is to include nations with less than the members have, with the original members contributing money from taxes to bring the new member up to the standards that we have, this takes time, so the polish people travel to work in the original member states till Polands economy is on par, the minimum wage in the UK is $11 an hr, with the small deduction of national insurance from that they get health care, education, social services ect, why would they now want to for $50 for 28 days at an average of 18hrs a day.

 

They are a long way from home and the people they love, with all the problems I am sure you understand that brings.

 

I am in a house in Miami with my wife ( 8yrs as a maitre d and shop manager onboard ) and our friend who is a Captain, who left the cruise industry last year after 15yrs as a Captain, he is now a port Captain in charge of 11 container Ships, it is less money but he can sleep at night.

 

They both agree that any conversation with crew members is better than the arrogant ignorance exhibited by so many passengers, ignorance is bliss.

 

regards ps with miami being in the top 5 poorest areas in the U S, and Tancredo stating it is third world, why are there no unemployed US citizens onboard cruise lines washing dishes?

[Happy ks]

Does anyone know how much a waiter earns in total per month? Assistant waiter? Cabin steward?

Does anyone know whether the tips automatically added go 100% to waiters, asst waiters, room stewards, and their immediated mgrs ( e.g. housecleaning mgr, head waiters and maitre 'd)?

 

The original post.

 

As I said above, there is a BIG difference between asking a specific person "Hey, how much do you make", which was not done by the OP, and simply wondering what is the salary range of a particular profession. I can't believe we are treating them the same on this thread, or saying that one has to be in the process of applying for a position in order to ask this on a general, non-personal basis.

 

:confused: :confused: :confused: The OP was pretty specific in their original question. They asked how much do they make.

 

I can understand inquiring about a particular salaray range if you are interested in going into a particular industry. Why the OP needs to know these answers is beyond me, other than curiosity about another persons income.

 

Discussing salary range is one thing, just being nosy about it is another. Since this is a question asked often on this board, yet no one ever asks how to get a job as a waiter, assistant waiter or cabin steward, I personally think it's only because people are nosy.

 

I think their income fluctuates week to week, month to month and I don't think there is any way to absolutely pinpoint it. If you had to average it (and I don't know why), I would estimate their income to be around $1800 per month. They work 6 month shifts, 2 months off and then sign new contracts. If they average 20 guests per week (10 cabins) or two tables with 6 - 10 seats each, assuming that everyone tips (they don't). I've done this simply, the formula I used isn't accurate or scientific. Given that they work 12 hour days, 7 days a week, with usually only half a shift off per week, that means a 78 hour week. If you take the 1800 and divide it by 312 (assuming it's a 4 week month) you get to a whopping $5.76 per hour. Every week can be different, every month can be different, their income can be much higher or lower.

 

So, let's just say their income varies between $50 up to $3000 per month.

 

Just think of the poor souls who work in the suite level. Fewer cabins to attend, less money as the recommended tip is only slightly adjusted a bit higher.

 

If I were to work on a cruise ship, forget the waiter or cabin attendant positions, or even an office position or officer. I'd want to be a bartender or beverage server, they are raking in the big bucks. An automatic 15% gratuity on every single beverage served is guaranteed and an awful lot of people think that an extra tip gets them better service. I've worked with bartenders in the past, if they are in a busy place they can make a whole lot more than people will ever realize. We had cocktail waitresses that gave up professional positions because they made double their salary waitressing.

[okbowler]

I am not sure that all tips including those made by bartenders and drink staff are not put in the same pool as those made by food staff. On some lines in the dining room wine and drinks are brought to you by the asst. waiter. I think the cruise lines use the tips to boost salary where ever they think its needed. We will never know how tips are disbursed to the crew as those fiqures are not made public. We all guess ,including those who are service staff on board ship. The cruise lines give out info as they see fit. It may or may not be accurate. imo :) Bill

[blindrid]

My husband and I talked to some Romanian waiters on the Caribbean Princess a couple of years ago and they said they would be happy if they made just $100 a day....that was their goal. We informed them that $100 a day was not good money and they should be trying for much more. We never out right asked them how much they made, but they informed us that they wanted a job that paid that much. They did say that the captain made a whole lot more that $100 a day (go figure).

 

I'm not sure why anyone would inform them that whatever they are working for is not good money. $100 a day with R&B, medical care and what not is not that bad of a deal. Who are we to suggest otherwise?

 

I do think they work extremely hard for their money but without knowing their particular circumstances, I would think being critical is extremely condescending.

[blindrid]

Also, from cruisejobfinder.com:

 

Q: How much can I earn working a cruise ship job?

 

A:Earnings and benefits vary according to your position, the company you work for, the ship's size and its clientele. Many people who work on cruise ships save most of the money they earn because they have so few expenses. Your room and board is usually provided for free. Most companies also offer a generous benefits package that often includes: medical and dental insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, 401K plan, profit sharing plans, travel benefits for you and your family and vacation time, etc.

Monthly wages range from $1,500 to $8,000 or more.

Again it is important to remember that you have the opportunity to save most of the money you earn, unless you spend too much time in the bars, the casinos or spend too much when you are in port. Another perk is that some of the cruise ships even have bar allowances for their staff, so this will limit your bar expense.

[hammybee]

Also, from cruisejobfinder.com:

 

Q: How much can I earn working a cruise ship job?

 

 

And for only $39.95 one can be a member of this organization and post your resume and recieve insider tips. It's one of hundreds of cruise line employment rip-offs on the internet.

[iheartbda]

I am not sure that all tips including those made by bartenders and drink staff are not put in the same pool as those made by food staff. On some lines in the dining room wine and drinks are brought to you by the asst. waiter. I think the cruise lines use the tips to boost salary where ever they think its needed. We will never know how tips are disbursed to the crew as those fiqures are not made public. We all guess ,including those who are service staff on board ship. The cruise lines give out info as they see fit. It may or may not be accurate. imo :) Bill

 

Asked a friend who's daughter was a bar server on HAL (while she looked for a career job) if her tips were put in a pool. She tipped out only the bartender. BTW, didn't asked how much her daughter made.:)