cruisecrew1974

We are just back from Azura and we never saw anyone asked to hand in any alcohol on boarding at any port and although we saw a table just behind the scanners we never saw anything on it.

I cannot decide whether P&O are not really monitoring what passengers are bringing on or whether all passengers were well behaved rule followers like we are. :D:D

Exactly what i said

Sorry Selbourne how do you know that? Just because someone has crew in there name does not mean they are actually crew. He or she seems to have forgot that there are security staff on all the time. The waiters and stewards are there to help. It’s the security staff in charge. Do you know what they have been instructed to do??

 

 

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If you dont believe just ask the crew manning those desks. Anyway Josy1953 has already mentioned what I have already stated.

That’s exactly the same scenario that we witnessed on Aurora recently. Can’t help but wonder whether the security staff are concentrating on more important things such as managing flow, ensuring passengers scan their keycards when getting on or off, assisting disabled passengers up / down ramps, scanning bags and passengers for metal objects. We saw the tables ready to store bottles but never once saw a bottle on them and I find it hard to believe that with the many thousands of passenger movements throughout the cruise that not a single passenger violated the new policy.

As I have mentioned earlier the security staff are there to check prohibited items like knives drugs etc not alcohol bottles. One gangway is manned by restaurant staff and other by bar staff. As per training given by P&O they have told not to force anyone to declare. So it's upto you whether you want to declare or not. Remember it's extra work for the crew to carry all the bottles back to Bar Manager office. The restaurant & Bar staff are not Custom Officers.

As I said earlier declaring is all optional. Crew are told not to force anyone to declare. Off late UK Border Force has started to raid P&O Ships for drugs and alcohol and there was a heavy fine on Oceans. Even crew are legally allowed to keep only one bottle but can buy as many as they want

My dislike is not tipping staff who are paid a fair wage (like every other member of crew other than stewards and waiters), but the Victorian system you support of paying staff a token amount with the stewards and waiters crossing their fingers that customers will make up their pay to a living wage.

 

If you are happy that staff are employed on such exploitative contracts then great, but personally I don't think they should exist in modern society.

 

 

 

And you saying something isn't true doesn't make it so, no matter how desperately you want to believe it.

I can't believe some of the posters here without taking names because it makes me feel like they are in full time employment with P&O ....Just a feeling so don't take any offence.

What would be considered a good wage for someone working 300 hrs on an UK ship?

People who Auto Tip are living in a fantasy world not knowing whether the crew receives the money or not. They just want to claim the moral high ground. There is ample evidence that P&O is witholding tips but some are just bothered about the moral high ground.

P.S. paying Auto gratuities is good when intended recipient gets the tip but not knowing where the money goes is stupidity

There is a fund and it is where all the money collected from the service charge goes.

 

People assume the money they pay goes to their steward and their waiters. It doesn't.

 

It goes into a pool out of which the bonus is paid. So if someone doesn't pay the optional charge the stewards and waiters still receive a bonus.

 

The amount of the bonus is calculated by P&O based on their expectations of how many people are going to pay, so whether an individual person does or does not has no effect on the bonus.

Possibly true. In that way P&O can still say that all money still goes to the crew but after 10 years.

Do what you personally want to do whether pay auto, pay in cash or not pay at all nothing to do with anyone else. But and its a big BUT when I asked P&O directly if a person does not receive high enough marks on the questionnaire we are asked to fill in at end of cruise or member of staff is under disciplinary so therefore do not get their share or a reduced rate from gratuities paid where does that money go P&Os silence was deafening so if they had nothing to hide why didnt they give a honest answer.

This is it. P&O lies

"I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company. However, if a staff member is on a disciplinary, then they don't get their gratuity. Out of curiosity I asked where that money goes, but was told he was not permitted to say, but repeated that it does not go to the company. I'm still curious as to where it goes."

 

they will never say it but it adds up to P& O profits. The Pay structure is a big scam. It was supposed to benefit the crew but it benefited P&O the most.

 

Would Cruisecrew1974 therefore be able to answer the following:

 

1) Provide a brief explanation of what is meant by CSQ bonus and whether all or part is held back if scores are not achieved?

 

2) P&O say that individual employees do not lose out if guests remove gratuities. It therefore seems to be logical that P&O would need to build up a fund for this event. Therefore do P&O hold back a proportion of gratuity contributions for this event? This may account for the steep rise in suggested contributions. Yes this is conjecture but I would welcome clarity.

 

3) Would crew actually prefer to receive tips directly from guests? This would seemingly mean crew would also continue to get their full payment and 'bonus' as well?

 

 

Thank you

CSQ bonus is the bonus when the crew as a team (Restaurant staff) or individual ( Cabin Stewards) achieve the Customer Service Questionaire Targets. There have been times when the crew get 0 CSQ bonus for not achieving targets. CSQ bonus @100% is about 25% of max net pay a crew can achieve.This depends on what rank we are talking about but will be around that number.

Basic pay is about 60% of net pay

Good employee bonus is about 16% of net pay

P&O pays UK Tonnage Tax. So profits doesn't have any relation to tax they pay

The point which is being made (which you are either ignoring or can't understand) is if the optional service charge has trippled in the last few years either -

 

- Staff remuneration has increased massively, so P&O have not benefited from the increase in the service charge; or

- Staff remuneration has remained the same by reducing base pay in proportion, and P&O has profited from having a reduced wage bill.

 

As you have all the facts from your inside knowledge as P&O's chief cheerleader, which is it?

Staff remuneration has remained same or decreased. Not increased.

You should ask P&O to prove that they are giving the money to staff. Because at present and in past P&O has not.

But the current opt out % has reached as high as 70%.

It's a big scam

These are facts not assumptions and I challenge P&O to deny this

Just got some info from my friends in celebrity Cruises that they have a basic pay including gratuities of $1050.

So if they get the total prepaid tips above the basic salary they don't get the basic salary.

So if you are on celebrity cruises a clear reason to opt out and give cash tips to deserving staff.

If everyone opt out the staff get the basic salary.

Can't believe this loot happening in this modern world.

What proof cruisecrew1974? You just posted some statistics that may or may not be correct and nothing to add as to who gets what.

What proof do you want.

These 5 ranks get a different Pay structure

Cabin Steward & Butler's

Headwaiter

Waiter

Assistant Waiter

Junior Waiter

The pay structure is such that the above ranks have a

Guaranteed basic pay

Good Employee Bonus ( lost when crew get disciplinary warning)

CSQ Bonus ( lost when CSQ targets not achieved)

The crew get to keep cash tips which is equally shared between waiter & assistant Waiter. In Buffet the crew keep the tips to themselves

Only question is if crew loses the CSQ Bonus where does the money go.

Why from 2012 the above crew got a pay rise of around 5% but gratuities were increased by 126% and pay is variable so depending whether you achieve targets you could actually get less money

I'll give you detailed analysis later

I have proof to show 100% doesn't go to the intended crew. If someone does believe otherwise I accuse you to be P&O sponsored posters

A cabin steward on P&O has 19 cabins on average

A waiter and assistant waiter together looks after 20-24 guests at a time on average depending whether it's club or freedom.

I can see this as something of a compliance thing. On one Gangway you see Bar Staff on the order you can see the Restaurant staff. Haven't seen anyone forcing people to declare anything.

On a drill day, on some ships, the staff don't arrive until the drill is finished. So where do you declare.

People need to be smart.

Yes it's available. But due to Budget issues only given on request.

Fact is the crew don't receive all the money you pay. It goes somewhere. People will be amazed when they see the salary structure.

Did anyone ask P&O how they intend to distribute the money to the crew who are paid in $$$ now. Don't you think P&O is making money on exchange rate.

Sooner than later the beans will be spilled. Staff morale is at an all time low. Thanks to Paul Ludlow

P.s. Don't think guests should pay tips to supplement crew salary. It should be voluntary. P&O should pay a decent wage to all crew.

Wonder how many in UK works 300- 390 hours a month without a day off for 9 months

Things can only be shared anonymously

My answer to that is if you dont like the working conditions and the pay for that dont work on a cruise ship !!

 

You ain't no nothing about cruise life. Some people don't have another option. This is why cruise lines exploit people from Asian Countries.

 

Why don't you see British waiters on british cruise lines? Because they would have to pay minimum wage to them around £2350 per month. That would raise the cruise price for people like you.

 

You can cruise only because you get to pay a cheap cruise price because cruise lines pay the crew low wages.

When the automatic gratuities started it was £3.1 per day per guest now it is £7 an increase of 126%

But the crew wages have remained same for those particular ranks P&O is talking about

So 126% gone where.

To the shareholders????

The only reason crew don't protest is because they are gagged.

 

I live in the Philippines and talk to crew member,s ex crew members from several cruise lines. Some of my wife's extended family work for cruise lines.

 

They all say the same things. They are not allowed to talk about pay levels to a guest or explain anything but the official PR the company gives them. Two things gets a crew member thrown off the ship next port, personal contact with guest: Sexual, in guest cabins (not work related), any personal private time with guest, or talking about behind the scenes company policy or operations.

 

What happens when a crew loses bonus because of a disciplinary warning...where does the money go. Certainly not to the intended crew

 

They do not tell the crew but with creative accounting it could go to things like paying transportation to send terminated crew home. Now this may sound OK except part of the contract is to pay the crews way to and from the ship.

 

When the crew don't achieve the CSQ Targets....the crew don't get CSQ Bonus. So where does the money go

 

Again a good accounting team could move these funds into holding accounts, charge fees for holding and accounting, and then put the left over money to other places. Like new hire signing bonus... no one knows because they will not be honest and tell guest.

 

Why has P&O decreased salary of Filipino & Indian crew from April.

 

This I can answer directly from a crew Filipino crew member, (again not while working but here at home) The new pay plan shows much more projected from the service fee pool, so the line says a lower base pay is better. The problem is most Filipinos are hard working and simple people they cannot understand the concept of take less base to maybe make more..... So they have left the line.

 

How P&O intends to pay crew when guests pay in pounds and crew paid in US dollars.. What exchange rate is applied

 

Another great way to stick the screws to the crew, first over charge on the credit card processing fee, included foreign currency conversion fees even if the lines does pay them. Process through a holding company that is paid a fee,. The company can take several points off the top and no crew member could question it. And then more games with the conversion rates. In the end even if everyone paid they could "lose" 50% or more of the money collected as they wash it from department and account to account.

 

Why suddenly a lot of old crew are leaving en masse after working for P&O for long time

 

Again the Filipinos I have talked to have been able to based upon work history get land based jobs outside of the country that pay well.

 

Crew will not tell u straight forward. They will only tell u anonymously

 

 

Yes you are right they will not tell most guest because they are afraid of the company. Again warm nice simple hard working people that do not even have passports in hand the cruise line holds them. The company works them and uses them. But it is not the responsibility of the guest to correct these wrongs with money.

 

 

Believe the information or don't believe it, I will not prove any of this as I will not put others in trouble. Pay the services fees or don't I never will and will use my funds to reward staff as I feel is correct.

Spot On....most of it.

By including tips in the fare it will only legalize the looting.

I am surprised people blindly pay tips not knowing whether a crew is really receiving them

Ask P&O for evidence, they will never give it.

So on one side P&O increases service charge by £1 and decreases crew wages

fake reviews....P&O doesn't recruit waiters from UK. Cruise lines is hard work .... people only work for the money. Who wants to work 300-390 hours a months for 9 months.

P.s. What is the average worker in UK work in a month. Crew on cruise lines work on an average 10 hrs for every day of the month for 6-10 months. No days off

The only reason crew don't protest is because they are gagged.

Can P&O please answer few questions.

What happens when a crew loses bonus because of a disciplinary warning...where does the money go. Certainly not to the intended crew

When the crew don't achieve the CSQ Targets....the crew don't get CSQ Bonus. So where does the money go

Why has P&O decreased salary of Filipino & Indian crew from April

How P&O intends to pay crew when guests pay in pounds and crew paid in US dollars..

What exchange rate is applied

Why suddenly a lot of old crew are leaving en masse after working for P&O for long time

There is more to it than u can imagine

Crew will not tell u straight forward. They will only tell u anonymously

Do you people really believe that P&O Cruises is giving the money to the crew.