BonnieVA

While that may have been accurate a couple of years ago, after the MLC came into effect in Aug 2013, the minimum wages are as I've stated previously (though they have increased annually to the level I quoted). Now, also as I've said, in many cases the "daily service charge" (I refuse to call it "gratuities") makes up the vast majority of the salary, and in many cases brings the salary above the minimum. However, by law, whatever flag the ship flies, the crew member is entitled to the minimum salary, so if sufficient DSC is removed to lower their gross compensation below the minimum, the cruise line has to make up the balance.

 

Yes, that's true. I'm just referring to the "pay" that's given by the cruise line. I've seen recent pay stubs &, technically, salary is listed as $25/half month. In the end it varies monthly but they come out with a lot more than $50, thankfully! So the crew who told someone that they were paid $50 was not really lying ... but not telling the whole story either, lol!

I feel the crew itself perpetuates this rumor. I have had the maintenance crew tell me they are paid $50 a month! Knew that wasn't the case, but didn't argue. I think this rumor is passed along to garner a monetary gift or better tip.

 

I don't know about the maintenance staff but, actually, that figure is accurate. If the crew received no gratuities from guests they'd go home with $50 x the number of months worked.

I had to wonder if X did assign "names" to their butler staff. (sort of like stripper names at a strip club).

 

Lol! No, they don't name their butlers!

In fact, crew that are in a US port on a crew visa need to be escorted by bonded agents to the airplane, so they can't really just walk off the ship.

 

That's true - it depends on where they want to get off ship. I know 2 crew recently quit their jobs in a Med port. Maybe they embarked in the same country and so it wasn't too difficult with regard to visas. I don't know.

The crew can walk off the job if they really want. They just have to buy their own plane ticket home.

Good questions. And I agree ... how much are they really saving??? Grr.

 

My guess is that they move to other positions or everyone gets spread out due to new-builds.

They service about 12 each. I think they only service 1-2 royal suites (plus their other suites for a total of 10-12 suites) at a time; I don't think they service more than 2 royals at a time.

 

I stand corrected. My friend is servicing 4 Royal Suites plus 8 others, for a total of 12 cabins. Once he rotates to another section (no more RS) he'll be servicing 13 suites.

We have found butlers seeming very worried about bad reviews or complaints

 

The reviews are extremely important. Unless they receive the very top scores across the board from all guests, they are potentially subjected to a "talk" with their supervisor. They get lots of pressure from superiors.

They service about 12 each. If a butler is too sick to work the others cover those cabins so could have 14 cabins. Usually their cabins are on the same side of the ship on one deck but occasionally they wind up with the suites in the back of the ship & could work on 5 or so different decks (with the butlers' pantry on yet another deck!). I think they only service 1-2 royal suites (plus their other suites for a total of 10-12 suites) at a time; I don't think they service more than 2 royals at a time. Mid-day their breaks change from day to day - they could get a long stretch of time off or could be on call all afternoon responding to requests & calls from other butler's guests until the evening shift starts & they're all on duty again.

Strange, that has not been my experience. I just told our butler where I wanted whose clothes and went to a sail away party.

 

Technically, when providing this service a guest is supposed to be in the cabin with them. My guess is it's to avoid theft accusations.

The Reflection is sailing to Europe for the spring and Summer, with a fresh staff on April 9. It very well could be that some just are tired and don't care anymore. Not right but could be.

 

When you say "staff" do you mean officers or the crew (waiters, housekeepers, etc)? Just asking because the crew will only have it's regular small percentage of turnover, the same as between any other 2 sailings. But will the officers be changing on April 9?

I don't think they block off particular cabins. They reserve a certain number of cabins in whichever categories they want, but not specific cabins. At a certain point, yes, the cruise line releases the unreserved cabins to be booked by anyone.

 

That's how I understand it.

Maybe these guys were just extras and not really Butlers.

 

That's the only thing I thought of while watching these promos. How many south Asian "butlers" do you see in these ads?? Aren't most of the butlers south Asian?

Your evidence of this ??!!!

 

I'm very close friends with a crew member on X

They DO receive a miniscule flat monthly amount from X. I'd be hard-pressed to technically call it a "salary" because the word "salary" conjures up an impression of a decent amount of pay that a person can live off of. But X does pay them a monthly wage. It's such an extremely tiny amount, though, that I'm guessing they only pay it for legal purposes ... maybe so they can't be accused of not paying their employees??? I don't know.

 

So, yes, they DO rely on gratuities!!

With all these tipping questions I want to add that something that might be even more important to the crew is those response cards filled out at the end of your cruise. I'm not saying that you shouldn't tip extra ... or that you should tip extra. Do whatever feels right (& don't feel guilt about your choice). What causes the most stress for my friend working for X is waiting to get feedback regarding response cards. Unless they get all top scores they often get a talking-to from their supervisor. So checking everything as "satisfactory" means they'll quite possibly be called in to speak w their supervisor ... & it won't be to tell them they did a good job!!!

 

When he worked on a chartered cruise he received the standard gratuities & knew he wouldn't be getting many extra tips due to the nature of & guests on that charter. But he was the most relaxed I've ever seen him during a contract (& I've known him for years) because for some reason they weren't handing out response cards at the end of the charter. There was so much less anxiety.

 

Now I'm not telling you to not tip extra! They DO work VERY hard, 7 days a week for at least 6 months straight. And their "salary" is extremely insulting. Many ARE paying for housing back home & are sending money to their families. I'm not saying anything everyone doesn't already know. I just want to remind everyone how important those cards are to the crew, besides gratuities.

Thanks. I found that it's indeed an AmWay cruise ... actually 2 back to back cruises. And it seems they're celebrating Russia's 10-yr anniversary as part of AmWay (or something like that).

Thanks. A friend is currently working on the ship & said "2 charters". But we got cut off at that moment so I don't know if it's 2 coming up back to back (maybe 5 days each?) or if the second one is further down the road. Man, I can't imagine the cost for a company (such as Amway) to charter an entire ship!

Does anyone know who's chartering the Reflection this month?

I wonder if the butlers sometimes feel they're in a catch-22. If they tell a guest that something can't be done, I think there are some guests who would then make a complaint. Actually, I KNOW that that has happened.

I've taken my kids on 3 cruises.

In the cabin:
- More beds to make including BUNK BEDS (ugh)
- More towels, washcloths, etc
- More trash to dispose of
- Frequent crumbs on the table that wouldn't have been there if no kids
- My little guy's diaper leaked one night so they needed to do an extra change of linens on that bed
- Huge cookies were left for each of them in the cabin
- More towel animals to make (another cruise line)

In the dining room:
- More going to/from our table because kids took longer to decide what to eat
- More dishes to bring to us
- More plates to take away
- More going to/from our table because kids didn't like some meals & wait staff graciously offered/insisted on bringing something else
(and, besides, when eating out in the US you pay tips based on total cost of bill ... so you pay tips for your kids at home too)

So, in my opinion, the gratuities we paid for our kids were well deserved.

Personally, I wouldn't be posting updates either. I never have and never will while cruising. But it seems there's frequently SOMEONE who wants to be the first to post. I think that's the gist of the OPs post. Not to mention the simple enthusiasm for wanting info on the results of drydock.

I was thinking the same thing ... that I'm surprised no one has jumped at the chance to be THE first to report on things.

Apparently, butlers are assigned to the same ship for 2-3 years.

Anyone else have experience with this?

 

Not necessarily. Sometimes they're given their assignments & then X switches things up on them out of the blue. One butler was told last year he was assigned to Century until it leaves the fleet & then a week later told he was reassigned to another ship. They try to keep them on the same ship but their assignments are mostly based on where they're needed when it's time to return to work. And they also sometimes move around within the ship, even within their contract. So a butler might be working deck 12 & then a few weeks later move to deck 10 (or whatever).

Very true, however, someone will help them if needed...the suite next to us had a dinner party on the last night at 11 PM and guess who served them...you go it, their butler...we would never do anything like this but each case is different, as is each person's experience and because you would not do it does not make it wrong or make the travelers rude or inconsiderate! We are experienced travelers and respect all we come in contact with, our expectations are not unreasonable but we do take full advantage of what we pay for and maximize our travels.

 

 

The point I made was that people should not EXPECT their butlers to be assisting them past 9PM since they are technically off duty at that time. Yes, some butlers would help after that but I wouldn't want people to have that expectation and then complain if their butler didn't respond to late calls or requests. That's not fair to the butlers. Guest complaints cause LOTS of stress to the crew & a complaint about non-service past 9PM would be unfair to him/her.