chengkp75

The Bahamas allows ship Captains to perform marriages, but each individual Captain must apply to the government for a license to do so.

So, we've got one RCI crew member who says there is no Whatsapp, and no free internet, and then up thread we have another RCI crew member quoted as saying they have unlimited Whatsapp and an hour a day free internet. So, who ya gonna believe?

You keep making a point of this $50-100/month salary. How often do you think that is what the crew member actually makes? That would require everyone to remove all their DSC. The ship's management starts to get worried when 5-10% of DSC is removed, and look for ways to correct it.

No, you said it wasn't polite for an employer to discuss wages with an outsider. I don't think that falls under "polite", but under "none of your business" unless you are looking for a job with that employer. And, I have been a union member, working on ships, for over 30 years, in the US.

Do you truly believe that if the cruise lines did away with the DSC, that the fares would not increase to cover it? There are two reasons the cruise lines use the DSC model, and the first is that they can advertise the lowest possible base fare. The second is to create a "carrot and stick" management style, where the crew must use peer pressure to have everyone on the team perform to their best in order to keep the DSC at the maximum, or all their wages will suffer. By making it a DSC, they place the blame for losses in crew income on the passengers, and not themselves. The total compensation, base wage and DSC is what keeps the crew coming back, and if the DSC just went away, you wouldn't have any crew returning. And, let's see: 2020: RCI net income $-5.797 billion 2021: RCI net income $-5.26 billion 2022: RCI net income $-2.516 billion So, even if RCI continues to make money at this year's rate, they will need 13 years to make up for those three years of loss. And, if they don't make up those losses, they won't be in business, or able to provide the crew with a job, let alone internet access.

And their own toiletries and snacks.

No, the biggest backash is you calling the lack of free (and I assume you want unlimited as well) internet as a "dire" condition for the crew. How about we leave the melodrama at home.

And, yet, you have made more than one comment about the "below minimum wage" and minimal base wage "without tips". Sounds to me that you are commenting on the crew's wages. So, free internet access is a basic human right and necessity? Last I checked, I have to pay for my internet access, whether it is on my laptop or phone. Don't you? Have you spent any time in crew spaces, interacting with crew, other than the packaged "behind the scene" tours? I have, all my working life, 46 years. I know their conditions, and they are not onerous. Not up to US living standards, perhaps, like having to share a cabin with a total stranger for months at a time, but again that is part of going to sea. But, you'd rather believe a sob story from someone who is looking to get a tip from you? Bingo. The sacrifices I made over my long career at sea was never for the shipping company nor the customer, but for my family. Will you at least acknowledge that you were incorrect about the lack of international regulations, and the "sub-minimum" wage that the crew are paid? If you want the cruise line to provide free internet for the crew, then don't complain when the fare goes up. Why have DSC's gone up over the last few years? Because the MLC has taken effect, and it mandates an increase in the minimum wage every year, which becomes an added cost to the cruise line, which they then pass on to the customer (and it really makes no difference whether it is through DSC or higher fares).

Yep, compared to the other 90% of seafarers (cruise ship crew total about 200,000 worldwide, while there are 1.9 million total seafarers today), crew on cruise ships have it pretty good. In fact, many maritime officers (deck and engine) will take a lower salary than they could get on a cargo ship, to have the life of a cruise ship officer.

And, this information comes from where? There are international conventions, created by the IMO (International Maritime Organization, a branch of the UN) that ensure basic rights and protections for all seafarers. Currently, there are 164 signatory nations to the STCW (Standards of Training, Competency and Watchkeeping Convention, that regulates work/rest hour requirements) that represent the flags of 99.2% of all shipping (including Panama, Malta, and Bahamas, the top three cruise ship flags). There are also 104 nations signatory to the MLC (Maritime Labor Convention of 2006, which regulates working conditions, pay, and basic rights of seafarers), representing 92% of world shipping, also including the cruise ship "big three" I mentioned. So, there is international regulation (but not law, there is no "international law", really) concerning the wages and welfare of all seafarers, RCI crew included. Now, how do these international regulations get enforced, if they are not law? Each nation that is signatory to an international convention like the two mentioned above, must enact "enabling legislation" that duplicates the conditions of the conventions. In other words, the Bahamas (RCI's preferred flag nation) has laws that mirror the STCW and MLC regulations, making them law on all ships that fly their flag. Signatory nations further have the right to enforce these regulations on ships that do not fly their flag, if that flag state is signatory. In other words, if a RCI crew member on a Bahamian flag RCI ship has a complaint that their pay or working conditions are not meeting the STCW or MLC standards, they can file a complaint with the USCG, which is mandated to investigate these complaints. And, if your "favorite crew member" told you there is no international regulations, he/she is flat out lying to you. It is a requirement of the STCW and MLC conventions that the basic rights and protections afforded to seafarers, and the means to remedy complaints, has to be explained to every crew member within 24 hours of joining the ship. Until you get direct information from someone who is not dependent on you for a goodly portion of their income, telling you the conditions of their income, don't get too sympathetic. As a ship's officer for 46 years, I know the law, and I know cruise ship pay and working conditions. I truly do care about the welfare of the crew, on all ships everywhere in the world. However, if you leave the DSC in place, at the level set by the cruise line, that is more than enough to thank the crew for their hard work. If you really want to feel bad about some cruise ship crew, think of the deck and engineering ratings, who unlike the hotel staff who mainly work split shifts, and can have the opportunity to go ashore in port, work exclusively "day work" (0600-2000), and so are never "off duty" when the ship is in port.

And, those same people will complain loudly when their "rights as US citizens" are abridged in some fashion, without understanding that they left the US as they walked up the gangway onto the ship. CBP has made it abundantly clear whether or not (not) foreign crew are "working in the US", when they determined that foreign crew working on foreign ships that do a "cruise to nowhere" would be working in the US, and would require US work visas, which is why the cruise lines no longer offer these cruises.

When a crew member whose position puts them in the "DSC pool" signs on the ship, they sign a contract that clearly states that their compensation will be $xxxx/month, but this is based on performance, as some of it is made up by base salary and some by "DSC contributions". So, they know, in advance (and this is told to them when hired, before getting to the ship), that their compensation is variable, depending on the performance of the whole "DSC team". Their compensation is "fixed" only if the ship is sailing at 100% capacity, and all DSC is paid in full. Now, if the ship is over 100% capacity, and all DSC is paid, they can make more than their contracted compensation. Now, a cabin steward makes a total compensation of about $1200-1500/month. The base wage would be about $200-300/month (up from pre Maritime Labor Convention days of about $60/month), and the balance made up of "DSC contributions" (distribution of the DSC pool among all the team members)(which in the pre MLC days was the voluntary cash tips paid directly by the passenger) Now, there is a statutory minimum wage for all seafarers of $765/month. Depending on how much DSC is removed by the passengers, the cabin steward's pay could vary from $1200-1500/month, all the way down (theoretically if all DSC is removed) to $200-300/month. The only time the cruise line has to make up this difference is when the overall compensation (base wage and DSC) drops below the $765/month figure, and only up to that figure. So, the crew know that their compensation is dependent on the passengers paying the DSC, or their compensation can vary from $1200-1500/month down to $765/month. . These are the two contradicting situations that get trotted out a lot when discussing crew wages. Yes, the crew member gets free room and board, but unless they are living in their parents' basement, they are likely paying rent on an apartment that is sitting empty while on the ship (unless they throw out all their belongings each time the go to work, or pack it all up and pay for storage), and if they have a family, that family continues to have expenses while the crew member is working. And, the crew get next to nothing in pay for time between contracts.

And, based on my recollections, I decided to look up the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006) that covers seafarers' rights (cruise ship crew are seafarers, too). Up until last year seafarers were not guaranteed internet access at all, so cruise ships offering it for decades, even if it is charged for, was better than 90% of merchant mariners had until Covid.

And you know how much the line profits from internet? How much do they pay per month/per ship? If you don't know that, you don't know whether they are reaping "many millions" from it, do you?

This sounds about right, maybe just a tad low. This is way high, from my experience. They are more in the first wage category above.

This is an industry standard, and based on the statutory requirements for work/rest hours. They get 10 hours of rest per 24 hours, minimum, of which one period cannot be less than 6 hours. So, getting 7 hours off is above the requirements, and pretty typical for all lines. This has actually gotten better than "the old days" since the STCW convention went into force in 1984, setting these work/rest hour requirements. Even the bridge and engine watchkeepers only get one 8 hour time off, and one 4 hour time off, and these are frequently interrupted by drills (which are exceptions to the time off requirements). And, the crew know these work/rest hour situations when they agree to take the job in their home country, even before traveling to the ship. I worked with many NCL crew that had the same work hours as your "favorite employee", and did it for a 10 month contract, and many would do two or more back to back contracts. It's part of going to sea.

And, again, the ticket contract states ". In the event of any conflict between such other brochure or website materials and this Ticket Contract, the terms of this Ticket Contract shall prevail." So, regardless of what advertising is made regarding a butler, they can change or eliminate them at any time. The ticket contract allows them to change any "services or activities" on the ship.

Considering that the ticket contract makes no mention of the butler services, the contract was presented when you booked the cruise, there was no change to the ticket contract. Hopefully, you filed in the "US District Court for the Southern District of Florida", since according to the contract that did not change after your booking, this is the only jurisdiction that will handle non-injury claims. Hopefully, your lawyer is versed in maritime law (probably extremely rare in Vegas), because that is what is involved here, or he/she is taking you for a ride.

The OP was asking virtually the same question on another thread about the POA, which does not allow this.

Based on your other thread, you can walk out with the bottle, if it is opened and partially consumed. As I noted in that thread, the ship is not licensed to sell unopened liquor.

For the same reason that suites on POA do not get bar set ups, you can't buy unopened bottles of wine onboard. The simple answer is that the ship does not have a "package" liquor license, only a "bar" liquor license. And, yes, there is only the Hawaiian Beverage Package.

And, as an engineer, who has worked on ships, and built ships, I would disagree. The cabin "frames" are welded to the ship's structure. Most of that creaking is caused by the non-structural panels (particularly the ceiling panels) moving against each other due to loose fastenings. The ceiling panels overlap each other, with screws from one panel only binding the joint, and the other panel only held by pressure from the screwed panel. Even the slightest looseness in these fasteners will allow the panels to work against each other. To fix this, you need to start at one end of the cabin, and remove all the panels in turn, until you get to the squeaky one, and then reinstall everything. This requires the cabin be taken out of service for a cruise. The popping noise in the video, is most likely from the frame of the large "infinite" window, which is a large area (the window) to not be supported intermediately. It can also be the piping above the cabin ceiling that is moving in it's supports. This also requires taking down the cabin ceiling. Loud banging, that shows up predominately in rough weather is caused by "storm valves", which are check valves that allow drainage from balcony or open deck areas to the sea, but prevents sea water coming back into the ship. These valves have free swinging closing discs, and if the ship is rocking enough, they will clap closed with a metallic clanging. Even though these valves are down below the waterline on the ship, the noise will carry quite a distance up to higher decks. Also, I have experienced vibrations in areas of sister ships that vary widely between ships that are supposed to be "identical". This is because shipbuilding is still more "art" than "science", and the harmonics of the hull structure (hence the amount of flexing and creaking) can vary from ship to ship merely because the hull plates or sections were welded together in different seasons resulting in different stresses in the steel.

Not entirely correct. While things like drug enforcement is the jurisdiction of the "port state", for the most part, "port state" laws do not apply on the ship, even when docked, the "flag state" laws apply. Typically, the only time that "port state" laws apply is when the "safety or good order" of the port state is endangered, or the situation is part of an "external" action on the ship (like taxes on commerce, pollution, etc).

When was the cruise? Because the ticket contract states that you cannot bring any claim against the line unless you provide them a written, full, description of the claim within 15 days of the end of the cruise.

Yes, basically anything that would protrude beyond the beam of the ship at the waterline, up to a height that is less than the height of the lock wall when entering it at the "lowered" level (in other words, anything that could rub against the lock wall while filling/emptying the lock) precludes the ship from using the locks. I haven't studied the ships of RCI's classes that closely to know what would be allowed and what wouldn't. Definitely, outboard lifeboats is one disqualifier. I haven't gone through the new locks, so not sure if they use inflatable rubber fenders or not (or might use, if available and needed), but those may allow the "bump" decks to go through if they don't protrude too far. But, I'm not saying those ships could "never" go through the canal, just not with passengers onboard.