Are stateroom attendants salaried?

[podemos]

Sorry if this is a stupid and random question. Are RCI stateroom attendants salaried or are all they get tips? What about waiters and assistant waiters?

[uppitycats]

Sorry if this is a stupid and random question. Are RCI stateroom attendants salaried or are all they get tips? What about waiters and assistant waiters?

 

They are salaried -- but their salaries are very low, because their salaries are supplemented by tips. Just like waiters in land-based restaurants: around here, their salary is $2.85/hour...and whatever tips they earn. I think the salary portion may vary in other parts of the country (and I don't know what the base salary is for the crew members you name), but it is indeed quite low.

[joeyancho]

They recieve a small amount from the cruise line. About 30 dollars per month. Only enough to purchase personal items. They rely on tips for their income. Certain lines that have a no tipping policy do pay their attendants.

[airboss]

Cruise Ship Job - Cabin Steward

 

 

 

Passengers on cruises expect their rooms to be prepared several times a day, with beds waiting for them in the evening. They even expect towel animals! How much does the cabin steward / stewardess make?

 

The amount of course varies from line to line, and based on the tips given. The salary is typically about $1,800/month. Remember - that's not for 40 hours of service. That is usually for 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day, of reasonably hard work. That's about $5/hr. You usually work during the day - so you can't enjoy the ports you're visiting - and you're not allowed to be on deck with the passengers in your off hours. Instead, you have a crew room below decks, and eat from the crew kitchen.

 

Your room is a small one in the lower end of the ship, and you'll be sharing it with three strangers. You have to clean your own room of course :)

 

But that being said, you are getting free room and board. You can in essence save every penny of what you make and send it back home to your family, or store it away in a saving's account. For many people coming from third world nations, this is an incredibly lucrative deal. They make far more on the cruise ship than they could possibly make in their home village.

 

That being said, remember that ships are not registered in places like the US or UK with fair labor laws. They are registered in countries explicitly set up with ship-friendly (but not employee-friendly) regulations. The ship expects you to pay your own fare to and from the ship. So often if the ship lends you the money for both air fares (which must be purchased up front as a requirement of employment), you now can owe the ship 2 months salary or more before you even begin. Also, you can be forced to sign a 2-3 year contract in order to join up with the cruise line, meaning even if you hate your job, you are trapped there.

 

Some people love cruise jobs - but usually those are the bartenders and entertainers, who can work up in the sun and enjoy the "real food" and luxury of the boat. Be sure to go into any cruise line job with open eyes!

 

http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/cruise/jobs/steward.html

[ehfl]

Stateroom attendants and food servers get a very low salary....think something like $5.00 per day for a 15 hour day. So virtually their entire earnings comes from tips. Remember that they are working hard so that you can have a pleasant experience. Remember this when it comes time to tip....realistically, tips are their only source of income.

[rummenroman]

On the Serenade the CD said the employees sign 8 month service agreements. When they sign the agreement they also state they will work at least 10 hours a day 7 days a week. I also remember him saying they are allowed 3 floating days off a month, but i'm not positive on that.

[cb at sea]

Bartenders and entertainers do NOT enjoy the same "food" as the passengers. All employees have their own dining room, private spaces and "recreation" facilities. They are in the bowels of the ship. No employee, except, perhaps, the officer crew members are allowed to "mingle" with the paying passengers.

While the pay for ship employees is low, they have virtually no bills---they send the vast majority of their pay home to their families. Tips are important to the "tipped" employees....cash is the best way to tip! That way, they don't have to wait for their gratuities to appear on their paycheck...they get cash tips immediately, and they appreciate it!

[amybeth4]

I'm all for tipping the stewards and wait staff. But I gotta tell ya I'm SO SICK of hearing how horrible their lives are (over and over on these boards). They may make a rumored $50/month but they make QUITE good money in tips. Even if they only make a few hundred a week, they're NOT paying room and board. Most Americans make a few hundred a week and still have to pay their mortgages or rent.

 

They may send a large amount of it home but $300 US dollars goes EXTREMELY far in third world countries...even NON-third world countries. I spent five months in China. $500/month would pay your rent and all your grocieries...easily...in a major city like Shanghai.

 

So while I appreciate all they do, I'm SOOOOO sick of the tip police on these boards telling us how HORRIBLE the ship workers have it, and how they work 37 hours a day for $.58 cents an hour and they send all that money home, so PLEASE make sure you throw dollar bills at them. They do QUITE well in tips. Otherwise there wouldn't be tons and tons and tons of people applying for these jobs...whose salaries WE have to pay!!!!!

[windsor26]

They do have some bills they have tpo pay When chatting to our table waiter on a recent cruise we were complimenting him on his hair cut as we were looking for a barber at the next stop. He said that one of the laundry boys buts hair during the evening and charges them $7 per person to earn extra money; he also said there were several 'barbers' below stairs and some cheaper but he used one he knew he would get a good cut from. There were other things they had to pay for in respect of their uniforms but I cant remember what.

[markf]

Sorry for the tone-but i think your statement is full of misinformation--I am quite confident that cruise staff gets airline expenses paid for and their salary is not 1800 per month. I have taken 20 cruises and have done research on this --

[Jeka]

Most Americans make a few hundred a week and still have to pay their mortgages or rent.

 

Sorry, but your above statement is beyond absurd. "Most Americans" make a few hundred a week and pay rent and mortgages? Let's see, at $200/wk the annual salary would be $10,400 or at $300/wk the salary would be $15,600.

 

amybeth4, I think you know that "most Americans" are making much more money than your post implies. As to your comments about tipping staff on cruise ships, I'm left speechless.

[Mrsg324]

According to our cabin attendant on a RCI cruise in june 2007, they have to pay to get to the ship but if they fullfill their contract, the cruise ship will reimburse them the expense to get to the ship & they will pay to send them back home. If they leave before their contract is up or get fired, they are out airfare both ways.

[markf]

That was mu understanding if they fulfill their part of the contract they get air fare from the cruise line-which is understandable...

[mechcc]

Sorry, but your above statement is beyond absurd. "Most Americans" make a few hundred a week and pay rent and mortgages? Let's see, at $200/wk the annual salary would be $10,400 or at $300/wk the salary would be $15,600.

 

amybeth4, I think you know that "most Americans" are making much more money than your post implies. As to your comments about tipping staff on cruise ships, I'm left speechless.

 

Sorry, but there are many, many Americans that only make $10.00 per hour (or less) which adds up to $400 per week or $20,800 per year. Even more people make $15.00 per hour or $600 per week or $31,200. Those people are struggling here in the U.S. to make ends meet and are not cruising. As one who has been on that side of the economy, I really am grateful for what I now have and don't mind tipping well for good service. But those towel animals really creap me out!

[Mrsg324]

One of the couples that we cruised with still keeps in touch with him.

Sure the salary may be a very good salary for a 3rd world country but how would you like to be away from your family for 3 months at a time to only go home for a couple weeks and this you have to do so your family can survive?

 

he told us there are many jobs he would rather do at home but none which would allow him to put his child in private school which is a must because the public schools were so bad where he was from. His wife delivered a baby weeks before he had to be back on the ship. Not seeing your child grow up, family illnesses, etc, there are so many things these people miss out on that we take fro granted.

 

A lot of things I learned when we met him for lunch one afternoon when he was docked for a few hours. The life they live is not a joyous one.

[Jeka]

Sorry, but there are many, many Americans that only make $10.00 per hour (or less) which adds up to $400 per week or $20,800 per year. Even more people make $15.00 per hour or $600 per week or $31,200. Those people are struggling here in the U.S. to make ends meet and are not cruising. As one who has been on that side of the economy, I really am grateful for what I now have and don't mind tipping well for good service. But those towel animals really creap me out!

 

I don't disagree with you, there are many who do make what you stated and they are struggling big time. My guess is few have mortgages and are not living the American dream. amybear4 said many were make a few hundred and $400 or $600 hundred a week is more than a few.

 

Having said all that, I too am grateful for what I have and I am compassionate towards ship employees who leave their families behind to make a better life for them. Some leave their families for years on end with a short visit home once a yr. For some one to rant about being sick of the "tipping police" and how good these employees have it literally turned my stomach.

 

As to the towel animals, well some can be cute, but that hanging monkey.:(:confused:;).

 

Obviuosly, like you tip well.

[amybeth4]

Sorry, but your above statement is beyond absurd. "Most Americans" make a few hundred a week and pay rent and mortgages? Let's see, at $200/wk the annual salary would be $10,400 or at $300/wk the salary would be $15,600.

 

amybeth4, I think you know that "most Americans" are making much more money than your post implies. As to your comments about tipping staff on cruise ships, I'm left speechless.

 

What, are you kidding me? Someone who makes $30,000/year is making about $600/week. When I said "a few hundred a week" I did NOT say $200/week, as you decided "a few hundred" meant.

 

The people making $600/week are paying $800/month rent. Now let's look at a waiter, making a few hundred a week in tips (and don't tell me they don't...but notice I did NOT put a specific number on it because I don't KNOW it). $800 of that is NOT going towards rent.

 

And I low-balled it with the $800. I know more than enough people making $30,000 and trying to live in New York. $800/month won't even get me a studio apartment in Queens or Long Island. And I because I was out of the workforce for five years, I had to start ALL OVER again. Know what I was making in NY when I restarted working? $650/week. So don't tell me "Yeah but NYers make so much more money." And don't tell me people in middle America, earning their $25,000/year aren't making a few hundred a week.

[Jeka]

One of the couples that we cruised with still keeps in touch with him.

Sure the salary may be a very good salary for a 3rd world country but how would you like to be away from your family for 3 months at a time to only go home for a couple weeks and this you have to do so your family can survive?

 

he told us there are many jobs he would rather do at home but none which would allow him to put his child in private school which is a must because the public schools were so bad where he was from. His wife delivered a baby weeks before he had to be back on the ship. Not seeing your child grow up, family illnesses, etc, there are so many things these people miss out on that we take fro granted.

 

A lot of things I learned when we met him for lunch one afternoon when he was docked for a few hours. The life they live is not a joyous one.

 

Angela, thank you!!! Very well put.

[Jeka]

OP, the salaries that room attendents and wait staff receive is a very small percentage of their compensation. Most comes from tips.

[PrincesScuba]

Sorry if this is a stupid and random question. Are RCI stateroom attendants salaried or are all they get tips? What about waiters and assistant waiters?

 

Podemos,

 

A while back, a highly respected member of Cruise Critic posted a scan of an actual steward's employment contract, on just such a thread as this.

 

The monthly salary at that time on Royal Caribbean was $50.

[Happy ks]

I don't understand why some people object to certain subjects being discussed on these boards. If you don't want to read about it, don't click on that question, it's up to you.

 

I think every question asked, no matter how many times, is valid and everyone who comes here to CC has the right to ask away.

 

Not that it's much of my business, but I believe the cabin stewards, like the other service personnel onboard, are paid a very small salary and depend on tips for their service. That it is customary and has been for many years to reward these personnel with gratuity is what we do, there is a standard that we go by and will increase that amount if we feel we have outstanding service.

 

I don't try to figure out what they make, I'm sure some weeks are better than others. We're paying the tips for the service we receive and are not taking into consideration what the others in our vicinity are paying....or not.

[sandravb79]

I tip the room attendant extra, not only because I think they are underpaid, but because I feel bad for them when I see them being treated like dirt by other passengers.

 

The crew are people, not robots you can insult, ignore or yell at.

[compuryan]

Sorry if this is a stupid and random question. Are RCI stateroom attendants salaried or are all they get tips? What about waiters and assistant waiters?

 

Waiters get very little salary paid by RCI, (as somebody else said, $50 a month is normal) but with tips I hear they often hit $3000-4000 per month. This is considerably more than I will be making as a staff member. The tipped crew members generally do very well for cash (compared to what they'd be making at home), as long as they can live with the working conditions/hours.

[just4kixx]

Bartenders and entertainers do NOT enjoy the same "food" as the passengers. All employees have their own dining room, private spaces and "recreation" facilities. They are in the bowels of the ship. No employee, except, perhaps, the officer crew members are allowed to "mingle" with the paying passengers.

While the pay for ship employees is low, they have virtually no bills---they send the vast majority of their pay home to their families. Tips are important to the "tipped" employees....cash is the best way to tip! That way, they don't have to wait for their gratuities to appear on their paycheck...they get cash tips immediately, and they appreciate it!

 

On the Explorer this past May, We were enjoying dinner in the Wind Jammer with several members of the entertainment cast (The regualr singers and dancers, as well as the acts exclusive to our sailing). They were ordering their pasta and pizza from the servers right there next to us... so, some actually do get to eat with/the same food as the passengers... but these aren't employees who rely on tips. Maybe thatis where the difference is.

 

A~

[tooninsurance]

Sorry, but your above statement is beyond absurd. "Most Americans" make a few hundred a week and pay rent and mortgages? Let's see, at $200/wk the annual salary would be $10,400 or at $300/wk the salary would be $15,600.

 

amybeth4, I think you know that "most Americans" are making much more money than your post implies. As to your comments about tipping staff on cruise ships, I'm left speechless.

 

I disagree with you. We live in a community in Oklahoma and lots of our family's are living on just that or less.