Crew nationality on QM2

[lastmin]

Hello all,

 

I'm taking my first TA next month on the QM2, and I was curious about the nationality of the staff/crew. I've learned a few words in Tagalog from taking a lot of cruises where my cabin stewards have been from the Philippines. When chatting with my cabin steward dining room staff I like to try using a few words in their language. So has anyone noticed where they're from? Are they all British, or are there any Phillipino, Thai, Russian, Romanian, Indian, or Chinese? (I'm hoping for a few Chinese because I'm learning Mandarin at the moment.)

 

Thanks!

[pb82]

The "Crew Staff Artists" album of the "2009 QM2 November" album of the pb82 home page has the list of crew members by nationality that appeared in the Sunday, November 29, 2009, Daily Programme. My guess would be that it hasn't changed much since.

[lastmin]

where would I access that?

[pb82]

where would I access that?

Just click on the pb82 next to my avatar, then click on "Visit pb82's home page!"

[William Dean]

You should be aware that the crew are instructed that they should speak only English when in passenger areas.

 

Most speak excellent English, and I see no reason why you should seek to engineer that they disobey direct orders, or appear rude themselves.

[lastmin]

pb82 - Thank you so much! That is exactly what I wanted. Even if I can't speak to them except in English or apparently I'll be thrown overboard ;) I am interested in people and like to know where they come from.

[Cruachan]

pb82 - Thank you so much! That is exactly what I wanted. Even if I can't speak to them except in English or apparently I'll be thrown overboard ;) I am interested in people and like to know where they come from.

 

I think it's probably safe to say that the majority of the wait staff and housekeeping staff are from the Phillipines, the remainder being a very ecletic mix of nationalities, including a large group from South Africa (many from Cape Town). Also well represented are the East European nations (Russia, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania etc etc etc). There are very few British crew members, although we met a few among the shop staff and, of course, most of the officers are British. I must have a look at Paul's list and see how accurate my "seat of the pants" estimates is.

 

J

[Cruachan]

I must have a look at Paul's list and see how accurate my "seat of the pants" estimates is.

 

J

 

Oh well, I guess I wasn't that far off the mark. Probably underestimated the Brit population a bit - but I don't know where they are, they must be employed in jobs that are mostly out of the public eye.

 

J

[Cat001]

You should be aware that the crew are instructed that they should speak only English when in passenger areas.

 

Most speak excellent English, and I see no reason why you should seek to engineer that they disobey direct orders, or appear rude themselves.

 

Whilst I can certainly see why that is a rule ( and because it's rude to speak in another language when in the presence of people who can't speak that language ( and you can ) ) [unless, of course, you are in Wales, in which case the Welsh will go out of their way to speak Welsh exactly because they know you can't ] surely that rule would not apply if you are spoken directly to by a passenger in your native language ?

[William Dean]

Whilst I can certainly see why that is a rule ( and because it's rude to speak in another language when in the presence of people who can't speak that language ( and you can ) ) [unless, of course, you are in Wales, in which case the Welsh will go out of their way to speak Welsh exactly because they know you can't ] surely that rule would not apply if you are spoken directly to by a passenger in your native language ?

 

Presumably not.

 

But why engineer the possibility? What happens if an officer comes round the corner and has heard something not in English?

 

It seems a little vain to want to show off a few words of a language to someone who can speak your own perfectly adequately.

[David2115]

Presumably not.

 

But why engineer the possibility? What happens if an officer comes round the corner and has heard something not in English?

 

It seems a little vain to want to show off a few words of a language to someone who can speak your own perfectly adequately.

 

I could not disagree more, part of the fun of the the journey is meeting people of different nations, i have had lots of conversations with bar staff, waiters etc and try to find out about life in their country so why would it be wrong to say hello or good morning in their native tongue, they may reply in english thats up to them but it might make them feel a bit more appreciated.

[lastmin]

Hello David,

 

My feeling exactly. When I made some efforts on a previous cruise to greet my phillipino cabin steward in his language, he surprised me one day by giving me an entire list of words written out in Tagalog. He was so excited that I was interested in his language. Using his list, I then spoke to other Phillipino staff in Tagalog, and their faces lit up. Of course, there were one or two who were not phased, but the majority were quite touched. I thought it was a very small way to show them I appreciated their efforts.

[bobby1119]

My partner is Filipino, so we're always family. When I travel solo, that connection, and my knowledge of the Philippines and Tagalog always is a plus. The Filipino crew is warm and gracious.

 

Mabuhay!

[grandsix]

My partner is Filipino, so we're always family. When I travel solo, that connection, and my knowledge of the Philippines and Tagalog always is a plus. The Filipino crew is warm and gracious.

 

Mabuhay!

 

Hi Bobby, we agree that the Filipino crew are warm and gracious. We would add those from Bali and Indonesia.

 

We sailed with you on the Explorer.

 

According to the written White Star Service requirements, the Officers and Crew must speak English to the guests.

[keithm]

My partner is Filipino, so we're always family. When I travel solo, that connection, and my knowledge of the Philippines and Tagalog always is a plus. The Filipino crew is warm and gracious.

 

Mabuhay!

My partner & I will also be on the Nov.27th cruise. I'll have a derby on formal nights. In the several cruises we took, I was the only one to wear one. So we should be easy to see. We also are in the Queens Grill this time around.

[QM2 fan]

We just did Queens grill on QM2-butler was a lady from Romania,Sheldon in QG lounge is from Cape Town,Dinesh in QG restaurant is Mauritian,it really is like united nations onboard!