Shame on HAL

[Typhoon1]

Nothing new.

 

Those poor crew members are treated like slaves all the time. Nonetheless, they say it is better than like in their country.

[pdroth]

Unfortunately people in the U.S. wishing to cruise most likely would not if the fares reflected the living wages that would be paid to the staff. Imagine seeing the price of a cruise go from 399 for an inside (which is ridiculously cheap) to 4 or 5 times as much.

 

I cruised on a Carnival cruise in 1997, 15 years ago, and the price then for my inside cabin was the same as it is advertised today. Let's say prices go up 5% a year, that 799 cruise would now be 1599. I'm sailing next week in a cat SC for less than that.

 

Just adding a little perspective.

[Pettifogger]

My impression is that they're willing to work hard to get ahead.

[MadManOfBethesda]

...I wonder what their basic salary is, without tip ???

 

And I wonder why certain people feel it necessary to inquire about information that is none of their business.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Cruise lines are usually off shore companies for financial,legal and regulatory reasons.

 

Would you be willing to pay a significantly higher cruise fare in order to ensure that all employees are subject to US labor codes,including health and workplace safety regulations?

 

Check on the costs of taking a river cruise on an American line such as American Steamboat or American Cruise Lines who have American crew and thus pay all that one has to pay those of us who work in the US. Significantly higher than a line employing a foreign crew and one of the reasons these lines often do not survive.

[kazu]

Check on the costs of taking a river cruise on an American line such as American Steamboat or American Cruise Lines who have American crew and thus pay all that one has to pay those of us who work in the US. Significantly higher than a line employing a foreign crew and one of the reasons these lines often do not survive.

 

Boy are you right on that one Barbara - I have checked them out - it's incredible what the costs are there:eek:

[boards]

And I wonder why certain people feel it necessary to inquire about information that is none of their business.

 

Amen & Amen - will you have this deleted too.

[generichandle]

So rest asure, no half naked big guy dressed in a loin cloth and wearing an eye patch beating a big drum and cracking a whip during drydock

Thanks for clearing this up John. You know, I'd kind of like to see a half naked big guy dressed in a loin cloth, etc. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see several of them cracking a whip at the passengers who drag their butts to the emergency drill.:D

 

And those who occupy deck chairs all day! Can't speak for HAL, but on Princess it seems certain folk OWN those.

 

PS: I once wore a loincloth while playing Tarzan in a play, and I swear to God it came off during the play. Major incident/trauma for life. :o

 

PSPS: FYI, I was 9.

[Hlitner]

Whenever I see comments on CC about "the poor crew," "crew working conditions," "crew working hours," "bad crew pay," etc etc I just smile and wonder why folks cannot just except that most folks are fine with personal responsibility and do not need "bleeding hearts" who always look for somebody to feel sorry about. So here is the bottom line. The crew on cruise ships are NOT SLAVES. In fact, they work hard so that they can keep their jobs and perhaps even get promotions. Nobody forces anyone to take a job on a cruise ship and they must actually compete to get the jobs and compete to keep getting subsequent contracts. If a crew member is unhappy they can always choose not to seek another contract...or even leave during their contract (at their own expense). So I think that instead of worrying about the "poor crew" folks should spend more time worrying about the "poor passengers" and CC members who have to keep hearing about the "poor crew." :)

 

Hank

[Linda&Vern]

Nothing new. Those poor crew members are treated like slaves all the time. Nonetheless, they say it is better than like in their country.

"Treated like slaves" by some passengers. :mad: I hate, hate, hate when I see that! I have seen young and old alike totally treat crew like they aren't even humans! Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to just scream at those passengers!

[innlady1]

I doubt these dry docks come as a surprise to the crew...I'm certain they know well in advance that for a week or two down the road, they will be in dry dock and not receive tips. That's what they sign on for.

 

My sister spent a month in Bali in the spring and she told me how low their wages are if they work at home...she knows we sail HAL so she asked how people like the jobs on the ships...they view those folks as very, very fortunate.

 

Adding: I just heard back from my sister: She was told the average Balinese salary is $200 a month.

Our Bulgarian college students who we employed at the inn had somewhat the same situation in Bulgaria. One told me she made $150 a month for working full time as a receptionist at a hotel in the summer.

[PeaceLoveCruise]

And those who occupy deck chairs all day! Can't speak for HAL, but on Princess it seems certain folk OWN those.

 

PS: I once wore a loincloth while playing Tarzan in a play, and I swear to God it came off during the play. Major incident/trauma for life. :o

 

PSPS: FYI, I was 9.

 

Ahhhhh!! Finally!! A giggle amongst the seriousness of it all! :D Thank you!!

 

I appreciated your PSPS ... I had quite the visual until you typed that! :eek:

[Copper10-8]

Some brilliant posts here!:)

[hpf]

"Treated like slaves" by some passengers. :mad: I hate, hate, hate when I see that! I have seen young and old alike totally treat crew like they aren't even humans! Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to just scream at those passengers!

 

That is totally what I have observed. I was scared to death one morning that my DH was going to get up and physically attack a "lady" for the way she was treating the staff. It was disgusting. Actually that is what DH said to her as we left left the Dining room.

I have also gone by cabins when the door has been open and there were clothes all over the floor and the room looked like a tornado had struck and the passenger was in the hall dressing down the steward for not having cleaned it up. Slavery; it's the passengers who are making the crew slaves.:o

 

There I feel better; well at least until my next cruise and hear a passenger mistreating the crew.

 

Helen

[Pettifogger]

Those of us who were youngsters in the nineteen forties and are now rapidly approaching very late middle age can remember that many of our classmates were "cadet-types." Cadet-types were the ones who went to the teacher after school to ask if there was anything else they could do before they went home. That was not long after the depression and even those of us who were not cadet-types were not very spoiled.

 

Cadet-types seem to be in short supply today, but fortunately our cruise line has found a bunch of them in Indonesia and any of us who feel an occasional twinge of nostalgia for that aspect of those days can simply board our favorite ship and find ourself surrounded by cadet-types.

[Minoushka]

According to another poster some crew members receive up to 3000$ amonth plus free roomand board. Plus tips???

 

How many of us on pension make that much Clear ???

It is not a bad deal!!!

 

I wonder if regular people wpuld not do this job at those kind of salaries ??

In this economy 3000$ a month is nothing to sneeze at !!!

[xitappers2bx]

Just disembark from Prinsendam (TATL from Civitavecchia) heard from 2 different steward that during the drydock in the Bahamas that they have to work for free during these two weeks.

 

There will be 700 workers that will stay on board and they will have to take care of them for room and board only...that is close to slavery.:mad:

 

they're getting room and board. and not having to work for two weeks... when I dont work for two weeks, i dont get anything.

 

 

slavery? i think not. that's working 16 hour days and not getting paid.

 

and if you're so adverse to the working conditions of the employees, why are you supporting the industry by cruising?

[Esri]

According to another poster some crew members receive up to 3000$ amonth plus free roomand board. Plus tips???

 

How many of us on pension make that much Clear ???

It is not a bad deal!!!

 

I wonder if regular people wpuld not do this job at those kind of salaries ??

In this economy 3000$ a month is nothing to sneeze at !!!

 

Uh, "regular people", really?

[JLC@SD]

Just par for the course with a Corporation SQUEEZING their workers until the entire family bleeds.

 

Pay them next to nothing. Check.

 

Make them share the automatic gratuity. Check.

 

Rake in crazy bonuses in Corporate. Check.

 

That formula above is all that Seattle cares about.

 

Derek

Most of these families are in the higher income levels in their home countries and there are lots of workers that want to get these jobs.

[Crusing Bob]

On all of our cruises aboard HAL ships, the crew have been professional, friendly, efficient, soft spoken (which is their culture) and never spoke about being underpaid or overworked.

 

Based on another post here, I know these crew members are very happy to receive the sort of base salary that was mentioned because that goes a long way to make family lives quite comfortable in their countries.

[world~citizen]

Hey Vic..The OP's title of her tread is:

"SHAME ON HAL"..And her last words of her post were .."That is close to slavery" with a :mad: sign..IMO that is slanderous!!

It the OP had started a thread stating she had heard that the crew is not paid their salary during dry dock, & expressed her dismay about it, perhaps some of us would not have our hackles up & post angry answers!

IMO it's slanderous & unconscionable to post something like this without checking out facts..

I wonder how they would feel if they hired a worker & someone posted something which is meant to be inflammatory like this on a public forum such as Face book without checking out the facts..

Betty

 

Well lets everybody take a deep breath.

 

If as the former X captain says an assistant steward get 1200 a month - at a 40 hour week thats 7.50 hr. I think they work more than 40 hours a week. At a 60 hour week their wage is 5 dollars. Out of that, I am unsure what chargebacks there are if any. In that context losing tips is pretty significant.

 

I don't know exactly what was said but suffice to say two weeks without tips before Christmas can be pretty disappointing. It may even seem to some working in that situation that they are "working for nothing".

 

This thread seems a tempest in a teapot.

[world~citizen]

Oh yeah, contrary to popular belief and rumor control, the crew gets time off at night and many hit the local town

 

I have seen that for a fact. There is this little bar in Rio walking distance from the port where all available hands migrate to in the evenings, and seemed to be so much more pleasant for it the morning after.:D

[santa fe]

they're getting room and board. and not having to work for two weeks... when I dont work for two weeks, i dont get anything.

 

 

slavery? i think not. that's working 16 hour days and not getting paid.

 

and if you're so adverse to the working conditions of the employees, why are you supporting the industry by cruising?

 

They do have to work during these two weeks...with no pay

[startwin]

They do have to work during these two weeks...with no pay

 

 

They do get paid. It's just the tips they are missing.

[santa fe]

They do get paid. It's just the tips they are missing.

 

you might be right, but how do you know that they do get pay ???

 

I was told by two different steward, from two different services and very clearly that they do not get pay, so right from the mouth of the horse.