Free gratuities

[icat2000]

Yes, that's a great salary for working 14 or more hours a day and seeing your family for a month every nine months. Sign me up.

 

Its their choice though. Sure, its hard work, long hours, long time away from families. But many people do exactly the same. You do what you need to do to earn income. And working on the cruise ships must be fairly well paid for those nationalities other wise the cruiselines would struggle to get staff. Also some staff have been with various lines for multiple contracts.

Edited June 28, 2016 by icat2000

[moki'smommy]

We met a bartender on our first cruise who was from Croatia. He was working his second contract and intended to do only one more. He estimated that at the end of the three contracts he would have saved enough to pay to build his dream house in Croatia. Three years, house paid for, not bad.

 

This is similar to what we encountered with a favorite server from Croatia, but on another cruise line. The guy had the equivalent of a Ph.D. in the US and was quite amazing. He spoke 8 languages fluently, among other skills. He said that if he worked in his field in Croatia that his wife would have to work also and their 2 kids would be in day care. By working on the ship, his wife could stay home with the kids and he could save to build his home and care for his elderly mother. He said that he made about 10 times as much on the ship as he could at home. On our last cruise with him, he told us that the house was paid for and her "was working for himself now." We found out from another Croatian server that he had left the cruise line and taken a job as an aide to a NATO envoy.

 

Whether this was a good 4 years on the ship, only he can say. But it was his choice and it gave him the means to accomplish his goals.

[GUT2407]

So many earn more than they would in their home countries. We met one person who we had sponsored through school and university, he told us that his plan was three to five years on the ship and that would give him enough to build a much needed orphanage school in his village (his words) and run it for about three years if he couldn't get any other funding.

 

On the other hand I spent three years working away from home because I couldn't get a job in my local area. You do what you think is best for your family, that simple really.

[antsp]

It's odd that no one seems to worry about the kids in Vietnam making all our clothes and shoes etc, I guess when you meetmeet someone face to face it's harder to stomach