Carnival: A Great Place to Work

[coevan]

2 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Overworked doesn't necessarily mean disgruntled.

 

 

There are many overworked Americans working 60 hour weeks. Some deal with it better than others. 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I thought the word 'disgruntled" would send someone for a loop.  It's what I said... but I struggled at the moment to come up with a better word.   

 

How is your assertions any different than working in the USA ?  Your argument that folks can make "Much" more money working for cruise lines than they would back home is not any different than here in the great USA.  We all look for that edge to make "Much" more money than the next guy.  I certainly hope you are not insinuating that folks working on a cruise ship work harder or longer hours than you or I that can afford these cruises !  Or that our standard of living is any better than their living of standard in their home country.

 

I am confused by your post. The majority of workers on a cruise ship make a lot more money on a ship than they can make at home. Additionally, most crew members  work way more than the standard 40 hours work week in the USA. That’s why you never see Americans working on ships in any department except for entertainment, including  musicians, comedians, etc. And the standard of living is significantly higher in the USA than the countries where most crew members live. 

[Organized Chaos]

15 hours ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I thought the word 'disgruntled" would send someone for a loop.  It's what I said... but I struggled at the moment to come up with a better word.   

 

How is your assertions any different than working in the USA ?  Your argument that folks can make "Much" more money working for cruise lines than they would back home is not any different than here in the great USA.  We all look for that edge to make "Much" more money than the next guy.  I certainly hope you are not insinuating that folks working on a cruise ship work harder or longer hours than you or I that can afford these cruises !  Or that our standard of living is any better than their living of standard in their home country.

 

PhillyFan already touched on it, but I'll chime in since you've asked me to clarify. I wasn't necessarily sent for a loop by the word disgruntled. I just think it describes a different level of attitude. More drastic, if you will. I see disgruntled as a more elevated feeling of unhappiness. That's just me though.

 

I used crew from the Philippines as an example because, for them, it's definitely different than it is for U.S. workers. They don't have nearly as many opportunities for higher wages that we do here. That's why they put up with what they do to work on a cruise ship. Long hours, busting their butts, and being away from home for several months at a time. Yes, some of them work harder and longer hours than some in the U.S. That's not so hard to believe. It just depends on what type of work in the U.S. you're talking about. And yes, in many cases, our standard of living is higher than in some of their home countries. It's not meant to be an insult, it's just the nature of the world. Call is sad, call it whatever, but there are people from certain countries who have a lower standard of living.

 

Many people like to say crew members like stewards and their housekeeping teams or the wait staff make very little money. Compared to who? Because compared to what many of them can make in their home countries, they do make very good money working for cruise lines. There's a great series of videos on YouTube that Carnival has released in a segment called Crew Gratitude (there's only a few of them so far). Each one features a crew member from places like the Philippines, for example They show their gratitude towards passengers for the gratuities they receive and talk about what they do with their earnings. They put siblings through college, they buy houses for family members, all kinds of great things. We couldn't do some of those things here in the U.S. with their wages because the cost of living is higher. But in their home countries, they're able to do these great things because their wages go much further there.

[coevan]

Like several others, we have stayed friends with a few bartenders and servers. They are a very happy, close knit group of people. We met a married couple bar manager and bartender from the Philippines. Their Mom took care of the kids when they were at sea. Their home is beautiful and a very nice size. My only beef with Carnival is vacation time, non paid, and they do not let staff use wifi for free, really chintzy.  The do share one cabin together as they do for other married couples. 

[Markmom18]

I also agree that it's just plain wrong to not provide internet access for FREE to the employees on the ship. Carnival could just include it as a benefit. BTW! Mark's internet service was no better than the ship's.  He was a fortunate employee, he could afford the charges. 

 

He didn't think housekeeping gals could afford it on a daily basis. Those pitiful POOR wages (of the employees working physically the hardest) are true. 😔😔.  Less than $500 a month on the Dream cruise.

 

I'm of the mind set that paying employees poor/low wages because "it's more than they could get at home" is wrong. 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Markmom18

[coevan]

12 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

Mark's internet service was no better than the ship's

  not sure what this means, but the employees do not pay the exorbitant price as cruise guests. They have a flat rate taken out of their check. You don't know how much they make, nor is it "pitiful" for them

[buckeyefrank]

On 9/18/2019 at 7:34 PM, coevan said:

 

What makes you think Carnival uses contract labor? If you are given time and direction, you are an employee. Don't know about cruise ships but i am only allowed to pay a contract laborer $600 a year. The only time we have used contract labor is when we are stripping the kitchen, we get 4 or 5 work release inmates and pay them cash .

There is no limit to the amount you can pay contracted labor and it certainly isn't a maximum of $600 a year.  That limitation must be put on you by management so they don't have to go through the process of issuing a 1099 at YE per IRS regulations.

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

There is no limit to the amount you can pay contracted labor and it certainly isn't a maximum of $600 a year.  That limitation must be put on you by management so they don't have to go through the process of issuing a 1099 at YE per IRS regulations.

not that I would know, but on a ship registered in a foreign country with employees from another country, why would 1099 or IRS regs come into play.

[Markmom18]

11 hours ago, coevan said:

  not sure what this means, but the employees do not pay the exorbitant price as cruise guests. They have a flat rate taken out of their check. You don't know how much they make, nor is it "pitiful" for them

 

  You know IDK what he was charged. 🤔🤔

 

  He's out with his friends tonight. But now I'm curious. I'll post on his cost tomorrow.

 

 🛳🛳

 Bobbi 

[coevan]

sure, no problem, I have never asked anybody how much they made, it's totally inappropriate. If $500 is correct have you checked the average salary in the country they are from. If confrontation bothers you please block me. These people are not slaves. Cruise ship jobs in some countries is a coveted job, albeit long days.

[PhillyFan33579]

6 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

 

 I know what Mark told me. I was on his ship, walking with him.  He stopped to chat briefly with a young woman, introduced me. After she went her way & we continued on. He told me she worked in Housekeeping, and yes, the poor wage she is paid. 

 

That was my encounter. My personal view, is working the LONG HOURS that the Carnival Employees work, $500 a Month is a damn pitiful wage!

 

Why do your posts seem to always question others ??  I find that annoying.  Can I block you?  Just being blunt here.

 

🛳🛳

Bobbi

 

Coevan already mentioned what I was thinking, but it is worth repeating again. What country is this woman from and what is the average wage in that country? I would bet you my last dollar workers on cruise ships don’t consider their wages pitiful. There is no way tens of thousands of workers would be working on 26 Carnival ships (not to mention all the other cruise lines) if the wages were pitiful.

 

A lot of Americans have no idea how lucky we are to live in this country. If I learned one thing during my 20 plus years in the military, it is how fortunate we are to live in the United States. 

[Retired_to_Cruise]

On 9/18/2019 at 4:23 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

I don't think any of them will come right out and say they're miserable or that they're overworked. And I think miserable is too strong of a word. Are you and jimbo implying that all of the discussions about overworked crew aren't based in reality? What about the idea of Carnival having reduced the number of wait staff and stewards, for example; therefore, putting a heavier workload on those who are left. Is that not true? Because that's been echoed by long-time cruisers who're able to compare then & now. Is it all made up?

 

One thing I've said in the past is that I've always been impressed with the fact that, no matter how overworked and tired they are, they still manage to put on a smile and treat passengers with kindness and respect. But that's not proof that they aren't overworked. That's proof that they're good people who can set the crap aside and still offer a great customer experience.

I don't see this as any different than what you have seen in many U.S. companies over the last few years.

 

[MEUB1112]

I believe the article was based on a survey of employees. I don't think the survey was meant for anything else. In a survey it does NOT mean anything as to what I think as I am not an employee. The results represent the opinions of the employees surveyed.

I have spoke to many employees over the course of many cruises and have learned a lot of a completely different way of life. I am very impressed with the work ethic and devotion to family that I've seen. Just my humble opinion.

 

[coevan]

41 minutes ago, Markmom18 said:

Carnival pays its employees a wage based on their country of origin.

 

 

not sure where you got this, put they are paid by their position. So 2 engineers from different countries are paid by their country of origin, but not their skill set and length of time with the corporation.

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

Carnival pays its employees a wage based on their country of origin.

 

Not sure where you heard that, but it isn’t true. Employees are paid based on their position, not based on where they live.