What Crew Can Eat At Buffet?

[sfaaa]

21 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

This.

 

Are officers more worthy in the eyes of the corporations?

The way it should be. Why do you think officers and managers get a bigger paycheck + perks every month?

[SelectSys]

8 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

The merit system always exists

It actually doesn't have to exist.  Other means of distribution and advancement exist although they tend to be less efficient and eventually lead to decay.

[Kristelle]

Probably most crew would prefer their own eating area anyway - if they were in same area of passengers they wouldn't clearly be off duty - some passengers would want t o ask them questions, talk to them, want things done for them etc and they would have to be polite and engage whether they wanted to or not.

 

I think most people i n their off duty or break times like t o get away from work, let their hair down, let off steam, gossip etc - and yo u cant do that in front of your customers/clients/passengers

 

I know in my work, I appreciate my break time in the staff room away from clients.

[DarrenM]

12 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Worthy?  What do you mean?  As a human or as an employee?  Do you see any difference?

 

Does it bother you that the ship's officers are compensated more and have better living conditions than most of the crew?

 

You certainly can exercise free will and not book any more cruises if you like.

It doesn't bother me that some get paid more than others, as long as those at the bottom are paid well.

 

When it comes to eating though, in my world we are all equal.

 

So if only the officers are ENTITLED then maybe they should pay for their meals out of their higher salaries.

 

The workers song has never been more apt.

 

And I would be far more interested in chatting to the person that cleans my room than the captain. 

[DarrenM]

12 hours ago, sfaaa said:

The way it should be. Why do you think officers and managers get a bigger paycheck + perks every month?

Wow. So those at the top are more worthy eh?

 

 

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

So if only the officers are ENTITLED then maybe they should pay for their meals out of their higher salaries.

So, maybe this is a "perk" given to supervisors in lieu of a higher salary.

[MBP&O2/O]

On our ships, with European crews, the officers and the crew dined separately. ALL food was cooked in the same place and quality was equal across the board. 

Perks for us?

Meals were NEVER a relaxed affair.

You had no choice about what to wear, and no choice about when to eat, or where to sit. Taking as long as twenty minutes for a meal was frowned upon. Meals were frequently missed altogether if operational requirements deemed it necessary.

When in port, 6 hrs on, 6 hrs off. Same principle but no dining saloon as you were in working gear.

Swings and roundabouts?

[navybankerteacher]

15 hours ago, clo said:

how hard and well and amenably they work.

 

It’s nice to be egalitarian in this era of political correctness, , but the entire reason the crew are on the ship in the first place is to transport, feed, entertain and coddle the passengers - and the passengers are on the ship to be transported , fed, entertained and coddled —- and not to otherwise interact with the crew.

[navybankerteacher]

15 hours ago, DarrenM said:

This.

 

Are officers more worthy in the eyes of the corporations?

Well, they generally have had more training, have more skills which required more experience to acquire, have wider alternative options  - so, yes: they are more worthy of higher pay and, perhaps, more attractive accommodations and treatment generally. 
 

So, of course they are more worthy in the eyes of the corporations.

[navybankerteacher]

18 hours ago, clo said:

I keep forgetting that this isn't the Marina board. Plenty of us eat ALL our meals there. Here's one my husband had: lobster, shrimp, lamb all cooked to order and a little salad.

 

Yum - except for what look like red peppers tainting the peas.

[SelectSys]

4 hours ago, DarrenM said:

It doesn't bother me that some get paid more than others, as long as those at the bottom are paid well.

Define well and by which standards?  You do realize that the whole cruise and shipping industry "exploits" wage differences between various parts of the world to deliver their services?  Filipino deck hands and cabin stewards have different ideas as to what it means to be paid well {i.e., take the job) in comparison to people working in the US, UK, Canada, etc. 

 

4 hours ago, DarrenM said:

When it comes to eating though, in my world we are all equal.

I agree that everyone on the ship's crew should eat well and healthily.  Amazingly, in looking a bit about this issue on line, I have seen anecdotal information that scurvy is a possible issue in some crew member diets on very long contracts.

 

4 hours ago, DarrenM said:

The workers song has never been more apt.

I am actually 100% in agreement with this statement even though we likely disagree on how and what to change.   However, that would venture into politics so I'll pass on saying more.  Regardless the refrain from the popular Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime" seems apropos:

 

"Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was"

 

[chengkp75]

11 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

I agree that everyone on the ship's crew should eat well and healthily.  Amazingly, in looking a bit about this issue on line, I have seen anecdotal information that scurvy is a possible issue in some crew member diets on very long contracts.

I would call BS on this claim, having seen crew food.  However, scurvy has an incidence of 7% in the US, and in 73% in India.  This is without even being on a ship.  Since ships restock provisions weekly, there is no shortage of fruits and vegetables, even for crew, but if people choose not to eat properly, then scurvy can happen.

 

There are also statutory requirements for fresh produce for all ships' crew, and general nutrition as well.

[SelectSys]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

I would call BS on this claim, having seen crew food... but if people choose not to eat properly, then scurvy can happen.

Ok, I said it was simply person's claim.

 

 

[MacMadame]

6 hours ago, DarrenM said:

And I would be far more interested in chatting to the person that cleans my room than the captain. 

But would they be interested in chatting with you? 😉

 

Seriously, if I were crew, I would avoid eating in the pax areas because I need my downtime and having to be nicey-nice to rich (compared to me) cruisers in my spare time is not my idea of a good time.

[chengkp75]

46 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

But would they be interested in chatting with you? 😉

 

Seriously, if I were crew, I would avoid eating in the pax areas because I need my downtime and having to be nicey-nice to rich (compared to me) cruisers in my spare time is not my idea of a good time.

NCL has a sign on the crew side of all doors leading to pax areas that says "you're going on stage", which is why crew tend to not want to spend off time in pax areas.

[Donald]

You may be interested to know that the better cruise lines budget more money to feed their crew than many of the mass market lines budget to feed you.

The Crew Feeding Buget on my ship (sorry, secret) is far higher than the Passenger Feeding Budget on Carnival, NCL, HAL, and Princess ships.

You will probably not be surprised to learn that the fares on my ship are far higher than those other lines as well.

[Donald]

You may also be interested to know that the majority of the Asian crew on cruise ships is not very interested in most of the foods that Western Passengers eat. Meat, potatoes, bread, and dairy are not very appealing to us. The crew and Officer Messroom menus are far better in our opinion.

[DarrenM]

3 hours ago, MacMadame said:

But would they be interested in chatting with you? 😉

 

Seriously, if I were crew, I would avoid eating in the pax areas because I need my downtime and having to be nicey-nice to rich (compared to me) cruisers in my spare time is not my idea of a good time.

I doubt they would want to talk to me. I wouldn't.

 

Never been described as rich before mind. Don't tell the wife.

[Toofarfromthesea]

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

But would they be interested in chatting with you? 😉

 

Seriously, if I were crew, I would avoid eating in the pax areas because I need my downtime and having to be nicey-nice to rich (compared to me) cruisers in my spare time is not my idea of a good time.

 

Totally agree.  Crew are not there to become friends with pax who feel guilty because they did better, through effort, talent, opportunity, or circumstance, in the game of life.  And my guess is that some crew regard it as an imposition on them.

[Toofarfromthesea]

3 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I doubt they would want to talk to me. I wouldn't.

 

Never been described as rich before mind. Don't tell the wife.

 

Paging Dr. Einstein.

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, DarrenM said:

So if only the officers are ENTITLED then maybe they should pay for their meals out of their higher salaries.

 

 

Small issue with your view of the World, as the shipping regulations specify the minimum victuals that the ship owner must provide to the Master, Officers and Ratings. Therefore, unfortunately the Officers are unable to pay for their pax quality meals.

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

So, maybe this is a "perk" given to supervisors in lieu of a higher salary.

 

Exactly, as when our son sailed as 3rd Officer on a US Contract he had zero benefits and certainly wasn't making a huge salary.

 

Even back in my days, as 3rd Officer, the watch Cox'n (PO rank) made more money than me. Back in those days, the Captain and C/Eng weren't close to the highest earners onboard.

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

It’s nice to be egalitarian in this era of political correctness, , but the entire reason the crew are on the ship in the first place is to transport, feed, entertain and coddle the passengers - and the passengers are on the ship to be transported , fed, entertained and coddled —- and not to otherwise interact with the crew.

 

Fortunately, it was a little different in the 70's & 80's, when a number of pax did want to get to know the Officers. Since my wife was a pax on SS Oriana, I am living proof. There are many other P&O Officers in a similar situation.

 

These days it just doesn't happen, with many officers marrying dancers, Pursers, shoppies, docs/nurses, etc.

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, SelectSys said:

I agree that everyone on the ship's crew should eat well and healthily.  Amazingly, in looking a bit about this issue on line, I have seen anecdotal information that scurvy is a possible issue in some crew member diets on very long contracts.

 

 

Certainly won't dispute that scurvy is possible; however, on cruise ships the root cause is most likely the crew member dietary choices, as the required fruits and vegetable, etc are available. It is each crew members choice what to eat.

 

Scurvy is also an issue in many countries, especially the 3rd world countries. I'll suggest the incidences of scurvy in cruise ship ratings is significantly less than their home countries.

[wcook]

On 3/1/2024 at 6:08 PM, sfaaa said:

The way it should be. Why do you think officers and managers get a bigger paycheck + perks every month?

It’s one thing to say officers need to be paid more because their jobs require specialized skills leading to a smaller pool of candidates. That’s very different from saying they are more “worthy”