Shiplife - Life of a Carnival Crewmember

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

besdies there are plenty of beautiful girls within the crew. :D

 

So, it's not against to the rules to fratenize with other crew members?

[rob6465]

Eddy, My wife and I went on our first cruise on the Conquest this past September and now we're hooked. We plan on going again September 21, 2008 and once again it's the conquest. I will say this, no matter how many complaints there are of the crew or cruise line, we thank you for making our vacation worth every second. You guys go way beyond and I know being away from your families is hard but you guys are always appreciated. What is your favorite ship ? Favorite ports ?

[DJ Eddy]

Yes, please answer the question of what happens to tips given directly to staff members (i.e., stewart, waiter, etc.) Do they get to keep them all or are they required to pool them? Is the answer the same if the customer leaves automatic tips on their S&S or if they remove the tips and tip solely in cash?

The s&s tips are split... some will go directly to your specific cabin steward & his/her assistant and some will go directly to your waiter & asst waiter. The rest of the tip is pooled for the waiters/waitresses on Lido & hotel stewards.

the bar staff make 15% gratuity on all drinks purchased. For bar waiters/waitresses every drink they specifically serve they get the gratuity for, the bartenders have their tips pooled & shared.

[rob6465]

Eddy,

I see you're into house music and being formerly from NYC, that's all i loved in my young days. May I ask...How old are you ? married ? Years in cruise industry ?

[eztraveler]

Eddy,

We dine in the supper club several nights during our cruises and always add additional tips for the servers and sommelier but were wondering if they also participate in the auto tipping applied to S&S. Does the $30 pp apply at all to their tips?

[DJ Eddy]

What are 5 things that passengers do that drives the crew/staff nuts (besides not tipping)?

 

Good thread, BTW.

 

ooooh top 5, well for me its

 

1. asking for a song in the disco saying "play that next".... grrrrrrrrr that makes me want to strangle people. PATIENCE PEOPLE PATIENCE

2. I know a lot of bartenders hate it when someone goes to the bar and to try and get the bartenders attention by snapping their fingers and shouting "yo"... they are humans not dogs

3. yes removing all tips from their sail & sign if they have overspent on their s&s or they have a stupid complaint like they found a midnight comedy show offensive... what does that have to do with the housekeeping or waiter staff????

4. guests who get annoyed when they go to a port and pay for something and don't receive $ USD change... there are other currencies out there!

5. as prev mentioned people not looking at signs and asking where things are when it is behind them or in front of them. Me personally I don't like to ask directions, I always try & find something myself first (that & I feel stupid & embarassed if it is blatantly right in front of me)

[DJ Eddy]

Being on a ship for 5-8 months, how often are the food choices changed for the crew and staff mess? Or if it's Monday, then you know you are having the same items as last Monday? Also are there times when you get to eat left over prime rib or some other items that the guests may have had. Is there a time limit as to how long before you work should your last drink be?

 

In the crew/staff/officers mess there is a buffet line of entrees which is repeated every 2 or 3 weeks... not specifically the same day every 2/3 weeks though. We do not get anything close to the food served in the dining room. I believe (this may not be 100% correct) that carnival has a budget of 60c pp per day to feed the crew so the quality of meat we get is not good. Staff members can eat on Lido at lunchtimes (if there is a queue we have to wait until the queue dies down) with the exception of embarkation days but we cannot eat up there in the evening. We can use the 24 hour pizzeria & deli at anytime.

The quality of food we get is poor and a lot of us eat in the ports, we all have our favourite restaraunts in each port (including the home port)

 

Offically, your last alcoholic drink should be 4 hours before the start of your shift.

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy,

if i wanted to hire a DJ on a ship for an hour to play my CDs in the disco during their "off duty" time, could I? And what would be an appropriate compensation?

You can hire a Dj and have a private party in the disco, as is done for things like wedding receptions. I am not sure how much it costs in total but the DJ hire is $40-50 an hour.

If you do have a private party with an open bar, please tip the bar staff... the bartenders & bar waiters only get $5 per open bar party, regardless of whether its an hour or 3 hours... $5 is shocking :mad:

[rob6465]

Eddy, I understand. My wife and I had the WORST table mates that we can ever have. Put it this way, my wife NEVER DRINKS, yet she had 2 drinks every night at the table. We did not change tables because we loved out wait staff(Michael-philippines,Tatiana-ukraine). The lady would ask why the steak was called New york Steak or why it's called IDAHO POTATO. She said they force the wait staff to sing and they mentioned that they stayed in their cabins 6 of 7 days. They got the cruise as a gift from a family member and they argued every night. They even commented about the excessive crime in NY. Hellllllllllllllllllllllllo, the crime rate in Dallas and most of texas is higher than NY. i LIVE IN hOUSTON but grew up in NY.

[gtalum]

Fascinating. I've always wondered what crew life is like. I bet it's tough but fun...

[DJ Eddy]

Where is that secret door on the Miracle...I've got some plans after I find it ;)

 

I too have read on other threads about these secret doors... so secret that I don't know where they are

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy,

 

I'm a local DJ here in Miami, I've done a couple of clubs, a lot of house parties and raves (when they were big). How does one go about getting hired to be a DJ on the ship? What information did you send in to get hired along with what audition information?

 

And sorry to ask something so personal but, what is the pay??

 

You can apply through Carnival's website... that's what I did. Go to carnival.com and on the bottom it says "fun jobs"... then to shipboard employment & entertainment. I e-mailed & faxed them a copy of my CV and some references and that was it... hey presto they gave me a job!

 

How much is the pay... come on i'm not gonna disclose that on a public forum ;)

[DJ Eddy]

80s music? Isn't that an oxymoron? :p

 

Boddington's? Don't recall seeing that on the drink menu. No fair!

 

So, are you "staff" or "crew?" My guess is the staff are the hotel/hospitality employees (which would include you) and the crew are the folks who actually sail the vessel. But that's just a wild guess.

 

Thanks for fielding our questions.

 

Boddington's is on the drinks menu in guest areas I assure you... but it's $6.95 + 15% gratuity per can.

 

The crew/staff/officers hierachy works like this...

 

Crew

crewmembers are the hearbeat of the ships, the most hardworking employees... housekeeping, waiters, bar staff, hotel stewards, cleaners, painters, tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, joiners etc). They can only go into guest areas to work, if they want guest area priveleges (they want to go the disco on a formal night for example) they have to apply through their supervisor or dept head to the staff captain who will approve or decline the request. I have seen bartenders and stewards with guest area priveleges but this is usually for one evening and is on merit.

Crewmembers can also only eat in the crew mess and are to stay in crew areas when off duty. They are allowed out into the ports of call providing they are not working.

 

Staff

Staffmembers are the hospitality, entertainment & sub-contracted staff which include... (pursers, shore-ex, photographers, IS managers, singers, dancers, DJs WAHOOOOOOO, Karaoke, club 02 & social hosts, CD, ACD, art auctioneers, steiners (spa), gift shop.

Staff members have guest area priveleges and we are allowed to bars, to watch the shows & to eat on Lido at lunchtimes. Guests always come first, we have to make sure we are not impeding on any guests whilst in guest areas and are not allowed to join any lines on lido... also we're not allowed to sit on bar stools (even if the bar is empty... still don't quite understand that one?)

Staffmembers are allowed to eat in the crew mess or the staff mess and are allowed out in the ports of call providing they are not working.

 

Officers

Officers are pretty much the same as staff, same priveleges etc. Officers have to wear their formal uniform whenever they are in guest areas. The only extra priveleges officers get is their own dining room with their own made to order menu... and they are aloowed in the casino if they have family sailing where crew & staff are not. Officers cannot gamble in the casino but they can accompany family into the casino.

 

There is only one crew bar (2 on destiny class ships) and there is no hierachy in the crew bar, crew, staff & officers are all allowed in there

[Drew B]

Do you have separate crew quarters or do you share? Are you responsible for cleaning the quarters yourself?

 

How about laundry? Do you do your own on the ship? Are you charged to do it or is it free?

 

I know that there is a crew dining area and a crew bar (or several). What other crew-only facilities are there? Do you have a gym? If not, are you allowed to use the ship gym? (I've run into ship dancers in the sauna).

[Avril]

Hi Eddy,

First of all, thanks for answering our questions. :D I've always wondered what it's like to work on a cruise ship. I'd love to work on a ship someday as I love cruising so much!! :D I was wondering, do you know what crew members are on what ships at any given time? I'm sailing on the Conquest in 5 weeks and was just wondering who the DJ, piano player (in the piano bar) and the Cruise Director are? It'll be my boyfriend's 1st cruise so I want everything to be perfect and the crew to be awesome!! :D

Also, do you know what ship Garth East is on? He was in the Piano Bar when I was on the Legend a year ago and he was awesome!! :D

[DJ Eddy]

Hi Eddy. First of all, thank you for offering answers to all of our questions. I'm sure you will be very busy for awhile :D

 

I was just wondering what the typical work hours are like? I'm sure most of the crew doesn't work a typical 8 hour day. Also, I recall seeing crew members walking around some of the ports, however, I don't think I've ever seen a crew member (who wasn't working) hanging out in the disco or lying out in the sun. Are you guys permitted to hang out when your shift is over?

 

Thanks!

hours of work depends on your job. My hours are usually 5-6 hours a night whereas housekeeping work up to 11-13 hours a day, every day.

 

As mentioned above, staff & officers have guest area priveleges, crew have to gain permission. You'll notice any crew that are out & about... play spot the gold name badge game next time ;)

[DJ Eddy]

So, it's not against to the rules to fratenize with other crew members?

 

 

HELL NO!!! Next question :D

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy, My wife and I went on our first cruise on the Conquest this past September and now we're hooked. We plan on going again September 21, 2008 and once again it's the conquest. I will say this, no matter how many complaints there are of the crew or cruise line, we thank you for making our vacation worth every second. You guys go way beyond and I know being away from your families is hard but you guys are always appreciated. What is your favorite ship ? Favorite ports ?

 

Why thank you for the kind words.

My favourtie ship I worked on was infact the Conquest (the big CQ as we call it), the overall morale was excellent. That's what happens with good management (the Captain, Hotel Director & CD were brill)

My favourite ports... Cabo San Lucas has to be my overall fav, I also like Cozumel, Costa Maya & Playa Del Carmen in Mexico (I just love Mexico). Other inlude Antigua, San Juan & Grand Cayman

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy,

I see you're into house music and being formerly from NYC, that's all i loved in my young days. May I ask...How old are you ? married ? Years in cruise industry ?

House music is in my soul... I like other types of music also but as my signature says for me "it's all about the house music and it always will be!"

I'm 27 just (my birthday is new years eve), single and been working for carnival for 2 & a half years... I haven't worked for any other lines (yet)

[DJ Eddy]

Eddy,

We dine in the supper club several nights during our cruises and always add additional tips for the servers and sommelier but were wondering if they also participate in the auto tipping applied to S&S. Does the $30 pp apply at all to their tips?

The drinks have the standard 15% drink gratuity added but the $30 pp for the food does not include tips for the chef servers.

[scopewest]

Thanks for answering questions, great information!

[Sundsgn]

What are the captain's quarters or room like? Is it a nice cabin like the suites? The CD and Navigator?

[skylock]

Do you have internet access on board the ship? Do you pay for it?

[lafayettedvm]

whats the funniest hing you have seen while on the ship?

[DJ Eddy]

Hi Eddy,

 

First of all, thanks for answering our questions. :D I've always wondered what it's like to work on a cruise ship. I'd love to work on a ship someday as I love cruising so much!! :D I was wondering, do you know what crew members are on what ships at any given time? I'm sailing on the Conquest in 5 weeks and was just wondering who the DJ, piano player (in the piano bar) and the Cruise Director are? It'll be my boyfriend's 1st cruise so I want everything to be perfect and the crew to be awesome!! :D

 

Also, do you know what ship Garth East is on? He was in the Piano Bar when I was on the Legend a year ago and he was awesome!! :D

 

I don't know who the DJ or Piano Man is (last I heard Vince Strong was on the big CQ... dunno if he is now). Mark Price a fellow Englishman is the CD, i've worked with Mark before, he's a nice guy and good CD.

Enjoy your cruise, you'll have a blast, the big CQ is a great ship!