Do You Believe the Spokespersons?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were always told that the crew was paid in US dollars.

[TCF]

Paying the crew in US$ is not a good thing anymore!!

If a crew member is from South East Asian countries then the attraction to work away from home an family for six months at a time was the fact that the US$ paycheque was worth so much more at home. Sending a US$ paycheque to the family allowed them live the local equivalent of middle-class life style. That isn't the case any more.

If a crew member is from a European country then working for US$ is plain nuts especially when you are working for six months away from home and family and sharing 10'X10' cabin in the bottom of the ship!!! The EURO is...the last time I looked....at about $1.62US for 1E.

The cruise lines have always depended upon these 'cheap' foreign workers to crew their ships....and our tips didn't hurt much either! So while the crusie lines have not reduced what they pay the value of what they pay has dropped like a rock!

All the crusie lines are going to have a real problem attracting labour at what they consider affordable costs!

[sail7seas]

Yes, at the moment, their pay has shrunk. Everything has a cycle. I definitely feel for crew who are in reality being paid less today than they were and hope the dollar strengthens soon, for their sake as well as ours. :)

 

 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we were on the Veendam, a few od the dining room staff were complaining that some staff members were getting to stay on the upper level longer than others -- in other words, rotation was happening to everyone on an even basis. Thus those who were on the lower level for longer periods of time weren't getting extra tips like those on the upper level.

 

We also had a situation on the Statendam a few years ago when the auto tips and gratuities were put in place. One bar staff member kept complaining that the bar he was assigned to, no one was buying drinks and he wasn't making any tips. Thus in the middle of a 21 day cruise, he asked to be moved and he was moved.

[Cruiser809e8r09]

As others have alluded to, I think Americans are cancelling cruises in droves... and everyone else is filling their spots. We've been enjoying the benefits of an almost par dollar here in Canada for a while. I order a lot more stuff from the US when our dollar is high like this.

[sail7seas]

I'm not sure 'droves' of Americans are cancelling but agree some are.

There actually are some people in the states who are doing fine. :) Sure we're paying higher gas, food etc but while sadly it is very stressful on some, others are able to absorb the increases. Real estate is hard to sell but a friend of ours just sold his house for $1.7 million and is building a more costly one. :eek:

[iancal]

I think that there will be labor issues on the cruise lines. The US dollar will not show signs of significant recovery until the federal deficit begins to be addressed in a meaningful way. Until then....

[Taxguy77]

Yes, at the moment, their pay has shrunk. Everything has a cycle. I definitely feel for crew who are in reality being paid less today than they were and hope the dollar strengthens soon, for their sake as well as ours. :)

 

 

 

 

They may have to start paying the crew, instead of the automatic tips being such a large factor in their remuneration.:eek:

[obriendan]

On our GCT land tour to Croatia and Slovenia in March, the tour director said that their bookings were down 40% compared to 2007.

[Jade13]

Paying the crew in US$ is not a good thing anymore!!

 

If a crew member is from South East Asian countries then the attraction to work away from home an family for six months at a time was the fact that the US$ paycheque was worth so much more at home. Sending a US$ paycheque to the family allowed them live the local equivalent of middle-class life style. That isn't the case any more.

 

If a crew member is from a European country then working for US$ is plain nuts especially when you are working for six months away from home and family and sharing 10'X10' cabin in the bottom of the ship!!! The EURO is...the last time I looked....at about $1.62US for 1E.

 

The cruise lines have always depended upon these 'cheap' foreign workers to crew their ships....and our tips didn't hurt much either! So while the crusie lines have not reduced what they pay the value of what they pay has dropped like a rock!

 

All the crusie lines are going to have a real problem attracting labour at what they consider affordable costs!

 

HAL should be OK since their staff is mostly Indonesian. Carnival should be in a better position than RCCL. I wonder if RCCL is having a lot of turnover?

[Jade13]

Also, their was no issue renting out a condo in my area for September. The brokers came to me, tenants paid all brokers and move-in fees and Broker got the letter from the current tenant that they were not going to stay. This was over a month ago for September. Oh yea, I got more rent too.

 

Real Estate is not bad in all areas.

[kakalina]

I do know that our 30 day cruise in Sep has dropped hugely in price since we booked onboard in Feb. As of now it has gone down a total of $4,000.00. That's a big downward price drop. I like it but I also think it shows a decline in bookings.

[twinkletoes4445]

When we were on the Veendam, a few od the dining room staff were complaining that some staff members were getting to stay on the upper level longer than others -- in other words, rotation was happening to everyone on an even basis. Thus those who were on the lower level for longer periods of time weren't getting extra tips like those on the upper level.

 

I wondered if this was happening (I posted a question about this subject earlier on the AYWD thread).

[sail7seas]

Also, their was no issue renting out a condo in my area for September. The brokers came to me, tenants paid all brokers and move-in fees and Broker got the letter from the current tenant that they were not going to stay. This was over a month ago for September. Oh yea, I got more rent too.

 

Real Estate is not bad in all areas.

 

 

Where is 'here', Jade?

I think that most of the country is suffering real estate slump in a big way.

 

I imagine there are a few 'pockets' where that isn't the case but not many.