Crew Pay Revealed!

[sk8teacher]

So there have been numerous questions about how much does various members of the crew make, and you know you really would like to know :D .

 

Well here you go, an actual job posting from Craigslist!

 

"Get on board with the best job at sea!

 

Now recruiting seasonal and full time Youth Staff to work/live onboard a cruise ship for weeks or months at a time. Work with the best activity programs at sea! Travel and visit beautiful ports of call.

 

Minimum hiring requirement: 3 to 5 years working with youth ages 3 to 17 yrs of age in a YMCA, School or similar background.

Must be 21 years of age.

 

Please note that we are able to conduct interviews via webcam if a recruitment trip is not scheduled in your area.

 

Just Cruis'n Recruitment Team

http://www.cruiseshipemployment.ca

 

Ensure you subscribe to our site for your free E Book to assist you in determining a career at sea!

 

Location: Onboard a cruise ship

Compensation: 1250.00 US to 1560.00 US per month - room, board and medical insurance is provided

This is a contract job."

 

Cheers,

[GmaPajama]

Sorry I can't share in the excitement of finding out how much a crew member might earn. It makes no difference to me, and I consider anyone else's salary none of my business. Even if my cabin steward was making 6 figures, I'd still tip him generously. :)

[kryos]

Be aware, though, that their medical insurance is only in force while they are actually on a contract. When they go home between contracts, they have no coverage.

 

I believe they also have to pay for their own uniforms and in some cases their transportation to/from the ship.

 

I love some of these ads, though. They make it sound like the workers are almost cruise passengers too. Not so. See exotic ports? Yeah? Pray tell, who watches the kids while in port then? These people will be lucky on some cruise lines to get off at maybe two ports on a seven-day cruise, and then only for a limited number of hours. Also, most of them spend their valuable port time running to a Walmart to pick up needed supplies so that they don't have to spend a fortune getting those things onboard ship. They spend a lot of time, too, queuing up to use the limited number of pay phones at the pier to keep in touch with family/friends back home.

 

I'm not saying this is a bad way of life. Lord knows, if I were 30 years younger, I would have been interested in a job onboard ship. But it's not the glamour life the cruise lines try to make it out to be. It's a lot of hard work, and especially today with the cruise lines tightening their belts ... they want as much as possible out of each employee taking up a bed onboard that ship.

 

$1,560 a month may sound like a lot, but frankly I don't think it's that great. Don't forget ... while they get room and board free, they have to pay for everything else ... personal items, drinks, etc. True, they get crew rates, but those rates are probably still higher than the average person would spend on land for those things.

 

I think this would be a nice life for a year or two, but after that I think most people would burn out. Especially in a job as a youth counselor ... could you imagine dealing with some of these rambunctious children every day, seven days a week? You can't yell at them, you can't get tough with them, yet they are under no such restrictions. In fact, if you do give them a hard time, they'll run to mom and dad so fast ... and you'll find yourself the subject of a major shipboard investigation.

 

Sorry ... not for me ... not for $2,560 per month!

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[jtl513]

Compensation: 1250.00 US to 1560.00 US per month - room, board and medical insurance is provided

Have you never in your life fallen for an employment agency come-on ad, only to find out when you sit down in their office that no specific job offering the advertised amount of money really exists? I have ... and I don't believe this one. :(

[Krazy Kruizers]

Some time ago HAL did announce that the crew have to buy their own uniforms.

 

And it was also announced that they had to pay their own transportation home. HAL pays for them to come to the ship. Not certain if that has changed.

 

And it is true -- they have no insurance once they leave the ship for vacation.

[donh1]

In my opinion the medical insurance coverage is not an act of generosity but rather a necessity for the cruiseline. When a crew member takes sick they have very limited options. They simply cannot drop the crew member at the next port of call and wish him good luck in finding free medical care. The ship is stuck with him. I would be very surprised to hear if any of the cruiselines don't have basic medical coverage. Immigration officials would simply deny the crew member entry.

[bermuda triangle]

Crew/Cruise Staff have had to purchase their uniforms for quite a while now. Cruise Staff and photographers pay for their travel expenses to-from the ship when beginning and ending a contract.

The cruise line pays if they are switching from one ship to another. This may or may not be the case for the crew. They hold approx. $500 for air expenses, in case you need to leave hastily.

 

Laura

[sail-a-bration]

My husband asked our steward how much of the 10.00 per day tip he recieved and he said 3.50. He also asked earlier how many rooms he had to clean and he said 12. If you figure 2 people per cabin x$3.50 =$7.00 x12= $84 per day. Cruise after cruise, the work is hard, and they are exhausted but, they pay is good and they can work 3 months on and 1 month off. Most employees are from countries where long hours and bad pay is common, so most love their ship and job.

[jtl513]

My husband asked our steward how much of the 10.00 per day tip he recieved and he said 3.50. He also asked earlier how many rooms he had to clean and he said 12. If you figure 2 people per cabin x$3.50 =$7.00 x12= $84 per day.

The last two stewards I've asked had 15 cabins. Now that HAL is going to $11/p/d (as of Oct 8) I'm wondering where the new $1 is being put. $0.50 more for room steward and $0.50 more for dining room staff? Or what? Anybody know?

[Silver sailor]

The posted salary is for the Youth Staff

While there may be some tipping involved, I assume this would not be included in the mandatory $10 per day

Also must assume that the bartenders and room steawrds "salary' would be much less since their income would be more dependent on tips

[Barocl]

Cabin Stewards and Diningroom Waiters don't work 3months on and a month off, unless it has changed in the past month. They are aboard for a year and the last time I had a chat with a Hotel Manager he said they were trying to get their (Stewards and Waiters) contracts down to 10 months. Take care.

[sail7seas]

I fail to understand the fascination with what other people earn. I wouldn't want anyone asking DH how much he earns and I certainly don't think it anything I would dream of asking a cruise ship crew member. Why is their salary/earnings our business?

 

Sorry if this sounds abrupt but it is a sore spot with me. Sure, I didn't have to open this thread but I did for the purpose of posting this message.

 

Are they not entitled to the littlest bit of privacy?

 

[jhannah]

I love some of these ads, though. They make it sound like the workers are almost cruise passengers too.

I lost the link long ago, but recruiting videos were posted here maybe 2 years ago. In them, current crew spoke candidly about working conditions. These folks know well in advance what the terms of their employment are. And they DO get to leave the ship at least some of the time.

[sail7seas]

We visited on Eurodam today and ran into one of our all time favorite dining stewards. After hugs and smiles and catching up, he told us he had some off this afternoon and was going to spend some time enjoying (one of his favorite cities :) ) Boston. He is on at least his 8th or more contract. If it was so awful, I'm very sure he would have gotten a job at home and stayed there. He keeps returning to the ships as that is what he wants to do, how he wants to earn his living.

[DougC43]

I fail to understand the fascination with what other people earn. I wouldn't want anyone asking DH how much he earns and I certainly don't think it anything I would dream of asking a cruise ship crew member. Why is their salary/earnings our business?

 

Sorry if this sounds abrupt but it is a sore spot with me. Sure, I didn't have to open this thread but I did for the purpose of posting this message.

 

Are they not entitled to the littlest bit of privacy?

 

I've discovered that this is a cultural thing: we North Americans consider financial privacy very important, but many cultures do not. A friend who spent time in Israel working on his doctorate told us that Israelis will ask and talk freely about how much you or they make or spend; the question you mustn't ask them is anything regarding their health. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa you may talk about health or money, but not AIDs.

 

Cabin Stewards and Diningroom Waiters don't work 3months on and a month off, unless it has changed in the past month. They are aboard for a year and the last time I had a chat with a Hotel Manager he said they were trying to get their (Stewards and Waiters) contracts down to 10 months. Take care.

 

A crew member on the Eurodam told us last month that they are on 10-month contracts, so it sounds as though they've achieved that goal.

[sail7seas]

Some (a good number) of stewards choose to extend their contracts and stay longer. We spoke with several on Maasdam who told us they opted to stay aboard longer.

 

[JABTPS]

My daughter completed one of these seasonal employments with NCL. You start out at the bottom $1,200 per month working on average 10 hrs per day 7 days per week. That worked out to less than minimum wage. You had to commit to a minimum of 4 months, otherwise if shorter, you paid for the airfare back. They would pay for the airfare RT normally.

 

When she arrived late at night into NY to check in at the Hotel, they tried to put her in a room share with a man! After agonizing call at 2:00am in the morning and all in tears, they finally found a room for her. What a way to start off the whole cruise job. :mad:

 

What they didn't tell her at the beginning was the amount of hours worked, that she had to pay for her physical and chest x-ray ($450). Yes, they provided the uniform, room and board. She said the food was sub par for the staff, received on average $50 per week in the tip share, and was short handed on staff.

[cruz chic]

I fail to understand the fascination with what other people earn. I wouldn't want anyone asking DH how much he earns and I certainly don't think it anything I would dream of asking a cruise ship crew member. Why is their salary/earnings our business?

 

Sail, I'm sorry but this doesn't make sense. You've posted this before and unless your DH works for Holland America why would it be the same. We are paying part of their salary so it is different. If you are not interested in this thread move on to the next. It isn't too exciting to me either but I don't care if people want to discuss it.

[agabbymama]

I fail to understand the fascination with what other people earn. I wouldn't want anyone asking DH how much he earns and I certainly don't think it anything I would dream of asking a cruise ship crew member. Why is their salary/earnings our business?

 

Sorry if this sounds abrupt but it is a sore spot with me. Sure, I didn't have to open this thread but I did for the purpose of posting this message.

 

Are they not entitled to the littlest bit of privacy?

 

 

I don't have a fascination with the salary of anyone, but I was appalled to learn their wages are so low. That's why I'm glad that most of the cruiselines have gone to the service fee per day per passenger. I don't have to worry about tipping anyone but room service, unless I want to.

 

Now just a short story, on our Celebrity cruise, $10.50 was automatically added to our shipboard account each day of a 12 day cruise. Our cabin was amongst the suites on deck 6, our room steward had I believe he told us 8 cabins. He treated us like royalty, and anytime we opened the door, there he was. It was like he was our private steward. Don't know how he could keep up with 8 cabins providing that kind of service, but he did. My friend bought a new wallet and threw the old one in the trash. When we returned from dinner it was out of the trash laying on the desk. I found 3 $100 dollar bills folded and hidden in that wallet that she had forgotten all about. Now the room steward could have gone through that wallet, don't know if he did, but he didn't take the money. That earned him an extra $20 from her immediately and $40 extra from each of us at the end of the cruise. We were so appreciative of his honesty as well as the great service.

 

It's a job I wouldn't want to do, and they usually do it, and do it well with a smile.

[sapper1]

Sail, I'm sorry but this doesn't make sense. You've posted this before and unless your DH works for Holland America why would it be the same. We are paying part of their salary so it is different. If you are not interested in this thread move on to the next. It isn't too exciting to me either but I don't care if people want to discuss it.

Hi Lorene--I see you are online. Check your Facebook messages.

[Jade13]

My husband asked our steward how much of the 10.00 per day tip he recieved and he said 3.50. He also asked earlier how many rooms he had to clean and he said 12. If you figure 2 people per cabin x$3.50 =$7.00 x12= $84 per day. Cruise after cruise, the work is hard, and they are exhausted but, they pay is good and they can work 3 months on and 1 month off. Most employees are from countries where long hours and bad pay is common, so most love their ship and job.

 

On Noordam our cabin steward had 15 cabins. I recall this because he said he went from servicing 20 crew cabins one per day to 15 guest cabins twice per day.

[SakeDad]

When I was hired by HAL to be a Stage Manager I was flown to Venice Italy on ther dime. But when I decided what they were paying me was not worth working 18 hour days and having to fight to get off in port I gladly paid for my own airfare home! Interesting point...had I done something to get fired they would have paid for my flight home, but I chose not to end that way.

I will say while many of the cast and alot of the crew were getting screwed by the cabins they were given (couples given bunkbeds, stewards and waiters literally sharing the same beds based on shifts, some sleeping in hallways until they could get cabins) I had an officers cabin on Deck A and was extrememly happy with it. Cruise Department (Entertainment, etc...) had Officers status so we could eat in Lido and visit passenger areas. Also, the same food served in Lido was served everyday in the Petty Officer's area, so there were good choices, I thought.

There were ALOT of positives and ALOT of negatives to working on a ship. For me the negatives outweighed the positive for the little money they pay. I can make alot more money on land so I was hoping that the experience of being at sea and seeing all the ports would be my paycheck. It just didn't happen that way. And I was making MORE than what that ad offered.

[Taxguy7]

Last year on AZ, the casino bartender (from Bali) was married & his wife was expecting her 1st child. He was very excited, but sad he would still be on contract at birth. Another pax asked if he could shorten his contract and he said yes, but if he did he had to pay transportation home, not if he fulfilled the contract.

One night he looked quite down so I asked him if anything was wrong, he said AZ policy was to give crew a reduced phone rate during hours there was no pax use so he a few others had been getting up at 2 or 3AM to call family, but they had changed to FULL pax rates that AM.

 

Lafinvegas Vegas has shows so far superior to cruise ships I think it would be frustrating to work a ship.

[kryos]

Crew/Cruise Staff have had to purchase their uniforms for quite a while now. Cruise Staff and photographers pay for their travel expenses to-from the ship when beginning and ending a contract.

The cruise line pays if they are switching from one ship to another. This may or may not be the case for the crew. They hold approx. $500 for air expenses, in case you need to leave hastily.

If I recall correctly, HAL pays the transportation expenses for employees in certain job descriptions ... the ones that don't normally earn tips. I don't know where Club HAL personnel would fit into there, though, since I would assume they get tips from the parents whose kids they watch.

 

But your cabin steward, waiter, and any other tip-earning employee has to pay their own transportation expenses home. I wasn't aware HAL paid them to the ship, but maybe they do. HAL will also pay the transportation expenses for any employee who they transfer mid-contract to another ship.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Sail, I'm sorry but this doesn't make sense. You've posted this before and unless your DH works for Holland America why would it be the same. We are paying part of their salary so it is different. If you are not interested in this thread move on to the next. It isn't too exciting to me either but I don't care if people want to discuss it.

I don't see where this would be any different at all.

 

Theoretically, "people" are paying part of her DH's salary too ... those people who are his customers/clients, etc. So, would it be appropriate, say, for a client to ask his lawyer what he earns in a year? Of course not. Or, how about a doctor ... "what did you rake in this month, sir?"

 

I don't think it's any of our "dammed" business what the crew makes. I also don't think we need to pity them either for their hard life.

 

When we accept employment, we accept it based on pay and benefits. That pay and those benefits are between us and our employers and really none of anyone else's business ... with the possible exception of elected officials and perhaps the heads of non-profit agencies.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita