Salaries on NCL Cruise Ship

[Southernbelle73]

Okay - I know that this is somewhat a personal question, but I was wondering if anyone knew what type of salary or compensation is paid to crew members on these ships? This might help people in deciding the appropriate amount for an extra tip......

 

Thanks

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Okay - I know that this is somewhat a personal question, but I was wondering if anyone knew what type of salary or compensation is paid to crew members on these ships? This might help people in deciding the appropriate amount for an extra tip......

 

Thanks

 

A very large part of their income is from the tips.

[johnql]

I don't know the exact amount that the crew receives as a salary, but I am certain that it is very low. The crew depends on their tips to make a living. In my opinion, the bare minimum that I consider appropriate is the amount recommended by the cruise line. I always leave the automatic tips in place and tip extra to those who go above and beyond. The amount extra is entirely up to you and depends on the level of service received. Sometimes I have given the room steward an extra $20 for doing something specific (e.g., keeping the ice bucket full) or an extra $50 for the week for being superlative overall. Other times, I have left an extra $10-20 in a specialty restaurant while leaving nothing on other occasions. For room service, $1-2 for a continental breakfast, perhaps $4-5 for a full dinner. Hope some of these examples help.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I would also like to add something. As someone who worked in the buffet on the ship for 1.5 years before going to reception, even if someone left $1 on the table it MADE OUR DAY. We could take that dollar and go buy a nice cold drink on our quick 10 minute break. It really brought a smile to our faces.

[egarrett1117]

I worked aboard the M/S Pride of Aloha as a Asst. Cook and made 7.69 and hour about 900 every 2 weeks but the foreign workers only make about 1000 a month and I know this because my roommate was from the Philippines and worked on the foriegn ships and broke it down to me.

[terrymtex01]

I would also like to add something. As someone who worked in the buffet on the ship for 1.5 years before going to reception, even if someone left $1 on the table it MADE OUR DAY. We could take that dollar and go buy a nice cold drink on our quick 10 minute break. It really brought a smile to our faces.

 

James.. thanks for posting this.. I always like to do what I can to let the crew know they are appreciated but I never thought of leaving a tip in the buffet area. We hardly eat in the buffet, maybe once or twice per cruise max, but you can bet I will leave a tip going forward.

[bluesea777]

My question for OhioNCLcruiser:

 

When we give extra tips to certain staff (room steward, sushi chef, etc) do they get to keep them for themselves - or do they have to put them in the tips pool to be shared by all staff?

[ohioNCLcruiser]

My question for OhioNCLcruiser:

 

When we give extra tips to certain staff (room steward, sushi chef, etc) do they get to keep them for themselves - or do they have to put them in the tips pool to be shared by all staff?

 

If the guests that gave them the tip kept their service charges on then they can keep them.

[Southernbelle73]

So the workers on board are not governed by US wage and hour laws? Just wondering = I work in Human Resources for a large construction company in Mississippi and could not imagine getting anyone to work those long hours for that wage.....

[Bennett'sCruise]

So the workers on board are not governed by US wage and hour laws? Just wondering = I work in Human Resources for a large construction company in Mississippi and could not imagine getting anyone to work those long hours for that wage.....

 

Nope. All the ships (except PoAmerica) are foreigned-flagged for this (and some other) reason(s).

[G'ma]

Okay - I know that this is somewhat a personal question, but I was wondering if anyone knew what type of salary or compensation is paid to crew members on these ships? This might help people in deciding the appropriate amount for an extra tip......

 

Thanks

 

Gratuities aren't based on what salary one might make. They are based on the service provided. Each cruise company has suggested tips on their website - which is low, I think. As for what salaries might be, a quick Google entry will give you some information. It's irrelevant anyway.

 

I always leave the suggested amount on my shipboard account and give extra cash to those who have served. My room steward, a favorite bartender, a deck waiter who has been attentive, etc.

 

I always tip in the casino, too. Win or lose, the dealer gets a tip. If I'm down to the last few chips, one of them goes to the dealer that has systematically taken my gambling money from me.... If there is a nice win along the line, a coupla chips go to the dealer.

[ukchris]

So the workers on board are not governed by US wage and hour laws? Just wondering = I work in Human Resources for a large construction company in Mississippi and could not imagine getting anyone to work those long hours for that wage.....

No they aren't, if they were you would end up with the situation that happened in NCLA, huge wage bills are one of the reasons it failed. Yes James, i know that there is still the POA and it's allegedly profitable now, it will be intersting to see how long it lasts though.

[coilover88]

I agree with the post that said salary is irrelevant. It's not our job to "take care of" employees of ANY business. HOWEVER--tipping should happen and it should reflect the service received. We never back out of auto tipping. Think about how thin that $10 a day gets spread. Our last cruise we tipped extra at nearly every venue. Bar or restaurant. Due to incredible service we tipped our steward $100 for the week. Also our butler received the same and the ass't butler was given $75.

The employees took their jobs without guns to their heads and I am not their employer. What they do for us personally though does rate remuneration when exceptional!

[Suni99]

ok let me get this right, we pay a 12$ fee per day and that covers our gratuities, so we do not have to tip anyone bc thats the fee we are paying for right? but if u choose to tip extra for great service you can? thanks i dont want to feel like a smuck, i thought we paid the gratuities up front.

[triplej2484]

Hey James back on any ships yet?

 

Anyway I can tell you for American ships...Printer was $9.69 an hour, asst printer $7.69 an hour and ShoreEx Staff was $8.60 an hour plus a department comission depending on the weeks take.

 

On Foreign ships, printer $1000 a month, asst printer $600 a month, ShoreEx staff $1800-$2000 a month plus the comission.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

The Pride of America crew got paid hourly and paychecks twice a month. About the same job on the international fleet is the same paycheck amount, but they only get one check a month so its about half of what ncla makes. HOWEVER due to full staff on the America and about a 8 month waiting list hours have dropped and its not a huge price difference anymore.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Oh and my goal is to be back on "a ship" in 5 weeks.

[DebbieCruises]

Do the people back in the kitchen area draw from the tip pool also? When I hear so many people making special requests of the chef, I hope they get the kudos AND money they deserve. I know the servers at least sometimes hear praise and receive extra tips, but how about the chefs and their assistants? People are so quick to complain if their meal isn't perfect, but think about how many great meals you have eaten on board. YUM! (Of course, anything I don't have to prepare, serve, and clean up is always better!)

[pocoloco24]

We just returned from the New England 10/5/08 cruise.

NCL automatically adds $ 10.oo per person / per day to your bill for the tips/compensation.

Therefore, you need not have to worry about figuring it out yourself at the end of the cruise.

In some ways this was OK, however, in some ways we weren't pleased with some of their service personnel. For example, their were very few 'friendly' bartenders.

Therefore, our total in tips for the 6 day cruise (for 2 people) was

$ 120.00.......

[CruisinMatt]

I agree with the post that said salary is irrelevant. It's not our job to "take care of" employees of ANY business. HOWEVER--tipping should happen and it should reflect the service received. We never back out of auto tipping. Think about how thin that $10 a day gets spread. Our last cruise we tipped extra at nearly every venue. Bar or restaurant. Due to incredible service we tipped our steward $100 for the week. Also our butler received the same and the ass't butler was given $75.

The employees took their jobs without guns to their heads and I am not their employer. What they do for us personally though does rate remuneration when exceptional!

 

Great post and I agree completely.

[coilover88]

Oh and my goal is to be back on "a ship" in 5 weeks.

 

 

That's great news!! Please start a thread when you have more info for us. :)

[seamare]

????

[seamare]

Oh and my goal is to be back on "a ship" in 5 weeks.

 

Do you know which ship you will be assigned to - are you allowed to specify which shiip?

[smeyer418]

We just returned from the New England 10/5/08 cruise.

NCL automatically adds $ 10.oo per person / per day to your bill for the tips/compensation.

Therefore, you need not have to worry about figuring it out yourself at the end of the cruise.

In some ways this was OK, however, in some ways we weren't pleased with some of their service personnel. For example, their were very few 'friendly' bartenders.

Therefore, our total in tips for the 6 day cruise (for 2 people) was

$ 120.00.......

 

 

The Bartenders are not part of the fixed service charge. They are tipped by the 15% that is added to each bar bill. So if you drank a fair amount and didn't remove the 15% you tipped more than 120.00 and you shouldn't take out on the service crew what the bartenders did. You really should consider them separately although of course you are not forced to tip extra. This I won't tip more because someone in another department treated me wrong is one of the reasons the service charge became mandatory.

[johnql]

ok let me get this right, we pay a 12$ fee per day and that covers our gratuities, so we do not have to tip anyone bc thats the fee we are paying for right? but if u choose to tip extra for great service you can? thanks i dont want to feel like a smuck, i thought we paid the gratuities up front.

The recommended amount is the only amount that is expected and you are certainly not required to tip any extra. If you receive exceptional service that deserves recognition, I'm pretty sure you will know it and then it's up to you to tip extra if you feel it's truly warranted. For most people, the automatic tips are debited to your onboard account daily and you settle the total tab at the end of the cruise. There are some (mostly non-Americans, I believe) who are given the opportunity to pre-pay their gratuities if that's what you meant by paying them upfront.