Hi,
My family and I did a 17 night HAL cruise last Dec-Jan. It was our first. It was superb in every respect! Our six and ten year olds cried saying farewell to the cabin and wait staff. In discussing with our favourite waiter, we discovered he was a teacher. He was earning between four and five times what he would have been earning if he had stayed teaching in Bali. HAL gives you the choice of removing the enforced tips on your account at the end of the cruise. These get shared around the Philipino and Indonesian crew members according to a preset formula. You can also tip individuals directly. However, the American kids' club staff told us that the ratings/comments on the evaluation forms carry a great deal of weight in terms of contracts, promotions, conditions etc for the Indonesian/Philipino crew.