salaries of cruise workers?
Dec 17, 2009, 6:04 pm
#31
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: louisville,ky usa
Programs: Delta Platinum, HH Diamond, , AA Gold, Bonvoy Titaniu
Posts: 619
sbagal-- This was our first HAL cruise in 12 years-- can't say that I noticed a drop off in cabin attendance and certainly, there was no shortage of towel animals......
Jan 16, 2010, 10:15 pm
#32
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2
cruise workers housekeeping
I take 4 cruises a year and I have meet most of the housekeeping men & women on the cruise ships that I go on. VERY FEW of them make $ 2,500.00 IF THAT, In fact the last cruise that I took was just in Nov. 09 the housekeeping staff was great and I ask the steward housekeeping what you make, working ten hours a day, seven days a week, for ten months and NO TIME OFF, now this is housekeeping. She said $ 1,500.00 they also get room, board and they get to travel. She said, it is better here than back home.
I don't care what some else says, you HAVE TO ASK THEM.
I do know that the cards that you get, when your cruise is almost over, the ones where they ask you how was your cruise to fill out, to let them know how you where treated. If that cruise employee gets 7 cards they receive a half day off with pay. Then there are some of the cruise employees that don't receive any tips at all. So the next time you take a cruise ask. Some only make $600.00 a month.
I don't care what some else says, you HAVE TO ASK THEM.
I do know that the cards that you get, when your cruise is almost over, the ones where they ask you how was your cruise to fill out, to let them know how you where treated. If that cruise employee gets 7 cards they receive a half day off with pay. Then there are some of the cruise employees that don't receive any tips at all. So the next time you take a cruise ask. Some only make $600.00 a month.
Last edited by musicking; Jan 16, 2010 at 10:20 pm Reason: spelling
Jan 16, 2010, 10:20 pm
#33
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2
I take 4 cruises a year and I have meet most of the housekeeping men & women on the cruise ships that I go on. VERY FEW of them make $ 2,500.00 IF THAT, In fact the last cruise that I took was just in Nov. 09 the housekeeping staff was great and I ask the steward housekeeping what you make, working ten hours a day, seven days a week, for ten months and NO TIME OFF, now this is housekeeping. She said $ 1,500.00 they also get room, board and they get to travel. She said, it is better here than back home.
I don't care what some else says, you HAVE TO ASK THEM.
I do know that the cards that you get, when your cruise is almost over, the ones where they ask you how was your cruise to fill out, to let them know how you where treated. If that cruise employee gets 7 cards they receive a half day off with pay. Then there are some of the cruise employees that don't receive any tips at all. So the next time you take a cruise ask. Some only make $600.00 a month.
I don't care what some else says, you HAVE TO ASK THEM.
I do know that the cards that you get, when your cruise is almost over, the ones where they ask you how was your cruise to fill out, to let them know how you where treated. If that cruise employee gets 7 cards they receive a half day off with pay. Then there are some of the cruise employees that don't receive any tips at all. So the next time you take a cruise ask. Some only make $600.00 a month.
Jan 17, 2010, 9:58 am
#34
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA PLT/5MM; AS MVP GLD 75K; DL DM; EK SLV; HHonors DIAM; Marriott GLD
Posts: 4,092
I was shocked that a head bar tender on one of my fave cruise lines had a base salary of $50 plus tips. They add 15% but the guests can add additional tips. So if they get nice americans, they do get more. But most other nationalities won't. It's all cultural. Basically they're slave laborers.
Funny.... just last week I spent a couple of hours talking with the bar staff of a large five-star hotel in a third world country. Roughly half of them aspired to work on a cruise ship-- where they looked forward to making (for them) substantial wages and getting the opportunity to see the world.
These folks weren't naive as to working conditions either, as they all had friends and/or relatives who had worked on (or were presently working on) cruise ships and were very, very happy with the experience.
The competition for these positions is significant... these employees all had college degrees in tourism, were fluent in English, and spoke about the rigorous screening process.
These folks weren't naive as to working conditions either, as they all had friends and/or relatives who had worked on (or were presently working on) cruise ships and were very, very happy with the experience.
The competition for these positions is significant... these employees all had college degrees in tourism, were fluent in English, and spoke about the rigorous screening process.
Jan 17, 2010, 2:29 pm
#35
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: New York City
Posts: 4,002
What exactly is the etiquette of asking someone what they make? After all, I wouldn't like it if a cruise worker asked what I make. I wouldn't expect a truthful answer from the cruise worker, necessarily, either.
Jan 20, 2010, 1:22 pm
#36
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Sarasota FL
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 403
FYI : Youth Staff are not highly paid professionals
My daughter, a recent college graduate, worked on Alaskan and holiday sailings for a mid-market cruise line. Out of her meager pay, $385/wk, she had to reimburse the cruise line for her employment physical ($275), pay for the baggage check fee and transportation to and home from the airport. She also had to tip the cabin steward that cleaned her room, paid to do her own laundry, and bought the majority of the uniform she wore.
Hardly anyone tips the youth staff because of some (convenient) notion that they are more highly paid than the foreign workers. On her recent Christmas cruise, her share of the few, pooled tips, was $15. There were over three hundred fifty children onboard and 10 staff. Sadly, no tipping guidelines on any line I've ever sailed on suggests tipping this category of worker. Now I know and I''m happy to share this information with you.
Hardly anyone tips the youth staff because of some (convenient) notion that they are more highly paid than the foreign workers. On her recent Christmas cruise, her share of the few, pooled tips, was $15. There were over three hundred fifty children onboard and 10 staff. Sadly, no tipping guidelines on any line I've ever sailed on suggests tipping this category of worker. Now I know and I''m happy to share this information with you.
Jan 25, 2010, 8:38 pm
#37
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UT
Programs: AA Plat, BA, UA, AS, DL. HH diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 216
2 cents from the entertainment side...
I'm a graduate student in costume design in theatre. I also run wardrobe for shows. This summer, I worked with many talented actors in their 20s and 30s who were all vying for 1 or 2 roles as performers on various cruise lines. It's a coveted gig for actors, singers, entertainers, and technicians like wardrobe, lighting, rigging, etc. Salary for those jobs tends to run around $35,000 yr plus benefits, and of course there is virtually no cost of living while you're on board except for outrageous cell phone/internet bills. (For some salary perspective, I was working 40+ hours/week for less than $250/week pre-tax, and this was considered good pay). So needless to say, it's actually very good salary in the entertainment line of work. However, it's definitely geared towards young, single, unattached employees; when you are not sailing you may be informed of a 10 month position literally 2 days before you are expected to be on the ship. Working hours are long and rooms are tiny and shared. The salary and travel are nice, but after a couple of years, most actors/technicians tend to want to move on to more esteemed resume-building work and/or join equity.
May 11, 2011, 9:45 am
#38
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: USA
Programs: All of em...
Posts: 1,265
I'm a graduate student in costume design in theatre. I also run wardrobe for shows. This summer, I worked with many talented actors in their 20s and 30s who were all vying for 1 or 2 roles as performers on various cruise lines. It's a coveted gig for actors, singers, entertainers, and technicians like wardrobe, lighting, rigging, etc. Salary for those jobs tends to run around $35,000 yr plus benefits, and of course there is virtually no cost of living while you're on board except for outrageous cell phone/internet bills. (For some salary perspective, I was working 40+ hours/week for less than $250/week pre-tax, and this was considered good pay). So needless to say, it's actually very good salary in the entertainment line of work. However, it's definitely geared towards young, single, unattached employees; when you are not sailing you may be informed of a 10 month position literally 2 days before you are expected to be on the ship. Working hours are long and rooms are tiny and shared. The salary and travel are nice, but after a couple of years, most actors/technicians tend to want to move on to more esteemed resume-building work and/or join equity.
I've only done minor research, but is there a decent demand for drummers? Most of the stuff I looked at said that most ships only have 1 band on it. True from your experience?
Are you still working on board?
I tour full time in a band, and I wonder if our FOH would be interested in a rigging, tech, or FOH gig on a cruise ship in the future. Very interesting stuff! Feel free to PM me.
May 29, 2011, 9:18 am
#39
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Canada
Programs: Hhonors Diamond, Fairmont Platinum
Posts: 371
I've been on the Carnival Miracle a few times out of NY and developed a bit of a rapport with our wait staff. I take the information with a bit of a grain of salt just the same. Our waiter said he made about 80-100$ a month in his base salary, the rest was in tips. He said that a large portion of people did remove the auto tips but that he still made an "excellent" salary compared to his family back home. Carnival provided health care, food and lodging and reduced prices on drinks.
I've forgotten the majority of the details but he worked a ridiculous schedule with just enough time off a day to sleep and got a half day off a week which he would use to do his laundry etc.
According to him the Maitre'd was a non salaried position and he worked solely for room & board and tips.
I've forgotten the majority of the details but he worked a ridiculous schedule with just enough time off a day to sleep and got a half day off a week which he would use to do his laundry etc.
According to him the Maitre'd was a non salaried position and he worked solely for room & board and tips.
Feb 17, 2018, 8:48 pm
#40
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 146
Anyone know approximately how much cruise workers, particularly inhousekeeping, are paid? I was channel-surfing last night and came across a cruise show (I think on msnbc) that said cabin stewards get $2500/month. This seems way too high. Does anyone have information on this?
Last edited by anonimous; Feb 17, 2018 at 8:55 pm
Feb 17, 2018, 9:36 pm
#41
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: UA Plat/2MM [23-yr. 1K, now emeritus] clawing way back to WN-A List; MR LT Titanium; HY Whateverist.
Posts: 12,396
The information in this thread is unreliably old -- much of it is nearing 9 years old. As this could be a disservice to the discussion here, I'll close this thread, but the topic may be discussed with current economic conditions in a new thread in the forum. Thanks, Ocn Vw 1K, Senior Moderator.