Yes, it is true that the cabin stewards work many hours on the RCL ships. This is why I tell the cab

Just got back from my first cruise on Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas. One bright spots on the ship was the service we received airline flights cheap from 4 people: Our Room Attendant, Waiter and assistant Waiter , in the main dining room, and one bar tender located on a pool deck neat out room where we got our soft drinks. We were able to spend some one-on-one time with each of them at various points during our 1 week trip and got to know them a little. At least enough they all know us on first name basis and shared personal information about ourselves.
I had heard from the rumor mill here and there that the cruise ship workers airline flights cheap made very low wages, worked very long hours, and over long period of times. To what extent I did not know until talking with these 4 wonderful young men and women. To say the least I was a bit shocked.
Each of them had the same story with respect to pay, hours, and contract term. As for pay they each received depending on exact position anywhere from 30 to $45 USD per day, work depending on job anywhere from 12 to 14 hours per day 7 days a week. They al have 8 month contracts airline flights cheap and work for 8 months straight followed with 2 months off. After 2 months if the Cruise airline flights cheap line liked their work they can go on another 8 month contract.
All of them are young in their 20�s, and come from mainly either developing countries like India, Philippines, China, and Mexico. I was appalled and ask them if they ever got a chance to get off the ship. They all said yes if they are willing airline flights cheap to give up their sleep and rest time. In fact we did see one of them on Nassau at a little bar/grill we visited and asked him to sit with us. Had a nice conversation with him and paid for his lunch.
The saddest story we heard was from our room attendant. On our third night was my wife�s birthday and I had a cake made for her to be served in the main dining room. It was a huge cake and we ended up taking airline flights cheap it to our room. I called the Room Attendant number to ask for ice because I knew Sheba would be the one to bring it, and we wanted to share the cake with her and tell her what a good job we thought she was doing.
When Sheba arrived about 2 minutes after calling, we invited her into the room for cake. This was about 7:45pm. She was really happy we took the time to invite her in and share cake. She stated she had not eaten since noon and was not scheduled for a meal until her shift ended at 10:00pm if she was caught up turning down beds. She said if she got caught eating in our room, she would be in serious trouble. We assured her no one would find out. She was from the India and had a two year old baby who was being taken care of by her sister in India. We asked her how she could stand to be away from her child so long. The answer was sad and warming at the same time. By working 2 terms she would earn enough money to build a real home for her whole family and enough left over to last for some time.
Sheba�s story was not unique as the other 3 said something similar in that they could work a couple airline flights cheap or 3 years and earn enough money to build homes and support their families. I was caught a bit off guard because how could they earn enough by only making around $40 per day. The answer was the tips us customers pay for their service , and the horrible economy of their native country.
Anyway after we talked to Sheba, shared our cake with her, and assured her she would be rewarded, needless to say the service was kicked up a couple of notches. For example our bathroom and room had plenty of towels sculpted in animal forms hanging everywhere, ice bucket was always full round the clock, a handful of chocolates on each pillow every night, airline flights cheap bottled water, and fresh fruit baskets airline flights cheap every morning.
So the moral to this story, be sure to tip the service airline flights cheap people appropriately as it is there main source airline flights cheap of income. Somehow these people airline flights cheap are able to serve graciously under extraordinary poor working conditions airline flights cheap (illegal in the USA) with a warm smile.
Yes, it is true that the cabin stewards work many hours on the RCL ships. This is why I tell the cabin stewards not to be cleaning my cabin twice a day and that I don't need the cutsy towel animals. I try to be nice to them and I tell them in advance that they will get their full tips at the end of the cruise. I sometimes airline flights cheap take them gifts that I buy in the ports. They do have it hard and they love the gifts and the tips too. I feel so sorry for them.
Do they work hard? Yes, they do. Do they sign on for a contract? Yes, they do. Do they know what the working conditions/hours are? Yes, they do. Do the Stewards go on break for at least 3 hours during the middle of the day? On our last Princess cruise they did. And, I am pretty sure that on a lot of cruise lines the Stewards have a mid-day break. And during this time, if you need anything airline flights cheap that the Steward would normally bring, you get it through room service.
p.s. We always tip extra to our steward. We always tip extra to servers airline flights cheap throughout the ship, ie...Horizon Court and Bar servers. And to our waiter and waiter-asst. Only once or twice have we withheld EXTRA tipping...but never their normal tip.
What Corky didn't spell out, about the amount of money they make, was that the seemingly small amount they earn with the tips included, often converts into a very substantial amount airline flights cheap of money when they take it back to their own country.
Heck, I can't think of any job in the US were I could work 12 hours per day, for only 16 months and have enough to buy even the most modest home, much less have anything left over. It would be tantamount to winning the lottery. If you know of job like that, point me to it.
For that matter, I work with other nurses who work 12 hour shifts,frequently times putting in stretches of 7 or eight days, without a day off. They do that, continuously, month after month, year after year, just to pay basic bills for their families. airline flights cheap And no end in sight for them. Their houses won't be paid off for thirty years. Are they abused, well actually I'd say yes,but most people don't realize it. And most won't feel sorry for them. But that's another story entirely. Suffice to say, I don't feel sorry for the crew on the ships. airline flights cheap I appreciate the work they do, and tip well. But is it abuse. No way.
Gayle - I agree with what you say. Also, one of my GF's is a surgical nurse and from the time she goes into work, until she gets off from work, most days she gets no lunch or break. She as well has a 30 yr mortgage, is putting 2 kids through college, has a car payment, etc. Is she abused? Not that I know of. She does get tired, of course, who doesn't in their job, but abused? No, she is providing for her family. Just like any worker, any where, is.
Man, working two 8 month shifts and being able to afford a house. I am thrilled for this young woman and thrilled that she is able to provide for her family, and thus, being able to make a better life for them, a better one than what maybe she had. And in no way am I comparing the USA with India. There is no comparison.
p.s. while on a cruise, or even in a hotel, we always tell our room steward/hotel attendant, airline flights cheap that he/she does not need to come in and clean every day. We are neat and tidy people and can make our own bed and can hang up our own towel - just like we do at home. We keep the Do Not Disturb sign in the door, unless we want service.
Can crew members make good money when they work on a cruise ship? Yes they can if they work hard, just like any job. Do crew members work long hours? Yes they do, just like many people who work on land, however the crew members day is broken up right around the clock. The crew member may have a couple hours off here and there but they may also work days, afternoons, evenings and nights in a 24 hour period. If a crew member is a member airline flights cheap of the fire team or first medical responders airline flights cheap team they do NOT get to leave the ship very often. They must be on call around the clock and do not get as much time off ship as other crew members. airline flights cheap Do crew members work long contracts? Yes the length depends on where they are from and the rules of that country. Some crew members will work longer contracts to gain longer vacations. airline flights cheap Just like many jobs the longer you work the more vacation time you can build up. In other words some crew may be on a ship for more then a year working 7 days a week. Does a crew member have privacy? No not unless they are the highest ranking officers airline flights cheap on the ship. Does a crew member get to talk to or see their family every day or so? No they will call home when they have the time available, the money available and can figure out the time difference from where they are to where their home is.
I loved working on a cruise ship and hope that someday I may be able to do so again. The hardest part is being away from your family for long periods of time. If there are problems at home you are not there to help you have very little you can do to help back home. Another hard part is working every single holiday and watching passengers have great times with their family and friends on holidays.
airline flights cheap The best part of being a crew member is meeting new people from all over the world. Getting to travel all over and see new things when time allows. Above all the times you get to see a passenger happy because they got to do something they thought they might have never done and they want to let you know your effort airline flights cheap to help them have a great time actually worked.
It must be borne in mind that most crew members of foreign-flagged vessels come from areas of the world whose standards of living are not equal to those in our country. But to them, working on a ship - hard as that work can be and with long hours - is FAR better than what they could have at home. Of course it's difficult to be separated from family, but what about our own Troops who are deployed overseas, not even knowing if they'll airline flights cheap be alive to return home.
Through my many years of travel, I've had the opportunity to visit behind the scenes on a number of cruise ships