ccc666

Sorry there won't be any Drinks packages at all on Azura as the company is temporarily stopping drinks packages from that cruise .

But on a good note Drinks packages are starting on all ships end September

Fact is,

P&O we're exposed by me regarding this service charge.

If Guests will not have to pay increased fares who will suffer definitely not the company but the crew. 2 years back crew used to get new uniforms every contract now they have to reuse.

Crew will still expect a tip

P&O can make up for this in a number of ways without anyone even noticing

All the restaurants are going to be freedom dining very soon

Onlytime will tell but with so many crew member leaving P&O...they will have to come with a better pay structure

As the waiter on Oriana on our last cruise was in his 26th year, and some of the others we talked to had done over 10 years, I guess they think it's worthwhile!

As i said even $1000 is still good money for the hard work. As for old crew no other cruiseline will take them thats why they have to stick to P&O. Its difficult to find jobs at that age at least in India/Philllipines

Room service is the number to dial for most things like Specialty Teas, Milk , Wine Glasses. But if you need anything extra placed in cabin ask your Cabin Steward. You can ask your Cabin Steward for Ice.

P&O Itenary is mostly around Europe with Southampton being the turnaround Port. So when Crew go shopping in Asda we still pay UK prices, we dont get a discount. When we sit in a cafe on our lunch off we still Pay Spanish Prices with the VAT.

All the information provided by me is correct. The name of the document is "Salary & Bonus Payment Scheme - Restaurant & Accommodation Crew". Its a 20 page document which explains the salary structure.

Sorry but not facts have been quoted. Only your or Johns calculations. They are not facts.

 

By saying it over and over again does not make them facts.

I heard about The Flat Earth Society. Everybody knows the shape of the Earth. So Some people just want to believe their own made up nonsense and say that others are wrong or fake

Since the earlier calculation of how much P&O collect from auto grats died with the lost thread I thought I should resurrect it for the few remaining doubters.

If we assume that each steward looks after 18 cabins and they receive 40% of the auto tip, which I believe is what was advised before auto grats, then full auto grats would result in each stewards bonus being nearly £37000pa, and this element of his wage is only supposed to be a tip.:confused:

The calculation is £14 per cabin per day, multiplied by 40%, equals £100.80 per day, which equates to £36792pa. Now I am no maths genius but if there are any errors in the above then I am happy to be proved wrong.

I certainly do not want to deprive staff of a fair tip, but unless I have made a major error then there are some pertinent questions that P&O need to answer, but they will remain tight lipped just as long as long as the money keeps rolling in.

I am not claiming that P&O are doing anything wrong, clearly staff wages have to be paid for out of revenue, and this comes from us the customers, and one way or another we will end up paying. What I do object to is that those still paying the auto grats do appear to be paying more than their fair share. :(

This is not how we get our salary sir. Has anyone wondered why so many crew are leaving P&O. Surely if the money was good why leave. Even $1000 is a lot of money I agree but its for 300 hours in a month not for 160 hours. Yes we get free food and accommodation. But the quality of food? Working on a cruise ship is different than any land based Job. But yes we chose to work there because the money is good for the hard work we put in

You are correct. They work 9 month contracts with 3 months off. The 3 months off are unpaid, so they receive no holiday pay. They also have no days off during the 9 months and just one shift (2.5 hours) off per week to go ashore. This equates to a 67.5 hour working week.

The working week is 70 hrs per week for Indians restaurant/ CS crew and 77 Hours/Week for Filipino restaurant/CS but most work on average 10 Hours a day. Vacation is unpaid, thats true. Yes no days off during a contract. One lunch off yes 2.5 hrs but not every week, it comes in rotation according to a rota. Mostly once every month on an average.

In addition to the normal work on Turnaround days the Restaurant Staff are doing Storing in the stores plus Delivering your Bags to the Cabin

Filipino Crew members have option of either 6 months or 10 month contracts but can be extended to max 11 months

Indian crew have option of either 6 months or 9 months contracts but can extend to max 10 months

Please note Officers have even lesser duration contracts depending on rank

All the information provided by me is correct. The name of the document is "Salary & Payment Bonus Scheme - Restaurant & Accommodation Crew". Its a 20 page document which explains the salary structure.

For those who think its made up, its your own choice but please show it to your cabin steward/ waiter and verify on your next cruise.Only basic pay is calculated at $1.35 per GBP. Rest Bonus is at $1.3188 per GBP.

with the new management on P&O things have only got worse both for crew & guests. I think sooner than later the afternoon tea in the MDR will go replaced by Eric's in the fine dining outlet. With P&O everything is possible.

In more than one way although I could be wrong. As I understand it, a share of the auto tips goes directly to the CS with no caveats. Plus Americans are more generous with tips so they will earn more on top for doing a good job.

 

My last sailing on RC was in a suite. They had 2 people servicing the room. The same applied when I sailed with Celebrity and Cunard (both suites). So adequate resourcing does make a difference to quality of service and easing pressure on staff. A matter for management to consider.

Yes RCCL has a different arrangement than P&O. Prepaid tips are directly given to the crew serving you. And yes they look after their staff much better than P&O. No wonder many crew from P&O juoining RCCL.

You have made some interesting points.

I agree standards have slipped and when we give 10s maybe we are giving a false picture.

TBH 8-9 would be an honest appraisal but when we are consistently told only 10s will get crew their bonus,days off etc it is emotional blackmail.

The same happens on Royal Carribean that i know and probably other cruise lines too.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

The workload has increased, targets have increased too but not the wage. Crew are resigning and joining other cruise lines. Its a fact you can verify with crew on your next cruise. At present P&O is facing staff shortage. Few months back there were 34 Waiters short in the Restaurants on one of the ships. So there was no afternoon tea in the MDR and the Beach house was closed as well. With recent recruitment and the staff from Adonia things have almost come back to normal

I've always had to request ice and lemons. This was the first time I've had a refusal.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Forums mobile app

I would say the CS was lazy as that request can be easily accommodated. Complaint to reception immediately turns you into a VIP

I think I am going to fill in my next form ( in a couple of weeks from now yay ) excellent and I am going to put a separate letter in the box telling P and O that their system is stupid because no one wants to dob their staff in so they get penalised financially ! P and O should be truthful..it is not a form to gauge real customer satisfaction, it is in reality, a tool to keep tabs on their staff, keep them in line and it causes customer aggravation to be pestered to give excellent marks from anxious and fearful staff.

At least some on this forum understands. When you dont receive a form, understand that it is kept aside to manipulate scores

Do you think the drawer is thoroughly cleaned before the next occupant puts their make up, medication or whatever in the same drawer?

 

Also it would never cross my mind that of the hundreds items of clothing the steward handles over the cruise s/he would take any interest in mine. But as you say 'each to their own'.

On a turnaround day the CS gets up at 6 AM to prepare on an average 19 cabins by 1 PM. Thats 22 minutes per cabin. I know some CS outsource some of the work to crew from other departments

Which brings me back to what some of us are advocating about service charges should be included in the cruise price and if someone is excellent we can give them a personal cash tip so the financial aspect is removed from the guest survey.

 

Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app

Do you really believe that by including service charge in the fare P&O will give staff a decent wage.

This is the first cruise where I saw the stewards cart without lemons and ice buckets in the evenings.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Forums mobile app

Its called cost cutting. Some things on request only now. Some ships you have to ask for Honey jars in the MDR. Everything works according to a budget.