I work on 'independence of the seas'!

Describe your typical day for embarkation, sea day and disembarkation if you would please.

Standard sea-day for us crew members will be working 14 hours +

I wake up at 7:45am in my cabin for a shower, and then breakfast in the 'crew mess'. We start work at 8:45am with a team meeting, and the shops open at 9:00am. We bring all of our 'promo' islands out into the promenade, and put a smile on our faces, ready to serve the guests. The first sea day is always very busy.

We work straight till lunch. We take turns between ourselves on a rotational system for our breaks. We all get 1 hour for lunch. Lunch in the 'crew mess' will usually consist of rice, meat and vegetables. Sometimes there's pizza! The last group on their lunch break will finish at 1:30pm.

After lunch it's back to the shops. At 4pm we will have to start breaking down the 'promo' islands that are in the middle of the promenade, as the first sea-day is formal night on the ship - which begins at 6pm with the Captain's reception.

The shops will be a lot more quiet at this point, so half of us will go on their dinner break. We get 2 hours for this, which will take us nicely to 8:00pm. Again, dinner in the 'crew mess' will consist of rice, meat and vegetables - but sometimes we will treat ourselves and go to Johnny Rockets! I love those Chicken Tenders!

After our dinner break, half the team will head back to the shops, and the other half will head to the stockroom. The team in the stockroom will start to prepare stock for the next day's 'promo' island, and other work that might need to be done e.g. inventory, pricing, general tidying.

By 10:00pm everyone in the stockroom will head back to the shops for the last hour. Stock for tomorrow's 'promo' island will be prepared, and general cleaning and maintenance of the shops can begin.

At 11:00pm we close the shops, and have a team meeting.

11:15pm we can have a beer in the crew bar!

Yes, I am technically not employed by Royal Caribbean. As shop staff, I work for my retail company called Harding Retail.

I hear that Independence has a different retail company than all the other ships - is this correct?

There are certain souvenirs that we've seen on other ships that we haven't been able to get on Indy and this was the reason given. However, we'd very much like an Independence shot glass to match the others we have! Does such a thing exist?

How do the retail shops handle passengers who attempt to leave without paying for an item (if it ever happens).

How do the retail shops handle passengers who attempt to leave without paying for an item (if it ever happens).

There is a brig on the ship.

Very interesting!:)

There is a brig on the ship.

But do they really arrest people?

But do they really arrest people?

I was kidding about putting shoplifters in the brig. However, I could see them putting shoplifters off the ship at the next stop.

But do they really arrest people?

I was kidding about putting shoplifters in the brig. However, I could see them putting shoplifters off the ship at the next stop.

As for shoplifters, they would charge their onboard account, and then decide whether to disembark them or not, depending on their attitude.

As for arrests, yes, international law gives the Captain "overriding authority" (no one, not even the bosses at corporate can override a Captain's decision) to make any decision or take any action (like placing someone in the brig or in lockdown in their cabin) required for the safety and well being of the passengers, crew, and environment.

But do they really arrest people?

I thought that I had seen that they will sometimes quarantine unruly passengers in their cabins with security posted outside. . .

You have to pay income taxes in the country where you are bases and employed. On a ship this is usually the country where it is registered, e.g. if you work with Costa or Aida you pay taxes in Italy. The US requests all US citizens independent from where they are based to make a tax declaration and to pay the difference between other taxes and US taxes to them. This makes it expensive. However, Norwegian or Swedish seaman based in Norway or Sweden pay a lot more...

 

 

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This information is NOT correct.

I am a US citizen who has lived and worked outside the USA for the past 40 years. Most of those years were on non-US flagged cruise ships.

Yes, US citizens must legally file US tax returns every year, no matter where we live or work.

Although I live on a cruise ship for 9 months every year, I am not a resident of the ship, nor am I a resident of the country where the ship is flagged. Nor am I required to pay any taxes to the country where the ship is flagged.

I have worked on ships flagged in Norway, Germany, Italy, Bermuda, Bahamas, Croatia, Holland, Turks & Caicos, Panama, Malaysia, and Singapore. I have never been asked or required to pay any income taxes to any of those countries.

I am paid in cash every month, somewhere on the high seas. The flag country for my ship has no idea how much I am paid.

The US government assumes that if I am a resident of another country, I am paying income tax in that other country. But they do not check to confirm that I am paying anyone.

US citizens who live and work outside the USA more than 335 days per year receive a tax liability waiver for the first $102,000 of their yearly income. That is, the first $102,000 of my income for 2018 is tax free in the USA. My wife is also a US citizen working abroad. We file a joint US tax return each year, meaning that the first $204,000 of our joint income is tax free in the USA.

In the country where we live, we are required to pay a flat tax of 10%.

Good question!

 

As far as I'm aware, everything the guests leave behind will get thrown out. It's more of a safety thing. I'm not even sure if the cabin stewards keep anything.

Crewmembers who are real RCCL employees know that anything left behind by guests is collected onboard and sent to the Lost and Found department at the cruise line head office. These items are held for several months in case a past passenger enquires about a lost item. After that period, lost items are donated to charity.

Great blog.

Keith

This information is NOT correct.

 

 

 

I am a US citizen who has lived and worked outside the USA for the past 40 years. Most of those years were on non-US flagged cruise ships.

 

 

 

Yes, US citizens must legally file US tax returns every year, no matter where we live or work.

 

 

 

Although I live on a cruise ship for 9 months every year, I am not a resident of the ship, nor am I a resident of the country where the ship is flagged. Nor am I required to pay any taxes to the country where the ship is flagged.

 

 

 

I have worked on ships flagged in Norway, Germany, Italy, Bermuda, Bahamas, Croatia, Holland, Turks & Caicos, Panama, Malaysia, and Singapore. I have never been asked or required to pay any income taxes to any of those countries.

 

 

 

I am paid in cash every month, somewhere on the high seas. The flag country for my ship has no idea how much I am paid.

 

 

 

The US government assumes that if I am a resident of another country, I am paying income tax in that other country. But they do not check to confirm that I am paying anyone.

 

 

 

US citizens who live and work outside the USA more than 335 days per year receive a tax liability waiver for the first $102,000 of their yearly income. That is, the first $102,000 of my income for 2018 is tax free in the USA. My wife is also a US citizen working abroad. We file a joint US tax return each year, meaning that the first $204,000 of our joint income is tax free in the USA.

 

In the country where we live, we are required to pay a flat tax of 10%.

You are correct regarding the tax, you pay where you are based and not to the flag state. I mixed that up, you pay social securities incl. pension payments to the flag state at least as a EU citizen on a EU flagged ship. And regarding tax, everyone has to pay income taxes somewhere, there is no tax free income. Some people might not declare it as there is not a control procedure in place everywhere. By the way I worked on the other side for shipping companies most of my career.

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:)

 

In photo area, How can I tell which pictures are mine?

If you don't see yourself in the photos on display, just ask the photographers and they will bring it up on the computer. They won't be able to display everybody's photo in the gallery.

I have a question about the crew going home between contracts. I spoke with a waiter on the Indy years ago and he explained how it worked. I have forgotten the details but I remember him saying RC pays for one flight and the crew member pay for the other. Is this correct? I can only imagine how much it must take out of their paychecks to pay for a flight halfway around the world.

I believe flights will be different for each department. For me personally as shop staff, my flights to and from the ship were payed for. It seems a bit strange that they would only pay for one-way.

There were two recent music charters, the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise (Feb. 1st) and then the Rock Legends cruise about two weeks later. I was on the first one, but wouldn't have minded being on the second one...although some crew members told us that "our" cruise was more fun. :)

 

Things were very much different on the ship during 70K than a regular cruise. Dining in the MDR was all open-seating and only a minimum dress-code was enforced. The Windjammer observed odd hours: closed from 5 pm to 7 pm, but they were open from midnight to 5 am. So was Johnny Rocket's.

I think the art gallery was closed during the charter. While all the Promenade shops were open, the higher-end shops, not surprisingly, saw very little trade.

 

Both of the main pools were drained the night before the ship docked at Port Everglades and the pool-deck and the deck above were closed off as soon as the ship docked, for safety. A giant crane on the dock began hoisting stage construction materials and other gear up and over the side onto the pool deck; this takes pretty much the rest of the afternoon up until departure.

The charter promises 60 bands on 4 stages: Pyramid Lounge, Studio-B ice rink, Alhambra Theater, and a huge stage built on the pool deck, "the largest open-air structure ever built at sea." Each band performed once on the way down to the port-stop, Grand Turk, and then once on the way back, so....120 performances, plus an All-Star Jam. Shows started as soon as the ship entered international waters and continued until 6am in the morning, then they started up again at 10 am. It can be very grueling. :eek:

For the most part these are not "huge" bands with household names, but there is a wide variety of genres represented, from nearly every continent.

The normal ship's alcohol storage isn't sufficient for this charter -- "metalheads" drink a LOT -- so any unsold or unsellable cabins are used for additional beer storage. (They ran out completely the first time the charter sailed, in 2011, on the Majesty....before they even reached Cozumel. :D )

Despite the high price compared to a regular cruise, fans come from all over the world for it. There were 75 countries represented onboard this year, and I'd estimate that only 15% of the passengers were from the U.S. There are a lot of Canadians, many Germans (so the safety announcements were made in English and German), and everywhere from Andorra to New Zealand. It's an amazing experience like no other. This was my 4th consecutive time on the charter.

 

That makes perfect sense.

This actually sounds awesome. I wish I was working the music charters, just to experience it. It's like the ship took a complete transformation. I can imagine overall business being slow for the shops, and it's not to my surprise the art gallery was closed. It's hard enough to sell during a regular cruise.

I guess it makes sense for food operations to open till 5am, if all the guests were big on drinking. I do crave Johnny Rockets sometimes at 2am sometimes.

I have a question about the crew going home between contracts. I spoke with a waiter on the Indy years ago and he explained how it worked. I have forgotten the details but I remember him saying RC pays for one flight and the crew member pay for the other. Is this correct? I can only imagine how much it must take out of their paychecks to pay for a flight halfway around the world.

International law requires the cruise line to pay for "repatriation", or the flight home. Unless the crew member has been dismissed "for cause", and then it is their nickel. I believe in years past, the flight to the ship was on the crew member, but with the decreased supply of crew (the desirability of shipboard jobs has dropped off as the world economy gets better), I think this has ended.

Regardless of who is paying for the flights, either the cruise line or the employment agency in the crew member's home country book so many flights, and they book at "merchant mariner" rates that would make nearly every cruise passenger green with envy.

How do the retail shops handle passengers who attempt to leave without paying for an item (if it ever happens).

Anyone who attempts to do that with all the cameras on the ships is plain stupid.

Who‘s your Captain at the moment. I learnt there are some changes recently and we go in May. Thanks!

 

 

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I've recently left the ship, so I'm not sure who the captain is right now. The ship is having a complete makeover in April, so the ship will feel brand new when you go in May!

I hear that Independence has a different retail company than all the other ships - is this correct?

 

There are certain souvenirs that we've seen on other ships that we haven't been able to get on Indy and this was the reason given. However, we'd very much like an Independence shot glass to match the others we have! Does such a thing exist?

Yes this is correct! My retail company handles all the stock for Indy. Main reason for this is because my retail company is based out of the UK, and Indy sails around Europe every year.

There is definitely shot glasses you can buy, but I'm not sure how they look compared to other ships.

This actually sounds awesome. I wish I was working the music charters, just to experience it. It's like the ship took a complete transformation. I can imagine overall business being slow for the shops, and it's not to my surprise the art gallery was closed. It's hard enough to sell during a regular cruise.

There was actually some metal music-themed artwork (mostly portraits of genre performers) on display for sale, done by one or two of our fellow cruisers. I think that took the place of the regular art gallery; they were displayed just outside the On-Air Club near Studio B.

I guess it makes sense for food operations to open till 5am, if all the guests were big on drinking. I do crave Johnny Rockets sometimes at 2am sometimes.

We'll miss the Labyrinth, as I think it's slated to be removed during drydock. :o

I'm curious about the security on board. We all saw the video of the brawl on a recent cruise and what the security did in that instance, but typically, can any of you shed light on what they do besides handle boarding/disembarking? I saw them walking around from time to time but what do they have the authority to do? Are they mostly watching cameras all day?

Fortunately, we never needed to see them as our shipmates were great, but I did wonder when seeing someone passing by with a body camera.

Thanks for the GREAT insight from all.

I'm curious about the security on board. We all saw the video of the brawl on a recent cruise and what the security did in that instance, but typically, can any of you shed light on what they do besides handle boarding/disembarking? I saw them walking around from time to time but what do they have the authority to do? Are they mostly watching cameras all day?

 

Fortunately, we never needed to see them as our shipmates were great, but I did wonder when seeing someone passing by with a body camera.

 

Thanks for the GREAT insight from all.

International law gives the Captain "overriding authority" (meaning no one is allowed to second guess his/her actions or decisions, not even the corporate bosses) to take "whatever means" are necessary to protect the ship, passengers, cargo, crew and environment. He can delegate this responsibility to anyone he/she deems fit, like the security staff. So, to answer your question, the security staff basically have the authority to do whatever they need to to contain a situation.

Security will make "fire rounds" of the entire ship, mostly at night when there is less crew around, checking for fires or other emergencies. They will respond when the bridge notifies them of a fire alarm, to be the first on scene to investigate. They will provide a presence when someone needs a door opened or a safe opened. They will investigate any reported crimes onboard, like stolen items, etc. They will provide security for people confined to their cabins because of their actions, and they will be called to contain situations that threaten other passengers and crew.

There is typically a separate "Surveillance" department, that deals with watching the cameras. Security reports to the Captain (usually via the Staff Captain), but Surveillance reports directly to corporate, so they are outside the shipboard chain of command, and can be impartial when dealing with problems that may involve senior officers. This stems from the land based casino surveillance, and is originally what this was for on ships, to watch the casino operation, but was expanded to include all ships operations and many areas of the ship.

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How do the retail shops handle passengers who attempt to leave without paying for an item (if it ever happens).

We have been instructed to never accuse guests of shop-lifting, even if we are 100% positive. Reason for this is, there may be a possibility we are wrong - and the cruise line doesn't want a negative image or complaint.

I have personally seen a guest shop-lift one time.