Why the need to know the crew?

[gardengirl2011]

I completely agree with you. I have absolutely no desire to get to know the crew. I have been on many cruises, also, have seen most of the world. If I want to know a certain country, I will go there. I really dont understand the need to get personal with every person I meet. I am always kind and polite to everyone I encounter, that however, does not mean I need to know them personally.

[Robkatcruisers]

I'm not antisocial but if my wife wasn't with me, I could go an entire cruise without any unrequired speaking, ie order a drink or dinner. Our cruises are mental health necessary and I'm there to chill and be braindead. How many of your high school graduation class do you still talk with?

 

 

None, but thats because they were jerks and picked on me most of the time, I live 1400 miles away. :rolleyes:

[Aurori]

I enjoy talking to the workers aboard the ship. I've made some nice friends that I still keep in touch with. I think I have about a dozen Carnival bartenders/servers/etc on my facebook page. As a matter of fact, one of them is flying here to spend a week with me before she goes back to work on the Magic in January!

[golfb4cruzing]

Actually I have told my wife that in the unlikely event of her demise ( I tried to be delicate), I will retire to a ship. Get a room on a ship, no mail, no phone, everything taken care of and visit with the kids every 6 months or so. Sounds ideal to me. With the Internet and electronic deposits, sell everything and see the world. Would I have to pay taxes without a legal US residence?

[Crusin6]

I have been reading alot of comments lately about getting to know the crew, waiters, bartender, juggler and room steward. Why do folks feel that this is necessary? I mean really, I don't see the specialness. They are there to do a job and I am there to enjoy my vacation. Knowing their personal lives and history has no bearing on my vacation. Plus if I knew they didn't see their families (wife and nine kids or ailing parents), I'd probably be bummed. So I just want to go on my merry way and have a great time and relax. I don't Facebook or Twitter or whatever is the newest social opportunity. Please explain why you do it or need to.

hey..I agree with you completely.......

 

and btw...I would guess that you don't bring them a little goodie bag from your home state then?:D

[darth frosty]

Here is your retirement plan. Love the concept

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1216646&highlight=nursing

 

Story of beatrice muller

http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/qe2liveaboard.htm

 

NO NURSING HOME FOR ME

 

About 2 years ago my wife and I were on a cruise throught the western Mediterranean aboard a Princess Liner. At dinner we noticed an elderly lady sitting alone along the rail of the grand stairway in the main dining room. I noticed that all the staff, ship officers, waiters, busboys etc. all seemed very familiar with this lady. I asked our waiter who the lady was, expecting to be told she owned the line, but he said he only knew that she had been on board for the last four cruised, back to back. We chatted and I said, 'I understand you've been on this ship for the last four cruises.' She replied, 'Yes, that's true.' I stated, 'I don't understand' and she replied without a pause, 'it's cheaper than a nursing home.'

 

So, there will be no nursing home in my future. When I get old and feeble, I am going to get on a Princess cruise ship. The average cost for a nursing home is $200 a day. I have checked on reservations at Princess and I can get a long term discount and senior discout price of $135 per day. That leaves $65 a day for:-

 

1 Gratuities, which will only be $10 a day.

 

2 I will have as many as 10 meals a day if I can waddle to the restaurant or I can have room service (which means I can have breakfast in bed every day of the week).

 

3 Princess has as many as 3 swimming pools, a workout room, free washers and dryers and shows every night.

 

4 They have free toothpaste, razors, soap and shampoo.

 

5 They will even treat you like a customer, not a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips will have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

 

6 I will get to meet new people every 7 - 14 days.

 

7 TV broken? Light bulb need changing? Need to have the mattress replaced? No problem, they will fix everything and apologise for the inconvenience.

 

8 Clean sheets and towels every day and you don't even have to ask for them.

 

9 If you fall in the nursing home & break a hip, you are on Medicare. If you fall and break a hip on the Princess ship, they will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

 

Do you want to see South America, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Asia or name where you want to go? Princes will have a ship ready to go. So don't look for me in a nursing home, just call shore to ship.

 

PS and don't forget, when you die, they just dump you over the side at no charge!

[billie5]

Would I have to pay taxes without a legal US residence?

Americans are taxed on their worldwide income. Actually, a foreign residence can only help (in the event there is a reciprocal tax treaty). Otherwise, sorry.....

 

Bill

[kroozers]

It's incredibly important to me. It's more personal, much more memorable and more meaningful somehow. There are so many different nationalities and cultures represented by the staff. They all have a story about their country, their family and how they came to be with Carnival. I get to meet so many interesting people from countries I will never visit. What's more interesting - reading about growing up in Romania during the Cold War or meeting and talking with your waiter on a cruise who did just that?

[golfb4cruzing]

Darth extremely interesting and my point exactly. Bill on the next trip to Grand Cayman, I will have to do some banking (maybe pick up a new toaster). I really see no reason to retire in the US unless things turn drastically around (that's all I have to say on that). Cruisin I'm not sure if I have a home state for those goodie bags.. Grew up in NY, lived in SC, Georgia, Texas, Utah, Maine, Ohio,Germany and Washington for a week. After devoting so many years, retirement should be stressfree and living on a ship would fill that nicely. But after the crews contract is up, they'd move on so why invest the effort to get in depth friendly. Maybe I could hang with the Captain. Maybe I could park it one time:D

[luv2cruzfrmtx]

How many of your high school graduation class do you still talk with?

 

I actually talk to quite of my graduation class on a regular basis. Every few weeks I talk to someone I went to school with. I'm in Colorado and my class mates are spread out all over the country.

[luv2cruzfrmtx]

It has been said about me that I've never met a stranger. :p

[golfb4cruzing]

luv2 we are putting you in the extrovert class.

 

My 40th reunion is coming up but probably won't happen.

 

I just did some checking, interior room for 112/night. That's just for anyone. No doubt better pricing for extended cruisers, past cruiser or whatever it would be called. Throw in 10/day gratuities and roughly 3700/month and everything is done and were not in Kansas anymore. Retirement 101. Don't like your neighbors, don't worry they'll be gone in a week.

 

This is probably off subject, but what the hay, I started the thread.

[Grits53]

Some people are just friendlier than others. Although we rarely engage in "deep" conversation with the crew, we do speak to them in passing and use the phrase "Thank you!" as often as possible. On one occasion, our waiter in the Supper Club/Steakhouse seemed to enjoy telling us about his dog that he misses. This lead to his telling us about showing the dog in dog shows. On that cruise, we visited the Steakhouse twice. When the waiter saw us the 2nd time, he told us that he had called his mother that night after serving on us, to tell her that we had made his whole week brighter. We were happy that we had that effect on him. :)

[golfb4cruzing]

Please and Thank you are just good manners. I wouldn't count that as conversation.

[Pushka]

I like to be friendly with people, regardless of whether they are tourists or people in the Hotel/Ship, but I have no need to develop a personal relationship with them/exchange life stories etc etc. I expect I will develop a nice relationship with the Cabin attendant, but dont think that will encompass more than a Hello, Goodbye and Thankyou.

[IcyHound]

I am an introvert and a public servant. People exhaust me. I am polite and friendly but I do not interact with people on my personal time. I took a photograph of my steward and his name tag so that I could properly write about.him in my review. I people watch but even that wears me out.

[iceleven]

I have much respect for the crew and their hard work, and for that reason I generally won't initiate a conversation with them. They don't need us to tell their stories, they already have their crew-mates they share their time and space with. For every time you stop them to chat, you are keeping them from finishing their work or slowing their service to other guests. We can be a distraction from the work they are attempting to accomplish. Of course they will smile and be gracious, they want to keep their job and hopefully, at the end, they will be accepting the much-deserved tip.

 

However I am not insensitive and I generally will follow their lead. If they want to share something with me, I will give them every bit of my attention. I just suggest that when you want to get chatty with the crew, please consider their time. You could be preventing them from getting their work done and keeping them from beginning their much-needed break and time off.

[Brianws]

Maybe if you ask them about themselves they will be less likey to clean the toilet with your tooth brush

 

 

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.125916,-88.001007

[vivAtornado]

this thread is very interesting because today i had my hair done by a new person and my nails done by someone i've never met before. i described the experience to a family member that i felt like the people were "singing for their supper" - in all honesty, i just want to sit there silent and not make forced small talk. i have to force small talk for a living in my job - both towards a staff i manage and with customers where i have to smile and act interested in wat they say. sometimes i imagine the staff is just as happy as i am to coexist in silent harmony. i try to be easy going and i am very polite and personable (despite how much i dont want to talk to someone, i always will).

 

anyway.

[kujobie]

I have much respect for the crew and their hard work, and for that reason I generally won't initiate a conversation with them. They don't need us to tell their stories, they already have their crew-mates they share their time and space with. For every time you stop them to chat, you are keeping them from finishing their work or slowing their service to other guests. We can be a distraction from the work they are attempting to accomplish. Of course they will smile and be gracious, they want to keep their job and hopefully, at the end, they will be accepting the much-deserved tip.

 

However I am not insensitive and I generally will follow their lead. If they want to share something with me, I will give them every bit of my attention. I just suggest that when you want to get chatty with the crew, please consider their time. You could be preventing them from getting their work done and keeping them from beginning their much-needed break and time off.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. If they want to chat, I'll chat with them. But I don't expect my waiter or room steward to entertain me. That's what the paid entertainment is for. They have a job to do. I'm friendly with them, and the servers are in return, but that's their job. They're not doing it because they want to come home with you and live in your guest bedroom, they just want a decent tip. Furthermore, I don't get the fascination with cruise directors either. I can't remember any cruise director I have ever sailed with except John Heald, and the only reason I remember him is because he is an international superstar. Oh, and I think I sailed with some CD named Jen, and the only reason I remember her is because of her awful Marlboro/Jack Daniels voice.

[Mybearsbaby]

I'm what some call a social butterfly...I love to meet people, crew included...I am just a people person I reckon ;) I don't HAVE to get to know them, but it is fun to me...some cruises we made friends with crew, others we didn't, but we usually do. They have been some of the most interesting people I have ever met.

[RI_Lady]

I am with you! Cruise ship vs nursing home ... no brainer! LOL I am a nurse so If you need a private duty nurse for monitoring you or dispensing your meds maybe we can work it out! LOL

[H82seaUgo]

I have been reading alot of comments lately about getting to know the crew, waiters, bartender, juggler and room steward. Why do folks feel that this is necessary? I mean really, I don't see the specialness. They are there to do a job and I am there to enjoy my vacation. Knowing their personal lives and history has no bearing on my vacation. Plus if I knew they didn't see their families (wife and nine kids or ailing parents), I'd probably be bummed. So I just want to go on my merry way and have a great time and relax. I don't Facebook or Twitter or whatever is the newest social opportunity. Please explain why you do it or need to.

 

i find it odd.

 

cruising must create some kind of illusion for some, that i think some must identify the help as family.

 

i can only assume that some having a void to fill, fill it with strangers.

[*Mach*]

I have been reading alot of comments lately about getting to know the crew, waiters, bartender, juggler and room steward. Why do folks feel that this is necessary? I mean really, I don't see the specialness. They are there to do a job and I am there to enjoy my vacation. Knowing their personal lives and history has no bearing on my vacation. Plus if I knew they didn't see their families (wife and nine kids or ailing parents), I'd probably be bummed. So I just want to go on my merry way and have a great time and relax. I don't Facebook or Twitter or whatever is the newest social opportunity. Please explain why you do it or need to.

 

 

Need to? I don't think it's a case of 'need to' for most folks but just part of interacting. I see our cabin steward and say good morning and such and on occasion that banter leads to additional chat... the same with the folks in the dining room, I think.

Lots of people are intrigued by the accents that are so prominent on board... that leads to conversation.

Generally, the staff seem to enjoy talking about their home and family as would pretty much anyone making the discussions easy.

:)

[5waldos]

Americans are taxed on their worldwide income. Actually, a foreign residence can only help (in the event there is a reciprocal tax treaty). Otherwise, sorry.....

 

Bill

 

Not entirely. A good chunk of money made overseas is in fact tax free.