How often are the workers rotated on the ship?

[ncbrighteyes]

I have been reading post were people are complaining about the service they have received in the dining rooms that have made me stop and think about what I have seen. We also had some bad service in the MDR that made me think that there were a lot of new workers that did not know what they were doing. This seemed to be with our cabin steward also.

 

Does anyone know how often they bring new workers on the ship? Is it just a few people at a time or most of the crew? If most of the crew is changed out at the same time I for one would like to know this schedule to avoid booking during this time. It is very easy to tell when you have a worker taking care of you that knows what they are doing form one that is so frazzled they are freaking out and look like dear caught in head lights. I know that most work for about 6 months at a time. That is all that I know.

 

Beverly

[Storm0075]

I believe that they are 6 month contracts. They might take a month or two off to visit with family then sign another contract. I don't know if they are automatically put back on the same ship or not though.

[PhightingPhillies]

i do not know the details with carnival but assume it is fairly similar to celebrity.... i worked for celebrity for a few years as activity staff.... every week 20-50 new employees start so it isnt a whole new crew starting on a single cruise... and depending on the position their contracts run anywhere from 4 months (cd) to 10 months (stewards waiters etc) it is a constant change every week and normally the new contracts do not have to actually work alone the first week.... there normally is a one week handover from the one coming on and the one they are replacing.

[funinthesun1964]

One crew member told us that he signed a five month contract. He named all the different ships he had been on. A waiter on another cruise said maybe he would see us on another ship sometime, as they do move around.

 

I do not know though, if all go all the same time. I would think not. Depending on their hire date and when the contract expires, I would imagine that their arrival and departure dates are varied.

[UKJJ]

I was on the Fascination in July. According a bar tender who had been with Carnival for 14 years, they rotate ships every 6 months. They do not have any choice of which ship they will rotate to next. He said that they do not rotate entire crews at once so that the transitions to new boats are smooth. He also said that during the 6 months there are no days off, but that they get a couple weeks between switching ships. He said that working with no days off is not a problem because they are not allowed to go to many areas of the ship so they would pretty much be confined to their rooms.

[Kamloops50]

Talked to one Dining Room waiter he was on a short 6 month contract .After the contract was over he had 4 months off. Then he contracted for 12 month contract . His contract covered a ship and cruise that would visit his home every two weeks. The 6 month he wouldn't get home until the end.One room Stewart said that he always signs a 8 month contract with 2 months off.

[swedish weave]

I was on the Fascination in July. According a bar tender who had been with Carnival for 14 years, they rotate ships every 6 months. They do not have any choice of which ship they will rotate to next. He said that they do not rotate entire crews at once so that the transitions to new boats are smooth. He also said that during the 6 months there are no days off, but that they get a couple weeks between switching ships. He said that working with no days off is not a problem because they are not allowed to go to many areas of the ship so they would pretty much be confined to their rooms.

 

They are not confined to their rooms. They have a bar, exercise room, dining area, and other areas of the ship where they can relax, play games, and many other activities.

[golfadj]

They generally work 6-8 month contracts.

[PhightingPhillies]

They are not confined to their rooms. They have a bar, exercise room, dining area, and other areas of the ship where they can relax, play games, and many other activities.

Most cruise ships even have a "crusiedirector" for the crew with aprties private pool for crew etc.... it is not a prison and not that bad way to travel and see the world even the hardest working members have some free tiem and stuff to do.... the crew bars are really cheap too and let me just say we "the crew" drink excessively to get thru the six months or so

[ccruisequeen]

The Inspiration ATD hostess told me in January that she was moving to the Splendor. I think it's ironic that she brought the Inspiration over from the East coast and now she'll be going back on the Splendor in January or so!

[katti michele]

The bartender we made friends with was telling us he'll be on the Conquest until about January, and others we talked to made it seem like they had 8 month contracts, with 2 months off.

 

We talked to one of the Comedians a few weeks ago and he said there's a crew bar where drinks are ridiculously cheap. Our last night actually, someone came told our bartender friend he had to work the crew bar the next day and he was kind of bummed because he rather socialize with guests.

 

One thing that bothered me was that a lot of the workers (activity crew, workers from the clubs, etc) would knock off work and come into the nightclub afterwards with their name tags on. I would think it would be a rule that they had to take it off in order to drink and party. That's just my personal opinion though.

[mondello]

One thing that bothered me was that a lot of the workers (activity crew, workers from the clubs, etc) would knock off work and come into the nightclub afterwards with their name tags on. I would think it would be a rule that they had to take it off in order to drink and party. That's just my personal opinion though.

I've read here that they are required to wear their name-tags.

[nybumpkin]

I've read here that they are required to wear their name-tags.

They are always required to wear their name tags when in public areas. During our cruise we've talked with some of the crew members about their experiences - we have a son "in the business," studying to become a ship's engineering officer at the US Merchant Marine Academy, so we like learning about ship life. Most of the contracts are four, six or eight months long. Most breaks are two months long. Crew may or may not report back to the same ship - it depends on availability. Some we've met knew their next assignment after their current contract.

 

As for crew areas - we did the "Behind the Fun" tour on Conquest two years ago and had a chance to visit the crew mess and crew bar. They're nice areas with good food. I do remember a headwaiter on Legend six years ago telling us how he would try to get out of the dining room and back to the crew mess before the main buffet lines closed, because after that the available food wasn't nearly as good.

[Corby114]

Most wait staff contracts are between six and eight months. At the conclusion of their contract most employees return to there homes for a minimum of two months. When they sign their next contract they usually don't return to the same ship and are assigned to where they are needed. The longest contract I have heard was a twelve month followed by four months leave. Senior staff have shorter rotations. Almost every week staff are being rotated on all ships in the fleet.

[MrFunInTheSun]

I have been reading post were people are complaining about the service they have received in the dining rooms that have made me stop and think about what I have seen. We also had some bad service in the MDR that made me think that there were a lot of new workers that did not know what they were doing. This seemed to be with our cabin steward also.

 

Does anyone know how often they bring new workers on the ship? Is it just a few people at a time or most of the crew? If most of the crew is changed out at the same time I for one would like to know this schedule to avoid booking during this time. It is very easy to tell when you have a worker taking care of you that knows what they are doing form one that is so frazzled they are freaking out and look like dear caught in head lights. I know that most work for about 6 months at a time. That is all that I know.

 

Beverly

 

As others posted most contracts last six to eight months. Want to get recruited? On the below link I posted some links to a recruiter. Recruiter is seeking out the various "Ship board" experiences. They are quite interesting.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1703749

[UKJJ]

They are not confined to their rooms. They have a bar, exercise room, dining area, and other areas of the ship where they can relax, play games, and many other activities.

 

Lol. I never said that they were totally confined to their rooms. If you would reread my post you would see that the guy I was talking to said that they were BASICALLY confined to their rooms because there wasn't a lot to do if they weren't working. I personally haven't seen any of those areas, so I am going off of one conversation with one person. Perhaps he didn't find the things you listed to be as much fun as you might think they are.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Lol. I never said that they were totally confined to their rooms. If you would reread my post you would see that the guy I was talking to said that they were BASICALLY confined to their rooms because there wasn't a lot to do if they weren't working. I personally haven't seen any of those areas, so I am going off of one conversation with one person. Perhaps he didn't find the things you listed to be as much fun as you might think they are.

 

Check out the videos linked from my above post. In the videos, they show the behind the scenes on the ship.

 

 

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