Time off work to go on cruises

[pfm18]

Bit of an odd thread here because it's probably more to do with employment than actual cruising, but this is the best place I could think to post it.

 

I am currently considering my long term future and have always fancied working in the States. In my field getting a job in the USA is pretty likely however one thing is putting me off.

 

 

I have heard that in the USA employees are expected to be in work 50 weeks of the year, sometimes more :eek: So almost no time for any travel.

 

 

Anyway, there are many American cruisers on here so seems the best place to ask. Is this just an old wives tail or is it very difficult to take time off work in the States?

[Keith1010]

All of this depends on the company you work for, position, length of time at company and some other factors.

 

Keith

[Dayenu]

Depends on your work. I started in the US with 2 paid days per year - small business.

 

Now I get 35 days a year of PTO (paid time off) - if I don't get sick, I can use all 35 days for vacation. In our company we get 2 weeks for the first 5 years, more after 5 year, more after 10 years...

 

All depends on the employer.

[cadien]

Office type jobs seem to start people at two weeks vacation per year and it increases from there very slowly.

 

In any kind of job, there's also a seniority issue. A particular time frame (especially holidays) may be denied if enough other people want the same dates. There can also be a limit to how many consecutive days off may be taken.

 

I won't be able to consider a cruise longer than 10 days until I'm retired.

[TruckerDave]

Some folks also feel they "can't" take time off. They have the "live to work" mentality instead of the "work to live" way of life.

[busmech]

It depends on where you work. Some places you get so much vacation time, so much sick pay and if you don't use it during the year you lose it. Or if you are like me we get so many hours per paycheck, which for me is every 2 weeks. You can use it for sick or vacation. Also you can accumulate it from year to year. My supervisor right now is on a 6 week vacation. I had last year March off and did a 28 day cruise Sydney to San Francisco.

[psbtrvlr]

My husband and I both get 4 weeks vacation, and flex time because we are not allowed to work overtime... We also get many paid holidays.

 

You really have to check with the employer. I've had jobs where there was one week of vacation, and one week paid shutdown during Christmas. As others have noted, it really varies.

[sail7seas]

There are some jobs where people only get two weeks vacation a year and there are others that get considerably more. My late DH was a professional and ran his office. We used to travel 6-10+ weeks a year. Many professionals do the same. You don't mention your field of experience/interest so it is hard to suggest what might be 'usual' for the sort of position you might seek.

[pfm18]

There are some jobs where people only get two weeks vacation a year and there are others that get considerably more. My late DH was a professional and ran his office. We used to travel 6-10+ weeks a year. Many professionals do the same. You don't mention your field of experience/interest so it is hard to suggest what might be 'usual' for the sort of position you might seek.

 

Accountancy

[cruisead]

For those new to jobs, you might be required to work for a certain number of months before you get even one day of vacation. For some companies, you have to work a full year before benefits like that happen. But every company is different, and you should speak to someone in HR to get the specifics.

[sherryf]

Some employers are better/worse than others. I get one week of vacation a year, that is 5 vacation days. I get no sick days. I get only the 6 most major holidays off. Sometimes they will let me leave early on Christmas eve, but I don't get paid for hours missed. I use my one week of vacation for a cruise to Alaska, because I live near Seattle and don't need to use extra days to travel to port. It really sucks, but at least I have a job. :(

[tip]

I am now retired and am enjoying it!:D

 

When I was working as a supervisor I was supposed to get twenty vacation days a year. After several years of not using nine or ten days a year, I was getting frustrated. The suits would call me at home when I was on vacation and ask me to come in just for a few hours which would end up lasting most if not all of the day.:mad:

 

A colleague suggested that I take a cruise and get away where they could not contact me and where even if they did, there was no way that I could come into work. This is the best advice that was ever given to me. Seventeen years later and we now have twenty-five cruises under our belts.

Edited July 7, 2015 by tip

[Canugess]

Blimey, only 2 weeks Paid Annual leave! I'm quite shocked by that! I get 7 as a health professional in the UK. Our sick leave is paid for the first 6 months too.

[pfm18]

Can you take time off and forfeit the pay for it?

 

 

In the UK it's normal to get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus the 10 national holidays. Usually you would have 2 weeks in summer, 1 at christmas and a couple of floating weeks in between.

 

 

I don't think I could physically work 50 weeks a year, but would be happy to forfeit a few weeks of pay to have time off.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It all depends on the job/company.

My DH could only get 20 days off a year no matter how long he worked. I was able to get 6 weeks.

And even though we both had seniority in our jobs, there were several years when we could not get the same time off to take vacations.

[TC1957]

It really does depend on the company. I recently accepted a new position...in "Accountancy" (read recently as less than 90 days ago).

 

Officially, I just get two weeks a year and I lose it if I don't use it.

 

The fact is, as long as I get the things done for which I am responsible and need/want to take off more I can...as long as I don't abuse it.

 

Also...many non-profits offer better benefits in this area to offset the lower pay. We only have 9 paid holidays (do not get MLK Day or Presidents Day). My DW works for a HUGE non-profit and gets 6 weeks vacation and 20 hours sick pay. As far as holidays? It seems like if any 10 people in the US decide to observe something as a holiday...they get it.

Edited July 7, 2015 by TC1957

[cadien]

Can you take time off and forfeit the pay for it?

 

In the UK it's normal to get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus the 10 national holidays. Usually you would have 2 weeks in summer, 1 at christmas and a couple of floating weeks in between.

 

I don't think I could physically work 50 weeks a year, but would be happy to forfeit a few weeks of pay to have time off.

 

9-10 national/state holidays is pretty normal here too. Although whether they are paid holidays varies considerably. Accountancy, probably paid. Retail and food service, nope.

 

Leave without pay is often difficult to get, especially at entry level. Many places require extraordinary circumstances. We (government employee) have to go up several layers of management for permission.

Edited July 7, 2015 by cadien

[Cruisin' Chick]

For those new to jobs, you might be required to work for a certain number of months before you get even one day of vacation. For some companies, you have to work a full year before benefits like that happen. But every company is different, and you should speak to someone in HR to get the specifics.

 

This was the case for me for my first full time job. They used fiscal years (July to June) and if you started working at the wrong time of year, you would get only a few days or less for the first full year. I had started in February (IIRC) so for the July through June period that followed, I had just a few days total of vacation. At least for my next job, that company didn't make me wait that long to get two weeks.

 

When I met my hubby, he got a lot more vacation time (he would earn a day every month, and additional time the more longer he was there). But by that time, the place I was working for would let me carry over vacation days (some companies don't -- you don't use it by a certain date, you lose it). That was especially nice when I was pregnant as I was able to save up for extra maternity leave days (I only took off a couple of sick days during my pregnancy).

[Treven]

I was fortunate to have a long career with Calif. State Gov't. Vacation days were accrued based upon length of time of employment. Supposedly we could only accrue 640 hours of vacation time, any more would be lost. So at that point it was "use or lose". The longest time I took off was for a 15-day cruise, but that actually turned into 20 days off; a couple days before the cruise to pack, etc., and fly to FLL to begin the cruise, then a few days after getting home to recooperate from the arduous trip.

[GUT2407]

I think Australia and England probably get it best.

 

In Aus 4 weeks is the satandard then after ten years you are entitled to long service leave, generally 13 weeks. Where DW works she gets 13 weeks after 10 years and then 10 weeks every 5 years. But because she is a teacher she also gets about 11 weeks school holidays.

 

on top of that you get Public Holidays about 9 or 10 a year and a few weeks sick leave each year.

 

Unless you are dumb enough to work for yourself :D when you get what you can afford to take off.

[kelkel2]

Blimey, only 2 weeks Paid Annual leave! I'm quite shocked by that! I get 7 as a health professional in the UK. Our sick leave is paid for the first 6 months too.

 

I work for a hospital and get just over double that. But my husband, he only gets 2 weeks paid off...so our traveling is limited to what he can get off of work. So usually one big vacation a year for us. I use the rest of my vacation time on long weekends or something like that.

[cruisemom42]

If you are an experienced worker in a field where candidates are scarcer, you can perhaps negotiate some of these things up front. If they offer two weeks a year to start, tell them you won't settle for less than three. I've known it to happen that they will accommodate you, especially if you are coming from a job where it was standard.

 

In the field I work in, employers are becoming more flexible about things like working remotely and non-traditional work schedules (e.g., you work 10 hour days for four days of the week, then get a 3-day weekend). However, actual paid vacation days do not seem to be on the increase....

 

Sad as this sounds, it's even worse when you contemplate that, according to a 2014 report, Americans only take about half of the measley vacation time that they DO get!

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-only-take-half-of-their-paid-vacation-2014-04-03

 

(I am not one of these....:D)

[maywell]

I been working for my employer for almost 12 years, so I get 28 paid time off which I can use for sick day or vacation time. I can only rollover 5 days for the next year and if I don't take the 5 days before March 15- its automatically lost. Pretty much use it or lose it situation; so I use it. :D I have to coordinate with co-workers to make sure duties are cover, set up my out-of-office email & voicemail, put it electronic & book calendars (which the boss never bothers to look at until person is not in :rolleyes:) and enjoy my vacation. :)

 

It all depends on your employer's policies and/or office politics - Some places its hard to take off because the boss doesn't know how to take off themselves and expect their employees to be like them (My boss is like, his boss & HR put him in his place for that mentality :eek: other people are not as fortunate for boss's Boss to step in like that). Gotta ask what the benefits are and feel out the office environment to see if you want to even continue / start working there.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I am an independent contractor, so my time off can be very flexible. Of course, I don't get paid if I'm not working. And half the time, I'm actually paying somebody else to cover my clients while I'm gone. But the only way I'll ever get enough time off to do the trips I like, before i retire, is to stay independent and save aggressively.

[zqvol]

Try teaching at any level. You get one or two vacation days a year. Of course you get all the holidays that the students get, but then you are stuck cruising when the rates are up and the student factor on the ships is high. If you teach in the summer your times are even tighter.