Are Royal Caribbean and Celebrity crew suffering financially when sailing in Aus?

[MicCanberra]

$18.22 AUD is the Royal Caribbean amount per day when pre paying tips in a standard cabin.

 

To be shared among the varying crew pools.

[GUT2407]

Yep the very reason that most of our manufacturing industry has left the country.

 

And also the reason that we have one of the highest standards of living in the World.

[Guest012]

Its a pittance by Australian standards, for many a fortune at home.

 

 

 

A pittance if you had to survive on it here in Australia but they don't .....converted into their homeland currencies very different story...

;)

 

If like us you have cruised for a very long time you know things aren't as bad as they used to be when on land you see crew, not all might i add before i am flamed, dressed in their designer clothing, be it knockoffs or not, donning the latest iphone, ipad or galaxy and spending their down time in the likes of Cairns Casino at the tables.... which I for one don't begrudge them at all considering the hours they work ....good on them .... compared to 15 - 20 years ago this lot are doing okay.... an extra bonus along with our tips a few years back was handing over an international phone card.....the crew loved them......can't imagine getting the same response today....:eek::eek:

 

What I do find very distasteful is passengers, especially if they are on your dinner table, who feel the need to question the crew indepth about their onboard conditions and salary......why do they do it:confused::confused:..would they do it on land with folks they hardly know, would they disclose all their private business.....don't think so.....tacky tacky tacky.... ... the crew must find it all so amusing.....

[GUT2407]

A pittance if you had to survive on it here in Australia but they don't .....converted into their homeland currencies very different story...

;)

 

If like us you have cruised for a very long time you know things aren't as bad as they used to be when on land you see crew, not all might i add before i am flamed, dressed in their designer clothing, be it knockoffs or not, donning the latest iphone, ipad or galaxy and spending their down time in the likes of Cairns Casino at the tables.... which I for one don't begrudge them at all considering the hours they work ....good on them .... compared to 15 - 20 years ago this lot are doing okay.... an extra bonus along with our tips a few years back was handing over an international phone card.....the crew loved them......can't imagine getting the same response today....:eek::eek:

 

What I do find very distasteful is passengers, especially if they are on your dinner table, who feel the need to question the crew indepth about their onboard conditions and salary......why do they do it:confused::confused:..would they do it on land with folks they hardly know, would they disclose all their private business.....don't think so.....tacky tacky tacky.... ... the crew must find it all so amusing.....

 

 

Did you ever think they may ask because they are genuinely interested.

 

Just like meeting anyone from a culture you are not familiar with, you may wish to ask a lot of questions, even meeting a fellow Aussie who has a but of an unusual job, many are genuinely interested and ak a lot of questions.

 

My job isn't that rare, but I invariably get a multitude if questions about various aspects of it. It doesn't offend me at all, and yes many of those are about $$$$$ but they I just change the topic or give a BS answer.

[Guest012]

Did you ever think they may ask because they are genuinely interested.

 

It doesn't offend me at all, and yes many of those are about $$$$$ but they I just change the topic or give a BS answer.

 

 

Tact and diplomacy perhaps that's whats missing in a lot of folk....and i did say " indepth" nothing wrong with being inquisitive about someone's background, their career or where they come from... what i'm talking about is the lack of knowing when to stop when probing into peoples business.....perhaps i was raised differently .......:rolleyes:

 

Bit of food for thought you say when it suits, you give a BS answer ... what makes people think that what they are being told onboard is in fact "gospel" could not some of it also be BS :confused::confused:

[GUT2407]

Tact and diplomacy perhaps that's whats missing in a lot of folk....and i did say " indepth" nothing wrong with being inquisitive about someone's background, their career or where they come from... what i'm talking about is the lack of knowing when to stop when probing into peoples business.....perhaps i was raised differently .......:rolleyes:

 

Bit of food for thought you say when it suits, you give a BS answer ... what makes people think that what they are being told onboard is in fact "gospel" could not some of it also be BS :confused::confused:

 

 

I Often ask, or wonder without asking, that same thing, how do you know they weren't giving the answer they thought would best attract sympathy (and thus tips).

 

I dd have one crew who I believed, simply because we had contributed (pretty majorly) towards the cost of his education and had known him for years (yes he may still have been BSing us) he was workig the ships for a few years (3-5 was his plan) to raise enough money to start a school in his village which had never had one. And what he was earning most Aussies considered a pittance but over the 3-5 years would set him up at HOME for life and allow him to run his little school and only charge the little the villagers could afford.

[Guest012]

I Often ask, or wonder without asking, that same thing, how do you know they weren't giving the answer they thought would best attract sympathy (and thus tips).

 

Pretty sure today it's frowned upon big time if caught "pity partying" for extra dollars....however a certain amount of discreet not so over the top BS may just find it's way out there;);):D

[Aus Traveller]

Pretty sure today it's frowned upon big time if caught "pity partying" for extra dollars....however a certain amount of discreet not so over the top BS may just find it's way out there;);):D

I think this happens more on the American ships. The steward will tell a sob story about supporting his mother and ten siblings and paying for their education .... The passenger then says, "I slipped him an extra $100." I don't this would work with most Aussies. :D

 

Several years ago on our first Princess cruise our table waiter introduced himself on the first night and said "I'll look after you and you'll look after me. You know what I mean" with a knowing look. (Tipping still applied then) We would probably have given him an extra tip, but after his comment, we just left the auto tip on and gave him nothing extra.

[MicCanberra]

I think this happens more on the American ships. The steward will tell a sob story about supporting his mother and ten siblings and paying for their education .... The passenger then says, "I slipped him an extra $100." I don't this would work with most Aussies. :D

 

Several years ago on our first Princess cruise our table waiter introduced himself on the first night and said "I'll look after you and you'll look after me. You know what I mean" with a knowing look. (Tipping still applied then) We would probably have given him an extra tip, but after his comment, we just left the auto tip on and gave him nothing extra.

 

Perhaps you didn't know what he meant and it was actually a glowing report on the comment card that he was after.

[GUT2407]

I think this happens more on the American ships. The steward will tell a sob story about supporting his mother and ten siblings and paying for their education .... The passenger then says, "I slipped him an extra $100." I don't this would work with most Aussies. :D

 

Several years ago on our first Princess cruise our table waiter introduced himself on the first night and said "I'll look after you and you'll look after me. You know what I mean" with a knowing look. (Tipping still applied then) We would probably have given him an extra tip, but after his comment, we just left the auto tip on and gave him nothing extra.

 

 

We had one.

 

First few days, "I haven't seen my wife for 10 months" DW and I were thinking of giving him what we thought was a pretty good tip, two days before the end of the cruise "I am so happy just found out my wife is pregnant". There goes his tip.

[GUT2407]

Actually pregnant wives seem common, heard it many times now.

[MicCanberra]

Makes you wonder how that happened, perhaps he was French and sent letter home.:eek:

[JacintaH]

The thing to remember is that Princess can sail with up to 90% Australian passengers around our country and Celebrity will have over 50% Americans with probably just as many British, Europeans making up the remainder with the smallest nationality on board being Australians.

 

Interesting stat from our recent Celebrity trip - our sailing had pax from 60 different nations onboard with those from the US only made up 500-something of total 2300 pax onboard. Granted SE Asia and our itinerary in particular is a challenging place to travel I was delighted to experience a lovely mix of nationalities on board including over 300 Australians and 7 Kiwis.

 

There didn't seem to be any real demand for gratuities to be removed. There was quite a queue at Guest Relations on the last day but there are many reasons why one might be stopping by there and compared to the total onboard the queue was modest IMO.

[Aus Traveller]

We had one.

 

First few days, "I haven't seen my wife for 10 months" DW and I were thinking of giving him what we thought was a pretty good tip, two days before the end of the cruise "I am so happy just found out my wife is pregnant". There goes his tip.

That used to be a standard joke from the Cruise Director. :) I suggesst your steward thought it was funny.

[alfaz]

Quick question. Who do the auto tips go to? I have no problem tipping the staff for their service if that is the practice. We often tip extra as well to those who do a good job with us. I've always found cruise staff to be great, friendly and helpful and don't mind the extra $200'ish for auto tips.

[MicCanberra]

Quick question. Who do the auto tips go to? I have no problem tipping the staff for their service if that is the practice. We often tip extra as well to those who do a good job with us. I've always found cruise staff to be great, friendly and helpful and don't mind the extra $200'ish for auto tips.

 

The tips go to the dining services staff, stateroom attendants and housekeeping personnel. Some websites have the breakup per day.

[Mothballs]

Don't you think there are people who are just tight with their money irrespective of how much they earn or have in the bank! These people will look for any excuse to remove gratuities.

Like most people here I pre pay the tips and give a little extra to the cabin attendant and dining room staff. It would be tough to show up day after day with a smile for such a long period. In my old life I was a nurse and was ready to crack it when I worked 10 days straight.

Regards Elaine.

[Aus Traveller]

Quick question. Who do the auto tips go to? I have no problem tipping the staff for their service if that is the practice. We often tip extra as well to those who do a good job with us. I've always found cruise staff to be great, friendly and helpful and don't mind the extra $200'ish for auto tips.

On one cruise a few years ago when the tips were $7.50 the Cruise Director had details of the tip printed in the daily news sheet. One-third went to the passenger's cabin steward, one-third to the passenger's dining room steward/s and the balance was divided between bar staff, head waiters (from memory 25c per person per day in their area) and the Maitre d' (5 cents pp per day from everyone). None went to the behind-the-scenes people as many people believe.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[MicCanberra]

The tips go to the dining services staff, stateroom attendants and housekeeping personnel. Some websites have the breakup per day.

 

On one cruise a few years ago when the tips were $7.50 the Cruise Director had details of the tip printed in the daily news sheet. One-third went to the passenger's cabin steward, one-third to the passenger's dining room steward/s and the balance was divided between bar staff, head waiters (from memory 25c per person per day in their area) and the Maitre d' (5 cents pp per day from everyone). None went to the behind-the-scenes people as many people believe.

 

from one website :

This gratuity will be shared amongst those staff who have helped provide and support your cruise experience, including all waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, and housekeeping staff across the fleet.

[GUT2407]

On one cruise a few years ago when the tips were $7.50 the Cruise Director had details of the tip printed in the daily news sheet. One-third went to the passenger's cabin steward, one-third to the passenger's dining room steward/s and the balance was divided between bar staff, head waiters (from memory 25c per person per day in their area) and the Maitre d' (5 cents pp per day from everyone). None went to the behind-the-scenes people as many people believe.

 

That seems pretty close.

 

On Celebrity there was a breakdown in the cabin folio. Tips were $12.50 (from memory)

 

$4.00each steward and

$3.50 waiter

$2.25 asst waiter

$2.75 asst Steward

 

Maybe I've got wait staff and stewards wring way around but you get the drift I hope.

 

Bar staff got none of the auto grats they got the 18% on drinks.

 

All from memory, so maybe not 109% correct, but pretty close.

[Aus Traveller]

That seems pretty close.

 

On Celebrity there was a breakdown in the cabin folio. Tips were $12.50 (from memory)

 

$4.00each steward and

$3.50 waiter

$2.25 asst waiter

$2.75 asst Steward

 

Maybe I've got wait staff and stewards wring way around but you get the drift I hope.

 

Bar staff got none of the auto grats they got the 18% on drinks.

 

All from memory, so maybe not 109% correct, but pretty close.

At the time the list I quoted was printed, there was no gratuity on drinks.

 

If you calculate just the amount (for instance) a cabin steward gets from the auto tips, they do not do too badly. How many cabins do they service? If they have an assistant is it around 15? Multiply that by $8 per cabin (assuming an average of double occupancy) and it comes to $120 per day by seven days is $840 per week. Add a payment from the company and factor in free board and lodging (yes - I know they are away from home) and free medical. Then add some personal tips from passengers. It is not possible to estimate this as it would vary. I doubt very much that they would have to pay income tax.:) Even now, Aussies only have to pay income tax on income earned overseas if they declare it. :D

 

The downside is that there is no holiday pay, no superannuation and no long service leave.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[JacintaH]

Even now, Aussies only have to pay income tax on income earned overseas if they declare it. :D

.

 

Or don't get a 'please explain' letter from the ATO. :eek: I had three instances last year (2015) where the ATO had caught up with Australians working on the white boats to discuss their undeclared income.

[Aus Traveller]

Or don't get a 'please explain' letter from the ATO. :eek: I had three instances last year (2015) where the ATO had caught up with Australians working on the white boats to discuss their undeclared income.

'White boats', do you mean cruise ships? I wouldn't like the ATO to ask me about undeclare income, or anything else for that matter. :D BTW, I have nothing to hide.

[alfaz]

Thanks for the replies. I must admit I would like some of the auto tips to go to the behind the scenes staff, you know the cooks, chefs, laundry staff etc. won't stop me paying auto tips or extras though.

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks for the replies. I must admit I would like some of the auto tips to go to the behind the scenes staff, you know the cooks, chefs, laundry staff etc. won't stop me paying auto tips or extras though.

They get their contracted wages. On a recent cruise, one of the cabin stewards we got friendly with told me he had been a dishwasher and then been promoted to cabin steward. He remarked, that he would have rather stayed a dishwasher. He said his wife at home is a accountant (with a Uni degree), but that he earns more than she does. Naturally I didn't ask him about pay rates. :D