Crew member post from an hour ago on RCI facebook

[Nvtitan89]

A friend of mine is an entertainer on Mariner. He was slated to go home in a couple of weeks, but has been asked to extend his contract. Unsure if they are suspending operations or if they do not want any new crew members coming onboard to expose existing.

[LS6Caddy]

All signs are pointing to some sort of cancellation.  I am set to sail on NCL (my first NCL cruise after many RCCL cruises) in a couple weeks and have been following those boards (while checking RCCL boards to see whats being said out there).  All of a sudden March and April cruises are all showing sold out on the NCL website.

[cscurlock]

They are running out of places to go.  Currently the only places with ports not closed seems to be the caribbean, south america and australia.  That, and if a port does close like barcelona or baltimore, then they have to ship the crew home anyways.  Might be cheaper to just park the boats and get some crew to maintain the outside for a while.  Send the rest home.  I'm pretty sure they can secure a good deal with certain port authorities to berth ships there for a decent rate considering how much money they bring to those areas when they are cruising.    

[GarlicBread]

I was told no new crew for 2 months!

Dont know what that means for those already onboard, I know i wouldn't want to extend for 2 months of my contract was almost up!

[LS6Caddy]

First domino to fall...or 2nd I guess because Princess was first.

 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/13/2000512/0/en/Norwegian-Cruise-Line-Holdings-Ltd-Announces-Voluntary-Suspension-of-Voyages.html

 

[GarlicBread]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Looking at her Facebook profile it looks like she is part of entertainment staff.  She was set to board a ship (didn’t say which one) on Saturday 

 

She's youth staff. 

So comes under cruise division/entertainment 

[GarlicBread]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I wouldn't consider entertainment staff as a crew member (at least as far as salary and compensation are concerned)

 

Shes yotuh staff which comes under entertainment/cruise division. 

Still classed as a crew member, just a crew member with slightly more stripes/ priveledges than others and not a tipped position. 

[ticketsunlimited]

14 minutes ago, LS6Caddy said:

First domino to fall...or 2nd I guess because Princess was first.

 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/13/2000512/0/en/Norwegian-Cruise-Line-Holdings-Ltd-Announces-Voluntary-Suspension-of-Voyages.html

 

The right thing to do under the circumstances.  Thanks for posting!!

[okiedrifters]

No surprise...I am a bit surprised that RCCL has not announced yet. Soon, I’m guessing....

Edited March 13, 2020 by okiedrifters

[PompeySailor]

23 minutes ago, LS6Caddy said:

First domino to fall...or 2nd I guess because Princess was first.

 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/13/2000512/0/en/Norwegian-Cruise-Line-Holdings-Ltd-Announces-Voluntary-Suspension-of-Voyages.html

 

100% refund as well, that’s the way to do it, kudos to NCL

[suzyluvs2cruise]

1 hour ago, heatherb1958 said:

Hi Sue, my friend’s daughter is activities crew onboard  currently on vacation, was due to do a fill in on Symphony in a couple of weeks then move to Brilliance for her full contract, everything cancelled til May, no wages , nothing and worst of all zero notice. 
Other crew members who are travelling in between contracts are stuck in parts of the world not their home and now will have to source a way to get back home until this all settles down and contracts are rescheduled . 
The world at the moment is a mess.

 

Wow! And now NCL has cancelled all cruise until mid-April. I don't think RCI is far behind. 

[LS6Caddy]

10 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

100% refund as well, that’s the way to do it, kudos to NCL

 

This is a pleasant surprise.  The cruise lines are strapped for cash at the moment.  I didn't think it was even going to be possible to get a refund...was just hoping if they cancelled our cruise we would get a larger FCC.

[heatherb1958]

17 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Wow! And now NCL has cancelled all cruise until mid-April. I don't think RCI is far behind. 

The official term in the e.mail  to the crew members is Sign-on Blackout .

Crew onboard will be asked to extend but I agree with you I don’t think it will be long before RCI follow Princess, NCL and others . As disappointing as it is for folks to miss out on long planned vacations,  which may or may not be able to be rescheduled , I think the not knowing for those travelling in the next few weeks is worse . RCI should just pull the plug , refund monies paid and ride the storm. 
Our next RCI Cruise is 16th May se we are impacted by the current situation. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by heatherb1958

[ONECRUISER]

28 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

The official term in the e.mail  to the crew members is Sign-on Blackout .

Crew onboard will be asked to extend but I agree with you I don’t think it will be long before RCI follow Princess, NCL and others . As disappointing as it is for folks to miss out on long planned vacations,  which may or may not be able to be rescheduled , I think the not knowing for those travelling in the next few weeks is worse . RCI should just pull the plug , refund monies paid and ride the storm. 
Our next RCI Cruise is 16th May se we are impacted by the current situation. 

You Posted 2min too early, Royal shutting down 30days as of tonite  https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1435/royal-caribbean-announces-voluntary-suspension-of-cruising/

Edited March 13, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[Comi.uy]

This is bound to hit everyone, including cruise companies and undoubtedly its staff.

Hope they all have some savings!

[canny_cruiser]

3 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

Other crew members who are travelling in between contracts are stuck in parts of the world not their home and now will have to source a way to get back home until this all settles down and contracts are rescheduled . 
 

 

I’m not surprised to hear this. One of the “gentleman” dancers on my Cunard Panama cruise injured his ankle. They debarked him at the next stop (Guatemala) & left him to find his own way home. The cruise lines mantra seems to be if you’re not earning (i.e. for us), we’re not caring.

 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by canny_cruiser

[mpk]

6 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

Be thankful you still have a job in the midst of all of this because some of us have just lost months of work.
Royal Caribbean International what are you going to do about it? Taking contracts off your crew with Zero notice and no pay for at least two months?
I know the health crisis is out of your hand, but I’m speaking out for people who have families to support and mouths to feed.
You’ve gotta do something for your workers with that little of notice, come on.

 

I am sympathetic as this will play out all over.  Everyone is pretty much sheltering in place, so this means a lot of businesses will have zero foot traffic.  What are the shopping malls, restaurants, small businesses going to do?  This is uncharted territory for everyone all over the world.

 

One thing though- not a great idea for that person to air this on social media.  It is a great way to never get a contract from RCCL again, or any other cruise line if they search and see this.

[smeck]

Disney is paying all cast members during the park closure. I would hope Royal would follow suit.  

[Oceansaway17]

4 minutes ago, smeck said:

Disney is paying all cast members during the park closure. I would hope Royal would follow suit.  

and the hotels are still open too.

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, awestover89 said:

I really don't want to come across as heartless, but that's the expected trade off for contract work. Contractors are often paid more than full time equivalent employees, but with less protections. It's the same in the IT world, I could make way more money switching over to a contractor role, but I don't want that uncertainty.

 

My dad is a contractor in the construction industry, and this is the kind of thing he deals with regularly; pay is better when he has work but when work slows down he gets let go.

 

Seriously?  You want to argue that cruise ship employees are paid better because they are contract employees?  Why do you think most of them are foreigners?  Because that's the only way they can staff their ships for the rates they pay.   And this isn't like a normal contract ending.  This is sudden and unprecedented.   Surely you can see the difference?

[Floke]

12 hours ago, smeck said:

Disney is paying all cast members during the park closure. I would hope Royal would follow suit.  

For their announced closure through the end of the month, yes. What happens when they don’t open back up on 4/1 because they cant... this is getting worse, not better. I suspect layoffs will be coming and those who were paid, won’t be anymore. I hope I’m wrong, I live in Orlando and have many cast member friends and none of them expect to be working on 4/1 for business as usual. 

[vacationlover_mn]

I work for a very large company in the US.  We’ve been told we must work from home until at least April.  I feel sorry for all of the outsourced hourly staff who clean, work in the cafeteria, etc 😞. We’re not sure if they are getting paid during this time...  I hope they are!!

[smalltimecruiser100]

Everything seems like is closing up for at least two weeks but for cleaning purposes. That will help. The one thing I do worry about is crews from heavily infected areas go back home(unless they stay in the US) and then when the cruise lines resume service, do they bring the CV back to the ship?

[chengkp75]

20 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Looking at her Facebook profile it looks like she is part of entertainment staff.  She was set to board a ship (didn’t say which one) on Saturday 

Okay, if she is just joining, then yes, I see her contract being cancelled until the cruises restart.  Lots of folks are being laid off due to the virus.  The crew onboard will likely remain onboard, but no new crew will join.

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Seriously?  You want to argue that cruise ship employees are paid better because they are contract employees?  Why do you think most of them are foreigners?  Because that's the only way they can staff their ships for the rates they pay.   And this isn't like a normal contract ending.  This is sudden and unprecedented.   Surely you can see the difference?

The individual in question on this post is not a foreign crew member. She is contract “entertainment” staff and an American, and they are paid very well.