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Curious about crew during no passengers?

h-sar

By h-sar,
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h-sar

h-sar

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A few months back, I came across a young British YouTuber, Chris Wong, who was vlogging from the Royal Caribbean ships he was working on. Currently, he is the casino host on the Oasis. Yesterday, he said the ship would be docking in Miami today to offload the last of the passengers before the 30 days of no cruises. He said he would be vlogging every day during that time, if you are curious about what the crew will be doing. Not sure that I am allowed to mention his channel, but I’m sure the mods will take my post down if need be. His vlogs do really give a good insight into working on a ship, although I am never sure how honest he is being about the negative side of it as he is currently still employed by Royal Caribbean and seems to be looking to move up the ladder. However, he’s very engaging to watch and getting insight into crew life (filtered as it might be) is very entertaining.

Edited by h-sar
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Joebucks

Joebucks

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I feel so bad for the crew. They bust their ass year-round to take care of everyone, including a bunch of jerks. Right now, there is no way they are making as much money. Then you have a bunch of idiots behind their keyboard blasting efforts to protect the economy, because they can't see beyond the hate that the media has taught them.

 

I will be watching this

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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38 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

I feel so bad for the crew.....Right now, there is no way they are making as much money. 

I would think that the first thing the cruise lines would want to do is to protect their crew and keep them happy.  The last thing they want, when this suspension period is over, is to have disgruntled and unhappy employees walking off the ship or not renewing contracts when they are most needed for new passengers.  Continuity and full service will be key to getting back to normal when this passes.

 

In order to do this, my guess is that for those who's income is supported by gratuities, they are likely going to offer some compensation adjustment to help soften this blow while also paying all in full as they are still under contract.  Just because there will not be passengers on board for the next few weeks doesn't meant that the crew will be idle and not paid. Even if it were and option, that would be an extremely foolish business blunder to not maintain full compensation for the on board crew.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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h-sar

h-sar

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Have watched Sunday’s and Monday’s Vlogs. Today’s (Monday)  was particularly interesting about how the casino crew has been spending the last couple of days without passengers on board. It was also heartening to see these hard working young people enjoying some of the guest facilities. 

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Cruiser_1977

Cruiser_1977

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There was a post I read yesterday by @chengkp75. I hope he corrects me if I'm wrong but I believe they are guaranteed a minimum of $650 or $680/month. Keep in mind room/board are not expenses they must pay. That pay is more than some bartenders/waiters and parking lot attendants in my area are getting at the moment. An acquaintance of mine is an after-school care provider. Parents pay her weekly and there are no contracts. Since schools are closed she has no kids, therefore no income. Fortunately, it is not her only source of income and she can/will survive without it.

 

**was able to find the post referenced above $618/month:

 

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

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8 hours ago, drsel said:

$618 tax-free per month with free boarding and lodging is much much less than what they are normally used to.

But more than what they would earn doing the same work in their own countries

That $618 is rarely to support a single person with no dependants.  Most crew have families with children in countries whose schooling is not free

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drsel

drsel

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2 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

That $618 is rarely to support a single person with no dependants.  Most crew have families with children in countries whose schooling is not free

True, but their friends and colleagues at home earn half of that (for doing the exact same work) and also have to support families and also have to pay for boarding and lodging. 

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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12 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

That $618 is rarely to support a single person with no dependants.  Most crew have families with children in countries whose schooling is not free

Perhaps in the US that is a valid statement.  But you cannot generalize that with regards to the many different countries that the crew are from.  The crew voluntarily sign on - with repeated contracts - with the cruise lines as the wages they earn are typically better than that available in their home countries.  Otherwise why would they choose to do so? 

 

I realize that in these current circumstances some crew members' net income may be lower. But as I stated before, my expectation would be that because of this the cruise lines would subsidize that difference, at least to some degree, as they recognize the importance of their crew and the impact from this with their income.

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Elaine5715

Elaine5715

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9 hours ago, drsel said:

True, but their friends and colleagues at home earn half of that (for doing the exact same work) and also have to support families and also have to pay for boarding and lodging. 

 

5 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Perhaps in the US that is a valid statement.  But you cannot generalize that with regards to the many different countries that the crew are from.  The crew voluntarily sign on - with repeated contracts - with the cruise lines as the wages they earn are typically better than that available in their home countries.  Otherwise why would they choose to do so? 

 

I realize that in these current circumstances some crew members' net income may be lower. But as I stated before, my expectation would be that because of this the cruise lines would subsidize that difference, at least to some degree, as they recognize the importance of their crew and the impact from this with their income.

My point is simply $618 a month is not big bucks, not here, not there, not anywhere.  

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

 

My point is simply $618 a month is not big bucks, not here, not there, not anywhere.  

Well, as examples, the average monthly wages in the Philippians range from $166 - $500 US, and general workers in Jamaica average between $620 -$737 US, while in Mexico it is $843 per household. 

 

While I don't disagree, again while compared to US these incomes are low, it is all relative to the country in which you live.

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

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31 minutes ago, drsel said:

Also remember that throughout the year the Philippine bartenders earn US$ 2600 to 3200 every month with free boarding and lodging and zero taxes

Just to add....except those required to be paid by their country of citizenship, which they (not the cruise lines) would be responsible for.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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14 hours ago, drsel said:

Also remember that throughout the year the Philippine bartenders earn US$ 2600 to 3200 every month with free boarding and lodging and zero taxes

 

14 hours ago, drsel said:

In many countries, income earned abroad is not taxable provided you stay more than 6 months away from your home country

While your second statement is quite true, the Philippines tax income regardless of where it is earned, and also any "gratuity" paid from the employer, rather than the customer, is taxed as normal income as well.  Many countries, including the US, exempt mariners from the "6 months away from the home country" rule, and so we pay taxes.

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