Tipping While Unemployed

[cage keeper]

I don't quite agree with you but I'm even more astonished by the one who started this thread. So I thought I would contribute with some "inside-info" on the life as a cruiseship member.

 

I live in Denmark, where we have minimum wages that are quite high (more than in the US, but we also pay a minimum of 50% in income tax). Here, you tip solely if you receive good service - your server does not depend on it, but it's nice to receive a recognition that proves their service was special.

 

I worked on different cruiseships approx. 17 years ago, first as a bar waitress and later on in the casino. I did not do it out of need for money, but solely because I wanted to travel and see the World.

 

I lasted 4 months as a waitress, as I could not put up with the working conditions (coming from a Western country where working conditions are completely different and well-sorted even for people with no education like me back then).

I paid for my flight myself from Denmark to the US and signed up for a one year contract. Had I not paid myself, I would not have been allowed to leave the ship until my flight was paid for - or after fulfilling the one year contract. (So if I wanted to leave, I would have had to pay for my flight ie. have saved up for this as I was working). I imagine that flights from the Philipines where a lot of the crew were from, do not come cheap - or at least I don't think they did then. One thing I still remember clearly, is that a crewmember from the Philipines was refused to leave the ship. His father had died suddenly, and he was denied to go home for the funeral. This crewmember had not paid for his own flight (most couldn't afford to).

 

My basic wages were 300 dollars a month plus "room and board" (I still have a copy of my contract), the room was a pitchdark cabin shared with only one other girl (I was lucky, most people shared with 3 others, sometimes there were 6 in one cabin), we had to share a bathroom/showers with several others. I won't go into detail about the lack of cleaning and cockroaches in there. The "board" was the crew dining room, where I was afraid to eat anything other than boiled rice and ketchup. I lost about 30 pounds working on that ship. When I came home I was hospitalised with a virus in my blood and I was malnutritioned.

 

I worked 7 days a week - every week - between 10-14 hours a day. Sometimes I worked in the pool area early in the morning and would have a few hours off and then work again at a buffet in the afternoon and then in the disco till it closed at 2 am. Two days a week, when entering American ports, we had "Special clean" which meant working until late at night/early in the morning before US health inspections.

 

I collapsed at one point, had a high fever and a virus (several of the passengers were also sick), and I was forced to go back to work after the ship doctor gave me a shot of something, I still don't know what was.

 

This was way before tiping was automatically deducted from the passenger's account, so we worked very hard for our tips - and lots and lots of passengers did not tip - or didn't tip the 10-15% of the bill that was recommended then, no matter how good a service you rendered. I made ok money, but not as much as I would have made at home sitting at a cash register in a supermarket;-) (however, I'm not from a 3rd World country where people back home depended on me sending almost all my wages home). I could keep everything for myself.

 

I could go on and on - I'm not going to. It was the time of my life despite all of the above. But I also always knew that I had my return ticket and could leave when I wanted to (and that is what I did). I met so many nice people from all over the world, and I met my husband who worked in the casino - that's another thread...

 

So when we go cruising (2nd cruise coming up in January) we certainly know how hard all the crew - who surround us and make us feel right at home - work to make us feel this way. And I'm HAPPY to pay 10 bucks a day, and when it goes up to 12 bucks I'm still happy to pay that plus we'll tip the crew who gives us a nice service.

 

Sorry if I'm off-topic, I know my experience was from many years ago, but little has changed I'm sure. I can see this from the many blogs, discussion forums etc. that crewmembers from all the different ships write on (the Internet is a great thing)

 

Thank you for posting and telling your story.

 

Here's to tipping well.:D

[mstrc1]

Thank you DanishTraveler for shearing this personal story with us. I always say how hard the staff works on a ship especially when guests are leaving and new one's are coming aboard. Hopefully more people will apreaciate the hard work they do and tip accordingly.