DCL Castmembers

[Steven41782]

We got to thinking on our last cruise about how many cast members are on a cruise. They are literally everywhere. Where do they all stay? How many to a room? Do they get haircuts from someone onboard? Do the suits get suites? What about the performers... do they get nicer rooms than a dishwasher? Does anyone have any information or pictures? My wife and I got to talking about it on our last cruise. We asked our server if there was drama, etc. but she sort of declined to answer and just smiled. I bet the HR team on the ship has a lot of tricks to keep the crew so Disneyfied.

 

[allears]

go to dcljobs.com that site has some photos of crew spaces. The crew and the castmembers live on board, mainly on deck 1, but there are crew quarters on other decks. I do believe main stage performers have slightly nicer rooms, sometimes single ones.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Most of the crew live on decks A and B which is below deck 1. For the most part there are 2 crew members assigned to a cabin. They have their own mess hall, crew store, bar, internet cafe, etc.. Officers have their own rooms, mess hall, etc..... and reside elsewhere on the ship.

 

[ibouncetoo]

I remember reading here on the DIS that there are crew cabins Deck 5 aft...perhaps the Cruise Director's cabin...it was long time ago and the memory is going.

 

[Steven41782]

I saw the photos on the website of the crew ares. They seem pretty decent. I wonder how it compares to Carnival/RCCL/Norwegian in terms of crew area. They have to attract the great cast members by offering the best I would imagine.

 

[CraftyMouse]

We got to thinking on our last cruise about how many cast members are on a cruise. They are literally everywhere. Where do they all stay? How many to a room? Do they get haircuts from someone onboard? Do the suits get suites? What about the performers... do they get nicer rooms than a dishwasher? Does anyone have any information or pictures? My wife and I got to talking about it on our last cruise. We asked our server if there was drama, etc. but she sort of declined to answer and just smiled. I bet the HR team on the ship has a lot of tricks to keep the crew so Disneyfied.

Other than a few exceptions (the captain, for one) the crew accommodations are on Decks 1, A and B. A & B are directly below Deck 1 and still above the water line. The officers get their own cabins with higher ranking officers getting the larger accommodations. The cast of the Walt Disney Theater generally get single rooms, as do the non-officer crew members with the most seniority...depending on availability, of course. Most cabins have a bathroom that is shared with the cabin next door. There are also cabins for married couples.

The crew decks are like a little city. They have a cafeteria, a barber shop, work-out room and a small store. They have their own outdoor deck as well. If you go all the way forward on Deck 10 you can look down on it. It has a very small pool and some lounge chairs. The crew also has its own beach on Castaway Cay. It's located to the left of Serenity Bay.

 

[Steven41782]

What is below the waterline? Storage I guess. It's interesting. Maybe my wife and I can get a married persons bunk and always be on a Disney Cruise! I'm sure the 70 hour weeks may get old, though. Is there a Disney Cruiseline minimum wage?

 

[CraftyMouse]

Is there a Disney Cruiseline minimum wage?

I think it depends upon what job you have. I do know that the servers, assistant servers and stateroom hosts/hostesses make VERY little in actual pay (less than $100 per week, I believe) and rely almost completely on their tips. I am not sure what other positions are paid, but I am sure it varies.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Several years ago the daughter of a close friend was a CM on the Magic.(non officer role) She was able to get permission to give us a tour of most of the common places on the below decks (there were some exceptions). We did see their mess hall, movie watching area (it was not a theater!) and internet access area along with her room. CM's that perform similar duties room together and in the same location in the dorm area. Servers bunk with servers, merchandies CM's bunk together, the entertainment staff, etc... The CM rooms are very small (no windows!) with bunk beds. They each have a locker and a storage drawer under the bottom bunk. There's a small bathroom (shower stall, toilet and sink)in the room that the 2 people share, a desk and they have a tv and DVD/VCR player. The crew has their own themed parties, bingo and are entertained on occasion by the same entertainers that perform for the guests.

 

[CraftyMouse]

The CM rooms are very small (no windows!) with bunk beds.

Some crew members do get cabins with windows. If you look at pictures of the Magic you will see that there are some small windows on the lower decks.

On our December cruise we went to a chat with the cast members from the WDT. Two of them mentioned having single rooms (the others did not say what they had). One had a window and one did not. They said that the cabins with windows are smaller than the cabins without them. The cast member who had a window said it was an acceptable trade-off for her as she really liked having the natural light.

 

[Steven41782]

What is WDT?

 

[CraftyMouse]

What is WDT?

The Walt Disney Theater.

 

[DCL Repeaters]

Some crew members do get cabins with windows. If you look at pictures of the Magic you will see that there are some small windows on the lower decks.

On our December cruise we went to a chat with the cast members from the WDT. Two of them mentioned having single rooms (the others did not say what they had). One had a window and one did not. They said that the cabins with windows are smaller than the cabins without them. The cast member who had a window said it was an acceptable trade-off for her as she really liked having the natural light.

I was told those with windows are of officer level. Officer level doesn't mean they necessarily wear white.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I was told those with windows are of officer level. Officer level doesn't mean they necessarily wear white.

This was a cast member in the shows at the Walt Disney Theater and she was not an officer. She said that window cabins are few and far between, but she was willing to take the smaller cabin in order to get the window. I'm guessing that if they have any window cabins available after all of the officers have been housed they used them for other crew members.

One thing I forgot to mention...all crew members' cabins have weekly inspections. Their cabins must be tidy with no food lying around.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

On our last cruise, I could have sworn I saw above Palo's, what looked like deck chairs sitting out on a veranda. It was difficult to see due to the angle, but I was wondering if this was the Captain's suite. Does anyone know?

 

[atinkerbellmom]

On our last cruise we actually got very friendly with our server and assistant server. Our assistant server took me to the room just to "sneek a peek". This was not suppose to be done, I know..... I tell you what, it truly made us tip them better. You could reach out and touch if laying in the bunk bed, the wall to the other side. There was no window and I was told it was below sea level. It was deck B if I recall correctly, two below 1st floor. Our server was married and the spouse also worked on the ship. I was told that room was exactly the same. I asked about married romance and they laughed saying by the end of a 14 - 16 hour day, there was no time for it anyway. They just told me, they were working to send the money back home and that was just the mission for now.