So how much do Room Hosts make?

[Sully]

An interersting thread. A lot of staterooms have only 2 people in them. Less tip per room. Also about the comparison with the tremendous salaries of educators. If it is such a lucrative profession as stated by many on this thread, why haven't more people taken up this profession?

 

[misseulalie]

Amen to that! DW is in education, and I bristle when people say that they only have to work 9 months out of the year with holidays. They don't mention all of the after hours work, the school supplies that they have to pay for, the massive workloads, not to mention the 1% of parents (the other 99% are cool) who think the world revolves around them and will sue good teachers in a heartbeat for simply doing their job. By the time May comes around, my DW is completely burnt out. They don't pay her nearly enough to do what she does.

When I taught, I would spend most of my summer taking workshops and going to conferences. Some had stipends, some did not. Plus, teachers have to come back to school a few weeks (I usually started a month before) to prepare the room, and prepare for the next group of students. I would say out of 3 months of "vacation" probably 2 months were spent working.

 

[cruisinluver]

Not sure where you got YOUR information, but I know my sources are EXTREMELY reliable.

It is a fact. The room, board etc is deducted from the wages earned by the CM's on board the ship. So any way you cut it, there is no "free" room and board.

I have no idea where you get your information, but there is no modern cruiseline that has a contract where room and board are not provided as part of their wages. I know for a fact that what you have been told just is not true. Staff and crew pay includes room and board.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Well, we are not speaking of "Staff and Crew" in this thread, but of Stateroom Hosts. They work for tips. In their checks (and btw this information was as of 2005 so its possible a change could have occurred) they are paid a small wage (stipend) from which the room and board charges are deducted from the paychecks. It is itemized as a deduction. If they are US citizens, appropriate income taxes are also deducted.

I only have knowedge of DCL, not of all "modern cruiselines" as you apparently do.

 

[CM_Mom]

Crew Pay
Crew Members are paid bi-weekly in US dollars by check. All Crew Members are responsible for paying their own taxes. US citizens or residents have Federal taxes withheld from their checks. Other Crew Members must check with their own country's tax service to find out what guidelines they should follow.

Crew Benefits
Crew benefits include medical coverage while on contract. GAP insurance is available for purchase for coverage between contracts. Crew accommodations, meals, and costumes/uniforms (except shoes) are provided to the Crew at no expense.

 

[tvguy]

My only thought is that if the job was as well paid as some posters suggest, I beleive that the jobs would be staffed by more americans. We must remember that the ship is not registered under the American flag and the wages and tips are very good when compared with what is available in their home countries.

Yes, with tips, jobs on ships are VERY well paying compared to the average wage in the home countries of the works, places like Indonesia. You are correct, Americans aren't taking these jobs because they don't pay compared to American pay standards and costs of living.
The average annual income in 2005 in Indonesia according to UNICEF (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/indonesia_statistics.html) was only $1280. Rumor is (sorry I don't have a firm number here) that Disney pays people in tipped positions $100 a month under a 6 month contract. So if a worker earns more than $25 a week in tips, he is ahead of the average worker at home.
But the U.S. is no paradise for food service workers. Check this out (http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/tipped.htm) the minimum wage for tipped food service workers in Kansas is only $1.59, that's right $254.40 a MONTH before tips

 

[tvguy]

Amen to that! DW is in education, and I bristle when people say that they only have to work 9 months out of the year with holidays. They don't mention all of the after hours work, the school supplies that they have to pay for, the massive workloads, not to mention the 1% of parents (the other 99% are cool) who think the world revolves around them and will sue good teachers in a heartbeat for simply doing their job. By the time May comes around, my DW is completely burnt out. They don't pay her nearly enough to do what she does.

They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. We've lost 4 of our 60 employees in the past year to teaching. They say the money is similar, the benefits far better, the stress level lower (but not low for sure) you aren't on call 24/7/365 and you get more than 2 weeks paid time off. Granted, we get double time for holiday work, a concession to the fact that unless a holiday falls on your regular day off, you'll be working.
We probably will soon lose two of our night shift workers, they currently work 3 or 4 days a week as subs (big shortage of them here) then come to their "fulltime" job. At $125 a day, it's a nice supplement, and both also teach summer school, not sure what they get for that.

 

[tvguy]

On our last cruise, our host told us that on every sailing, an average of 40% of the rooms don't tip. I was very surprised but not shocked.
.

Sadly, I am not surprised, just saddened. When you think about it, though, since Disney is so much more expensive than other lines, some may think the tips should be included.
We're cruising next month on NCL to Hawaii. I read on another board that NCL has changed their $10 automatic tip per person (that they would lower if you insisted) to a $10 a day per person service charge that can not be reduced. I suspect it's their way of dealing with too many requests to cut the amount.........although I have heard that often the level of service wasn't worthy of a $10 a day tip.
I have family spread all over Canada, and while I love them dearly, on more than one occasion when one of my 14 cousins comes to the U.S. to visit with their families, and they treat for dinner, they don't tip, or they tip about 5%. I always end up having to sneak back to the table and leave more on the table.
I also notice that they won't bus their own tables at places like McDonalds......one of my cousins scolded me for doing that "they hire people to do that". I do have to admit that during my visit to Calgary last summer, that there were employees who appeared to be doing nothing but clearning tables at McDonalds. So that, and being able to get gravy on your fries may be Canadian differences.

 

[cruisinluver]

Well, we are not speaking of "Staff and Crew" in this thread, but of Stateroom Hosts. They work for tips. In their checks (and btw this information was as of 2005 so its possible a change could have occurred) they are paid a small wage (stipend) from which the room and board charges are deducted from the paychecks. It is itemized as a deduction. If they are US citizens, appropriate income taxes are also deducted.

I only have knowedge of DCL, not of all "modern cruiselines" as you apparently do.

Stateroom hosts are usually classified as crew. The contract is a standard contract throughout the industry. Base pay is a gauranteed salary depending on cruiseline, years of experience, nationality and other factors. I have no idea who told you that room and board were deducted from their paychecks, but they were feeding you a big steaming pile of not truthfullness.

 

[BubbaGrump]

Well, we are not speaking of "Staff and Crew" in this thread, but of Stateroom Hosts. They work for tips.

Stateroom hosts are part of the "Staff and Crew" are they not? Are servers not part of "Staff and Crew" because they also "work for tips"? Crusinluver has posted very good info about this very subject before, yet some still want to believe the people in these jobs are underpaid, overworked etc. I don't happen to think so. I tip according to service, not on feeling sorry for someone etc. Even people from some of the mentioned countries would not be waiting for these jobs if things were as bad as some are trying to make the rest of us believe!

 

[Babs417]

I am a waitress In N.J. at CBs we getpaid 2.18 a hour they wont let you work over 40 hr a week be caus it would be overtime. Then they take out .33cents an hr for food out of your 2.18. My pay check is 0.

 

[CruisingDisney]

Crew Pay
Crew Members are paid bi-weekly in US dollars by check. All Crew Members are responsible for paying their own taxes. US citizens or residents have Federal taxes withheld from their checks. Other Crew Members must check with their own country's tax service to find out what guidelines they should follow.

Crew Benefits
Crew benefits include medical coverage while on contract. GAP insurance is available for purchase for coverage between contracts. Crew accommodations, meals, and costumes/uniforms (except shoes) are provided to the Crew at no expense.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[deb123453]

Sadly, I am not surprised, just saddened. When you think about it, though, since Disney is so much more expensive than other lines, some may think the tips should be included.
We're cruising next month on NCL to Hawaii. I read on another board that NCL has changed their $10 automatic tip per person (that they would lower if you insisted) to a $10 a day per person service charge that can not be reduced. I suspect it's their way of dealing with too many requests to cut the amount.........although I have heard that often the level of service wasn't worthy of a $10 a day tip.
I have family spread all over Canada, and while I love them dearly, on more than one occasion when one of my 14 cousins comes to the U.S. to visit with their families, and they treat for dinner, they don't tip, or they tip about 5%. I always end up having to sneak back to the table and leave more on the table.
I also notice that they won't bus their own tables at places like McDonalds......one of my cousins scolded me for doing that "they hire people to do that". I do have to admit that during my visit to Calgary last summer, that there were employees who appeared to be doing nothing but clearning tables at McDonalds. So that, and being able to get gravy on your fries may be Canadian differences.

all i can say is your family is not the norm for canadians. I always tip at least 10% and then more if the service was good. it wouldn't even cross my mind not to clear my table at any fast food restaurant. but i do like gravy on fries or vinegar.
also i don't think it should matter if someone in customer service makes very little money or alot, if they do a good job you should tip them to show you appreciate the job they did.

 

[Brucemcc]

TV GUY, I am CANADIAN and the fact that we Canadians as you say do not tip is not fair. I and everyone I know tip minimum 15% on every bill recieved, that is the standard in Canada. I live 6 hrs north of Calgary and our economy is booming because of the oil we have in our province, (Alberta). Calgary has , ZERO vacancy as does most of the cities in Alberta and our income is far greater than most in North America due to the oil we recover, refine and sell south of our border, that being said, lower income workers, some with little or no post secondary education, I.E. students are forced to take jobs for lower wages than skilled trades people, engineers etc and may have to cut back on things like tips to pay $1400.00/month for a 1 bedroom, 500 square foot apartment. To say that all Canadians do not tip is simplynot true, perhaps its just your cousins that are the exception as I know this is not the case with anyone I know. How did we get so far off topic and yes even our NON tipping teachers in Canada are under payed with 40+ children average per class and having to teach in "2" official languages as we have that in Canada. I know, I have a teacher living in my home and I never see her. Just my opinion!! It is not just a Canadian thing. It is also an insult to not bust your table at a fast food establishment in Canada, once again I have never heard of or seen this in any place Ive eaten, and no we do not put gravey on our fries at McDonalds, never heard of that either!!

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. We've lost 4 of our 60 employees in the past year to teaching. They say the money is similar, the benefits far better, the stress level lower (but not low for sure) you aren't on call 24/7/365 and you get more than 2 weeks paid time off. Granted, we get double time for holiday work, a concession to the fact that unless a holiday falls on your regular day off, you'll be working.
We probably will soon lose two of our night shift workers, they currently work 3 or 4 days a week as subs (big shortage of them here) then come to their "fulltime" job. At $125 a day, it's a nice supplement, and both also teach summer school, not sure what they get for that.

I wouldn't compare DH's job to a teacher because it is an entirely different level of stress, but my sister worked many years at a tv station in NC so I know all about having to work holidays, etc. DH is a ::cop: and is in the same boat, so to speak. And sometimes, even when you are scheduled off you may still have to work - like July 4th when all of the officers are called in. That being said, I will tell you the same thing they told the officers in DH's academy class - if you don't like it, get another job because complaining won't change anything.

 

[nikky]

I ama waitress and i always try to tip well. But i will not tip for poor service just because it is expected . I completely agree with tipping your room steward , head waiter, asst. waiter. But i have a problem with the dining room manager being tipped i am sure his salary is not based on tips and he technically has not served me so i don't feel it is necessary to tip him unless i request some service that he does assist me. And i have seen others post that they still tip the wait staff for nights that they have roomservice. I will not be i am tipping the room service person and do not feel i need to tip the waiters for that night they did not serve me..Just my feelings please don't flame me.

 

[VAgal76]

I ama waitress and i always try to tip well. But i will not tip for poor service just because it is expected . I completely agree with tipping your room steward , head waiter, asst. waiter. But i have a problem with the dining room manager being tipped i am sure his salary is not based on tips and he technically has not served me so i don't feel it is necessary to tip him unless i request some service that he does assist me. And i have seen others post that they still tip the wait staff for nights that they have roomservice. I will not be i am tipping the room service person and do not feel i need to tip the waiters for that night they did not serve me..Just my feelings please don't flame me.

Many moons ago I waited tables, too, to the tune of $2.00 a hour plus tips. Some days were good and some days weren't. I would work split shifts just to make enough income to support our family. Yes, DH had a job but it didn't pay all that much. Yes, I changed careers about 2 years later for better benefits and steady income. I wouldn't tip just because it's expected either, however, I'll tip more generously for a good server - I'm with you on that.

I had a fabulous head server on the Wonder. He treated each individual guest like royalty and stopped to speak and interact with everyone through out the evening. I specifically watched him after trying to figure out why they were a tippable position. Now, they do make changes to your dining assignments including table assignment, rotation, who you dine with, etc. I couldn't say the same for the one we had on the Magic in June 2006. The dining room manager on the Magic in October of 2006 was more involved with us and gave us a little more attention, but he still didn't have the presence that the one on the Wonder did. Yes, I tipped the dining room manager in all situations. I was more generous when I felt it was warranted.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I think it's in poor taste for those to skip on tipping because they think the cost of a DCL is too high or say tips should be included at that price regardless of all other documents stating otherwise. I've found Disney's service on the ships to be nothing short of good to superior. JMO I guess and I'm sure others have a story to tell. The suggested tips aren't that much and don't seem to be an exhorbitant amount. If you feel the cost of the cruise was so much more that you would cut the tip to help save your money then you can easily cut down on shore excursions, alcohol, and extras rather than tipping. Include your tip in the cost of cruising just like transportation and airfare. If it's too much, perhaps another line might be more suitable. I'd rather take a cheaper cruise then to stiff someone like that. Let's take care of the people that take care of us. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, would you?

 

[Kurby]

I'm always amazed how many people get sooooo upset with teachers pay. it's often followed up with some kind of sports, singer or actor comparison.

it's very interesting that we value our athletes and actors over nurses, teachers, police, firefighters, daycare workers (who do you think your children spend 8-10-12 hours a day with from 6-12 months old and up?) and yes even housekeeping.

when i was in high school i took a job in a hotel with the thought that i would go to college and get into hotel management. to my horror i found that more then a quarter of the guests were disgusting pigs. if there houses were an extension of how they left their rooms i would hate to be invited over for dinner. glasses filled with cigarette's (back when smoking was fine in all rooms not just smoking rooms), food left out, fluids and the accompanying adult goodies left for housekeeping to clean up. this was not a dive hotel either this was a pretty decent 3 star name brand hotel. was it and is it housekeeping's job to clean it up - ya - but does that give these people the right to dump crap and say "it's their job let them clean it up" - no.

it's funny how we as a society will throw money at athletes and actors for what? running around a court for a couple of hours, spending 4 months making a 2 hour movie? ok i like movies - i like Julie Roberts, but is she worth $20,000,000 to make 1 movie???? NO! yet that's what she gets paid. Andrew Bogut, taken #1 overall, will earn $3,617,100 his first season of basketball - his very first sesion - Matts Sundine got $7.6 million for the 06/07 season in hockey, Barry Bonds $15,533,970 this year - does that make sense? oh and lets not forget the millions and millions these athletes actors and singers get paid for endorsements.

David Beckham Money
A Week Salary = 535,056
Endorsement Deals = 120,000
Bonus per game Game = 10,000
Club Magazines = 50,000
TOTAL = 715,056 Per Week - oh and that's pounds not dollars so double that.


we pay these guys - and i say we because if the fans wouldn't go and pay $50, $75, $125 a ticket they wouldn't be paying these high salaries to the athletes

and yet here we are talking about $40,000 teachers salary, $10 per hour housekeeping wage and tipping $25-50 on a cruise.

i dont know - i think our society is a bit off the mark don't you?

used to be when we were kids if you asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up it was doctors, teachers, firemen, soldiers...... now it's rock stars, the next Gretzky, Britney, Shack, - ask any kid who they look up to and those are the names you'll get.

 

[nikky]

In response to vagal76 if u would care to reread my post i said nothing about the cost of the cruise being in my decision to tip or not it was based on service not the expectability of my tipping for there income. i fully intend to tip well but only for those who warrant it not for those it is just expected and they don;'t serve me or serve me well. Thank you

 

[tvguy]

TV GUY, I am CANADIAN and the fact that we Canadians as you say do not tip is not fair. I and everyone I know tip minimum 15% on every bill recieved, that is the standard in Canada. I live 6 hrs north of Calgary and our economy is booming because of the oil we have in our province, (Alberta). Calgary has , ZERO vacancy as does most of the cities in Alberta and our income is far greater than most in North America due to the oil we recover, refine and sell south of our border, that being said, lower income workers, some with little or no post secondary education, I.E. students are forced to take jobs for lower wages than skilled trades people, engineers etc and may have to cut back on things like tips to pay $1400.00/month for a 1 bedroom, 500 square foot apartment. To say that all Canadians do not tip is simplynot true, perhaps its just your cousins that are the exception as I know this is not the case with anyone I know. How did we get so far off topic and yes even our NON tipping teachers in Canada are under payed with 40+ children average per class and having to teach in "2" official languages as we have that in Canada. I know, I have a teacher living in my home and I never see her. Just my opinion!! It is not just a Canadian thing. It is also an insult to not bust your table at a fast food establishment in Canada, once again I have never heard of or seen this in any place Ive eaten, and no we do not put gravey on our fries at McDonalds, never heard of that either!!

See your fellow Canadian "Deb123453"'s post regarding tips and gravy. So may not be in your experience, but it is to a fellow Canadian. Not a problem, just regional differences. Do you order a "fill-a" of fish at McDonalds or "fill-let"?