tips....not the average question

[Princesstiff3385]

I've known a few people who have worked for various cruise lines. All were American, all young (early 20's), no spouses/kids and most of them have considered it a good job. Before they start work they eliminate all land expenses they can most putting all belongings into storage and selling their vehicles they start work and their only expenses are their storage units on land at $50-$100 a month. The cruise line provides room and board and as long as they are good at what they do most people pay the automatic tip (many without really realizing it) and then many of them hand over additional cash at the end of the trip. They pay no taxes and bank the money they earn, they all admit that they work there butts off but if they were home paying rent, insurance, car payments, food, etc ,etc, etc with a mediocre paying job they'd be broke and probably working nearly as hard at two jobs at least that's the story that's always been painted for me. Moving to fl at 18 I thought about it several times but alas I met my soulmate and thoughts of leaving him for anything quickly escaped my mind.

 

[DahliaRW]

I used to work at a summer camp. I got paid pennies and hour because calculated into my "wage" was my room and board, which was a substantial amount. Plus we were on the clock 22 hours a day 12-13 days every 2 weeks (we got 24 hours off every two weeks, sometimes we'd get it off on consecutive weeks). Because of the room and board, my take home wage could be quite a bit below minimum wage since the room and board was considered part of the wage. I'm pretty sure it works the same way on any cruise line. So they get "free room and board" but in reality their paychecks are "deducted" for that anyways.

Also, don't assume that just because they are not married they are not supporting family at home. Many people, especially in 3rd world countries, work to support their parents, siblings, etc.

On our cruise we felt that everyone who was in a tippable position that we worked with went above and beyond, and we tipped accordingly. They seemed to work harder than I ever have at a paying job (yes, even as a camp counselor). I was astounded to see my server working the pirate buffet and then the next morning working breakfast at royal court at 7:30 am. When do they sleep? Because there is not that much time between the two, especially when you factor in that he needed to eat breakfast and have time for personal hygiene. And the best part, despite the obvious lack of sleep, living in a closet, etc, everyone was cheerful and polite and there were many instances of servers we'd have for lunch one time remembering my kids and their names the next time we ran into them at cabanas, etc. It was amazing!

 

[ShellB8585]

I'm not even sure how people skimp on tips. DCL auto charges tips to your OBB. Do people physically go to guest services to have the tip charge removed from their accounts? Can you even do that?

I did have it removed from our onboard account but only because I had already saved and taken cash specifically for tipping. (don't worry i certainly didn't skimp )

 

[Purplejewel]

With tips being automatic, I think most people pay the standard tip. If you believe the people on these boards, several people leave hundreds extra. I would love to see stats on how many people take off the tip. We always tip the standard and add extra for the servers who go above and beyond. We've never lowered a tip.

We've had multiple servers who were single. Not everyone is supporting a family back home. The presence of a family should not equal more pay. I pay for good service - not good service based on the amount of bills my server has.

I just think these people are doing considerably better than the folks on this board make it sound. We've heard stories of midnight movie showings for the crew with everyone up all night partying. We've been on multiple excursions with members of the crew because Disney rewarded them with the excursion. Every server we've ever had has spoken highly of their job. I'm sure it's super hard, but in their minds it's totally worth it.

I just got off the Fantasy last Saturday and when my DH and I were in Remy for the brunch one morning, several of the staff told us that they were tired because they had a Crew Valentine's Costume Party the night before. It sounded like they had alot of fun. I was glad to hear that Disney allows them to do such functions.

 

[crisi]

I've known a few people who have worked for various cruise lines. All were American, all young (early 20's), no spouses/kids and most of them have considered it a good job. Before they start work they eliminate all land expenses they can most putting all belongings into storage and selling their vehicles they start work and their only expenses are their storage units on land at $50-$100 a month. The cruise line provides room and board and as long as they are good at what they do most people pay the automatic tip (many without really realizing it) and then many of them hand over additional cash at the end of the trip. They pay no taxes and bank the money they earn, they all admit that they work there butts off but if they were home paying rent, insurance, car payments, food, etc ,etc, etc with a mediocre paying job they'd be broke and probably working nearly as hard at two jobs at least that's the story that's always been painted for me. Moving to fl at 18 I thought about it several times but alas I met my soulmate and thoughts of leaving him for anything quickly escaped my mind.

It they are U.S. citizens, they'll pay taxes. U.S. citizens must pay taxes even on foreign earned income. Its really a pain in the butt for ex-pats as they are usually required to also file in the country in which they are living.