The Benicia Fullosopher

Cruise ship employees

The Crew: I cannot ever express enough appreciation for the extremely hard-working crews. Some ships have crews from sixty different countries. Others ships have a particular job done by a crew from a single country. For example, all the waiters might be from Indonesia and all the cabin crew from the Philippines. For crew that directly serves the guests—such as in the restaurants, bars, and cabins—the basic pay is low; thus, they depend upon tips. Even with the low pay, the crew employees earn far more than in their home country. One waiter we met from the Philippines had a law degree but said he earned more working on ships. A woman with a master’s degree who had been a journalist in Slovenia earned more as a cabin steward. They work ten to twelve hours a day with no days off during their contract, which may be as long as a year. Four to six crewmembers may sleep in a single cabin. There is a zero-tolerance policy for any infraction. For example, a crewmember will be immediately fired if discovered socializing with guests. They may not use guest elevators and stairways. They have their own mess hall that may have special foods for different ethnic groups. There is a crew Internet café, bar, and some recreation, such as ping-pong. Often there is a teacher of English. For very interesting and detailed testimonials from crew members, Google “life as a crew member on a cruise ship.”

Staff: These are generally crewmembers who have more contact with guests, such as the cruise director’s staff, those who sell onboard products and services, also  entertainers, including dancers, singers, musicians and DJs. They generally work shorter hours, receive better pay, and get time off while in port. On some ships they are allowed to socialize with guests. Staff is usually housed two to a cabin.

Officers: They receive the highest wages and generally have a private stateroom. The cruise director manages all onboard hospitality, entertainment, and social events. Other highly trained officers are responsible for the nautical and mechanical aspects of the ship, plus the safety of guests and crew. They report directly to the ship’s captain. Regarding socializing, one crewmember said, “Anyone with stripes can do just about anything.”

Guest Staff: This is a category for people who are temporarily employed by a cruise company. We have had assignments for two weeks to four months on seven different cruise lines. We usually were assigned a guest cabin and had all the benefits of paying guests, such as eating in any dining room, attending any event, and going ashore at ports. We have been the unofficial “mom and dad” for many crew and staff members who shared stories of badly-behaving guests, other stressful working conditions, and their shipboard romances—those that led to long-term relationships and more that led to broken hearts.

Ship Codes
Announcements are made in code words so that guests will not be alarmed. Some examples are: Alpha-Alpha-Alpha for a medical emergency, Bravo-Bravo-Bravo for a fire, Oscar-Oscar-Oscar for man overboard. On our four-month cruise, we frequently heard “Code Niagara” which usually meant that a pipe had burst in a cabin bathroom and flooded the cabins below. To find other codes, Google “Cruise ship code words”

Romance on the Waves
It happens. Not surprisingly, cruising is popular for honeymoons and weddings._ We’ve known several couples who met on a cruise–and stayed together. However, it is not uncommon for romance to blossom and be over by the end of the cruise. Some ships provide what is called a “distinguished gentleman,” an unmarried,_usually senior, male who serves as a host to the single women on the ship, primarily as a dance partner or dining companion. The distinguished gentlemen are not permitted to get romantically involved with the guests, but sometimes Cupid ignores the ship’s rules.

Guest Loyalty
Every cruise line has a program to reward guests for returning. The more you cruise with the same line, the more the perks, which may include a complimentary bottle of water or wine, cocktail parties, a free dinner at a specialty restaurant, free cabin upgrades, discounted or free use of the Internet, butler service, separate dining room, free use of the exclusive spa area, a free spa treatment, a special bar where alcoholic beverages and snacks are available all day, complimentary laundry, home luggage pickup and delivery, discounted or free excursions, reserved seats in ship theaters, onboard credit, stateroom fruit basket, daily hors d’oeuvres and flower arrangements in your cabin, gifts with ship logo, a dinner with the captain or other officer, behind-the-scenes ship tour, priority disembarkation in a private departure lounge, and even a free seven-day cruise.

Coming Next: Cutting Benefits, Packing, Final Notes

The Benicia Fullosopher is retired as a guest speaker and dance teacher on cruise ships.

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