A luxury cruise ship, "Seven Seas Mariner,' sailed by the hotel about 8.am this morning ..it's now in Funchal, and I Googled it. 700 passengers only. It's registered in the Bahamas . I know many ships register under these so-called 'flags of convenience' whereby they not only pay less taxes but evade employment laws and even environmental laws. This one was registered in the Bahamas. Here's the Google result. Whilst it's dated 2004 I Googled if working conditions have changed and they haven't.
A paragraph from the article.
A MEMBER OF THE FLEET: THE DESTINY
Destiny is one of eight Bahamian-flagged ships operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. The ship can accommodate 2,600 passengers. It takes 1,050 crew members to cater to these guests during their weeklong tours of the Caribbean. According to an article published in the Miami Herald in February 2000, a cook on board the Destiny was required to work a 14-hour day, seven days a week, for the duration of her contract, approximately nine months. For this, the cook earned US$150 per week, or US$1.50 per hour for a 98-hour week. The International Labor Organization's minimum wage and standard is US$465 per week for 10-hour days, seven days a week. Another article in 2002, in the Los Angeles Times, describes the schedules and pay for janitors, bartenders and other low-level hotel-type staff as similar.
Despite the profits made by these cruise companies they 'recommend' a certain amount of gratuities/tips to give depending on the recipient's job. So...from memory..years ago..cabin staff ...dining room staff..bar staff...spa staff,so-called wellbeing staff..ie massages,pedicures etc....
For Carnival Line the 2023/2024 financial year numbers came in at $1.9billion..net adjusted $2billion. The annual salary range of top management is $131-200,000 .
Re. 'automatic' gratuities . For 'automatic' read 'mandatory'.For most passengers who book standard cabins it's currently $16 a day. For those in Suites it's $18 a day. So for a 10-day cruise an additional $160 and $180 respectively.
Many cruises add an 18-20% charge when drinks are bought at the bars, spas and speciality restaurants....ie a service charge..We tipped..in cash..$..our table and wine waiter. As we left the dining room on the last night , there at the entrance/exit was the Maitre d' in one case smiling and nodding like a Churchill dog in the back window of a car. As far as I could make out all he did was to approach diners at the tables and ask if they were enjoying their meal. However, my wife told me that they are responsible for the smooth running of the mealtimes and service, meet and greet at mealtimes and dealing with complaints. We asked him for a table change because we were,as they asked us to refer to it as..'incompatible with a table guest'. The elderly lady guest ..75-80 ?.. in question was from South Africa and spoke 'at and 'down' to staff appallingly. She told one wine waiter to "learn to speak english properly'. He was French and a lovely guy. The women said she was going to complain about him. I went to the Maitre d' and told him the lad was fine and I told him how rude this lady was to the US lady driver of the shuttle bus from the hotel in Florida to the ship. He thanked me for the information. As an aside. I noticed how rude a group of SAs...about 40-45 years of age, were to staff. So, maybe I'm being a bit harsh on Maitre d'.s. Their basic salary is $4800-$6300 a month depending on Line and size of ship. Pretty good.,really. Add tips to that.
Lastly...that I know of.....wi-fi.
Carnival offers four different Wi-Fi packages The following are the starting prices for each plan:
Social: $18.70 per day per device.
Value: $22.10 per day per device.
Premium: $23.80 per day per device.
Premium Multi-Device: $84 a day up to four devices.
I'm not complaining about all these extras per se...but it highlights that paying the brochure headline cost...eg. a 7-day Med cruise...£750.? is just the start.
My problem is laid out in the first paragraph. Staff conditions and pay. We always tipped well because we knew it was the bulk of their wages. I suppose akin to a salesman's basic plus commission . I'm extremely opposed to any form of exploitation re staff in any industry,believe we'd be back in Victorian times re many employers given half a chance..I'm fully behind 'worker's rights' ..hence my support of EU legislation.. and the history of trade unionism.
All in all..as some have pointed out, cruises are exploitative and not atall eco-friendly, all too often everything but.
but he also said that the immune system of some people, like yourself, I assume, does not recognise the mosquito/insect saliva contents..ie... anti-coagulants and other proteins, and, consequently, fails to react by releasing histamine which is the cause of the redness, swelling and itching .
