Welcome to Cruise Talk the Internet's most popular discussion forum dedicated to cruising. Stop by Cruise Talk anytime to post a message or find out what your fellow passengers and industry insiders are saying about a particular ship, cruise line or destination.
>>> Reader Reviews >>> CruisePage.com Photo Gallery >>> Join Our Cruise Club.
Latest News...Holland America Line will expand its presence in Europe with year-round operations for the first time, introducing a winter and early-spring program for the 2027–2028 season. The move positions the line to offer a broader range of itineraries beyond the traditional summer months, with Nieuw Statendam remaining in Europe throughout the winter and Zuiderdam adding two additional seasonal voyages...
Latest News...Princess Cruises has outlined its most extensive Europe program to date, announcing 291 departures across 150 itineraries for the 2028 season. Six ships will operate throughout Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and on transatlantic routes, marking the line’s largest-ever deployment in the region. The 2028 program, now open for booking, spans voyages from seven to 53 days and includes...
Latest News...Carnival Cruise Line has completed a major expansion of RelaxAway, its exclusive destination on Half Moon Cay, adding new beachfront space, upgraded amenities and improved access for guests. The enhancements were formally marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony as the line prepares to bring more ships to the private island. The project includes an extended stretch of white-sand beach, additional complimentary...
I just got hired as an assistant-waitress on the Queen Mary 2 and I have a few questions. Could anyone help me? Thanks in advance.
1- Is it easy to be promoted (within a few weeks as the company who hired me promised me!) from assistant waitress to waitress ?
2- How much will I earn being an assistant-waitress including tips (average)? and as a waitress?
3- How is it working for tipping? How is "my" waiter gonna tip me : is it a fixed percentage or does it depend on his/her mood?!
4- When the ship is stopped at a port, is staff allowed to get out eventhough I am not supposed to have any day off.
5- Is there a deck "reserved" for crew, so we can get fresh air once in a while!?
Again, thx a lot in advance.
I met a lady from my home town who was a Librarian on the QM2 (dont' know if she is still there or not). She said she enjoyed her work but the hours were long and it was hard work - she used to be a teacher (Librarian) at a local high school and when she retired she took the job on the QM2. She said she got very little time off.
I don't know what life is like on the QM2 but all I can say is that I work for another cruise line and we've been getting quite a few waiting staff from the QM2 who did not seem to think that working on the biggest ship in the world was such a fantastic experience and consequently resigned. Apparently they mostly complained about the very long hours.
quote:Originally posted by PAT PETERS:Good luck if you take the contract, with the worst hotel manager at sea 'Thomas' .
Hi Pat,
Are you referring to Mr. Thomas R?I only recently found out that the hotel manager on the QM2 is not British. Since the QM2 is supposed to be the flagship of the British merchant navy, I had assumed that at least in that senior position, Cunard would have put a Brit. I'm not being patriotic, I just think it makes sense.I was tempted at some point to work on the QM2, but I keep hearing dreadful stories about work conditions and crew resigning by the dozen. That was even in the newspapers. Is that all true?
quote:Originally posted by feargus:to cut a long story short there is just too much BS flying around these days.in my opinion if you want to get on quickly then the qm2 may well be the place, as was said earlier, they have a big turn over of staff so if you can hack it you will move up. alternativly i would say work for a small company, smaller the better. one a few hundred gets noticed quicker than one in a few thoudand.
Hi Feargus, I think you're right. I am currently working for P&O ferries and I can tell that this side of the business is not crew friendly either. Hours are long, conditions of work not what one would expect from a company like P&O and money-wise it's a rip-off.I wanted to go deep sea and work onboard P&O's cruise ships but I keep hearing that since P&O Princess have merged with Carnival, it's not the place to be anymore. Some colleagues of mine who used to work for Seabourn told me also that things changed radically when Carnival took over the company. What's wrong with Carnival, then?Can anybody out there recommend a company that's good to work for or are they all as bad as Carnival?
The one person who has worked on the ship (so he says) and he can't even answer Lola's simple questions.
Here's a suggestion, Lola: take what he says with a grain of salt ... he still thinks NCL is owned by Carnival.
Linerguy
quote:Originally posted by Liner Buff: What's wrong with Carnival, then?Can anybody out there recommend a company that's good to work for or are they all as bad as Carnival?
What's wrong with Carnival, then?Can anybody out there recommend a company that's good to work for or are they all as bad as Carnival?
I can't speak for all brands under Carnival Corp., but I can say I have several friends who work onboard for Carnival Cruise Lines and they have nothing but raves. Yes the hours are long, work is hard, but that is the case on every line. Carnival Cruise Lines is also the only line I know of that actually offers benefits to basic crew onboard, such as retirement, medical, etc. Carnival also gives the staff many liberties, probably more than most other lines. Two of my friends used to work for Princess and switched to Carnival because the conditions were much better. Go figure!
I myself used to work onboard for Princes Cruises. It was some years ago prior to Carnival taking over. I still have friends onboard in the Purser's Department and I don't think they have seen any radical changes since Carnival took over. Frankly I think people like to blame Carnival for everything regardless if it's really true or not.
I would imagine conditions on QM2 will improve dramatically once operations and staffing are taken over by Princess Cruises.
For lola, good luck with working onboard and I would stick with QM2. If it's really that bad you can always switch to another line. I don't think you will have any problems finding onboard employment.
Ernie
quote:Originally posted by chrisrotlmacin:QE 2 bad side : cross atlantic have too many sea days .
[ 08-06-2004: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
Ultimate Bulletin BoardTM 6.1.0.3
More Vacation & Cruise Specials...