Aloha

Hey everyone, how ya'all doing?

I know that I haven't posted in a while. I am the poster formerly known as La_Serpiente.

I have been working as a waiter on the cruise ship 'The Pride of Aloha' since mid-May. I work 7 days a week and a minimum of 10 hours a day.

I have no clue what is going on in the world or in Hawaii. All I know is that Reagan died, Doebelle got fired, and there is now a Kerry/Edwards Team.

Do you have any questions about the cruise ship? It is not as glamorous as it is portrayed in the newspaper. We are extremely understaffed and the union is not there to help us. We are trying to get organized and put up a firm resistance to management.

:hi:

I wondered where have you been. Now I know :)

oops, forgot to ask - why did you change your nickname?

I have no clue as to why I changed my nickname. It was just a spontaneous action.

wuz wondering wha happen to you... good luck in your new adventure.

Got no questions.

Welcome home to the DU

Opi

I'll be checking this forum more after mid-August. That's when I return from the mainland after a short trip.

Speaking of unions, I had the privilege of being a delegate to the recent NALC convention at the Honolulu convention center. What a bash. 7,500 registered delegates.

Our union, the National Assocciation of Letter Carriers has 300,000 members.

BTW, the delegates overwhelmingly voted for NALC to endorse John Kerry for president.

Nice to hear about the NALC union endorsement of Kerry.

I am a part of the Seafarers union. We need to get organized as a crew if we are to put up a firm resistance to management.

Honesty, I really don't mind working long hours - it is just the number of months we work. We have to work a five month contract as oppose to a three month one. When the Patriot ( a cruise ship that sailed in Hawaiian waters pre 9/11) was here, they offered their employees three month contracts. Although they worked 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, their crew didn't go crazy because they got a one month vacation over a relatively short period of time. We work for five months - that is just way too long to be on a cruise ship. You WILL go crazy after being that long on a ship.

Many of the employees are pissed at the company. They made many promises to us - but soon after broke them. Many waiters who have self-respect for their profession left in protest.

For example, we were explicitly promised that we would receive a 15 percent automatic commission on wine sales - only to have it taken away from us. They made up this bullshit reason why they wouldn't give it to us - something to sound of "It is illegal to impose a automatic commission on wine sales".

OK, so even if there is a law against it, there was nothing in place to replace the "illegal" wine sale commission. There is also a systemic and aggressive push by the company to tell the customer that tips are not necessary. When the customer is signing the receipt for the wine purchase, it basically says in bold letters "Tips are not necessary". Every single ship in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet has some sort of commission on wine sales - save the Pride of Aloha. And wouldn't the company want the waiter to emphasize to the customer the purchase of wines? Where the incentive for the waiter to sell wines?

You might also be wondering why the company is emphasizing to the customer that tips are not necessary. Well, the company has set up a system known as a gratuity pool. What happens is that the passenger is charged 10 dollars a day while on the cruise. They are not informed of the service fee until they embark on the ship. If I were a passenger, I would view this as extremely unfair. You shouldn't have to pay extra money when you get onto the ship. Imagine if you brought your entire family. 70 dollars x 5 persons = 350 dollars EXTRA that you need to pay. Frankly, most of the waiters would rather want to make tips of their own instead of submitting to this gratuity pool.

Now when do we get this money? Lo and behold, this is the money that goes into our paid vacation - this is actually a front to compensate for American wages. On top of that, some of my co-workers have not even been paid by the company for the vacation. Something funny is going on here, and I don't like the smell of it. I hope the NRLB gets on their ass soon.

Have you heard horror stories about the ship? Well guess what, they are probably all true.

Any other questions?

:hi:

you'll be in The 700 Club!! :evilgrin:

Seriously, though, we'll all be looking forward to hearing the real story behind this cruise ship that is supposed to be this week's Savior of Our Island Economy.

Say hi to Julie for me... oops, wrong cruise ship :-)

..and I was just wondering what happened to the poster known as La_Serpiente... no joke.. I enjoyed your previous posts and I hadn't seen you around... welcome back..! :hi:

Sounds like the job market is as great on the sea as on the land!

This booming economy is bringing a trickle of low paying, service jobs. Many people over-worked & under-paid.

Hang in there!

Aloha, Leilani