m.v. MAGELLAN-World Cruise 2017-Staff Gratuities

[cappy]

i went to shields pool
and drewy there said
ive got you a cracker
five weeks down the med
an old british tanker
defender by name
she only does short trips
thats really her game
the gulf down to bombay
then off to madras
kandla columbo
im losing wight fast
thirteen months later
im back in the tyne
if i get hold of drewy
I WILL MURDER THE SWINE

[Gulliver]

I remember after a 22 month trip I was sailing away again well within three months, but I did make sure it wasn't another 22 monther, mind you the first one was supposed to be only 3 months

and quoting from Peter Chard's post

#3 , a young Filipino who saw his wife and children for just three months a year. QUOTE

Yes,tough of course,but then again most of the (excellent)Filipino crew I used to sail with thought it a small penance to pay for being able to go home and build a brand new house on their accumulated wages.Imagine being able to do that after 12 or 18 months away on the UK wages we were on!
Payoffs ,usually in Hong Kong,were a sight to behold-each crew member requiring almost a small container for his Aladdin's cave of luxury branded goods destined for homes in Manila and adjoining islands.I bet some of the Customs Officers did well out of it too.
So perhaps the families at home didn't mind too much,especially also as Papa would be sending a nice monthly allotment home.Excellent wages by general Filipino standards. I know the Filipinos are a good-natured nationality anyway,but you can be sure there was very little trouble aboard,as their jobs were prized treasured plums ,and certainly not worth jeopardizing by rocking the boat !

[Gulliver]

Gulliver, firstly they are crew not staff, you sound like some of the passengers we get, no offence meant. And I agree with your comments re tripe and onions, we have some here in Oz who think it is a life style choice, real D.Hs.

Ooo-oooh! Sorry John .

[Peter F Chard]

We have friends who live just outside Reno and they simply do not tip anyone -- on our last trip there we went to a Casino for breakfast -- our hostess had two vouchers from her local supermarket for a free meal at this casino and had two pensioners cards which gave them huge discounts on a variety of services. We gorged our selves silly from 8am until noon and on leaving she settled the bill - all $8-95 of it. Yet across the border in Canada my cousin ( who lives in Vancouver ) carries a calculator with which to calculate the tip. Firstly he deducts the GST from the bill and then uses the calculator to calculate 15% as the tip. He then adds this to the bill when paying the food bill. On his first trip to NZ we had dinner at a real swank and expensive restaurant in Auckland. We agreed to split the bill and at the checkout he was visibly shaking when he paid his half of the bill - he honestly thought it would cause a rumpus with the waiters and there would be a scene. He was amazed that nothing was said !! And even some Americans do not like tipping, in Denver most of the cafes and restaurants we used had signs saying that tipping was not encouraged. Regards Peter in NZ.

[Keith Tindell]

A huge percentage of pubs, cafes etc here in UK have tins on the counter marked *tips*, seems to be growing everywhere, kt

[j.sabourn]

If anyone asked me for a tip, I would give them the usual answer, " be kind to your Mother". JWS

[Keith Tindell]

MY tip would be , * never eat yellow snow * , kt

[Captain Kong]

The only Tip I evr got was ...."Get Wise to yourself."
Brian

[j.sabourn]

#25.. Keith if that had been a few years ago when I smoked, I would have probably thought they were referring to the filter tips off cigarettes. It was considered that tipped ciggies were for women. Most men broke the tip off and discarded and would probably have been in the box marked tips. They would have been better of marking gratuities if anyone could spell it. There again some would of written thanks on a slip of paper and shoved in box. I will say however when I worked as an errand boy I made a card out for all customers wishing them a Merry Xmas, and got quite sizeable cash returns, but nothing as crude as tips. Physcology learned at an early age. JWS

[happy daze john in oz]

Ooo-oooh! Sorry John .

You are forgiven Gulliver.

As to Phillipino CREW, nothing has changed, they now do mainly 9 month contracts though there are still a few 6 month ones. Wages may not be that good by our standards, but as they all tell me, 'now I can but a house, send my kids to uni, pay for medical treatment something I could never do at home'. There are an increasing number of female CREW from that part of the world, many from broken marriages who need the money. Their mum stay to look after the kids while their mother works on the ships. Most as BR but a few as assistant wingers.