Hiring a maid/cook

[tennis4789]

Just got off an NCL cruise.

The service was incredible. Almost all of the waiters/housekeeping staff were not from us. & i think the cruise lines make sure to not register their boats in the us so they probably can avoid us labor law & taxes. Neways...

Anyone have experience hiring crew from foreign countries? Is it significantly cheaper? If the boat was registered in the us would i have to follow all the us labor laws? Best/easiest/friendliest country to register?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

Just got off an NCL cruise.

The service was incredible. Almost all of the waiters/housekeeping staff were not from us. & i think the cruise lines make sure to not register their boats in the us so they probably can avoid us labor law & taxes. Neways...

Anyone have experience hiring crew from foreign countries? Is it significantly cheaper? If the boat was registered in the us would i have to follow all the us labor laws? Best/easiest/friendliest country to register?

[more]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

Just got off an NCL cruise.

The service was incredible. Almost all of the waiters/housekeeping staff were not from us. & i think the cruise lines make sure to not register their boats in the us so they probably can avoid us labor law & taxes. Neways...

Anyone have experience hiring crew from foreign countries? Is it significantly cheaper? If the boat was registered in the us would i have to follow all the us labor laws? Best/easiest/friendliest country to register?

Search Cruise Marine Recruitment
how many thousand people do you need per shift
how many extra millions you award agency to accept you like customer and find you all crew you needed
and whay you think Norwegian company hire us staff

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

Just got off an NCL cruise.

The service was incredible. Almost all of the waiters/housekeeping staff were not from us. & i think the cruise lines make sure to not register their boats in the us so they probably can avoid us labor law & taxes. Neways...
Anyone have experience hiring crew from foreign countries? Is it significantly cheaper? If the boat was registered in the us would i have to follow all the us labor laws? Best/easiest/friendliest country to register?

The main reason, they register cruise ships in other countries is the Jones Act which requires the ship to be built in the USA and staffed by US workers (small cruising boats have different rules). This is also why they limit stops within the USA...they must include foreign stops or they run afoul of the Jones Act.

A side benefit (a substantial one) is they can employ staff from other countries and at substantially lower rates. They can get away with this as they are foreign vessels technically only making port and not operating within the USA.

This is oversimplification and the lawyers will likely take issue with my layman's description but that's the jist of it.

Now if as an individual on a private cruising boat try to do the same, a host of complications arise.
- Are you going to limit your stop in the USA to a single port for a day or two? If you cruise for say a month in US waters, they are going to consider your staff to be working in the USA and then you need to get them proper work visas and you are going to have to pay them at US rates (even if you don't need to get them work visas, they still need regular visas to visit the USA). It's not easy to get an unskilled worker a work visa as you need to demonstrate you can't find staff in the USA with the skill set you need. Obviously, that's kind of hard to do for unskilled positions. Even if you get it, the visas aren't cheap and you have to pay them at US rates, so much for the cost savings.
- If you go international, you are going to have to address the visa and work rules of each country you enter and meet them. Again, that can be expensive and complicated. For a lot of countries it's visa on arrival or are very easy to get an advance visa for US citizens...those from poor countries have a much more difficult time getting visas.

Keep in mind, cruise ships dock at major ports and have customs & immigration on hand and they have customs & immigration experts on staff to handle both the thousands of guests and the thousands of staff needing to enter and exit countries. In reality, it becomes pretty routine as they are doing it on a large scale. On the other hand small cruising boats tend to show up where ever and cruise away from these key ports.

Now a possible solution: If you want to cruise in a single overseas country, it may be much more viable. Say you get your boat to Thailand. Average income is around $400/month, so if you offered say $600/month plus free room and board as you wander about Thai waters, that is probably viable. You would still want to verify the specific country rules but it takes a lot of the variables away.

[tennis4789]

I think only ncl ship registered in us is the Pride in Hawaii. & it's super expensive as a passenger. But it also has no gambling. So that could be super expensive part also.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

I think only ncl ship registered in us is the Pride in Hawaii. & it's super expensive as a passenger. But it also has no gambling. So that could be super expensive part also.

Hawaii and river cruises have always been very expensive as they are required to be run on US built ships with US crews.

From those I have talked to who took them, even with the extra cost, service is no where near as good.

[more]

in reality for hiring staff is a huge machine, different lawyer companies,lobby agencies, schools,

[more]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

US built ships with US crews.

is this possible, what i remember US-built passenger ship in this century is only one and unique. MS Pride of America but finished in Germany because failed bulid in USA.
very soon Germany loses the ability for making ships.

[mvweebles]

Slightly off topic. Interesting behind the scene look at operations supporting a cruise ship. 1-hr YouTube.

https://youtu.be/qP8jONoj57Y

Peter

[tennis4789]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

The main reason, they register cruise ships in other countries is the Jones Act which requires the ship to be built in the USA and staffed by US workers (small cruising boats have different rules). This is also why they limit stops within the USA...they must include foreign stops or they run afoul of the Jones Act.

A side benefit (a substantial one) is they can employ staff from other countries and at substantially lower rates. They can get away with this as they are foreign vessels technically only making port and not operating within the USA.

This is oversimplification and the lawyers will likely take issue with my layman's description but that's the jist of it.

Now if as an individual on a private cruising boat try to do the same, a host of complications arise.
- Are you going to limit your stop in the USA to a single port for a day or two? If you cruise for say a month in US waters, they are going to consider your staff to be working in the USA and then you need to get them proper work visas and you are going to have to pay them at US rates (even if you don't need to get them work visas, they still need regular visas to visit the USA). It's not easy to get an unskilled worker a work visa as you need to demonstrate you can't find staff in the USA with the skill set you need. Obviously, that's kind of hard to do for unskilled positions. Even if you get it, the visas aren't cheap and you have to pay them at US rates, so much for the cost savings.
- If you go international, you are going to have to address the visa and work rules of each country you enter and meet them. Again, that can be expensive and complicated. For a lot of countries it's visa on arrival or are very easy to get an advance visa for US citizens...those from poor countries have a much more difficult time getting visas.

Keep in mind, cruise ships dock at major ports and have customs & immigration on hand and they have customs & immigration experts on staff to handle both the thousands of guests and the thousands of staff needing to enter and exit countries. In reality, it becomes pretty routine as they are doing it on a large scale. On the other hand small cruising boats tend to show up where ever and cruise away from these key ports.

Now a possible solution: If you want to cruise in a single overseas country, it may be much more viable. Say you get your boat to Thailand. Average income is around $400/month, so if you offered say $600/month plus free room and board as you wander about Thai waters, that is probably viable. You would still want to verify the specific country rules but it takes a lot of the variables away.

Thanks. Or maybe just treat them as a contractor & have them clean & cook when in the marina? Gf n I mostly are used to self service. This cruise just wanted the cabin steward to leave me 4 fresh dry towels & quit banging on my door to make my bed 4 times a day!

Yeah knowing all the laws & complying could get crazy. Ok i have a crew member from country X working in country y but only for 4 days. Big ncl can probably track & influence the laws. Although on my cruise last week the NCL Encore couldn't even get clearance to go to great stirrup cay from bahamas to go to its own private island.

How risky is do first & ask for forgiveness later?

I do try to behave fairly well in foreign countries especially since i don't know the laws. & don't want to get caned or something crazy. Altho near Atlantis in Nassau Bahamas only one of two public ways to access cabbage beach was closed for a holiday. We'd walked about 3 miles. So we ended going through a gated hotel & were finally able to find the other public exit after being told we couldn't walk through another hotel. Basically all the hotels & homeowners bought up the land surrounding that beach to cut off access. Side question - aren't beaches considered "public"? Catalina island in Dominican republic all the yachts were anchored close & seemed to be using the roped off beach.

[tennis4789]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Hawaii and river cruises have always been very expensive as they are required to be run on US built ships with US crews.

From those I have talked to who took them, even with the extra cost, service is no where near as good.

Ncl encore had incredible service. I guess the best crew gets promoted to newer ships. I think encore is NCL's newest. Altho ncl prima supposed to come into service later this year.

The crew works incredibly hard from what ive heard. Altho not us minimum wage. I think some make double what they could make in their country. But end up with looooong days.

The service is so bad lately especially in the us. Mcdonalds workers minds are blown when you do two mobile orders in same car.
Edit if they are aren't closed early due to staffing shortages.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

Thanks. Or maybe just treat them as a contractor & have them clean & cook when in the marina? Gf n I mostly are used to self service. This cruise just wanted the cabin steward to leave me 4 fresh dry towels & quit banging on my door to make my bed 4 times a day!

Yeah knowing all the laws & complying could get crazy. Ok i have a crew member from country X working in country y but only for 4 days. Big ncl can probably track & influence the laws. Although on my cruise last week the NCL Encore couldn't even get clearance to go to great stirrup cay from bahamas to go to its own private island.

How risky is do first & ask for forgiveness later?

You can bet the cruise lines track their crews and follow the local law. Of course, I'm sure some small island countries make it easy for them as they don't want to chase away the cash cow that shows up on a weekly basis (though some claim cruise ships aren't as financially beneficial as claimed).

The problem as a cruiser is you have to check in and report everyone aboard including providing passports before you set off on land. There is no "ask for forgiveness later".

If you want to have someone local come aboard to cook and clean locally in their home country, sure that was my point with the Thailand example. You avoid the whole customs & immigration aspect. I use to have a guy in Spain who did engine work for $25/hr and yes, I cleared it with the marina that it was OK for him to come in and work on the boat. His wife would clean and stock boats for people who were away and returning...never used that service but it seemed pretty reasonable.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tennis4789

Ncl encore had incredible service. I guess the best crew gets promoted to newer ships. I think encore is NCL's newest. Altho ncl prima supposed to come into service later this year.

The crew works incredibly hard from what ive heard. Altho not us minimum wage. I think some make double what they could make in their country. But end up with looooong days.

The service is so bad lately especially in the us. Mcdonalds workers minds are blown when you do two mobile orders in same car.
Edit if they are aren't closed early due to staffing shortages.

The foreign crews are typically awesome. Of course, if back home you might make $1/hr going to $4-5/hr plus free room and board is a great job and they are willing to sacrifice for it.

I was referring to the rare US-only cruises where people I know who've taken them have found the service less than stellar. Those are generally staffed by US citizens and it reflects in the service. Not necessarily horrible but no where close to the level of effort.

[Jubilee39]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

The foreign crews are typically awesome. Of course, if back home you might make $1/hr going to $4-5/hr plus free room and board is a great job and they are willing to sacrifice for it.

I was referring to the rare US-only cruises where people I know who've taken them have found the service less than stellar. Those are generally staffed by US citizens and it reflects in the service. Not necessarily horrible but no where close to the level of effort.

Compare service on US airlines vs Asian airlines like sing air to see different levels of customer care

[Sand crab]

Thread Drift warning!!! I did a cruise on the brand new Virgin Voyages Scarlet lady in December. Service was good but not a single yank in the bunch despite a home port in Miami. It was a Bahamas flag I think. She's set up way differently from the others. There's about a dozen gourmet restaurants and no central buffet but there is a central galley with all these individual little food stalls. All meals and tips are included but not alcohol. I had some of the best food of my life at these restaurants, Korean, Mexican, Italian etc. And there's no kids allowed on the boat. Ya gotta be 18. It does cost about double compared to the other cruises.
Sorry for the drift.