CDunninTX

My husband calls me a wimp, but there's a reason I don't zip line, rock climb or surf rider. I stick to ping pong and putt putt. LoL

Fantastic summary

per the Cruise Ticket Contract you agree to:
b. Guest hereby agrees that any recording (whether audio or video or otherwise) or photograph of Guest, other guests, crew or third parties onboard the Vessel or depicting the Vessel, its design, equipment or otherwise shall not be used for any commercial purpose, in any media broadcast or for any other nonprivate use without the express written consent of Operator. The Operator shall be entitled to take any reasonable measure to enforce this provision.

The waiver is not for equipment malfunction. It is Royal Caribbean responsibility to make sure all equipment work properly and safe for guests.

Dont you sign waivers for this?

Also important to note is that their 'living expenses' are all covered as well for time on board. If you factor in the cost of rent, utilities, and food this rate of pay becomes much higher.

It's about relativity.
They are underpaid by American standards which is exactly why you don't see Americans working as cabin attendants, wait staff, galley cooks, bartenders or similar positions.  Where do you see Americans?  Entertainment positions, officer positions and similar that are above the median figures listed above.
In many countries around the world a good paying carer job is very elusive.  In these countries that tend to be source countries for the majority of ship crew, a job that pays $19,000 per year is hard to find.  For them compared to their home country that is not underpaid especially for someone with little or no post-secondary education.  These countries have no or few labor laws.  Good, consistent work is out of reach for the bulk of the population.  Good health care can be out of reach.  The opportunity to work hard and earn advancement into a better position with an increase in compensation is elusive in their home country.  That is why many stay in this line of work.  It can take them months, even years for the immigration paperwork to come through after applying.  When that letter comes that says they've been accepted they are ecstatic in many cases because there is no work available in their home countries.
When they accept a position on a ship, they are not "coming to America".  They do not receive a work VISA that allows to them to work in America.  Nor are they subject to US taxation.

Amen to that !

As a retired compensation analyst who has observed crew on a number of cruises, I'd say they aren't overpaid--they deserve the gratuities they receive.  Pay is seldom "fair" because we all have different underlying assumptions of fairness, but pay can and should be consistent with governing laws and the employer's policies.  So compensation analysts look at consistency/reliability because pay validity is an elusive target.  I think the general demeanor of crew on RCI ships tells us a lot, as does the cited retention rate.  It appears to me that RCI invests in human capital, and I've always enjoyed interacting with the staff. 

By the standards of developed nations, absolutely.  By the standards of many other nations, not as clear cut.
I've been to Chile a couple of times.  What people do there to survive would shock most Americans.  To them that is their way of life.  There are some 9 to 5 jobs, but the majority of the population isn't employed 9 to 5 or they find additional sources of income to survive working outside of 9 to 5 every day in multiple forms of ways to earn money to support their family.  Some can't even be called jobs.  They do what it takes to provide for their families.
Many here don't appreciate how good we have it.

The numbers are from SEC filings and earning reports that are poured over by investment analysts.
Mean typically isn't used in reference to salaries.  
Why is median better than mean for a typical salary
Mean (average) would appear to be higher when salaries such as the Captain's is included.  However the Captain's salary isn't representative of 98% of all other salaries on board.  By including this outlier and using mean salaries it would appear everyone makes more which is the last thing any publicly traded company desires to do in earning reports filed with the SEC. 
 

OMGsh ... my blood sugar just shot through the roof looking at all these carbs! I will be staying away from them ... -chants to self- you can do it ... you can do it.

This is the latest I found on which ships have the Royal App and what features are available on each. Seems like Allure and Harmony are the only ships with the chat feature. Got the chart from here. @Matt's post from May 16 showed that it was on Quantum (not listed here) and that it should identify Key buyers (which it did not on my May 18 Symphony sailing). So this chart may or may not be 100% accurate and I could not find it on the actual RCL site.

 

Can you tell me where you got these?  

My husband and I got these for the cruise we were just on. The card was easy to get out and we used them as our wallets when on shore.  They worked great!  They are RFID blocking so you have to take them out to open the door but that feature protects your credit cards while on shore.

I never seem to need a lanyard. I look nerdy enough without looking like I am at a convention. ?

If he only drinks sodas.... then he can do basically whatever he wants! ?
I was on a cruise recently (not a RC) and there was a "kid" on there who turned 18 ON THE SHIP..... he was at the front desk asking for a new cruise card at 12:01am!!!  (it was an Australian based cruise, so he could drink once the card came through). he was damned excited! ha!

GUNS??? What for????
In France nobody, whatever their age, can buy a gun without a license. And I'm happy with this. However, I know that having guns in America is a constitutional right and I respect this per se, it is a cultural difference. I do not think my son is interested in guns, although he has practised archery.
I know this is not the place for this debate anyway. But thanks for the information, travelling is all about cultural enrichment.

Matt you forgot my fav.. He can also buy a Lotto Ticket lol oh I guess that falls under gamble.. But Still to me for some reason its different. When I was 18 I walked into Publix and bought my first Lotto Ticket lol

At 18 he can gamble, buy cigarettes or join the United States military!

Which ship and sailing are you seeing this for? Just checked my Cruise Planner and only shows regular Surf and Surf & Stream options.
I would guess this is something new for ships with full O3b internet; maybe they have found they can open up the pipes another level on those ships and get something closer to 10 MB/second instead of the current ~4 MB max with Surf & Stream.

Go Dallas Stars in six!!! - I made this for Game 6 against the Preds. Seguin requested it during warmups. Took it to practice the next day. He gave me his Game 6 stick for it. I create caricatures of all my Dallas Stars!!!

Go Dallas Stars in six!!! - I made this for Game 6 against the Preds. Seguin requested it during warmups. Took it to practice the next day. He gave me his Game 6 stick for it. I create caricatures of all my Dallas Stars!!!

Go Dallas Stars in six!!! - I made this for Game 6 against the Preds. Seguin requested it during warmups. Took it to practice the next day. He gave me his Game 6 stick for it. I create caricatures of all my Dallas Stars!!!

Go Dallas Stars in six!!! - I made this for Game 6 against the Preds. Seguin requested it during warmups. Took it to practice the next day. He gave me his Game 6 stick for it. I create caricatures of all my Dallas Stars!!!