Previous AMA did last night.

Proof: a contract I previously accepted contract

Also here is my instagram: tniehaus5

Comments: 2221 • Responses: 40  • Date: 

Lobstarkm1237 karma

Does everyone bang each other?

tniehaus5957 karma

Yes, it's actually just one big bang-fest.

Swarlsonegger850 karma

Do you believe Top Gun has gay overtones?

tniehaus5651 karma


Iceman852612 karma

My girlfriend and I are about to go on our first cruise in January, do you have any beginners advice or tricks. Especially with alcohol and shtuff.(Carnival dream is the boat)

tniehaus5958 karma

Ahhh good ship. * sneak alcohol on if you can. On the ship is very expensive. if you buy it on the ship try to buy packs of beer, bottles of wine, not individual drinks. (kind of a no-brainer) * unless the person is just absolutely horrible, you should be kind to the workers. they are working hard without a day off! * lastly, enjoy! You are going to some beautiful places and you are on vacation!

stampeed334 karma

I was on the Dream last summer and Carnival has a drink plan that costs 300 bucks for the week! It's 15 drinks a day, and you can get pretty much every type of drink on the boat(long islands, johnnie walkers, margaritas, etc..) Most of these drinks cost 10+ bucks each, so the deal was definitely worth it!

tniehaus5203 karma

That is a really good deal.

scjosh575 karma

The PDF of the contract you posted isn't actually blacked out. Simply selecting the text underneath it then copy and pasting it reveals what's underneath the black. I'd highly recommend removing it and posting a blacked out image.

tniehaus5371 karma

Thanks fixed it.

xHankVenture495 karma

What's it like to work on a level from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3?

tniehaus5406 karma

Very good question. Probably what made me want to work on cruise ships.

Snuffy1717355 karma

How much crew partying goes on "behind the scenes"?... Is it the at-sea orgy we all secretly hope it is?

tniehaus5528 karma

We party a lot...We have 2 different "crew bars" to go to. Because I work in the entertainment department I am also allowed to go to ANY bar on board. We usually prefer the crew bars though. (cheaper drinks, not actually "working.")

ThatRedditKid323 karma

What's the biggest bullshit you had to deal with?

tniehaus5729 karma

I'm going to copy and paste from a previous post:

There have been a number of crazy things to happen. probably the oddest was an adopted 11yr girl who had a few problems that we could tell. PDS, insecurity, ADHD, etc. One day a fellow employee ran into the room I was in with the girl and immediately used the phone to call someone. She ten came to me and said "you are not going to believe what happened." Apparently the little girl had taken a huge dump in the trashcan of the bathroom and tried to blame it on the person before her. We thought that was the end. Addressed it as professionally as possible with her parents. After that one day I was alone with her for "babysitting" because she was the only one there and we were watching a movie. The girl preceded to put her hand down her pants. I asked her to stop. she did it again. I told her once more to stop. She stopped. Then after a few minutes pass she goes and hides behind some toys and just starts going at it...and i mean going...AT IT. That was the most uncomfortable conversation I think I have ever had. Her mother told me, "oh, our doctor said it was a phase she was going through."

kraykay612 karma

It's a phase as a toddler. Not as a preteen.

tniehaus5154 karma

couldnt agree more

motrvatd223 karma

Have you yourself ever fallen overboard or experienced any "man overboard" situations?

tniehaus5345 karma

Never fallen overboard. I think people forget when you are on the 9th floor you are close to 90 ft above the water. reallllly hard to fall over. never personally dealt with a 'man overboard' but we do training on the situation literally at least once a week.

imtooyoungforreddit214 karma

Is it true the crew has massive parties or anything like that?

tniehaus5464 karma

We have ridiculous parties. usually organized by us, sometimes organized by HR. (those parties are always free alcohol.) We work in an industry that requires us to be happy and have fun. why stop when the lights are out?

10-80204 karma

What is your favorite stop?

On average, what do you make hourly?

Do you have to pay for anything or ia your employment "all inclusive"?

tniehaus5294 karma

  • Really like Quebec City, New York, NY is beautiful to sail out of, Also Monaco is amazing. So many great places!
  • depends on the day; we get paid daily wages and some days we work more than others.
  • Only thing I pay for is drinks. everything else is on them

Betterwithfetter203 karma

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen during a cruise?

tniehaus5411 karma

craziest thing? All nude cruise. I didn't personally see it, but my friend had pictures of her working it. truly a sight to see.

Notagenyus189 karma

How do you work around the language differences of the crew?

tniehaus5330 karma

guests? we manage. adults we usually point, haha. kids? it is a challenge! but everyone understands Mario Kart! crew? we are required to speak english.

mrleopard157 karma

What are the best and worst aspects of the job? Are you employed throughout the year?

tniehaus5304 karma

Best parts: cheap drinks, great parties, decent pay, easy way to save, wake up in a new city/country almost everyday, great way to network, become a more confident person, etc. worst: guest are always right....ALWAYS, you have a nametag on in public areas even when you are "off duty," always tired from lack of sleep, food taste dull after awhile.

  • I work short contracts personally. 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months...Just whenever they need me and I'm free.

misericors132 karma

I have never been on a cruise. Since you work on one and see the behind the scenes, would you suggest I go on a cruise at some point in my life?

tniehaus5225 karma

100% please do it. We work extremely hard to make sure you have a vacation of a lifetime.

WastelandENT30 karma

When I wet on my first cruise I was blown away with how hard all the employees worked and how cool they were. It's been over a year and I still remember some of their names, they made the cruise even more fun than it already was.

tniehaus536 karma

We pride ourselves on comments like these.

vittore_botros115 karma

What are the things of cruise ship that you think people hide from us or we won't know about them? Thanks for ama

tniehaus5278 karma

Well if I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore! haha jk I think the biggest thing is cost of things. not only for you as a guest but for the cruise industry. prime example is that it cost one of ships to go through the Panama Canal $300,000 each time. one ship goes through almost every 10 days. on average it cost $45 a minute for fuel.

bassinine110 karma

how often do staff members sleep with patrons?

tniehaus5277 karma

if the boss was asking: Never

loveroficebreakers103 karma

What would you consider to be the best place to visit that you've been too?

tniehaus5188 karma

Greenland was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Really beautiful place. he best place? I think Rome really has had the most to offer for the visit.

KingBobTV98 karma

What's the most freakish accident you've seen happen on-board? (Maybe something requiring a helicopter to come in for medical emergency?)

tniehaus5166 karma

nothing too crazy. people have heart attacks a lot and are medically disembarked by helicopter somewhat often. it's a cool thing to see, although unfortunate circumstances.

nbhat199898 karma


tniehaus5132 karma

Oh rocks.

fantasticmrnigger90 karma

have you ever considered pushing a passenger overboard?

tniehaus5253 karma

many many times. I find that there is just far too much paperwork attached to a situation like that. Can't be bothered.

FroBro24364 karma

How much personal time do you get while working on board? Do you share the responsibility of you job with someone else and take different days of the cruise to work, or do you work the entirety of the voyage?

tniehaus597 karma

Not a ton of personal time a lot of days, but we love our jobs usually! I work as a camp counselor with the children so we have multiple people working at all times. We work everyday. Sometimes 10 hours, sometimes 2. :)

FroBro24335 karma

Then do you get paid hourly or a lump sum for the voyage?

tniehaus557 karma

we get paid monthly.

Nattybohbro55 karma

I am very interested in working on a cruise line and want to know what is the best way to go about getting a job on one?

tniehaus589 karma

have the right attitude, go for the right job, and go at the right now. apply now. this is peak season! PM if you need better advice!

loveroficebreakers47 karma

How do you make your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?

tniehaus5147 karma

very carefully

stitchclip45 karma

i just took a cruise on RC in may, got the "stomach flu" while onboard. how does crew deal with getting THAT sick?

tniehaus590 karma

We work really hard to stay clean. I'm not saying that you are uncleanly, but it is emphasized to use to stay healthy and clean. With that said we DO get sick. When you are THAT sick we are isolated into our room and can not leave for usually 48 hours. Not a fun time.

matike40 karma

How did you land the job? Is it as easy as just applying?

tniehaus560 karma

I have a bit of experience with resorts. I've heard it isn't an incredibly hard job to get, but they are definitely looking for a certain type of person

Junared38 karma

How much freedom do you have on your time off, particularly when the ship is docked at the exotic locations.

tniehaus543 karma

With my job I get a pretty good amount of time off! we also rotate to squeeze a little more time out of a day! great question

9mace932 karma

Would you ever want to live on one for awhile?

tniehaus542 karma

To work nonstop? no thanks. I have friends that do but I couldn't live on one? everything paid? I think I could do that.

Serialdan24 karma

when a passenger goes missing suspected of going over board has the ship ever made any attempt to stop or to investigate?

tniehaus534 karma

it is our obligation to. so the answer is yes. of course it is all determined by the circumstances. safety is greatly emphasized with my company.

rkzh15 karma

What did you expect to happen on a cruise that still hasn't happend?

tniehaus595 karma

I feel most expectations have been met. truly. only thing i can think of is I expected more cow bell.

The-Figment2 karma

I go on my first cruise ever in a week.

Do cruise lines have places to do laundry? It looks like i'll be packing rather light!

Also, if there are any tips for a complete newbie, I welcome them. I really just want to relax as much as possible.

tniehaus53 karma

We do have a laundry service. again can't speak for every cruise line, but i'm sure of it. make sure to bring some fancy clothes for the nights required to dress up to be accepted to the dinning room. If relaxing is what you want to do then please do it! it's your vacation, do it the way you want. PS you are going during peak season though, so expect more "families" with their children.

Limiate1 karma

How do you get paid? One lump sum? Is it a set contract and if so how long? How much are they for? How much do other positions make?

tniehaus51 karma

We get paid monthly. contracts vary depending on position. and pay greatly changes depending on job

Jcrashes1 karma


My Boss has been on a few cruises, he tells me the Americans don't leave the buffet the majority of the time.

Is it true cruise ships have the best buffets?

tniehaus52 karma

I cannot speak for every cruise line but i will say with mine, we pride ourselves on the food. You really can't beat it.

Zootyman1 karma

How did you get a job on a cruise ship? I read that there's literally all sorts of jobs from cooks to accountants true?

tniehaus51 karma

Very true. there are sooooo many jobs. my most recent ship has 950 employees. everything from dancer, candy crusher, cook, painter, to lightbulb changer.