# Captains salaries Queen Elizabeth/Mary, 1960s?



## Shipbuilder

Has anyone any idea what their approximate salaries were? As the ships were disposed of before the big pay rises of the early 70s, I have got to wondering what they got in the final years of these two big ships. How did they compare with Union-Castle masters of the same era?
Bob


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## tom roberts

Captains may have earned a great deal more than a ships barman on the liners comparing salaries, but I wonder who pocketed the most out of the two at the end of a trip?


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## R58484956

The Chief on QE(1) in the 50's was on £245 per month.

Chief engineer. Captain had a Ford, barman had a jag.


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## Shipbuilder

Thanks for info. I assume that was the chief engineer, so maybe the masters were on between £3,000 & £4,000 at that time. It doesn't seem much by today's standards and I wonder what rate they got when the two old Queens were got rid of?
Bob


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## slick

All,
I detect a programme coming about Cruise Ship 'Salaries', next Monday Channel 4 TBC.

Yours aye,


slick


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## oldseamerchant

Should be interesting. I hear the catering staff rely solely on tips which is deplorable.


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## Cisco

oldseamerchant said:


> Should be interesting. I hear the catering staff rely solely on tips which is deplorable.


If they were working the american cruise market they would probably make a good living on tips... if they were carrying mainly australians they would starve.........


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## Norm

Australians have dreadful habit of taking their own beer/booze on board with them!!


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## CAPTAIN JEREMY

More and more companies have switched to including tips in the fare. I believe that one of the issues that surfaced recently with P & O was that they were withholding a portion of the prepaid tips unless certain targets were achieved by individual seafarers. 

Obviously the amount of tips paid to the seafarer is based on the number of passengers (at least in theory). The "Tip Pool" is calculated on a fixed sum, per passenger, per day. This is divided between all those in "tipping positions". They are essentially front of house staff. Those behind the scenes have fixed salaries. 

Invariably, many passengers still give individual tips to those they feel have given them good service. 

With my crew members, they have a contract which guarantees them a salary which is in compliance with the ITF guidelines. For those members of the Catering/Hotel department in tipping positions the guaranteed tips are included in the salary breakdown, and if the actual revenue from prepaid tips is below this figure, it is made up by the company. If the prepaid tips exceed it, they get the full share. Also, the same salary is paid to all crew members of the same rating/rank, irrespective of nationality. As a result of this, having many Filipino seafarers, in reality it is the POEA (Philippines Overseas Employment Agency) which sets the minimum salaries, for their seafarers, and consequently for all. These are generally above the ITF minimum, and subject to regular review.

However, I am sure that this doesn't happen in all companies.


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## Pat Kennedy

Cisco said:


> If they were working the american cruise market they would probably make a good living on tips... if they were carrying mainly australians they would starve.........


And Yarpies have an even worse reputation than Aussies as non tippers(Jester)


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## R58484956

Pat you can include me as well.


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## oldseamerchant

Whatever they earned I would say it would have been far less than their peers in the big Oil Tankers.


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## Cutsplice

Pat, I have never been in any type of employment which would have exposed me to the art of tipping, so I was never a recipient of tipping. However whilst cruising on the Black Prince the bedroom stewardess to which I tipped was more appreciative of the personal assesment questionaire which I completed, she went out of her way to find and thank me, I was taken aback to see how much it meant to her.
One of the stewardesses who regularly served me in the bar, I gave her a 40Euro tip in an envelope when she opened it frantically tried to return it to me saying she could not possibly accept the tip just for doing her job. She did accept it eventually, both were from Cuba perhaps there they are not tip orientated. I once checked into a hotel in Southampton in the seventies. As I checked in a porter arrived grabbed the key took my small suitcase and me via the lift to my room on the first floor. He opened the door entered the room put my suitcase down immediately gave me the distinct impression he was not leaving without a tip, even had his arm slightly protruding with palm of hand facing upwards I gave him 50p just to get rid of him. I later found out he was an ex steward from Union Castle and P&O passenger ships,


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## sidsal

Pre ww2 here was a Liverpool passnger /cargo line Yeowards who traded to the Canary Islands. The passengers were Liverpool typists and their boyfriends and suchlike. I was told on good authority that the waiters and stewards wages all went to the Chief steward and they wolrke doslely on tips. Furthermore you had to knwo the chief steward to get a job becsuse the tips provided a very good living.
I did eastbound crossings on the old Queen Mary and on both occasions when we got to Southampton there would be all sorts of posh cars on the quayside - Jags etc and you would see white coated waiters etc walking to them - they were being met by their wives/tarts. The cabin class cabins had six or eight berths and it was common to tip a fiver - so each cabin would provide say 6X5 = £30 per crossing . That means the bedroom steward would get £60 or thereabouts per cabin for the west and east crosiing. I don't know how many cabins they served but you can see that they made a fortune.


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## Uricanejack

I imagine the Salary of a Cunard Captain would have been one of the highest Masters salaries in the UK back in the 60s and 70s. I’m sure we would look at it today and laugh until we compare the price of a pint, a car, a house or just about anything to today’s cost of living.

I never worked on a real passenger ship or cruise ship. Just for a brief period as 2nd Officer on a Booz and Gambling Cruise Ferry. Run by Stena Line.

As far as I know the highest paid crew on the ship officially were the Master and Chief Engineer. The most important The Hotel Manager, The Executive Chef and the Matre De. The most lucrative take home went to the Bar Stewards. Followed by the Dinning Room Stewards. I think the hotel manager and chefs got a piece of the action. .They made a fortune on tips. And were the most senior crew on board. The Casino staff were well paid and sometimes well tipped though I believe this was actually against rules.

While working there. Occasionally someone would ask for a bridge tour. Depending on my mood I often obliged.. It was usually my only interaction with passengers. From time to time I would met interesting people.

On one occasion I met a retired USN Admiral. He was elderly having been a junior officer with pacific fleet back during WW2. Retiring as an Admiral in the 70s and visiting me in the late 80s. He was very interested in our Modern Daylight ARPA ect and spent quite a while up on the Bridge. 

Afterwards he wrote a nice letter and very generously tipped. The Dinning Room Matre De for contacting the Hotel Manger., The Hotel Manager for calling the bridge. The Stewardess for escorting him up to the Bridge. Even the QM who was going of duty for escorting him back to his wife. 

He tipped everyone except me. The Capt laughed and explained to me.. He probably did not tip me because it would have been rude to tip an “Officer”. tips were only for the servants. I found it all rather funny. To this day I have never received a tip. Sometimes I think I would rather have the money. But in reality I find the traveling public mostly annoying and don’t particularly want to fetch their drinks. When I am traveling or out for dinner I try not to be annoying and tip those who fetch mine.


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## oldseamerchant

Uricanejack said:


> I imagine the Salary of a Cunard Captain would have been one of the highest Masters salaries in the UK back in the 60s and 70s. I’m sure we would look at it today and laugh until we compare the price of a pint, a car, a house or just about anything to today’s cost of living.
> 
> I never worked on a real passenger ship or cruise ship. Just for a brief period as 2nd Officer on a Booz and Gambling Cruise Ferry. Run by Stena Line.
> 
> As far as I know the highest paid crew on the ship officially were the Master and Chief Engineer. The most important The Hotel Manager, The Executive Chef and the Matre De. The most lucrative take home went to the Bar Stewards. Followed by the Dinning Room Stewards. I think the hotel manager and chefs got a piece of the action. .They made a fortune on tips. And were the most senior crew on board. The Casino staff were well paid and sometimes well tipped though I believe this was actually against rules.
> 
> While working there. Occasionally someone would ask for a bridge tour. Depending on my mood I often obliged.. It was usually my only interaction with passengers. From time to time I would met interesting people.
> 
> On one occasion I met a retired USN Admiral. He was elderly having been a junior officer with pacific fleet back during WW2. Retiring as an Admiral in the 70s and visiting me in the late 80s. He was very interested in our Modern Daylight ARPA ect and spent quite a while up on the Bridge.
> 
> Afterwards he wrote a nice letter and very generously tipped. The Dinning Room Matre De for contacting the Hotel Manger., The Hotel Manager for calling the bridge. The Stewardess for escorting him up to the Bridge. Even the QM who was going of duty for escorting him back to his wife.
> 
> He tipped everyone except me. The Capt laughed and explained to me.. He probably did not tip me because it would have been rude to tip an “Officer”. tips were only for the servants. I found it all rather funny. To this day I have never received a tip. Sometimes I think I would rather have the money. But in reality I find the traveling public mostly annoying and don’t particularly want to fetch their drinks. When I am traveling or out for dinner I try not to be annoying and tip those who fetch mine.



(Jester)


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