Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

Average Rating: 2.2 / 5

I was hired by Effy Jewelry as an independent contractor on board the Royal Caribbean ships, where we worked under Effy Jewelry, and not RCL directly, although the position was full time on board their ship.

My experience with them was of poor management, extremely long hours – (illegally long) – and with no company consideration for mental health, or burnouts. We were working in excess of 17-18 hours a day, every day, averaging close to, or over 120 hours a week. These hours were under-reported as management demands you clock in and out on the timekeeping system, different to the actual hours you do, so that your ‘recorded hours’ fall in line with RCL policy.

You complete a lot of training with RCL with regards to HR policy and working conditions, however the standards are not upheld and the system is manipulated to report within guidelines and not the truth. There is significant pressure not to ‘speak up’ as you are threatened with removal from your job and the ship (at your own expense, if you do not complete the contract).

They talk the talk and are great at convincing people how amazing it is to work for them & how much money you can make and how your life will be amazing, and how you will see the world, but the reality is very different.
Its very much a slave labour environment, work – sleep (like 3-5 hours a day if lucky) and work again and random breaks now and then that mess up one’s day & any possible sleep hour normality. 7 day working weeks, no full day rests (only received one actual day off towards the end of my 6 month contract, because apparently now HR has implemented to do one day a month off for employees.) You have no time for exercise and proper meals, as you are always rushing.

In my experience, and role, you do travel to amazing places but you don’t have much time that’s free to go and explore, so you tend to get out for 1 or two hours at a time and you pretty much see the piers at the various places, rather than actually getting the time to fully go and explore.

The job is very unfair, based on the ship you get, which is a luck of the draw process and you might make very little commission and work like crazy, when other team members could get placed on bigger, higher sales ships, and newer ships that perform well and there you can make huge commissions. This is not based on experience or performance, but appears randomized.

I was placed on a medium ship that was mainly family focused and quite cheap trips, so people didn’t really spend much onboard, let alone on jewelry. Hence we hardly ever made targets and if you don’t make your target you walk away with like 250 dollar commission for a week, which is excruciatingly bad (for the hours and effort you put in).

You also invest a lot of your own money to get to go on board, you spend a fortune on medical tests, your own formal elegant clothes so by the time you calculate how much you actually make its not a lot at all. They also send you to New York for training, which is paid for but you miss out on commission on the ship while you are away and your salary for that week is less so you lose out. You spend your own money for most things there also.

That was my experience. I am aware others might have different experiences, based on which ships they get put on and their management teams.
My experience was of that people are very ego centric, greedy and self orientated, and the environment I found to be manipulative and deceiving. Its a family business but the way its run is not family focused at all. You are just a number to them, growing their pockets.
When I resigned, they didn’t even acknowledge my message, and immediately I was removed form all the Whatsapp groups. No thank you, for all your hard work and contribution, nothing, just dismissed, because I am just a number to them. I will be replaced in a heartbeat tomorrow.

I would not recommend working for Effy Jewelry to anyone.