而在我們開始談錢之前，建議那些考慮上郵輪工作的人，不妨可以先追蹤小狐妮的粉絲頁；看看這位台灣女生是如何適應郵輪上的工作和生活，並且在每週工作七十個小時的情況下，仍然擠出時間上岸拍下一張張美照…。但比起美麗的畫面，引起我關注的其實是她切身經歷後分享的郵輪工作甘苦談；會覺得這個年輕的小女生怎麼這麼可愛，前一會兒才剛碎念完工時長工資一般，但下一會兒就滿心歡喜地讚歎眼前充滿童趣的市政廳，然後擺出各種 Pose 為青春留下不枉此行的影像證據。仿佛提醒著人們，生命好像就該這樣又哭又笑的，才顯得有味道。
以小狐妮為例，月薪 2,000 美元在郵輪上其實算不上是太高的待遇，如果折算成時薪，其實每小時的工資只有不到 7 美元（US$2,000 / 300 小時），比佛羅里達州規定的最低工資 8.25 美元還低。但郵輪上由於包吃包住，再加上所得免稅（視國籍和合約條件有所不同），因此對許多人來說仍具有一定程度的吸引力。與其說是為了錢，台灣人上船工作的誘因，似乎更大層面是為了體驗一回與眾不同的 Life Style；至少我自己遇到過的案例都是如此。
如果只是單純想體驗一回海上人生，那就不需要太在意船上工作的薪資待遇；大多數職務反正是比上不足，比下有餘。郵輪上享有高收入的職缺，寥寥可數；雖然不是不可能，但由亞洲人出任的案例實在是太少了。
但若是規劃要長期在郵輪上工作，那麼在開始之前先初略地了解不同職務的待遇水準和發展機會就有其必要。接著，就讓我列舉郵輪上的幾種不同職務，還有這些工作的待遇又是如何：
船長（Captain） ｜ 平均月薪 US$8,000 ~ US$10,000 起
毋庸置疑，船上指揮鏈最頂端的角色，就是船長；這樣一個重要的人，其待遇當然也不可能太差；而且只要工作兩個月，就可以休息兩個月。
職守船長（Staff Captain） ｜ 平均月薪 US$6,000 ~ US$8,000 起
職守船長是船上的第二號人物，必須熟悉船長的各種工作，並直接向船長報告。
旅館部門總監（Hotel Director） ｜ 平均月薪 US$8,000 ~ US$9,000 起
這個職位負責管理郵輪上除了航行以外的幾乎所有工作項目，等同於一般陸地上飯店的總經理。一般只要工作四個月，就可以休息兩個月。
前台經理（Front Desk Manager） ｜ 平均月薪 US$5,000 ~ US$5,800
除了要管理前台的服務人員之外，後勤辦公室裡的大小相關業務也屬於其管轄範圍。從郵輪靠港時的清關作業到乘客提出的特殊需求等等，都是由其所領導的團隊負責處理。
前台服務人員（Front Desk Receptionist） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,600 ~ US$2,200
除了要求英語流利之外，會優先考慮能夠說其他歐洲語系如西班牙語、法語、德語或意大利語者。
岸上觀光經理（Shore Excursion Manager） ｜ 平均月薪 US$2,300 ~ US$3,200
這是唯一曾經讓傑夫心動過的職務，但是考慮到薪資的成長空間有限，因此應聘的想法也只是一閃便過去了。（況且如果貪玩的話，就不會刻意從領隊工作淡出了）
岸上觀光助理（Assistant Shore Excursion Manager） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,800 ~ US$2,100
傑夫曾經有一位女同事便是在船上擔任這項職務，由於偶爾會有機會跟著團體一起去觀光，而且工作內容以介紹各個港口觀光行程選項為主，所以似乎是之後打算進入旅遊產業工作的人最好的實習職務。
郵輪銷售顧問（Cruise Sales Consultant） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,800 ~ US$2,200
這其實是船上另一項適合傑夫的工作，基本上就是在船上提供郵輪行程的咨詢服務，並且鼓勵乘客在船上就預訂下一趟航程。但這個職位幾乎多是由美國人出任，我一次也沒有見過東方臉孔，所以雖然感覺合適，倒也沒認真考慮過就是了。
保安員（Security Guard） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,200 ~ US$1,800 起
除了負責郵輪上的維安工作，在乘客上下船時，負責在 Gangway 進行刷卡管制和 X 光檢查的也是他們。
餐飲經理（Food and Beverage Manager）｜ 平均月薪 US$5,800 ~ US$7,400
統籌管理郵輪上和餐飲相關的各項事務，包括船員的餐廳在內皆屬於其管轄範圍。
餐廳經理（Restaurant Manager） ｜ 平均月薪 US$4,800 ~ US$5,800
負責管理個別餐廳內的相關業務，服務生、侍酒師等皆由其指揮。
服務員（Waiter / Waitress） ｜ 平均月薪 US$2,500 ~ US$4,200
從十四歲就開始在餐廳端盤子打工賺零用錢的傑夫，一直誤以為郵輪上服務員的薪水應該也好不到哪裡去，但在看過了統計數據之後，才知道服務員的收入竟然比前台人員高…
酒保（bartenders） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,800 ~ US$2,500
我一直都覺得這是個挺有趣的工作，但除非將來打算返鄉經營酒吧，與其上船去當酒保，還不如在台灣偶爾找朋友小酌兩杯要快樂的多。
管家（Butler） ｜ 平均月薪 US$2,400 ~ US$3,200
特定等級以上的房型有時會配有管家的服務，而這些管家的工作就是設法滿足 VIP 們的各種大小需求。
房務員（Stateroom Attendant） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,200 ~ US$1,500
這群人是每天負責打掃乘客房間的基層勞動人力，不但工作內容無趣沉悶，待遇也低。台灣人有去澳洲剪羊毛的，也有去澳洲打掃房間的；但在郵輪上我倒是一次也沒有看到過台灣籍的房務員。（澳洲的法定最低薪資是每小時 18.29 澳幣，這大概說明了為什麼同樣是打掃房間，年輕人寧願去澳洲了…）
娛樂總監（Cruise Director）｜ 平均月薪 US$5,800 ~ US$7,500 起
負責管理船上的各種娛樂表演活動，也是郵輪上的形象大使。
弦樂團樂師（Classical Trio / String Quartet） ｜ 平均月薪 US$1,600 ~ US$2,400
之前在新聞上看到過一個台灣女生在郵輪上從事演奏工作，除了可以有表演的舞台，生活也是多彩多姿。比起教小朋友拉琴吹笛，似乎趁年輕時上船體驗一回海上人生也是蠻不錯的選擇。
舞者（Production Dancer） ｜ 平均月薪 US$2,400 ~ US$3,200
他們通常是郵輪上最年輕，身材最好的一群人；男舞者的身高必須有 177 公分以上，女舞者則要 162 公分以上。除了表演工作之外，有些郵輪也會要求舞者參與能和乘客交流的各種康樂活動。
客座表演嘉賓（Guest Entertainer） ｜ 平均週薪 US$1,500 ~ US$2,500 起
如果可以的話，我真是嚮往這樣的生活…
Jeff Antonio Tung 
wow… how surprised to see my self at the end of this article!!! And your listing of the salary is quite… accurate^^!! Amazing!
Very nice meeting you online!^^
Wow! how surprised to see the person in the article actually finding herself here! What are the odds!!! (To me this is the amazing part.)
And it seems that you not only play piano wonderfully, but also very kind and sweet; for the words are like music to my ears.
Nice meeting you! And may all your recitals always end with a cheering crowd like the ones you had with Silversea.
Or, and here is my emoji smile ^^
wow…. another wow!! you reply so quickly!! I was about to hand in my info for Edinburgh Festival this summer, and was browsing through the internet for some reviews of mine… and just linked to here! It’s really a surprise! And your writing is so clear and also answers my curiosity^^ (I’ve never known about the salaries for the crews onboard!!) How could you find out everything in such detail! Amazing!!
I enjoyed another Silversea cruise in Feb. and the passengers really warmed my heart!!
I shall be back to blog more since it collects the memory longer^^
here’s a little vlog, haha… do you also do vlog?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8j9riOWno
I was tempted to start the sentence with another “Wow", but then dropped the idea to tone down my genuine surprises. ( One is how the awe-inspiring internet could “link" up different worlds and people, and another is the pianist has a vlog! )
And when someone cool or cute (or both) leaves you a message, you put other things on hold and reply it first. So there’s nothing magic about it, it’s simply human nature. (Or is it more of men’s nature? ha…ha… )
You’d be amazed how much info you could gather from the web these days, which was the prime source where I garnered most of the materials for this article.
There are several ways to preserve memories, and I seem to enjoy writing the most so far. Never really tried vlog before, not sure what I could perform in front of the camera. ( But you should definitely do more, people will be very interested in a cute pianist’s life!)
Best Wishes on your Edinburgh Festival, and keep vlogging! ; )
wow… I actually miss those days when I stored my stories at the blogs… it seems to be more real and stays for a long time… nowadays, the stories stay in FB and only stays there for a day ><"
sorry the post doesn’t seem to be finished completely… here’s another silversea post, took a while to find it><" haha
https://www.facebook.com/111856148831280/posts/2550577661625771/ and the post cut short again. haha so strange ><"
Although a tad ephemeral, FB could still do wonders sometimes, I think. ( We probably wouldn’t be exchanging messages if it weren’t for that short-lived FB post ) But I agree with you that some memories deserve a better treatment and hence the necessity of old mediums such as blogs, notebooks and diaries… ( One for the public, one for personal reminders, and one to keep your secrets. )
I read the post you took a while to find and subscribed to the fan page, becoming the No. 41,363rd follower to the pianist. ( People apparently prefer piano over luxury cruises, my FB page has only 200 followers…)
Watched the 20m TED talk you did in 2015 and very impressed. ( I actually “wowed~" with an elevated pitch… ) And I think your life is packed ( and fun ) enough to skip a few activities such as keeping a diary or starting a new blog. You could always live it first, and then tell the stories later. And some memories are like Bordeaux wines, they could take years, even decades to age and mature.
But as your No. 41,363rd fan, we would be delighted to see you blogging again!
Wow…. thank you for entering my FB fantasy… I do actually post lots unrelated to music (eg. Silversea Dinner Lobster 😂) have you been on Silversea? I do love it but at the same time found people spent too much time EATING 😝😝😝 well of course it’s ama delicious but I do enjoy other activities like lectures and classes etc rather than just eating 3 hours each evening 😝 just got another booking from Crystal Symphony…. do you know it? I’ve never been on any Crystal ones … do people also spent loads of time eating… 😅
Yes I’ve been on several Silversea’s vessels, even the ones to the Antarctica (which wowed me to an extreme level). Though under a different payroll, I was usually aboard working as a tour leader/escort. And I dined & wined with the guests exactly the same style you did with those lobsters and amicable couples. And it’s probably because of you that the meals last that long, mine usually end within two hours. After all, who wouldn’t want to prolong the meal time with the entertainer who they enjoyed and adored?
I’ve sailed with Crystal once, on Symphony’s younger and larger sister ship Crystal Serenity. The clientele is very similar to those from Silversea, wealthy, senior, sophisticated and a majority of them American. I believe you’ll have a great time performing aboard Crystal Symphony, and yes, cruisers in general spend a lot of time eating, so do prepare an extra pair of looser pants just in case you get an unwanted bonus in “pounds". ; )
Happy cruising!
wow! 感謝你在部落格文章裡引述我的資歷耶～ 真是 good surprise。Haha, I guess you could say that playing on the ship for a few years is a unique life experience for young people! Nice to meet you! :)
Wow! ( this seems to be the most common reaction when people found themselves mentioned here, or… is it a musician’s thing? ) 沒想到有第二位海上音樂人來留言~，果真是 good surprise。
Being young really is a privilege when it comes to exploring & experimenting possibilities of life. And you seem to be a very lucky person who knows how to enjoy every bit of the adventure.
Nice to meet you too, and bon voyage!