The Gravy Train
One of the reasons why Caronia was a very popular ship, for the Catering Department especially, was that quite apart from having exotic itineraries, the tips on board were prodigious. At first you might think that we stewards who were on the receiving end made a fortune from these gratuities.
That wasn't strictly true, because to be able to operate properly, giving the standard of service that could generate this income in the first place, you were highly dependent upon others. So, to a great extent you were soon parted from a substantial proportion of this income. There were some priorities in this distribution.
For example, although we had glory-hole stewards provided to keep the crew areas of the ship clean and tidy, it was still your responsibility to make your own bunk and to change your bedding weekly. You could be relieved of this burden for a small fee. The same went with things like your personal laundry. There was no point in having almost instant access to clean waiter's jackets (provided by Cunard), if you didn't also have clean shirts, smartly pressed blues and shiny shoes to complete the outfit.
Similarly, you'd be so busy in the restaurant that you simply wouldn't have time to properly organise your own meals. So, you'd take up the services offered by one of the many cooks or pantrymen in the galley to have a meal ready and waiting at a pre-arranged time. All of these people were in the chain to relieve you of your hard-earned “ dropsies ”, but at the same time, you couldn't properly function without them.
If you needed something specially done for you, it would usually have an expectation of a gratuity to provide it. So, if you were making say $12 a day from your passengers, you'd find that $8 or more would need to be available for “services rendered.” A dollar a day from each of the 12 people you served meals to was a basic minimum; several passengers were far more generous than that! Although the “Green Goddess ” was a British ship, the general currency on board was always the US dollar.
Also, just like in any small village, there were various crew men who specialised. For example, you rarely if ever, went ashore to get your hair cut, or your shoes mended. There were even a couple of tatooists aboard.
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