Steiner Transocean reviews and complaints

Steiner transocean ltd, "the on board spa" is a company built on bullying and intimidation!

I worked for Steiner in the late 1990's and while I can't say that I agreed with Steiner's policies, I was lucky in that we actually got a salary then! I did not like the fact that Steiner did not pay for our medicals and with the amount of money they make they certainly could have put us up in a better place than the YWCA! This place was dirty and crowded and not what I expected from such a big company as Steiner. I also hated all of the corporate stuff and the way AF spoke to us - did not like that at all, not very professional but I ended up staying and did 2 contracts in the end. You just can't take it very seriously, and I did make back the money I spent getting to the UK and 5 weeks of spending money while training. I was not very impressed with the training itself but I certainly wasn't treated badly while there. I would not have put up with that kind of behaviour, (and nobody should) so as an experienced Steiner my advice is to be assertive but don't take ships too seriously either. In international waters, they can get away with ridiculous hours. I saw lots of things happen to some of my co-workers, but ships is a tough life, it isn't all about fun and travel, it is a lot of working too. You need to be aware of this before you sign up. It's not for everyone, but in the end i enjoyed it and didn't take it too seriously. Just keep your head down, do your work, smile, enjoy the Americans, and everything will turn out OK. You don't have to agree with everything Steiner does, but perhaps things have changed now. I really can't comment on how things are now, i am sure they have changed a lot of their policies. As massage therapists we used to get paid a weekly salary, plus commissions, plus tips which means you have to actually work for your money. Again, my advice is to be knowledgeable about the body and products and you will have the Americans eating out of your hand. Become their friend and they will buy anything from you! That is what sales is all about, and that's what Steiner tries to teach. Like i said, I didn't always agree with the way they did things and the way we were spoken to, but I just put a smile on and got on with it! Just know what you are getting into before you sign up - I remember going to some fantastic places and have some great memories!

I worked for Steiner in 91 for 7 months, so glad there are other people on here that think the same of Amanda Francis, nastiest cow i have ever met working in a company .. £35 a week is all i got, we were lucky if we got tips. lived in appalling conditions .. Once your on a ship you are buggered they have you by the bollocks cant get off, unless you pay Steiner back for your so called training . Hmm you are only looked after by Amanda if you lick her ### ! I was left on a ship that went into dry dock not one offer of flying us home, no electricity or water and that's how you got treated .. Oh and before anyone says i was top retail seller and good at my job but a little bit of concern and care does not go a miss ..I would say it opened my eyes to life and people and a company that there only concern is cash not You ! On leaving the ship i was given a very large amount of cash to bring back to UK which i later found out i was not insured for, that is not good company standards .. Since leaving i have had fabulous bosses which i respected .. Its a shame Amanda never had compassion, sensitivity and a little bit of understanding of what we are feeling stuck out on a floating hotel .. I'm glad of the experience but would never in a million years work for them again ... All that springs to mind with her is a cold hearted manipulative power obsessed woman . Have your wits about you working for this company and if your not happy be careful how you address it because if you don't play the game with them they will break you .. Oh and if Amanda or Steiner would like to respond i would be very happy to to discuss what ###s they are !

My son has had his life more or less ruined by this sham outfit! Lured by the promise of seeing the world he gave up everything only to be "fired" for not hitting his retail targets after 4 months of working more than 15 hour days with hardly any time off. This experience has hit him hard and left him thousands out of pocket. The whole thing from the training fiasco to the constant bullying tactics of his superiors on board ship has left a very very nasty taste in his mouth. As for his final pay packet -- he's been waiting months, always being promised it's on its way but never arrives.

Not really sure what to think of any of this; been looking online everywhere and all I can see is people moaning to their hearts content about Steiner - just quit if it's that awful? Finally found these positive comments and very confusing. My training starts on the 1st of October but I have read the contract and it states you get paid 6 weeks in hand, you have to agree to working overtime, you have to agree to everything so no point signing that big old contract and crying about it later! I'm looking forward to earning without having to pay the bills every month, $900 a month being spent on sweet F.A is something to be grateful for. I've never heard of a 4 month contract either, and also if you quit it states in the contract YOU pay the airfare so if you got that you must have kicked up a right fuss! all I'll say is that it's nice to see some positivity about Steiner for once!

hi there i just wanted to say that ive been reading alot of posts from people who have experienced steiner...and to be honest im a little confused i get that its more suited to some people than others. i guess i will never know unless i give it a go.

Janine I completely agree :) glad too see someone enjoy it as much as I do, yes sometimes doing inventory till 2am and then having to pack it all away again at 7 am is a lil tiring, and getting 5 pallets of stock on one of the very few mornings you get to sleep in is a lil annoying but if you stay positive and just step outside and realize where in the world you are then you know that night you will be sitting in the crew bar dead tired but laughing with your team because if how miserable everyone looked that morning, it's hard work but then you get over it, if you survive a Steiner contract you will be a stronger person, no job in the world can teach you so much about business, hard work, self motivation and dedication as Steiner... And when you get back on land everyone wants you to work for them because every wellness or beauty company company wants you to work for them because of the skills you have achieved on board. My next contract starts in 28 days and counting :)

meyer well said and yess steiner isnt for everyone certainly not for this quitter above and if your a team player going to the spa for 12-14 hours a day isnt like going to work bacause if your working in a nice spa with nice people all working together as a team you enjoy going to work and making money too. cant wait to go back my self roll on april.steiner would not be where they are today if they werent as good well amazing as they are.they are the best FACT...

I completely agree with the above, it's people like you who give Steiner a bad name, they give you a job, to make money, save money and see the world all at the same time! A four month contract, you mean you quit after four months and now blame Steiner for your own failure, Amanda Francis is one of the most honorable business woman you will ever meet, and I always look forward to her coming an board because whenever she does your vision is enlarged with the possibilities of growing your own revenue! I know of hairdressers that will do anything to be that busy! Yes Steiner is not for everyone, it's not a working holiday but if you are looking for a bit if a challenge and your not scared of a lil hard work it is an opportunity of a lifetime :) I myself have been with the company for almost 3 years as a personal trainer onboard and im getting ready for my next contract and I couldn't be more excited!

Hi, I want to share how I didn´t went to London Academy despite I did all the paperwork and medical requeriments in time.
When I went for the initial interview, I had to sign a medical info paper what says if you had any medical condition you can´t start to work with Steiner and, at the bottom says the following deseases:
"...In addition to a hearing and eyesight test, the following is an abbreviated list of diseases and conditions that may or can result in failing the required medical examination.
Asthma Hypertension
Colour Blindness Coronary Disease
Eyesight problems Arrhythmia (symptomatic)
Tuberculosis Deafness/hearing difficulties
Heart / Cardiac Disease Back Pain / Sciatica
Eczema/contact dermatitis Lung Disease
Diabetes Orthopaedic Condition / spine, hips, knees,
Epilepsy/fits Kidney Disease or Dialysis
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome Mental Illness / Depression/Anti-depressants
Arthritis/rheumatism Allergies: Seafood/Nut Allergies/Use of Epi pen"

And you have to contact the doctor´s company if you take any medication.
I have hypothiroidism, chronic desease with no death risk o risk to other people.
So, cause I knew was fine I start to do all the paperwork.
US Visa, u$s160 that you have to pay right in the beggining, to make an appointment.
Criminal record, u$s 100 for me.
Bus ticket to Madrid, to make the visa u$s 70.

I tell the Dr my condition and the prescription I take everyday. 5-6 days after he ask me for my last TSH test. 5-6 after He says it´s to high, that I have to retake the test 3 months and then they can accept me.
I re took the test and it´s a little bit high, but my T4 was normal, so my home doctor wrote an inform to keep my actual treatment. Had to be everything ready an specific day, cause they expect me and my place was reserved.
10 days after, I send everything to the doctor and I keep going with all the requeriments. X-ray, vaccination, bought make-up, shoes they ask you to carry with you, one way ticket to London u$s 80.
Everything was going so well. All in time. I payed for my uniform in London 40 pounds.
My recruiter gave me the welcome to the academy and directions for my first in London.
But... the day after, the doctor send me an e-mail just syaing: "No not aproved, we can´t accept you."

Just like that, with no explanation. And no one showed me where it´s says if you have hypothiroidism and your level of TSH is barely high that normal levels that is enought to excluded you. Even with a medical inform that says you are able to work.

So, my recomendations, do not do anything if you have ANY chronic disease untill you are completely sure they accept you.
You don´t want to spend more than u$s 500 in nothing.

But the worst thing, I stopped looking for a job a month and a half. So I´m out of money and jobless.
For sure, better things are coming. Good luck!

Hi! Wanted to share my experience and opinion- maybe that will help somebody. I used to be fitness. Did 1 contract on Brilliance and Vision OTS. In short- Steiner is far not the best company to work for. However- the experience not so brutal as well. I had 4 managers. Every of them had some pros and cons. In reality most of managers know nothing about HR and management. They just have been good retailers for a while. But it's not so bad.
Everything depends on your mind set. But you have to be strong mentally.
Steiner training academy in London- hard. As people wrote here before- lots of learning and stress. But on the other side- sitting here and thinking about that time- it would be fun to ge there again. Just when you are there- they make it look very serious. Actually it's not that hard core. Some people do get sent home though. Thats not honest, because, for example, for me- they didn't tell anything about that before. Some other were warned.. its a little bit like military bootcamp (not so much physical)- still some personal trainers arrive there in poor shape- not being able to do 30 solid pushups. What they are looking for- public speaking skills. At least thats what helped me- I was wan of the first assigned to ship. They told us- we are going to send you to ship only when we know you are ready. I wasnt ready :)) I could not sell for 5 months.. (I guess I wouldn't hire myself). But because of good public speaking skills- I got the position.
On the ship- its all about revenue and specifically retail. If you feel that you are good seller- you can talk a lot, communicate, be energetic- good job to have. If you are more introvert, quiet, thinker (as I was) you're gonna struggle. But- everything can be learned. As soon as we- fitness started to bring some decent retail- we were like kings. Managers doesn't bother about what and how you do it. As long you bring the money on the table. More money- more freedom. Of course there are boundaries- have to be on time, treat guests nicely, etc. On my 2nd ship I was alone- that was physically hard- all the classes, seminars, consultations by yourself. But money is better and if you bring revenue- managers will give you more free time. I had ok relationship with all managers. My 2nd partner- he couldnt stand one manager. So they clashed all the time. So lot of things depend on personality.
Regards spa girls- they do work a lot. But they can make good money as well- especially if they learn how to sell. We all do get to hear bullsh.. in meetings- sometimes it can deprive you. Time off is amazing though. I have heard different situations about the past (I worked on 2014-15) but regards time off everything was correct with every manager- we had our 1 and a half day off in week.
But 9 month contract- waaay tooo looong! Last month I just didnt care anymore- I stopped selling and couldnt care less about whats happening around. Only home was in my mind.
So- to sum it up- if I would go to work on a cruise ship- I wouldnt ho for steiner one more time. Because contract is too long a too much pressure for selling. But if you enjoy sales- you can earn a lot of money.
About ship life- if you like to party- amazing place. Time will fly. If not (I dont drink at all) and you are not very social person- it might be hard. But still interesting!

Ok, I was an acupuncturist on a ship.
SPA GIRLS: yes I had it easier than the spa girls in terms of time off. I watched what certainly qualifies as modern day slavery. I honestly don't know how those managers sleep at night. But they say psychopaths have no remorse. Here is what to expect if you are a spa girl: Manager bullying you and taking away time off when the ship is not at sea because you didn't sell enough of the oh-so-crappy spa products you are supposed to hawk to the clientele to meet sales target. Manager yelling and screaming at you like you are their minions knowing they can get away with. Managers making you come 1 hour early to work and just sit there doing nothing, or stay 1-2 hours later for work, again, just sitting there doing nothing, all to punish you because you didn't get enough clients or because you didn't sell enough products.
And you will be expected to work from 7am to 10pm, routinely, and on the last cruise day, after reconciling days of work, you will be expected to go down on your knees and scrub the floor because Steiner is too cheap and greedy to hire a cleaning crew. And after that, you will be expected to attend a spa meeting to prime you up for the next cruise.
It is not surprising that the vast majority of spa girls are women in their 20s who can take a lot of abuse. And most of them have to go get drunk at the crew bar every night just to forget the hell they're going through. Having seen what I have seen, I would never let a daughter of mine work on a Steiner spa ship.

ACUPUNCTURE: Now on to my acupuncturist experience. Let me tell you that the spa manager can make you or break you. Yes, the Spa manager is God. Or she thinks she is... At first, she started overbooking me which would have been okay if I was also given enough treatment rooms to handle 3 patients an hour. In my previous land job, I had handled 4 patients an hour no problem. But no. She expected me to go around looking for extra rooms and getting supplies in them at the last minute as I was not allowed to leave acupuncture supplies in massage rooms. I was carrying the one sharp disposal she allowed me to have (she claimed she couldn't get me another) from room to room all over the spa. Can you imagine what would have happened had I spilled the container? I was overbooked and expected to sail through it, treating people in the relaxation area and apologizing profusely, treating them on the botox doctor's bed, which was not designed for long treatments, so they would get up with back pain which of course I had to fix. I had no time to take a thorough intake for first time patients, I would just ask them where they hurt and I would proceed to start needling them! Did I mention she wouldn't give me my seminar schedules ahead of time, so frequently it would conflict with bookings?..., After a month of this stress, I dared to complain to higher up, well, it trickled down to her, and she went from bad to worse.

But she did it in a machiavellian way. Overnight, my column (schedule) dried up. She purposely siphoned patients away from me to massage therapists, in fact, she hired an extra massage therapist, so that by depriving me of acupuncture patients, she could still meet the spa's targets and make me look bad. She refused to let me use cabin drops, when everybody else and their mamas were allowed to advertise through cabin drops. She wouldn't let me appear on the ship's TV to promote myself, oh and she ordered me to stay away from the front desk area, so I wouldn't hear it when she would refer all the pain patients who would call to massage therapists or other people. She never gave me any of the You Should Be Proud thank you cards patients would leave for me. How I found out? One morning I got off the ship after a cruise ended and ran into a patient who asked me if I liked the card she left me. I was like, what card? I later found out that satisfied customers sometimes left thank you cards for you that your manager was supposed to give to you. The entire time I was there, she never gave me those cards. Once I found one in her office, and took it. I also told my patients that if they wanted to write such cards, to leave them with me.

Anyway, I could give you a long list of the underhanded things she did to punish me. I am a pretty strong person mentally and emotionally, but after weeks and weeks of her carefully crafted undermining, I was getting very few patients and my self-esteem took a dive. Pretty soon I was broken. I could have quit and gone home, but I was just staying on the ship because I loved to travel and was determined to make lemonade out of lemons.

Morale of the story: if you're an acupuncturist, pray that the spa manager likes you. If she doesn't like you, kiss her ### over and over, otherwise you will be dead meat. She will pull every trick in the book to make you look bad. No use fighting her, you will not get help from the higher ups. They never even bothered investigating why I was getting so many patients the first month, then almost nobody after I complained,

Does any one know what it takes to just leave once youve started on the ships a friend is having a hard time on there, adn im just wandering what the procedure costs are involved?

Hi you all keep saying how much it cost you to work with them can you tell me hiw much my daughter has an interview with them at this point I'm think of not even letting her go for it

My Daughter joint Steiner after she studied for 3 years at Isa Carstens Academy in South Africa, This place is recognised world wide for its exceptional level of education and conduct. This comes at a big financial investment from us as parents. We also made a further investment in the cost and related expenses for the Steiner process. After this you expect employment in an industry with clear values and standards. From being educated and trained to act and treat others in a highly professional manner, to an experience to is the total opposite. in fact the management style, and practices borders on the most unprofessional that I have seen in 32 yrs of working with big international organisations across the world. I I or any of my staff would treat any staff member the way Steiner treats it staff, I would end up with lawsuits and spend every working day in court and be sued for millions. Our organisation is also sales driven and set exceptional high standards and targets for our sales and operational people, we invest and support our staff every day to achieve their career goals and our organisation targets. Steiner employ tactics of verbal abuse, intimidation, and threatening employees, they exploit working hours and expect staff to intimidate clients into buying their products, My daughter gets rewarded by the ship's captain with a certificate for exceptional performance based on customer feedback, from Steiner she gets weekly calls from some manager based on shore, who verbally abuse her, intimidates her and threatens to fire her because she does not achieve retail targets. The provide no promotional material for her colom, no on board promotional support from the manager. The top end treatment cost half the price of the total cruise for a client. But it is clear from the feedback on these pages that Steiner is indeed a sick organisation. That treat staff as a commodity, that exploit people from "poor" countries, who have no other proper means of earning a living. Well rest assured that in our community and the worldwide influence we have I will ensure that prospective applicants will be directed to these pages before they consider joining Steiner and live a nightmare, lose money and walk away with a bad employment experiance that will only set them back in life

Hi.. I have got selected for the post of ship physician at steiner leisure medispa at sea... Could anyone please give me an idea about work life and pay for ship physician.. Please

Hi.. I have got selected for the post of ship physician at steiner leisure medispa at sea... Could any of you please tell me about how the work life is and pay is for ship physician hired by the company.. Kindly reply.. Please.. I am very confused about taking up this position..

Hi guys and gals, just an update on my son as Personal Trainer. He is doing well, learning alot about the professional business world of working with clients, approaching different people and sales...it is a great opportunity for him and yes it costs money to get you to training and transport etc. He chose this career path and would like to do it for another 4//5 years. Reading alot of comments and doing research I personally feel that it boils down to each individual and how you handle yourself and your attitude towards working with a difficult boss/colleagues. Life is full of challenges and the more unpleasant ones prepare us and help us to grow in knowledge and strength...and I agree you will gain skills that you will use for the rest of your life! Good luck to everyone and remember there are always 2 sides to a story!

I worked as a Fitness Instructor 2013/2014. This job simply is not for everyone. Stuff about retail is true but if you have a good manager you can learn a lot and all this at the end does not seem that bad. You can earn a lot as well. But it all depends on a ship you get and a type of a manager that will work for you. In my case I was twice left alone to work in a gym on a ship with 3000 passengers. Of my 9months contract I worked 4 months alone which was terrible exhausting. Even when I got colleges I got the majority of classes and I had to do all seminars. On average I did 8 classes per day! I felt like I am preparing for Olympics, so many times... haveing schedule like that, those were the months when I completely sucked in retail. Problem is that does in the head office do not care what is situation on board. They just look at the numbers and that sucks. Off work I had the best time of my life, so many half days and full days off, compared to other crew members I had so much free time. Partly due to my inscentive and partly because I was allowed to leave gym whenever we were docked because I was the only trainer so they did gave me all that hours back. I never partyed that much in my life. After all night of partyes I would still do a 7am, 8am, 9am, 10am classes, 11am seminar, 1hr lunch, then consultations and than again 2pm seminar, consultation, 4pm class, consultation, 6pm class, 7pm class and again consultation. When you are trained properly you can do all of that and still have time for shower, snack, set up the room etc. It is amazing what I can achieve now in 15min time. Before contract I was always late, now never :)
Hardest part was definitely 4 week training in London, 20hrs/day literally with no free days in between :P
the thing that bothered me is that all gym classes are there just so that it seems to passengers that is a gym but it is basically a hook for all retail. To do quality classes and consultations that is just simply too much of a work. If schedule was better I would do better in retail, simply I was too exhausted to focus so many times.
It is so possible to easily retail if you get a good training from manager and experienced stuff.
I decided not to go back as they offered me really lousy ship and it wouldn't be worth of time spent on board.
I am extremely dissapointed with ### that they claimed so many times how after Steiner, wherever we apply for a job everyone will be so happy to give us a job. That is ONE BIG FAT LIE! First of all, we payed to bogus Yoga/Pilates Stella Nash for 'certificates' on each but as I started application for one company I found out that her 'certificates' are just a piece of stupid paper that are not legal anywhere in the world and if you can, do not pay for that ### peace of paper she gives you.
I was lucky enough to sell my skills for a great company 5* luxury hotel chain and I will continue my growth trough them and never again for Steiner. I am looking forward that my job will be what I am - fitness with no retail at all, also to serve 5* customers and not all rednecks that never stepped into a gym before their cruise and people that are running away from classes without paying and people that just want classes to be free.
I gained skills that I will use till the rest of my life and I had the best 10months of my life all together. I would suggest this job to only those who are really FIT mentally and physically! Good luck to everyone!