Ignorance fought about the labor laws–I figured they’d be leaving from America and staffed with Americans, but I guess not every (any?) company does this. For the sake of my own edification, what’s a good tip guideline per day in such a situation?
There’s usually a sort of country based hierarchy on ships - for example the officers will be Greek, the main dining room staff will be Turkish, the dining room assistants and room stewards will be Filipino, etc. They will all be paid at levels commiserate with the standards from their country of origin.
Google “dark side of cruises” for info- tipped staff can make as little as $50 a month in salary, $400 a month for general staff, and $700 a month for skilled staff. The conditions are often horrific- 10-12 hour days, no time off for months, and passenger complaints resulting in transfers to even lower-paying positions. I, personally, would not go on a cruise, but I don’t care if others do.
Just 1 day (11 hours) in Athens. Given this limitation, we plan on taking the cruise tour.
We fly into Rome a day before we board, and will stay 3-4 days after we get back.
The ship docks at Naples and there’s a Pompeii tour for which we’re already booked, so we’re good there. 
We only get 11.5 hours to visit Naples, so, again like Athens, it just makes sense to do the thing that has the highest odds of getting us back to the ship on time. 
I appreciate the link - it’s fascinating and a lot better hearing about the experience of being there, with reviews of local tour companies. Except for the Pompeii one (already booked), we’ll likely use locals in Ephesus, Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens. We’ll see.
Not always, last cruise my room steward was Ethiopean, the busboy was from St Thomas and the waiter was Croatian. I know the bar runner was a Brit going by accent somewhere in the north, and we ran across lots of caribbeans and eritreans.
I can’t remember offhand, but we went Explorer of the Seas, and the Captain was Norwegian as were a number of the officers so some officers that I didn’t get exposed to may have been Greek. One of the executive chefs was Italian, I had a nice discussion with him about allergies the first afternoon on the boat by phone.
[I would have loved to run into some Filipinos, I love their accent! There was a Filipino diner in Norfolk VA we used to go to. Amazing pork adobo there that I would love to have the recipe for, it is unlike any of the ones I have found online.]
Sorry for not adding it to the previous post, do watch out - if you take a boat sponsored tour, they will hold the boat if you are not back in time, if you find your own fun they will not hold the boat.
And I am jealous - I want to do Pompeii now they have done more restoration work and have more stuff available for tourists. Still not overly handicapped friendly, but you can’t expect them to rearrange ruins to suit =)
I was just giving an example of the mix, different regions and different lines have their own mix.
11.5 hours in Naples is about 11.45 hours TOO LONG, in my opinion. Been to hundreds of cities in over 30 countries. Naples is the number one shittiest place on my list. Keep in mind I have been to Albania and Afghanistan and Iraq.
Naples is the worst by far.
In all sincerity, I will tell you to please watch out. If you have a back pack, where it on the front of your person. If you have a purse, keep it under your arm or leave it on the ship if possible. And watch out for the scooters. They will rip your purse right off and keep on driving. Dragging you along behind if you don’t let go!
Most lines will have guidelines. I know Disney has just started adding “standard” tips to your folio (onboard bill) so you don’t need to plan. You can have them removed if you want (or added to, or add a cash tip). Here is a link (per person)
Staff does get paid “something” - but the vast majority of their wages are tips and without tips they’d have enough to buy toothpaste and other personal items, but not enough to save for whatever they are saving for (a lot of ship employees send money home). However, on a good cruiseline, staff can do pretty well on tips, plus room and board is included (they work DARN hard for it though, its pretty much seven days a week, twelve or fourteen hour days).
Please do not go to Naples. It is a hell hole, and you may not be safe. Your possessions certainly will not be. Really.
Rome on the other hand is a delight. The city is smaller than you think, everything is within walking distance of everything else!
Ask away, or PM if you want more details, I’ve been living in Rome for 15 years :).
I appreciate the information and if others have information about security/safety tips in Athens, Rome, or Istanbul (Asian and European side, though we’re just going to walk a bit in Asia), that would be a great help. I have been robbed by a stranger only once in my life, and all they did was take a GPS from a car, one that I didn’t notice was missing until weeks later (I have maps in my head and don’t need the things.)
As far as Naples is concerned, we’re going to Pompeii and will pretty much miss the city itself.
I plan on going out with the bare minimum of documentation needed for each city, but another thing I’m fuzzy on: what should I do in regards to money (especially at the Grand Bazaar)? Use a card or carry Euros? Is Turkey even on the Euro? (it doesn’t seem like it.)
What about on the ship - would we have the option of paying cash, or is everything billed? (rhetorical question, I know I should call the cruise line.)
That cruisecritic.com site is a great resource, Icarus. Thanks!
We will PM you with questions, trust me. And if you’d like, we would love to get together for lunch or something.
This trip is really Sophia’s, in my mind, as it is she who wanted to go to Rome in the first place (my daughter is far more Catholic than her mother or I ever have been.) Laura wanted to go to England, perhaps Wales, but I’m in the mood for non-Anglo culture. And anyway, the two of them have already been to London.
Also, our vacations tend to turn into long, long walks through cities. A cruise would minimize that - we’ll get our walking days, no doubt about it, but we’ll also have sea days, where Dad can sleep in to noon if he damned well pleases. 
There is a bridge connecting the Asian part of Istanbul with the European part, it has a pedestrian walkway, when you think you are halfway across, start straddling.
I’ve seen the bridges, but did not know if they had pedestrian walkways. Appreciate the confirmation - have you been there?
I read about our tours on cruise critic, and it helped in avoiding one cruise line. However beware the comments from people who have done it eight times and have their favorite guide all lined up. I’m sure it is possible to get a loser. However, cruise critic did tell me how to get into Roman and Athens without paying the cruise line.
I have, Istanbul is one of my favorite cities on earth. I’ve walked across the bridge many times, it is longish for a bridge, but if the weather is nice it is lovely at sunset. Lots of fishermen fish off it. The bridge on the European side is near(ish) the spice bazaar, the neighborhood right on the other end isn’t terribly interesting for a short visit, but you can just turn around and start back, or just walk halfway. But just check a map or guidebook, the older I get the fuzzier details get on the exact location of things like bridges and Asia.
Enjoy your visit.
Sounds good! PM away 
There is a lot of good advice about travelling to Roma and Pompeii in this thread too.
I came back because I may be mis-rememberting which bridge I walked arcoss in Instanbul and which ones connect Europe and Asia. I think it is more likely that they have, in fact moved the continents when I wasn’t looking. Wikipedia says you cannot walk across either bridge connecting the two continents, so you might have to straddle very quickly while crossign in a taxi. Sorry.
Topical article today in the Guardian on the issue of cruise employee pay and tips. The news there is not good. 75 pence per hour and a threat to withhold tips.