Princess Cruises is changing the way mandatory deductions and salary allotments are processed for Filipino crew members, with the new system set to take effect with the September 2026 payroll.
According to a shipboard payroll notice issued to crew, the company will begin processing Philippine mandatory deductions in-house instead of having the allotment portion of a crew member's salary processed through its Philippine Global Talent Partner, Magsaysay.
Under the current system, Shipboard Payroll deposits a crew member's net pay into their Brightwell account or designated bank account, while the allotment portion is sent to Magsaysay. Magsaysay then handles mandatory Philippine deductions and contributions before depositing the remaining funds into the bank account of the crew member's designated allottee.
Starting in September, that process will change.
The notice says the allotment portion of wages will no longer be sent to Magsaysay by the Shipboard Payroll team. Instead, required Philippine deductions will be processed in-house.
Crew members' overall pay will remain unchanged. However, because the allotment amount will now be included in the net wage calculation, Filipino crew members will see a larger portion of their salary deposited directly into their Brightwell or designated bank account.
The biggest change is that Filipino crew members will become responsible for sending the required allotment themselves to their designated allottee's bank account.
Magsaysay will continue to handle required contributions to Philippine agencies after receiving the deductions processed by Shipboard Payroll, according to the notice.
What is a crew allotment?
For Filipino seafarers, an allotment is a portion of their monthly salary designated to be sent to an allottee, typically a spouse, parent, child or another designated beneficiary in the Philippines.
Traditionally, this process has been handled automatically through the employer and its local manning agency, meaning the crew member does not have to manually transfer that portion of their salary every month.
Under the new Princess Cruises process, the company will no longer send the allotment portion to Magsaysay for distribution. Instead, the crew member will receive those funds and will be responsible for transferring the required amount to their designated allottee.
The payroll notice emphasizes that the change does not reduce crew salaries. Brightwell will also continue processing crew deposits, while Magsaysay will continue issuing required contributions to local Philippine agencies.
