Hollands New Tipping Policy

[flipflop]

We were on the 12/28 Veendam WC cruise. having been on HA several other times, when we read about the new tipping policy we were a bit confused. I asked the hotel service person how I could be sure that if we left the daily tip on our bill and then tipped our cabin steward additional he would not have to turn it into the "pool of tips." She told me that the staff is given a list of those who take the tips off their bills. Personally, I think the new policy sucks. I feel like I have to add additional money to the budget because it seems to me the cabin steward, waiter, and assistant waiter are having part of their hard earned money skimmed off to go to others who are not directly in the service end of customer contact. We ended up tipping all three of the above mentioned staff additional money, on top of the $240 added to our bill. What say you?

[jhannah]

My belief is that Holland America switched to this method because the crew tends to end up with more in the long run. Sure, uncaring pax can still stiff those who serve them. But it's no longer a passive thing. One has to make an effort to remove the tips by going to the front desk. This method was also agreed to by the workers and their union ... so if it's fine with them then it's fine with me.

[Sea Island Lady]

What amount pp do you recommend giving as "extra" to each...steward, waiter and assistant waiters?
Also, are vouchers given to the passenger to give to these crew members?

[shipcafe]

We were on the 12/28 Veendam WC cruise. having been on HA several other times, when we read about the new tipping policy we were a bit confused. I asked the hotel service person how I could be sure that if we left the daily tip on our bill and then tipped our cabin steward additional he would not have to turn it into the "pool of tips." She told me that the staff is given a list of those who take the tips off their bills. Personally, I think the new policy sucks. I feel like I have to add additional money to the budget because it seems to me the cabin steward, waiter, and assistant waiter are having part of their hard earned money skimmed off to go to others who are not directly in the service end of customer contact. We ended up tipping all three of the above mentioned staff additional money, on top of the $240 added to our bill. What say you?

Didn't think that the tipping policy was considered "new" anymore. Performing a search will provide a myriad of results of that which has been discussed since May '04 or so ...

[Esme]

What amount pp do you recommend giving as "extra" to each...steward, waiter and assistant waiters?
Also, are vouchers given to the passenger to give to these crew members?

No, HAL does not give you vouchers to give to the crew members.

[RuffinReady]

.....This method was also agreed to by the workers and their union ... so if it's fine with them then it's fine with me.

Jhannah,

I never realized that the crew of a ship belonged to a union, wow, I would have thought that was the last place where there were unions!

Ruffin

[Sailboater]

I just wish I could get HAL to tell me how the $10 per day is distributed. I emailed them and got a flowery non-response basically saying "they didn't know" so I made an equally obtuse reply and essentially said "you didn't answer my question". The next reply said that I should ask the perser (sic) on my ship as that is determined on the ship!!! and no one in Seattle knew. Talk about the run around. I have no problem with the $10, I just want to know what I need to add to give the sum I usually give for the outstanding service. If anyone has managed to find out, can they please enlighten me.

[kryos]

My belief is that Holland America switched to this method because the crew tends to end up with more in the long run. Sure, uncaring pax can still stiff those who serve them. But it's no longer a passive thing. One has to make an effort to remove the tips by going to the front desk. This method was also agreed to by the workers and their union ... so if it's fine with them then it's fine with me.
I would tend to agree that this new tipping policy probably puts a lot more into the crew's pockets than they were previously getting. I think a lot of pax, for various reasons, probably "stiffed" their cabin stewards and wait staff. Maybe budget is a consideration ... maybe they simply ran out of money by the end of the cruise and gave a very small tip to these people. Whatever the reason, I'll bet that even if the majority of passengers gave nothing more than the auto tip, these people are making out far better now simply because most of those same people who would stiff their wait staff and cabin stewards would probably feel embarassed to remove the auto tip for those same people unless there was a damned good reason to justify doing so.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[TedC]

We've sailed under the "new" tipping policy twice and both times different cruise directors indicated that the cabin steward and waiter each got $3 pp, per day and the remaining $4 was spllt among many "behind the scene" folks.

We've always left the auto tip on and gave extra to cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter, wine steward, and anyone else we thought deserved something extra.

[DaveOKC]

I agree that the crew makes out better now - which is fine with me. I think before alot of new cruisers were confused about the "tipping not required" policy and just did not tip. I think some travel agents even told the not too. Now it is very clear.
I also add some extra for very good service.
DaveOKC

[Travelnuts Wife]

We were recently on the Maasdam and were told the cabin steward and waiters each received $3.00 and the remaining $4.00 went to the behind the scenes people, like the bakers and people that cleaned different parts of the ship. However a 15% gratuity is also added to all bar bills. I feel that because of that there is far less service in the showrooms and lounges. We went to shows where there was only one waiter and shows where the waiter stayed in the back and watched the show and never came around for drink orders so I am not thrilled with that part of the tipping policy. I also thought that skilled workers, such as bakers, would receive a higher pay then cabin stewards etc. and that these people could use the tips more with their lower salaries. Our cabin steward was very friendly but our room was never made up before 1 P.M. and trash cans were not always emptied on this trip. Before the new tipping policy came into play we would come back from breakfast and everything was always done including emptying waste cans. Waiters and waitresses always came to us in the showrooms. I prefer the old way and we always left more then a $3.00 a day tip. I prefer to tip those that I feel deserve it rather then a list of people the ship chooses. I am happy with the tipping policy because I know that none of these hard working people will be stiffed by anyone. Therefore I like and dislike the new tipping police.

[Bill HaHa]

Either way is OK with me. I personally like the new policy. I don't have to bring that much cash with me.

[RuffinReady]

I wish that HAL would implement the procedure used by Princess. You could pick up a card at the front desk or one of the bars and fill it out. You gave the name of the recepient and the amount of the tip. You could also write a brief note if you wished. Then the bartender ran it though their machine and charged it to your account and credited to the person you had listed. You then gave one copy to the person directly in an envelope that they provided, and kept the other as your receipt. Simple, direct and I have talked with several waiters/cabin stewards and they have assured me that they got the money. Also, Princess allows a pax to add a tip by writing it on the charge that the bar waiters/waitresses gave you for your signature. We usually gave one dollar and NEVER had a problem finding a person to give us a drink anywhere on the ship!:D
The next year when we returned to the same ship, they came up and greeted us BY NAME! You would be surprised what service you can get with a little kindness and a lousy dollar here and there. Anyone travelling on these ships can well afford it. We always were friendly to them and greeted them by name and exchange a few words. It really doesn't cost that much to treat a person as a human being, and it surely is appreciated. :D :D

[Italy52]

I wish that HAL would implement the procedure used by Princess. You could pick up a card at the front desk or one of the bars and fill it out. You gave the name of the recepient and the amount of the tip. You could also write a brief note if you wished. Then the bartender ran it though their machine and charged it to your account and credited to the person you had listed. You then gave one copy to the person directly in an envelope that they provided, and kept the other as your receipt. Simple, direct and I have talked with several waiters/cabin stewards and they have assured me that they got the money. Also, Princess allows a pax to add a tip by writing it on the charge that the bar waiters/waitresses gave you for your signature. We usually gave one dollar and NEVER had a problem finding a person to give us a drink anywhere on the ship!:D
The next year when we returned to the same ship, they came up and greeted us BY NAME! You would be surprised what service you can get with a little kindness and a lousy dollar here and there. Anyone travelling on these ships can well afford it. We always were friendly to them and greeted them by name and exchange a few words. It really doesn't cost that much to treat a person as a human being, and it surely is appreciated. :D :D

I was just on Princess this past summer and had never heard of the tipping system you described above. We left our auto system in place. However, for additional tipping (cabin steward, dining room waiter & busboy), we were told to put cash in an envelope and give it to them the night before the end of our cruise. I didn't know it was possible to charge additional tips to our ship account and receive a voucher in return to give to the people who we wanted to reward with a little extra. I just learned something new on this board.

[Quendryth]

We recently sailed on Celebrity for the first time & feel HAL could copy how they handle the tipping situation.

You go to the front desk & present a form that has been left in your stateroom authorizing the ship to add the usual & customary amount of tips to your bill. In our case, it amounted to $420.00 for those providing service to us. This form was handed in about 3 days prior to the end of the cruise, so you have had time to determine if you want to tip everyone the usual & customary tips. You only fill out this form if you WANT the crew to receive tips in this manner. It was just easier to have someone else do the math, the coupon & the envelopes. Less cash to carry with us was great. Plus we didn't have to worry about holding back a certain amount so we wouldn't run short. (More for the casino!)

On the final formal day, envelopes with the names affixed and coupons enclosed were delivered to the stateroom for us to prepare for delivery. We placed the coupons in the envelopes with our name & stateroom # added. For those who we felt deserved more, we added cash in those envelopes & handed them out just like the old days at HAL. So everyone received an envelope, some with a coupon that they turned into HAL for their reimbursement & some with a coupon & cash to be turned in also.

I think this system is so efficient & keeps the crew on their toes, because they didn't know if we were tipping them or not - until the final day.

As far as the 15% in the bars, if the waiter didn't serve you, there was no bill, therefore no tip. We had great service from everyone. I am very impressed with Celebrity although I am booked on the Veendam in November! I will be making comparisons for sure.

[Philip217]

For the past 90 years or so, the service crew on most cruise ships pooled the cash tips that were given to the waiters and cabin stewards, and rewarded the "back of the house" people you never saw.
Today, with the auto-tip procedure, very little has changed - except now the purser assists in the process.
Nothing has really changed. We didn't give you all the details about where the tips went for the past 9 decades. Why is it so urgent for you to find out now?

[RuthC]

Because, Philip, because for the last ? decades or so HAL has not pooled tips. Whatever was given directly was kept by the intended recipient.

This is a change that we are all getting used to.

[dakrewser]

Because, Philip, because for the last ? decades or so HAL has not pooled tips. Whatever was given directly was kept by the intended recipient.

Probably not. Each person in the food chain tips the next one up (or down, depending on how you look at it) - ask any waiter! :)

-dave

[wander]

Travel Nuts Wife - I do not understand your comment about the automatic 15% bar tip leading to poorer service. Since the bar folks (and maybe their back-up workers) are now also guaranteed a tip for each drink they serve - I would think it would lead to more service (maybe too much), not less.

[RuthC]

Dave, I know it works that way on land, but until a few months ago it did not work that way on HAL ships.

There were times that the lounge stewards did have an informal buddy system where they worked together to cover for each other and pooled tips, but that was the only time tips were shared.

[Travelnuts Wife]

Hi Wander. I don't know why the service was poorer in the showrooms and lounges. Maybe now with the 15% included the waiters are finally getting tips from everyone. In the past we always tipped the server when we received a drink but I also noticed many people didn't. Some may have tipped them at the end of the cruise but I'm sure there were some who never tipped at all. There were always a lot more servers available in the past too. One night on this cruise there was one server for both downstairs and the balcony. Maybe they were tired from being short staffed. I really don't know the true reason for this change in service. None of this makes me love HAL any less and we will cruise with them again and again.

[KAJOKG]

I was amazed at the misconceptions from passengers regarding the old HAL tipping policy. Many more than I imagined took "tipping not required" to mean "No tipping" -- that's the real reason HAL went to putting tips on the on board accounts. I like the policy. And we always tip over and above for really good service.

[Himself]

I think HAL changed the policy because there was so much complaining about it. They have gone to the Carnival policy--so I am told.
Himself

[bluefish]

This whole topic reminds me of the new daily resort fees that many hotels and resorts automatically add to your room bill. Supposedly this fee includes the gratuities for bellmen and housekeepers but when the bellman brings your bags to the room, they act like they don't receive this money and expect you to tip them again (which I usually do).

I wonder how much of this type of tip/fee collected by the business is used to pay or help pay the salaries of workers and how much of this is given to the worker in addition to their salary. I suspect in the US where there are higher standard wages it's more the former. On a ship where wages are low, it may not matter but I would like to think they would not take a portion of my autotip intended for service people like waitstaff and stewards and use it instead to partly pay the salary of cooks, dishwashers, or even engine room workers who would I assume are paid a higher hourly rate since they do not generally recieve gratuities.

[RuffinReady]

I think HAL changed the policy because there was so much complaining about it. They have gone to the Carnival policy--so I am told.
Himself

Himself,

Actually HAL is owned by Carnival, so that is hardly a suprise. Maybe the plan to unload the Prinsendam was made by the "bean-counters" at Carnival, the same ones that dictated the transfer of the Royal Princess.

Ruffin