Tipping on HAL

[trbushong]

On the other cruise lines I have been on, they have tipping guidlines that you must follow. I cannot find any information about tipping on their site. The only thing I have found is the Hotel Service charge of $10.00/day per person. Is this the tipping fee or is this additional to any tipping? Thanks for the info. We have only sailed on RC, so I could use the help.

Thanks

[jtl513]

On the other cruise lines I have been on, they have tipping guidlines that you must follow. I cannot find any information about tipping on their site. The only thing I have found is the Hotel Service charge of $10.00/day per person. Is this the tipping fee or is this additional to any tipping? Thanks for the info. We have only sailed on RC, so I could use the help.

ThanksWelcome to the HAL forum! :)

Up until a few months ago HAL referred to the $10/p/day as a Gratuity. A few CDs have said the $10 is divided this way: $3.50 to your cabin steward, $3.50 to your dining room steward, and $3.00 to be put into a pool that is divided among all the other service and support staff ... that is, excluding officers and the maintenance and operating crew. I know from our recent RCI cruise that RCI does suggest (and you don't have to follow) that the d.r. assistant steward be given $2/p/d and the Head waiter $0.75/p/d, but HAL doesn't designate any specific part of the $10 for them.

We (and many other posters) give out additional cash tips where due for superior service. There have been many, many threads on the subject of tipping here, and if you do a search you will find threads with all opinions voiced! HERE (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=547323) is one recent one to get you started.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It is called auto tipping. Everything is correct above. We have never removed the auto tip. But do tip extra at the end of the cruise to those individuals who have made our cruise an enjoyable one.

[sab490]

I know this has been said before, but I strongly believe it should be pointed out in every tipping thread. If you opt out of the automatic tip, then any cash tip you give to any crew member will be turned over to HAL and put into the tip pool, thus penalizing the person you want to reward. If you really want to reward those who provide exceptional service, do not opt out of autotip. Then any extra tip you give may be kept by the crew member.

- Steve

[noblepa]

I know this has been said before, but I strongly believe it should be pointed out in every tipping thread. If you opt out of the automatic tip, then any cash tip you give to any crew member will be turned over to HAL and put into the tip pool, thus penalizing the person you want to reward. If you really want to reward those who provide exceptional service, do not opt out of autotip. Then any extra tip you give may be kept by the crew member.

- Steve

In addition, it is my understanding that, if you remove or reduce the auto-tip, the affected staff member must explain to his/her supervisor why a passenger was so dissatisfied. So, even if you give the person the same amount in cash, he/she not only has to turn it into the pool, but they get called on the carpet.

I don't try to get around the system. I just leave the auto-tip in place and "sweeten the pot" a little for those who have given great service.

[jtl513]

If you opt out of the automatic tip, then any cash tip you give to any crew member will be turned over to HAL and put into the tip pool, thus penalizing the person you want to reward. If you really want to reward those who provide exceptional service, do not opt out of autotip. Then any extra tip you give may be kept by the crew member.
And it has also been stated on this forum, by people seem to be present or past HAL employees, that even if you DO leave the auto-tip in place, any cash handed out STILL is expected to be turned into the pool! I don't know if that's true, or how many stewards do it if it is true ... and I don't much care. That's their business. I expect even if they do have to turn it in they get some sort of "credits" or benefits (extra time off) for doing so.

Maybe it's all a Master Plan to keep us all confused about what really happens!

[kryos]

I don't try to get around the system. I just leave the auto-tip in place and "sweeten the pot" a little for those who have given great service.
Exactly. And, if no one really went above and beyond for you ... but merely provided "adequate" service ... then don't hesitate to let the auto-tip be their reward, and nothing else.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

Maybe it's all a Master Plan to keep us all confused about what really happens!

I've given up worrying about this. I've been told both ways by people onboard. As far as I'm concerned, when I reward my cabin steward or my waiters or a bar server with a little something extra at the end of the cruise, I feel like I've done what I should do ... and I don't worry about where that money ends up. Sure, I hope they get to keep it, but then they have to follow the shipboard rules too ... so if they have to turn it in, I just hope they are recognized by their superiors for a job well done.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Odd Ball]

And it has also been stated on this forum, by people seem to be present or past HAL employees, that even if you DO leave the auto-tip in place, any cash handed out STILL is expected to be turned into the pool! I don't know if that's true, or how many stewards do it if it is true ... and I don't much care. That's their business. I expect even if they do have to turn it in they get some sort of "credits" or benefits (extra time off) for doing so.

Maybe it's all a Master Plan to keep us all confused about what really happens!

I have never read this before. Where did you read it ? Please point me to it. :confused:
All I ever saw was they could keep the extra money if the 10.00 was left in place.

[mamaofami]

I've never seen that either. In fact, I believe I read that it's ok for them to keep the extra tip if you haven't opted out of the auto tip.

[serendipity1499]

I have never read this before. Where did you read it ? Please point me to it. :confused:
All I ever saw was they could keep the extra money if the 10.00 was left in place.


Mamofami Quote I've never seen that either. In fact, I believe I read that it's ok for them to keep the extra tip if you haven't opted out of the auto tip.Unquote

You are both correct & your statements jibe with what we have been told on every cruise..

It is not in writing but on all of our HAL cruises we have been told by the CD during the disembarkation talk that:

If you do not leave the auto tip in place the crew member must put the extra tip you give him into the pool...But if you leave the auto tip in place, they are permitted to keep the extra monies which you give them for outstanding service..

However, it has been pointed out by several Crew Members who frequent this board, that on some ships the Crew themselves had voted & volunteered to put any extra tips they make into the pool to be divided equally even when you leave the auto-tip in place...But this is completely up to each crew member..

When we give extra tips for outstanding service in addition to the auto-tip, we don't question what the crew member does with it..That's his/her business!

:) Betty

[Chivalrygirl]

OK then everyone, we are coming up to the States in 3 months time, I hate your tipping system but when in Rome! So now who are we expected to tip?

We arrive in SFO and layover for about 3 1/2 hours before boarding flight to DC, maybe purchase a coffee?
We then join United and I guess we might be served by a steward in flight?
Hopefully our son will meet and greet us and we will manage our own baggage>
Out and about in DC, everytime we purchase a coffee? or buy a magazine etc?
We join Amtrak for New Jersey and stay in a hotel ? Who and what? Son will drive us back to DC.
We join Amtrak for NY and stay in hotel, we join ship for New England/Canada cruise for 4 nights?????? (Remeber our US dollars have been purchased with NZD, at a real high premium (our buying power down here is similar to yours), we are down a huge amount of $and cents already!
So during all this ramble who the hell should we tip and not tip and how much do we offer all these humbled critters?
Val

[peaches from georgia]

What's a "humbled critter"?

[jtl513]

I have never read this before. Where did you read it ? Please point me to it. :confused:
All I ever saw was they could keep the extra money if the 10.00 was left in place.

I've never seen that either. In fact, I believe I read that it's ok for them to keep the extra tip if you haven't opted out of the auto tip.

Here's a few quotes from a thread called Hal's Tipping Policy (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=420966):

bepsf/Brian in post #29 said:

Auto-tips are the cruiselines way of getting away from these abuses as much as possible by making sure that everyone is "tipped" in a more even-handed manner. *BTW - Contrary to popular belief, All cash tips go into the Auto-tip system and are disbersed the same way - in exchange, the Crew Member turning over the cash tip gets additional credits from the Crew Member's fund plus additional recognition from management.

I understood from a well-known HAL staff-person that, contrary to what we thought,* all additional tips went into the group-till. *I was surprised (a little horrified?) too, but it makes sense to me now since it eliminates the distinction between cash from pax who eliminated Auto-Tip and those who didn't.


A few posts further down (#32) Jim Gallup, who works on a cruise ship but I think no longer on a HAL ship, said:

Brian is actually correct - for most cases.

Although all the mass market cruise lines with auto tipping have the same policy (additional cash tips belong to the crewmember who receives them), most of the time the crew in each department vote to donate additional cash tips to the pool. This is strictly their choice. The cruise line has nothing to say about it.

People who do not work on ships simply do not understand how strong the Team Concept is on a ship. We succeed or fail as a group - always.

But we do very clearly understand that if the passengers think that additional tips to their favorite steward will be split amongst several other people, those tips will either diminish or not happen at all.
So you will be hard pressed to find a steward who will admit that the additional money you give him will find it's way into other pockets as well.

Further on (post #37) kryos/Rita said:

The standard "line" they hand passengers at those talks is that anything above and beyond the auto-tip can be kept by the individual you give it to. But, I am sure that's just done to encourage passengers to tip more. After all, if you knew that the extra $50 bucks you gave your cabin steward was only going to go into the pool for everyone to share, would you necessarily bother to give it to him? Wouldn't you just let the $10 auto-tip be sufficient?

So, of course, they tell passengers that line. After all, the more people tip extra, the more everyone gets at the end of the week, right? So it's even in your cabin steward or waiter's best interests to tell passengers that.


Finally, in post #39 Jim Gallup again said:

Well, you all sorta kinda got it right - but not quite.

All of the Auto-tip Mass Market Lines have the same OFFICIAL policy:
Yes, the crew is allowed to keep anything above the auto-tip.e It's their money to do with what they want. When the Cruise Director tells you that story, it's true.

Yes, every morning the Purser sends via email to all Department Heads a list of cabins that have adjusted their auto-tip. Contrary to popular belief, this list is a very short one. On a typical 7-day cruise, there might be a total of 20 or 30 cabins for the entire cruise on that list. And several of those cabins choose to increase rather than decrease the auto-tip. So the book-keeping is not very complicated. As soon as the list is received each day by department heads, they inform the stewards involved.

Most - but not all - departments on most - but not all - mass market ships vote to decide what to do with any additional tips they receive. This is strictly up to the crew. It's their money. The cruise line has nothing to do with it. In many - but not all - cases they vote to put the additional tips in the pool. This is strictly an honor system. And I am proud to say that it works very well nearly all of the time. Again, we work as a team. We succeed or fail as a team. This concept doesn't seem to play very well with Americans, so it is generally better not to tell them about it.

Finally, once again. No matter how many threads you read it on, or stewards you hear it from: Most stewards who work on ships are pretty intelligent people. They know just what works to pull those heart strings - or even better, those strings attached to youir wallet. They learned many moons ago that most passengers who tip additional money want to be sure that the money goes to their favorite steward - and nobody else. So if that is what you want to hear, they are going to make sure that you hear it.

[jtl513]

However, it has been pointed out by several Crew Members who frequent this board, that on some ships the Crew themselves had voted & volunteered to put any extra tips they make into the pool to be divided equally even when you leave the auto-tip in place...But this is completely up to each crew.

Sorry serendipity/Betty - I spent so much time putting togther my long post I didn't see that you had already backed me up. :D

[sab490]

Sorry folks but this is way too much information for me. I would rather live with my ignorance. All I know, and all I really care about is that when I give that crew member an extra $20, he or she understands that I appreciate the extra effort they extended. Whether they keep it or pool it is frankly none of my business. And when I see that crew member on my next cruise, you can bet they will remember my gesture regardless of whose pocket it ended up in.

- Steve

[Chivalrygirl]

Thats a big start and a help to us. Thanks for all that. From now on in while on a so called American ship, we will adjust the gratuity to $NZ10 a day and that will be it. Will put the rest towards the air fares :D

I do know for a fact however from a very close friend from the Phillipines who has worked recently on HAL that they only get 10% of the 15% gratuity that is added to the booze tab :confused:

[O2B@C]

OK then everyone, we are coming up to the States in 3 months time, I hate your tipping system but when in Rome! So now who are we expected to tip?

We arrive in SFO and layover for about 3 1/2 hours before boarding flight to DC, maybe purchase a coffee? We then join United and I guess we might be served by a steward in flight? Hopefully our son will meet and greet us and we will manage our own baggage. Out and about in DC, everytime we purchase a coffee? or buy a magazine etc? We join Amtrak for New Jersey and stay in a hotel? Who and what? Son will drive us back to DC. We join Amtrak for NY and stay in hotel, we join ship for New England/Canada cruise for 4 nights?????? (Remeber our US dollars have been purchased with NZD, at a real high premium (our buying power down here is similar to yours), we are down a huge amount of $and cents already!

So during all this ramble who the hell should we tip and not tip and how much do we offer all these humbled critters?
Val

Welcome to Rome. Sorry about the difference in customs, but we appreciate your understanding. Unfortunately, pay rates here are premised on the idea that people will be tipped, so it's not fair to them not to comply. Here are the "rules" as best I know - others may correct me.

People who serve you food or drink at a table (except airline flight attendants) are usually given 15 to 20 percent, depending on quality and elaborateness of service. If you order a simple cup of coffee or a pastry or pre-packaged food from a walk-up counter, and there's a tip jar on display, put in a nominal tip (50 cents or so). If it's something more elaborate (e.g., espresso or latte, or a custom-made sandwich), the 15 to 20 percent applies. Room service waiters in hotels usually get between $2 and $5 depending on the size of the order.

People who sell you things other than food or drink prepared on the premises normally are not tipped.

Taxi drivers get about 15 percent in most cities, plus $1 per bag or so extra if they handle heavy baggage. Porters, hotel baggage handlers, and curbside baggage checkers at airports get $1 or $2 per bag depending on size of bag and distance carried. Valet parking attendants usually get $1 or $2 when they return your car (nothing when they take it away).

Flight attendants and other airline employees do not normally receive any gratuity. I don't really know about railroad employees other than porters.

Hotel doorkeepers get $1 or $2 for calling you a cab or helping with bags, but not for just opening the door. Hotel desk clerks do not get tipped. Housekeepers in hotels should be tipped, though I don't think everyone observes this. I leave between $3 and $7 per night, depending on the number of people in the room and the amount of service rendered (e.g., is it just the once-daily cleanup or is there turn-down service at night; did you leave the room exceptionally messy; etc.).

Hairdressers, manicurists, and spa attendants do get tipped. Rates vary; you can quietly ask a fellow patron what they normally do.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

[Gonzo70]

Every now and then I like to slip a small tip to the grocery store bagger. You get some very perplexed looks.

[Spinner2]

On our March 2007 Noordam trip our assigned dining room steward was taken ill on the second day; he was off work for at least the rest of our 11-day cruise and we understood he'd probably miss another week of work in the following cruise. We asked about adding to our autotip a sum for him, in addition to the extra we gave to our ass't steward who took over the steward's work, and were told that the crew is "family" and that the crew would see to it that the ill crewmember would be covered; that there was no need to do something extra for him. I would assume from those statements that probably the extra tips over the autotip were pooled, at least to some extent. I think this is a difficult topic to discuss with the stewards; they seem uneasy discussing money, as I certainly would be in those circumstances. So, we think of the extra money as a tangible sign of our extreme satisfaction with how well we have been served and we back it up with individual notes about each staffperson we're in regular contact with. What is done with the money is their concern; once a gift is given to anyone, it's should be out of the giver's concern what recipient chooses to do with it.

[serendipity1499]

Sorry serendipity/Betty - I spent so much time putting togther my long post I didn't see that you had already backed me up. :D


JTL...Thanks & no need to apologize..Remembered that I had read the same thing sometime last year..Unfortunately, can't access anything beyond 3 months since that was what is indicated in my profile..Guess I should rethink the 3 month bit in order to find posts from other years...

Your post only bears out what I remembered & really appreciate that you took the time to look it up & put it all together..

None of us really knows what is done by each ships crew & as I mentioned before, really don't care..If someone has gone above & beyond we tip them extra while keeping the auto-tip in place....What they do with their extra tips is no concern of ours!

Chivalrygirl...I know & understand your custom of not tipping.. There are many other countries in this world (ie Japan) that does not expect or even accept tipping..When I'm in those countries I respect the policy..

However in the U.S. tips do make up quite a bit of our Service Peoples salaries..Even though we have a minimum wage, Waiters are expected to meet that minimum wage with salary plus tips..

Therefore if I owned a Restaurant in Florida & many other places in the U.S., I would only have to pay a waiter approx $2.50 per hour as they are expected to make up to the minimum wage of $5.00 plus in tips per hour...If however they did not make minimum wage in salary plus tips I would have to augment their salary accordingly..

Cheers Everyone:) Betty

[Opinions]

The HAL web site does not call it a "auto-tip"...It is now a "Hotel Service Charge"...Perhaps we will soon have a Recommended Gratuity guideline.

[Palms2Pines2Sea]

We have just returned from the Prinsendam Transatlantic, where we were assured by management that any additional gratuity (above and beyond the $10 per person per day "hotel service charge" - that's how it will apear on your account) given to a crew member would be his/hers to keep. I'm not convinced that HAL officers and management would indulge in dispensing false information because they want to pull our heart strings...
Tipping aside, I think the crew receives recognition that is more valuable to their tenure with HAL by the comments that we write in our surveys at the end of our trips. While I enjoy giving some extra dollars to those who have had a hand in providing us with a memorable holiday, I'm especially hopeful that praise shared with the Hotel Manager and his associates will give some long lasting opportunities to those crew who might be trying to work their way up!

[jer_l]

However in the U.S. tips do make up quite a bit of our Service Peoples salaries..Even though we have a minimum wage, Waiters are expected to meet that minimum wage with salary plus tips..

Therefore if I owned a Restaurant in Florida & many other places in the U.S., I would only have to pay a waiter approx $2.50 per hour as they are expected to make up to the minimum wage of $5.00 plus in tips per hour...If however they did not make minimum wage in salary plus tips I would have to augment their salary accordingly..

Cheers Everyone:) Betty
While this is true in many states, in California everyone is to be paid at least minimum wage ($7.50/hour) plus their tips.

Jerry

[Mary Ellen]

OK then everyone, we are coming up to the States in 3 months time, I hate your tipping system but when in Rome! So now who are we expected to tip?

We arrive in SFO and layover for about 3 1/2 hours before boarding flight to DC, maybe purchase a coffee?
We then join United and I guess we might be served by a steward in flight?
Hopefully our son will meet and greet us and we will manage our own baggage>
Out and about in DC, everytime we purchase a coffee? or buy a magazine etc?
We join Amtrak for New Jersey and stay in a hotel ? Who and what? Son will drive us back to DC.
We join Amtrak for NY and stay in hotel, we join ship for New England/Canada cruise for 4 nights?????? (Remeber our US dollars have been purchased with NZD, at a real high premium (our buying power down here is similar to yours), we are down a huge amount of $and cents already!
So during all this ramble who the hell should we tip and not tip and how much do we offer all these humbled critters?
ValI'm guessing we were out of line by reading guide books and politely complying with local customs while we were in NZ (and the large island to the west ;) ) - even though we felt uncomfortable by doing so?? The on-board tip/service charge is USD$10pp/day.

[serendipity1499]

While this is true in many states, in California everyone is to be paid at least minimum wage ($7.50/hour) plus their tips. Jerry

Yes Jerry, realize you are correct & that's why Waiters & Waitresses make so much more in California than in Florida & many other states in the East..California does not adhere to the Federal Min Wage law & it's great..

Actually here in Florida the Min. wage is now $6.67..Employers are permitted to deduct $3.02 from a Waitresses salary because they make tips..The restaurants here only have to pay the server $3.65 an hour becauuse it's assimed that he/she will make it up in tips...That's one reason why we always leave at least a 20% tip when dining out...

I actually learned this from my Granddaughter who was Waitressing while in college..When we took them all out to lunch, she was surprised, when we left a 20% tip in a Restaurant...She told us that she often had tables with families of 8 or more & for a $125.00 bill they would leave only $8.00 -$10.00...I was astounded & looked into the labor law here.. I've been told it also goes on in New York, but can't verify that..

Cheers..Betty

[jtl513]

I was astounded & looked into the labor law here.. I've been told it also goes on in New York, but can't verify that... I don't know what happens now, but it wasn't very many years ago that waiters in some top NYC restaurants were not only paid nothing, they had to pay the restaurant to get the position, and have to continue to pay the restaurant kickbacks to keep the job. :eek:

[scamper]

First, let me state that I was a waiter for several years.

Second, I have a big gripe about the lines adding a gratuity to everyone's shipboard account to suppliment the salaries of those individuals who are "support" staff. IMO it is the line's responsibility to pay the wages/salaries of the "behind the scenes" personnel. To me, having to suppliment the wages these individuals ranks up there with me as a waiter being required to tip the dishwasher because the dishwasher doesn't make as much money as I do as a waiter. Baloney! If he wants to make more money, let him become a waiter! Likewise, if the laundryman wants to make more money, he should become a room steward.

Truthfully, I have never tipped my cabin steward or waiter less than $50.00 each for a seven night cruise, and I have often tipped more. These people, regardless of where they come from, work without a day off for months at a time. And even when their feet, backs, and shoulders hurt like the dickens they do it with a smile on their faces and a friendly word. I would be ashamed to give less! $3.00 a day!?! Don't make me laugh! If I spent $50.00 on a comparable meal with comparable service in a restaurant and left $3.00, the waiter would have every right to laugh in my face and hand it (throw it?) back to me.

If the cabin steward or waiter chooses to add my tips to a pool, more power to them. Once I hand it to them it's their's to do as they choose. However, I would be furious if I learned that they were forced to add this money to "the pool."

[serendipity1499]

I don't know what happens now, but it wasn't very many years ago that waiters in some top NYC restaurants were not only paid nothing, they had to pay the restaurant to get the position, and have to continue to pay the restaurant kickbacks to keep the job. :eek:

Agree...Had so many friends in the Airline business who supplemented their low wages by waiting tables.. Many of them had to give a portion of their tips to the Restaurant Manager/Owner, MATRE d' & others working with them...;) When I first started in the Airline's & only made pittance, I supplemented my income so I could take advantage of those free passes to Europe...Was a hat-check girl, on my weekends off , at a very exclusive L.I. Restaurant.. (exclusive because George Washington slept there...LOL) Had to give the MATRE d' 50% of my tips as a kickback..:) But knew that when I took the job & considered myself lucky to have that extra amount to spend... Made a bundle of $$$ & enjoyed my trips to Europe..:)

Betty

P.S. JTL, Agree all of N. Y. State & New England had the best drinking water- not like our Fla. Water.. LOL

[Tricia724]

I think I can understand why the stewards would agree to pool their tips. As individuals, they could have good weeks and bad weeks.....we all know how that goes. Some cruises they have pleasant, generous passengers, and others they have people that no one could please, and they work their butts off and get little in return.

By pooling, they get a more or less consistent income.....if someone is having a bad week maybe another pool buddy is having a good week.....and vice versa. And, as another poster has noted, if someone has to take off because of illness, they don't lose out. The only downside to this system is if someone isn't honest or doesn't pull his/her weight. The rest of the group would probably get that person's number fast.

I don't think the cruiselines are being dishonest when they state that the crew members are entitled to keep any additional tips they receive when the autotip is left in place. If individuals elect to pool their tips, then that is their choice, and from all we've heard, it is their choice. We really haven't heard that the cruiseline requires or pressures them to pool tips.

We give tips to the individuals who we feel have earned them.....what they do with the money is their business.

[Jemima]

OP asked it the $10 per person is the gratuity. Yes, it is. There is no requirement to tip more. You may if you wish. My guess is that most passengers do not tip extra. I very tactfully brought up the subject to a few passengers I'd gotten to know well and found that they saw no reason to tip extra. My observation on the last several cruises has been that there is little extra tipping.

[jtl513]

We have just returned from the Prinsendam Transatlantic, where we were assured by management that any additional gratuity (above and beyond the $10 per person per day "hotel service charge" - that's how it will apear on your account) given to a crew member would be his/hers to keep. I'm not convinced that HAL officers and management would indulge in dispensing false information because they want to pull our heart strings...!No, management is not giving out any false information when they tell you that. But as Jim Gallup explained in my long post #14 above, on MOST ships the stewards themselves VOTE to pool their cash tips, totally independent of management's control or concern.