Can someone tell me if this is true?

I have a friend who is going on Celebrity with a group of friends. One of the friends makes all the travel arrangements...he's dabbling in TA.

Anyway, this is her first cruise and the group had a meeting to finalize plans and the guy that planned the cruise said they do not have to pay gratuities and they could tip staff as they saw fit...i.e., if someone isn't deserving of a certain % tip and someone is more deserving. Anyway the guy said if they go to the ship's purser when they board, and they can have the daily gratuities removed. :confused: Is this possible?

My common sense tells me it isn't....otherwise a lot of pax could do that and say they are going to tip and then don't.

No flames please...I told her I would post the question.

The guy that's the wannabe TA is nothing but a cheapskate in training.

Just keep the gratuities as is on your account and that will auto distribute to everyone including the behind the scene personnel.

Yes you CAN do it but whyyyyyy whyyyyyyy. And I have heard many times that the crew knows who removed the tips. Why can't your friends LEAVE the daily auto tips and then supplement with MORE if they feel they've had exceptional service. Hopefully your friends aren't the type to try to scr*w the hard working crew out of their main source of income.

Also this is a done deal if they're NOT doing traditional dining, b/c then the tips are charged before the cruise. Honestly, most people THAT I KNOW (I'm not saying most people b/c I can't speak for the entire cruising universe) leave the tips in place AND add more at the end of the cruise as service warrants.

I think it's very bad advice this man is giving and I hope he doesn't ever become a real travel agent. But, yes, you can remove tips, but they don't like doing it and they ask for reasons why. I'm wondering why this man is telling people this? What's his reasoning? Does HE stiff the crew? I wouldn't listen to him.

It depends on whether you have AnyTime Dining or not. If you have ATD than your gratuities are pre-paid and you cannot remove them. If you have regular assigned dining in the MDR, you can remove the pre-paid or auto gratuities at the pursers desk and tip as you will.

I don't know if they still give you tip envelopes if you self tip. Any service or drink you purchase will have an automatic 15% added that you cannot remove. Do some people remove the gratuities and then stiff the help? I'm sure they do but the majority appreciates the service and tips accordingly.

For myself, I would rather have the auto-tips posted on my account and not have to hustle around looking for the appropriate amount at the end. If you think someone is deserving of more, you can just give it to them.

On my last cruise, I made sure I saw our cabin steward just as we were leaving so I could give him cash for the extras he did for us.

Sue

Unless you are in Select Dining where you must pay your gratuities up front, your seapass account will be deducted the appropriate amount each day. You can elect to have this stopped, but I think the crew are told. Please remember that they work very hard and they depend on our gratuities as they don't get paid very much.

So it appears that the TA was correct. Not a way I would sell though....

I have a friend who is going on Celebrity with a group of friends. One of the friends makes all the travel arrangements...he's dabbling in TA.

Anyway, this is her first cruise and the group had a meeting to finalize plans and the guy that planned the cruise said they do not have to pay gratuities and they could tip staff as they saw fit...i.e., if someone isn't deserving of a certain % tip and someone is more deserving. Anyway the guy said if they go to the ship's purser when they board, and they can have the daily gratuities removed. :confused: Is this possible?

My common sense tells me it isn't....otherwise a lot of pax could do that and say they are going to tip and then don't.

No flames please...I told her I would post the question.

Is it possible, short answer: Yes. For "convenience" the gratuity is automatically billed to your stateroom account on a daily basis, however pax can remove the auto-billing feature or adjust the amounts through the pursers desk. Gratuities are at your "discretion", however the staff on the cruise ship that receive gratuities count on that as part of their pay (just like the vast majority of the waiters and waitresses at a restaurant in the US). Reducing gratuities is literally taking money from their paycheck... and in my opinion should only be done for poor service, and only after having spoken to the appropriate supervisor and still not gotten satisfaction. I routinely leave a small amount extra and a note of thanks to recognize the services provided by the cabin steward, dining room server, and asst. server - this is not required but is always appreciated by them.

Whoever is playing at travel agent is giving them technically correct, but ethically shady advice. Based on this, I would have some concerns about other things this person might have done during the course of planning and booking this trip (e.g., did the "TA" pocket OBC or getting some other perk for being the "group organizer" that s/he casually didn't mention).

I come back to thinking that the best analogy I can think of is a person telling their colleagues to not bother paying gratuity at a restaurant to "save" the 15-20% on their bill. If you would normally tip for a meal at a restaurant (which common courtesy says you should!), you should be tipping the cabin steward and waitstaff on the cruise.

I hope this helps!

Added in edit:

I forgot that the anytime dining is billed up front. What I said applies to traditional dining.

Also, when I was on Summit last month, it was possible to get envelopes from the main desk and they also were able to break large denomination bills into smaller denominations. There are usually longer lines later in the cruise... so if you know you'll need envelopes/smaller bills it's better to take care of it mid-week.

Passengers do that and like you say they do stiff the staff. They do that in restaurants all the time.

Chances are they could be put on a black or watch for list. I worked as a dealer for a short time in a casino. Our wages mostly consisted of tips. There was a belligerent customer that was rather rude and won a nice sum playing the tables. I colored him up and he left. The pit boss had to verify the amount because he was leaving with $500 chips and they watch those very closely. After he left the pit boss asked if I recieved any tokes and I told him nothing at all. He went into the computer and erased his comps for the day. Also tagged his account.

My best friend went on a cruise with his cheap a$$ brother in law. At the end of the cruise he stiffed the staff telling my friend f em I will never see them again. They got off the ship and he couldn't find his luggage. My friend and his wife stayed with them trying to find the luggage but left as to not miss their flight home. His brother in law and wife missed their flight and never did see their luggage again. My friend said they deserved it as the crew probalby tossed it over board.

Let them do as they please. As they have to live with themselves and karma will get even with them.

The person that wants to become a TA will soon find out how it feels to get stiffed as they will end up doing a lot of work with no pay as others will have them do all of the research and then book with someone else.

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

passengers do that and like you say they do stiff the staff. They do that in restaurants all the time.

 

Chances are they could be put on a black or watch for list. I worked as a dealer for a short time in a casino. Our wages mostly consisted of tips. There was a belligerent customer that was rather rude and won a nice sum playing the tables. I colored him up and he left. The pit boss had to verify the amount because he was leaving with $500 chips and they watch those very closely. After he left the pit boss asked if i recieved any tokes and i told him nothing at all. He went into the computer and erased his comps for the day. Also tagged his account.

 

My best friend went on a cruise with his cheap a$$ brother in law. At the end of the cruise he stiffed the staff telling my friend f em i will never see them again. They got off the ship and he couldn't find his luggage. My friend and his wife stayed with them trying to find the luggage but left as to not miss their flight home. His brother in law and wife missed their flight and never did see their luggage again. My friend said they deserved it as the crew probalby tossed it over board.

 

Let them do as they please. As they have to live with themselves and karma will get even with them.

 

The person that wants to become a ta will soon find out how it feels to get stiffed as they will end up doing a lot of work with no pay as others will have them do all of the research and then book with someone else.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

great post!

I guess that shows me how much I know about cruising...actually, how little. I didn't believe that could be done. :eek:

As far as our friends, we've been on vacation with them a number of times and they never try and "stiff the staff".....if anything they over tip. We've done all inclusives together and her DH is way more than generous and the resorts we've stayed at are all inclusive and my DH tips extra as well. We leave something everyday for our housekeeping staff at the resorts and also something extra for our cabin attendants on cruises and at the end, we try to locate those who have gone above and beyond and palm them an extra "gratuity" because we think they deserve it.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I'm going to forward this to my girlfriend.

Passengers do that and like you say they do stiff the staff. They do that in restaurants all the time.

 

Chances are they could be put on a black or watch for list. I worked as a dealer for a short time in a casino. Our wages mostly consisted of tips. There was a belligerent customer that was rather rude and won a nice sum playing the tables. I colored him up and he left. The pit boss had to verify the amount because he was leaving with $500 chips and they watch those very closely. After he left the pit boss asked if I recieved any tokes and I told him nothing at all. He went into the computer and erased his comps for the day. Also tagged his account.

 

My best friend went on a cruise with his cheap a$$ brother in law. At the end of the cruise he stiffed the staff telling my friend f em I will never see them again. They got off the ship and he couldn't find his luggage. My friend and his wife stayed with them trying to find the luggage but left as to not miss their flight home. His brother in law and wife missed their flight and never did see their luggage again. My friend said they deserved it as the crew probalby tossed it over board.

 

Let them do as they please. As they have to live with themselves and karma will get even with them.

 

The person that wants to become a TA will soon find out how it feels to get stiffed as they will end up doing a lot of work with no pay as others will have them do all of the research and then book with someone else.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Additionally, a great philosopher once said, "never tick off the people who handle your food."

I guess that shows me how much I know about cruising...actually, how little. I didn't believe that could be done. :eek:

As far as our friends, we've been on vacation with them a number of times and they never try and "stiff the staff".....if anything they over tip. We've done all inclusives together and her DH is way more than generous and the resorts we've stayed at are all inclusive and my DH tips extra as well. We leave something everyday for our housekeeping staff at the resorts and also something extra for our cabin attendants on cruises and at the end, we try to locate those who have gone above and beyond and palm them an extra "gratuity" because we think they deserve it.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I'm going to forward this to my girlfriend.

Could there be a misunderstanding and the reason he said this is they got the perk of pre paid tips.

Additionally, a great philosopher once said, "never tick off the people who handle your food."

Eeeeewwwwwwwwwwww! :eek: I've heard horror stories....and I never send my steaks back if they're not quite to my liking...I've heard things about that too.

Could there be a misunderstanding and the reason he said this is they got the perk of pre paid tips.

I don't think they had any perks...at least not that I know of and I'm pretty sure it was booked before the 1,2,3 promo came out. I think the group does a cruise every year and this is the first time our friends are going...they usually don't go because of the Caribbean resort trips.

Passengers do that and like you say they do stiff the staff. They do that in restaurants all the time.

 

Chances are they could be put on a black or watch for list. I worked as a dealer for a short time in a casino. Our wages mostly consisted of tips. There was a belligerent customer that was rather rude and won a nice sum playing the tables. I colored him up and he left. The pit boss had to verify the amount because he was leaving with $500 chips and they watch those very closely. After he left the pit boss asked if I recieved any tokes and I told him nothing at all. He went into the computer and erased his comps for the day. Also tagged his account.

 

My best friend went on a cruise with his cheap a$$ brother in law. At the end of the cruise he stiffed the staff telling my friend f em I will never see them again. They got off the ship and he couldn't find his luggage. My friend and his wife stayed with them trying to find the luggage but left as to not miss their flight home. His brother in law and wife missed their flight and never did see their luggage again. My friend said they deserved it as the crew probalby tossed it over board.

 

Let them do as they please. As they have to live with themselves and karma will get even with them.

 

The person that wants to become a TA will soon find out how it feels to get stiffed as they will end up doing a lot of work with no pay as others will have them do all of the research and then book with someone else.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

What goes around comes around.

I don't think they had any perks...at least not that I know of and I'm pretty sure it was booked before the 1,2,3 promo came out. I think the group does a cruise every year and this is the first time our friends are going...they usually don't go because of the Caribbean resort trips.

How many rooms is he/she booking? Did he/she get you a group rate? Is he/she getting the group some OBC credit? These are the things that TA's do.

Eeeeewwwwwwwwwwww! :eek: I've heard horror stories....and I never send my steaks back if they're not quite to my liking...I've heard things about that too.

Actually happened to my nephew who was a state trooper, cook was arrested

Passengers do that and like you say they do stiff the staff. They do that in restaurants all the time.

 

Chances are they could be put on a black or watch for list. I worked as a dealer for a short time in a casino. Our wages mostly consisted of tips. There was a belligerent customer that was rather rude and won a nice sum playing the tables. I colored him up and he left. The pit boss had to verify the amount because he was leaving with $500 chips and they watch those very closely. After he left the pit boss asked if I recieved any tokes and I told him nothing at all. He went into the computer and erased his comps for the day. Also tagged his account.

 

My best friend went on a cruise with his cheap a$$ brother in law. At the end of the cruise he stiffed the staff telling my friend f em I will never see them again. They got off the ship and he couldn't find his luggage. My friend and his wife stayed with them trying to find the luggage but left as to not miss their flight home. His brother in law and wife missed their flight and never did see their luggage again. My friend said they deserved it as the crew probalby tossed it over board.

 

Let them do as they please. As they have to live with themselves and karma will get even with them.

 

The person that wants to become a TA will soon find out how it feels to get stiffed as they will end up doing a lot of work with no pay as others will have them do all of the research and then book with someone else.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

So you are implying that tossing the punters luggage overboard is just reward for not tipping ? As for being put on a blacklist or a watch for list ... really ?

Additionally, a great philosopher once said, "never tick off the people who handle your food."

So you are implying that tossing the punters luggage overboard is just reward for not tipping ? As for being put on a blacklist or a watch for list ... really ?

Michel has told this story before and I find it completely plausible. Perhaps I' m a little jaded because I was a Police Officer for 30 years and know what people are capable of.

Someone more senior will need to confirm/deny this, but I think that if you don't have automatic gratuity for your booking, the cash tips need to be turned in and are pooled and distributed equally amongst the appropriate crew. If you have automatic deduction gratuity in place, only then can extra cash be pocketed by the recipient.

Also, these posts weren't meant as judgement of your friends, I think the comments are intended as voicing some concerns over the "budding TA" who is coordinating the group trip. :eek:

My TA in Australia advises people that they can have all grats removed, see the Guest Relations when onboard. This is correct. As we here tend to pay (for a cruise) in excess of what US folks pay, the TA uses this as an equaliser. I am not saying this is morally right but it happens and I have spoken to cruisers who do have all grats removed on the basis of "we paid more than many for the cruise so why should we pay additional". At the end of the day, cruise staff still receive way more money than they ever could earn at home and they sign up in droves for these jobs.

I don't have any particulars about group rates or OBC. I do know originally someone in the group was worried about how they would know their gratuities would actually be given to the crew and that's how the option was brought up about going to the purser and having the gratuities removed. I have used 2 TA's for cruises and this had never been brought up as an option.

With that in mind, how does the crew actually know if they are receiving the gratuities and how would they know who is not paying?

Maybe some of the cruise lines should adopt a policy that the grats are just part of the cruise fare. I know some cruise lines do it and it works well.

I'm still wondering how and why the staff would know this. Educate me, please.

On my last and future cruise, I do anytime dining and I actually had to pre-pay for my gratuities and now I have to wait for that credit to be applied, since I have all 3 perks for the 1,2,3 promo.

After discussions at a CC meet, where more experienced cruisers than I explained how the tip pool actually works (it is nothing like I thought it was) I arranged to do this last week on Solstice, and it was very easy to have the gratuities removed from my account. On the second to last day I just went to Guest Relations and asked for this to be done (they advertised it in Celebrity today: 5pm on the 2nd to last day was the deadline) and asked for a handful of vale envelopes. I didn't have to sign anything, no one asked any questions - it was not a drama at all. The next day, the total had been removed from my onboard account. Guest Relations was also happy to change my large denomination notes into smaller ones. I ended up spending about twice what the onboard tip total was, directing tips to my stateroom attendants and my servers in Blu who had done so much to make my trip memorable. As I tipped along the way to room service and bar staff, and because of the way the tip pool really works in relation to behind the scenes staff, I thought this was a good way to go.