HappyInVan

This individual was insubordinate. Normally, I wouldn't react to the mistakes made by a new recruit. But, this was an older man. I presume that he was one of the substandard workers left behind on HAL. He certainly stood at attention as I walked by. He was not my steward on that trip. No, I suspect that all the mass lines are pretty much the same. But, HAL is the only mass line that I am familiar with. IMHO, the so-called gratuity should be replaced by a wage increase throughout the industry. With guests tipping only for extra services. However, I wonder if the luxury lines compensate their hotel staff better. Certainly, the luxury ships have a more professional clientele and expect a higher standard from their crew.

I think that he's making a good point. People who are paid well enough don't expect gratuities; only gratitude. The use of tipping will inevitably be fraught with complications and misunderstanding in a multicultural context. This is the choice made by HAL. The problem from the pax POV is that the company is pointing the finger at pax. "They have the responsibility for topping up your pay!!!" So, it is inevitable that the staff expects more compensation from the pax when the company squeezes them. Actually, it is the company (not the pax) demanding that they do more work. So, the company should make them whole. Not a surprise that the more experienced and better crew will migrate away from CCL. The company will have to rehire new recruits and train them. Or, retain substandard employees. No freebies here. Impossible to hide the deficiencies. Why are companies reluctant to offer a suitable wage? HR has the propensity to try to under-rate a job. Offering minimal wage, when a skilled rate is needed. It looks better on the pro forma. The bosses can boast that costs are under control. The promises do suck in a lot of recruits from poor countries. Then, they discover what the job really means. Heck! If the company won't pay them enough, they'll try to squeeze more out of pax. I think that many of us have experienced this situation. The moral of the story is that you get what you paid for. Some pax are comfortable with McDonalds. Its within their budget. But, HAL could be a lot better. By the way, have you noticed that CCL is still trading at $15 while stock indices are at records.

AFAIK, the lowest tax rate in Indonesia is 5%. Will it make a great difference to your steward? Doesn't cash always work best in the service industry? It may be imposed by the majority of cruise lines, and there are significant numbers who choose to withhold and distribute. As long as it can be withheld, it remains within the pax's discretion. It would be different if it was a mandatory service charge. But, that would be included in the cruise fare, and compared with the companies who don't have a service charge. No, HAL is very skilled at mind games. Pax are made to feel responsible for the company's duty to pay a fair wage. How can any pax deny the gratuity to those poor hard working people? In addition, there is the implied threat that pax will appear on a blacklist to be punished by the crew!!! I know that pax enjoy great value on HAL. They can't eat at home for what they paid as cruise fare!!!! Well, I would suggest that these pax should top up the crew's pool to the value that they received. Think of the poor families back in Indonesia etc. FYI, Ponant and MSC YC have been able to rise their prices. Explora is pricing itself like the old Crystal. This year, I will be sailing on all three. I've had enough of McDonalds. I'll let you sort it out with the crew.

Sorry! From the management POV, the company is responsible for hiring, training, motivating and retaining. Employees should look to the company with which they have a contract. Companies need funds from customers. Its management's responsibility to offer the right services and build the right capacity/quality that makes the company profitable. As a pax, I expect HAL to make things work. I don't go after some 18-year old from Jakarta. Nor am I personally responsible for topping up his wages. I do give extra when I am pleased; and give some when nothing has gone wrong.

Quite so. Customers are made responsible for employee compensation. Actually, its a contract between company and staff. The problem is that companies aren't able to raise the cruise fare. The industry had been over-enthusiastic before covid. Now, there's still over-capacity. Prices at many brands are low after adjustment for inflation. The obvious solution is for the industry to retire/sell older ships, strengthen cruise prices, and rebuild quality. For HAL, that means better wages and/or fewer hours for the hotel staff.

That's very generous. I'll follow your example, if the employee performs well. Glad to hear that HAL will allow staff to keep their tips. Makes no sense for staff to hand their tips back into the pool. The tips are a personal gift from pax to server. The choice made by the giver. Some are rightly concerned that the total compensation received by the crew will be less if we withhold the gratuity. Well, it won't be if HAL makes up the difference and we donate the full amount to deserving employees. I'm just surprised that there's so much controversy on the issue. Ultimately, the reason for giving is a personal matter. I can't walk in your shoes, and vice versa.

HR practices is familiar to many people here on this forum. So, very briefly, there are two areas of concern regarding remuneration and staffing. Assured wages must be high enough to recruit enough people of sufficient quality to crew your ship. Our sailors need an assured income to send home to their families. Should all pax refuse to pay the gratuity imposed by HAL, the employees would re-negotiate. Already, HAL has undertaken to meet a minimal wage. There is no reason why HAL can't pay all of their wages, and include the cost in the cruise fare as a mandatory service charge. This shouldn't be a problem for those already committed to pay the gratuity. The other concern is motivation. The ship can censure and terminate unsatisfactory performance. It also needs to positively motivate hotel staff to be at their best. Yes, HAL's gratuity can be withheld. It is not a mandatory service charge as imposed in the bar and on your laundry etc. The ship informs its hotel staff about pax who withhold gratuities. So, they get feedback about their performance depending on whether they did or did not get a tip. This can be an important training tool. We do praise employees in our post-cruise survey. Do they receive a monetary award from HAL? Or, would our service heroes prefer something more tangible from their clients? There was a comment from someone that staff prefer gratuities to wages because of the differences in tax rates! AFAIK, sailors are taxed by their places of residence. Income tax rates can be high (Scandinavia) or low (as low as 5% in Indonesia). Each jurisdiction has different regulations about the treatment of wages versus gratuity. Cash is always best. 😉

HAL should return to the previous practice of paying real wages, rather than using a pseudo gratuity. You can be sure that HAL will be raising the gratuities per day.

Quite so. According to the Lonely Planet guide to Rome, Romans aren't big tippers. The Service charge (servizo) is often included. Leave just a euro or two at pizzeria and 5-10% in smart restaurants. In the end, the quality of service you receive will depend on the service level of the establishment and the motivation of the staff. In the industry, HAL is respected for its service level. Is a McDonalds level of service acceptable to you? As you pointed out, its HAL's responsibility to ensure that the crew have a minimum wage. They have to top up. My responsibility as a pax is to provide feedback to the staff. Good, or no go. I have provided critical ratings on a room steward. On the next cruise, he was almost tearful as I embarked. There are consequences if we merely use the post-cruise survey to provide feedback.

Why should I keep the automatic gratuity in place if I don't feel gratitude? How many here will add an additional tip to deserving staff on top of the automatic service charge? Why make the gratuity withdrawable if we don't exercise the option? What's wrong if quality rises as fares rises? In the end, service is a personal experience. Between the server and patron.

Actually, in Europe, the restaurant staff expect you to leave 20% etc. There are consequences if you under-tip and return to restaurant. Over there, the restaurant staff are able to live on their total compensation, with whatever pooling system they use. On land, always follow the local custom. Though I tend to over-tip. For the first time, I'll be with-holding the automatic tip on HAL. And distributing the amount to the staff that pleases me. It can be the dining room, or the room service. Or, none if its that kind of experience. We face the dilemma because HAL is asking pax to pay the staff via this pseudo 'tip'. It would be better for the company to charge a higher fare, and pay a higher wage. That way, the pax has the incentive to reward exceptional workers.

I leave the cash discretely in an envelop. That's how its done in European hotels. It's up to the employee to declare the amount. Shame on HAL if they force staff to work 10 hours a day. Every day of the week. And, take their appreciation tips away. Where is the incentive to perform above the minimum?? 🙄

Cash works best! No? I would encourage others to do the same. It was better when the company paid decent wages and for decent hours. 😒

I'm in agreement. I've had enough. Recently, I've been critical in the post-cruise evaluation. Yes, the hotel staff have been squeezed and they are unhappy. But, they must take their issues to management. Don't take it out on the guests. In the end, I must signal my dissatisfaction by withdrawing funds to the crew and the company. Naturally, I will generously tip the staff members that I do appreciate.

Who sent the email? 1) Direct from Holland America? Have you ever sailed with HAL? 2) From a travel site you use? 3) From a site that you have never heard of?

Please let me know if anyone is cancelling a Neptune suite!!!! 😁

That's interesting. Why would I pay big bucks for a suite when I could try for standby? That must be why my next HAL cruise is for a partial ocean view, after suites on three 2023 cruises . Well done HAL! 🤩

Any ship in the Red Sea is a sitting duck. That body of water is just 200 miles at its widest. Narrows dramatically near the southern entrance. Even individual warships are vulnerable. The problem is that naval vessels are designed for combat against other warships. The vessels would have similar advantages (mobility) and limitations (ammo and fuel). Against a land adversary, the dynamic change dramatically. The Houlti/Iranians could have 50 or a 100 drones/missiles within range. A mass attack with a clever tactical plan would be dangerous for a lone USS. In any case, an aerial attack isn't the only danger in the region. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/gunmen-hostages-us-companys-turkish-173423446.html

CCL is rerouting 12 ships (7 brands) away from the Red Sea. https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-plc-provides-update-strong-bookings

Sensible to totally avoid the entire region since no one knows how far it could escalate. The underlying issues are complex and complicated. There are no easy solutions, and no quick fixes. I'm hoping that this is not the prologue to WW3. The stars are in alignment.

That's for sure. From all their recent belligerence, I have to conclude that Iran has nukes. Just waiting to be attacked by a nuclear armed country, in order to roll it out. After that, anything is possible. https://apnews.com/article/iran-satellite-launch-mideast-tensions-israel-palestinians-gaza-b2d8d654c24cf588acaa8228229a0415 Do note that Canadians need an ETA for Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania etc. Lot more work than sailing via Middle East and Mediterranean! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Canadian_citizens What about Americans??

I have to agree. That's why I'm exploring MSC and its Yacht Club. Can it be any worse than an HAL Pinnacle ship?

OMG! Never thought I see the day when Carnival etc can charge more than HAL! IMO, HAL management needs to get on the ball. Not a surprise that people are perceiving that HAL is a boring version of Carnival, rather than a upmarket alternative to Carnival.

Actually, the regular prices for MSC and RCI inside cabins must be close to $49pp. You wouldn't have to live near FLL or wait for August! Indeed, you would have more fun and adventure! Wheez!!! 😃

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I had a nice Vista suite on the Volendam. The roof panels rattled heavily for a day and night on an Alaska cruise. Stopped once we reached sheltered waters. It would be extremely unacceptable for a TA or TP itinerary. Then, there's the hot water problem I had in a Noordam Signature suite. Completely unacceptable for the price that HAL is trying to charge. For the same $ per day, I have booked a veranda in MSC's Yacht Club.