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WeeCountyMan
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Never sailed on Celebrity.

 

Can you pre-pay tips ahead of sailing - as Princess allow ?

 

Can you opt out of the daily gratuities on joining the ship and give to staff direct on leaving ?

 

You can pre-pay your gratuities ahead of time - either online on their website (easy) or by calling them directly.

 

Opting out of your daily gratuities is frowned upon. It will mean that some people who would share in those gratuities will never see them.

 

If you give to staff upon leaving, how will you get it to all the servers in all the places you have eaten, or the folks who are not necessarily around on your last day? Cabin stewards, assistants, back-of-the-house folks, etc.

 

If you want to give extra for excellent service, you can always do that on your last day.

 

But please don't opt-out - it isn't fair to the folks who have provided good service to you during your cruise.

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Yes you can prepay tips.

 

You can opt out but it is not recommended that you do so, when you opt out, the staff must turm over any cash tips they receive into the pool, this negating any advantage to them. Also it is seen as a derogatory move when you opt out, with the supervisors interpreting this as a black mark against your servers. Finally, it is nearly impossible to get to everyone who would be sharing in your tips if you just ledt them auto-tip in place, all the waiters, the assistants, the servers in in the Mast Grill, the Aqua Spa Cafe, the Oceanview Cafe. How could you possibly determine how mch to give each, and why would you want to fuss with all that cash and bother? The auto-tips take care of that for you.

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Never sailed on Celebrity.

 

Can you pre-pay tips ahead of sailing - as Princess allow ?

 

Can you opt out of the daily gratuities on joining the ship and give to staff direct on leaving ?

1) Yes, if you do the anytime dining they would be pre paid.

2) DO NOT opt out of the gratuity!!! When I hear pax doing that, many are just "sticking" back in their pocket, a dastardly thing to do!! If you pay only the staff who service you, the others you don't see staff prepping your food etc. can get cheated out of their portion. On top of that the staff you tipped then have to turn that money into the pool so everyone involved gets their share. Just leave the tip alone! If you feel your waiter/attendant did an excellent job, you may tip them extra in cash at the end of the trip(your last night)This cash over & above the auto tip IS for them to keep.

Edited by keithm
grammar
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Just a heads up about the gratuities and select dining, they are no longer prepaid with the select dining option. Discovered that on our cruise earlier this summer and the OBC was debited each day the amount of the gratuity. Was told by customer relations that was the preference of the cruiseres. We now pre-pay our gratuities. We also give extra to those who have given us exceptional service.

 

 

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Just a heads up about the gratuities and select dining, they are no longer prepaid with the select dining option. Discovered that on our cruise earlier this summer and the OBC was debited each day the amount of the gratuity. Was told by customer relations that was the preference of the cruiseres. We now pre-pay our gratuities. We also give extra to those who have given us exceptional service.

 

 

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Correct and just to confirm, they stopped doing the prepaid gratuities as mandatory for Select Dining at least a year ago.

 

You can still prepay gratuities volluntarilly, I prefer to keep the money in my hands though. Having them taken out daily on board is seamless.

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We would never consider shorting or eliminating the automatic tips, knowing how hard these folks work and the service they provide. For the past couple cruises, however, we have re-thought a couple things. We bring a lot of extra cash with us in small denominations. Rather than wait until the end of the cruise, we regularly tip those who serve us often throughout the cruise - especially our cabin steward. Usually the first morning or so we might leave $20 and a note of appreciation. We might leave a little more mid-cruise, and at the end. Perhaps this is not necessary, but we have received service "over and above", and much appreciation. We also routinely leave an extra buck or two to our favorite bar staff and wait staff along the way...we always receive great service.

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Celebrity's FAQ has this to say:

 

For your convenience, we automatically add gratuities for your restaurant and stateroom services to your onboard SeaPass® account on a daily basis in the following amounts, which may be adjusted at your discretion:

 

$13.50 per person, per day in standard accommodations

$14.00 per person, per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass® staterooms

$17.00 per person, per day in suites

 

This gratuity is shared by your stateroom attendant, dining services staff, and housekeeping staff members who help enhance your vacation experience. At your discretion, the gratuity payments may be adjusted onboard at Guest Relations, in which case they will not automatically be added to your onboard SeaPass® account. An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to all beverages, mini bar purchases, spa and salon services. Additional gratuities may be added at your discretion.

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We would never consider shorting or eliminating the automatic tips, knowing how hard these folks work and the service they provide. For the past couple cruises, however, we have re-thought a couple things. We bring a lot of extra cash with us in small denominations. Rather than wait until the end of the cruise, we regularly tip those who serve us often throughout the cruise - especially our cabin steward. Usually the first morning or so we might leave $20 and a note of appreciation. We might leave a little more mid-cruise, and at the end. Perhaps this is not necessary, but we have received service "over and above", and much appreciation. We also routinely leave an extra buck or two to our favorite bar staff and wait staff along the way...we always receive great service.

 

If staff who receive personal gratuities are obliged to pool these - doesn't that negate the whole point of tipping an indiividual ?

 

One of the aspects of prescribed tipping that I don't like is that (as far as I know) none of it goes to the seafairing crew who make the ship sail from A to B etc.

 

Aren't they as deserving as all the other behind the scenes people who do benefit ?

 

I'm not clued up on how these mariners are remunerated, so there may be a flaw in that perception.

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Yes, giving money to staff who then must turn it in to the tip pool does negate the whole point of tipping to the individual, and that is why we recommend leaving the automatic gratuities in place and tipping above that to those who you saw as giving outstanding service. When the auto tips are inplace, they are allowed to keep any cash you give them.

 

Tips are traditionally given to staff who provide personal sevices, like waiters, hairdressers, porters, cab drivers, concierges, doormen, maids, and butlers. The workers who are involved in maintaining and operating the ships are not part of the tip pool and are salaried differently, as are the officers. For those who live outside the US, the tipping culture can seem difficult to navigate but the ease of leaving the autotips in effect will make the process simpler.

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Yes, giving money to staff who then must turn it in to the tip pool does negate the whole point of tipping to the individual, and that is why we recommend leaving the automatic gratuities in place and tipping above that to those who you saw as giving outstanding service. When the auto tips are inplace, they are allowed to keep any cash you give them.

 

Tips are traditionally given to staff who provide personal sevices, like waiters, hairdressers, porters, cab drivers, concierges, doormen, maids, and butlers. The workers who are involved in maintaining and operating the ships are not part of the tip pool and are salaried differently, as are the officers. For those who live outside the US, the tipping culture can seem difficult to navigate but the ease of leaving the autotips in effect will make the process simpler.

 

Keep in mind that not all tips are pooled. Also, I have actually spoken to workers on board and read it many times on this board that giving tips at the beginning of a cruise to some is an insult. They appreciate the money but ask the question to themselves, don't these people think I'm going to do my job.

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We always pre pay tips and view this as part of the cost of the cruise although we would prefer it to be included in the cruise fare so that everyone pays it. It's unfair that people are even given the option to remove them unless they had really poor service. Unfortunately some people do remove them under the disguise of tipping specific staff at the end of the cruise but I just don't believe they tip the same amount or more. We always like to wait till the end of our cruise to tip extra to staff who give good service. I don't know whether they pool the tips or not, personally I don't think they should , but I love watching them take the money in a handshake and make it disappear! We have met some lovely staff over the years and they certainly deserve any extra they get.

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The workers who are involved in maintaining and operating the ships are not part of the tip pool and are salaried differently, as are the officers
That begs the obvious question (omitting officers) - why are they exempt ?

 

They are as essential to the running of the ship as waiters and cabin stewards etc.

 

There is a different tipping culture between Americans and Europeans - tips are included in the total upfront cost of cruises from one popular British line, and another offers and end of cruise envelope for cash to be pooled.

 

Prescribed gratuities is a service charge by another name, the latter is relatively uncommon in the UK and not universally popular where it is practiced.

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That begs the obvious question (omitting officers) - why are they exempt ?

 

They are as essential to the running of the ship as waiters and cabin stewards etc.

 

 

In the US there is very often a different pay scale between tipped and non-tipped employees. I used to work as a waitress. At the time, tipped employees (wait staff, bar staff) made $2.65 an hour. This was less than minimum wage and was allowed because it was standard for tips to make up a large part of the salary. Non-tipped staff (cooks, hostess, etc), made around $8 an hour. I don't know exactly how it breaks down on the ship. But I would think that employees who are not part of the tip pool are paid a wage which is adequate without tips.

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In the US there is very often a different pay scale between tipped and non-tipped employees. I used to work as a waitress. At the time, tipped employees (wait staff, bar staff) made $2.65 an hour. This was less than minimum wage and was allowed because it was standard for tips to make up a large part of the salary. Non-tipped staff (cooks, hostess, etc), made around $8 an hour. I don't know exactly how it breaks down on the ship. But I would think that employees who are not part of the tip pool are paid a wage which is adequate without tips.

 

That's a fair explanation, thanks.

 

My American friends always tell us that waiting staff were poorly paid and that tips were their source of making a living.

 

Over here, in more recent years, there has been a growing policy in establishments to request customers to add gratuities to the bill when paying by credit (or debit) card - many people won't because it became apparent these tips were not going to the staff and were being used to make up their basic pay levels - thay caused an outcry as you can imagine.

 

Some well known establishments and chains have been identified and shamed - I always now give to the staff direct in cash.

 

We try and avoid restuarants etc. where a service charge is added - for the above reason , never sure if it goes to the employees. I've noticed that fewer places now operate that charge, or maybe it's just that I bodyswerve those that do !!!

 

There are some countries where tips are not expected and regarded as a bit insulting - I wouldn't attempt to name them as it does not appear to be an exact science !!!

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That's a fair explanation, thanks.

 

My American friends always tell us that waiting staff were poorly paid and that tips were their source of making a living.

 

Over here, in more recent years, there has been a growing policy in establishments to request customers to add gratuities to the bill when paying by credit (or debit) card - many people won't because it became apparent these tips were not going to the staff and were being used to make up their basic pay levels - thay caused an outcry as you can imagine.

 

Some well known establishments and chains have been identified and shamed - I always now give to the staff direct in cash.

 

We try and avoid restuarants etc. where a service charge is added - for the above reason , never sure if it goes to the employees. I've noticed that fewer places now operate that charge, or maybe it's just that I bodyswerve those that do !!!

 

There are some countries where tips are not expected and regarded as a bit insulting - I wouldn't attempt to name them as it does not appear to be an exact science !!!

 

Here is the reason why there is a difference on a ship in a nutshell. Those who are subject to the tipping pool receive a salary of $50.00 per month. Therefore, the gratuties don't make up a good portion of their income, they make up virtually ALL of it. Those that you are referring to that are NOT in the tipping pool, receive a salary much more commensurate, all factors considered, with a similar land based occupation. There is no need to supplement that income with gratuities.

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If staff who receive personal gratuities are obliged to pool these - doesn't that negate the whole point of tipping an indiividual ?

 

One of the aspects of prescribed tipping that I don't like is that (as far as I know) none of it goes to the seafairing crew who make the ship sail from A to B etc.

 

Aren't they as deserving as all the other behind the scenes people who do benefit ?

 

I'm not clued up on how these mariners are remunerated, so there may be a flaw in that perception.

 

Exactly. Which is why those who bluster about it are full of seaweed. This is just one of the many rationalizations folks use to make them feel better about screwing over people way below them in the global economic heap.

 

Also note that the staff only has to hand in personal gratuities from passengers who remove the automatic gratuities. So the only way you can reward an individual who you feel went above and beyond is to FIRST leave the automatic gratuities on. That way your steward, for example, gets to keep any extra cash you give them. If you had removed the automatic gratuities, then not only doesn't he get to keep your personal tip, his evaluation is downgraded because the automatics were removed. So not only didn't the pax succeed, who wanted to reward him directly, they actually hurt his standing with his employer.

 

As to the 'sailing' crew, their compensation works completely different.

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Here is the reason why there is a difference on a ship in a nutshell. Those who are subject to the tipping pool receive a salary of $50.00 per month. Therefore, the gratuties don't make up a good portion of their income, they make up virtually ALL of it. Those that you are referring to that are NOT in the tipping pool, receive a salary much more commensurate, all factors considered, with a similar land based occupation. There is no need to supplement that income with gratuities.

 

I don't know how Celebrity divides up the daily gratuities. Different lines call the daily charge by different names, and some lines break out the distribution, while others do not. Some do not call them gratuities at all. So, except for the employees and employers, none of us really know how the tipping system works.

 

But we do know the workers are not paid "$50 a month" in regular wages. Those days are long gone. All cruise line employees are members of the ITF Seafarers union, and their negotiated minimum wage and working hours are well established. The numbers on that page are confirmed by the glass door website, where employees self-report wages, and all tipped positions are listed at $10 / hour or $1,000 or more per month for servers, stewards, etc. The results for the other cruise lines listed on glass door are comparable (Carnival, NCL and RCL). In case you don't think that Celebrity is signatory to the union, you can go to this page and enter "Celebrity" as the search phrase. You will see Celebrity's ships listed.

 

We don't know if Celebrity uses gratuity money or "wages money" to pay their workers the contracted, union-negotiated rate. But they get paid that rate if you remove the daily gratuity or add more to it. They get paid that rate if the ship sails empty.

 

Celebrity evidently doesn't say what happens to cash tips given to their employees. I don't know if they are really pooled and divided up by the company. I do know it is very common here in the US for waitstaff to share their tips with the non-tipped positions like the hostess, bus person, and other tipped positions like the bar tender. NCL seems to say the employees you recognize with an extra cash tip are allowed to keep it.

 

For the record, we always leave the daily gratuities in place. But you can't justify it based on the employees being paid only $50 a month.

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I don't know how Celebrity divides up the daily gratuities. Different lines call the daily charge by different names, and some lines break out the distribution, while others do not. Some do not call them gratuities at all. So, except for the employees and employers, none of us really know how the tipping system works.

 

But we do know the workers are not paid "$50 a month" in regular wages. Those days are long gone. All cruise line employees are members of the ITF Seafarers union, and their negotiated minimum wage and working hours are well established. The numbers on that page are confirmed by the glass door website, where employees self-report wages, and all tipped positions are listed at $10 / hour or $1,000 or more per month for servers, stewards, etc. The results for the other cruise lines listed on glass door are comparable (Carnival, NCL and RCL). In case you don't think that Celebrity is signatory to the union, you can go to this page and enter "Celebrity" as the search phrase. You will see Celebrity's ships listed.

 

We don't know if Celebrity uses gratuity money or "wages money" to pay their workers the contracted, union-negotiated rate. But they get paid that rate if you remove the daily gratuity or add more to it. They get paid that rate if the ship sails empty.

 

Celebrity evidently doesn't say what happens to cash tips given to their employees. I don't know if they are really pooled and divided up by the company. I do know it is very common here in the US for waitstaff to share their tips with the non-tipped positions like the hostess, bus person, and other tipped positions like the bar tender. NCL seems to say the employees you recognize with an extra cash tip are allowed to keep it.

 

For the record, we always leave the daily gratuities in place. But you can't justify it based on the employees being paid only $50 a month.

 

Very interesting information. When I looked at the ITF Seafarers union site, I saw that the base salary is about $600 per month - it only gets to $1,000 per month if you include 104 hours of overtime per month. The base pay works out to less than $4 per hour.

 

We have always left the automatic tips in place, and given extra in cash to our cabin steward and waiters.

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I don't know how Celebrity divides up the daily gratuities. Different lines call the daily charge by different names, and some lines break out the distribution, while others do not. Some do not call them gratuities at all. So, except for the employees and employers, none of us really know how the tipping system works.

 

But we do know the workers are not paid "$50 a month" in regular wages. Those days are long gone. All cruise line employees are members of the ITF Seafarers union, and their negotiated minimum wage and working hours are well established. The numbers on that page are confirmed by the glass door website, where employees self-report wages, and all tipped positions are listed at $10 / hour or $1,000 or more per month for servers, stewards, etc. The results for the other cruise lines listed on glass door are comparable (Carnival, NCL and RCL). In case you don't think that Celebrity is signatory to the union, you can go to this page and enter "Celebrity" as the search phrase. You will see Celebrity's ships listed.

 

We don't know if Celebrity uses gratuity money or "wages money" to pay their workers the contracted, union-negotiated rate. But they get paid that rate if you remove the daily gratuity or add more to it. They get paid that rate if the ship sails empty.

 

Celebrity evidently doesn't say what happens to cash tips given to their employees. I don't know if they are really pooled and divided up by the company. I do know it is very common here in the US for waitstaff to share their tips with the non-tipped positions like the hostess, bus person, and other tipped positions like the bar tender. NCL seems to say the employees you recognize with an extra cash tip are allowed to keep it.

 

For the record, we always leave the daily gratuities in place. But you can't justify it based on the employees being paid only $50 a month.

 

 

 

I don’t know what celebrity pays, obviously, but there’s often a large difference between mandatory wage and expected wage. Again, when working as a waitress, we were paid $2.65 an hour. Minimum was closer to $8 an hour. Yes, we reported tips and if you didn’t make minimum wage with tips, the company was on the hook to pay the difference. But I averaged out closer to $12 an hour with tips. So still talking about quite a difference between what I made with tips and what I was guaranteed to make no matter what. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same on the ship with tipped positions. And I can also tell you that while I worked there, no one tried to tell management that they didn’t make minimum wage with tips. I don’t think that would have been looked at favorably if they had. Would make you wonder why they were so bad at their jobs that they couldn’t earn a minimal amount of tips.

 

 

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