Breaking News !! RCCL to review Gratuities

[cruzendude]

Im Irish and just got back from my first cruise last month. As regards tipping Im more convinced than ever that staff onboard should be paid a decent wage by their employers and not have to depend on tips. I was absolutly DISGUSTED at the way these people grovel to your every wish so that they could get an extra few dollars at the end of the cruise. Grown men telling us at h=the end of one meal how important tips were to him and his family. My thirteen year old daughter even asked me, why is he telling us this? People on here say that paying them properly would make cruising too expensive, so what they are really saying whether they like to hear it or not is, is let us holiday cheaply and leave it up to us to throw a few stray dollars in the way of these poor people who take care of their every need. I was truly truly disgusted at the way people didnt go to the last diner in order to avoid tipping at all. I just think the whole thing is horrible, just horrible.

 

I have cruised numerous times and NEVER noticed lots of people missing the last night from the MDR....maybe its just that I didn't notice but what I find odd about this post is that for a newbie on his first cruise how would you even notice this unless it was everyone else at your table that was missing.....

 

What I do think is that the tips should be a seperate charge but manadatory and due with final payment, that way everyone can still add more if they like at the end of the cruise and the staff will still get the money they deserve and all of this tip debate can FINALLY end! LMAO!!:p

[norriemike]

Actually there was no one missing from our table on the last night but we had got to know a group who did exactly that.

 

Has nobody noticed that most of the staff are not from the USA or Europe? Why? because they wouldnt work for a pittance.

 

I do think that your suggestion of tips being due with final cost is a good one.

[breti]

What I do think is that the tips should be a seperate charge but manadatory and due with final payment,

 

If it is mandatory, then it is a service charge and not a tip. A tip should never be expected. It is given in recognition of good service. I think that people should be paid a fair wage so that tips can again indicate appreciation rather than guilt.

 

Having said that, I have no problem with the RCCL pre-paid "gratuity" as I look at is as really being a service charge and not a tip.

[HB Cruiser]

And here I thought I was the only one who thougt that way. I 100% agree

 

This has normally been my experience as well, UNTIL our last two cruises. EVERY night the last two we have taken, we saw him/her daily at out table, asking if everything was alright, anything else they can do, and started conversations about our cruise.

 

On this note, our next to last cruise there was a problem with our assistant waiter. I spoke with our Head Waiter and the problem was resolved, our assistant after that was one of the best ever. This Head Waiter did the job and definitely deserved his tip!

 

Tim

[Puffinater]

I have cruised numerous times and NEVER noticed lots of people missing the last night from the MDR....maybe its just that I didn't notice but what I find odd about this post is that for a newbie on his first cruise how would you even notice this unless it was everyone else at your table that was missing.....

 

This happens way more than what most would think. Just look around and observe the DR on the last night. Rather sad.

[andrzej5914]

I really wish they would just include the tips in the price, like they do the port charges, then if people wanted to give more they could, but everyone would get the suggested amount, lots less confusion

 

You know you can do that right now. We just pre-paid our tips for our January cruise. They charged us the "suggested" amounts. If we decide that somebody went beyond and above call of duty then we will add few $ to the voucher envelope.

[kands6191]

I just got back from a Thanksgiving cruise on Liberty. I didn't notice the dining room having any fewer diners on the last night. Just because people weren't there doesn't mean they didn't tip. You can hand in the envelopes to the head waiter, or guest services. On our particular cruise there were over 700 who had My Time Dining, including us, and their tips were pre-paid. (On a side note, there was a noticeable decline in My Time Dining since last year at this time. Half the waiters were fantastic, and half were pretty apathetic...just going through the motions with little extra effort and no personality. Maybe the pre-paid tips took away their incentive.)

 

Regarding the Irish posters comment about his waiter saying how important the tips are to his family...I think that is totally out of line. Just like service people everywhere who rely on tips, he needs to increase his tips by providing top notch service, not giving a sob story. There will always be people who don't give what the waiter expects, but that comes with the territory.

 

The poster should also spend time getting to know some of the service personnel. Many, many of them have worked multiple contracts with the cruise lines. They wouldn't keep coming back if they were getting a raw deal. One of our waiters had worked for YEARS for the cruise industry.

[snookiessons]

ABsolutely, just pay people a decent wage, and dispense with this whole tipping nonsense! That said, as long as this system is in place, I insist on the standard charge being added to my bill. When I'm leaving a ship, I'm thinking about packing and transporting myself home, not whether or not I've run around the ship finding everyone to whom I believe I owe a tip.

[imsulin]

Actually there was no one missing from our table on the last night but we had got to know a group who did exactly that.

 

Has nobody noticed that most of the staff are not from the USA or Europe? Why? because they wouldnt work for a pittance.

 

I do think that your suggestion of tips being due with final cost is a good one.

 

Many of the newer cruise staff are from EASTERN Europe, and they do work for this pittance! IMO, they are not nearly as polite as the Indonesian/Filipino staff! Downright rude, in some cases! NCL used to have three ships doing r/t Hawaii cruises, but they had to be all American crewed. Which is why there's only one ship left! American Hawaii Cruise Lines closed down many years ago (really old SS ships, non-American crew).

[critterchick]

Chances are the cruise line haven't added fare because of tax reasons. Though 'tips' are charged on your bill as 'hotel charge', they are not reported as income for them. They rely on the fact that some people in this world are overtipper and some are stiffers, thus creating a workable medium.

 

If added to the fare it more than likely would change the cruise line accounting and probably not for the better. You know what happens every time more income is report....real or not...taxes! Why else would they state/advertise it as tip/gratuity/optional but print it as hotel charge:confused: As for employees, my gosh I wouldn't be surprise if they are expected to give 'their Uncle Sam' a portion;).

 

The lines may have to report the additional revenue, but they can also deduct the wages they pay, so I think the effect is tax-neutral for them. I don't know why RCI stubbornly refuses to add an automatic gratuity, particularly when they are offering more and more nontraditional dining venues. I think they (and other lines that charge later) don't add them into the overall cruise fare because then it looks more expensive. Even though it isn't, there's psychological factor at play. Also, people could use OBC or find a TA who pays those gratuities for them, so it actually may not cost them anything.

 

The non-US workers on the cruise ships don't have to pay taxes to Uncle Sam. Their income is considered non-US in origin (remember that the vessels are foreign flagged except for NCLA's last remaining ship). US employees are taxed on their income worldwide, but the first $xx,xxx (I don't know the amount any more) earned internationally is exempt from taxes. It's debatable whether a ship sailing from Miami is considered to be "international." I think the IRS' position is that it's not (big surprise there).

[redwino1]

Shame on those who chose not to tip. Nineteen cruises under my belt and only ONE time was the service less than expected. I still tipped farely however. These young folks work darn hard and are away from their families for our pleasure and enjoyment. They should be rewarded for same. I have been pre-tipping for some time and give additional when the need calls for it. Would any of us do the work and not want to be rewarded? I think not!!! RCCL should add it to ALL fares, ALL over the world.

[Ripley's Lady]

Shame on those who chose not to tip. Nineteen cruises under my belt and only ONE time was the service less than expected. I still tipped farely however. These young folks work darn hard and are away from their families for our pleasure and enjoyment. They should be rewarded for same. I have been pre-tipping for some time and give additional when the need calls for it. Would any of us do the work and not want to be rewarded? I think not!!! RCCL should add it to ALL fares, ALL over the world.

 

Could you elaborate what you mean by pre-tipping?

 

What day do you pay the tips?

 

Or are you referring to the practice of adding the tip on a sail pass card for the cruiseline to give the worker a check at cruise-end?

 

I do agree with your philosophy that everyone should tip the third world workers who work so exceptionally hard for us onboard!

[ronandcarla]

Dear Happy Traveler, on our past l2 cruises we have never tipped the Matre D or for that matter the same for the Head Waiter, neither one has really done anything to deserve a tip: On some of our cruises we have tipped the assistant waiter more than our everyday waiter, especially when our daughter was very young.

[critterchick]

I do agree with your philosophy that everyone should tip the third world workers who work so exceptionally hard for us onboard!

 

What about the ones from other countries?:rolleyes:;)

[bluegirlum]

This happens way more than what most would think. Just look around and observe the DR on the last night. Rather sad.

 

I've said this before--maybe in this thread--but we usually skip the DR on the last night, and we still tip. We usually are sick of the food in the DR by then and just want to relax, and while our service in the DR on our recent cruise was terrible, we still tipped. We just don't give the cash directly to the waiters. I have never heard a good explanation as to why people assume that if I don't show up in the DR on the last night, I'm not going to tip. If someone tells you that, then that's one thing, but otherwise you have no idea how people tip. The waiters are trying to make money. Believe it or not, some will tell sob stories in order to get more money out of you. SHOCKER!

[Patty00]

I have said on threads before, that my vote is to include the tipping in the price of the cruise. It is rare not to get deserving service, however it has happened to us and I would have been upset if I had pre-tipped. On one cruise the waiter just left our table and the assistant waiter served us our meals....the head waiter helped....I think the waiter just quit. Another cruise....our cabin steward was the worst. He would not seperate the beds.....but, I threatened him with calling guest services. He also gave us bad service. We are D+ and I think it is best to look the person in the eye and personally thank him/her with a envelope of cash deserving of service.

[bluegirlum]

Also, if it's really a tip, then nothing should be mandatory. It was pretty hard to tip the horrible waiters in the MDR on our recent cruise. A gratuity is a "reward"; if it's really just a service charge, then charge me up front and don't make it seem like it's optional. I shouldn't have to be made to feel bad for not giving a "reward" for bad service. Furthermore, what if I want to just eat in the WJ the whole time? No one has been able to explain to me how I can reward good service in the WJ aside from simply going up to someone and giving him/her a stack of cash. Really? I don't know if the money I pay the MDR waiters is going to the folks in the WJ. Just make it transparent and less complicated. And don't pretend that it's not mandatory.

[Bristol Bound]

I really do not understand those who say tipping is an absolute necessity and must be added to your shipboard account.

 

For example, have you ever stopped to see how many cabins a steward services? Then do the math for the recommended daily rate multiplied by the number of people in those cabins and the number of days worked in the year.

 

Does it surprise you that the answer can exceed the average wage paid in the UK and I bet it doesn’t get taxed. And that is before any amount paid as salary by the cruise line. Admittedly this latter amount isn’t great (so they say, but no-one will tell me the exact rate). However this is no reason for us to increase it to a living wage for a service that isn’t anything more than you would expect at a bed and breakfast guesthouse.

 

And the same goes for waiters. They are only doing their job. If they believe they are not paid enough they should not take the job in the first place. No-one paid me extra for doing my job, I got paid a wage.

 

Cruisers say that we must give tips because the staff are under-paid. This is ridiculous. You tip to acknowledge service which is over and above the norm, not to bring somebody’s wage up to a decent level.

 

My vote is that, if cruise lines want us to pay their staff for them then this should be quoted within the basic price. Then we can compare cruises more easily and not have such a guilty conscience about whether to pay or not for a half decent service.

[luckyprincess]

IDoes it surprise you that the answer can exceed the average wage paid in the UK and I bet it doesn’t get taxed. And that is before any amount paid as salary by the cruise line. Admittedly this latter amount isn’t great (so they say, but no-one will tell me the exact rate). However this is no reason for us to increase it to a living wage for a service that isn’t anything more than you would expect at a bed and breakfast guesthouse.

So you want to penalize them because the average UK worker makes less? It sounds like you think its a bad thing that someone can earn a decent salary with honest work...:confused:

 

And the same goes for waiters. They are only doing their job. If they believe they are not paid enough they should not take the job in the first place. No-one paid me extra for doing my job, I got paid a wage.

No one is paying them 'extra' either. Their wage is base + tips. Just like your wage may be $x a week or $x an hour. Theirs can fluctuate, true, but when they are hired they are told that their wage is $x base + tips and given approximate averages of what they can expect. It's no different then your job. Obviously they are happy with their pay or they wouldn't sign another contract - so clearly the system works when its followed.

 

 

Just because something is different than what you are used to doesn't make it wrong. Just different. They aren't in the UK. They aren't in the US. They are on a cruise ship and they have guidelines on tipping that most people follow except for a couple of exceptions that have been talked about in the media.

[Lynnees]

Hre we go again, Luckeyprincess, you have made your living on tips therefore you just can't see it from other peoples perpective especially non-US. It is still a "suggested" amount and until it's manditory it is a personal choice.

 

The poster has a right to do exactly what he wants to do as do others. Tips are for services rendered and good service at that. If the service is poor I see no reason why anyone would give a tip/gratuity.

[karena1]

Now that we do the MTD, we pre-pay our tips which is just fine with me, one less thing I have to worry about. We would never not tip, so pre-paying them is just way easy. Then we give extra cash to those we feel did an exceptional job. They all work so hard to make our vacation pleasant, I could not in a million years imagine not tipping them. We have always had great service, sometime better than others, but never anything but good.

[koxler]

I really do not understand those who say tipping is an absolute necessity and must be added to your shipboard account.

 

For example, have you ever stopped to see how many cabins a steward services? Then do the math for the recommended daily rate multiplied by the number of people in those cabins and the number of days worked in the year.

 

Does it surprise you that the answer can exceed the average wage paid in the UK and I bet it doesn’t get taxed. And that is before any amount paid as salary by the cruise line. Admittedly this latter amount isn’t great (so they say, but no-one will tell me the exact rate). However this is no reason for us to increase it to a living wage for a service that isn’t anything more than you would expect at a bed and breakfast guesthouse.

 

And the same goes for waiters. They are only doing their job. If they believe they are not paid enough they should not take the job in the first place. No-one paid me extra for doing my job, I got paid a wage.

 

Cruisers say that we must give tips because the staff are under-paid. This is ridiculous. You tip to acknowledge service which is over and above the norm, not to bring somebody’s wage up to a decent level.

 

My vote is that, if cruise lines want us to pay their staff for them then this should be quoted within the basic price. Then we can compare cruises more easily and not have such a guilty conscience about whether to pay or not for a half decent service.

 

Okay on my last cruise I was talking to the staff and they told me what they made before tips. For the 14 day transatlantic cruise the cabin steward earns $25 plus tips. This isn't a day, that was for the 14 day voyage. The waiters about $75. Now I don't have any way to verify this but I also developed a good relationship with this person on the cruise and have no reason to doubt that they are telling me the truth. From my perspective RCCL have chosen to make tips the primary source of income for these people. Very similar to a commission based job. This could be a big reason why most everyone I have met on the ship goes the extra effort to be friendly and nice. Given that the suggested tip is $3.50 a day for the cabin steward and figure they are working around 20 cabins that is only $70 a day. Given that most of them put in about 10+ hours a day $7 an hour doesn't sound that outrageous.

 

I can understand how some people would prefer not to have to worry about tipping and just have it as a part of the cruise payment but lets not tell ourselves that they are making all this money. There is a reason that people from poorer countries are working those jobs and it isn't because people from the US or UK haven't figured out they can get rich as a cabin steward. These people work very hard for not very much money and I think the tipping encourages the quality of service that I enjoy while on the cruise. If they are paid in full up front then they have no incentive to provide the "Royal" treatment. Something I feel I experienced part of after doing My Time dining and having to pay the tips up front. I notices a different level of service than what I have gotten in the past.

[spongerob]

My vote is that, if cruise lines want us to pay their staff for them then this should be quoted within the basic price. Then we can compare cruises more easily and not have such a guilty conscience about whether to pay or not for a half decent service.

I believe that this is in fact what is being done because your comments are not dissimilar to many that have been posted by our friends from the UK. Of coruse, you'll likely see a higher price compared to US rates, but if that's the way you want it, I think RCI will be pleased to oblige. They will also have to restrict you to booking with a UK-based travel agency to be sure that you have paid your share, but that's fair, isn't it?

[Mary1951]

But they have prepaid tips . I prepaid before my cruise on Freedom then gave extra to a couple that were above and beyond .

[bluegirlum]

We were in Boleros on our last cruise, and a gal asked the bartender how tips were distributed, as she was a waitress in NY and wondered if they were split the same way. The waiter got very uncomfortable and said that he was not to discuss it; he quickly tried to change the subject and actually said "it's impolite in my country to discuss these things." I believe he was Filipino, not that that necessarily matters.

 

Not that these employees don't work hard, but do you really think they are going to tell you they make $5000 a day? They know we are paying tips at the end of the cruise, and that by telling you that they make a pittance, we are going to feel sorry for them. The ship is not the US, UK or France; the folks that work on these ships come from countries where the standard of living is different than most of us are used to. I don't think they are trying to bamboozle you or anything, but really? It is not the passenger's duty to make their wage fair. If they do a good job, they deserve a gratuity--which is a "reward."