Pre-Paid Gratuities: How does the staff know?

[jimzgoldfinch]

You said to do it, so here it is...

You are wrong.

 

A "TIP" is extra pay for SERVICE rendered.

The people who are working hard behind the scenes are not the ones who are Rendering the Service.

When you tip a waitress in a restuarant, do you go back to the kitchen and tip the cook and the dishwasher too?

No............. They get paid a fair wage for what they are doing. (there is noone holding a gun to their heads saying they have to do that or else -it's their choice.

 

Hope This Helps.

 

Rubbish. When I leave a tip in a restaurant, it is usually because the Chef has prepared an excellent meal. Those working behind the scenes are as important as the upfront staff. As I understand it, tips are shared by all staff!!

 

Jim

[jimzgoldfinch]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think by choosing to take off your auto gratuities and tip your room stewards, waiter and ass't waiter and perhaps bar staff, then you would be leaving out many behind the scenes workers who have no chance of receiving extra tips.

To each his own, but we prefer to leave the automatic tips in place and reward exceptional service with cash tips. I do find it troubling that management may share in the tips but I can live with that better than leaving the very hard-working and deserving folks behind the scenes out.

Kim

 

Hi,

I do not think you are wrong. Auto gratuities should not be removed unless you are really upset about the quality of the service. Extra tips can be given where warranted.

 

Jim

[HOT RODDER]

We use the "auto-gratuities" and at the end of the cruise they give you cards to hand out showing that we did. We also inclose a Thank You note with extra cash to the stewarts and servers that deserve it.

[mafig]

They give you cards to hand out?

[Kellix]

Are you talking about the "Prepaid" or "Automatically Charged to Your Account" tips?

 

I'll try to help you out with an explanation.

 

If it is "Automatically Charged" to your account... IT'S NOT A TIP!

That is what we in the real (business) world call a Service Fee.

 

A tip is something that the cruiser chooses to give someone for good service. And I like to get the good service, then pay the tip for said service. If I don't get it, I won't pay it. It's nice to get to choose who gets what.

 

Hope This Helps.

 

 

Yaa but whats a Tip? it actually means something, Too Insure Promptness. = TIP

 

We did the pre-paid tips and I tipped more on the ship anyway to the bartenders. I like it because its something you don't have to do but it also makes it more like a sterile enviroment. I mean they know their going to get something and when they don't they seem like they try harder to get it. Also on the past cruises I have been on where I tipped, there was more interaction with the Bartenders, Stewards and waiters. You would get to know them more. Rather then just a transaction. I loved the drink packages but at the same time it was like quick quick get it done. Half the fun was talking to the bartenders and all and its all gone. :(

[beachbuddy]

We'll be on our first Celbrity cruise this year so not familiar with their tipping policies. By reading this thread I'm getting that they automatically put tips on your sea pass card each day??? I wasn't aware of that.

 

On RCCL, you can choose to have tips put on your sea pass card if you want to, but it's not automatic. We have done it both ways. If you put it on your card, they deliver vouchers and envelopes to your cabin the last day of the cruise. You tear the vouchers apart and put them in the envelope so that you can hand the workers something - the vouchers state who they are for so it's an easy process. I don't mind doing it that way but I also like to use cash sometimes. i always worry whether or not their getting their tips when we do the vouchers..........I'm sure they are but we still do cash now and then. You can add extra money in the envelopes that are provided as well, which we normally do for excellent service.

[Xport]

If you put it on your card, they deliver vouchers and envelopes to your cabin the last day of the cruise. You tear the vouchers apart and put them in the envelope so that you can hand the workers something - the vouchers state who they are for so it's an easy process.

 

...to this thread, and dated March 10, above... Celebrity does not use a voucher system...

[beachbuddy]

...to this thread, and dated March 10, above... Celebrity does not use a voucher system...

 

I didn't say Celebrity used vouchers.......I was talking about how RCCL did it. My question was just if the tips are automatically put on......that's what I'm getting from reading this thread.

 

Can tips be pre paid like they can on RCCL?? ....or do they have to post the charges every day?

[cottagequilter]

I agree, tipping is mine to give, not Celebrity's to charge...one way to get around the pooling...bring international telephone cards to give.

[beachbuddy]

I agree, tipping is mine to give, not Celebrity's to charge...one way to get around the pooling...bring international telephone cards to give.

 

It's only mandatory to put it on your card on RCCL if you choose to do "my time dining".

[brfan]

I agree, tipping is mine to give, not Celebrity's to charge...one way to get around the pooling...bring international telephone cards to give.

 

I hope you mean phone cards in addition to a the normal daily charge, correct? The crew needs that money to support their families back home, phone cards are not a suitable substitute. :rolleyes:

[brfan]

Yaa but whats a Tip? it actually means something, Too Insure Promptness. = TIP

 

We did the pre-paid tips and I tipped more on the ship anyway to the bartenders. I like it because its something you don't have to do but it also makes it more like a sterile enviroment. I mean they know their going to get something and when they don't they seem like they try harder to get it. Also on the past cruises I have been on where I tipped, there was more interaction with the Bartenders, Stewards and waiters. You would get to know them more. Rather then just a transaction. I loved the drink packages but at the same time it was like quick quick get it done. Half the fun was talking to the bartenders and all and its all gone. :(

 

That is incorrect, tip is not an acronym. Plus it doesn't make sense, shouldn't it be "to ensure prompt services" rather than insure?

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

[sarahc78]

Rubbish. When I leave a tip in a restaurant, it is usually because the Chef has prepared an excellent meal. Those working behind the scenes are as important as the upfront staff. As I understand it, tips are shared by all staff!!

 

Jim

Sorry you are wrong. The Chef of the establishment does not receive gratuities. Also most restaurants dont require tips to be pooled together. Usually the waiter/waitress tips out her/his bus boys and bartender, but even then he/she gives them what she deems they deserve.

 

Granted I agree w/ you that behind the scenes staff are just as important as front of the house. But they are often compensated more than front of the house, so there is no need for gratuities.

[ORV]

That is incorrect, tip is not an acronym. Plus it doesn't make sense, shouldn't it be "to ensure prompt services" rather than insure?

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

 

 

But, but, but...........................................LOl

 

It doesn't make as much sense that way. :D

 

 

Them dictionaries, they're handy things huh?

[Xport]

I didn't say Celebrity used vouchers.......I was talking about how RCCL did it. My question was just if the tips are automatically put on......that's what I'm getting from reading this thread.

 

Can tips be pre paid like they can on RCCL?? ....or do they have to post the charges every day?

 

You and Hot Rodder both alluded to vouchers and I should have quoted his post rather than yours... But if/when you sail with Celebrity, you should not expect a process similar to the one you describe on Royal Caribbean...

 

Tips can be prepaid in full; I typically do so at final payment...

[jimzgoldfinch]

Sorry you are wrong. The Chef of the establishment does not receive gratuities. Also most restaurants dont require tips to be pooled together. Usually the waiter/waitress tips out her/his bus boys and bartender, but even then he/she gives them what she deems they deserve.

 

Granted I agree w/ you that behind the scenes staff are just as important as front of the house. But they are often compensated more than front of the house, so there is no need for gratuities.

 

Hi,

On a cruise ship there are many people involved in food preparation and washing dirty cutlery etc. Are they really compensated more than front line staff? I see that you removed auto gratuities, thus depriving them of some of their income!

 

Jim

[Cigary]

I think I have read enough opinions on here where it needs to be addressed as far as what WE the consumer do with our money. I have cruised at least 20 times starting in 1980 and OMG has the cruiseline policy changed in their efforts to "tipping" policy. It was left to the passenger as to what they wanted to tip and they gave guidelines as to how much to "tip" and most passenger not only matched but exceeded. Yes, I am fully aware that some won't tip no matter what and I won't even address that except to say that is their right to do whatever they want...not yours. If you think it's cheap or tight or wrong...its your opinion and you have that right to have an opinion,,,but as we all know they are like rectums...we all have one.

 

Aside from that let's move on to the real story of the Cruiselines Policy of "suggested tipping" policy. It changed a few years ago where the Cruiseline started doing us all a "favor" by taking care of that messy little thing so we didn't have to....how thoughtful to tell me they will charge my credit card for services rendered THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN RECEIVED YET! Are you high? I don't walk into a restaurant and put down a tip without having had my dinner yet to see if the SERVICE is even deserving of that tip. Fast foward where the Cruiseline is making a TON of money and YET still pay their staff barely minimum wage but yet they want me JOHN Q. PASSENGER to subsidize paying their staff while they pay their own salaried staff a decent wage. The way they pay their people is horrible...they want the passenger to make up the difference and it's a hierarchy system of payment...the higher the occupational level the more you make....they make the money first and the bottom rung of the staffing gets whats left...deplorable! Yes, these people deserve a fair wage but I refuse to bow to any Cruiseline that puts their arms/weight on me to pay their people a decent wage and then want to make me feel like a cheapskate???? Are you HIGH again?

 

I tip those who give me good service....I WILL NOT let anyone dictate to me what I tip anyone as I tip usually more than the guidelines. Call me cheap or any other derogatory term and you might be in desperate need of some dental work afterwards I promise you.

 

Tipping is not the prerogative of management...it is and shall remain mine and whatever that person who gets my envelope filled with money...if they want to spread it around with their peers its on them. I ensure I tip them in private knowing full well the Cruiselines Policy...they put "FEAR" into their own staff...are you kidding me? They have to put fear into their own people to rat on each other...ok, how much HIGHER does one have to be to understand it's the passenger who is getting screwed here where the CruiseLine becomes the arbiter of how you tip? :confused:

[Kellix]

That is incorrect, tip is not an acronym. Plus it doesn't make sense, shouldn't it be "to ensure prompt services" rather than insure?

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

 

My bad, per Wiki

 

There are common inaccurate claims[2] that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", "To Inspire Promptness" or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rogues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".[3]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_(gratuity)

[sarahc78]

Hi,

On a cruise ship there are many people involved in food preparation and washing dirty cutlery etc. Are they really compensated more than front line staff? I see that you removed auto gratuities, thus depriving them of some of their income!

 

Jim

Jim,

 

There are certain jobs on the ship that pay in gratuities. The others do not. So that dishwasher you are so worried about getting his gratuities... actually is paid a salary. Where the bartenders, waiters, rooms stewards, etc... work soley for gratuities. So you thinking you are doing anyone any favors by having your gratuities automatically removed and paying on the suggested amount hate to tell you your wrong. The additional $1.25 for other personal is to pay out the servers in the buffet area. You can verify that w/ Celebrity if you like ;)

 

 

I think I have read enough opinions on here where it needs to be addressed as far as what WE the consumer do with our money. I have cruised at least 20 times starting in 1980 and OMG has the cruiseline policy changed in their efforts to "tipping" policy. It was left to the passenger as to what they wanted to tip and they gave guidelines as to how much to "tip" and most passenger not only matched but exceeded. Yes, I am fully aware that some won't tip no matter what and I won't even address that except to say that is their right to do whatever they want...not yours. If you think it's cheap or tight or wrong...its your opinion and you have that right to have an opinion,,,but as we all know they are like rectums...we all have one.

 

Aside from that let's move on to the real story of the Cruiselines Policy of "suggested tipping" policy. It changed a few years ago where the Cruiseline started doing us all a "favor" by taking care of that messy little thing so we didn't have to....how thoughtful to tell me they will charge my credit card for services rendered THAT I HAVEN'T EVEN RECEIVED YET! Are you high? I don't walk into a restaurant and put down a tip without having had my dinner yet to see if the SERVICE is even deserving of that tip. Fast foward where the Cruiseline is making a TON of money and YET still pay their staff barely minimum wage but yet they want me JOHN Q. PASSENGER to subsidize paying their staff while they pay their own salaried staff a decent wage. The way they pay their people is horrible...they want the passenger to make up the difference and it's a hierarchy system of payment...the higher the occupational level the more you make....they make the money first and the bottom rung of the staffing gets whats left...deplorable! Yes, these people deserve a fair wage but I refuse to bow to any Cruiseline that puts their arms/weight on me to pay their people a decent wage and then want to make me feel like a cheapskate???? Are you HIGH again?

 

I tip those who give me good service....I WILL NOT let anyone dictate to me what I tip anyone as I tip usually more than the guidelines. Call me cheap or any other derogatory term and you might be in desperate need of some dental work afterwards I promise you.

 

Tipping is not the prerogative of management...it is and shall remain mine and whatever that person who gets my envelope filled with money...if they want to spread it around with their peers its on them. I ensure I tip them in private knowing full well the Cruiselines Policy...they put "FEAR" into their own staff...are you kidding me? They have to put fear into their own people to rat on each other...ok, how much HIGHER does one have to be to understand it's the passenger who is getting screwed here where the CruiseLine becomes the arbiter of how you tip? :confused:

 

I agree completely! It is also sad that the amount the cruise industries "suggests" you tip the waiters, room stewards, etc.. .hasnt changed all that much. My first cruise it was $3.... now what 8 years or so later it was only $3.50 not a very big increase at all :confused:

[SeaboundQT]

Wow! I think i started a real tipping controversy here! I'm the original poster, and as mentioned, we "prepaid" our gratuities (I was originally only wondering how this was known to the crew). But, could someone please explain the difference to me between pre-paying (which we did) and the automatic daily charge to a sea-pass account? The word automatic is making me a little nervous. Is this something you have to register for separately? (i don't want to be charged "twice" for tips that we've already pre-paid). thanks all.

[dzcruisers]

Wow! I think i started a real tipping controversy here! I'm the original poster, and as mentioned, we "prepaid" our gratuities (I was originally only wondering how this was known to the crew). But, could someone please explain the difference to me between pre-paying (which we did) and the automatic daily charge to a sea-pass account? The word automatic is making me a little nervous. Is this something you have to register for separately? (i don't want to be charged "twice" for tips that we've already pre-paid). thanks all.

 

The cruiseline knows that you have prepaid and your account will not be charged.

The crew receives a list of those that prepay toward the end of the cruise.

If the tips are removed the staff affected get questioned about whether it was a service issue or were they tipped in cash which they have to turn in or their jobs could be on the line. If you leave your tips on your account or prepay and tip extra the staff is allowed to keep that.

[HOT RODDER]

You and Hot Rodder both alluded to vouchers and I should have quoted his post rather than yours... But if/when you sail with Celebrity, you should not expect a process similar to the one you describe on Royal Caribbean...

 

Tips can be prepaid in full; I typically do so at final payment...

On the last day of our last cruise (Celebrity Infinity),they gave us cards(vouchers?) with envelopes to give out to the various crew members showing that we added the suggested gratuities to our bill. In these envelopes we added cash to folks that we felt deserved something extra.

[pspercy]

When you tip a waitress in a restuarant, do you go back to the kitchen and tip the cook and the dishwasher too?

 

No - but in any decent place the waiter will give something to the cooks & busboys to keep them sweet.

[dzcruisers]

On the last day of our last cruise (Celebrity Infinity),they gave us cards(vouchers?) with envelopes to give out to the various crew members showing that we added the suggested gratuities to our bill. In these envelopes we added cash to folks that we felt deserved something extra.

 

They don't give out the vouchers anymore.

[cottagequilter]

What happens to the extra tips that you might give to your cabin steward during the week..does he turn those in as well?