Tipping - New Policy

[boo214]

We are sailing on the Freedom in just a couple weeks and we, as we always do, will be removing the gratuities on the last night. We are the one's who like to hand out our own cash tips to the service personell who actually care for us during our trip (Steward, wait staff, etc). When you have this other system in place, most of the gratuity is absorbed by the cruise line and only pennies on the dollar are actually "tips" to the staff. Frankly, I feel that we have paid the cruise line for our trip and our excursions...but the gratuities are for the staff...PERIOD. And in our travels and conversations with these staffers, they prefer to get their tips the old fashion way...in cold hard cash!

 

I have heard from others who have sailed who have had no problem removing their tips, but should have have a problem with this, I will come back and report after May 12th when I return home!

why on the last night? why not the first?

[katiel53]

Bevomom,

What guarantee do you have that when you tip in full with cash, (not sure if you do or not as you only mentioned your waiter), that your tips all went to the people who served you rather than having them turn in the amount tipped or at least tell whomever necessary that a cash tip was received? I don't see that there is any guarantee that what you are saying is any better or more guaranteed than when I pay the tips on my card, not in cash.

 

why on the last night? why not the first?

 

 

Because if it is removed the first night the tip remover might worry about getting poor service, whereas if removed at the end, the excellent service will have been given all week and for naught perhaps. I also believe that most people who give the song and dance about wanting to tip personally, do not tip the requested amount. Lots of excuses, ie, I have 5 people traveling and I am not paying that amount, we ate dessert in the windjammer so I don't have to pay a tip for dinner that night. The list goes on and on ad nauseum. Cheap people find lots of excuses to make themselves feel better.

[Debde]

I am leaving May 17th and will have no problem spending the 2 min. it apparently takes to have the auto grats. removed and continue as I have done for many years and tip in cash personally.

 

For those that have done this was it easier to take care of this at the beginning or end of cruise ?

 

You will be cruising befor I will so please let me know how you made out. I plan on doing the same as you. Just not sure when is the best time.

[bplazo]

Bevomom,

What guarantee do you have that when you tip in full with cash, (not sure if you do or not as you only mentioned your waiter), that your tips all went to the people who served you rather than having them turn in the amount tipped or at least tell whomever necessary that a cash tip was received? I don't see that there is any guarantee that what you are saying is any better or more guaranteed than when I pay the tips on my card, not in cash.

 

 

 

 

Because if it is removed the first night the tip remover might worry about getting poor service, whereas if removed at the end, the excellent service will have been given all week and for naught perhaps. I also believe that most people who give the song and dance about wanting to tip personally, do not tip the requested amount. Lots of excuses, ie, I have 5 people traveling and I am not paying that amount, we ate dessert in the windjammer so I don't have to pay a tip for dinner that night. The list goes on and on ad nauseum. Cheap people find lots of excuses to make themselves feel better.

 

I agree, I am sure these people tip less than suggested.

[HuaAZ]

I was under the impression that the tips were to be added each day to your account like they are handled on Celeberty. If you depart the ship on day 5, then only five days can be placed on the account.

[MrsKC08]

Bevomom,

What guarantee do you have that when you tip in full with cash, (not sure if you do or not as you only mentioned your waiter), that your tips all went to the people who served you rather than having them turn in the amount tipped or at least tell whomever necessary that a cash tip was received? I don't see that there is any guarantee that what you are saying is any better or more guaranteed than when I pay the tips on my card, not in cash.

 

 

 

 

Because if it is removed the first night the tip remover might worry about getting poor service, whereas if removed at the end, the excellent service will have been given all week and for naught perhaps. I also believe that most people who give the song and dance about wanting to tip personally, do not tip the requested amount. Lots of excuses, ie, I have 5 people traveling and I am not paying that amount, we ate dessert in the windjammer so I don't have to pay a tip for dinner that night. The list goes on and on ad nauseum. Cheap people find lots of excuses to make themselves feel better.

 

I am actually quite offended that you would call me cheap when you dont even know me. We actually give much more than what they would charge to our account. We just prefer to give it ourselves. I consider it completely impersonal when done through the ship, and very unfair as to what they consider the percentage should be to certain staff.

 

As to the person who asked why we wait until the last night, simply because that has always been the night to clear up your final bill, and not because of concern from lack of service, period.

[MrsKC08]

Just FYI, I have heard that when you pay in cash, the recipient is still required to give some of that to line for others that are not directly tipped. If there is not an automatic charge, the line assumes the full amount was paid to the staff member and asks for their portion. So, by tipping in cash you are not eliminating what the line gets.

 

I am not saying you shouldn't be tipping that way, just want you to be aware it may not serve the purpose you are expecting it does.

 

This is actually not true.

[ahecht]

This is actually not true.

 

Royal Caribbean paystubs were posted on YouTube which showed that the cruise line assumes that 85% of people tip the full amount, so they charge the stateroom attendants $1 per day for either the number of people that prepaid or 85% of the people they are responsible for, whichever is greater. The end result is that the stateroom attendants have to tip out for you whether or not you pay in cash.

[Ashland]

I am actually quite offended that you would call me cheap when you dont even know me. We actually give much more than what they would charge to our account. We just prefer to give it ourselves. I consider it completely impersonal when done through the ship, and very unfair as to what they consider the percentage should be to certain staff.

 

As to the person who asked why we wait until the last night, simply because that has always been the night to clear up your final bill, and not because of concern from lack of service, period.

I agree, I was also very "OFFENDED" by this comment. We have cruised for many many years with RCI and have always enjoyed the personal Thank You's and cash given to each and "every" person that has made our time onboard one to remember.

[shipshape sam]

Hi All,

 

I just received an email from RCCL stating that beginning on March 1, 2013, Tipping would be mandatory and that a charge of $12 per day would be automatically charged to your onboard account.

 

 

Here is the body of the message:

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean International cruise vacation!

 

As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of a change to our gratuity policy. As of March 1, 2013, Royal Caribbean will add an automatic daily gratuity of $12.00 USD ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to the onboard account of each guest to be shared by Dining Services Staff, Stateroom Attendants and Other Housekeeping Services Personnel that work to enhance your cruise. This gratuity replaces our previously recommended gratuity guidelines.

 

If you have already prepaid gratuities for your upcoming cruise, this policy change will not affect you. Accordingly, we will not apply the daily gratuity to your account while you are onboard. If you have not prepaid your gratuities, you will see the daily automatic gratuity applied to your onboard SeaPass® account during your upcoming cruise.

 

 

So much for the term "tipping". As for being mandatory, we have never 'not' tipped. Having to prepay for the tip/gratuity is what bothers me. Why are we forced to prepay vs having a fixed MDR reservation and not being charged ahead of time. We had to prepay on our Allure cruise.

 

It is not like someone on a fixed dining time (main or late) could in the past not tip.

 

I do think the tipping being paid by everyone is better than current system. I just hope they don't start now raising the 'Suggested' mandatory :rolleyes: gratuity as it is now a fixed cost of cruising for passengers. It will be a temptation for cruise lines as a way to give employees a raise and we pay for it.

[michelle6213]

On my last cruise I asked our waiter if they received the full amount if a person did the auto tips on their account. He said they did receive the full tip however, that tip money was not actually given to them until about a month later. This means that the cruise line is able to keep and use their money for a month. It seems like another way for them to float and earn interest on the crews money.i always tip more than the full amount personally in cash so I am sure they always get their money right away. It is too bad people who didn't tip had to force them to impose this. It should be a choice to pay cash or put it on your account.

[Ashland]

On my last cruise I asked our waiter if they received the full amount if a person did the auto tips on their account. He said they did receive the full tip however, that tip money was not actually given to them until about a month later. This means that the cruise line is able to keep and use their money for a month. It seems like another way for them to float and earn interest on the crews money.i always tip more than the full amount personally in cash so I am sure they always get their money right away. It is too bad people who didn't tip had to force them to impose this. It should be a choice to pay cash or put it on your account.

I have also heard this same story...Most in the service business will tell you the same...immediate cash in their pocket preferred :D

[fishtaco]

I am leaving May 17th and will have no problem spending the 2 min. it apparently takes to have the auto grats. removed and continue as I have done for many years and tip in cash personally.

 

For those that have done this was it easier to take care of this at the beginning or end of cruise ?

 

It doesnt matter as your bill isnt charged to your credit card until last day.

 

You can remove all daily added gratuities at any time during the cruise and the online account will then show any amount already charged in "Minus" when you view your in Cabin TV account.

 

There is no need to even visit guest services as you can simply call from your cabin phone any time during the cruise.

 

I was quite happy to leave mine in place but all our other table guests had removed theirs in favour of cash tipping so we just followed suit.

 

I dont see the point in anyone removing them really? but I did feel I may be pressured to hand over more then the daily $12 but only because the other guests were giving envelopes last night.

 

If everyone leaves the daily autos in place then people can just give a little extra if they choose!

 

Tipping is a personal thing so cruisers can have their daily autos adjusted to suit their personal requirements by calling guest services and no other cruiser is privy to your personal gratuities amounts paid or not!

 

My thought is a cruise is now a fully cashless society so why start handing out cash when its not really needed?

 

If you like to tip Bar Tenders just add an amount on the tip line of the drinks docket,you have to nominate the dollar value of extra gratuity so the bar tender or dinner drinks waiter is well aware of your generosity and generosity amounts:)

 

For the life of me I can only see one real reason for 99% of people removing Auto Grats and that is so they can pay less but pretend to some they are paying over and above?

 

We gave out envelopes last night along with other table guests but it was a pain in the ass splitting the correct amounts into envelopes! And I have no idea if the other table guests paid much less than the autos either?

 

One thing I do know was there were plenty of unhappy breakfast waiters last breakfast, but I left breakfast with a clear conscience.:)

 

Is it such a fair thought that the servers that serve you should be getting more than the servers not serving you so must receive cash from you? After all most cruisers profess to all staff being fantastic anyway so why not just pay the Autos and let it be shared evenly?

 

Den

[peteukmcr]

I'm curious to know what it shows on your invoices in the US when these prepaid gratuities are added.

 

In the UK ours have always shown up as "On Board Service Charge" whether prepaid due to choosing MTD or following the change as being added automatically. Interesting that the website still shows the charges as "Pre-paid Tips (optional)"

Edited April 20, 2013 by peteukmcr

[katiel53]

I am actually quite offended that you would call me cheap when you dont even know me. We actually give much more than what they would charge to our account. We just prefer to give it ourselves. I consider it completely impersonal when done through the ship, and very unfair as to what they consider the percentage should be to certain staff.

 

As to the person who asked why we wait until the last night, simply because that has always been the night to clear up your final bill, and not because of concern from lack of service, period.

 

I agree, I was also very "OFFENDED" by this comment. We have cruised for many many years with RCI and have always enjoyed the personal Thank You's and cash given to each and "every" person that has made our time onboard one to remember.

 

 

If you go back and re-read what I posted, you will notice I said most people and I stick by that. I did not say all people and should you want to take the time to read through the myriads of tipping threads, you will see that what I have posted is true.

 

If you tip out the full amount, or even more then obviously you are not the ones that I had been referencing and my post doesn't apply to you. I don't see why you would be offended if you are not guilty. JMO.

[caribbean sailor]

You will be cruising befor I will so please let me know how you made out. I plan on doing the same as you. Just not sure when is the best time.

 

I agree i plan on doing the same,I don't need Royal Caribbean to take my money then call it gratuities.As i said before you pay them a decent salary,and i will continue to tip them.But i decide who and how much.MR Goldstein how can you sleep at night paying people fifty dollars a month? :eek:

[fishtaco]

I'm curious to know what it shows on your invoices in the US when these prepaid gratuities are added.

 

In the UK ours have always shown up as "On Board Service Charge" whether prepaid due to choosing MTD or following the change as being added automatically. Interesting that the website still shows the charges as "Pre-paid Tips (optional)"

 

:confused: Given the onborad account is the same for all ships fleet wide why would the UK show different?

 

Daily Auto Gratuities are quite new and showed on my account as "Gratuity Charge" and were added daily and sometimes twice daily as a catch up to previous day!

 

My cruise had a mix of all nations and am sure RCI wouldnt single out North Americans and call the auto tip anything than what it is "Gratuity Charge":confused:

 

Den

[NeoVega]

I was under the impression that the tips were to be added each day to your account like they are handled on Celeberty. If you depart the ship on day 5, then only five days can be placed on the account.

 

That is what I was wondering. It may be a non-issue. thank you.

How much do you figure you will save by not paying two days worth of gratuities and is it significant enough compared to what you have paid for your cruise?

 

I have an interior cabin and I booked far in advance. It is a consideration. Just as we are not planning on buying drinks, specialty meals or spending money onboard. We are taking the cruise as basic transportation for the ports.

 

We won't be using services or food for 2 days of our cruise.

[uksimonusa]

I'm curious to know what it shows on your invoices in the US when these prepaid gratuities are added.

 

In the UK ours have always shown up as "On Board Service Charge" whether prepaid due to choosing MTD or following the change as being added automatically. Interesting that the website still shows the charges as "Pre-paid Tips (optional)"

 

Pre paid gratuities show up as "Gratuities" on US invoices

[Georgeny]

Reading this thread I guess many here sail only RCL so this is a new policy. We sail most of the lines and have already been involved with this type policy for a few years now. I can tell you that initially it is not a big deal. They charge acct daily usually PP and it is convenient, then you can add extra everyone is happy FOR A WHILE! It's a year into it that as far as I am concerned it all goes to pot.

 

Staff start to consider the auto tips as salary and start soliciting tips in some cases. Good staff become upset that they work extra hard to please while lazy staff do just what they have to get by. The good staff resent that they all get the same.

 

Add reduced dining staff ( who also man buffets etc ) bar staff in dining, wine stewards etc and put those functions on waiter and assistant and now everyone feeling overworked. Finally add anytime dining which allows staff reductions and you also lose the daily interaction between specific waiter and your party and MDR gets less and less like dining room and more and more like hometown diner.

 

Also initially easy to remove tip. After it has been in effect for a while now guest desk puts you through 20 questions demanding to know why you are removing tips and doing there best to make it uncomfortable.

 

It is just the continued dumbing down of cruising by lines while using the " this is for your convenience " bull attempting to make you believe this is somehow beneficial. I have found that the lazy staff love it, the great staff detest it!

 

In recent cruises I have passed an additional $20 to waiter and assistant, steward where warranted, only probably twice in past 5 cruises. Recent carnival cruises we have taken showed even where staff was great, company policy of doing away with some staff and adding an assistant that covers a range of tables greatly kills service. And before anyone says oh Carnival doesn't compare we sail most of the lines.

 

Adding automatic tips to acct is good ONLY for the corporation! Doing away with traditional dining is good for the corporation as is extra cost restaurants.

 

The active attempt of ALL mainstream lines is what they call ship in a ship. What we would call the old days of transatlantic class system, steerage to first class. If I truly want the service I once got as simply a cruise passenger it now costs me.

 

Tell me I am wrong!

 

George in NY

[Ocean Boy]

I agree, I am sure these people tip less than suggested.

 

And I am quite sure that you are wrong. You should be careful about making blanket statements.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[jc1633]

We signed up for the premium beverage package and the tip was added on that as well. It's not going to stop me from leaving a few bucks on the bed or a dollar on the bar if the service is good, the drink is good or the server is attentive. I've worked in hospitality on land and you live by the tip, not the wages. If $12/day/room is a problem, perhaps you are better off staying home.

 

And I re-read that, it sounds a little harsh, but seriously for the folks on the ship, it's about the tips. I don't have the facts in front of me, but 12/room x # of rooms / # of people who get tipped =??

[shipshape sam]

I am not sure that once on board you can delete or change the gratuity if you are not assigned either main/late seating in the MDR.

 

So........ I can only guess that a passenger's ability to adjust the tip once onboard may also go away in the near future.

[k9x8]

This has been posted many times, and there are those who refuse to believe it. It's kind of the same as not believing servers on land pay taxes based on a percentage of their tickets, whether the or not the diners tip.

 

I still, after all these threads, fail to see what the big deal is. Just pay the dang $12 a day and give a bit extra to whomever you please. (That's a generic "you".)

 

 

Royal Caribbean paystubs were posted on YouTube which showed that the cruise line assumes that 85% of people tip the full amount, so they charge the stateroom attendants $1 per day for either the number of people that prepaid or 85% of the people they are responsible for, whichever is greater. The end result is that the stateroom attendants have to tip out for you whether or not you pay in cash.

[k9x8]

A negative comment has far worse consequences than a skimpy tip. We have always been solicited to give a favorable comment, not an extra tip. The lazy and incompetent won't last long.

 

 

Staff start to consider the auto tips as salary and start soliciting tips in some cases. Good staff become upset that they work extra hard to please while lazy staff do just what they have to get by. The good staff resent that they all get the same.