Tipping statistics

[Newtoncruise]

You realize where he pulled that out from, right?:cool::p

 

Again, no one here would even begin to know the answer to your question. I don't even know why you or anyone else would think it was possible to get such an answer from consumers. The corporate number crunchers and high ups are who would know and they're not sharing.

 

It's is not just the consumers who post here. Staff of the line do to......who knows.....Mr Gildstein himself might just be a cruise critic member.......It wouldn't surprise me. In fact it would be rather sensible of them to monitor these boards and those of the opposition.......

[yogimax]

 

I have no faith whatsoever in automatic tips getting to the staff in question,

 

Can you give us some proof to support your "faith?"

 

See the problem is that some of us have "no faith" in folks who remove the automatic tips and then claim that they tip individually. I'm sure some do... I'm also sure some don't!

[Newtoncruise]

I am happy RC are now adding tips automatically to the clients accounts. I would like them to go the whole hog and just make it mandatory. Do not allow people to remove them........

 

So why are they still allowing this. I can think of two reasons.

 

It makes the "prices advertised" for cruises appear lower than they actually are. Cruise for $399 should really be $474..... Cruises would appear more expensive if a service charge were mandatory.

 

There must also be a tax advantage to "paying" staff a low basic made up to a living wage through "gratuities"

 

But those who don't tip make the real cruise cost higher for those who do tip.....hence why I started this thread.

 

I am not sure if anything else can be done but it would be fairer to all cruisers if it were more transparent.

[galavant3]

There must also be a tax advantage to "paying" staff a low basic made up to a living wage through "gratuities"

 

I agree with you and think the "tips" should be mandatory - part of the price of the cruise.

 

But, what would be the tax advantage? Do people on cruise ships pay income taxes? If so, to what country? Where the ship is registered? Not that it really matters, I'm just curious.

[NJcruisenewbie]

I do not like pre paid Tips, it is not something I can relate to or agree with as it just becomes a wage supplement from the customers in my mind.

I always tip our Cabin steward and Dinning room staff as well as most of our Bar waiters even though that is normally covered in the drinks price.

 

I have no faith whatsoever in automatic tips getting to the staff in question, I do not care what the Cruise lines break up is off auto tips, some of those folk in the restaurant I never see or have anything to do with my Cruise Experience.

 

I look after all of the people I come in contact with and I have seen many of those same staff the day after we tipped them and everyone of them seemed more than happy with what we gave them and we have seem them again on later Cruises and they were keen to catch up.

 

I am sorry that none of my tips go to the below deck people in the Laundry or Engine room but that is out of my hands, I do not run the Ship or set the Salaries and its not up to me to prop up under paid workers that I do not come into contact with.

 

Just my thoughts..

 

So the staff that actually plate your food have nothing to do with your overall cruise experience :confused:.

[Debde]

I do not like pre paid Tips, it is not something I can relate to or agree with as it just becomes a wage supplement from the customers in my mind.

I always tip our Cabin steward and Dinning room staff as well as most of our Bar waiters even though that is normally covered in the drinks price.

 

I have no faith whatsoever in automatic tips getting to the staff in question, I do not care what the Cruise lines break up is off auto tips, some of those folk in the restaurant I never see or have anything to do with my Cruise Experience.

 

I look after all of the people I come in contact with and I have seen many of those same staff the day after we tipped them and everyone of them seemed more than happy with what we gave them and we have seem them again on later Cruises and they were keen to catch up.

 

I am sorry that none of my tips go to the below deck people in the Laundry or Engine room but that is out of my hands, I do not run the Ship or set the Salaries and its not up to me to prop up under paid workers that I do not come into contact with.

 

Just my thoughts..

 

Agreed!!!

Luckily they can be removed and you can hand your tip money directly.:)

[temple1]

I agree with you and think the "tips" should be mandatory - part of the price of the cruise.

 

But, what would be the tax advantage? Do people on cruise ships pay income taxes? If so, to what country? Where the ship is registered? Not that it really matters, I'm just curious.

 

I think the poster was referring to tax benefits for the cruise lines. I doubt it because they are not working with US income tax and even if they were they would be paying income taxes and FICA based on reported earnings not their hourly rate.

[Mikey22]

So the staff that actually plate your food have nothing to do with your overall cruise experience :confused:.

 

I was not aware that I was their employer? is it not up to the Cruise Company to pay their staff?

What, the guy that plates my food, the guy that scans my bags, the guy that maintains the engines? where does it stop?

I only feel obliged to tip someone I actually meet in person.

There is obviously a very different outlook around the world on what constitutes good service that earns a financial reward for the service, should I send a note at the end of the Cruise to the 100 blokes that plated my food saying well done good presentation?

Bizarre.

[Mikey22]

Can you give us some proof to support your "faith?"

 

See the problem is that some of us have "no faith" in folks who remove the automatic tips and then claim that they tip individually. I'm sure some do... I'm also sure some don't!

 

I have only personal experiences, they are proof good enough for me.

I always engage our Cabin Stewards and across several Cruise line they have said they see NOTHING from auto tips and prefer a direct system. maybe its because they receive more that way I don't know.

 

I do not care too much about what strangers thoughts are or their faith in me, I only have to answer to one person at the end of the day and that is ME.

I can look in the mirror at my bad head every day and know I do not chisel people and I treat people fairly.

I tip the same or more than the recommended amount on every Cruise I have been on but I decide who I give it to, not hope some Cruise line that does its utmost to avoid paying taxes and hires workers from the poorest countries in the World to divvy it up as they see fit :rolleyes:

 

I could write a book about what I have seen about none or lousy tippers over the years, that's up to them, I do what works for me and I am comfortable with what I give, its a significant part of our cruise cost.

Cheers.

[BeachChik]

I always engage our Cabin Stewards and across several Cruise line they have said they see NOTHING from auto tips and prefer a direct system. maybe its because they receive more that way I don't know.

 

.

 

Are you trying to imply that they receive none of the money for those that do autotips? If a steward told you this they were telling you a fib.

 

A mdr server on royal told us that the way it works is that for monies through autotip they receive a paycheck every two weeks just like someone at a regular job does.

[cruzsnooze]

Is it possible to find out what percentage of cruisers DON'T pay ANY gratuities?

 

I would like to know if this is a big problem for the staff! As their wages are made up largely out of tips.

 

I am not advocating not tipping. I always tip more than recommended. But is seems a policy that allows people to opt out of tipping anything at all is bound to be abused.

 

Is this an issue? Do RCCI care?

Why do you need to know? How much do you earn weekly? Monthly? Don't worry about what other people do, you can't control anyone but yourself.

[Zigggypup]

I'm kind of scratching my head with a tip question that has been on my mind. Here goes:

 

We are doing a 7 night cruise to Bermuda in September. So, out of those 7 dinners were are going to have dinner on the Island during the 2 nights that we are docked. We are planning on having 3 dinners in the specialty restaurants. And then maybe 1 dinner in the Windjammer and 1 dinner out on the balcony.

 

So obviously we are never going to step into the Main Dining Room. The tips in the specialty restaurants will be handled on a per night basis.

 

So with Royal Caribbean's policy of charging your tips to your Seapass card I am tipping the dining room staff for a service that they aren't performing.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[jpolm]

for us just returning from oasis all bar bills, specialty restaurants had tips included. We prepaid the MDR ad only dined 4 out of 7 nights. Not sure how that would work if we tipped in advance but also had added gratuities to our other dinners. The bar bills by pool also had gratuities on it already. Of course u coud add extra but no one really went above and beyond that we thought would have deserved more. If so we would always tip more.

[crusinpeg]

I'm kind of scratching my head with a tip question that has been on my mind. Here goes:

 

We are doing a 7 night cruise to Bermuda in September. So, out of those 7 dinners were are going to have dinner on the Island during the 2 nights that we are docked. We are planning on having 3 dinners in the specialty restaurants. And then maybe 1 dinner in the Windjammer and 1 dinner out on the balcony.

 

So obviously we are never going to step into the Main Dining Room. The tips in the specialty restaurants will be handled on a per night basis.

 

So with Royal Caribbean's policy of charging your tips to your Seapass card I am tipping the dining room staff for a service that they aren't performing.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

What about breakfast and lunch?

[Zigggypup]

What about breakfast and lunch?

 

LOL. We are not breakfast eaters. We usually just order a pot of coffee from room service and of course we tip the staff who makes the delivery.

 

Lunch is hit or miss depending on what we are doing or where we are.

 

Dinner is really our major meal of the day.

[esuer]

My nephew has worked as a server in upscale restaurants for almost 20 years. He has worked all over the United States. Since he is family, I have become very sensitive to the tipping question. The point here is about what the average weekly wage the staff makes. This is what my nephew takes into consideration at the end of the day. Sometimes he gets a table of patrons that tip over and above and other times he gets stiffed! If 25% of the guest don't tip on the ship, the staff is well aware of what their wage will be on average. This being said, i agree, it is not right not to tip. I don't think anyone should be able to remove tips (or service fees). If someone feels they are not getting good service, they should address it with the customer service people during their cruise. RCCL should correct the situation. I'm tired of hearing complaints about service from people who are on the most economical vacation made to man!! I have started to pack a few thank you notes with me on my cruises. I always write a note of thanks to my server, steward and a few others and i add an additional tip, because i want to!! I know the staff likes the additional cash, but i think really taking the time to write a note adds a more personal touch. I hope they appreciate the time i've taken, but regardless, it makes me feel good and l leave the ship feeling great about my vacation.

[Paul65]

It was a nasty mocking response paul65. However my original post did not insult anyone. I merely pointed out that I was disappointed in the responses to my questions as most people decided to go off topic somewhat and turn it into a bragging post........that is not what I was after.

 

My comment about cruisers just wanting to have fun was my disappointed response to the responses which did seem to convey that was the case. Most people just wanted to tell how well they tipped when my questions were about the opposite. That is fine.

 

Everything else was factual.

 

Sorry, but you were rude and insulting in your response, suggesting that you would stick to simple questions, because the posters here couldn't handle anything more meaningful. Perhaps you didn't mean to be nasty, because it's your natural way of dealing with others. If you thought that was not rude, patronizing, and any of several other adjectives I could come up with, you need to reread what you wrote and do a little introspection. :cool:

 

My mocking was intended to (perhaps) make you realize what the tone of your post sounded like.

[Debde]

 

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Remove your tips and pay your servers and cabin attendant in cash.

Tips are to be given in cash IMO so I will be removing my auto tip and tip myself. And that is exactly what I will tell guest services when I do it.

[Mikey22]

Are you trying to imply that they receive none of the money for those that do autotips? If a steward told you this they were telling you a fib.

 

A mdr server on royal told us that the way it works is that for monies through autotip they receive a paycheck every two weeks just like someone at a regular job does.

 

Maybe in the USA.

I am not implying anything, I am saying I do not believe the money that goes in the auto tip pool is distributed in a way that suits what I would like.

I tip the assistant the same as the head waiter because I think that is fair.

If a Cruise line has a system where they want a say in which staff get this much or that much they should add another $200 to the Cruise fare and pay their staff in a way that suits them.

At the end of the day its my money and choice, I travel mainly on a cruise line that did away with tipping and built it into the fare but I still tip several hundred dollars to the poor buggers that look after us.

[temple1]

My complaint with RCI for a long time has been its definition about gratuities/tips/service charge/fees/George - Whatever you want to call it.

 

I think they have tried to cover it with the new policy. If you notice it is not specific in who gets what amount. If you are on the ship you are probably making use of the services. So just add it to your daily rate to cruise.

 

If you don't like that daily rate, then find a cheaper cruise or cruise line.

 

If you really like someone and want to reward them extra - great, do it. Exactly how much of that $12 a day were you going to take away from other staff who serve you?

 

IMHO - if the cruise line were skimming tips we would have heard about it from some of the ship chasing lawyers in Miami. I trust them more than a mom and pop restaurant to properly disperse gratuities.

[Mikey22]

My complaint with RCI for a long time has been its definition about gratuities/tips/service charge/fees/George - Whatever you want to call it.

 

I think they have tried to cover it with the new policy. If you notice it is not specific in who gets what amount. If you are on the ship you are probably making use of the services. So just add it to your daily rate to cruise.

 

If you don't like that daily rate, then find a cheaper cruise or cruise line.

 

Most upmarket Cruise lines have NO tipping.

[temple1]

Most upmarket Cruise lines have NO tipping.

 

Mass market cruise lines, of which Royal is one, do. They have never pretended to be an upscale cruise line.

 

As I always post. Consider it part of your cruise fare. Many upscale resorts have daily resort charges - you pay it whether you like it or not and whether you use the facilities or not. It is part of the daily rate.

 

If you choose to cruise on the upscale cruise line with no daily surcharges - you are paying the gratuity in your fare. It might not be readily apparent because you are not allowed to remove it. The thought processes are - the amenities are there - physical and people - to use or not to use. You pay for it whether you use it or not.

[TheKid.]

I like how Disney does it where they give you envelopes and if you pre pay your tips you get like a little 'voucher' with that amount on it and the persons name/position

 

 

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[temple1]

I like how Disney does it where they give you envelopes and if you pre pay your tips you get like a little 'voucher' with that amount on it and the persons name/position

 

 

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That is how Royal used to do it. People even complained about that.

 

This is an area where the cruise line cannot win. :rolleyes:

[FLACRUISER99]

That is how Royal used to do it. People even complained about that.

 

This is an area where the cruise line cannot win. :rolleyes:

I one of the folks that hated the "voucher"!!