Cruise critic says about Tipping at Specialty restaurants

[joybook]

My understanding from the Princess staff is that that comnment is not correct. To settle the position once and for all why doesn't someone from Princess come on and clarify the situation? From personal experience I am aware that the situation is totally different on Royal Caribbean.:)

[Stevesan]

I have never received bad service even in AT dining. This question is to everyone on this thread who tip because they received extra special service.What special service have you received in the specialty restaurant that you haven't received in the MDR?

 

Darn good query. I've never received better service than in the MDR. Quite the opposite a time or two.

[dedosr]

Interesting how CC never includes Princess when researching articles. However, the bottom line is the same: you don't have to tip extra. It's just like your cabin steward and dining waitstaff where if you've received service beyond the ordinary and want to, tip extra.

 

I have noticed the same. Why is it that CC seems to treat Princess different, and acts as they are not a major player in the industry? We would like a response from CC regarding this.

[MLindaG]

This is only true if you remove the auto tipping. Otherwise they get to keep it.

 

So what you are saying is that every single waiter knows every single person that he is waiting on if they have waived the tipping??? :confused: Even in the anytime dining......they check us all out?? Wow!

[notentirelynormal]

So what you are saying is that every single waiter knows every single person that he is waiting on if they have waived the tipping??? :confused: Even in the anytime dining......they check us all out?? Wow!

 

I'm saying your $20 isn't worth losing his job over, so yes, they check.

[hughdm]

Sorry. Double post.

 

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[hughdm]

So what you are saying is that every single waiter knows every single person that he is waiting on if they have waived the tipping??? :confused: Even in the anytime dining......they check us all out?? Wow!

 

I've read previously that they are given lists of names.

 

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[MLindaG]

I've read previously that they are given lists of names.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

That is really interesting........I wonder if it affects how they treat people. I would never waive the fee as I know how hard these people work. I found this thread interesting as to what people do. ;)

[mafig]

I've read previously that they are given lists of names.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

I've read this also. A few years ago on either the Carnival or Holland America board someone posted a photo of the list hanging in the crew quarters (they were being given a tour of this area). CC removed it .... but it was there.;)

[notentirelynormal]

That is really interesting........I wonder if it affects how they treat people. I would never waive the fee as I know how hard these people work. I found this thread interesting as to what people do. ;)

 

Why do you think people remove the tips the last night?

[caribill]

So what you are saying is that every single waiter knows every single person that he is waiting on if they have waived the tipping??? :confused: Even in the anytime dining......they check us all out?? Wow!

 

No.

 

But dining room waitstaff who receive cash tips turn them into their supervisor along with the cabin number of the passenger.

 

When the cruise is over, the supervisor determines if the passenger kept the auto-tip in which case the cash is returned to the waitstaff. If not, the cash is put into the pool.

 

Same for cabin attendants.

[MauiLvrs]

Do you tip when you go to a restaurant on land and only have a waiter for a single meal? I do not see any difference between going to a land based restaurant and a ship based speciality restaurant.

Think really hard ....

At a normal land based restaurant ... do they have an auto-tip pool ... like they do on the ship:confused:

[MLindaG]

Why do you think people remove the tips the last night?

 

I had no idea that people could remove the auto tip the last night.

[Times Prince]

I had no idea that people could remove the auto tip the last night.

Yes, this is why all tips must be turned in by the crewmember. According to a Hotel Manager who described the system to us, the accounting for a cruise ending on a Saturday is completed on the following Tuesday, at which time it is known whether the passengers left the autotip on or not. If they left the autotip in place then any extra tips are returned to the individual crewmember in full (if in an envelope it is returned, unopened) at the close of accounting. If the autotip was removed then the individual tip is pooled.

 

This system negates any attempt to "coffin corner" a last minute withdrawal from tipping. Passengers who think they can get away with this are only fooling themselves and hurting the crewmembers they wanted to reward.

[Treven]

Yes, this is why all tips must be turned in by the crewmember. According to a Hotel Manager who described the system to us, the accounting for a cruise ending on a Saturday is completed on the following Tuesday, at which time it is known whether the passengers left the autotip on or not. If they left the autotip in place then any extra tips are returned to the individual crewmember in full (if in an envelope it is returned, unopened) at the close of accounting. If the autotip was removed then the individual tip is pooled.

 

This system negates any attempt to "coffin corner" a last minute withdrawal from tipping. Passengers who think they can get away with this are only fooling themselves and hurting the crewmembers they wanted to reward.

This is my understanding as well.

[nhcruiser]

Why do you think people remove the tips the last night?

 

Do you know for certain that anyone has actually removed the auto-tips on the last night or do you just "suspect" that they have?

I'll bet it's the later since not many people brag about stiffing the cruise ship staff!

[notentirelynormal]

Do you know for certain that anyone has actually removed the auto-tips on the last night or do you just "suspect" that they have?

I'll bet it's the later since not many people brag about stiffing the cruise ship staff!

 

I know for a fact. A couple of cruises ago I was talking to the Purser about something. We were having a nice chat and I look up and there is a HUGE line. I tell him I'm sorry, I didn't realize there were so many people in line. He said, don't worry about it. It's just people lining up to take their tips off the bill.

 

Add to that the amount of people on these boards alone that continually say they do it. I've also heard others make the comment when talking about cruising.

[Treven]

I know for a fact. A couple of cruises ago I was talking to the Purser about something. We were having a nice chat and I look up and there is a HUGE line. I tell him I'm sorry, I didn't realize there were so many people in line. He said, don't worry about it. It's just people lining up to take their tips off the bill.

 

Add to that the amount of people on these boards alone that continually say they do it. I've also heard others make the comment when talking about cruising.

That's unfortunate.

[nhcruiser]

That's unfortunate.

 

I completly agree! How cheap can people get........:rolleyes:

[Loonbeam]

Its not always cheap. In some cases its cultural, in some cases is justified. And I am sure some people don't realize what the heck they are doing. Unfortunately, there are limits to how much Princess can communicate and still have it contractually be considered optional..

 

That said, yes, I am certain some people are just being cheap.

 

I completly agree! How cheap can people get........:rolleyes:

[caribill]

Its not always cheap. In some cases its cultural, in some cases is justified.

 

It would very rarely be justified.

 

It would be very unusual for a passenger to have bad service from their room steward and the waitstaff in the dining room and the waitstaff in the buffet and all the other people who share in the "auto-tip."

 

Removing the "auto-tip" to "punish" a waiter or a cabin steward also stiffs everybody else who has served you in many areas on the ship.

[earljr]

As usual Bill you are spot on, as they say

[cruzsnooze]

It would very rarely be justified.

 

It would be very unusual for a passenger to have bad service from their room steward and the waitstaff in the dining room and the waitstaff in the buffet and all the other people who share in the "auto-tip."

 

Removing the "auto-tip" to "punish" a waiter or a cabin steward also stiffs everybody else who has served you in many areas on the ship.

Then one staff member knows he can be a slacker because passengers won't stiff him because of the total picture. That's not good either. Perhaps it would be fair to reduce the auto tips to a level commensurate with the level of service one receives. It hasn't happened to me on princess but if I found an area below par I wouldn't hesitate to decrease my auto tips to $10 per day or whatever i though was appropriate. They have to work for their tips in a satisfactory fashion which I've always experienced on Princess. If people tip the same for poor service as they do for great service then where's the incentive?

[nhcruiser]

It would very rarely be justified.

 

It would be very unusual for a passenger to have bad service from their room steward and the waitstaff in the dining room and the waitstaff in the buffet and all the other people who share in the "auto-tip."

 

Removing the "auto-tip" to "punish" a waiter or a cabin steward also stiffs everybody else who has served you in many areas on the ship.

 

We have been cruising over twenty years on Princess and the service has been consistently very good. The common dominator amongst those that complain to us at least, is their demanding personalities and expectations that the staff should provide them extra service because they think they deserve it.

It really gets under my skin to see passengers stiff the staff who work hard and are away from their families trying to make an honest living! I would like to see the tips added into the cruise fare as a fee and not leave it optional.

[caribill]

Then one staff member knows he can be a slacker because passengers won't stiff him because of the total picture. That's not good either. Perhaps it would be fair to reduce the auto tips to a level commensurate with the level of service one receives. It hasn't happened to me on princess but if I found an area below par I wouldn't hesitate to decrease my auto tips to $10 per day or whatever i though was appropriate. They have to work for their tips in a satisfactory fashion which I've always experienced on Princess. If people tip the same for poor service as they do for great service then where's the incentive?

 

Reducing the auto-tip reduces the share that goes to everyone in the tipping pool, not just the person that gave you poor service.

 

If you are receiving poor service, best is to speak with his/her supervisor so that he/she can be counseled to improve.