Canceling gratuity

[sail7seas]

.... Why can't these lines pay their employees a living wage and pass the costs on to the passengers?..."

 

 

We DO get the cost passed on to us...we pay it in the form of Hotel Service Charges and additional tips.

 

 

Yes, of course. Pay it here or pay it there but certainly the guests are paying it.

 

[richarduk]

Cruise lines compete on price.

 

Of course, all companies do. But people are clever enough to know if the fare includes the HSC. Once they know, they know.

[Boytjie]

Of course, all companies do. But people are clever enough to know if the fare includes the HSC. Once they know, they know.

 

If people were so clever we would not have these policies on almost all cruise lines ;). It wasn't always like that.

[ScottC4746]

Some experienced cruiser who works with my wife advised her to always request waiving gratuity from the ship and pay individuals instead. . I said let me clarify from my cc friends because that doesn't sound reasonable to me. I could be wrong. Does anyone have a comment on this proposal ?

 

 

Thank you CC family :)

taneous@hotmail.com

 

My experience is to have a gratuity waived is not an easy task. The one and only time I did this was on Princess a number of years ago. The bartender was totally ignoring me having a staring contest with me. Finally after 10 minutes he came over to me at the bar and asked if I needed something. He took my order gave it to me and said there. No thanks, no smile, nothing. I scratched out the gratuity and changed the total and signed and put a note "any charge other than this amount will be considered a fraudulent charge and will not be paid." The next morning I checked the folio and the full amount with gratuity was on there. I explained what happened to the auditor, showed him my copy, he pulled his copy where the bartender scratched out my comments, and the auditor adjusted the total.

[retafcruiser]

Just as an aside, you can also modify the HSC upwards. I did that on the Zaandam when I was on anytime dining and it was not practical to directly tip the waiters. I did tip my cabin stewards extra and when they thanked me it was obvious they knew the extra was theirs to keep.

 

Roy

 

If you do increase the HSC, can you stipulate that it goes to the wait staff? Or does the extra just get divided among all the staff including the cabin stewards, etc.?

[rafinmd]

If you do increase the HSC, can you stipulate that it goes to the wait staff? Or does the extra just get divided among all the staff including the cabin stewards, etc.?

 

It gets divided in the same ratio as everything else. It would be wonderful if you could specify the people or groups who get anything above the standard but I know of no way to do that on HAL. Giving cash works for individuals but I really wish there were a way to target specific groups.

 

Roy

[RJ2002]

It gets divided in the same ratio as everything else. It would be wonderful if you could specify the people or groups who get anything above the standard but I know of no way to do that on HAL. Giving cash works for individuals but I really wish there were a way to target specific groups.

 

Roy

 

On NCL, you can actually go to the desk and have additional tips (over and above the service charge) credited to individual employees, and have that amount charged to your onboard account. This was very convenient for us, since we were in a suite, and needed to tip the butler and concierge (who, on NCL, don't share in the daily service charge). It was nice not having to obtain lots of cash for that purpose.... easy to just charge it to the onboard account. The desk gives you a slip that you can present to the person you are tipping.

[alwaysfrantic]

It gets divided in the same ratio as everything else. It would be wonderful if you could specify the people or groups who get anything above the standard but I know of no way to do that on HAL. Giving cash works for individuals but I really wish there were a way to target specific groups.

 

Roy

 

I agree, the system is unfortunate that way. On Disney they tell you how much of the daily fee goes to each person. You can add more money for a specific person's account or just add cash in that envelope.

[donaldsc]

Some experienced cruiser who works with my wife advised her to always request waiving gratuity from the ship and pay individuals instead. . I said let me clarify from my cc friends because that doesn't sound reasonable to me. I could be wrong. Does anyone have a comment on this proposal ?

 

 

Thank you CC family :)

taneous@hotmail.com

 

The person who gave this advice was not an "experienced" cruise but one who was cheap and believes in taking advantage of (I was going to use another word but it might not be allowed on CC) the hard working crew. I am glad that you decided not to take their advice.

 

DON

[PatsyAnne]

A friend and I were just discussing a recent land tour she took, and a person on that tour who kept trying to give dollars to someone who could only use euros. (Evidently that person was a jerk in many other ways also, but not on topic for this thread.) That made us think about our approach to travel. When we're lucky enough to take an international trip or a cruise, we consider it our responsibility to know and prepare for the cost of the trip, the tipping/gratuity/service charge expectations and practices, as well as the expenses we expect on port excursions. That includes reasonable and customary tips for each country we are in, and the currency that is most useful for our guides. We realize that each country and company has different practices and customs. After all, isn't that a large part of why we travel? Otherwise we could all just stay home.

 

This isn't rocket science. The information is readily available from the cruise and tour operators, guide books, and the web. And... many experienced travelers on this forum are happy to provide their knowledge about different ports and countries.:D

 

Finally, don't forget the power of mentioning people who have made you especially happy on your reviews.

 

Happy travels y'all.

[PunkiC]

A friend and I were just discussing a recent land tour she took, and a person on that tour who kept trying to give dollars to someone who could only use euros.

 

I have done a considerable amount of travel around this world and have yet to meet anyone who wasn't thrilled to get dollars. If they are in the tourist service industry, they are well aware of how to use them.

[Hgwells01]

Just got off the Noordam today, left the tips on and tipped our cabin stewards personally for their excellent service, were a few issues and I thought of reducing the automatic amount, glad I didn't or the tips I left would have had to be pooled, those guys deserved every cent I left and more, dam good service.

[startwin]

A friend and I were just discussing a recent land tour she took, and a person on that tour who kept trying to give dollars to someone who could only use euros. (Evidently that person was a jerk in many other ways also, but not on topic for this thread.) That made us think about our approach to travel. When we're lucky enough to take an international trip or a cruise, we consider it our responsibility to know and prepare for the cost of the trip, the tipping/gratuity/service charge expectations and practices, as well as the expenses we expect on port excursions. That includes reasonable and customary tips for each country we are in, and the currency that is most useful for our guides. We realize that each country and company has different practices and customs. After all, isn't that a large part of why we travel? Otherwise we could all just stay home.

 

This isn't rocket science. The information is readily available from the cruise and tour operators, guide books, and the web. And... many experienced travelers on this forum are happy to provide their knowledge about different ports and countries.:D

 

Finally, don't forget the power of mentioning people who have made you especially happy on your reviews.

 

Happy travels y'all.

 

 

Good post. As regards using dollars - we've travelled a lot and always use the currency of the country we are in.

[cruz chic]

Good post. As regards using dollars - we've travelled a lot and always use the currency of the country we are in.

 

The last time I went to Mexico I took both usd and pesos. When I asked for a price in both the usd was less! I couldn't believe it.

[PatsyAnne]

The last time I went to Mexico I took both usd and pesos. When I asked for a price in both the usd was less! I couldn't believe it.

I agree that sometimes USD are preferred. I just don't think I should make that assumption. I think you took the best approach in Mexico, ready for whatever they preferred.

 

This summer we took a camping trip through BC to Alaska, and I made sure we had Canadian currency and acceptable credit cards. I was a little surprised when one of the campgrounds in the Yukon said they also accepted USD. However, all the washers and dryers only took Loonies. :D It seems like I always ran short on the last dryer load and had to go hunting for more coins.

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

I hope these cheepstakes have children grandchildren that have to work in a job where they need tips and find get customers like daddy and grandpa.

I also bet these people are the most demanding and run the crew to there every demand.

 

Mary

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Hi

 

I hope these cheepstakes have children grandchildren that have to work in a job where they need tips and find get customers like daddy and grandpa.

I also bet these people are the most demanding and run the crew to there every demand.

 

Mary

 

As someone who has worked for tips when I was young, I can concur that the cheapest tippers are always the most demanding......and usually make a mess of the table that will need to be cleaned up.