"automatic" gratuity added?

[Califor6]

I read somewhere that $10/pp/per day, is automatically added to your S&S card billing for your trip....HOWEVER, you can ask that they REMOVE it and just pay a cash tip (so you can chose your own tip amount)....

true or not? comments, thoughts, suggestions?

[Donray]

Why would you? Most people that remove them are just cheap and don't intend to tip that amount.

[5Hawkeyes]

Get ready for a lot of opinions on this:) Personally, we just leave them on and figure it's part of the cruise fare. They will distribute them accordingly. If we feel someone else has done a great job we'll tip them above and beyond the automatic amount.

 

Good luck!!!

[what to go here and there]

is it not 11.50

 

for us it is easier to prepay them and we tip extra to those who deserve it

[Phlybice]

I read somewhere that $10/pp/per day, is automatically added to your S&S card billing for your trip....HOWEVER, you can ask that they REMOVE it and just pay a cash tip (so you can chose your own tip amount)....

true or not? comments, thoughts, suggestions?

 

Yes you can. It's one of the three options they offer you. SImply go to guest services and let them know you prefer to pay tips in cash, and they will gladly remove them from your account.

[ParRoo]

Yes you can remove them.

Why would you? Because some people prefer to tip what they want to whomever they want.

Matter of personal preference. Hopefully most people will remember that the service industry has a low hourly wage and deserve tips for good service.

 

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[Thebosn1]

Most people that remove them give some BS reason like "I tip MORE but only for good service blah blah blah". Just leave it. IF some portion of service really stinks then remove it and tip the others. But I doubt that will happen. You can also pre-pay it.

 

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[Gamecock_Cruiser]

It is $11.50 per person per day. You can removed the tips, but the tips are distrubited to ore than just the people that you interect with. Those people will be the ones taking a loss.

 

"For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $11.50 per guest, per day as follows(our recommended guideline effective voyages departing December 1, 2011 and onward):

$ 3.70 USD - Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.80 USD - Per Day Dining Services

$ 2.00 USD - Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members."

 

This is from Carnivals website. We always leave the normal tipping and give additional cash at the end of the week to the steward and waiter if service is good.

[Phlybice]

It is $11.50 per person per day. You can removed the tips, but the tips are distrubited to ore than just the people that you interect with. Those people will be the ones taking a loss.

 

One never tips people they don't interact with. Don't let a cruise line tell you how to tip.

[sparks1093]

When you stop and think about how much service you receive for the $11.50 pp/pd you will realize what a bargain it is. When you stop and realize how easy it is to let CCL add the gratuity to your sail and sign you will leave it in place. Last thing I want to do on vacation is stuff envelopes and chase people down to deliver them.

[B Russo]

is it not 11.50

 

for us it is easier to prepay them and we tip extra to those who deserve it

We do the same thing. :) BILL

[Califor6]

thanks for the detail info and replies. I was wandering who all is included in the 'automatic' gratuity...but I am the kind of person that believes a tip is earned based on service given; not just assumed....I tip well for any dining, housekeeping, etc, whenever we go on vacation - so a cruise will be no exception/service first. I don't like when it's considered automatic - it's 'earned' for GOOD service. :)

[Midwestgal]

Get ready for a lot of opinions on this:) Personally, we just leave them on and figure it's part of the cruise fare. They will distribute them accordingly. If we feel someone else has done a great job we'll tip them above and beyond the automatic amount.

 

Good luck!!!

 

Same with us, I don't want to think about tipping each person. We do give more to our room attendant and I always add on a buck or two when getting a drink.

Makes things much easier!

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Just call and prepay tips and be done with it. But tip a little extra cash too.

[jmediii]

One never tips people they don't interact with. Don't let a cruise line tell you how to tip.

 

 

Wow, this is wrong. In a lot of tipping situations regardless of WHO you hand a tip to, you have little/no control over how it is split/distributed behind the scenes.

 

If your service was bad, by all means remove the tips. But don't remove them right off the bat because you feel like you'll do a better job getting the money in the hands of all the people that impacted your trip.

 

Like others have said, think of it as part of the fare. Because in the end Carnival will get their money one way or another. "Everyone is removing tips? Ok, lets jack up the rates to make up for it."

[cmdknw]

We always add the tip in when we pay for the cruise. I have always just included it in the price of the cruise.

 

We do tip more for exceptional service!

[CBuzzy]

When you are on that next cruise look around at all the people working to make your trip hassle free. The people on the lido decks at all hours bussing the tables, the guys pushing carts loaded with 500 pounds of luggage up and down the halls delivering your luggage, the room stewards constantly cleaning up your mess, and the hundreds of people working behind the scenes that you never see but have an impact on the quality of your cruise. These people are preforming jobs and working hours that we would never even consider. Now tell me how in good conscience you could remove your gratuities or complain about the amount that is automatically added. Just think of it a part of the cost of your cruise as others on here have said.

 

 

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Edited February 26, 2014 by CBuzzy

[airmj2123]

thanks for the detail info and replies. I was wandering who all is included in the 'automatic' gratuity...but I am the kind of person that believes a tip is earned based on service given; not just assumed....I tip well for any dining, housekeeping, etc, whenever we go on vacation - so a cruise will be no exception/service first. I don't like when it's considered automatic - it's 'earned' for GOOD service. :)

 

If you eat breakfast or lunch in any venue, you will likely receive some service (and most of the time very good). I prefer not to carry cash, so it is pretty hard to tip all these people.

 

In the end, this will end up being a service charge down the line at some point (2+ years). In some countries and on other lines, it already is a service charge.

[mymirabella]

I will remove mine as soon as they add them and put them back on the last day. I'm not a fan of tipping before service but I don't want to deal with handing everyone cash either. I know this adds time but I should be able to do it at the kiosk and it will make keeping track of my onboard spending easier.

[Elaine5715]

thanks for the detail info and replies. I was wandering who all is included in the 'automatic' gratuity...but I am the kind of person that believes a tip is earned based on service given; not just assumed....I tip well for any dining, housekeeping, etc, whenever we go on vacation - so a cruise will be no exception/service first. I don't like when it's considered automatic - it's 'earned' for GOOD service. :)

 

It is assumed you will get good service. As a matter of fact, 99% of cruisers get great service.

 

It was nicknamed auto-tip by cruisers, not Carnival. The tips were added to on board ship accounts at the request of cruisers for the convenience of cruisers. Having to spend your last night of vacation, getting envelopes, cash and finding crew members who are working is about as much fun as it sounds. Yes, the crew likes it because a good many cruisers found the whole envelope thing uncomfortable or a hassle so they just didn't ..also the MDR ended up empty on the last night.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Elaine5715
grammar

[Elaine5715]

I will remove mine as soon as they add them and put them back on the last day. I'm not a fan of tipping before service but I don't want to deal with handing everyone cash either. I know this adds time but I should be able to do it at the kiosk and it will make keeping track of my onboard spending easier.

 

The crew does not get the tip until after the cruise so your statement sounds like if you spend over your allotted budget, the tips are staying off.

[Pine Bluff]

When you are on that next cruise look around at all the people working to make your trip hassle free. The people on the lido decks at all hours bussing the tables, the guys pushing carts loaded with 500 pounds of luggage up and down the halls delivering your luggage, the room stewards

 

 

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You're talking about full salaried people who certainly do NOT receive tips.

[RWolver672]

thanks for the detail info and replies. I was wandering who all is included in the 'automatic' gratuity...but I am the kind of person that believes a tip is earned based on service given; not just assumed....I tip well for any dining, housekeeping, etc, whenever we go on vacation - so a cruise will be no exception/service first. I don't like when it's considered automatic - it's 'earned' for GOOD service. :)

 

It was put on automatically because so many people were not dining in the main dining room on the last night which was tip night. They figured if they didn't show up, they didn't have to tip. Same with the cabin stewards. They'd just ignore the envelopes and not pay any of them. This way, the people that serve you get their money. Even if you don't see them personally, they are working their tails off to make your cruise memorable. They depend on those tips for a descent wage.

[Shmoo here]

I don't know if Carnival does it the same, but on Holland America (another Carnival family cruiseline), if you remove the Hotel Service Charge (as it's called there), any cash tips you give must be turned in and pooled to be divided in the same ratio as the HSC is originally set up (divided among dining servers, hotel staff, and behind the scenes personnel).

 

Since a percentage of the tips/gratuities/service charge is actually going to some people you may not have actual contact with (as indicated by Gamecock_Cruiser), it's possible that your cash tips will actually wind up less to the person you are trying to tip, if they have to turn them in.

[mymirabella]

The crew does not get the tip until after the cruise so your statement sounds like if you spend over your allotted budget, the tips are staying off.

 

I don't have an allotted budget the tips IMO are part of what I owe at the end of the cruise but I like to see what "extra" I'm spending at a glance and it is harder when the necessary amount is already included. I also prefer to pay excursions directly to a credit card and not have them on the account.