Rethinking auto tips

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

If the staff is happy with auto tips ..So am I ..

[boogs]

We have were told a long time ago that none of the fees charged for the specialty restaurants on HAL ships include a gratuity. So we so leave a tip.

 

Also -- HAL doesn't have an extra line on the specialty restaurant bills or the bar bills where you can write in an extra tip.

 

That doesn't make sense. You say that you were told that gratuities are not included in the specialty restaurant fees and that they don't provide a means to charge a gratuity to your room account. So, how does one leave a tip? In cash?

 

I think what you have been is incorrect. Here is what CruiseCritic wrote in 2011. I don't think HAL's policy has changed since then:

 

"According to spokespeople from Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line tips for the alternative restaurant wait staff are drawn from the auto-gratuity pool (HAL charges $11 per person, per day; Norwegian charges $12.)."

 

Source: http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2011/07/25/tipping-points-ive-already-paid-30-do-i-have-to-tip-at-the-for-fee-alternative-restaurant/

Edited May 3, 2014 by boogs

[Cruisin' Chick]

I find the auto-gratuity system much easier than the old system of playing "stuff the envelope" on the last day of the cruise. On that day, we just get concerned about anything extra.

 

I would disagree about the need to revise the system. Not everyone eats in the specialty restaurants. The only time we ever did was on our last cruise when we were gifted with a complimentary dinner (as a result of a favor I did). Not everyone gets room service. It's been years (way before auto-tips) that we had ordered room service.

 

What the cruise lines took into consideration where the services that every passenger does get. So even if you never eat in the main dining room, you'll be eating in the buffet or other venues, right? You'll be sleeping in the bed that's made up by the cabin steward, as well as using the bathroom in your cabin.

 

As far as I know, the reason most lines went to the auto-gratuities was the introduction of flexible dining. Fits in with the idea of a cashless system too.

 

The system works, except for those who want to stiff the staff.

[Troy McClure]

I have no problem with Auto Tipping, I just wonder is it really a TIP or is it just a service charge? As most of us, I always tip my MDR staff and room steward extra. When you drink at the bar the gratuity is automatic.

 

On RCL, while I did not go to the steakhouse (My DW is a vegetarian) I was able to order a Filet in the MDR for $14.95 and there was a 15% gratuity on the charge.

 

I recently went on my 1st NCL cruise, the freestyle concept made me wonder, if the dining staff gets any cash tips as you do not have the same people nightly.

 

I have read lots of threads where people throw around how the staff gets paid and I am not sure what is fact and fiction, but if the gratuity is to pay the staff, then maybe they should increase the price of cruise $12 a day per person and then take additional gratuities on drinks.

 

Could you imagine going into a store and them charging you an extra 15% to pay for their sales staff as a cost of doing business?

 

Regardless, Cruising is still an amazing value, auto gratuity included.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Troy McClure
clarity

[navybankerteacher]

I would prefer the Aussie system.

 

Please clarify:

 

If you mean NO tips, because tipping is not common in Auatralia, how does that address the question raised by the OP?

 

And, if you do mean NO tips, would you prefer that the basic fare for a seven day cruise be increased by about $150? (I use that figure to estimate how much more the fare would have to be to give crew members the same income they now receive through the auto-tips plus the occasional extra most passengers give.)$

[Texas Tillie]

Please clarify:

 

If you mean NO tips, because tipping is not common in Auatralia, how does that address the question raised by the OP?

 

And, if you do mean NO tips, would you prefer that the basic fare for a seven day cruise be increased by about $150? (I use that figure to estimate how much more the fare would have to be to give crew members the same income they now receive through the auto-tips plus the occasional extra most passengers give.)$

 

And I think that most of us have accepted that the fare increase would be MORE than the $150, because adding the "tips" to the salary affects taxes and other expenses that must be covered.

[bethohio3]

Please clarify:

 

If you mean NO tips, because tipping is not common in Auatralia, how does that address the question raised by the OP?

 

And, if you do mean NO tips, would you prefer that the basic fare for a seven day cruise be increased by about $150?

 

Personally, I would prefer a 'no tipping' policy where employees are compensated directly. The current fee is a cost of cruising, whether it's part of the basic fare or tacked on as charges to your cabin, so I'd just as soon they were part of the basic fare.

 

However, if cruise lines did go to an "all tips are included" model, some people would still feel the need/desire to give additional tips--and we'd be right back at the "cash in envelopes" situation.

 

In the end, though, I can "prefer" or "think" all I want, but we've got the system we've got, and the auto-gratuities are part of the system--and so I go along with how that works.

[PoppyandNana]

Personally, I would prefer a 'no tipping' policy where employees are compensated directly. The current fee is a cost of cruising, whether it's part of the basic fare or tacked on as charges to your cabin, so I'd just as soon they were part of the basic fare.

 

However, if cruise lines did go to an "all tips are included" model, some people would still feel the need/desire to give additional tips--and we'd be right back at the "cash in envelopes" situation.

 

In the end, though, I can "prefer" or "think" all I want, but we've got the system we've got, and the auto-gratuities are part of the system--and so I go along with how that works.

 

I have never sailed on one of the premium lines like Regent where tips are included but wonder how this issue is handled. Are their crew members paid more? Do they get tips from the higher fares? Do passengers still leave additional cash because that is what they do?

[boogs]

Personally, I would prefer a 'no tipping' policy where employees are compensated directly. The current fee is a cost of cruising, whether it's part of the basic fare or tacked on as charges to your cabin, so I'd just as soon they were part of the basic fare.

 

However, if cruise lines did go to an "all tips are included" model, some people would still feel the need/desire to give additional tips--and we'd be right back at the "cash in envelopes" situation.

 

In the end, though, I can "prefer" or "think" all I want, but we've got the system we've got, and the auto-gratuities are part of the system--and so I go along with how that works.

 

By doing effective research on a cruise, when I book a cruise I know what to expect to pay in gratuities and mentally add that to the total fare I will have to pay. That also includes any extra taxes and fees that will also be added. I am not so naive as to think that the published fare is the final cost, just as I know the final cost of any item I purchase anywhere - food, clothing, an auto, etc. - will be more than the published price after sales taxes or other fees are added.

 

I then prepay as much as I can, depending on the cruise line's policies. On Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, for instance, I pre-pay the gratuities at the time of final payment. In essence, this is very similar to having the gratuities included in the fare. The only difference is that I include the gratuities in the final price myself, rather than needing the cruise line to do it for me - something that for me is not the huge burden that some people make it out to be. This way at the end of the cruise I only have to pay for what I purchase on board, plus any additional tips I may give for better than expected service.

 

It's quite simple, actually.

Edited May 7, 2014 by boogs

[donaldsc]

I would prefer the Aussie system.

 

I agree - but it will never ever happen.

 

DON

[iheartbda]

I have never sailed on one of the premium lines like Regent where tips are included but wonder how this issue is handled. Are their crew members paid more? Do they get tips from the higher fares? Do passengers still leave additional cash because that is what they do?

The crew member are paid more because the cruise fare itself is much higher.

Find a cruise on a premium line then look for a comparable one on a mass market line and compare prices. It's a real eye opener.

 

They say tips are included but there is nothing preventing a passenger giving something extra if they feel they want to do so.

[Troy McClure]

Boogs system makes a lot of sense, I too take it into account when budgeting my trip.

I still think if that gratuity is part of the salary of the staff, it should just be rolled into the price. The cruise line is already processing the credit cards for it, so there is no way all of it makes it's way into the employees hands.

[QueScaisJe]

Do away with "tipping" altogether--on board, ashore, everywhere.

 

I read recently that the main rationale for tipping, encouraging good service, is far less correlated than with other factors such as the age and ethnicity of both the client and service personnel. Despite what you may think, tipping is not an effective incentive for service personnel.

 

That's why tipping should be added on as a service charge to the cost of the cruise.