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JS Tipping - which amount?

TerpsBball

By TerpsBball,
in Royal Caribbean International

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CTKath

CTKath

Posted
Posted
Hi,

 

We have a Junior Suite booked on the Granduer for next year. Do we pay the higher stateroom attendant tip or the standard one? I am not trying to be cheap, I just want to get the correct amount.

 

Oh, oh, I know this one!! Having just gotten off the Adventure last Sunday, having stayed in a Junior Suite, I opted for adding the tip to the Seapass card. When I took it to the front desk, the head pursar took it from me and looking at it closely, crossed off where I had put suite tips and said that was wrong. So definitively - a Junior Suite gets tipped at the regular rate! :D

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crb04

crb04

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We are staying in a RFS and it is my understanding that there are no other perks except for the larger cabin. So do we tip the suite or reqular rate?

 

According to RCCL brochures, FS come with all the other suite perks that RS, OS, GS do, including concierge service and lounge (if available on ship class)--the junior suite is the only one not treated to all the suite services and thus somewhat in a "gray" area.

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dewayneg

dewayneg

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According to RCCL brochures, FS come with all the other suite perks that RS, OS, GS do, including concierge service and lounge (if available on ship class)--the junior suite is the only one not treated to all the suite services and thus somewhat in a "gray" area.

 

Do you know if the Grandeur has those amenities? I was under the impression that the Vision class does not.

 

Thanks

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crb04

crb04

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Doesn't like look the Grandeur has a concierge lounge. However, I was under impression that the higher recommended suite tipping amount is due to larger cabin area to clean, and fewer cabins in that attendant's care :confused:

 

(When friends sailed on Vision to Mexico, tips were prepaid on seapass, and was at the suite rate for a GS)

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dewayneg

dewayneg

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Posted
Doesn't like look the Grandeur has a concierge lounge. However, I was under impression that the higher recommended suite tipping amount is due to larger cabin area to clean, and fewer cabins in that attendant's care :confused:

 

When you say it like that, it sounds as if we are paying their salaries and not offering a gratuity.

 

Either the higher tip amount is for the ameneties or it is not. If it is, and the amenities are not available, suggesting a higher amount isn't warranted.

 

Anyway, I will tip based upon service as I always do.

 

Thanks!

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Ladylouwho

Ladylouwho

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You ARE paying their salaries!!!! Anytime you stiff the crew or pay less than the recommended amount, it is like docking their pay. Tipping more than the recommended amount is the real "Tip". The crew gets approx. $25 a week and room and board. Their "Pay" is their tips. These people don't live on a cruise ship working seven days a week for nothing, they work really hard. If the cruise lines had to pay them a salary many people would not be able to afford to cruise, it would be so expensive. So always tip the recommended amount and if you get good or great service, tip them more. If you can't afford to tip appropriately or refuse to do so, then you should take a different type of vacation.

By the way, when we were in the RFS on the Jewel, our suite attendant had an assistant to help him clean our suite (2 bedrooms, two bathrooms,living room, etc). The $5.75 per person, per day covered both of them, and we had five of us paying that amount.

The reason these people leave their families and friends for months at a time to work on cruise ships is for the money they make. Would you want to do that?

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Host Kat Holiday Sharing Rare

Host Kat

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And for those that do not eat all or any of their meals in the Dining Room at night, please remember the Head Waiter, Waiter and Assistant Waiter do not get much of a salary (sometimes as low as only $1.25 a day or sometimes no salary at all). They work very long hours with many split shifts and with very little sleep. Their contracts are for 6 months at a time where they live in very small rooms with 4 bunks and 3 roommates. Their cafeteria does not serve the same food as the passengers receive. Most always, they do a fantastic job of waiting on you in the Dining Room. They also work the buffet and other areas for no tips when the Dining Room is closed. Please pay the full suggested tip per person per day by prepaying on your reservation with your agent, adding them on your SeaPass account or in cash. On the last night, please eat in the Dining Room at your assigned table and give your staff persons at least the suggested tip per person per day. Or if you have other dinner plans that night, please stop by the Dining Room and tip your staff persons then. (Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. People that stiff the Dining Room folks are a pet peeve of mine.)

 

Besides cash, the best "tip" by far is when you fill out the comment cards at the end of your cruise and write something using specifically a staff person's name. Raises and promotions are based on the comment cards. It is also good to personally write a letter to Royal Caribbean with the staff person's name mentioned and be sure to put in specifically how they helped you, etc. Those letters are shared MUCH faster with the staff person by a Supervisor than the comment cards which they may not find out out about for weeks. When a good letter is received by a Supervisor, a crew person may be rewarded with extra time off, which is probably the best "tip" given the excruciating long hours they work.

 

Everyone, thanks for letting me take up a bit of your time for something very important to me.

 

Happy trails y'all,

 

Kat 50.gif

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madforcruising

madforcruising

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When you say it like that, it sounds as if we are paying their salaries and not offering a gratuity.

 

Either the higher tip amount is for the ameneties or it is not. If it is, and the amenities are not available, suggesting a higher amount isn't warranted.

 

Anyway, I will tip based upon service as I always do.

 

Thanks!

 

What makes you think the higher tip is for amenities???

You tip your cabin steward a higher amount. Your cabin attendant has nothing to do with the concierge lounge, or goodies delivered to your room, or whatever amenities you else get.

Your cabin steward does the same job in a suite like he does in a regular room. The difference is that it´s a much bigger room and therefore he can´t take care of as many rooms. And yes your tip is the wage of the crew.

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TPKeller Excellent Advice! Rare

TPKeller

Posted
Posted
When you say it like that, it sounds as if we are paying their salaries and not offering a gratuity.

As is clearly illustrated by this statement, please remember that many, if not most people who cruise, do not understand the system that the cruise lines use to provide compensation to the "tipped staff". I have, and will continue to maintain that "gratuity" is absoultely the wrong word for what it is. But they will continue to use it, and this misunderstanding will always exist.

 

My point is, state your case, give your reasons, but be kind to those who don't understand this as well as you do. :) At one time or another, everyone (including the most experienced among us) didn't understand what was really happening here.

 

Theron

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