Gratuities

[Crazy4Camping]

Well considering that when booking a cruise the site doesn't say oh by the way it will be another $26/day charged to you room in mandatory tips. I only have my friends' experience to go by and they have stated that after cruising for years and speaking to the staff on the ships that the staff would rather have you hand them a five here and a ten there than the other way. I would rather give someone extra money for cleaning my toilet than for handing me a glass of water in the MDR. I guess we will see how it goes since this is our first cruise. I don't feel that I'm a cheapskate because I want my tips to go to the right people in fair amounts. Also, this is supposed to be a reasonably inexpensive way for a couple to enjoy a vacation. Since my husband and I have worked hard for 30 years and have never had a vacation, we should be able to do this without spending our life's savings. There's already a ton of extra costs we had no idea about when first booking the cruise.

[honestguy]

Well considering that when booking a cruise the site doesn't say oh by the way it will be another $26/day charged to you room in mandatory tips. I only have my friends' experience to go by and they have stated that after cruising for years and speaking to the staff on the ships that the staff would rather have you hand them a five here and a ten there than the other way. I would rather give someone extra money for cleaning my toilet than for handing me a glass of water in the MDR. I guess we will see how it goes since this is our first cruise. I don't feel that I'm a cheapskate because I want my tips to go to the right people in fair amounts. Also, this is supposed to be a reasonably inexpensive way for a couple to enjoy a vacation. Since my husband and I have worked hard for 30 years and have never had a vacation, we should be able to do this without spending our life's savings. There's already a ton of extra costs we had no idea about when first booking the cruise.

Perhaps if an extra 182 dollars is going to affect your life savings you shouldn't cruise. Sorry life isn't fair, and if you can not tip people who provide you service then you shouldn't cruise. Having worked on board a cruise ship I can also tell you that your friend is wrong, and probably just says this to justify his actions when he removes the gratituities.

[Lonely At The Top]

Well considering that when booking a cruise the site doesn't say oh by the way it will be another $26/day charged to you room in mandatory tips. I only have my friends' experience to go by and they have stated that after cruising for years and speaking to the staff on the ships that the staff would rather have you hand them a five here and a ten there than the other way. I would rather give someone extra money for cleaning my toilet than for handing me a glass of water in the MDR. I guess we will see how it goes since this is our first cruise. I don't feel that I'm a cheapskate because I want my tips to go to the right people in fair amounts. Also, this is supposed to be a reasonably inexpensive way for a couple to enjoy a vacation. Since my husband and I have worked hard for 30 years and have never had a vacation, we should be able to do this without spending our life's savings. There's already a ton of extra costs we had no idea about when first booking the cruise.

 

Here is the thing tho....You see your room steward, your waiter and the bartenders....You don't see the dishwashers, the laundry people, the runners who stock the bars....All of these people have a hand in making your vacation memorable. On a 7 day cruise for 2 people, tips comes to roughly $180....If you are removing this and just handing a $20 here and there to the people you just directly interact with, you are basically stiffing well deserved workers....There seems to be another train of thought on here of "well if Carnival is allowing me to do it, then I should be able to...." Carnival allows me to go to the buffet, I could load my plate 6 times and take one bite each time and dump the rest and go back for more. Is that acceptable? :confused:....Making an overall observation, the people who are removing the gratuities from their bill, its not due to a service issue...they are flat out cheap and selfish . I have been in line at GS that last night listening to people who are highly agitated who have viewed their bill and these gratuities are "outrageous"....yet many of these people have every Carnival t shirt and trinket they can cram into their bag

[Stick93]

Well considering that when booking a cruise the site doesn't say oh by the way it will be another $26/day charged to you room in mandatory tips. I only have my friends' experience to go by and they have stated that after cruising for years and speaking to the staff on the ships that the staff would rather have you hand them a five here and a ten there than the other way. I would rather give someone extra money for cleaning my toilet than for handing me a glass of water in the MDR. I guess we will see how it goes since this is our first cruise. I don't feel that I'm a cheapskate because I want my tips to go to the right people in fair amounts. Also, this is supposed to be a reasonably inexpensive way for a couple to enjoy a vacation. Since my husband and I have worked hard for 30 years and have never had a vacation, we should be able to do this without spending our life's savings. There's already a ton of extra costs we had no idea about when first booking the cruise.

 

 

 

Oh brother - you just opened yourself up to the CC firing squad.

 

Enjoy your cruise. When you are on board you now know your options. Life and cruises are always open to surprise. I am sure when you are on you will figure all this out.

 

You do make a good point here that the cruise is an affordable vacation. Thy have lured you in!!!

 

 

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[Crazy4Camping]

I really hadn't looked at all of this that in-depth when booking and now understand it better. I had no idea it was split between all the workers, I thought it was just to clean my room and I would tip cash at the restaurants and bars. I know that I'm a good tipper and would never short-change anyone having worked at restaurants and in food service many times(and slipping the cook some extra cause he busted his butt for me). Now I'm trying to figure out what the best way to do this is. If I call back and have the gratuities added back in how do I know who's getting what and do the workers know they're getting it? I would still feel like I needed to leave cash in the room for housekeeping and cash on the table at dinner and cash at the bar everytime I got a drink. Just so used to doing that!!

[honestguy]

I really hadn't looked at all of this that in-depth when booking and now understand it better. I had no idea it was split between all the workers, I thought it was just to clean my room and I would tip cash at the restaurants and bars. I know that I'm a good tipper and would never short-change anyone having worked at restaurants and in food service many times(and slipping the cook some extra cause he busted his butt for me). Now I'm trying to figure out what the best way to do this is. If I call back and have the gratuities added back in how do I know who's getting what and do the workers know they're getting it? I would still feel like I needed to leave cash in the room for housekeeping and cash on the table at dinner and cash at the bar everytime I got a drink. Just so used to doing that!!

 

That's the thing. U don't have to leave extra. The 13 bucks a day is good enough. If so incline slip your room steward a 20 and your servers. They will be happy bar drinks have 15 percent no need to tip extra unless u love the service. I normally give a buck extra per round of drinks

[Stick93]

No reason to get so upset at the messenger here. But let me ask all you righteous tippers a question because it seams you all know the answers. When Someone is waiting to get back on a ship and the help staff is cutting the line to go ahead of you or Your waiting at the coffee bar and the staff comes and buds the line to get their coffee ahead of you how much of a tip should one leave their friends. This happens on every ship and I always think to myself that they are so considerate of our tipping I am shocked.

 

And by the way is there a law broken about holding back gratuities to buy carnival gear?? It’s advertisement for others to know where you came from.

 

Cheap this cheap that. It’s fun to give tips just so you can comment on this thread. Worth every penny of the $13 x 6 x 8 days it cost me on the last cruise

 

 

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[L1211]

New to carnival. Are grats not prepaid like in NCL and RCI? I just booked yesterday and forgot to ask.

 

 

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[Stick93]

Not prepaid. You can prepay if you like or they charge you on ship.

 

 

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[Lonely At The Top]

And by the way is there a law broken about holding back gratuities to buy carnival gear?? It’s advertisement for others to know where you came from.

 

Absolutely is no "LAW" against removing gratuities. Nor have I seen one post claiming there is. Just because someone is a selfish cheapskate, doesn't mean they are breaking the law. A Cheap mooch and law breaker are 2 totally different camps. While it is possible you can be part of both camps, they can be independent of each other :D

[Stick93]

I don’t believe carnival calls these people names other than passengers. Why do you insist to call people names

 

 

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[PoppyandNana]

No reason to get so upset at the messenger here. But let me ask all you righteous tippers a question because it seams you all know the answers. When Someone is waiting to get back on a ship and the help staff is cutting the line to go ahead of you or Your waiting at the coffee bar and the staff comes and buds the line to get their coffee ahead of you how much of a tip should one leave their friends. This happens on every ship and I always think to myself that they are so considerate of our tipping I am shocked.

 

And by the way is there a law broken about holding back gratuities to buy carnival gear?? It’s advertisement for others to know where you came from.

 

Cheap this cheap that. It’s fun to give tips just so you can comment on this thread. Worth every penny of the $13 x 6 x 8 days it cost me on the last cruise

 

 

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Buying a Carnival Tee shirt in lieu of gratuities under the guise of "advertising for Carnival" is about the the most ridiculous, absurd and plain stupid notion I have ever heard, at least since the Fl. woman wanted to give out fresh Florida oranges to every employee she saw, in lieu of tips of course.

 

Once in a while maybe but I personally, over 28 cruises, have never, never seen a ship's officer jump the coffee line. Just the opposite actually.

 

Second of all ship staff leave and return via their own designated gangway. They DO NOT use the passenger one and that is the case on every ship on every line. If a person has been on at least one cruise they would know this. The fact that this idiotic comment is stated tells me whomever has never been on a cruise before but are full of facts and experiences courtesy of Aunt Mable.

[Computer Nerd]

New to carnival. Are grats not prepaid like in NCL and RCI? I just booked yesterday and forgot to ask.

 

 

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Not prepaid. You can prepay if you like or they charge you on ship.

 

 

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Which is the exact same way it works on NCL and RCCL. You can prepay if you want or pay on board.

[honestguy]

No reason to get so upset at the messenger here. But let me ask all you righteous tippers a question because it seams you all know the answers. When Someone is waiting to get back on a ship and the help staff is cutting the line to go ahead of you or Your waiting at the coffee bar and the staff comes and buds the line to get their coffee ahead of you how much of a tip should one leave their friends. This happens on every ship and I always think to myself that they are so considerate of our tipping I am shocked.

 

And by the way is there a law broken about holding back gratuities to buy carnival gear?? It’s advertisement for others to know where you came from.

 

Cheap this cheap that. It’s fun to give tips just so you can comment on this thread. Worth every penny of the $13 x 6 x 8 days it cost me on the last cruise

 

 

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Well you will never see a waiter or a room steward getting coffee at the coffee bar. That's an officer or someone on the entertainment staff.

[Toofarfromthesea]

I really hadn't looked at all of this that in-depth when booking and now understand it better. I had no idea it was split between all the workers, I thought it was just to clean my room and I would tip cash at the restaurants and bars. I know that I'm a good tipper and would never short-change anyone having worked at restaurants and in food service many times(and slipping the cook some extra cause he busted his butt for me). Now I'm trying to figure out what the best way to do this is. If I call back and have the gratuities added back in how do I know who's getting what and do the workers know they're getting it? I would still feel like I needed to leave cash in the room for housekeeping and cash on the table at dinner and cash at the bar everytime I got a drink. Just so used to doing that!!

 

Good for you for being open minded to see that this a different environment. You should certainly be able to get the auto-grats restored - either before the cruise, or certainly at guest services. A lot of people spent a lot of time devising the system the mass market cuisines use.

 

Some complain that these charges should just be included in the fares. And they might have a point EXCEPT that in some of the home countries of the crew, gratuities are not taxed like salary. So it is in some of the crew's best interest to have a portion of their income nominally discretionary. Which some people then use as an excuse for screwing over the crew.

 

If you leave the auto grats on it is fair to the crew, it is easy for you, and frankly it is just the right thing to do. Whether you do any tipping beyond that is completely up to you. Although you should also know that room service folks generally do not share in the pool, so a tip for them is the fair thing.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Stick93]

Okay - I know we are all experts on the site so anything Said will be questioned -

 

Your 28 cruises don’t constitute knowing everything people see and do and all things that go on in the deep areas of the ship or on every gangways and in every bar.

 

The carnival sunshine has all the officers and staff coming up to the coffee area to the left of the line and bypassing the passengers. I was on he ship 3 times and saw it everyday x the 20 total days I was on the ship. Is was disgusting and left us paying folks very upset.

 

In the same ship I had a child who was suffering from heat and we were having a very hard time getting back on the ship. There was not a designated line and we saw plenty of crew not waiting in the line and moving ahead of us common paying folks - you know the ones who have 13pps/pd bilked on our credit cards daily.

 

When ships are loading especially early in the day they use all gangways even ones that are designated for staff. I have seen this on many ships.

 

It’s doesn’t change any facts. You don’t have to leave the tips on. Everyone acts the way they want and everyone is free to make their own decisions. Calling them names and telling them they don’t see what they seem to see may be the cruise critic way but doesn’t change the facts.

 

The cruise lines are to blame for this whole stupid thread on gratuities.

 

 

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[happy traveler69]

We prepay our grats so it’s all taken care of before we go. I’m not taking them off, and I’m not arguing about it. I want whoever is supposed to get money to get their money. Just leave me alone about it! Lol!

I just wish they would call them service charges and move along

 

 

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[honestguy]

Okay - I know we are all experts on the site so anything Said will be questioned -

 

Your 28 cruises don’t constitute knowing everything people see and do and all things that go on in the deep areas of the ship or on every gangways and in every bar.

 

The carnival sunshine has all the officers and staff coming up to the coffee area to the left of the line and bypassing the passengers. I was on he ship 3 times and saw it everyday x the 20 total days I was on the ship. Is was disgusting and left us paying folks very upset.

 

In the same ship I had a child who was suffering from heat and we were having a very hard time getting back on the ship. There was not a designated line and we saw plenty of crew not waiting in the line and moving ahead of us common paying folks - you know the ones who have 13pps/pd bilked on our credit cards daily.

 

When ships are loading especially early in the day they use all gangways even ones that are designated for staff. I have seen this on many ships.

 

It’s doesn’t change any facts. You don’t have to leave the tips on. Everyone acts the way they want and everyone is free to make their own decisions. Calling them names and telling them they don’t see what they seem to see may be the cruise critic way but doesn’t change the facts.

 

The cruise lines are to blame for this whole stupid thread on gratuities.

 

 

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You're cheap and looking for a reason to remove the grats. Never mind that countless cruisers have called bs on your claims, and I call bs in your claims. I have 65 days at sea as a guest and 140 as a crew member. I know fact from fiction

[Stick93]

You're cheap and looking for a reason to remove the grats. Never mind that countless cruisers have called bs on your claims, and I call bs in your claims. I have 65 days at sea as a guest and 140 as a crew member. I know fact from fiction

 

I don’t remove tips so calling me cheap is funny. Honest guy please don’t sweat the easy things in life. I am just stating a fact of what I saw and what people can do that’s honest!

 

I don’t have to look for reasons to remove tips. I can do for no reason Carnival lets me and everyone on the ship! Why people want to attack me is beyond - I am reporting facts.

 

Lastly mr honestguy - I called out the crew members in both cases which you were not there and cannot refute and told them what I thought. It ended well and I hope they will change.

 

 

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[Stick93]

I finally am enlightened - I am cheap because I pay my tips and don’t care what other people do on the ship. Apparently you can have an opinion about gratuities only if you criticize all the people who don’t leave them on. I hate to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room but the cruise lines are cutting back everywhere. Carnival cruises are becoming more expensive at peak vacationing times and people are trying to save a buck where ever they can. This is a recipe for many people to hold back from the easiest target they see or don’t see - the people behind the scenes.

 

Think about all the things of the past - small and large. There isn’t even a stinking benefited to booking more cruises while on the ship. Two years ago I would wait just to pick the future cruise persons brain to get ideas. Last two cruises I saw dust on them as no one is booking as they don’t get anything.

 

It’s nobodies business if people withhold their gratuities and use that money to buy t-shirts, trinkets or just put the money back in their pockets. You know why - because Carnival will take your deposit and money on the next cruise whiteout asking you about gratuities. The cruise lines don’t care. I would love to see the passion turn on their policies rather than going after people on these boards who many are closest non tippers.

 

I am sure the next hit will be that I am one of those closet non tippers - save it as I am old enough and far enough in life to let it fly right over me. Go after the real bullies - corporate America and all those who capitalize on people who are weak and cannot speak for themselves.

 

 

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[Computer Nerd]

I just wish they would call them service charges and move along

 

 

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They do on NCL (Daily Service Charge aka DSC) and it sill doesn't change anything because they are not mandatory. I wish they would make them mandatory (ie not removable).

[Computer Nerd]

It’s nobodies business if people withhold their gratuities and use that money to buy t-shirts, trinkets or just put the money back in their pockets.

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They make it everybody's business when they come onto an open forum and announce what they plan to do. If they don't want it to be anybody's business they should just keep their mouth shut and do whatever they want to do.

 

If someone is dumb enough to parade their cheapness in public, they deserve whatever tongue lashing they get.

[Stick93]

 

If someone is dumb enough to parade their cheapness in public, they deserve whatever tongue lashing they get.

 

 

Your first post was right in the button. This quote above begs me to ask you why you want to shoot the messenger. I am pointing out something that the cruise lines you love are doing. You don’t hold them responsible! Calling people dumb or cheap doesn’t change the issue - the cruise lines are not fairly paying their staff. These poor people who come to the ships to support their families who are starving and have no opportunities and we all know it’s many people who take their tips off and probably don’t even tip above that. They do this because they want to save money or they have overextended themselves to go on the vacation or maybe they blew the money in the casino. Nobody cares because you don’t have to even give a reason why you take off the gratuities.

 

Everyone here going at me are like all the Hollywood actors who push for wages for their equally talented female colleagues but only up to the point of sharing their salary to make it the same. At that point it’s someone else’s job! If carnival, NCL, RCCl and the rest of the cruise lines let people take their tips off, all the do gooder’s here should go after them. Make them pay - the reason we don’t is because we love our “cheap” vacation and the cruise lines love full ships. Look around you on the ship not everyone is a millionaire and not everyone can afford what they have bitten off.

 

I love the tongue lashing and name calling as it just shows people are only as good as the want to be. Yes we are all nice by leaving the gratuities on - but we don’t hold the companies responsible to do the right thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[0112358]

Why not do the math? If you were paying as you go: that breakfast buffet would cost you around $10, your lunch with drinks around $20, your dinner with wine and all the in between snacks and drinks $75. A 15% tip would be $15.75. That doesn’t even include the room steward or others you may tip. So it would be cheaper and more convenient to just pay the added gratuities. You’re not obligated to tip anyone more, but I hope you do.

 

 

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[Computer Nerd]

Your first post was right in the button. This quote above begs me to ask you why you want to shoot the messenger. I am pointing out something that the cruise lines you love are doing. You don’t hold them responsible! Calling people dumb or cheap doesn’t change the issue - the cruise lines are not fairly paying their staff. These poor people who come to the ships to support their families who are starving and have no opportunities and we all know it’s many people who take their tips off and probably don’t even tip above that. They do this because they want to save money or they have overextended themselves to go on the vacation or maybe they blew the money in the casino. Nobody cares because you don’t have to even give a reason why you take off the gratuities.

 

Everyone here going at me are like all the Hollywood actors who push for wages for their equally talented female colleagues but only up to the point of sharing their salary to make it the same. At that point it’s someone else’s job! If carnival, NCL, RCCl and the rest of the cruise lines let people take their tips off, all the do gooder’s here should go after them. Make them pay - the reason we don’t is because we love our “cheap” vacation and the cruise lines love full ships. Look around you on the ship not everyone is a millionaire and not everyone can afford what they have bitten off.

 

I love the tongue lashing and name calling as it just shows people are only as good as the want to be. Yes we are all nice by leaving the gratuities on - but we don’t hold the companies responsible to do the right thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That line in my post was not directed towards you in particular. It's toward any poster who boasts about chair hogging, smuggling, breaking in lines, and yes, even removing tips.

 

What is the right thing for a company to do.......MAKE PROFIT! There is ZERO point in owning a business to break even or lose money. No profit equals no business.

 

Carnival is not the US military and people are not forced to work there. I have seen many workers on multiple contracts so I don't believe for a second that they or their families are starving or doing poorly at all. These workers are obviously making more money than they would at home hence why they leave their families behind for such long periods of time to make a better life for their family.