Possible answer to cash tipping

[Luvmyrotti]

Not sure what this means...we never put our names on the plain, white envelopes that we receive from Passenger Services. We just add cash and hand it to whomever we want.

I've seen waiters, after giving them a plain white envelope, write our info on the envelope. I assumed this was to hand it in.

[Thrak]

That really sucks for those who go above and beyond. On our last cruise, even though we used gift cards, the waiter asked for our room number. No other person who received them did so, but obviously the steward knew. Into pockets for the rest -- AS WAS INTENDED.

 

Back to letter-writing, I guess. A positive letter will have a greater impact than the .03 they'd get from a pooled tip. *sigh* Sucky, sucky, sucky.

 

We took a 28 day cruise last October. I was told over and over by crew that, while a tip is nice, the "Consummate Host" card was far more important to them. I did fill out those cards but felt certain staff deserved further individual commendation. The survey didn't have sufficient places to commend staff (although I did commend as many as there was opportunity to do so) so I wrote a separate letter and sent it to customerrelations@princesscruises.com. The letter detailed specific staff and why I felt they should be singled out for praise. I got a nice phone call from Princess thanking me and assuring me that my input would be forwarded to the ship, the supervisors, and the employees mentioned.

 

If you really want to do something for the crew members fill out that card, mention them in the survey, and perhaps go the extra mile as I did and send a letter detailing specifics.

[AncientWanderer]

I find it really hard to believe that extra tips are in actuality pooled. Some crew members go above and beyond to please, and some share so much info about family back home...

I'm gonna continue to give extra specifically to those crew members who work harder.

[JF - retired RRT]

I always do the full auto-gratuity, and I (almost) always hand in extra cash to the cabin steward, waiter and busboy (I do Traditional Dining, so I get the same wait-staff the entire cruise). Since the advent of the auto-gratuity, I do not use envelopes. I hand over cash, very discretely. I have no idea what the recipient does with the cash -- keeps it or pools it? Not my business.

DH calls it the Chicago Handshake.

Money in palm A, shake hands, money in palm B.

[caribill]

So what about room service? I order coffee and tomato juice every morning and always give the deliverer $2.00. Do you think they get to keep it or have to turn it in?

 

Room service personnel are in the tipping pool.

 

It is my understanding from past threads that if the tip is added to the delivery receipt and signed for that it goes into the pool, but if the person is given cash, he/she may keep it. Same is true for waitstaff in the specialty restaurants.

[caribill]

IANAL, and not native to English.

 

Familiarity with English is not required. You need to be fluent in lawyer.

[Mary loves to travel]

You are missing the point entirely. It's definitely our business to know if the money we give as a cash tip is allowed to be kept by the recipient. That information can determine if and when and how much people choose to give. As far as salary and other benefits, I agree it's not our business.

 

 

 

So, do you also worry how your tip is pooled/allocated when you dine at a restaurant at home?

[GUT2407]

We took a 28 day cruise last October. I was told over and over by crew that, while a tip is nice, the "Consummate Host" card was far more important to them. I did fill out those cards but felt certain staff deserved further individual commendation. The survey didn't have sufficient places to commend staff (although I did commend as many as there was opportunity to do so) so I wrote a separate letter and sent it to customerrelations@princesscruises.com. The letter detailed specific staff and why I felt they should be singled out for praise. I got a nice phone call from Princess thanking me and assuring me that my input would be forwarded to the ship, the supervisors, and the employees mentioned.

 

If you really want to do something for the crew members fill out that card, mention them in the survey, and perhaps go the extra mile as I did and send a letter detailing specifics.

 

 

If I find someone who truly goes above and beyond I write a letter to the head of hotel and hand deliver it while I’m on the ship, and forward a copy to head office when I get home.

[pablo222]

This is from a crew contract..................you decide if crew gets to keep cash even if you leave the auto gratuity intact.

 

That looks exactly like the contract posted on crew-center.com

 

The entire contract pdf is here:

 

http://www.inozemstvo-posao.com/forumattachments/02-Terms_&_Conditions_of_Employment.pdf

 

 

It is many years out of date.

 

You need to review Article 4, Section G of a current contract.

 

It's quite a bit different than what you posted.

[cruzsnooze]

That looks exactly like the contract posted on crew-center.com

 

The entire contract pdf is here:

 

http://www.inozemstvo-posao.com/forumattachments/02-Terms_&_Conditions_of_Employment.pdf

 

 

It is many years out of date.

 

You need to review Article 4, Section G of a current contract.

 

It's quite a bit different than what you posted.

It doesn't clarify the question of where our gratuity goes, in fact it muddies the water with all the fixed wage verbage. Wouldn't it be better if the cruise line clarified whether staff keeps or pools their cash tips? My read IE my opinion is that it goes into the pool but YMMV.

[Tedferg]

So, do you also worry how your tip is pooled/allocated when you dine at a restaurant at home?

 

This is not an accurate comparison - I applaud the fact that most land based bars and restaurant servers share tips with bar tender and kitchen staff. On Princess the staff shares the automatic daily tip apparently on a fleet wide basis. An extra tip to a cabin steward, for example, is more personal and I would be disappointed if it was diluted into a fleet wide system. So much so that I would stop giving extra tips.

[PrincessLuver]

If you really want to do something for the crew members fill out that card, mention them in the survey, and perhaps go the extra mile as I did and send a letter detailing specifics.

 

This is the same information we are been told on many of our cruises too. Written accommodations are more important, useful and valuable to the crew then other things.

 

Some crew have indicated that crew are given special benefits, days off, money incentives and other things regarding passenger responses in writing from Princess. Often they are read in front of other crew members in crew team meetings.

 

We always turn in the Comment Cards, fillout the End of Cruise Survey with names and why their service was exemplary and also write letters to Princess. Feels much better and more meaningful too then tipping for us!!

 

Of course, for many it is probably a lot harder to put positive things in writing then just had some case out. :)

[SharkieRools]

These employees have accepted the terms of their contract, its really none of our business what is done with extra money that we give them.

 

(y)

[pablo222]

Even if they go into a pool what is wrong with that?...the wonderful server/attendant you have will still get a percentage and if all crew work hard they will all benefit, with extra money.

 

The original poster has told us that he reduces tips.

 

It's odd that he is concerned about what happens to the money that people tip beyond the suggested amount.

[moki'smommy]

After all these tipping threads, I think I have it figured out.

Princess, unlike some other lines has not chosen to be transparent about what happens to tips. Therefore:

 

Tip the suggested/auto gratuity amount. If I've done that, no one, including crew, can fault me. Just consider it a part of cruising.

If I feel like tipping more, that's fine. It isn't my concern what happens to those tips.

[Pickels]

After all these tipping threads' date=' I think I have it figured out.

Princess, unlike some other lines has not chosen to be transparent about what happens to tips. Therefore:

 

Tip the suggested/auto gratuity amount. If I've done that, no one, including crew, can fault me. Just consider it a part of cruising.

If I feel like tipping more, that's fine. It isn't my concern what happens to those tips.[/quote']

So you don't care that the (ex: cabin attendant) staff who provided great service doesn't receive the extra gratuity and it goes into a "pool"?

[Pickels]

That really sucks for those who go above and beyond. On our last cruise, even though we used gift cards, the waiter asked for our room number. No other person who received them did so, but obviously the steward knew. Into pockets for the rest -- AS WAS INTENDED.

 

Back to letter-writing, I guess. A positive letter will have a greater impact than the .03 they'd get from a pooled tip. *sigh* Sucky, sucky, sucky.

But they can't send the "positive letter" home to their family and use it to buy food for the week!

[moki'smommy]

So you don't care that the (ex: cabin attendant) staff who provided great service doesn't receive the extra gratuity and it goes into a "pool"?

Do I care? yes. Can I do anything about it? Not on Princess. I could choose to cruise Disney where it is totally clear where the tips go and who gets what, but if enough people did that, my steward on Princess wouldn't have a job.

 

Life is too short to for me to worry about things that I cannot influence or control in any way. Princess will do what they will do. My steward signed a contract with Princess, so he must be satisfied with that contract for some reason. If I choose to cruise on Princess, I'm choosing to play the game their way.

 

I agree that a wonderful letter or comment card won't buy food. On the other hand, a friend who spent several years on a cruise ship showed me a pay stub and copy of comment card where he received $100 bonus from the cruise line for "superior guest comments."

[greenie082756]

But they can't send the "positive letter" home to their family and use it to buy food for the week!

 

What the "positive letter" to the company does as does the cards that are filled out giving them the "Atta boy/girl" is reflected in their pay. Most companies do that. I know that because of the good comments from my coworkers I received an increase in pay.

 

We leave the automatic gratuities on and tip extra @ the end of the cruise to those who went further to make our experience wonderful. We also fill out the cards to let the bosses know who is doing well and why. Yes, the employees do want those cards filled out because it does affect the bottom line and that is their pay.

[chengkp75]

It doesn't clarify the question of where our gratuity goes, in fact it muddies the water with all the fixed wage verbage. Wouldn't it be better if the cruise line clarified whether staff keeps or pools their cash tips? My read IE my opinion is that it goes into the pool but YMMV.

 

I don't understand why you think the cruise line cares in the slightest whether the way they compensate their employees is in any way "clarified" for you.

 

But they can't send the "positive letter" home to their family and use it to buy food for the week!

 

In an industry where crew are treated pretty much like interchangeable parts, and where service to the passengers is expected to be superior, an "atta boy" from those passengers goes a long way towards getting that employee a promotion over the other thousands across the fleet in the same position, or getting the transfer they want, either to a ship where promotions may be more quickly available, or to a ship where a family member or friend is working.

[RDC1]

This is not an accurate comparison - I applaud the fact that most land based bars and restaurant servers share tips with bar tender and kitchen staff. On Princess the staff shares the automatic daily tip apparently on a fleet wide basis. An extra tip to a cabin steward, for example, is more personal and I would be disappointed if it was diluted into a fleet wide system. So much so that I would stop giving extra tips.

 

One of the main reasons for going to a fleet pool is to balance out the routes, such that crew on a route that may contain more folks that traditionally do not tip, and more prone to removing tips, is not negatively impacted compared to crew on a different, more tip friendly passenger demographic. Thus making the ship assignments less of a potential revenue issue.

[Happy2cruise]

 

Tip the suggested/auto gratuity amount. If I've done that' date=' no one, including crew, can fault me. Just consider it a part of cruising.

If I feel like tipping more, that's fine. It isn't my concern what happens to those tips.[/quote']

Absolutely agree with you! To us the auto gratuity is part of our cruise fare and we tip extra when we want to.....simple and easy!

[keithm]

If all tips including the extra tips go into the same pool then why are we required to write our names and room number on the tip envelopes that we give to our waiter and room steward? Isn’t it so that they are returned to the waiter and room steward once they verify that we also gave Auto Gratuities?

Never once on ANY ship/line have staff ever asked us to write our cabin number on the envelope.

[beckntom]

Never once on ANY ship/line have staff ever asked us to write our cabin number on the envelope.

 

They've never asked ME to write our cabin number on the envelope, but they've asked for our cabin number and then THEY have written the number on the envelope. If I remember, I just write it there before I'm asked!

[GUT2407]

They've never asked ME to write our cabin number on the envelope, but they've asked for our cabin number and then THEY have written the number on the envelope. If I remember, I just write it there before I'm asked!

Never even been asked for my cabin number