Prepaid tips vs cash

[Hoopster95]

4 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Proving that you were correct and incorrect at the same time.

 

HA!! Good one 👍

[molly361]

2 hours ago, Desert Cruizers said:

Biker, we leave out of San Pedro, on the Emerald Princess. to the Hawaiian islands and return on the 26th. In all the years my husband & I cruised, have never seen that. I was going to have my TA to include the Gratuities so i could pre pay but was told when she got off the phone, that it was free. 

 

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

No idea how grats work on Princess - I was only talking about RCI, which did have a promo of free grats with the booking of a suite not too long ago.

It was January 2018, I think it was just Oasis class JS or higher got free gratuities and  some OBC.

[Scotty G]

5 hours ago, Cruiselover0426 said:

Why would I?  That is their job and they get paid (or should get paid) a fair wage to do that.  Do you tip the janitors at local restaurants?  Do you think wait staff tips out to janitors in restaurants?   This is a very weird post.

The Housekeeping folks I referred to are part of the crew who receive a portion of the gratuities collected by RCI. Here is what RCI says about this in their FAQs:

The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

[dpostman]

3 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Not true and not correct.

 

The casino cashiers are now extremely reluctant to give much change.  They will give a few smaller bills, but not much.  Usually only five ones, for instance.  They send you to Guest Services.

 

Hummm, Darnit

 

2 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

This is the correct answer.  Just got off Brilliance and even while gambling int he casino they were reluctant to break bills up into anything other than 10's and some 5's (once).  They will send you to guest services.

 

Brilliance is the ship we are going on next for a 12 night Baltic.  I guess I'll have to make more trips to GS.

 

2 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I wonder if that's a recent change or varies by ship?

 

I tell the casino cashiers I'm breaking the bills for tipping money and they've always given me $1's. But in small increments, like $10 at a time, several times a cruise.  I hate a bulky wallet.

 

$10 at a time is really sad.  If that is what they do, I'll have to go twice a day.

 

Thank you all for your input.

 

dp

[MandyMooToo]

3 minutes ago, dpostman said:

 

Hummm, Darnit

 

 

Brilliance is the ship we are going on next for a 12 night Baltic.  I guess I'll have to make more trips to GS.

 

 

$10 at a time is really sad.  If that is what they do, I'll have to go twice a day.

 

Thank you all for your input.

 

dp

 

It seems as though other cruisers are reporting varied success so maybe it depends on the cashier? We tried using 100's and 20's with the results I posted above.  We were referred to Guest Services so that is where we started going each time change was needed.  Luckily GS was never crowded and I do not think we ever waited more than just a few minutes.

[Sam Ting]

22 minutes ago, Scotty G said:

The Housekeeping folks I referred to are part of the crew who receive a portion of the gratuities collected by RCI. Here is what RCI says about this in their FAQs:

The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

How cute. The billion dollar cruiseline rewards their employees with your donations. 

[dpostman]

2 minutes ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

It seems as though other cruisers are reporting varied success so maybe it depends on the cashier? We tried using 100's and 20's with the results I posted above.  We were referred to Guest Services so that is where we started going each time change was needed.  Luckily GS was never crowded and I do not think we ever waited more than just a few minutes.

Thanks.  I'll have mostly 20s anyway.  And at the usual time I get up in the morning to get my first coffee, there will be no lineups for sure 😉

 

dp

[springfire]

26 minutes ago, Scotty G said:

The Housekeeping folks I referred to are part of the crew who receive a portion of the gratuities collected by RCI. Here is what RCI says about this in their FAQs:

The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

When you prepay or use automatic gratuity you really have no idea who gets your money.

[spunks]

I wish the cruise lines would simply raise the price of every cruise by $25.00 per person per day and then not allow any tipping whatever. That way I would no longer be subsidising those cheap skates that like the cheap cruise prices but dont feel like tipping. That way no matter whether tipping is customary where ever one is from, the staff will be fairly compensated and I will not be carrying an unfair burden.

 

Doug

[Bee Guy]

10 minutes ago, spunks said:

I wish the cruise lines would simply raise the price of every cruise by $25.00 per person per day and then not allow any tipping whatever. That way I would no longer be subsidising those cheap skates that like the cheap cruise prices but dont feel like tipping. That way no matter whether tipping is customary where ever one is from, the staff will be fairly compensated and I will not be carrying an unfair burden.

 

Doug

If you believe that the amount that RCI charges for gratuities is excessive perhaps you should stand up for what you believe and pay what you think is a fair tip.  But if you have the courage to do that, be prepared to be called a "cheap skate" (sic).

 

If you do not  believe that the amount that RCI charges for gratuities is excessive, how are you carrying an unfair burden?

Edited February 22, 2019 by Bee Guy

[Cruiselover0426]

8 minutes ago, spunks said:

I wish the cruise lines would simply raise the price of every cruise by $25.00 per person per day and then not allow any tipping whatever. That way I would no longer be subsidising those cheap skates that like the cheap cruise prices but dont feel like tipping. That way no matter whether tipping is customary where ever one is from, the staff will be fairly compensated and I will not be carrying an unfair burden.

 

Doug

Compensation for cruise line employees should be coming from the cruise line in the form of a pay check.  Tipping is always discretionary, never required and should be up to each individual.  

[Cruiselover0426]

Just now, Bee Guy said:

If you believe that the amount that RCI charges for gratuities is excessive perhaps you should stand up for what you believe and pay what you think is a fair tip.  But if you have the courage to do that, be prepared to be called a "cheap skate" (sic).

It really is none of anyone else's concern or business how much or how little a person chooses to tip.  It is based on services rendered.  The service could be great, good, bad or non-existent and it is up to the individual to tip, or not tip accordingly.  Who are you or anyone else to tell anyone how much or who they should tip?

[mac66]

With automatically applied gratuities I expect the staff to earn them.  This is a fair process and why I don't tip extra.

[Bee Guy]

1 minute ago, Cruiselover0426 said:

It really is none of anyone else's concern or business how much or how little a person chooses to tip.  It is based on services rendered.  The service could be great, good, bad or non-existent and it is up to the individual to tip, or not tip accordingly.  Who are you or anyone else to tell anyone how much or who they should tip?

 I have not told anyone how much to tip.  

If you are going to respond to my posts, please take the time to understand what I have written.

[Cruiselover0426]

4 minutes ago, Bee Guy said:

 I have not told anyone how much to tip.  

If you are going to respond to my posts, please take the time to understand what I have written.

I understand quite well.  In order for you (or anyone) to call somebody a cheapskate (ut if you have the courage to do that, be prepared to be called a "cheap skate" (sic).), you (or anyone) would have to be aware of the amount that somebody tipped. So back to my point on my perfect understanding to your post, it is not anyone elses business how much or how little a person tips. It is a personal, optional thing to do.

[Bee Guy]

9 minutes ago, Cruiselover0426 said:

I understand quite well.  In order for you (or anyone) to call somebody a cheapskate (ut if you have the courage to do that, be prepared to be called a "cheap skate" (sic).), you (or anyone) would have to be aware of the amount that somebody tipped. So back to my point on my perfect understanding to your post, it is not anyone elses business how much or how little a person tips. It is a personal, optional thing to do.

Sigh.... It was the poster I responded to, not I,  that called folks a cheap skate.  Since you have responded to me, you have accused me of calling someone a cheap skate, which I did not do, and you have accused me of telling  someone how much they should tip, which I also did not do.    I hope this helps you to understand a little better.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Bee Guy

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, mac66 said:

With automatically applied gratuities I expect the staff to earn them.  This is a fair process and why I don't tip extra.

Similar to why I don’t do “auto” tip. I tip cash, and ONLY of if it is EARNED. 

[mayleeman]

10 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Similar to why I don’t do “auto” tip. I tip cash, and ONLY of if it is EARNED. 

How do you calculate that? Do you have a set amount in mind that they could earn, and reduce it when service is subpar? Or do you start at zero and add something whenever particular service deserves it?

 

Does someone doing his or her job get a tip for merely doing the job their job description entails, or do they have to perform beyond expectations all the time?

 

I am not trying to be snarky. I am just highlighting how hard it is to calculate the tip over 1, 2 or even 3 weeks, and wonder how that is done. Can one bad day negate 9 good days in that equation?

 

Auto tips help avoid that quagmire for us. But we are "share the wealth" people very aware of how lucky we are to have resources sufficient for cruising, and we enjoy finding ways we can add something to the lives of people not so blessed. I fear that some people look for reasons to withhold, even to punish. While it is their right, I couldn't live like that.

[mac66]

Automatic gratuities was created as a fair way to increase income for those people who work in the relatively low income service/cruise industry.  As I said before it is a fair way for employees to earn added income (if everyone participates).

 

IMO,  most cruise ship employees earn their gratuities, as well they should. If they meet a certain level of performance they should be rewarded, which they usually are with automatic gratuities.  On the other hand adding gratuities on top of gratuities doesn't make sense and something I don't participate in. 

[not-enough-cruising]

14 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

How do you calculate that? Do you have a set amount in mind that they could earn, and reduce it when service is subpar? Or do you start at zero and add something whenever particular service deserves it?

 

Does someone doing his or her job get a tip for merely doing the job their job description entails, or do they have to perform beyond expectations all the time?

 

I am not trying to be snarky. I am just highlighting how hard it is to calculate the tip over 1, 2 or even 3 weeks, and wonder how that is done. Can one bad day negate 9 good days in that equation?

 

Auto tips help avoid that quagmire for us. But we are "share the wealth" people very aware of how lucky we are to have resources sufficient for cruising, and we enjoy finding ways we can add something to the lives of people not so blessed. I fear that some people look for reasons to withhold, even to punish. While it is their right, I couldn't live like that.

It isn't hard at all; and no, no-one earns a tip just for "doing their job".  I am not very demanding, and do not require much.  I have no preconceived amount in mind, and at the end of a journey i pay a gratuity that I feel is commensurate with the effort put forth to satisfy my requirements.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

6 hours ago, Cruiselover0426 said:

Not yours!  Just in general.  It is crazy to be ridiculed because one might have a different opinion.  Insane!

I think that is part of the tipping culture - same as all the secrets and secret rules and handshakes! 👎🙄😱

[mayleeman]

6 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

I think that is part of the tipping culture - same as all the secrets and secret rules and handshakes! 👎🙄😱

And emojis!

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Maybe this one 💵 or this 💰

😱

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, dpostman said:

 

Hummm, Darnit

 

 

Brilliance is the ship we are going on next for a 12 night Baltic.  I guess I'll have to make more trips to GS.

 

 

$10 at a time is really sad.  If that is what they do, I'll have to go twice a day.

 

Thank you all for your input.

 

dp

 

The good news is that as grumpy as the casino cashiers are about this, the people  at Guest Services are delighted to help you.  🙂

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, Cruiselover0426 said:

Compensation for cruise line employees should be coming from the cruise line in the form of a pay check.  Tipping is always discretionary, never required and should be up to each individual.  

 

Do you buy goods in a store on land such as Macy's?  Kohl's?  Publix?  Piggly Wiggly?  Tiffany's?  CVS?

 

Do you know that when you spend money there, some of that money goes to pay the people  who work there?  That $10 shirt does not cost the store $9.00 with $1 profit.

 

EVERY business pays its workers from the money that it takes from its customers.