New Gratuity Rate

[wpgcycler]

1 hour ago, ONT-CA said:

What bothers us is the lines' presumptuous position of not only telling us how much to tip but to whom.

We can well imagine that the dishwasher resented the fact that the waiter got the tip or the person who vacuums the halls resented the room steward getting the tip but that falls under initiative and ambition.  As it becomes more difficult to recruit staff at the low wages, the lines' answer seems to have been increase their tips.  Sorry, your tips.  Like P&O, the (sic)"tips" should be included in the fare, period.  And as we are firm believers in actual tipping, we can get on with rewarding those who we think have well deserved it.

Shaking. My. Head.

[Bo1953]

2 minutes ago, wpgcycler said:

Shaking. My. Head.

LOL w, methinks it is time for some sipping bourbon or scotch to continue to read these posts...

 

bon voyage

[gadaboutgal]

For those who say it is only a minor increase - how many of you received a 7% raise this year.  Also, maybe tips are going up, but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?  Hmm just things to muss about.

[wpgcycler]

2 minutes ago, gadaboutgal said:

For those who say it is only a minor increase - how many of you received a 7% raise this year.  Also, maybe tips are going up, but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?  Hmm just things to muss about.

 Is it a 7% annual raise or is this an increase after a couple of years? And BTW, it's only an increase to a portion of the employee's compensation. Finally, I'm not sure I see the basis for the conspiracy theory of reduced pay. 

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, gadaboutgal said:

For those who say it is only a minor increase - how many of you received a 7% raise this year.  Also, maybe tips are going up, but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?  Hmm just things to muss about.

Or maybe they got a raise. Don't care either way. That's between Celebrity and it's employees. 

[gadaboutgal]

Just now, wpgcycler said:

 Is it a 7% annual raise or is this an increase after a couple of years? And BTW, it's only an increase to a portion of the employee's compensation. Finally, I'm not sure I see the basis for the conspiracy theory of reduced pay. 

I am not putting forth a conspiracy theory, but asking a question. "Also, maybe tips are going up- but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?" If one is to champion a salary increase then shouldn't one also have all the facts?

Agree with you it's only a portion of the comp; however, it one is on Social Security and has personal IRA accounts, than an increase in SS of  7% would be only a minor incidental?

[gadaboutgal]

To put it another way,  are you all planning to increase your shoreside restaurant gratuities by a similar percentage?

[wpgcycler]

1 minute ago, gadaboutgal said:

To put it another way,  are you all planning to increase your shoreside restaurant gratuities by a similar percentage?

 If shoreside restaurants have raised their prices by a dollar, then my server will receive another 20 cents. Simple.

[Wendy-Europe]

Let' s see:

 

March 28/2019 service charge went up from 18% to 20 %

 

Then the prices for the drink packages went up.

 

Cabin service charge changed january 2/2018 from 13.50$ to 14.50$ (regular cabin)

[mom says]

1 hour ago, Wendy-Europe said:

 

Cabin service charge changed january 2/2018 from 13.50$ to 14.50$ (regular cabin)

It is not a cabin service charge. It is a combined automatic gratuity for all  the tipped positions other than bartenders. 2 years ago they got a raise of $1. How they have another raise of $1. Shared amongst several people. Nobody's getting rich from that. Nor should anyone who can afford a cruise be financially crippled by that. It amounts to less than the cost of a single cocktail per week.The miserly quibbling over these grats is frankly disgusting.

Edited December 28, 2019 by mom says

[Wendy-Europe]

3 minutes ago, mom says said:

It is not a cabin service charge. It is a combined automatic gratuity for all  the tipped positions other than bartenders. 2 years ago they got a raise of $1. How they have another raise of $1. Shared amongst several people. Nobody's getting rich from that. Nor should anyone who can afford a cruise be financially crippled by that. The miserly quibbling over these grats is frankly disgusting.

At some cruiselines they call it hsc, hotel  service charge . In my opinion it is in fact mandatory.  If it is mandatory,  it is not a gratuity,  however you call it.  Gratuity is up to you,  if you want to give it and how much you want to give.  

 

I never reduce this service charge,  because if you are in rome,  do it like the romans do.

 

And while I am against the system and would prefer the cruiselines pay reasonable wages, i would not remove the hsc, because the only people suffering are the people working hard to give me the holiday of my dreams.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, gadaboutgal said:

For those who say it is only a minor increase - how many of you received a 7% raise this year.  Also, maybe tips are going up, but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?  Hmm just things to muss about.

Ahhh, no need to muss about it at all, at least in this case, yet we read many who want to, though!

 

It is truly a 'minor' increase when one actually takes into consideration the full cost of the sailing they are taking, or is that not an important consideration at all?

 

Many of us do search and scour and claw for the best pricing on our sailing, what is the reason to begrudge X's increase on behalf of their employees a 'raise' as it were?

 

The muss in the comment appears to be about the crew's base pay or is it something else which was not written?

 

For those of us who really believe it is a 'minor increase' in the overall scheme of our vacations, willingly pay this without any thought or question. Now, were X to say that the increase would be $10/day pp, another issue altogether.

 

Then again, we can vote with our $$$ and move to another line which has lower daily rates and/or included. I support the moving on to another line for those who are truly upset and offended by this increase.... 🤣

 

bon voyage

Edited December 28, 2019 by Bo1953

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, gadaboutgal said:

I am not putting forth a conspiracy theory, but asking a question. "Also, maybe tips are going up- but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?" If one is to champion a salary increase then shouldn't one also have all the facts?

Agree with you it's only a portion of the comp; however, it one is on Social Security and has personal IRA accounts, than an increase in SS of  7% would be only a minor incidental?

Yet here in the U.S. SS is based COLA and accordingly would rarely hit that level of increase....

 

bon voyage

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Banjo said:

Can someone please give me some help:

 

I have Reflection trans-Atlantic cruise planned for this April. Have no perks. Went to the link on the email which brought me to our cruise planner page. I see were Celebrity listed tours, restaurant reservations, internet packages, etc to purchase but no prepaying gratuities. Can someone enlighten me were it is on the page?

 

Thanks, Banjo 

I initially looked in the same place and did not find it.   In order to pre-pay gratuities you have to have a reservation directly with Celebrity.   If not you have to call your agent and have them do it for you.

 

If you have a Celebrity booking -  Choose Manage Reservation -

 

Under Gratuities there will be a underlined link - Edit Gratuities

 

Just click it and you can choose to pre-pay.   It will give you a choice to Pay or Pay Later (I believe to be final payment).   As I said before if your reservation is with an Agent you will not have this option.

 

 

[villauk]

Tbh, it’s easier keeping track of stocks and shares than it is of the changes with X recently - it’s like the Brexit (or should I say Cruisit) of sailing 😆. I’m sure by the time we actually take our next sailing with them, the goal posts will have moved a million times in between! As I stated on another thread, if it’s not free movies being reinstated for the umpteenth time, it’s the going and coming of cabin furniture, the drink package surcharges (or may be not), the disappearing Connie itineraries,  or even the actual staterooms themselves being re-categorised - now it’s the grats. Wonder what’s next in their great scheme of plans 🤔? 

[ECCruise]

3 hours ago, gadaboutgal said:

For those who say it is only a minor increase - how many of you received a 7% raise this year.  Also, maybe tips are going up, but is the crew's base pay being reduced at the same time?  Hmm just things to muss about.

Historically, their base pay (of front end--servers, stewards, e.g.) has been $50 a month.   How much could it be reduced?

[alcman]

8 hours ago, mom says said:

Um, no. This current increase goes to the crew gratuities. There is no revenue for the line.

I don't think that is a given.  The crew receive a combination of some base salary, tips distributed from the pool that this charge feeds and personal tips handed out by passengers.  Celebrity could have just dropped its contribution to base salary and balanced it by upping the taxed gratuity.  Technically, they can say all of the increase goes to the crew and still up the company's bottom line.

[mom says]

Alcman, did you read the post before yours? What is your basis for alleging the cruise line dropped the crew's contracted base salary by a commensurate amount?.

Edited December 29, 2019 by mom says

[bikerunner]

This is getting to funny. I worked in the hospitality industry many years.  I worked a few inclusive places where there was a hotel charge added on for grats. We had some demand to take it off. I can see the ones in this thread where the back room talk would be very interesting. This is celebrity’s business model. Moan and complain all you want. I kind of imagine a little kids temper tantrum stomping ones feet. If you don’t like the model there are many other choices. Personally I’m good and like the model. The crew seems to also. I have run into many of the same crew members over the years on celebrity. Why don’t you ask them why they keep returning. But I guess it’s the help   

[bikerunner]

2 minutes ago, mom says said:

Alcman, did you read the post before yours? What is your basis for alleging the cruise line dropped the crew's contracted base salary by a commensurate amount?.

Because there’s conspiracy in everything these days it seems for many

[hcat]

3 hours ago, villauk said:

Tbh, it’s easier keeping track of stocks and shares than it is of the changes with X recently - it’s like the Brexit (or should I say Cruisit) of sailing 😆. I’m sure by the time we actually take our next sailing with them, the goal posts will have moved a million times in between! As I stated on another thread, if it’s not free movies being reinstated for the umpteenth time, it’s the going and coming of cabin furniture, the drink package surcharges (or may be not), the disappearing Connie itineraries,  or even the actual staterooms themselves being re-categorised - now it’s the grats. Wonder what’s next in their great scheme of plans 🤔? 

Agree...very chaotic recently. Wonder who is behind the   pattern of change, un-change, re-change!  Cannot all be blamed on IT...

 

 It was easier selecting a car online....

[NMTraveller]

🍿

[keesar]

58 minutes ago, Rv6flyer said:

If tipping charges bother you this much, go to GS and have them reduced or elimated, no need to have pages of what YOU think is s right. Get real people, flame on because I do not care.

 

Seems that some of the posters here should go to guest services and get the  tip envelopes to pass out their  $$$.  😀  

[NMTraveller]

7 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

LOL w, methinks it is time for some sipping bourbon or scotch to continue to read these posts...

 

bon voyage

You could but then that would cost more than the tip increase.🤣

[Cruise Junky]

8 hours ago, wpgcycler said:

 Is it a 7% annual raise or is this an increase after a couple of years? And BTW, it's only an increase to a portion of the employee's compensation. Finally, I'm not sure I see the basis for the conspiracy theory of reduced pay. 

Didn’t it go up just last year? That would be 7% in a year. I don’t begrudge them a raise but when I’m comparing land trips to cruises the extra $40 cdn a day in tips puts a big check mark in the land trip category. 

 

Personally, I’m getting a bit tired of supplementing dead beats who remove tips. Make it mandatory to keep the costs down.