Carnival tips too high

[mz-s]

Just now, DAVLIB007 said:

may seem this is the way to go but the tips go to a lot of the people you do not come in contact with. laundry those that clean the ship wash the dishes etc. they are part of the tip pool. i have been in the restaurant business the last 35 years. and we tip behind the scenes people who help make your experience better . just my opinion

 

Off topic but if you'll indulge - When you go to Chili's, you step into the kitchen and slip the microwave operator a $5 bill or something? How do you tip the "behind the scenes" people?

[KmomChicago]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

Off topic but if you'll indulge - When you go to Chili's, you step into the kitchen and slip the microwave operator a $5 bill or something? How do you tip the "behind the scenes" people?

Often servers “tip out” other members of the backstage crew from their daily haul. Not every restaurant does this and I don’t know about Chili’s but we did it at Medieval Times and I’ve seen it other places.

[firefly333]

4 hours ago, timbom said:

Have recently taken cruises on RCL and Holland where tip structure is same as on Carnival but on these lines receive far better service. 

 

On both of these lines they change bed linen every three days and make up room twice a day.  Service staff in buffet serves you most of the food and brings you beverages and other items you may need. 

 

In main dining room they have table cloths and have far fewer tables to take care of.  In addition they have extra people to handle drink order so they can concentrate on serving.

 

I do not want to get in a argument on the suggested tip but it appears to me Carnivals suggestion should be less than these othe rlines.

 

 

I did b2b2b2b on rcl in may. When is the last time you did rcl? I sure dont remember changing linens every 3 days rule. I complained about not vacuuming. Also about my waiter who I wrote to the main office about when she wouldnt get me items listed on vegan menu. Staff was very very short for dining. So many had 2 hour dinners.

 

Service the last month has been very short staffed just to get by.

 

In the buffet they no longer serve you. That's old info. In fact they were so short they ran out of silverware. 

 

True they made up my cabin twice a day and had tablecloths. The rest I disagree with what you wrote. I think your info is out if date tbh. 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, DAVLIB007 said:

may seem this is the way to go but the tips go to a lot of the people you do not come in contact with. laundry those that clean the ship wash the dishes etc. they are part of the tip pool. i have been in the restaurant business the last 35 years. and we tip behind the scenes people who help make your experience better . just my opinion

Yes. When people pull tips they are cheating the behind the scene people out of their compensation. It is always a team effort. The people the customer sees would fall on their face if not for the others helping them to shine.

[lazydayz]

2 hours ago, slimknyzer said:

Do you remember the tip envelopes that were placed in your stateroom before the last cruise day?

I do. Do you remember all the people who skipped out of the Main Dining Room on the final night so they wouldn’t feel bad about stiffing the waiters?  I do wish they would just add it to the fare so everyone had to pay it.  

[Clairescurtains]

I actually like the pre-paid tips, with your time dining there are different waiters at many meals, with pre-paid tips they all get something and I don't feel bad about not giving the last dinner's waiter an envelope.

They may have increased but so have salaries in most places. 

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, slimknyzer said:

Do you remember the tip envelopes that were placed in your stateroom before the last cruise day?

I get my tip envelope😃s at guest services

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, RollingMeadows said:

IMO, and you know what they say about opinions, if you're not willing to tip, you should probably stay home. If tips are too expensive you should probably stay home. If you don't think tips are earned you should probably stay home. If you think those being tipped make way too much money you should probably stay home. I understand cruising is expensive, but to take food out of the mouths of the recipients of those tips is probably the most inconsiderate thing one can do, regardless of your country's tipping policy. The recipients of your tips have an average minimum wage of $7 a day at home. Considering what the lowest income earning passenger on Carnival makes as compared to those who are cleaning your toilets and scraping the food off your plates, I can't believe people would be so cheap as to prevent those service providers from getting extra for those lousy chores, like cleaning the bathrooms right next to the pool. If you want the tipping charges to be rolled into the cost of the cruise, then please do travel on a line with those things included. But don't climb aboard a line that doesn't include gratuities and expect the employees to be happy that you're wealthy enough to cruise, but not wealthy enough to tip.

ABSOLUTELY!

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, CajunOyster said:

 

Apparently you've never seen a post complaining that porters make longshoreman union wage and aren't tip-worthy.  They absolutely DO say to stiff those guys.

 

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

Which post was that in this thread? Or are you still trying to appeal to emotion? And are the longshoremen included in Carnival's daily auto-grats? Are you aware that has nothing to do with what is being discussed here?

This is true.  People are quite happy to hose the luggage Porters who make minimum union wages.  The cheapos want everyone to think the parttime Porters operate the  gantry cranes in their spare time.  If that job was that high paying, it would be the kids of union officials 

[DAVLIB007]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

Off topic but if you'll indulge - When you go to Chili's, you step into the kitchen and slip the microwave operator a $5 bill or something? How do you tip the "behind the scenes" people?

each night when you get your tips there is a formula which % go to each staff member . every restaurant i have worked at has some sort of tip out formula

[Elaine5715]

4 hours ago, icft said:

Ah! Back in the true days of cruising when ships were still used for transportation. I remember something like 50 years ago my parents and I accompanied my uncle's family when they moved from Trinidad back to England. Yes, it was tipping in those days. You tipped those who provided you service.

 

But these days it is a bit different. The so-called tips these days go not only to those who provide you service, but also to to "those behind the scenes." That's another reason it is not really a tip.

 

The problem with doing it the way it was done when it was actually a tip is that part of the pay of "those behind the scenes" is the "tip" money. The cruise lines essentially hold a gun to your head saying "tip our way or else the Filipino guy gets it." It is no fault of that "guy behind the scenes" that part of his pay is this so-called tip and we don't want to hurt those guys so we do it their way.

The person you tip ends up tipping out the behind the scenes people.  If there are barbacks, bartenders tip them.  Wait staff tip  out bussers, expeditors, bar tenders and sometimes hosts. On board, room stewards tip out assistants if you pull the auto tips and hand them cash.  Room stewards tip out guest laundry crew.   FYI crew tip out crew room stewards who clean their rooms.

[Elaine5715]

6 hours ago, timbom said:

Have recently taken cruises on RCL and Holland where tip structure is same as on Carnival but on these lines receive far better service. 

 

On both of these lines they change bed linen every three days and make up room twice a day.  Service staff in buffet serves you most of the food and brings you beverages and other items you may need. 

 

In main dining room they have table cloths and have far fewer tables to take care of.  In addition they have extra people to handle drink order so they can concentrate on serving.

 

I do not want to get in a argument on the suggested tip but it appears to me Carnivals suggestion should be less than these othe rlines.

 

 

The  daily suggested gratuities  for numerous crew onboard is way less than a midrange meal tip on land.

[DAVLIB007]

agree it should be rolled in to the cruise fare. I have been on 45 cruise mostly 3 different cruise lines. Hate to say but on Carnival have observed many people on the last day having their gratuities removed. I am a bit nosey sometimes lol . last cruise on carnival saw at least 40 people in line last day heard a guy yell to his friend that they were taking off their tips. he said for real and got in line. i hung around and listened to the people at the desk . I heard at least 85% doing this just to save a buck. If someone says there were service problems then complain to management don't remove the tips it get distributed many ways .   

[Elaine5715]

39 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

I do. Do you remember all the people who skipped out of the Main Dining Room on the final night so they wouldn’t feel bad about stiffing the waiters?  I do wish they would just add it to the fare so everyone had to pay it.  

They still do.  

[Elaine5715]

Carnival raised the daily tip amount by what 50 cents?  By the logic of some folks here, the local farmer market coffee stand increased their hot coffee 50 cent from $2.50 to $3.00.  You might have noticed there has been some price increases for coffee, fuel, wages.  People used to drop the change into the jar as they pour and prepare each cup.  With this 50 cent increase, seems like some people would consider that "the tip".  I am pleased to say my fellow locals dropped dollars from their purchase change and those who used cards put in cash.   

[BlerkOne]

Carnival isn't a leader when raising gratuities - they follow others. So blame the others.

 

Carnival probably will never build tips into the cruise fare because,

1) It destroys incentive for the workers to go above and beyond since they already know what they will receive, and

2) It puts Carnival at a competitive disadvantage since the main competitors don't build tips in and too many cheap people select cruises based on price alone.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, slimknyzer said:

Do you remember the tip envelopes that were placed in your stateroom before the last cruise day?

Yes, and not having to have all the right bills for the envelopes was not always easy. The auto-gratuities has made life at the end of the cruise much easier.

 

And how many people used to skip the main dining room and go to the buffet on the last day to avoid leaving a tip envelope?

[ontheweb]

48 minutes ago, DAVLIB007 said:

agree it should be rolled in to the cruise fare. I have been on 45 cruise mostly 3 different cruise lines. Hate to say but on Carnival have observed many people on the last day having their gratuities removed. I am a bit nosey sometimes lol . last cruise on carnival saw at least 40 people in line last day heard a guy yell to his friend that they were taking off their tips. he said for real and got in line. i hung around and listened to the people at the desk . I heard at least 85% doing this just to save a buck. If someone says there were service problems then complain to management don't remove the tips it get distributed many ways .   

👍, well said. 

[wrendrummer]

Just another point: When I see people talk about service, I see them complaining about things that are really more the cruise lines choices then are controlled by the workers..... Specifically - the mention of the table cloths (the workers don't purchase those) and the making up of the rooms (it is a Carnival choice to tell stewards it is okay to do it once- not multiple times a day and their choice to staff accordingly), and the policy of changing of the linens throughout your stay. I say this because by removing tips you are not hurting management who set these standards- you are hurting the people who abide by these policies....  Quite frankly, if you don't like the level of service set by the management of Carnival, you should go somewhere else.  Do I agree that Cruise lines shouldn't make their employees depend on the customers beliefs on tipping for a living wage? Absolutely- but this isn't the realty of the situation- tips are income that is needed to pay bills and for insurance. In the race for less cost, this is the business model that cruises rely on across most the industry   Yes, we can complain and argue about what tips are suppose to be (and what they actually are) - but denying someone a living wage because we disagree with the management/marketing choices that are not under the employees control, is quite frankly an horrible thing to do another human being.

[Bgwest]

3 hours ago, DAVLIB007 said:

may seem this is the way to go but the tips go to a lot of the people you do not come in contact with. laundry those that clean the ship wash the dishes etc. they are part of the tip pool. 

These are the very people who need to be paid a living wage by the cruise line and NOT by the cruise line asking/demanding their passengers to make up for their own shoddy business practices. 

 

@Virgain Post #10 nailed it. 

 

On each and every cruise we've ever taken we have removed the auto grats and have tipped at discretion those who go above and beyond. We will continue to do so for as long as we cruise.  

[Mary229]

. You are going to pay whether it is in tips or not.  If they would remove tipping it would be rolled into your fare.  If you withhold the tips they will raise fares to compensate because labor is competitive and will demand their full wage.  
 

I was told long ago that the reason for the tip system has to do with income tax law.  If that is true then that cost would be added to your fare.

 

  Businesses offer a product, the customer pays for the product.  The customer pays for every single expense there is in delivering that product.  No matter how they parse it you pay.  

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, and not having to have all the right bills for the envelopes was not always easy. The auto-gratuities has made life at the end of the cruise much easier.

 

And how many people used to skip the main dining room and go to the buffet on the last day to avoid leaving a tip envelope?

Last cruise I didn't have the appropriate cash breakdown for my envelope tips which is on top of the pre-paid gratuity.  Guest services was able to break my cash down.  

[ontheweb]

31 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Last cruise I didn't have the appropriate cash breakdown for my envelope tips which is on top of the pre-paid gratuity.  Guest services was able to break my cash down.  

Yes, I realize you can get larger bills broken that way, but that just adds to the lines that are often already long at that point on a cruise for customer service.

[lazydayz]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, I realize you can get larger bills broken that way, but that just adds to the lines that are often already long at that point on a cruise for customer service.

Casino can make change as well. 

[mz-s]

2 hours ago, DAVLIB007 said:

each night when you get your tips there is a formula which % go to each staff member . every restaurant i have worked at has some sort of tip out formula

 

And you don't think Carnival has figured out this incredible process, especially since for decades they relied on a cash tipping policy?