Auto Gratuities- Yes or No?

[A&L_Ont]

9 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Do you tip the plumber or HVAC technician that comes to your home?

What about your automobile mechanic?

 

I tipped the septic tank pumper when he came to clean our tank on Eastern Sunday afternoon when it backed up. He didn’t have to come out but he chose to. He asked if he could finish his family meal first, and I said no worries. Just happy to know he was coming within a couple hours. 

 

9 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I definitely agree with your statement that one must do what is most comfortable to them, I respect your well thought, well articulated post.

I’d like to to think you might have considered it too when the next working day was Tuesday, and he didn’t charge an emergency rate either for the call. 
 

Every situation is different. 

[snaefell]

54 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Some of the arguments seem to be more like a magicians speil all smoke and mirrors.

To cover various points raised;

1) pay in other countries is irrelevant.

2) ships operate to their own rules. Roya's includes "auto tips".

3) Royal does make it clear about its tipping policy. Booking condition 13 (in the UK) is headed:

What are onboard service charges/tips "

and states they " will  add daily gratuities to each guests sea pass account" - it could not be clearer.

4) if anyone doesn't accept auto typing don't book with Royal.

By all means campaign against auto tiping directly with Royals Management.

Will this work?

Who knows but  Celebrity passengers have successfully campaiged against Celebrity's compolsary AI pricing and now all cruises are available with cruise only and AI options.

In the meantime accept that removing auto tips impacts on the earnings of some staff. Tip extra if you want depending on service - we do that.

Above all enjoy your cruises.

 

On point 3 it could be clearer,human nature means that people read the colourful bits with the pretty pictures & leave the small print until later!

I once asked a Travel Agent if they told people about the tipping before selling them cruises,she said they had been told not to &,yes they did have loads of complaints from people who found out after they had booked.

Many people do little homework on their travel.

To bring up an old chestnut if I book a stay in an hotel I don't expect at checkout to find that they have added £10 as a tip for the dishwasher or 18% on for my bar bill!

[deliver42]

Blame the TA, not Royal. Read their web site and it clearly states that there are auto gratuities. Why leave everything to a 3rd party without doing some research yourself.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

I tipped the septic tank pumper when he came to clean our tank on Eastern Sunday afternoon when it backed up. He didn’t have to come out but he chose to. He asked if he could finish his family meal first, and I said no worries. Just happy to know he was coming within a couple hours. 

 

I’d like to to think you might have considered it too when the next working day was Tuesday, and he didn’t charge an emergency rate either for the call. 
 

Every situation is different. 

Absolutely; that is the very definition of “above and beyond”; that would have gotten a wrll

deserved tip from me as well. 

[DirtyDawg]

I'm willing to give a BIG TIP to the moderator who closes down this thread!

 

💲💲

[chuckroast1]

I've held out for 9 pages and 200+ posts but this thread is absolute PEAK Cruise Critic!

 

[kimlovesfl]

I really do wish the US would go the way of Australia, and include gratuities in the cost of the fare, but we don't, and aren't likely to do so any time soon. That being what it is, if you can afford to cruise, surely you can afford the relatively small amount per day for the automatic gratuities, and if you wish, pay the room steward, etc, a little extra on top of that. So many people share those tips, some you may never have contact with. The crew members work so so hard to make our vacations wonderful. They deserve that extra money. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I'm willing to give a BIG TIP to the moderator who closes down this thread!

 

💲💲

Yes, it needs to be put to bed.

[JeffT237]

2 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I'm willing to give a BIG TIP to the moderator who closes down this thread!

No way we can easily get to 20+ pages!

[LMaxwell]

Up to you to choose from the allowed options. 

[yogimax]

3 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I'm willing to give a BIG TIP to the moderator who closes down this thread!

 

💲💲

Why do you continue to read it?

[rudeney]

17 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

No way we can easily get to 20+ pages!

 

A big fat long tipping thread - just another sign that things are getting back to normal!

[DirtyDawg]

15 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Why do you continue to read it?

I don't. I occasionally tune in just like I occasionally tune into a NASCAR race? 

 

Why? For the BIG multi-car - multi-poster pile-ups, of course! 💥💥

 

But, alas, even those NASCAR race Boom Booms get boring after awhile and after 400 or so laps of going round and round ... and round and round ... and round and round ...  each race mercifully comes to an end.  😁

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[billslowsky]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

Some of the arguments seem to be more like a magicians speil all smoke and mirrors.

To cover various points raised;

1) pay in other countries is irrelevant.

 

 

Not to the person deciding between taking the cruise ship job or not.  Your room attendant in all likelihood did not turn down a Fellowship at Oxford.

[HBE4]

49 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

A big fat long tipping thread - just another sign that things are getting back to normal!

 

Maybe we can blend it with a few other long time CC topics. Such as: If I tip the pool/towel attendant extra, can I hog a unattended pool lounger all day?  How formal should I dress when handing the head waiter his tip envelope? 😉

[DirtyDawg]

36 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Maybe we can blend it with a few other long time CC topics. Such as: If I tip the pool/towel attendant extra, can I hog a unattended pool lounger all day?  How formal should I dress when handing the head waiter his tip envelope? 😉

And my favorite, the pre-tipping vs. post tipping threads. 😱

😉

Edited July 10, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[Itried4498]

8 hours ago, the penguins said:

Some of the arguments seem to be more like a magicians speil all smoke and mirrors.

To cover various points raised;

1) pay in other countries is irrelevant.

2) ships operate to their own rules. Roya's includes "auto tips".

3) Royal does make it clear about its tipping policy. Booking condition 13 (in the UK) is headed:

What are onboard service charges/tips "

and states they " will  add daily gratuities to each guests sea pass account" - it could not be clearer.

4) if anyone doesn't accept auto typing don't book with Royal.

 

1) yes, pay in cruise workers’ home countries is totally relevant to this discussion *in regards to the points being made*.  These aren’t Motel 6 positions in Oklahoma — these are historically coveted, competitive jobs that pay significantly more than the cruise workers would in their home countries.

Using data from 2018/19 (the most recent years readily available), ship workers in menial positions earn similar wages to US workers in menial positions.  Shop workers also get a ton of benefits that those US workers don’t.

 

Alas, the perpetual argument that these workers are underpaid is FALSE.  Markets dictate wages, not warm and fuzzy feelings.

 

2 and 3) RCL also makes it clear that the tips are optional and can be increased or removed at any time. 

[goldfish65]

To those who say, do you tip your doctor? No, that goes against the ethics of the medical profession. I learned that when I sent flowers to a nurse who wrangled an approval from my insurance company. However, you absolutely can tip many other professions if you want. The guy who quickly gets your car looking like new again after an accident, a gift card is a nice gesture. Some carryout pizzas when you have workmen at your place. An extra $20 to the guy who gets your a/c repaired, "lunch is on me." Etc.

[snaefell]

3 hours ago, kimlovesfl said:

I really do wish the US would go the way of Australia, and include gratuities in the cost of the fare, but we don't, and aren't likely to do so any time soon. That being what it is, if you can afford to cruise, surely you can afford the relatively small amount per day for the automatic gratuities, and if you wish, pay the room steward, etc, a little extra on top of that. So many people share those tips, some you may never have contact with. The crew members work so so hard to make our vacations wonderful. They deserve that extra money. 

When you say a relatively small amount per day when you are on a short cruise it obviously doesn't add up to a fortune but when the cruise is for 2 or 3 weeks or more it can seem like a lot of money.

 

[MsMidge]

4 hours ago, kimlovesfl said:

I really do wish the US would go the way of Australia, and include gratuities in the cost of the fare, but we don't, and aren't likely to do so any time soon. That being what it is, if you can afford to cruise, surely you can afford the relatively small amount per day for the automatic gratuities, and if you wish, pay the room steward, etc, a little extra on top of that. So many people share those tips, some you may never have contact with. The crew members work so so hard to make our vacations wonderful. They deserve that extra money. 

Your assuming the employees pay is affected by how many people pay the DSC.  Isn’t this the cruiseline that shares the DSC fleet wide, so your money could be going to pay the crew on other ships.  More likely its going to the company and their shareholders.  That’s why they aren’t transparent where it goes.

[Ferry_Watcher]

2 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Not to the person deciding between taking the cruise ship job or not.  Your room attendant in all likelihood did not turn down a Fellowship at Oxford.

Harsh and unkind.  I am guessing that if some of these talented crew members had had the same academic and social opportunities that our children have that they might have ended up at Oxford.

[billslowsky]

55 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Harsh and unkind.  I am guessing that if some of these talented crew members had had the same academic and social opportunities that our children have that they might have ended up at Oxford.

Neither harsh nor unkind.  If the room attendants have more financially lucrative opportunities at home, why wouldn't they take them?  A cruise is not a social justice encounter group.

[billslowsky]

2 hours ago, goldfish65 said:

To those who say, do you tip your doctor? No, that goes against the ethics of the medical profession. I learned that when I sent flowers to a nurse who wrangled an approval from my insurance company. However, you absolutely can tip many other professions if you want. The guy who quickly gets your car looking like new again after an accident, a gift card is a nice gesture. Some carryout pizzas when you have workmen at your place. An extra $20 to the guy who gets your a/c repaired, "lunch is on me." Etc.

Maternity wards in particular have many people leaving gifts for the workers.  Same with pediatric units and long term care.  They don't turn them down.

[topnole]

6 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

Maternity wards in particular have many people leaving gifts for the workers.  Same with pediatric units and long term care.  They don't turn them down.

Agree in maternity ward.  We left cards and gifts.  Had no idea what to expect with our first, but they were so amazing I left the hospital with the only purpose being to get some thank you cards and gift cards for our nurses.  With our second and third we came prepared and yet again were amazed and happy to leave them a small heartfelt thanks.   

[MommaBear55]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

When you say a relatively small amount per day when you are on a short cruise it obviously doesn't add up to a fortune but when the cruise is for 2 or 3 weeks or more it can seem like a lot of money.

 

If I can afford to cruise, I can afford to tip. Just came off a 28 night B2B, have a 43 night next Spring with a bunch of 10 day ones sprinkled in between. I'll tip the same amount per day on each.