Do room stewards know that you prepaid gratiuties?

[rudeney]

So here's a thought...according to what we think we know, crew members are guaranteed a monthly wage of $1100, and out of the $14.50 per person per day gratuity, a stateroom attendant is allocated $3.55.  In order for that to equal $1100 in a month, an attendant would need to provide service for about 10 guests (not staterooms, but guests) per day.  Given an average of double-occupancy, I'd think an attendant would provide service to more than 5 staterooms, and thus be earning more than $1100/month just in gratuities that passengers pay.  This means that RCCL likely pays nothing in wages unless a lot of passengers remove gratuities (but I really doubt that happens in large numbers). 

 

If this is the case, I'm OK with all that.  Some might argue that RCCL is making passengers pay the crew's salaries, but as I said previously, we are anyhow, either as tips or higher cruise fares.  

[Morecruisesplz]

13 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I never posted that a cabin steward made $25 a week. If you made the effort to become friends ands maintain friendships with cabin stewards, bartenders, MDR servers, etc., you would be surprised by how much infomercial they share with you. Of course it helps when you sail on the same ship for several months a year.  

But you never know if it is true. 

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, SilkySal said:

We always converse with many of the crew, so I guess we're just friendly people. We speak and/or smile to all of them in the hallways going to and from our cabin, and they always reciprocate. We enjoy hearing about their homelands and often look at pictures of their family. Try it sometime.😉

I'll never forget one of the room attendants for the room next to mine on Freedom last fall.  I had mistaken her for my room attendant when I was walking by and said hello (both Filipina, same height, same haircut, both wearing glasses, and both wearing masks) and she introduced herself. 

The next day I saw her making the bed in a room down the hall and I said, "Good morning, Mary Joy" and she absolutely BEAMED (evident even behind her mask) and practically ran over to me to thank me for remembering her name.  (She actually said it like that, "thank you for remembering my name!")  It really hit me then... how many people must treat them like nobodies???  For her to have that extreme of a reaction to me just remembering her name??? 

I mean, it's not like I was handing out $100 bills or anything to cause such a reaction, and she wasn't even my room attendant, so it's not like she was sucking up to me to get a bigger tip out of me at the end of the cruise.  I was always friendly to the various workers I came across before then, but since that encounter, I've made an even bigger effort to be personable to the staff that I meet and use their names when possible.  I can't imagine how dehumanizing it must be to be invisible week after week after week.  

[aubreyc1988]

The only time I've ever not prepaid my tips is when I cruised on NCL in March in the Haven. I had a TON of OBC and some of it could be used towards tips so I didn't prepay them so it would deduct daily off my OBC. 

 

I didn't notice a difference in service, but I was in a suite so idk if that had to do with it. 

 

Normally I do prepay it, not because I think that I will be treated differently. I don't want to see a large bill on my cruise tab plus I think it WOULD give the crew some peace of mind that they aren't going to be stiffed at the end. But I've never asked them nor have I experienced a different level of service ever. I have HEARD that the crew do have a list of who has prepaid and who has not prepaid. 

[Morecruisesplz]

4 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I'll never forget one of the room attendants for the room next to mine on Freedom last fall.  I had mistaken her for my room attendant when I was walking by and said hello (both Filipina, same height, same haircut, both wearing glasses, and both wearing masks) and she introduced herself. 

The next day I saw her making the bed in a room down the hall and I said, "Good morning, Mary Joy" and she absolutely BEAMED (evident even behind her mask) and practically ran over to me to thank me for remembering her name.  (She actually said it like that, "thank you for remembering my name!")  It really hit me then... how many people must treat them like nobodies???  For her to have that extreme of a reaction to me just remembering her name??? 

I mean, it's not like I was handing out $100 bills or anything to cause such a reaction, and she wasn't even my room attendant, so it's not like she was sucking up to me to get a bigger tip out of me at the end of the cruise.  I was always friendly to the various workers I came across before then, but since that encounter, I've made an even bigger effort to be personable to the staff that I meet and use their names when possible.  I can't imagine how dehumanizing it must be to be invisible week after week after week.  

And remember when you were bringing meds back from shore for a cabin attendant with a terrible rash? Good times!

[aubreyc1988]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

So here's a thought...according to what we think we know, crew members are guaranteed a monthly wage of $1100, and out of the $14.50 per person per day gratuity, a stateroom attendant is allocated $3.55.  In order for that to equal $1100 in a month, an attendant would need to provide service for about 10 guests (not staterooms, but guests) per day.  Given an average of double-occupancy, I'd think an attendant would provide service to more than 5 staterooms, and thus be earning more than $1100/month just in gratuities that passengers pay.  This means that RCCL likely pays nothing in wages unless a lot of passengers remove gratuities (but I really doubt that happens in large numbers). 

 

If this is the case, I'm OK with all that.  Some might argue that RCCL is making passengers pay the crew's salaries, but as I said previously, we are anyhow, either as tips or higher cruise fares.  

To add onto what you said, the crew sign a contract and have a general idea of how much they will be making per month...I am sure this accounts for a few rude people who remove tips and also those who are generous. 

 

I don't think on this much anymore as an experienced cruiser. I keep my automatic gratuities on (Usually prepay), tip extra if I can and if service warrants, am kind to them and try to make it so their work is  easy when they are cleaning my room, and then I call it a day in regards to my tipping decisions. I can't worry endlessly if the cruiselines are paying the crew enough, I have to hope the crew wouldn't accept an unfair contract. 

 

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Exactly! That is why your autograts - save Royal a lot of money - because now they can pay less of THEIR money to their staff and use yours instead!

Your comment is based on a false assumption.

Royal pays a base salary which for arguments sake is 💲1100 per month.

In addition it distribributes the auto grats to the crew in the autograts pool (basically members of the housekeeping team). 

If everyone withheld their autotips in this example the crew member would get their 💲1100 all paid by Royal.

If noone withheld their autotips Royal would still pay 💲1100 with the tips comming from the passengers.

The only people to suffer when auto tips are withheld are the crew members who passengers have no way of paying directly.

Yes your cabin steward, waiter or whoever you choose to tip will be happy.

The others, who of course you never have to face, will be working for less.

You may not like the system but it is what it is.

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

3 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

To add onto what you said, the crew sign a contract and have a general idea of how much they will be making per month...I am sure this accounts for a few rude people who remove tips and also those who are generous. 

 

I don't think on this much anymore as an experienced cruiser. I keep my automatic gratuities on (Usually prepay), tip extra if I can and if service warrants, am kind to them and try to make it so their work is  easy when they are cleaning my room, and then I call it a day in regards to my tipping decisions. I can't worry endlessly if the cruiselines are paying the crew enough, I have to hope the crew wouldn't accept an unfair contract. 

 

Amen. 

[brillohead]

29 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

And remember when you were bringing meds back from shore for a cabin attendant with a terrible rash? Good times!

I hardly think a single tube of ointment counts as "bringing meds", and I also never said that the cabin attendant had a "terrible rash" -- but good try.  What's it like having someone else living rent-free in your head?

[latserrof]

On 8/21/2022 at 9:05 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Not sure where you are getting your information from, but the base salary of gratuity based positions is much lower than $1100.

Delete. (asked and answered).

Edited August 22, 2022 by latserrof
(asked and answered).

[cruiseboy89130]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Your comment is based on a false assumption.

Royal pays a base salary which for arguments sake is 💲1100 per month.

In addition it distribributes the auto grats to the crew in the autograts pool (basically members of the housekeeping team). 

If everyone withheld their autotips in this example the crew member would get their 💲1100 all paid by Royal.

If noone withheld their autotips Royal would still pay 💲1100 with the tips comming from the passengers.

The only people to suffer when auto tips are withheld are the crew members who passengers have no way of paying directly.

Yes your cabin steward, waiter or whoever you choose to tip will be happy.

The others, who of course you never have to face, will be working for less.

You may not like the system but it is what it is.

 

 

You are twisting it wrong - Royal has to make sure they are getting at least $1100 - so that can be 0$ from Royal and $1100 from grats or $500 from royal and $600 from grats or anything in between.

And because that is the case grats are pooled from many voyages and across the fleet - so Royal can balance the grats so it comes down to $0 from Royal and at leats $1100 from grats most of the time! They don't want ist to be $500 from royal and $600 from grats in one voyage und $0 from Royal and $1800 from grats the next trip....they will balance it to be $0 from Royal and $1200 for both trips...they will pool for 3 month and then distribute the grats evenly across ships and voyage days...

[Spif Barwunkel]

Relevant to all tipping threads that came before, and this one. Nothing difficult about tipping. If you have to ask about the amount to tip, who to tip, who not to tip, who knows what about who...and you, then perhaps you should refrain from tipping and enjoy your vacation stress free. Various crew members will make out just fine without your loose change and the fact that you have to ask strangers to justify your gratuities, or lack thereof, is ludicrous. 

 

Too many variables associated with tipping. Gen X's and Millennials are crappy tippers which leaves it up to Boomers and post WW2 folks to make up the difference. Personally, I do not feel obligated to do so. Various cultures are crappy tippers, that's just "their culture."  DW and I tip well, when warranted, but there is no contractual agreement between us and the ship's crew as to amounts. We tip for services rendered, not because we feel sorry for cultural norms and personal circumstances. If the last two reasons are why you tip, then you better be spending more for gratuities than for cruise cost, and airfare if included.

 

Work on a cruise ship is hard, no doubt. With long hours, stringent rules and regulations, cramped living quarters, disrespectful passengers - most notably us ugly Americans - and so on and so forth, one wonders what the draw could possibly be. Many veteran crew members with ten to twenty years of experience on cruise ships are very happy and do quite well, for themselves and their families.

 

Don't worry about tipping, or what room stewards know. Do your thing, whatever that is, as a cheapskate or as an appreciative guest. Either way, the ship's crew will be fine.  

[yogimax]

25 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Don't worry about tipping, or what room stewards know. Do your thing, whatever that is, as a cheapskate or as an appreciative guest. Either way, the ship's crew will be fine.  

The way not to worry about tipping is to leave the gratuities in place, not to be, as you suggest, a cheapskate.

[Spif Barwunkel]

21 minutes ago, yogimax said:

The way not to worry about tipping is to leave the gratuities in place, not to be, as you suggest, a cheapskate.

Some will still feel stress and the need to ask whether or not that is enough.

 

By the way yogimax, are you familiar with William Cullen Bryant High School on 48th street between Broadway and 31st avenue in Astoria?

[yogimax]

27 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Some will still feel stress and the need to ask whether or not that is enough.

 

By the way yogimax, are you familiar with William Cullen Bryant High School on 48th street between Broadway and 31st avenue in Astoria?

Of course, that was my local high school, although I went to Stuyvesant in Manhattan.  Also PS 70 and JHS 10.  Can I assume you were raised in Astoria?

 

[Spif Barwunkel]

10 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Of course, that was my local high school, although I went to Stuyvesant in Manhattan.  Also PS 70 and JHS 10.  Can I assume you were raised in Astoria?

 

Born in Florida. Moved to NY when I was five when dad was transferred on his job. Attended PS 151, JHS 10, and Bryant HS, class of 1962. Moved back to Florida in 1967 after discharge from US Army. We had some damn good basketball and baseball games with Stuyvesant during my time.

[yogimax]

1 hour ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Born in Florida. Moved to NY when I was five when dad was transferred on his job. Attended PS 151, JHS 10, and Bryant HS, class of 1962. Moved back to Florida in 1967 after discharge from US Army. We had some damn good basketball and baseball games with Stuyvesant during my time.

ha!  I graduated from Stuyvesant in 1962 which means we attended JHS 10 at the same time.  Played intramural softball and basketball at JHS 10.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

You are twisting it wrong - Royal has to make sure they are getting at least $1100 - so that can be 0$ from Royal and $1100 from grats or $500 from royal and $600 from grats or anything in between.

And because that is the case grats are pooled from many voyages and across the fleet - so Royal can balance the grats so it comes down to $0 from Royal and at leats $1100 from grats most of the time! They don't want ist to be $500 from royal and $600 from grats in one voyage und $0 from Royal and $1800 from grats the next trip....they will balance it to be $0 from Royal and $1200 for both trips...they will pool for 3 month and then distribute the grats evenly across ships and voyage days...

Princess uses the balancing across the fleet and pays every 3 months.

Each cruise on Royal (and the same applies to Celebrity) is a cost centre in its own right no pooling or sharing.

Royal publishes the facts that tips are distributed to the crew with no deductions.

Also the basic pay of crew members doing the same job varies depending on experience and length of service e.g. one Cabin steward will be on say 💲1100 a month and another on 💲1200. 

The only constant feature for those Stewards is the daily tips.

What evidence do you have to support your statements?

[Morecruisesplz]

3 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Relevant to all tipping threads that came before, and this one. Nothing difficult about tipping. If you have to ask about the amount to tip, who to tip, who not to tip, who knows what about who...and you, then perhaps you should refrain from tipping and enjoy your vacation stress free. Various crew members will make out just fine without your loose change and the fact that you have to ask strangers to justify your gratuities, or lack thereof, is ludicrous. 

 

Too many variables associated with tipping. Gen X's and Millennials are crappy tippers which leaves it up to Boomers and post WW2 folks to make up the difference. Personally, I do not feel obligated to do so. Various cultures are crappy tippers, that's just "their culture."  DW and I tip well, when warranted, but there is no contractual agreement between us and the ship's crew as to amounts. We tip for services rendered, not because we feel sorry for cultural norms and personal circumstances. If the last two reasons are why you tip, then you better be spending more for gratuities than for cruise cost, and airfare if included.

 

Work on a cruise ship is hard, no doubt. With long hours, stringent rules and regulations, cramped living quarters, disrespectful passengers - most notably us ugly Americans - and so on and so forth, one wonders what the draw could possibly be. Many veteran crew members with ten to twenty years of experience on cruise ships are very happy and do quite well, for themselves and their families.

 

Don't worry about tipping, or what room stewards know. Do your thing, whatever that is, as a cheapskate or as an appreciative guest. Either way, the ship's crew will be fine.  

But what if they cry, throw a tantrum in the hallway or throw towels "like a football?" Then we are told we must console them while smiling and make small talk so that they feel validated. We should also track them down while they are cleaning other cabins and converse until we get that "$100 smile!" Cruise crictic posters say so. 

[ReneeFLL]

19 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am not talking about people I don’t l know,  I am taliking about crew members I have become good friends with over the years to the point I will frequently meet them for lunch when they are in port  in Florida and I often pick them up at airports and drive them to their hotel when they are starting another contract. They are the ones who usually bring up the topic of gratuities and mention how they lose money when passengers assigned to them cancel gratuities. 

IMO they are looking for more tips. Why would they even bring it up? I don’t care how good of friends you are. Do you ever bring up your pay with your friends and complain? I would be put off if they did that to me.

 

I have never ever seen any attendant throw things, have a sad smile or anything else. Shame on them for letting passengers see this.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[thethreeofus]

On 8/20/2022 at 11:00 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

i am friends with several cabin stewards who work for RCI. They know which cabins pre-pay gratuities and they know if gratuities are removed during a cruise, since RCI charges gratuities on a daily basis. What they don’t know until after the cruise is if a passenger removes gratuities on the last day of the cruise. They also know the history of passengers who have removed gratuities in the past. 

I have no direct information, this post came from Cruise Critic Administration.    Please ask your cabin steward friends how much their guarantee pay is per month and how much of the tip they get per person.  I think that would help a lot of us understand the difference between guaranteed base pay and tip pay.  I’ve also been told that they don’t pay anything for their room, food, laundry for uniforms or medical expenses while onboard.  Basically they only pay for personal items, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.  Everything else is supplied by the Cruise line.  Can they verify that? That would also help us all to understand the inter workings.  Thanks.

[livingonthebeach]

On 8/21/2022 at 2:00 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

i am friends with several cabin stewards who work for RCI. They know which cabins pre-pay gratuities and they know if gratuities are removed during a cruise, since RCI charges gratuities on a daily basis. What they don’t know until after the cruise is if a passenger removes gratuities on the last day of the cruise. They also know the history of passengers who have removed gratuities in the past. 

 

"They know the history of passengers who have removed gratuities in the past." Really? Are you serious? You mean they get a printout of all passengers' past and present gratuities? Including cash tips? For crying out loud where did you get this gem of insider information? 

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

"They know the history of passengers who have removed gratuities in the past." Really? Are you serious? You mean they get a printout of all passengers' past and present gratuities? Including cash tips? For crying out loud where did you get this gem of insider information? 

It’s not insider information. If you establish a friendship with anyone on a ship, whether it is a bartender, cabin steward, MDR waiter, etc. they are very open about telling you about passengers (in general, not by name) who tip and passengers who don’t tip. You have to realize the crew on most ships come from a culture completely different than the US. While most people living in the US would never discuss how much they earn, it is a lot different for people from other countries who are way more open about what they earn on a ship. 

[LeeRB]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:36 PM, rudeney said:

1!"Tip creep" is a real problem.   I'm not talking about traditional tipped positions like restaurant and bar servers, cruise ship crew, etc. but the almost endless line of people who have their hands out for a tip.  Fast food and counter service restaurants have "tip jars" or "tip buttons" on their pay pads.  What's next?  Will I have to tip my HOA representative?  My veterinarian?  The cashier at the Dollar General?  I've long been a proponent of tipping because I believe it puts the customer in charge of the service provider's compensation where it's the customer who is in the best position to evaluate performance.  But this expectation that every person who deals with the public "deserves" a tip is just ridiculous.  I think the pendulum will swing so far out that people will get "tip overload" and just stop tipping everyone.  

AMEN !

[livingonthebeach]

8 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

It’s not insider information. If you establish a friendship with anyone on a ship, whether it is a bartender, cabin steward, MDR waiter, etc. they are very open about telling you about passengers (in general, not by name) who tip and passengers who don’t tip. You have to realize the crew on most ships come from a culture completely different than the US. While most people living in the US would never discuss how much they earn, it is a lot different for people from other countries who are way more open about what they earn on a ship. 

 

You clearly state in your previous post that stewards know the whole history of passengers' past and present (by printouts) tipping history and then back pedal and state "they are very open about telling you about passengers (in general, not by name) who tip and passengers who don’t tip". Really? Who are you trying to kid?