Tipping

[snoozer of the seas]

10 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

Tipping is and should be a private transaction between you and staff. Especially in cash. 

 

An employees wages should be a private transaction between the employee and the employer. The customer should never enter in it.

 

A fair days pay for a fair days work.

[billylen]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

 

• $20 for the casino cashier to get coffee when she was flying home to South Africa the next day : a 30 hour flight
• Half my (small) casino winnings to the Ukrainian bar staff in the DL to send home to her mother.

 

 

Except for the last two we’re on the same page (but if I ran into the cashier or Ukrainian bar staff, I’d probably do the same 😂)

[DallasGuy75219]

9 minutes ago, snoozer of the seas said:

A fair days pay for a fair days work.

Then I guess you don't mind paying multiples of RC's price to sail a US-flagged ship.

[not-enough-cruising]

On 2/22/2023 at 9:49 AM, HappyTexan44 said:

One idea would be bring cash for the auto-gratuity amount.  Then ask the steward who will be left out.  For example, the steward probably knows who in the windjammer could be trusted to spread out a lump sum tip.   
 

This is a joke, right??

[not-enough-cruising]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:06 AM, SbbquilterUT said:

Your auto gratuity covers many non-customer facing jobs as well as dining venues and room stewards - if you remove that it impacts lots of the crew.  

I don't care to tip "non customer facing" crew

Edited February 23, 2023 by not-enough-cruising

[not-enough-cruising]

On 2/22/2023 at 12:28 PM, billylen said:

You actually touch upon the meat of my question. If I am paying for fees, and tips in specialty dining, then it seems redundant to also pay gratuities for serving staff. Also, another poster mentioned that in on-land restaurants that servers split their tips with other staff. That may be true in some establishments, but not all. 

But to anyone who is reading this, my intent is not to stiff anyone, but I am taking advantage of this forum to get responses on this topic...I'm not disappointed! 

I was on Allure last week.  We had the UDP, we cancelled the auto gratuity (I always do) tipped out room steward, and left a cash tip for the waiter each evening in specialty dining.

[not-enough-cruising]

On 2/22/2023 at 1:14 PM, Vibe said:

My thoughts on tipping:

When a crew member signs a contract with the cruise line, they agree to the salary that they will be paid, that salary comes from the tipping system that is in place.  I do not bother to think about how that system works, that agreement is between the crew member and the cruise line.

I accept and pay the daily amount for the tips that the cruise line has established.  I consider it part of the cruise expense and feel that I contributed to the tipping system.

If a crew member goes over and above the normal for me, I discreetly give them some cash. 

NO, the amount the agree to in their contract is the minimum wage guaranteed to seafarers, this amount is regulated and enforced by international convention.  They get this amount regardless of the timing situation.  Tips are on top of their guarantee.

[not-enough-cruising]

17 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

If people don't want others in their business they shouldn't be posting it CC in the first place.

 

And by the way Royal's stance is:

In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. 

 

And we're not talking about first-time cruisers; we're talking about experienced cruisers who know exactly how the system works and are willing to stiff the crew (and even possibly get them trouble by creating fictitious or exaggerated services issues).  But hey, whatever they have to tell themselves to justify screwing the crew to save a buck. 

They don't even ask you why you are opting out of the auto gratuity when you call

[DallasGuy75219]

48 minutes ago, snoozer of the seas said:

 

An employees wages should be a private transaction between the employee and the employer. The customer should never enter in it.

 

A fair days pay for a fair days work.

 

35 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Then I guess you don't mind paying multiples of RC's price to sail a US-flagged ship.

Never mind, poster is from Australia where gratuities are already priced into the cruise fare.

[Mapleleafforever]

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

 

Never mind, poster is from Australia where gratuities are already priced into the cruise fare.

I wish it was like that here. 

[Guest phd1003]

31 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

I wish it was like that here. 

Won't solve anything. People will still complain and demand FCC. "I only ate at the buffet, why should I pay for MDR wages" - "I don't have kids, Why should I supplement the Kids club staff" and so on. 

[neverbeenhere]

The Passenger Services staff are told to tell any men canceling their tips that they must wear a tie on formal nights, so that they are easy for others to spot. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

(See I got a dress code and tipping thread mixed together) 

Edited February 24, 2023 by neverbeenhere

[BennyandBo]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

They don't even ask you why you are opting out of the auto gratuity when you call

Just to clarify. You can call guests services from your cabin to remove automatic gratuities and not have to go down and wait in line?

 

Can you also wait till last night to do this? I believe it says on Royals site up until last morning.

Thanks.

[DallasGuy75219]

5 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

Just to clarify. You can call guests services from your cabin to remove automatic gratuities and not have to go down and wait in line?

How convenient.  Now one no longer has to do the walk to shame down to Guest Services to be seen stiffing the crew.

[soremekun]

Just now, DallasGuy75219 said:

How convenient.  Now one no longer has to do the walk to shame down to Guest Services to be seen stiffing the crew.

Lazy AND cheap.  LOL

j/k I really don't care what they do.

[BennyandBo]

12 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

How convenient.  Now one no longer has to do the walk to shame down to Guest Services to be seen stiffing the crew.

And just think my estimate of the number of people removing is actually much higher if phone calls play into it. 

[BennyandBo]

And for the record. I don't think anyone who wants to tip in cash to the people who directly served them is cheap. 

[Morecruisesplz]

19 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

How convenient.  Now one no longer has to do the walk to shame down to Guest Services to be seen stiffing the crew.

Walk of shame has a different meaning on land and sea.

[not-enough-cruising]

30 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

Just to clarify. You can call guests services from your cabin to remove automatic gratuities and not have to go down and wait in line?

 

Can you also wait till last night to do this? I believe it says on Royals site up until last morning.

Thanks.

Yes you can just call 

 

I don’t know about the last night, I do it day 2 normally 

[not-enough-cruising]

27 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

How convenient.  Now one no longer has to do the walk to shame down to Guest Services to be seen stiffing the crew.

What shame? 

[BennyandBo]

10 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Yes you can just call 

 

I don’t know about the last night, I do it day 2 normally 

"guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. Guests who have pre-paid their gratuity will not see a daily charge during their cruise."

 

So I guess you can wait till last night based on this quote from Royals website. They must leave the option open for people who after a full week decide they didn't get good enough service.

 

Thanks for the info. 

[John&LaLa]

On 2/22/2023 at 12:24 PM, sellwingri said:

Not sure about the OP, but I’m going on a 15 day cruise is April and I consider that long.

 

I got a long one in December 

[Vibe]

4 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

NO, the amount the agree to in their contract is the minimum wage guaranteed to seafarers, this amount is regulated and enforced by international convention.  They get this amount regardless of the timing situation.  Tips are on top of their guarantee.

The crew member is made aware of what, how and when they are bring paid.  They accepted the job on those terms, just like people do when accepting a job on land.

 

The tips are part of the system the cruise industry came up with to use cruise passengers' money to pad their employee's salary. Just like restaurants in the US do.  

 

When you book a cruise, they add an additional amount for taxes, port charges and fees. Do we obsess over what the fees are and who get them. Probably not.

 

It would be much less stressful if you add the cruise fare, taxes, port charges, fees and tips together to come up with the final total of what the cruise actually costs. If you are satisfied with that cost vs the cruise experience, go ahead and enjoy yourself. If that total cost is not worth it to you, then don't go on the cruise. The same logic with any purchase that you are contemplating. 

[John&LaLa]

On 2/22/2023 at 2:03 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

Since we travel in a suite and consume most of our meals in Coastal Kitchen, we typically leave a group tip for the staff there as unlike dinner, where we have the same waiter/waitress every night, we get different servers during breakfast and lunch.  As mentioned earlier, our waiter/waitress may or may not get additional depending on the service we received.

 

Servers and bar tenders are tipped at the time of service. We do not do the drink package but use the vouchers from our Diamond + status and the free drinks in the Suite Lounge. 
 

 

 

CK tip every meal, doesn't matter who you get

$5 breakfast and lunch

$10 dinner

 

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, BennyandBo said:

Just to clarify. You can call guests services from your cabin to remove automatic gratuities and not have to go down and wait in line?

 

Can you also wait till last night to do this? I believe it says on Royals site up until last morning.

Thanks.

Why not just go straight to Guest Services when you board?