Are pre-paid gratuities even worth it any more?

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, bikerunner said:

I have some friends who work on ships, employees are let go immediately and taken off ship based on constant evaluations.  The lazy ones do not last long.  I know of someone who worked for Celebrity 18 years and was just fired last year and put off.  

But how many bad writeups or warnings did they get If they were given poor evaluations? If they are habitual and not doing their jobs they should be fired. Tips or not. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by davekathy

[bikerunner]

14 minutes ago, davekathy said:

But how many bad writeups or warnings did they get If they were given poor evaluations? If they are habitual and not doing their jobs they should be fired. Tips or not. 

He was given one bad evaluation 2 weeks later he was fired.  

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

He was given one bad evaluation 2 weeks later he was fired.  

So one and done. I guess the type of negative writeup would be a major factor or Celebrity's employee contract for negative writeups.  

Edited July 9, 2023 by davekathy

[karl_nj]

14 hours ago, RichYak said:

No, I'm not saying that because that is obvious. What I'm saying is that any extra cash you gave to your wait staff goes to a pool for that particular dining room, some of which goes to the Maitre'd. Therefore, I don't (nor should the group) care what you're asking because it is a moot point.

 

MDR staff on Celebrity pool additional cash tips?

 

I've heard of this happening with bar staff on some lines, but this is the first time I've heard this. I guess it's possible though.

 

Do they do this to share with the "Anytime" dining staff?

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

40 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

MDR staff on Celebrity pool additional cash tips?

 

I've heard of this happening with bar staff on some lines, but this is the first time I've heard this. I guess it's possible though.

 

Do they do this to share with the "Anytime" dining staff?

 

 

They have to turn it in and anything above what their autogratuities would be is given back to them directly.

 

My guess is all they track who goes to what table/servers each night with Select dining - they do ask for your keycard after all. And then it would follow the same - turn in the cash and if autograts have been left on you get what is leftover.

[smtcan]

1 hour ago, Octavias said:

That sounds absolutely brutal.  Add in the fact that they get blamed when people remove auto grats, and it seems hostile.  I wonder what percent of passengers remove them? 

I recall a few years ago we cruised with friends who removed their gratuities.  We were in the dining room before them one evening and our waiter quietly asked us if he had done something wrong for Mr. —— to cause him to remove the gratuities.  The staff are obviously aware and concerned about this, but I would suspect that there is more involved when staff are fired.

[smtcan]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Those that work in the casino, shore excursions, spa, photographers, Park West are not Celebrity employees. They work for an independent contractor(s) so they are not part of the tip pool. 

That was what I thought was the case.  Also salaried employees are not part of the pool.

[karl_nj]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

They have to turn it in and anything above what their autogratuities would be is given back to them directly.

 

My guess is all they track who goes to what table/servers each night with Select dining - they do ask for your keycard after all. And then it would follow the same - turn in the cash and if autograts have been left on you get what is leftover.

 

Yeah, I'm not talking about opting out of the "Automatic Gratuity Program", I'm talking about cash tips above that, for when a staff member goes above and beyond.

 

RichYak seemed to imply that all tips are pooled, including cash tips above the service charge.  Did I misunderstand?

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

20 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

Yeah, I'm not talking about opting out of the "Automatic Gratuity Program", I'm talking about cash tips above that, for when a staff member goes above and beyond.

 

RichYak seemed to imply that all tips are pooled, including cash tips above the service charge.  Did I misunderstand?

 

 

They must turn in all cash received. If autogratuities were left on, they are given the cash back. If they were removed, the cash goes into the pool to be divided up and any left over would be given back in cash.

[karl_nj]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

They must turn in all cash received. If autogratuities were left on, they are given the cash back. If they were removed, the cash goes into the pool to be divided up and any left over would be given back in cash.

 

Ah sure, makes sense.  Though that pool is even bigger than just the dining room staff... "Gratuities for stateroom and restaurant services are shared by dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, and other hotel services teams."

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

 

Ah sure, makes sense.  Though that pool is even bigger than just the dining room staff... "Gratuities for stateroom and restaurant services are shared by dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, and other hotel services teams."

 

 

Right... I would assume that they would be divided under Dining and Hotel - so cash tips given to the dining room servers would go into the dining/bar/culinary services staff pool and cash given to the stateroom hosts or other hotel services teams go into the hotel pool. But I've not found a specific breakdown on how X does it.

 

Disney lets you know the breakdown of the autogratuities for stateroom attendant, head server, server, and assistant server. It makes it easier so you know who is getting what.

Edited July 9, 2023 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, karl_nj said:

RichYak seemed to imply that all tips are pooled, including cash tips above the service charge.  Did I misunderstand?

You understand me correctly. What you are being told is true of your stateroom attendant and/or butler, who gets to keep their full cash tip assuming you haven't removed the auto gratuities. What I've been told is that in dining rooms, the cash tips are pooled so wait staff who service different passengers each night are not at a disadvantage, and to ensure assistants and dining room managers get their piece.

[Lastdance]

What an individual decides to do on his cruise vacation is up to that particular cruiser; however, understanding how the gratuities work, along with different ways of tipping is educational too.  There are always those crew members who go above and beyond what their job description details.  Usually, it is because they are exceptional people who do not just do it for the tips, as it is part of their character.  Just my opinion!  

Edited July 9, 2023 by Lastdance

[Ellaleah]

I will be going on my first Celebrity next year.  I always give a cash tip in addition to the auto gratuities.  I assume that each employee I tip gets to keep theirs.  What would be the point of tipping dining room personnel in white envelopes?  Can I get confirmation?

[Baggy178]

Using OBC for gratuities seems a reasonable compromise particularly as it means the cruise company is paying the wages of its own staff.

However $18pppd is an excessive and unjustifiable amount.

Which is why we won't be paying it.

$100 for an 11 day cruise is quite sufficient.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

12 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

Using OBC for gratuities seems a reasonable compromise particularly as it means the cruise company is paying the wages of its own staff.

However $18pppd is an excessive and unjustifiable amount.

Which is why we won't be paying it.

$100 for an 11 day cruise is quite sufficient.

Not really 

if your in a hotel , you may leave $5 a day for a maid 

a $10 breakfast, $2 tip. $20 lunch ,$5 tip $40 dinner ,$5 tip , 

your at $17 easily so $18 is not that much in 2023 , it not 1980 anymore 😉

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Just now, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not really 

if your in a hotel , you may leave $5 a day for a maid 

a $10 breakfast, $2 tip. $20 lunch ,$5 tip $40 dinner ,$5 tip , 

your at $17 easily so $18 is not that much in 2023 , it not 1980 anymore 😉

Exactly. AND you've just named the people the gratuities are divided amongst on the ship - and the servers at the meals you mention would on land divide their tips with others they work with in the restaurant. So yeah - $18 is pretty much on par. (Though I doubt the poster you quoted would give the same tip for $20 and $40 if they're being so cheap with their money.)

[Baggy178]

23 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not really 

if your in a hotel , you may leave $5 a day for a maid 

a $10 breakfast, $2 tip. $20 lunch ,$5 tip $40 dinner ,$5 tip , 

your at $17 easily so $18 is not that much in 2023 , it not 1980 anymore 😉

 

I rarely tip people just for doing their jobs - after all I don't slip my postman coin when he delivers a letter.

Or the fellow who packs my bag in a supermarket unless it's being done by a charity.

The business I sold was in the service industry and my staff never expected a gratuity and I paid them well.

If it's voluntary I generally add 10% to a restaurant bill and occasionally a taxi driver if he runs a clean car unobtrusively.

I never ever tip people who ask for or suggest it.

Otherwise where do you draw the line ? I've been offered a restaurant bill in the US that suggested a 40% tip - I laughed at them and left nothing.

I'm happy to tip for good service on board but reject the notion that passengers should be responsible for making up crew wages.

That ain't my job.

 

 

 

[Baggy178]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not really 

if your in a hotel , you may leave $5 a day for a maid 

a $10 breakfast, $2 tip. $20 lunch ,$5 tip $40 dinner ,$5 tip , 

your at $17 easily so $18 is not that much in 2023 , it not 1980 anymore 😉

 

 

$36 a day for two people is excessive.

Cruising is no longer the preserve of the rich.

It's not 1950 any more.😉

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

$10 breakfast, $2 tip. $20 lunch ,$5 tip $40 dinner ,$5 tip

You can barely eat dinner at McDonald's for $40. I don't think $18 pp per day is excessive.  That includes 3 meals a day,  all your drinks, cabins cleaned 2x per day plus much more in the way of service.  The only thing I have never been able to justify is the additional tip on expensive wine. Say a couple share a $200 bottle of wine whether it's on a cruise or land; does that mean the tip is $40 just for the wine?  Maybe someone can post their thoughts. 

[HS2BS]

CNBC just had an article on tipping! 
we took two of our teen grandsons out for breakfast on Sunday, and when the I’ll came the tipping options were “18% 20% 22% other”. The bill came to a little over $50(always tip on the amount before tax), left a $9 tip - reasonable! Stopped for coffee at star**** and the checkout screen asked how much for the tip - totally unreasonable left $0. Person is only doing their job.

 

Hal

[Baggy178]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

You can barely eat dinner at McDonald's for $40. I don't think $18 pp per day is excessive.  That includes 3 meals a day,  all your drinks, cabins cleaned 2x per day plus much more in the way of service.  The only thing I have never been able to justify is the additional tip on expensive wine. Say a couple share a $200 bottle of wine whether it's on a cruise or land; does that mean the tip is $40 just for the wine?  Maybe someone can post their thoughts. 

 

Drinks carry a seperate 20% service charge - the suggested automatic gratuities would add a further 27% to our bill. They're not even consistent in their pricing.

I rarely tip a hotel chambermaid for doing the job they're paid to do - maybe an extra bung at the end of the vacation if they've been very friendly. On our last cruise which had tips included in the price we left some dough for the chap looking after our cabin as he was top notch. I only ever want to tip people who we have personally interracted with. On this cruise we'll leave some cash in our cabin on departure - whether it's kept or put in the general pot is entirely up to them.

We only eat in the buffet never the MDR because we prefer very casual and we only ever travel with hand luggage anyway which thankfully precludes any formal attire. We have another three week road trip after our arrival in the States.

We would also never dream of coughing up extra moolah to eat in a ' speciality ' restaurant so we're basically low maintenance cruisers.

The idea we should pay extra for services we have either already bought or will never use is ludicrous.

As is the idea we should feel sympathy for large corporations who refuse to pay their crew a decent wage.

Their whole MO is to seperate passengers from their money at each and every opportunity - in the spirit of healthy competition our MO is to resist them at every opportunity.

I'll use our OBC to pay what we consider to be a reasonable amount for our cruise - $100 - but if Customer Service attempt to give us any grief for doing so we'll withdraw that amount as well. We've been around this particular block a few times. My wife is even more hardcore than me ...

And as for McDonalds we never eat fast food but anyone spending 40 bucks there for a couple of burgers and fries need their head examined.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Baggy178

[RichYak]

5 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

Drinks carry a seperate 20% service charge - the suggested automatic gratuities would add a further 27% to our bill. They're not even consistent in their pricing.

The automatic gratuities are a fixed dollar amount, not a percentage. With your methodology, the suggested gratuities on my next cruise adds only 2.2% to my bill.

[Baggy178]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

The automatic gratuities are a fixed dollar amount, not a percentage. With your methodology, the suggested gratuities on my next cruise adds only 2.2% to my bill.

 

So you can understand why I object to 27% ...

[drakes2]

43 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

And as for McDonalds we never eat fast food but anyone spending 40 bucks there for a couple of burgers and fries need their head examined.

You've obviously missed the point in my post. I was just saying you can easily spend $40 at McDonald's for 2 people. I have young grandchildren. Why do I need to have my head examined in order to treat them to something they enjoy.