Gratuities Are Going Up Again, Effective 11.11.2023

[TYMAN]

1 minute ago, travelberlin said:

Good for you if you want to distribute your money this way. Others have other means of distribution including charity 🤔

Thanks! Yes, working at a Catholic Hospital has blessed me with ways to donate to charities, which I do. I also enjoy donating time to Special Olympics, Beach cleanups etc. It’s not always about the money. 😁 Enjoy your day! 

[Pink.paper.heart]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

The answer to your question is pretty simple. If things were not done this way then Mr. Liberty might have to forego some of his 11 million dollar salary. I wonder how much sleep he loses at night thinking about how much the people washing towels in the bowels of the ships are being compensated. But then, he doesn't have to worry about those towel washers as his customers have it covered.

 

I remember when the reopening started people were posting that we should increase tipping to make up for the months of tips that the crews lost. So it is not hard to understand that these people would feel the need to tip everyone in, or out of, sight. Some of the thought processes around here are truly mind boggling. I wonder, is this mentality unique to people who patron the cruise industry or is it more pervasive?🤔

To put it simply, it is a common fact that USA passengers love to tip because they are used to this kinda culture.

 

Whereas when you encounter non-USA passengers like myself, we either suck it up and allow for the auto gratuities or just remove it. Like I have said in a couple of pages back, the burden of paying other people's employees shouldn't fall on the customers. 

 

It is extremely annoying to have all these hidden $++++ upon stepping on a ship. Just add the costs to the final price instead. It's like buying a sandwich that is listed as $5 and then the cashier says, "Oh by the way it is $1 service fee, $3 tips, $2 packaging on top so the total is $11." Just put the price that as $11 then. 

 

Wth..

[Pink.paper.heart]

1 hour ago, TYMAN said:

Yes, after rereading the posts, around six folks are considering removing the auto grats, but, how many "silent" folks, like me (until now, ha) will continue to leave the auto grats in place AND tip above and beyond the auto grats? Like I've stated on many of these tipping threads, I've collected quite a bit of singles when the cruise industry was shut down and I plan on giving those out to the crew members who didn't have an income during that time. Lastly, as I've stated before, I can't take it with me, and my son already has more money than me, so I'll take care of the crew that takes care of me. 

Good going, nice bragging. Again, it is your money, you can do whatever you want. Let the six other folk you have noticed in this thread do whatever they want with theirs. 

[TYMAN]

27 minutes ago, Pink.paper.heart said:

Good going, nice bragging. Again, it is your money, you can do whatever you want. Let the six other folk you have noticed in this thread do whatever they want with theirs. 

Not bragging, was asked if I did anything with Charity. Yes, agree, people do whatever they want with their money. Thanks again. Enjoy your day.

 

Wait, my bad, you were talking about the above and beyond tipping. Not really bragging, it's just I've been blessed and want to share with others. No harm there, but, I'm not going to try and convince anyone to do what I do, just enjoy life and do what makes you happy. Cool? 

Edited November 10, 2023 by TYMAN

[bonsai3s]

My story...just wanted to share it again...

 

In 1968,  I was a paperboy and delivered the San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner. Every month, I would knock on people's doors and say " paperboy, collecting".

 

I was happy if someone gave me 25 cents for a tip...50 cents, I was ecstatic. Most just paid the bill.  (I welcomed and genuinely appreciated the home baked cookies.)

 

I saved every penny...my "salary" were those tips.

 

Fast forward...now a bit older and I decided to purchase 100 shares of Chrysler stocks with the money I saved. (and gifted my dad 100 shares)

Evryone told me I was stupid...Chrysler was going bankrupt.

 

Chryler hired a guy named Lee Iaccoca...Chrysler survived. The stocks went up, doubled,...split, split again. Then Chrysler was bought out by Daimler-Benz. I, and my dad, received quarterly dividends for years.

 

I continued to save and saved enough for a downpayment to buy my first house. Sold it, and bought a better house...again and again.

 

Fast forward to now...happily retired, with my beautiful wife, and onboard the Symphony of the Seas. Thank you and God bless to those that gave me even a small tip. 

[TYMAN]

My apologies. I made comments on the wrong thread. My comments were meant for thread "Are you still adding cash gratuity on top of automatic gratuities". Disregard my comments on this thread. Have a wonderful day, and if you see me on board I'll buy you an adult beverage! 🙂 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, jean87510 said:

But you must admit in today's world the tipping is getting to be a little much.  Tipping at self serve at a salaried position is my favorite.  It started with the lockdown as a reward for those who worked in the public and almost 4 years later has not slowed down.

I have mentioned it on these boards before, but it bears repeating.  
At our local grocery store, there is a screen asking for a tip, just before final payment screen, at the SELF SCAN checkout!!

[Pink.paper.heart]

7 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I have mentioned it on these boards before, but it bears repeating.  
At our local grocery store, there is a screen asking for a tip, just before final payment screen, at the SELF SCAN checkout!!

Machines have feelings too! Don't you know, you gotta think about the 'behind the scenes' staff like the maintenance guy, the dev team who programmed the checkout kiosk, the staff that wipes down the checkout booth etc..

 

Edit - fyi I am being sarcastic here in case it wasn't obvious. Cheers!

Edited November 10, 2023 by Pink.paper.heart

[UNCFanatik]

Just now, not-enough-cruising said:

I have mentioned it on these boards before, but it bears repeating.  
At our local grocery store, there is a screen asking for a tip, just before final payment screen, at the SELF SCAN checkout!!

 

And service where tip creep culture is happening has not improved. The tip is not seen as an incentive but now the tip is seen as an entitlement. 

 

Door Dash is now saying that if someone doesnt leave a tip when they order, the customer risks having their food delivery take longer. Tipping before service is delivered is crazy. This will turn door dash into a blind bidding system based on amount tipped before hand.

 

But hey...this is the world that has been created by the people who brag about tipping

[UNCFanatik]

This is what Door Dash is piloting now for a message when an order is placed

 

"Orders with no tip might take longer to get delivered — are you sure you want to continue? Dashers can pick and choose which orders they want to do. Orders that take longer to be accepted by Dashers tend to result in slower delivery."

 

Of course this is rich coming from a company that in 2019 had to restructure their pay model because they werent giving their drivers the full amount of tips 

[fizzywm]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Finally, something we can agree on, you should move on.

 

Your repetitive misunderstanding of even the basics of this discussion make it very difficult to have any meaningful debate with you.

 

For the record, yes, I do tip at a land base restaurant, just like I tip my waiter in the main dining room. As stated earlier, these individuals can have a direct influence on my experience. How much they are tipped is based on merit and performance. 
 

I NEVER tip before service, and I NEVER allow a corporation to tell me how much I should tip. This is the crux of the entire discussion, a fact that seems to have completely alluded you. 

And you once again gloss over the crux of my replies to you which were always about the fact that the guaranteed minimum salary is paltry pay in comparison to the tips earned.

[fizzywm]

5 hours ago, travelberlin said:

But this is exactly wrong: Expecting /demanding tips to make a competitive wage. Those are responsibility of the employers and not of the guests.

Which is no different than servers in a land based restaurant in the US. But this argument doesn’t fly there and everyone knows it. I’d love to see anyone on your side admit they stiff waiters since it is the restaurant’s job to pay them fairly. I would applaud the consistency.

Edited November 10, 2023 by fizzywm

[not-enough-cruising]

4 minutes ago, fizzywm said:

And you once again gloss over the crux of my replies to you which were always about the fact that the guaranteed minimum salary is paltry pay in comparison to the tips earned.

The crux of your reply is wholly incorrect, which is why I do not acknowledge it 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 minutes ago, fizzywm said:

Which is no different than servers in a land based restaurant in the US. But this argument doesn’t fly there and everyone knows it. I’d love to see anyone on your side admit they stiff waiters since it is the restaurant’s job to pay them fairly. I would applaud the consistency.

If they do not perform to my expectations, I do not tip; no problem 

[Margin Walker]

I pre-paid my gratuities for our Symphony of the Seas sailing on November 26th.  Ended up saving about $28 by doing that before the rate goes up.  
 

I’ll throw some cash tips around on the ship based on service and frequency.  

[UNCFanatik]

1 minute ago, fizzywm said:

And you once again gloss over the crux of my replies to you which were always about the fact that the guaranteed minimum salary is paltry pay in comparison to the tips earned.

 

if tipping should be based on service provided

 

then why do more attractive servers "earn" more. Do less attractive servers deserve less money for same level of service?

 

Why does the clothing a server wears, "earn" them more tips?

 

Why do many other factors not related to service provided, affect what a server "earns"

 

But yet, tipping creates these kind of issues but hey, those dark sides of tipping dont give you the warm fuzzies when you pat yourself on the back for helping 

[fizzywm]

4 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

if tipping should be based on service provided

 

then why do more attractive servers "earn" more. Do less attractive servers deserve less money for same level of service?

 

Why does the clothing a server wears, "earn" them more tips?

 

Why do many other factors not related to service provided, affect what a server "earns"

 

But yet, tipping creates these kind of issues but hey, those dark sides of tipping dont give you the warm fuzzies when you pat yourself on the back for helping 

I don’t like tipping culture either. I have always said here that the pay shouldn’t be based on tips. I just acknowledge that for the time being, it is, and removing those tips only hurts the tipped employees.

 

By the way, I don’t think RCCL allocates auto grats by attractiveness, but I could be wrong.

[UNCFanatik]

5 minutes ago, fizzywm said:

Which is no different than servers in a land based restaurant in the US. But this argument doesn’t fly there and everyone knows it. I’d love to see anyone on your side admit they stiff waiters since it is the restaurant’s job to pay them fairly. I would applaud the consistency.

 

I love it when people calling it "stiffing" as it is a mandatory matter. 

 

The restaurants i go to dont put a mandatory gratuity charge on my bill and expect me to pay before receiving the product as Royal does. 

 

AND, if my server doesnt do a good job, I will not leave them a tip. Thats not called stiffing. No one should feel obligated to leave a 15-20% tip regardless of service provided. That attitude has created entitlement.  

 

And yes, I think that US restaurants should pay employees more but it is simply a false equivalency to compare US restaurants to a multi-billion dollar cruise line. I am more sympathetic to small US restaurant owners if tipping was done away with and their ability to survive paying workers more in wages vs a cruise line that could afford to do so and not bat an eye

[not-enough-cruising]

2 minutes ago, fizzywm said:

I don’t like tipping culture either. I have always said here that the pay shouldn’t be based on tips. I just acknowledge that for the time being, it is, and removing those tips only hurts the tipped employees.

 

By the way, I don’t think RCCL allocates auto grats by attractiveness, but I could be wrong.

Who knows; we have absolutely no idea how they allocate a large portion of them. 

[UNCFanatik]

1 minute ago, fizzywm said:

I don’t like tipping culture either. I have always said here that the pay shouldn’t be based on tips. I just acknowledge that for the time being, it is, and removing those tips only hurts the tipped employees.

 

By the way, I don’t think RCCL allocates auto grats by attractiveness, but I could be wrong.

 

But people on the cruise lines do often tip based on attractiveness of those waiting on them or other external factors that have NOTHING to do with level of service provided. 

[RyderJ201]

22 minutes ago, fizzywm said:

Which is no different than servers in a land based restaurant in the US. But this argument doesn’t fly there and everyone knows it. I’d love to see anyone on your side admit they stiff waiters since it is the restaurant’s job to pay them fairly. I would applaud the consistency.

Ah you said it "servers" in land based restaurants. You tip servers. You don't tip "behind the scenes" employees. That's the employer's job. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by RyderJ201

[footzz]

Here's a TIP; Life is short, so spend your time wisely by arguing with total strangers on the internet.

[fizzywm]

3 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

The restaurants i go to dont put a mandatory gratuity charge on my bill and expect me to pay before receiving the product as Royal does. 

This only applies if you prepay gratuities which you have to go out of your way to do. Otherwise they are billed at the end.

 

4 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

AND, if my server doesnt do a good job, I will not leave them a tip. Thats not called stiffing. No one should feel obligated to leave a 15-20% tip regardless of service provided. That attitude has created entitlement.  

Why does it matter if they do a good job? It’s not your job to pay them, it’s the restaurant’s. That’s the mantra I’ve seen over and over here.
 

They signed on to make $8 per hour, why should they expect any more? It’s not a false equivalency. Either way the prices would go up to make the difference—on land or at sea.

[UNCFanatik]

Just now, fizzywm said:

This only applies if you prepay gratuities which you have to go out of your way to do. Otherwise they are billed at the end.

 

Why does it matter if they do a good job? It’s not your job to pay them, it’s the restaurant’s. That’s the mantra I’ve seen over and over here.
 

They signed on to make $8 per hour, why should they expect any more? It’s not a false equivalency. Either way the prices would go up to make the difference—on land or at sea.

 

No, this applies to food & beverage purchases on the cruise planner. Mandatory gratuities charged before service delivered

[fizzywm]

4 minutes ago, RyderJ201 said:

Ah you said it "servers" in land based restaurants. You tip servers. You don't tip "behind the scenes" employees. That's the employer's job. 

To point out the inconsistency of saying “not my job to pay them”. Restaurants should pay servers too but no one here is advocating not paying tips there unless service is bad. You have to wonder what’s different about land vs sea.