How much of those gratuities does each group get? Carnival confesses!

[Honolulu Blue]

I recently disembarked from a cruise on the Carnival Magic.  One of the most interesting things I discovered on this cruise was by accident. 

 

As I was looking at my account balance in the app,  I noticed this item:

 

 

This is standard so far; I've gotten variations of this across many cruise lines and many, many cruises.

 

But I followed the arrow and this is what I saw:

 

 

(Personal details redacted)

 

In case your personal calculator is a little slow, that's $4.68 per day for my cabin steward and his assistant(s) (Aris was the lead this time around; he was pretty good), $7.56 per day for the dining team, and $3.76 for "alternative services ", whatever and whomever they are.

 

Before the fanatics say their piece, let me make a three of comments.  First, I remember Carnival sharing a breakdown like this several years ago somewhere (not the app - maybe one of their FAQs?), though the numbers are significantly higher now. Second, I don't remember any other cruise lines sharing anything like this, so I consider Carnival's honesty in this regard a point in their favor. And third, during one of our cruise director Mike's presentations, he made it clear that the CD and officers don't share in this pool.

 

I'm sharing this because I thought it was interesting.  I won't give my opinion on whether the amounts are enough, or how companies should pay their workers, or anything like that.

 

Be nice, be respectful,  and let's try to keep this thread up and unlocked. Thank you, and you're welcome.  👍

Edited November 18, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[PayneAS]

17 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

In case your personal calculator is a little slow, that's $4.68 per day for my cabin steward and his assistant(s) (Aris was the lead this time around; he was pretty good), $7.56 per day for the dining team, and $3.76 for "alternative services ", whatever and whomever they are.

Just for you/your cabin though. He has multiple cabins he services every day. Each person would be 4.68 (x2 for double occupancy) times 6 days.

Now I'm not saying whether they get paid fairly or not. I just don't want anyone jumping on here and going OMG $4.68 per day?! without realizing it isn't REALLY only that much.

Let's say he has 20 cabins. 4.68 x 2 = 9.36 x 20 = 187.20 x 6 = 1123.20. 
Let's divide the number of cabins since I've seen reports of people saying that they only service 10 cabins a day per steward. That[s still 561.60 a week. 

[pinklucky61]

Not to mention that a lot of people give extra directly to cabin stewards, waiters, etc.

[trvlgirlmq]

Don’t forget the steward is sharing with the assistant and we don’t know that breakdown. The same with the dining staff since there are 2 or 3. 

[Honolulu Blue]

22 minutes ago, PayneAS said:

Just for you/your cabin though. He has multiple cabins he services every day. Each person would be 4.68 (x2 for double occupancy) times 6 days.

That's a good point.  I'll stress it was just me in a regular cabin. The more typical double occupancy pays double, and suites of course pay more (which I don't have the breakdown for).

17 minutes ago, pinklucky61 said:

Not to mention that a lot of people give extra directly to cabin stewards, waiters, etc.

There's the "other side" to this too...

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

That's a good point.  I'll stress it was just me in a regular cabin. The more typical double occupancy pays double, and suites of course pay more (which I don't have the breakdown for).

There's the "other side" to this too...

And the third side is some pull tips.  

[bettysuetraveler]

I wonder who the Alternative Services are. I can think of Maitre D' and the bar wait staff. Who else could this include?

[PayneAS]

18 minutes ago, bettysuetraveler said:

I wonder who the Alternative Services are. I can think of Maitre D' and the bar wait staff. Who else could this include?

All the behind the scenes people we never see; the cooks, launderers, etc.

[Honolulu Blue]

24 minutes ago, bettysuetraveler said:

I wonder who the Alternative Services are. I can think of Maitre D' and the bar wait staff. Who else could this include?

My instinct is that the MD is under the "dining" pool and gets a very small portion of everyone's grats. But I don't know if I'm right on this.

 

The bar drinks have service charges attached (including the drink packages),  and I assume the wait staff share in that pool and not any other. But, again, I can't prove it. 

[Riles34]

I would prefer it if they would just add the gratuity to the cruise cost total, so $96 more to your cruise fare and advertise no gratuities. So many people remove the gratuities which is allowed and I am sure some are for good reasons. I always tip extra to my room steward and the dining members. But if you got rid of gratuities people wouldn't have the option to take them away nor would people notice the extra cost.

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, bettysuetraveler said:

I wonder who the Alternative Services are. I can think of Maitre D' and the bar wait staff. Who else could this include?

The people who clean the common areas, move the luggage at embarkation/ debarkation, etc.

 

OP the info has always been available on the app AFAIK.

[VentureMan_2000]

3 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

My instinct is that the MD is under the "dining" pool and gets a very small portion of everyone's grats. But I don't know if I'm right on this.

 

The bar drinks have service charges attached (including the drink packages),  and I assume the wait staff share in that pool and not any other. But, again, I can't prove it. 

We were talking with a veteran bartender on our cruise who said that the cocktail wait staff at the pool and roaming the ship are newbies at the bottom of the bar hierarchy, just starting out, so they only get a base wage plus a sales percentage -- which makes sense as you always see them pushing the drinks in the dolphin, shark, and coconut glasses.  They do not share in the 18% gratuities.

Edited November 18, 2023 by VentureMan_2000

[VentureMan_2000]

5 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

 

As I was looking at my account balance in the app,  I noticed this item:

 

 

This is standard so far; I've gotten variations of this across many cruise lines and many, many cruises.

 

But I followed the arrow and this is what I saw:

 

 

 

In case your personal calculator is a little slow, that's $4.68 per day for my cabin steward and his assistant(s) (Aris was the lead this time around; he was pretty good), $7.56 per day for the dining team, and $3.76 for "alternative services ", whatever and whomever they are.

 

Let's do some more math... I like doing the math...

$28.08 / $96 = 29.25% for Stateroom Steward

$45.36 / $96 = 47.25% for Team Dining Services

There are two ways we can interpolate the remaining percentages:

 

1.  Continue with the equations, 
$22.56 / $96 = 23.50% for Alternate Services

 

2.  find the remaining difference between 100 and forementioned calculations,
100 - 29.25 - 47.25 =  23.50 -- or, 23.50% for Alternate Services

😁

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Let's do some more math... I like doing the math...

$28.08 / $96 = 29.25% for Stateroom Steward

$45.36 / $96 = 47.25% for Team Dining Services

There are two ways we can interpolate the remaining percentages:

 

1.  Continue with the equations, 
$22.56 / $96 = 23.50% for Alternate Services

 

2.  find the remaining difference between 100 and forementioned calculations,
100 - 29.25 - 47.25 =  23.50 -- or, 23.50% for Alternate Services

😁

Well, at least that little math exercise showcases getting the same result when working through a problem in different ways. 🤔

Or Big Picture how following different paths can still lead to the same location.😏

[n6uqqq]

5 hours ago, PayneAS said:

Just for you/your cabin though. He has multiple cabins he services every day. Each person would be 4.68 (x2 for double occupancy) times 6 days.

Now I'm not saying whether they get paid fairly or not. I just don't want anyone jumping on here and going OMG $4.68 per day?! without realizing it isn't REALLY only that much.

Let's say he has 20 cabins. 4.68 x 2 = 9.36 x 20 = 187.20 x 6 = 1123.20. 
Let's divide the number of cabins since I've seen reports of people saying that they only service 10 cabins a day per steward. That[s still 561.60 a week. 

I have heard the number of cabins per steward is closer to 40 per day, part of the reason they are only doing once a day service now. 

[LatinaInTexas]

I have seen this breakdown posted numerous times on Carnival groups, thought it was general knowledge. It didn't affect the way I tip. I'm with the group that wants my cruise fare to include gratuities.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

I have seen this breakdown posted numerous times on Carnival groups, thought it was general knowledge. It didn't affect the way I tip. I'm with the group that wants my cruise fare to include gratuities.

Never happen, you can want it but that won’t make it true

[n6uqqq]

9 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Never happen, you can want it but that won’t make it true

And it shouldn't happen. Once it becomes compulsory it is no longer a gratuity. Besides this there are surely tax implications for Carnival if they did. I personally just prepay mine and not worry about it onboard. 

[LatinaInTexas]

14 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Never happen, you can want it but that won’t make it true

Yeah I'm still waiting for no resort fees in Vegas also haha. I'm just a simple person that likes things as simple as possible.

[jimbo5544]

19 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Yeah I'm still waiting for no resort fees in Vegas also haha. I'm just a simple person that likes things as simple as possible.

Understand the wish

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, bettysuetraveler said:

I wonder who the Alternative Services are. I can think of Maitre D' and the bar wait staff. Who else could this include?

Laundry, housekeepers for common areas, Lido cooks, Lido servers, Kids camp, Towel person, pool monitors, water slide guards, bingo, Roller coaster crew to name a few.  Maîtres and bar waiters are not part of Alternative Services.

[Elaine5715]

8 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

Don’t forget the steward is sharing with the assistant and we don’t know that breakdown. The same with the dining staff since there are 2 or 3. 

That is all dining room servers when you eat in the MDR...breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Never happen, you can want it but that won’t make it true

if they ever did include it in the price wouldn't it be part of the commissionable money? If yes they'd be losing money which like you said it's never gonna happen for a multitude of reasons.

[Earthworm Jim]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Laundry, housekeepers for common areas, Lido cooks, Lido servers, Kids camp, Towel person, pool monitors, water slide guards, bingo, Roller coaster crew to name a few.  Maîtres and bar waiters are not part of Alternative Services.

 

Aren't the Lido servers the same wait staff as the dining room? At least at breakfast or lunch I've seen my dining room waitstaff working, unless I'm remembering from another line. I've always assumed they have some sort of rotational schedule to staff during dinner.

[Earthworm Jim]

2 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

Once it becomes compulsory it is no longer a gratuity.

 

And that's a problem why? I thought that's what we are fighting against: Those cruisers who, knowing gratuities are optional, don't pay them.