Kids and Tipping

[Ladylouwho]

Please, please, please! Don't ever stiff the waiters, even if you never step foot in the dining room. The same people who work in the Dining Room are also wait staff in the Windjammer. On many mornings we would see our lovely asst. water from the dining room, Agnes, during our European cruise. She was always so pleasant. We even met up with an asst. waiter from our table on one cruise when we saw him in the Windjammer on our next cruise, and although a year had passed, he remembered us and it was like seeing an old friend. The staff receives minimal pay, I'm talking @ $25 per week. Yes they recive room and board, but come on, they live 2-4 per cabin day after day for 6 months at a time. Most do it because they have families back in their home country and could never make that kind of money back home. They are away from their families for 6 months at a time and still they put that smile on their face, learn the names and habits of new people week after week and make your dining experience special. If you have a bad experience with a member of your wait staff, either take it up with the head waiter discreetly or write a letter to the cruise line when you get home. But please, don't think "since I didn't eat in the dining room I don't have to tip". That just makes it bad for everyone. Certainly bad for the wait staff you stiffed, but bad for the rest of us as well, because the better we all tip the happier the staff will be and the harder they will work for better tips. Don't we all respond to the same carrot?

[cmich068]

Great Business the cruise lines have, you pay for the cruise, then you pay their staff once you're on it :P

[Ladylouwho]

Well, actually, we passengers pay for the cruise, the staff and the executives of the cruise line, and we also pay the shareholders. That is the way business works. In the old days, only very wealthy people cruised for pleasure. Now it is mainstream and affordable. But the profit is on the backs of the mostly 2nd and 3rd world country employees. If we don't tip and pay their salaries then either the price of the cruise will go up or we will get very bad service. It all comes out in the wash. Just like any business. The customer pays for everything.

[katiel53]

Some cruiselines have changed how tips are collected. They are now a service charge and don't get removed from your account. (NCL) (Carnival puts the tips on but you can remove them.) I think most of this is done because people have stiffed the waiters for the reasons mentioned above. To me, tips are just another expected cost on the ship. I know with families the tips add up to quite a bit, but your family is still getting the service. I do feel that soon all tips will be billed either before sailing (Added to the cost of the cruise) or automatically added to the Sea Pass. They will be just like the service charges added to some fine dining restaurants in the US or most restaurants in Europe. I don't care which way they do it, but I do feel something has to be done because I don't want my cruise price to go up because someone else didn't feel like tipping. JMHO.

[crusinmama06]

Some cruiselines have changed how tips are collected. They are now a service charge and don't get removed from your account. (NCL) (Carnival puts the tips on but you can remove them.) I think most of this is done because people have stiffed the waiters for the reasons mentioned above. To me, tips are just another expected cost on the ship. I know with families the tips add up to quite a bit, but your family is still getting the service. I do feel that soon all tips will be billed either before sailing (Added to the cost of the cruise) or automatically added to the Sea Pass. They will be just like the service charges added to some fine dining restaurants in the US or most restaurants in Europe. I don't care which way they do it, but I do feel something has to be done because I don't want my cruise price to go up because someone else didn't feel like tipping. JMHO.

 

Yes, you're correct. My inalws are going on NCL next month and they are being billed $10 pp per day as a prepayment for their tips. And since it is "freestyle cruising", they will rarely get the same server twice.

 

I honestly don't think I would like that. I love walking into the dining room and having my favorite beverage already waiting for me. :D

[katiel53]

I wonder how he would feel if his boss said to him, no pay for you this week because you didn't do anything above what is expected. I don't see how he could even face his waiter or cabin steward when he knows he won't tip. I guess it takes all kinds of people to make this world. He's the one that will be the first to complain about service charges. I would love to see his face when told they can't be removed. If only it would happen soon, lol.

[islanderbob654]

Ladylouwho: is this really true?:

 

The "tips" from passangers aren't an extra, they are actually the salaries for the wait staff and cabin stewards.

 

What happens when someone doesn't tip them? They have worked all week for nothing! We always tip the suggested amount but I had no idea that this was their only salary.:( I kinda feel real good now for giving my $30.00 winnings from the casino to our room attendant and his helper.

 

Oh come on. I'm a waiter here in the states and people stiff me from time to time. It doesn't mean that I don't still get to go on cruises. Thoses people are just pieces of crap and for that reason I don't want their money anyway.

[islanderbob654]

Our baby was always walking around and had a short attention span and never sat through the whole seating.

 

I hope you and your baby aren't on any of the cruises I'm on.

[hansolo]

islanderbob654Quote:

Originally Posted by hansolo

Our baby was always walking around and had a short attention span and never sat through the whole seating.

 

 

I hope you and your baby aren't on any of the cruises I'm on.

The chances of this happening are highly unlikely. If it so happened that we were on the same cruise I can guarantee you wouldn't be sitting on our table, we usually sit with other family members. We usually cruise with my brothers/sisters family or my parents.

 

Our 16 month old liked to walk around in the common areas, not the dining room. My wife and I took turns when she wasn't eating walking with her, so not to disturb others in the dining room. She did eat her food, but had trouble sitting through an hour while we ate our appitizers, entree and dessert.