The on going saga of tipping

[scubadiver888]

I have always noticed that the cruise lines are pretty smart with how they advertise their pricing.

 

Some people feel the cruise lines are nickel and diming us. I see it as they don't make everyone pay for things they don't want.

 

I don't drink any alcohol on vacation. Why would I want that included in the price? Not everyone likes shore excursions so they are extra. Not everyone wants to pay for the higher end restaurants; they are happy with the buffet so the high end restaurants are extra.

 

My wife and I used to go to resorts with things like scuba diving included but she does not even swim. Now I pay for scuba diving and she finds other things to do.

 

Now what about tipping? Why isn't it included? I think the obviously reason is because the cruise lines recognize some people don't tip. If they paid the staff more and included it in the cost of the cruise, the people who stiff on the tip would not take a cruise. As a business they are trying to maximize their customer base. They are not in the business of being a social conscience. If people stiff on the tip, it is not the cruise lines' business to make these people do the right thing.

 

The problem I see with all this though is just because the cruise line gives you the opportunity to stiff on the tip it doesn't make it right. You still have the option to choose. By stiffing people on the tip you are basically getting a better price for the cruise at the expense of others.

 

Some say that auto tipping is bad for customers. The idea is if the staff knows a tip is coming they will not give the same service. Does this mean if you pay an employee a reasonable wage they will not give an honest day's work? Lot of businesses work on the basis of straight salary. They don't have a bonus system or commission. Some employees have an attitude of "Why should I work harder? I'm going to get the same pay regardless of how hard I work." This is narrow minded. I work hard and often get promoted ahead of people who have been doing the same job for years.

 

Again, I think how people are answering this reflects how they would behave in a similar situation. That is, if I was a ship employee, how would I behave if everyone just auto tipped? If you say the employee will not work hard you are really saying, "I would not work hard if I knew an auto tip was coming."

 

My boss gives me a pat on the back (literally), he lets me take time off work to take care of my dogs, he lets me work from home when I need to, HE TRUSTS ME. These are all worth more than the money other employers are willing to offer me. I auto tip. If someone does an amazing job I tip more. I talk to the staff I see. I value conversations with them. You never know what you'll learn just chatting with them. They seem to appreciate being treated like an equal. They seem to love the fact they can be themselves around me and I'm not going to get them in trouble for 'acting inappropriately'. You don't have to give them money to make they do a good job. I'm just sorry I cannot do this for the people working behind the scenes. This is why I auto tip.

 

Additionally, everyone wants to be liked. If they act like they don't it is an act. I can live with someone hating me but I'd love it if everyone liked me. I've noticed that some people here have different values. I value friends, family and creating good karma. I used to be constantly worried about money and looking at ways to save money. My wife looks at life differently (and I'm starting to come around to her way of thinking). She doesn't worry about saving/keeping money. She thinks about ways she can make more money. She tries to be a positive influence.

 

Case in point, we moved last year. Our old dining table doesn't work in our new home. The old me would try to get $2000 for our dining room set. It is worth $3000 and I paid $2500. If I could get $2500 that would be great. We found this girl, paying her own way through university, who didn't have a lot of money but seemed to have a tonne of friends. She offered me $600 for the dining room set. She brought a friend and wondered what was wrong with the dining room set. They looked it over and found nothing wrong with it. The look of joy on her face was great. I made her day. I've done similar things for other people. I can afford to. Since I've adapted this attitude, I never have to worry about money. It just seems to come. The only time I have trouble with money is when I slip back into my penny pinching mode.

 

It is hard to see how this, more liberal, attitude works but it does. I would have never done it on my own. I love and trust my wife. I did it for her but in the end it really was for me.

 

There will always be people who brag about how much money they have and how they SAVE money. They will not understand why people like me look at them and shake my head. They just don't see things from the same perspective. They don't get it. I used to be one of them. I couldn't understand why I had no REAL friends.

 

Finally, I know a guy who is a billionaire. He is not a friend. He buys a new wardrobe every quarter (suits, ties, shoes, underwear, socks, etc.) and SELLS the old wardrobe. He has a big screen television, amazing stereo system, drives a $500,000 car, etc. He spends a lot of night home alone and believe all women are interested in his money and not him. His cousin doesn't admit to being related to him because she is embarassed. She has no money, lives pay cheque to pay cheque but everyone loves her. I used to help her all the time and she never once questioned why would I help her. The billionaire always looks at me suspiciously when I offered to help him. Who is really happy here?

[cvanhorn]

As for the ships crew not working as hard when they know the auto-tips are there, that is flat wrong. On a ship, at least the foriegn flagged ones, the crew is in competition to keep the good jobs, move up to a better job, and more importantly not get any bad comments from the cargo (us) that quickly gets them demoted, sometimes even down servicing the crew quarters where there are no tips. Yes, once in a while you will find one that is continuously not up to par (versus just having an off day) and if you mention them to the pursers desk or on the comment card they will be taken care of. We had a head waiter on our last cruise, teamed with an exceptional assistant waiter, who was new to the head waiter position. He really tried hard but still messed up some orders, etc. Did I report him, NO, he was new at it and you could tell he really was trying and learning. It almost broke his heart when we would point out the mistakes, so he could learn from them. If we cruise on that ship again I imagine he will be one of the top head waiters.

[quiesedba41]

Ok, after going on a short cruise, on RC, I must say that I did not mind in the least tipping the staff. I had three cabins and one steward was not too good, but other than that, they deserve every penny.

 

The dining room guys we had Sina and John were the absolute best. I went ahead and tipped them extra.....I felt I owed it to them. I cannot say enough about the dining staff.

 

So I stand corrected.....sorry for ignorance.....I have already booked for next year.

 

The stuff for childern was off the chart....too much......cruising is a blast !

[BILLP1]

We sail often on Regent where tips and drinks are included in the fare and it is made quite clear that no additional tips are expected or have we felt that the crew was ever expecting any additional tips.

 

The service is with out a doubt perfect in every venue. Every crew member is polite and they go out of their way to go that extra step to make you happy.

[scubadiver888]

We sail often on Regent where tips and drinks are included in the fare and it is made quite clear that no additional tips are expected or have we felt that the crew was ever expecting any additional tips.

 

The service is with out a doubt perfect in every venue. Every crew member is polite and they go out of their way to go that extra step to make you happy.

 

This seems sensible to me. I have sailed on Princess and Celebrity because of the itinerary. I recently considered a Regent cruise because it was the only line that had the itinerary I was interested in. The price difference between Princess and Regent was quite a lot. The general impression however is you get what you pay for.

[CC Help Michell]

Ok, after going on a short cruise, on RC, I must say that I did not mind in the least tipping the staff. I had three cabins and one steward was not too good, but other than that, they deserve every penny.

 

The dining room guys we had Sina and John were the absolute best. I went ahead and tipped them extra.....I felt I owed it to them. I cannot say enough about the dining staff.

 

So I stand corrected.....sorry for ignorance.....I have already booked for next year.

 

The stuff for childern was off the chart....too much......cruising is a blast !

 

Now, before all the old posts in this thread are rehashed by those who don't read post dates and didn't come to the newest post first, I want to say thank you very much for coming back and posting this update -- it's a rare thing on these boards, and I'm glad you had a wonderful time and now see how tips truly are earned by the hard-working men and women who staff and crew cruise ships. I'm glad you are now a dedicated cruiser, too! We love cruise vacations. :)

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

Based on my 24 cruises, which have been with all of the majors except NCL, not once have I seen a "lazy" person on any of our cruises.

 

Further, I always auto tip and add extra for the cabin steward, and waiters. The "extra" is given to the cabin steward and waiters on the last day of the cruise. How much "extra"...is approximately 50% of the recommended amount. A 10 day cruise at the recommended amount of $3.50/day per person x 2 (DW and I) = $70.00 for the cabin steward. The "extra" is $40.00.

 

Added together the cabin steward will receive from my wife and I a total of $110.00 for our cruise. This works out to approximately $11.00 per day. We will do the same for our waiters.

 

I understand that Regent and some other ultra fancy lines include gratuties, and while I can afford these lines I would rather not sail on these ships. My DW and I do not need superior levels of service and amenities , and find that the major cruise lines meet our needs and expectations very nicely.

 

if you cannot or will not pay gratuties to the cruise staff, then maybe you should look at other types of vacations/travel.

 

Hope that this helps,

[Philip217]

Every day on most mass market ships, the Purser emails an updated list of passengers who have adjusted or removed their auto-tips. These updates are read to the tipped staff at their daily briefings. EVERYONE who works on the ship knows exactly who is not tipping. Typically it is between 3% and 5% of the cabins (30 to 50).

 

At the end of the cruise, the Executive Housekeeper and Maitre d' question the stewards who served the cabins that removed or reduced tips. If the stewards do not produce the expected cash tips, the next questions is, "Why was the service so bad that you didn't receive any tips?" If this happens more than once, the stewards in question are demoted or fired.

 

Many times, if a passenger removes the tips because he is cheap and does not tip, the waiter or cabin steward take money out of their own pockets to put into the tipping pool so they will not be demoted or fired.

[G'ma]

I do not want to save money on tips, I just want to tip the peopl that are working for me and not have it go to people that are lazy. Now my wife just informed me that the Royal Caribbean cruise we are taking is paying gratuitites as a bonus...so now what do I do?

 

The tips are pooled and divided out to all those passenger deck servers, waiters and others. It doesn't matter whether you tip them personally or leave it on auto tip...the results are the same.

 

When you remove autotips, your waiter and room steward are notified. They are required then to turn over any tips you give them at the end of the cruise....these tips go back into the pool.

 

The only way a crew member can keep the cash tip is if you make the decision to tip above and beyond the recommended amount in the autotip.

 

While it may make you feel good to hand cash over to them, it only makes more work for them. They have to turn it over and help with the paperwork.

 

Just leave the autotip in place...then tip a few dollars extra in cash to those to whom you wish to show appreciation. They will be able to keep that.

[hulamoon]

Do all of the ships pool their tips? I read earlier in this thread that if staff get paid in person and that guest removed their auto tips that the staff member must turn the cash into the pool. Is this correct? Shane did not mention this while we were on our cruise, but he definitely wanted the auto tips to stay put. We were on HAL last.