Can someone explain the theory of cruise ship tipping?

[BILLP1]

Who gets the 15 prcent added to all drinks and wine etc.

I know on Celebtity the bar tenders work on comission.

[CC Help Michell]

Who gets the 15 prcent added to all drinks and wine etc.

I know on Celebtity the bar tenders work on comission.

 

Bar staff, on most lines -- they don't participate in the pooled tips, because the bar gratuities are separately added.

[isujim]

I have always felt tipping is really "salary supplementation" and should be viewed that way. I have no problem with this. The cruiselines pay so little to the employee that "tips" are what truly supplements their pay by the cruiselines. I would also have no problem if they raised the cost of a cruise by $100 to $200 if it went to salary for employees....but they won't do that, which I guess I understand from a marketing standpoint and advertised cost standpoint.

 

Even if service was bad (which it never has been) I would always leave the minimum guidline tips......knowing full well in effect it is salary for the crew member. For truly outstanding service we pay additional tips. For us anything above the minimum is where tips based on outstanding service really comes in to play.

[rabidroach]

Toss some bread upon the waters and sometimes it will float back and feed you. In other words you'll earn some good karma points. I cannot understand people who don't tip. Now maybe its a rigged game, instead of charging the passengers more and paying thier employees a living wage depend on the kidness of strangers. Here's what I do. I auto tip. Then 50$ to my room steward at the start of the trip and another 50$ at the end if the service was good. 10% on all bar tabs. 5$ per day to the wait staff, 20$ min. at the end of the trip. :)

[hammybee]

Servers at U.S. land based restaurants usually make less than half the minimum wage and are dependent upon tips for the rest of their income. Unlike the ship crew, land based servers pay taxes on their income and face the same cot of living that we all do, which is probably the only reason they are not paid $1 a day.

 

Most land based restuarants operate with either pooled tips or require tipping out. The latter, tipping out, requires the server to pay the restuarant X % of all checks which is then redistributed to behind the scenes support people. If a server has a bad day or a run of customers who do not believe in tipping, he/she could end up owing the restauant more than he/or she made, that shift.

 

It's always curious to me that the disposition of tips is so often a hot topic on cruise line message boards and yet, most people do not think about it, when at home.

[kitty9]

If the head waiter provides some service, then I have no problem giving him a tip. The one person I have difficulty understanding is the Assistant Chief Housekeeper. Why does that person get tipped? We've rarely seen this person during a cruise, if ever, so what's the reasoning behind that auto tip?

[cfgoesaway]

How is tipping done with personal choice dining? I understand we will have different staff each night. Do we tip with each meal?

[smeyer418]

How is tipping done with personal choice dining? I understand we will have different staff each night. Do we tip with each meal?

No most people just leave the suggested daily amount on their room charge and the crew then devies it up. Having to carry cash around the ship is a real pain(and by the way on Princess the room service servers are including in the daily per diem)....

 

Question: What are the tipping guidelines for my cruise?

Answer: During your cruise, you will meet staff throughout the ship who provide you with excellent service. Many more crew support those who serve you directly. To save you the worry of who to tip and how much, Princess makes it easier for you to reward excellent service by automatically adding a discretionary Hotel and Dining charge of $11 USD for suites and mini-suites and $10.50 USD for all other staterooms per person per day (including children) to your shipboard account on a daily basis. This charge will be shared amongst those staff who help provide and support your cruise experience, including the wait staff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff and others. Casino dealers and Lotus Spa personnel do not share in the Hotel and Dining charge as not all passengers utilize these service

[bar_20]

Most cruise lines have gone to the automatic tipping where they add a fixed amount on your account for everyday of the cruise. Some allow you to increase or decrease these amounts, others do not. You can give an additional amount to the person that has given you outstanding service. I would prefer handling it at the end of the cruise but such is life.

I remember a cruise I took a few years ago that had quite a few college students that were on spring break. There was a table of 10 girls that was next to ours. On the last night when you give your wait staff their tips, only 2 girls showed up for the dinner, the other eight stiffed them out of their tips for the entire cruise. That's one of the reasons they use automatic tipping. Some will argue that the service level has dropped.

If you get poor service you can tell their supervisor. The very worst thing you can do is say something negative on the evaluation card that you fill out at the end of the cruise. I was once told by a waiter, if he got three negative comments within a year, not just that cruise he would be fired.

[simplelife]

Let me just start by saying that I've always tipped at least the recommended amount (6 cruises), and on land, I'm relatively generous in tipping in restaurants, etc. However, as I was reading the RCCL "guidelines" on expected tipping for a cruise we're about to embark on, it made me wonder:

 

1) Why should I tip a head waiter at all? As far as I can tell, he does nothing for me except to stop by the table once an evening (at best) and ask, "Is everything all right?" I don't see what value accrues to me from that. Or, if he only stops by 2 or 3 times in the week, should I pro-rate the tip (just kidding)?

 

2) Next, on our last cruise, our waiter was invariably too busy with another table to deal with ours, and we were served almost exclusively by our Assistant Waiter. I didn't mind at all, as the AW was wonderful, both in personality and service. However, in a situation like that, why should I tip the waiter substantially more than the AW?

 

3) I also saw it stated that even if I eat most of my meals in alternative dining facilities, I should still tip the standard amount to all the main dining staff. To me, the cruise line seems to be saying, "We refuse to pay our employees decently, therefore we are making YOU responsible for keeping their families from starving. You should pay them for us regardless of any service actually provided."

On land, I don't tip waiters whose services I don't use; why are ships diffeent?

 

I know this sounds a little stingy. Trust me, I'm anything but stingy. I love to reward superior service generously; it just seems like there's a disconnect between service and tips. But am I totally off base on the above points?

 

To address question 1 (on tipping the headwaiter): The fact that it appears he does nothing probably means he is doing a great job coordinating service and thus does not have to intervene.

 

Question 2 (regarding the waiter and AW):

If the waiter is not doing his job, this is when the Headwaiter come into play - report it to him so the situation can be remedied.

Also, if the assistant waiter is exceptional, you can always tip the AW more. In addition, let his superiors know what a good job he has done. I'm told this kind of feedback has a lot of sway on who gets promited.

 

Question 3 (Why are ships different?) :

You've answered your own question -because ships ARE different. Waiters in restaurant don't move between restaurants or rotate duties. The tips cover the time thay work in the dining room and they times the work in the buffet, etc. I've noticed that the best dining room waiters also do the best job in the non-tipping venues.

Another difference is that meals in restaturants are individually priced; on ships they are not, so a per-meal tip is difficult to calculate. So the daily charge makes sense. I would venture that if you ate comparable meals in restaurants, and tipped the customary amount, your tip total would be as much as and maybe even higher than the per-day suggested amount. (Even if you tip extra for specialty waiters, etc)

 

Question 4 (off-base on these points) - That's for you to decide after weighing other responses.

[blindrid]

My 2 cents:

 

I always disagree with the line of thinking "that since the line does not pay them a decent salary argument". It's no different here when it comes to servers, bussers, cabbies, doormen, bellmen, porters etc. It typically is a function of production and services provided. The auto tip is a way to assure that a lot of the ones we do not see much (i.e. buffet staff) a piece of the action.

 

Since the tips are pooled and split accordingly, you don't need to make it difficult and worry about each individual server (freestyle vs. traditional). I think the most important thing is to avoid "cute" or "gimmicky" presents or tips that some may not find of any value.

 

The bar staff is dependent on the tips they serve as they do not participate in the auto-tip.

 

Don't make it difficult on yourself and quit worrying about inconsequential things - just chalk it up to the cost of going on a cruise....

[chasetf]

.........Unlike the ship crew, land based servers pay taxes on their income and face the same cot of living that we all do, which is probably the only reason they are not paid $1 a day.

So your implication is ship crews do not pay income taxes. :confused: What is you basis of this conclusion.

 

And... you think they do not face the cost of living increases that we do. :confused: Actually they face worse...:eek: they face not only the COL, but they face the $ devaluation. They get paid in $'s, then have to go home and buy more expensive Euro's, Pounds,.... or whatever their local currency is. ;)

[chasetf]

......Don't make it difficult on yourself and quit worrying about inconsequential things - just chalk it up to the cost of going on a cruise....

Adding my 2 cents too. I do not know why people don't do this..... Plus.... the advantage is you do not have to pay it until you sail. If it was part of the cruise cost then you would have to pay it by final payment date........ (plus the increased commission and taxes).

[narrell]

Again the "Big Tipping Debate" rears it's ugly head! ;)

And it could all be solved if the cruise lines did the right thing and paid their employees a descent salary. As we do not tip in Australia, and our Government has set a minimum wage that employers are legally obliged to pay, all employees know they will get a fair days pay for a fair days work. This eliminates the need for the consumer to "supplement" a persons wage with tips. Does this reflect on the service customers get? Well I have never had to deal with bad service, because most people are happy to work in their chosen careers knowing they are not paid below the poverty line.

If the cruise lines added extra $$ onto the cost of cruises to cover giving their employers a DESCENT wage, tipping would not be needed, ergo happier employees that are enthusiastic about their work & also less paper work needed by the cruise line to divvy up the tips. I don't think the extra cost would deter future cruises,after all its usually a holiday of a lifetime for most and as such you tend to saved until you CAN afford it.

Also if people wanted to tip, they would still be able to tip for any outstanding service knowing that ALL the tip was headed for the intended person.

Now just one little question, say you have paid the Auto tips but your room steward is having a rare "Bad Hair week" and does not give very good service for the length of your 7 day cruise, you've bought it to the attention of the purser on more then one occasion, but still your room steward does nothing to lift his game.

So at the end is that room steward still going to be given his share of the auto tipping, even though he has given poor service. I bet he will (specially if its a first for him to behave that way).

Now am I opposed to tipping....NO WAY! I just like to tip only those that give good service and the rest should be paid a descent wage.

 

Sorry thats my rant and rave of a crazy woman over.!:o

[chasetf]

......Now just one little question, say you have paid the Auto tips but your room steward is having a rare "Bad Hair week" and does not give very good service for the length of your 7 day cruise, you've bought it to the attention of the purser on more then one occasion, but still your room steward does nothing to lift his game................

First let me say, I can understand your "pay a fair wage" argument given it is your societal experience. Many of us others the "tipping model" is our way of life and well understood and accepted.

 

As far as the "bad hair day" steward / waiter / ???? .... you can make that crew member have a worse "hair day" by turning in a negative written comment card that specially names him/her that notes the specifics of the bad service......than by taking off the auto tip.

[smeyer418]

Again the "Big Tipping Debate" rears it's ugly head! ;)

And it could all be solved if the cruise lines did the right thing and paid their employees a descent salary. As we do not tip in Australia, and our Government has set a minimum wage that employers are legally obliged to pay, all employees know they will get a fair days pay for a fair days work. This eliminates the need for the consumer to "supplement" a persons wage with tips. Does this reflect on the service customers get? Well I have never had to deal with bad service, because most people are happy to work in their chosen careers knowing they are not paid below the poverty line.

If the cruise lines added extra $$ onto the cost of cruises to cover giving their employers a DESCENT wage, tipping would not be needed, ergo happier employees that are enthusiastic about their work & also less paper work needed by the cruise line to divvy up the tips. I don't think the extra cost would deter future cruises,after all its usually a holiday of a lifetime for most and as such you tend to saved until you CAN afford it.

Also if people wanted to tip, they would still be able to tip for any outstanding service knowing that ALL the tip was headed for the intended person.

Now just one little question, say you have paid the Auto tips but your room steward is having a rare "Bad Hair week" and does not give very good service for the length of your 7 day cruise, you've bought it to the attention of the purser on more then one occasion, but still your room steward does nothing to lift his game.

So at the end is that room steward still going to be given his share of the auto tipping, even though he has given poor service. I bet he will (specially if its a first for him to behave that way).

Now am I opposed to tipping....NO WAY! I just like to tip only those that give good service and the rest should be paid a descent wage.

 

Sorry thats my rant and rave of a crazy woman over.!:o

 

I agree it should be included. NCL has done that with a service charge collected on ship. If they would add it to the fare as explained above it would cost you significantly more(we can debate how much more but it would be at least 25% more to get the same amount into the employees hands)....its also clear that where someone keeps not getting the minimums paid into the pool the other employees will want them out toot suite, since its coming from their pockets. In fact many employees where a person stiffs put the full amount into the pool anyway to show they are doing a good job...they say they got it in cash from the stiffer. The problem has been not when someone doesn't tip for good service but doesn't tip in spite of the passenger having no complaint(or some nonsensical complaint having nothing to with anything within the employees control ie.e I didn't like the food or the room was too hot-all reasons for people not tipping)

 

 

The ship takes individual complaints about an emplyee very seriously and many times they lose their jobs because of continuing complaints....ask the employees...

[viviandr]

The main dining staff works all over the ship when they are not working dinner. If you eat breakfat or lunch in the buffet, your dinner staff will be working there. Room service breakfast one morning was delivered by our waitress. Serving dinner in the evening is just 6 hours out of their 12 to 16 hour day 7 days a week. So, you're not just tipping them for serving you dinner.

 

On my last cruise, I recognized several of the dancers from the theater productions cleaning tables, and serving in the buffet area.

[chasetf]

On my last cruise, I recognized several of the dancers from the theater productions cleaning tables, and serving in the buffet area.

That is a new one.....never seen them bussing tables. I have seen them manning bingo sales tables, helping with tours, assisting the CD staff with special activities.

[patches12]

My daughter works at a Friday's restaurant. Some people will leave with a $200.00 ticket and NOT leave her any tip at all. She makes $2.10 per hour. Not even half the minimum wage. My thought is...if you cannot afford to tip the wait staff, you cannot afford to go out to a sit down-order from the menu- restaurant. That is what fast-food restaurants are for! She has days where no one ever tips her! She has been recognized as being the TOP waitress/waiter in the restaurant consistently so she does deserve the tips. She has days where certain clientele hide in the bathroom and wait for her to get busy before sneaking out without even paying the check. (Why put a restroom by the front door??)

 

THEN she has to pay a percentage of her daily sales to the other staff. Not a percentage of tips. a percentage of sales..... Doesn't matter if she got tips that day or not. She has learned to take cash with her in case she ever has to pay the others. Very sad and she just paid her own way through 4 years of college. Hard job, waitressing.

 

So tip, tip, tip! It doesn't matter if the food was cold or the service is slow. That can be fixed. That is not the waiter's fault. He/she can't control the kitchen, the cooks, the quality of food that was purchased.... Just tip and be thankful you are NOT having to cook for yourself AND do the dishes.:D

[CruisenLexie]

I just read Under The Captains Table and this paragraph inparticular:

 

"One of the biggest misconceptions -- and quite possibly this is what leads to folks' reluctance to tip -- is that cruise passengers are shouldering the paychecks for crew members. But I suggest you don't listen to all the stories of such poverty-stricken crew members with low salaries and terrible lives. When tipping, you are not paying for every crewmember onboard the ship. Each position on the ship is paid according to the industry rates for that position. So, for instance, a waiter can earn between $2,000 and $3,200 per month (while a busboy will pull in $1,200 - $1,800). A cabin steward's monthly salary is anywhere between $1,600 and $2,600. A massage therapist will rake in $2,000 - $3,000. (Note: As an FYI, average salaries for cruise staffers who don't earn tips include $3,000 - $7,000 for a cruise director and $1,500 - $2,200 for a social hostess)."

 

I understood after reading this that these employees are paid these rates by the company and tips are extra. I was on a cruise on RCI and the waiter told me they were not paid anything. THey only received our tips. I verified this with him in another conversation. Now I am wondering if he was lying to me. I thought he was an excellent waiter and would not change my tip but if I was lied to I would be very disappointed.

[aaerobear]

I would tend to believe the crew member rather than the wife of a captain and dyed in the wool cheerleader and "the cruiselines can do no wrong" school of journalism. I would bet she has absolutely no idea what the waiters and room attendants are paid.

 

This is not to say that some crewmembers would not embellish their "plight" to extract a few more dollars in tips, but, come on, $2,600 salary for a room steward???? Before tips???? I think not.

 

Ed

[ladycaveat]

Just curious but does anyone know the average monthly salary of the matre de (I can't spell worth a flip but the guy that manages the restaurant staff)?

[smeyer418]

I just read Under The Captains Table and this paragraph inparticular:

 

"One of the biggest misconceptions -- and quite possibly this is what leads to folks' reluctance to tip -- is that cruise passengers are shouldering the paychecks for crew members. But I suggest you don't listen to all the stories of such poverty-stricken crew members with low salaries and terrible lives. When tipping, you are not paying for every crewmember onboard the ship. Each position on the ship is paid according to the industry rates for that position. So, for instance, a waiter can earn between $2,000 and $3,200 per month (while a busboy will pull in $1,200 - $1,800). A cabin steward's monthly salary is anywhere between $1,600 and $2,600. A massage therapist will rake in $2,000 - $3,000. (Note: As an FYI, average salaries for cruise staffers who don't earn tips include $3,000 - $7,000 for a cruise director and $1,500 - $2,200 for a social hostess)."

 

I understood after reading this that these employees are paid these rates by the company and tips are extra. I was on a cruise on RCI and the waiter told me they were not paid anything. THey only received our tips. I verified this with him in another conversation. Now I am wondering if he was lying to me. I thought he was an excellent waiter and would not change my tip but if I was lied to I would be very disappointed.

 

No that is what they are including the tips and it is an average. the company does not pay the tipped employees more than a nominal amount but as I said about the health care and airline tickets is true.

[isujim]

I just read Under The Captains Table and this paragraph inparticular:

 

"One of the biggest misconceptions -- and quite possibly this is what leads to folks' reluctance to tip -- is that cruise passengers are shouldering the paychecks for crew members. But I suggest you don't listen to all the stories of such poverty-stricken crew members with low salaries and terrible lives. When tipping, you are not paying for every crewmember onboard the ship. Each position on the ship is paid according to the industry rates for that position. So, for instance, a waiter can earn between $2,000 and $3,200 per month (while a busboy will pull in $1,200 - $1,800). A cabin steward's monthly salary is anywhere between $1,600 and $2,600. A massage therapist will rake in $2,000 - $3,000. (Note: As an FYI, average salaries for cruise staffers who don't earn tips include $3,000 - $7,000 for a cruise director and $1,500 - $2,200 for a social hostess)."

 

I understood after reading this that these employees are paid these rates by the company and tips are extra. I was on a cruise on RCI and the waiter told me they were not paid anything. THey only received our tips. I verified this with him in another conversation. Now I am wondering if he was lying to me. I thought he was an excellent waiter and would not change my tip but if I was lied to I would be very disappointed.

 

For clarification.........where do you get your figures?? The last I heard from many sources is that room stewards and waiters get a pretty minimum salary of $50 per week......the rest is indeed made up in tips.....

 

Let me be the first to say I could be totally wrong. I'm not doubting your information, just would like to know where you got your figures.......my impression (not counting the salaried employees or staff like massage therapists etc) was that employees were paid very minimal salaries with the rest to be made up in tips. Thanks for clarifying.

[Philip217]

Much of the confusion here is based on semantics and terminology.

 

Most cruise line waiters have a UNION NEGOTIATED SALARY of about US$1 per day - Plus tips. This is spelled out in the employment contract they sign.

 

Most cruise line waiters are promised a MINIMUM GUARANTEED SALARY of around US$1600 - US$2200 PER MONTH. This is guaranteed by the cruise line and is also spelled out in the employment contract they sign. This guaranteed minimum is an insurance policy that kicks in if the ship goes to dry dock, or has a European charter, or encounters any other situation where the tip pool is too small to allow the waiter to reach his guaranteed minimum earnings. In these rare cases, the cruise line promises to donate enough money to the tipping pool to allow the staff to make their guaranteed minimum salary.

 

Most cruise line waiters EARN (EARN is the operative word here) more than their guaranteed salary. Their EARNINGS are a combination or their SALARY ($1 per day) plus their share of the tipping pool, plus any additional tips they might receive. More and more today, these additional tips make the difference between poor EARNINGS and acceptable EARNINGS. For those asking about incentive to do a great job, that's where the incentive is.