The Prepaid Gratuities Removed List

[TammieLand]

Wow - I wish I could have a list like that!

 

I'm a singer and you wouldn't believe the people who ask me to sing "special songs" and never tip a dime.

 

Don't get me wrong - I certainly don't expect a tip for every song but when the same person requests 3, 4 or 5 songs and then walk out the door - I become a little...okay..a little more than frustrated.

 

My name ain't goin on that list - that's for sure!

 

By the way, I'm a cruise virgin sailing for the very first time on May 30th out of New Orleans.

 

:) This site has been very, very, helpful.

 

Thanks ya'll!

[Sea Turtle]

Am I the only one that feels that taking a photo of this information and displaying it here or anywhere is in poor taste? It was addressed to CCL personnel not to passengers. You can debate the prepay tipping issue until the cows come home (oh wait, that's already been done at least a hundred times here :rolleyes: ) but knowledge and/or display of said list doesn't serve any purpose in my opinion.

 

Thanks to Fred, Laura, Anne and others who posted along the way from the Splendor.

 

Enjoy the evening! :cool:

[travelntreats]

I am so glad to know this! Thank you for posting it. I think it is absolutely fair for the crew to know in advance who is not paying them gratuities. If someone chooses to withhold the automatic gratuities and pay cash at the end of the cruise, I would think it would be wise for them to advise the crew members of their plans. As for DH and me, we will continue to leave the automatic gratuities in place and give them extra cash for good service. Most of these people work very hard to make our cruise a "better than expected" experience. We believe they deserve a little extra money for their efforts.

This is exactly what I do..... and I will pre tip them a percentage in advance... not as a bribe, but more of an incentive to be certain to provide me the level of service I expect and am willing to pay for.

[AprilRN]

We have taken the prepaid gratuities off of our S&S in the past and tipped with cash because we thought it was saving the staff member taxes! We won't be doing that anymore because we don't feel like someone who has actually earned some extra cash should have to share it with others that didn't earn it! From now on, the prepaids stay on and the extra cash will be given as warranted to the appropriate staff member.

 

The one person who never gets a tip as a rule is the Maitre d'. They typically only show up at the table on the last night holding out their hand and that just rubs us the wrong way. Don't get me wrong; when the Maitre d' has actually performed a service for us we tip him above and beyond the suggested amount. Flame away if you must! I have my fire-retardant suit on and will continue to not tip the Maitre d' until someone can truly justify to me why I should!

[travelntreats]

We have taken the prepaid gratuities off of our S&S in the past and tipped with cash because we thought it was saving the staff member taxes! We won't be doing that anymore because we don't feel like someone who has actually earned some extra cash should have to share it with others that didn't earn it! From now on, the prepaids stay on and the extra cash will be given as warranted to the appropriate staff member.

 

The one person who never gets a tip as a rule is the Maitre d'. They typically only show up at the table on the last night holding out their hand and that just rubs us the wrong way. Don't get me wrong; when the Maitre d' has actually performed a service for us we tip him above and beyond the suggested amount. Flame away if you must! I have my fire-retardant suit on and will continue to not tip the Maitre d' until someone can truly justify to me why I should!

 

I do the same thing.... show me the service (if requested) and I will show you the appreciation (gratuity) ! :D

[Ashleezmom]

We have taken the prepaid gratuities off of our S&S in the past and tipped with cash because we thought it was saving the staff member taxes! We won't be doing that anymore because we don't feel like someone who has actually earned some extra cash should have to share it with others that didn't earn it! From now on, the prepaids stay on and the extra cash will be given as warranted to the appropriate staff member.

 

The one person who never gets a tip as a rule is the Maitre d'. They typically only show up at the table on the last night holding out their hand and that just rubs us the wrong way. Don't get me wrong; when the Maitre d' has actually performed a service for us we tip him above and beyond the suggested amount. Flame away if you must! I have my fire-retardant suit on and will continue to not tip the Maitre d' until someone can truly justify to me why I should![/quote]

 

I agree!!!

[Bibi]

If you have good service, leave the tips on.

If you have exceptional service....tip a little extra.

If you have poor service...decrease the tip or don't tip at all....whether you are at a restaurant, a hotel or on a cruise....

 

I have done all the above and always base my tips on the quality of service I have received.

 

Tips are a bonus for good service and are EARNED. Don't feel bad for reducing tips if your room steward, waiter, etc...doesn't deserve them. :cool:

[jetskier]

 

Sorry, but I take offense to this.... I am one that removes the auto tips based on my personal opinion of what a gratuity is. Rest assured that In the end, everyone I tip get what they deserve based on their overall performance (and in most cases this is ABOVE the norm). And yes, I have tipped down when necessary and not afraid to admit to that, but I have never "stiffed" a staff member on any of the 50 + cruises I have sailed on.

 

So I have my flame retardent suit on for those who wish to attack me on this !

 

Actually you have and did not realize it. Part of the $10 goes to pay the staff working the buffet. So unless you are tipping everyone who served you there, then someone did not get their full gratiuty. If you notice on the memo the section on "Alt D/R", this covers them.

 

Dave

[momtotwinglesx6]

Newbie here about to take our very first cruise--on Carnival. I have an honest question/concern about the automatic $10/day/pp gratuities that will be added to our account. I have no problem paying this for myself, my dh, and my adult daughter, but we are also taking our 5 other younger children, ranging in age from 12 down to 1.

 

It seems a bit ridiculous to me to be paying this much for a 1 year old baby! Am I wrong?

[pnjkeith]

Neither Pre-paid tips nor auto-tips is pretipping. The workers do not receive a cent of either until after the cruise has ENDED and your check/credit card has cleared. Plus you are not actually paying a cent until the cruise is over and you receive your credit card statement and pay it. So you might not actually disburse a cent until a month after the cruise. That is not bribing anyone.

 

Throughout the entire cruise 24/7 YOU may go to the Purser at ANY time and adjust the tips up OR down to ZERO. That hardly constitutes bribing or pertipping!

 

Agree with parts of your opine, but service was better before pre tips and more personal. But last night dining room was empty, so pre tip was Carnival's answer.

[jetskier]

Newbie here about to take our very first cruise--on Carnival. I have an honest question/concern about the automatic $10/day/pp gratuities that will be added to our account. I have no problem paying this for myself, my dh, and my adult daughter, but we are also taking our 5 other younger children, ranging in age from 12 down to 1.

 

It seems a bit ridiculous to me to be paying this much for a 1 year old baby! Am I wrong?

 

I have two children, it is sometimes more work for the cabin steward/dining staff when kids are involved. Special dining room food requests, more likely to have the cabin in disarray, pool towels/additional cabin towels, etc.

 

I have no problem leaving the tips in place.

 

Dave

[travelntreats]

Actually you have and did not realize it. Part of the $10 goes to pay the staff working the buffet. So unless you are tipping everyone who served you there, then someone did not get their full gratiuty. If you notice on the memo the section on "Alt D/R", this covers them.

 

Dave

No, I actually tip the staff in the buffet areas that "ASSIST ME" i.e cleaning "MY TABLE", serving "MY DRINKS".... offering to "ASSIST ME"..... call me old fashioned if you like but it works for me and I do not go away feeling guilty at all. For some the auto tip works and that is fine by me as it is a "PERSONAL CHOICE"... But in my eyes, cruise ship passengers have given in to what the cruiseline wants us to do and I feel that since it is "MY MONEY", I will provide the gratuity as I feel is appropriate. Flame Away ! :eek:

[quickrate]

The people cooking your food, know you've removed everyones tips. That could be bad :eek:

 

I know everyone has their fabulous excuses for taking them off and they all swear they pay them in the end but I'm betting most are just cheap and stiff them.quote]

 

 

Sorry, but I take offense to this.... I am one that removes the auto tips based on my personal opinion of what a gratuity is. Rest assured that In the end, everyone I tip get what they deserve based on their overall performance (and in most cases this is ABOVE the norm). And yes, I have tipped down when necessary and not afraid to admit to that, but I have never "stiffed" a staff member on any of the 50 + cruises I have sailed on.

 

So I have my flame retardent suit on for those who wish to attack me on this !

No attack-just wondered if you realize that when you remove the tips, the poeple who wait on you and clean your stateroom are asked by their department heads why the tips were removed. Maybe unfair, but this is what happens!

[travelntreats]

No attack-just wondered if you realize that when you remove the tips, the poeple who wait on you and clean your stateroom are asked by their department heads why the tips were removed. Maybe unfair, but this is what happens!

But I also advise those staff that I have done this in advance....as stated in another of my posts.

[quickrate]

They don't need to know who removed the tips while the passengers are still there.

 

And yes, we do tip. One time we left it in cash (over and above) but we don't any more because we heard they have to pool the money.

 

Not true! If you leave the tips on your bill and decide to tip more at the end, they do not have to share the extra cash they are tipped.

[quickrate]

I agree 100%. There is NO reason' date=' ever, to remove the basic minimum gratuities. Those who do are simply looking for ways to stiff those hard working folks. No matter what excuses they use, it's an attempt to not tip at all.

 

That's one reason autotips were added in the first place. Too many deadbeats simply walked off the ship without recognizing anyone for their service.

 

Personally, I think this extra fee should be mandatory...even added in to the price of the cruise. In any case, there should be no way to remove or reduce them. If people can't afford to tip...they shouldn't cruise...or eat out in restaurants, stay in hotels, use baggage porters, taxi's, transportation services or any other service where it is customary to tip.[/quote']

 

Ditto!

[quickrate]

Newbie here about to take our very first cruise--on Carnival. I have an honest question/concern about the automatic $10/day/pp gratuities that will be added to our account. I have no problem paying this for myself, my dh, and my adult daughter, but we are also taking our 5 other younger children, ranging in age from 12 down to 1.

 

It seems a bit ridiculous to me to be paying this much for a 1 year old baby! Am I wrong?

 

Children usually are more work than adults. I know that when we took our grandchildren on a cruise, the staff worked really hard to make sure they were well taken care of.

[FlaKrznNubie]

The people cooking your food, know you've removed everyones tips. That could be bad :eek:

 

I know everyone has their fabulous excuses for taking them off and they all swear they pay them in the end but I'm betting most are just cheap and stiff them.quote]

 

 

Sorry, but I take offense to this.... I am one that removes the auto tips based on my personal opinion of what a gratuity is. Rest assured that In the end, everyone I tip get what they deserve based on their overall performance (and in most cases this is ABOVE the norm). And yes, I have tipped down when necessary and not afraid to admit to that, but I have never "stiffed" a staff member on any of the 50 + cruises I have sailed on.

 

So I have my flame retardent suit on for those who wish to attack me on this !

 

Forget what we think.... just check your food, drinks, bed, sink & shower closely on your future cruises.... :eek:

[jeschwartz82]

wow! note to self, stay on the list and just pay a little extra!

[mag]

Children usually are more work than adults. I know that when we took our grandchildren on a cruise, the staff worked really hard to make sure they were well taken care of.

 

I agree. When we cruised with our kids, it was still at the time of the "envelopes with cash at the end of the cruise". Our wait staff and room steward went over and above to assist and entertain them, they were awesome! After we tipped in full for everyone at the end, we saw our room steward just before leaving the ship...he had a huge smile and said something like "thank you sooooooo much for everything"...I really think he was surprised we tipped in full for the kids. It was worth it just to see his face! We said no thank you!

[quickrate]

But I also advise those staff that I have done this in advance....as stated in another of my posts.

 

You have advised the staff but this still does not prevent them from being cslled on the carpet for your actions.

[aggieastrosfan]

Newbie here about to take our very first cruise--on Carnival. I have an honest question/concern about the automatic $10/day/pp gratuities that will be added to our account. I have no problem paying this for myself, my dh, and my adult daughter, but we are also taking our 5 other younger children, ranging in age from 12 down to 1.

 

It seems a bit ridiculous to me to be paying this much for a 1 year old baby! Am I wrong?

 

Would you want to clean up a strange child's dirty diapers every day for free, and make their bed, and replace their towels?

 

That being said, I don't believe the gratuities are automatically added for children under 2.

[BeeBeeCee]

We like to pay our autotips before we cruise thus keeping our S&S card cheaper at checkout. The amount for tips seem appropriate since they are spread out over so many people .... stewards, waiters and wait staff at buffets, etc.

 

We have tipped our steward, waitress and co-waitress extra on each of our 4 cruises....which was obviously appreciated by them.

 

Since I have only been cruising since 2004, I don't know how long auto tips have been in existence......but I fail to believe that they started this method b/c everyone was over-tipping or even tipping appropriately. :rolleyes:

 

And, if I have grammer or spelling mistakes....it is the margarita!!....getting ready for Cinco Mayo

[luv2cruise777l]

 

OK' date=' I'm one of the whiners that left the ship on Thursday. . . too many sea days make me sick. I travel for the ports! I went to the purser - what a chore (with all the obnoxious people abusing carnival employees). What a shame, they were powerless. I was told there was no way to adjust the tips based on being on the ship 4 days except to take it out and tip in cash. So I guess my name is on the list. . . I would never purposely stiff any of those wonderful hard-working folks![/quote']

 

 

Ok, I am one of the "whiners" that left the ship early on Thursday too. I too took off the tips and paid in cash. Why would someone pay for tips for the days that they aren't sailing! My dining staff was taken care of for the days I sailed!

 

 

Am I the only one that feels that taking a photo of this information and displaying it here or anywhere is in poor taste? It was addressed to CCL personnel not to passengers. You can debate the prepay tipping issue until the cows come home (oh wait, that's already been done at least a hundred times here :rolleyes: ) but knowledge and/or display of said list doesn't serve any purpose in my opinion.

 

 

Very tacky on Carnival's part to have this list posted where people can take pictures of it. This tour is only offered to Platinum guests, maybe it shouldn't be offered to anyone if they are taking pictures of confidential information.

[Mrs.C05]

I don't understand why the room stewards would even get a list showing who pre-paid gratuities or not. Is there a reason behind this? They *should* clean the room regardless. We have always prepaid just because it's fair to everyone all around, and then we tip extra in cash at the end. Less hassle for me.