Have you experienced better/worse service when increasing/reducing tips?

[hckrphil]

I have always had the auto tip taken off just because I like to assure the staff directly gets the money without the cruiseline taking a cut. I also add a little more than the recommended amount and the staff seems to appreciate us personally thanking them this way. I never put any thought into the fact that we would end up on a black list for not auto tipping but looking back I think I tend to remove the tip closer to the end of the cruise. I have never had anything but great service on any of our cruises.

[davy jones]

We have never taken off or reduced the automatic gratuities. We have never had service that would warrant reducing the automatic tips. (It would have to be very poor service and not corrected for us to consider reducing the tips. Delays in getting dessert or refilling a water glass do not count)

 

We have had service deserving of extra and have tipped accordingly at the end of the cruise.

[LHT28]

rickalpi,

 

Can you clarify your response: you stated that you don't tip anyone prior to service, but then you say you remove the auto tips on the last night. Doesn't this mean you pre-tipped for service? Sounds confusing.

 

Most cruiseline I have been on add the gratuities on the last night to my account

On Princess they did add them daily it is not PRE tipping but AUTO-tipping where you do not have to worry about finding the crew members to tip

 

The new open seating dining that more lines are implementing make it harder to tip individuals so the AUTO tipping seems to work for that style of dining.

If you still have SET dining tipping in cash at the end still works

[Droon]

I have removed the automatic tips because I don't want the amounts on my credit card. I prefer to pay in cash at the end of the cruise.

[FIREKILLER]

Most cruiseline I have been on add the gratuities on the last night to my account

On Princess they did add them daily it is not PRE tipping but AUTO-tipping where you do not have to worry about finding the crew members to tip

 

The new open seating dining that more lines are implementing make it harder to tip individuals so the AUTO tipping seems to work for that style of dining.

If you still have SET dining tipping in cash at the end still works

 

Thanks LHT28 for the info. We have open seating time this cruise coming up, so are you saying it's seems more logical to leave the auto tipping on because your not getting the same wait staff?

 

I have also read were you can request the same area (and/or table) that has a specific wait staff if you like them. Do you know if that's true for open sitting? Thanks:)

[retiredonthesea]

I have removed the automatic tips because I don't want the amounts on my credit card. I prefer to pay in cash at the end of the cruise.

 

You can always apply the cash to your onboard account thus not having to take off the auto tips.

[MMDown Under]

Having worked for most of the major cruise lines, I can assure you that ALL of them with auto-tipping send out updates to all tipped departments every day or so on who has removed, increased, or decreased gratuities. Some cruise lines post this info on notice boards; others send it to department heads who go over the info in their daily briefings with their staff. EVERYONE knows.

 

Any passenger who thinks the staff do not know which cabin he is from is living in another dimension. The staff knows far more about you than you would ever guess. Remember that I.D. photo you took at check-in or at the gangway? It's linked to your onboard account, your spending history, your cabin number, your booking information and history, your travel agent, your passport, your home address, telephone, email address, and many more details.

 

Being from a non tipping culture, I'm intrigued.

 

What happens when you tip the people who served you, at the end of the cruise, the same amount in cash? Do they notify the bean counters accordingly? They certainly seemed happy to receive the cash.

 

BTW We have always received excellent levels of service.

[FIREKILLER]

Having worked for most of the major cruise lines, I can assure you that ALL of them with auto-tipping send out updates to all tipped departments every day or so on who has removed, increased, or decreased gratuities. Some cruise lines post this info on notice boards; others send it to department heads who go over the info in their daily briefings with their staff. EVERYONE knows.

 

Any passenger who thinks the staff do not know which cabin he is from is living in another dimension. The staff knows far more about you than you would ever guess. Remember that I.D. photo you took at check-in or at the gangway? It's linked to your onboard account, your spending history, your cabin number, your booking information and history, your travel agent, your passport, your home address, telephone, email address, and many more details.

 

BruceMuzz, thanks for your insight on this. Do you have knowledge about this pool that tips go into? Is this true? As I stated before, I don't mind tipping extra, but if the person has to turn it in, I don't agree with that. My person who is working hard has to give some of this money for another worker who may be not working as hard and for me not to know this other worker just doesn't sit right with me. Let us know, thanks.:eek:

[Karysa]

I just had an interesting thought. If crew members are singled out or penalized in some fashion for passengers in their charge that take off the auto tips, do you think that they would say that the passenger tipped them in cash at the end of the cruise and just hand in their percent of the tip that they are expected to get through the automatic tipping policy. In other words do you think a crew member would find it in their best interest to just pay the $30.00 a person or whatever their part of the tip would be to stay off the list of staff members that got stiffed just to prevent questioning and perhaps repercussions? I think it may be feasible especially if they are on their first tour.

 

Karysa

[LHT28]

Thanks LHT28 for the info. We have open seating time this cruise coming up, so are you saying it's seems more logical to leave the auto tipping on because your not getting the same wait staff?

 

I have also read were you can request the same area (and/or table) that has a specific wait staff if you like them. Do you know if that's true for open sitting? Thanks:)

 

Yes you will have different waitstaff.

The waitstaff rotate around the dining venues ...you may see the same staff in the breakfast buffet as in the dining room for dinner.

 

Some cruise lines will let you request same time & same area if available.

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

I have removed the automatic tips because I don't want the amounts on my credit card. I prefer to pay in cash at the end of the cruise.

 

We put cash on our account near the end so not too much goes on the Credit card.

 

LYN

[rkacruiser]

It is my understanding that by leaving the auto-tips in place, any additional money given to a particular steward(s) may be kept by that person.

 

It is my understanding that if the auto-tips are removed from one's account, then any money given to the stewards MUST be turned into a pool that is then shared by those who would normally participate in the auto-tip amount.

 

Am I correct in my thinking?

[Arwenmark]

I just had an interesting thought. If crew members are singled out or penalized in some fashion for passengers in their charge that take off the auto tips, do you think that they would say that the passenger tipped them in cash at the end of the cruise and just hand in their percent of the tip that they are expected to get through the automatic tipping policy. In other words do you think a crew member would find it in their best interest to just pay the $30.00 a person or whatever their part of the tip would be to stay off the list of staff members that got stiffed just to prevent questioning and perhaps repercussions? I think it may be feasible especially if they are on their first tour.

 

Karysa

 

When a guest gives cash they must turn it in, and if they don't they are subject to being fired as well as the other workers getting even as it were. They will report each other.

The part some of you don't seem to be getting here is that AFTER they turn in cash tips, IF THE PERSON GIVING THE TIP did NOT remove the auto tip, so in fact the cash was extra, then the person you gave it to GETS IT BACK along with their share of the auto tips.

 

This is the ONLY WAY to be sure the people you want to tip get the money you give. If you remove the tips everyone looses.

 

To the one wanting to pay in cash so not on CC, just leave the tips on the account, and go down the last night and pay the cash on your on board account at the Purser's desk.

[BruceMuzz]

BruceMuzz, thanks for your insight on this. Do you have knowledge about this pool that tips go into? Is this true? As I stated before, I don't mind tipping extra, but if the person has to turn it in, I don't agree with that. My person who is working hard has to give some of this money for another worker who may be not working as hard and for me not to know this other worker just doesn't sit right with me. Let us know, thanks.:eek:

 

Most non-cruise people never understand the incredibly strong teamwork concept that pervades nearly every aspect of living and working on a cruise ship. We succeed or fail together - in every way.

On almost every cruise line with auto-tipping (which is now most of them) the system is just about the same. If you leave the auto-tips in place, any extra tip belongs to the crewmember you gave it to. If you remove or reduce the auto-tip, any money you give the crewmember must be turned into the pool. It is actually on the honor system, but the crewmembers have some very clever ways of determining if their fellow colleagues are being "honorable". Anyone caught cheating will be on his way home - at his own expense - very quickly.

[BruceMuzz]

I just had an interesting thought. If crew members are singled out or penalized in some fashion for passengers in their charge that take off the auto tips, do you think that they would say that the passenger tipped them in cash at the end of the cruise and just hand in their percent of the tip that they are expected to get through the automatic tipping policy. In other words do you think a crew member would find it in their best interest to just pay the $30.00 a person or whatever their part of the tip would be to stay off the list of staff members that got stiffed just to prevent questioning and perhaps repercussions? I think it may be feasible especially if they are on their first tour.

 

Karysa

 

A very astute observation. This happens more often than anyone realizes. When a waiter gets "stiffed" by a passenger, the pressure is on. He is not supporting his share of the tipping pool. It really doesn't matter why. His colleagues only know that all of them are losing money because this fellow - for whatever reasons - isn't able to convince his passengers to leave a tip. If this happens very often, there are about 200 waiters who want to get rid of this fellow. And they will. To protect themselves, some waiters would rather take money out of their own pockets to cover their part of the tipping pool that was shorted by cheap passengers, rather than facing the wrath of all their colleagues.

 

By the way, anyone worried about the cruise line taking a cut of the tip pool should not worry too much. Waiters are the best accountants on the ship. At the end of the cruise, they know exactly how many passengers sailed that week, exactly how many reduced or removed tips (and how much) (and why), exactly how many tipped extra (and how much)(and why), and how much extra cash was put into the pool. Even before the Purser shows up with the tip pool cash, each waiter knows exactly - to the penny - how much should be in that pool, and how much of that pool is going to be his.

[MMDown Under]

My preferred method for the payment of gratuities is payment with the fare.

 

(I was fortunate to experience this method on an Australian charter of Rhapsody of the Seas.)

[michmike]

C'mon folks.. I'm assuming that those of you who talk about removing the auto tip are relatively intelligent people.. and yet....

 

The fact of the matter is that whatever the cruise line chooses to dress it up as, it is a SERVICE CHARGE... It is part of the cost of the trip.. just like your airfare, the hotel the nite before the ship sails, excursions, your bar tab, etc.

 

You KNOW in advance how much it is going to be, so PLAN for that cost in your calculations when you figure out how much the trip is going to cost you.

 

Contrary to what you may choose to believe, you are penalizing your cabin steward and waiters when you remove the tip, no matter how much you give them on a personal level, because as so many others have said - they DO NOT get to keep that money, they have to turn it in to the pool. That's not an urban legend.. that's a FACT!

 

If you have a philosophical difference with the cruiseline over this policy then take it up with them.. but don't penalize these hard working folks who go out of their way to provide top notch service day in and day out. Or look for a line that doesn't have auto tipping.

 

However you want to paint it, if you remove the autotip you are either a) a cheapskate or b) too obtuse to understand what the rest of the folks here are telling you and you likely shouldn't be leaving home for fear of not finding your way back.

 

Flame if you will, but truth is truth.

[Aquahound]

Having worked for most of the major cruise lines, I can assure you that ALL of them with auto-tipping send out updates to all tipped departments every day or so on who has removed, increased, or decreased gratuities.

 

Having worked in restaurants while paying my way through college, I saw what happened to unruly customers or repeat non-tippers. The customers never knew what happened, but the waiters sure did. Being that this staff has unrestricted access to my room while I'm ashore and the contents therein, like my toothbrush, I leave the tips be.

 

Angry humans are angry humans. There are certain people I never upset.

[themaxydog]

To an Australian this is a strange subject. Here we have very little tipping because our wages in the service industries are far higher than most other countries. When we go overseas we often have a problem with tipping and with out knowing offend service staff. I have been on a few cruises now and have noticed that when cruises are sold in Australia they are sold as complete packages with tips included in the fare. On Norwegian Wind in Hawaii we, that is all Australians onboard, were actually informed by the purser that this was the case and a tip credit and debt was a daily occurance on our bill.

From my point of view the service has to be exceptional for me to reach into my pocket because it is something that in our culture is not normally done. My first night in Hawaii, was spent talking to a few locals in a Chilli's restaurant and the the conversation came around to the rules for tipping. I found out that the service industries dont pay as well as in Australia and that most rely on tips to survive. The cruise industry is the same they tell me. The low wages to the staff are subsidised by the fact that we all tip. If the crew are being informed of who is tipping and who is not by management I am unsure if this is any different from the crew talking to each other about who tips and who doesnt, and we all know that happens.

My opinion is that there are points fore and against tipping and auto tipping. I hope that any money I give to a spacific person remains with them. I dont like tips being placed on my bill automatically but paying them in advance has never worried me. As far as Carnival saying that it's not normal practice to inform the crew of who is paying and who is not, they have been caught in the act. This is not a one off, it is standard practice. I cannot believe that the first time they decided to do this a passenger happend to do a tour and photograph the notice board.

[FIREKILLER]

C'mon folks.. I'm assuming that those of you who talk about removing the auto tip are relatively intelligent people.. and yet....

 

The fact of the matter is that whatever the cruise line chooses to dress it up as, it is a SERVICE CHARGE... It is part of the cost of the trip.. just like your airfare, the hotel the nite before the ship sails, excursions, your bar tab, etc.

 

You KNOW in advance how much it is going to be, so PLAN for that cost in your calculations when you figure out how much the trip is going to cost you.

 

Contrary to what you may choose to believe, you are penalizing your cabin steward and waiters when you remove the tip, no matter how much you give them on a personal level, because as so many others have said - they DO NOT get to keep that money, they have to turn it in to the pool. That's not an urban legend.. that's a FACT!

 

If you have a philosophical difference with the cruiseline over this policy then take it up with them.. but don't penalize these hard working folks who go out of their way to provide top notch service day in and day out. Or look for a line that doesn't have auto tipping.

 

However you want to paint it, if you remove the autotip you are either a) a cheapskate or b) too obtuse to understand what the rest of the folks here are telling you and you likely shouldn't be leaving home for fear of not finding your way back.

 

Flame if you will, but truth is truth.

 

You are definitely a people person, aren't you:p, You probably had been in the customer service department somewhere:mad:,

 

So with passengers in the millions, every last one should know that the staff on these ships pool their tips. We must of missed it in the FAQ link. Thank you oh brilliant one for enlightening all of us of your tremendous amount of wisdom.:p

[FIREKILLER]

A very astute observation. This happens more often than anyone realizes. When a waiter gets "stiffed" by a passenger, the pressure is on. He is not supporting his share of the tipping pool. It really doesn't matter why. His colleagues only know that all of them are losing money because this fellow - for whatever reasons - isn't able to convince his passengers to leave a tip. If this happens very often, there are about 200 waiters who want to get rid of this fellow. And they will. To protect themselves, some waiters would rather take money out of their own pockets to cover their part of the tipping pool that was shorted by cheap passengers, rather than facing the wrath of all their colleagues.

 

By the way, anyone worried about the cruise line taking a cut of the tip pool should not worry too much. Waiters are the best accountants on the ship. At the end of the cruise, they know exactly how many passengers sailed that week, exactly how many reduced or removed tips (and how much) (and why), exactly how many tipped extra (and how much)(and why), and how much extra cash was put into the pool. Even before the Purser shows up with the tip pool cash, each waiter knows exactly - to the penny - how much should be in that pool, and how much of that pool is going to be his.

 

BruceMuzz,

 

Once again I thank you for your honesty and courtesy, I wish others would be as considerate. I'm glad I found out by you that if we keep the tips on, and we give extra, the worker gets to keep it. That would be the just thing to do. As for corporate, watch out for them RATS:mad::D

[michmike]

We aren't talking about the millions. We're talking about the folks who are here discussing the issue, refusing to accept the facts from folks who are in a position to know. On top of that, I'm relatively certain that when they go to the front desk to remove the autotips, the staff there explain to them the impact of that decision.

 

As they used to say in the Catskills - "I'm here all week" if you need further enlightenment. *S*

[Firefighterhoop]

I usually remove tips, and give in cash. This way the crew members have something to spend in port the next week if they want, or can do whatever they want with it, instead of having to wait for a check. (But I do tip the reccomended or higher if service warrants)

[michmike]

I usually remove tips, and give in cash. This way the crew members have something to spend in port the next week if they want, or can do whatever they want with it, instead of having to wait for a check. (But I do tip the reccomended or higher if service warrants)

 

I rest my case. *arrghhhh!!*

 

Actually I will concede one point on this issue - The REAL solution is for the cruiselines to quite being disingenuous and calling it a "tip" and to simply call it what it is, a service charge, and then make it mandatory and not allow it to be removed. That would end all this nonsense.

[FIREKILLER]

We aren't talking about the millions. We're talking about the folks who are here discussing the issue, refusing to accept the facts from folks who are in a position to know. On top of that, I'm relatively certain that when they go to the front desk to remove the autotips, the staff there explain to them the impact of that decision.

 

As they used to say in the Catskills - "I'm here all week" if you need further enlightenment. *S*

 

How are you certain this is told to the passengers? A passengers first interaction with the ships personnel and they're going to tell the passenger that if you remove the tips, it gives the workers a bad mark and that they could get reprimanded or even fired. Yea, that's how I want to start my cruise. Give me a break. Nowhere on the cruise ships website does it state this.