Expat Cruise

If it bothers them that bad, go to the service desk and remove all the gratuity from your account. Screw the staff and be selfish if that's how you feel.

Not being selfish, it is not the customers responsibility to pay the crew. It is 100% on Royal. As Royal says it is their suggestion not a requirement. If I suggest Royal should could rates by 90% does that mean they must do so? No I can suggest anything, and they will do as they want.

I will throw the money overboard be I pay recommend auto tips. As for the 18% surcharge on drinks that is another story....

Well my first question is how many posters who are attacking here have had any interaction with Residents of Korea today? Not people from Korea that live in the US but some who residents in Korea? My guess is very few, cannot tell you if real or not but the English is what I see almost everyday from Korean visitors.

And this sounds exactly like something Royal would do. Customer Service is not a strong point with the company. So if I need to vote: then I say I believe the post.

Auto gratuities are stealing from the passengers plain and simple. If others want to let the company steal money from them fine but don't tell me and others we must allow this. I do not believe alcohol belongs on cruise ships, just based upon safety issues. But I do not impose my believes about this on others, if you want to drink drink.

So please don't tell me how much or how I should be tipping employees of the cruise lines. Tipping is one American invention that is a failure. SO I always remove the auto gratuities from my on ship account and will continue to do so. Nothing anyone posts here will ever get my to change my values.

Post away about how I'm uncaring, should not cruise whatever..... all it does is confirm even more that I am right.

The first thing I always do on any of these cruises is remove the auto tipping. I have paid the company for the services already. They should be prefect without added payments.

The whole purpose of a tip is a extra voluntary payment made extra services or above and beyond services. It is not my job as a client to pay the cruise lines basic staff wages. It is not up to the cruise line to tell me how to tip, how much to tip and how my money will be split up.

The cruise lines need to stop stealing from customers and pay their own staff. So my recommendation is remove the auto gratuity and tip as you see fit. But remember you are not required to tip anyone. You can if you wish cancel the auto tipping and cash tip no one.

I got the same email today for the May 26th sailing.

Having always owned boats all my life, I learned one thing at a very early age. When the USCG says something to a Captain it is like God talking to you.... No one in their right mind would ever question the Coast Guard. They are the best friend of any boater be it a 15' sailboat or the largest cruise ship in the world. When everyone else is running to port it is the Coast Guard charging out to rescue the boats that did not listen or got caught.

I/we appreciate the thought. Realistically, I know there are some - even frequent writers here on CC - who probably do not see us in our 'white hat' mode of lifesavers. Rather these folks have seen us more in either our law enforcement mode or our regulatory mode and often these situations are not looked on as kindly . . .

 

A cruise delayed because a ship is having "difficulty" with their safety inspection .... a fisherman stopped for inspection at sea ... boater with some "cargo" he really shouldn't have .... all these tend to get a reaction a lil different from the face looking up at the helo about to lower a basket to one in trouble!

I never have met a Coast Guard Member who wants to do anything but improve safety and protect people. Many who are not smart enough to know they need help. Safety Inspections: Protecting people Fisherman Stopped protect the resources of the sea, "Cargo" : again protecting the boaters and the public.

Nothing that you do is to hurt people, everything is to help people. And I see that you spent some time in the Bering Sea IN WINTER..... hats off for that alone. I was on a sports fishing boat near shore in July and it was not pleasure when the weather turned. Do not even want to think about it in the winter.

New to cruising but decided to book one room (instead of two adjoining rooms) for my family of 4 (girls will be 11 and 9) - Is the tipping amount the same either way? Seems like it should be less if they are in a room with us? Please advise.

Sorry but no discount Royal will tell you the Auto Gratuity is $12.95 x 4 = $51.80 per day. Now I asked you does that seem fair? It's only one room the work load is not 4 times one person. IT should be less but they are trying to get every dollar they can Almost $365 dollars for 7 days. But only if you let them, you can remove or adjust the gratuity as you see fit.

Those salaries ARE ridiculously low, but in comparison with the "cost of living" in the USA, it may be relative. I have no idea....just bringing up another aspect.

That is the point they do not live or work in the US. They also have all fees paid for them. If the wages were not fair the workers would not take them.

In some industries, tipping pays the wages. In my state, the minimum wage for servers is $2.13 an hour, same as it was decades ago. If you don't agree with this practice, don't eat in restaurants that continue to do business this way. Just don't stiff the employees. It's not illegal to tip in most places, and it's expected in many places. When in Rome...

The minimum wage in the Philippines is about $8.00 per day. These are not US Flagged Ships, they do not operate under US Wage rules and laws. When will the American public learn that US Standards are not World Standards? So at $2.13 per hour they would be overpaid by the pay standards in the countries most workers come from.

More to the point if Royal offered a flat $2000 dollars per month they would have more employees than they require. The Cruise lines are pulling the biggest con and the public is buying into it.

I don't disagree with this - I would love to see the employees paid an honest wage. However, the vacation you signed up for includes gratuities. If you don't want to pay gratuities - GO ON A DIFFERENT VACATION. Don't take it out on the employee.

Sorry not does not include gratuities, they are not required under the cruise contract. The companies may try to shame the sheep into paying these auto stealing fees but not required. I will remove the auto gratuities and have always done so-AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU CAN STAY OFF THE SHIP IN PROTEST IT WILL NOT EFFECT ME. Yes I to can use all caps....

I am not naive enough to believe that if I hand a 20 or a 50 dollar bill to a server or room attendant that it's not going straight into their pocket and not to some "tip jar".

 

I've never heard it mentioned, but just how much does a server or room attendant make on these ships, before tips?

These are industry averages not RCCL. So even if you cut to $2000 per month, which seems like it is low it is in fact very high. In the Philippines $2000 USD would be about 95,000 PHP month. A 20 year bank manger here makes 35,000 PHP month, Call center Worker 25,000 PHP Month, Nurse in Hospital 30,000 PHP Month, Police Officer 15,000 PHP Month. Non skilled worker or what the cruise ship workers do in the PI would be 10,000 PHP month.

It clear to see that based upon then wages earned in the Philippines Cruise Crew are highly paid.

Room Service Attendant Salary Range:

$2200-2800 U.S. per month depending the cruise line, size of ship and gratuities (tips).

Room Service Attendants can be for promoted from Room Service Attendant to Dining Room Waiter/ Waitress position.

This will be our first cruise, so this might be a silly question. On an 8 night cruise do you pay auto gratuities for 8 or 9 days? I wasn't sure if the final day is included as you pretty much just wake up and leave. I just want to make sure I've budgeted for everything and am not surprised!

Payments are based upon the nights, not the days, auto tips, internet, drink packages, etc.

I agree with this - they seem to understand guest service better than everyone else.

 

 

 

 

We leave our auto tips on and tip extra if they earned it. If you are removing the tips are you tipping the required amount? If not you are STEALING.

 

I think Royal should make it extremely difficult to remove the auto-tips. It is in the cruise documents what you should be tipping - any less that you are stealing directly from the person who needs it the most - not Royal Caribbean. If you can't afford to tip - don't go on a cruise.

It has nothing to do with how much people can afford. How much money I have has no bearing on this subject. It is about Royal employees these workers and should pay them. Tipping is not to pay workers for doing a job, it is about rewarding sometime for doing something extra.

In many places around the World it is not even allowed. You would think Taxi Drivers should be tipped right? Do you know that in Singapore the Airport has a ban on tipping of Taxi drivers because they seen the visitors are not responsible to make subjective payments so the drivers earn a wage.

Several cruise lines have already gone to no tipping policies, many other all inclusive vacations have no tipping policies. Studies have been done that show tipping does not improve the quality of service. Royal needs to pay the workers a fair wage.

An oldie but a goodie I've posted b4

 

Sea Story follows:

 

Dateline...hmmm 1987....

 

I was Operations Officer on a Coast Guard Cutter working the Caribbean and we were making an R&R stop in Cozumel. Typically, we (@ 210 foot length) were slid into a place on the pier between the revenue producting cruise ships.

 

About 6pm I was on on board and after speaking to the gangway watch, I went to the bridge to watch one of the adjacent cruse ships leave.

 

The cruise ship cleared the pier and headed away when I looked down from the bridge wing to see a lady with a shopping bags in either hand running down the pier. She got adjacent to 'my' ship, stopped, dropped the bags & stared at the empty pier the cruise ship had just left.

 

I called down, "Is there a problem?"

 

"My kids and husband are on that boat." It was now just a few hundred yards away from the pier.

 

"Wait there."

 

I picked up the bridge to bridge radio, "I have one of your passengers."

 

They couldn't come back to pick her up, but.....

 

I rounded up a boat crew, gave her a life jacket and launched our fast rescue boat. The cruise ship lowered the same ladder they use for the pilot and the wayward shopper and mother was rejoined with her family.

 

Somewhere there's a lady with a very special cruise story....my guys felt it was a great change to a boring duty day!

Great story.... Having always owned boats all my life, I learned one thing at a very early age. When the USCG says something to a Captain it is like God talking to you.... No one in their right mind would ever question the Coast Guard. They are the best friend of any boater be it a 15' sailboat or the largest cruise ship in the world. When everyone else is running to port it is the Coast Guard charging out to rescue the boats that did not listen or got caught.

My understanding is even when you tip individually, those individuals are required to put those tips into the shared pool. So even though you may think you are only rewarding those individuals that earned the tip, it may not be working out the way you think.

I have talked to Royal Crew members off the ships when they are back home here in the Philippines. And they tell a different story they do not like the auto tipping because so many people get a cut of their tips and somehow whatever goes in the top what comes out the bottom is much smaller. A few believe the Cruise lines are taking a cut. Given a choice they said cash in hand. Now maybe they are lying to me the American.

But I have had my wife (Filipino) ask the same questions and she has talked to them and the answers are the same. One thing you need to understand is the culture here, if a fellow Filipino or Filipina lies to another they loose face, and that is very very bad. These families are very close and what one family member does reflects upon the whole family.

Some of the nicest, friendliest, hardest working people I have found in the World are here. People who by our Western Standards have nothing, but are happy and love live. Auto tipping hurts the workers ability to earn money, therefore I do not contribute to abusing the workers with auto tipping. Cruise lines just pay your employees a fair wage.

Thanks for the info.

 

What about the 18% they tacked onto our drink package purchase? Any way we can get that? I usually cash tip the bartenders also.

I really wish I could find a way but it is not optional and is handled as a service fee. The only way I believe it will change is if a class action lawsuit is filed and gets certification, then you will see a change really fast.

I'm thinking of doing the same, paying cash to our room attendant and servers. How do you have the automatic gratuities removed?

Just go to guest services and tell them you want to remove the automatic gratuities. While they have no choice they may ask you why, in your cash you are just paying in cash. But you are not required to tell them why or give a reason.

The poster is from the Philippines. It wasn't a derogatory remark, just an observance.

I live in the Philippines and have lived in SE Asia for about 15 years. But I am not a Filipino, I am from The United States Boston, Ma, born, raised, college and worked in the United States until moving to Asia.

And yes many of the Royal crew are from the Philippines, Royal has a plan to add 30,000 more over the next five years. The Philippines is a great place to find good English speaking workers. They have a major recruitment center inside the Mall of Asia in Manila.

I would estimate they will get 500 applications for every worker that makes it to the crew, why is this? Because even with a four year college education most non professional workers are paid minimum wage in Manila that is 385 Pesos per day or US$8.25 or about $1.00 US per hour. So when offered room board and what they see as a very large wage with Royal they take it.

Working for Royal is a great job for a worker from the Philippines.

Really the only fireworks you would see would be if you are close to a US port. Obviously we are the only country that celebrates it. .

Well I do not know how much time you spend outside the Untied States? But I have seen July 4th Fireworks celebrations in many countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, just to name a few places. Anywhere that has US Tourist seems to have some celebration of US Holidays.

If you take your own bags off the ship you will never have any issues.

Can any one tell me what the average total amount for tips for a 7 day cruise is. Thank you much (Cabin attendant and wait staff)

A interesting question as already stated Royal adds 12.95 or $15.95 per person to your sea account and claims they will "spread" the tips to the people who them. And most people like sheep just agree and pay the bill.

I remove the auto tipping from my bill and pay the staff members that I feel have earned a tip. Just doing your job is not earning a tip.... for just doing your job Royal should be paying you, not me.

Tipping is a very American thing, when you leave the United States you find much less tipping, except from Americans who are lead to believe tipping is normal. These are not American Flagged ships, not US Workers and have not earned a US standard.

And before others start posted about me being heartless and not caring...etc... etc...etc.... You do what you want but never try to tell me what I must do.

Seeing rockets and flares from a ship on the open ocean is not a good thing. Most of the times when a ship fires rockets into the air what follows is not good. :eek:

But if you are in or near a port you show see some fireworks. :)

I agree...the staff is not of importance to me...(I know what sounds bad...but hey!) When I travel and we're in a hotel...I don't "make friends" with the staff....ever! They are paid to do their job...I PAY for whatever amenities are there....I just don't understand why folks feel the need to be "friendly" with a cruise staff.....Yeah...you're on the ship for a week....I've been in hotels for a week, too!

You are paying a premium to vacation...and part of the vacation experience is the staff that's trained to make your stay nice....that's all you can expect. They are NOT your buddies....they have TONS of cabins to care for....tons of folks to serve at dinner....be polite and not "needy"...and all will be good!

I agree. I really do not care about the staff anymore or less than other workers. I pay for a service and they are to provide service. Really very simple, it is not my job to care about them, how hard they work, what they are paid. These are all things that should never be put on guest.

But cruise lines want to make you feel like it is the responsibility of the guest it is not. If the worker is not happy don't take the job. Which brings me to my next point, auto daily tips are nothing short of stealing from the guest. It is on Royal to pay their staff, not on me. A tip should be for extra service not just for doing your job.

If I have a fire at my house the fire department does not show up and say its really cold and icy today you should pay us extra to fight this fire. They just do the job they are paid for.

So if Royal wants to overwork the staff that is between Royal and the Staff.

In these cases of Children left on the ship, children left in port I'm sure the reason Royal has done this on a limited basis is liability. Royal does not want to be responsible Children left on the ship. And the PR nightmare if anything happen to child passengers left behind by the big bad uncaring cruise company would be major.

Not to also forget about the lawsuits that could be filed. Leave a 25 year old behind and they end up dead, would not even make the major news outlets. Leave a teenager behind and have a problem..... can anyone say Natalee Holloway? It would be the lead story across every news cast.

I never allow Royal to control my leaving the ships. All my bags are roller bags and I always self check out. It gives you all the control. Self Check out is always given the first choice to leave the ship. If I want to wait I just stay in the cabin until the time I want to leave.

Yes Royal says "self check out" is at a set time but they cannot enforce that. If you want to be treated like cattle the cruise lines will be happy to provide that service. I make the choice not to be in that class.