Dmgabe

So you're not old enough to know that everyone that you listed there gets paid at least minimum wage or much higher and don't have to depend on tips as supplements to their below minimum income?

I just don’t understand some people. Those individuals work extremely hard, both publicly and behind the scenes, to make sure I have a great experience. The overwhelming majority I have encountered are outstanding and go well beyond the minimum to make sure my needs and requests are met. Never in a million years would I punish the whole staff for the actions of a single individual. Seems more like the action of someone looking for any excuse to pull their tips.

The only people on the ship that I interact with face to face are the waiters in the MDR and the cabin steward on occasion. I don't order drinks, I don't play in the casino and I don't pay for any spa treatments. Why do I need to tip those behinds the scenes? When I go to a local restaurant, I tip the waiter/waitress. I don't tip the cook, the dishwasher, etc. When I play golf at the club, I tip the guy handling my bag and the cart girl if I buy something. I don't tip the guy who mows the greens, sets the pins or guy behind the counter taking my green fee. Now that you have made me think of this...perhaps I should remove the automatic gratuities and just tip at the end accordingly on all my future cruises. And if you want to argue that this is hurting other waiters...well...that guy begging for tips should think of how his begging impacts his "team". Flame away!

Do a little reading on how that tip money gets spread around and then ask yourself how many of those people you interact with or receive service from. It’s far more than the wait staff in the MDR and your si for steward. Sounds like you’re just cheap or inconsiderate. I imagine you aren’t so in favor of group punishment when it is applied to you for the actions of others.

Or, I can just ask in general, about an experience to see if it has been generally experienced by others.

You didn’t simply ask a general question. You made a rather dramatic claim about the behavior of the staff and refused to back it up with any facts. Then you shifted from the whole dining room staff begging for tips to later say it was one waiter. These are the types of things that lead many to call BS on your story and push you to back your claims to be taken seriously since it clearly isn’t something that happens with any regularity.

“Has anyone encountered Carnival staff soliciting cash tips?” Is a simple question. Your vague story and accusation with no details or facts of any kind to support it isn’t a simple question.

It did not come across as a "simple question", based on your first post;

"I know they work hard and everything but I think this crossed a line. It was very uncomfortable and honestly, felt like people begging on the street to the point that I don’t think Carnival is an option anymore as it wasn’t just them."

I also find it interesting that you will not answer the question which ship and/or sail date of your cruise. Particularly since a post by you May, 2018 in another thread, you stated you had not cruised Carnival for 20 years.:confused:

I have never had a staff member on any cruise or any cruise line say or even hint that they are expecting me to tip them. I have never removed gratuities and would not even think about it unless it was a problem that went unsolved after trying to correct it with the staff member and their supervisor if necessary. There may be an underlying issue, that I am unaware of or a problem with communication.

In my mind, there is a right way to handle issues that may arise during vacation or life in general. Going to a social media site and blaring the perceived injustice before talking with the perpetrator and/or their supervisor is unjust and unkind. You should always give the person that you "felt" slighted by, the chance to "clear the air". Most often their is some misunderstanding. As with this post I am just trying to understand the situation, based on very little information.

They also changed their story about halfway through the thread. Started out with the claim the whole dining room staff was asking for tips, then later it was just one waiter and given you found the quite recent comment that they haven’t sailed Carnival in 20yrs I’d guess they are more troll than dissatisfied customer.

Playa Mia would also be an option. They are an all inclusive as well but offer different levels so you don’t have to pay for open bar for example if you don’t want to drink. Our family enjoys it quite a bit, clean with friendly and attentive staff. Many of these beaches are pretty much identical in the product they offer with different names on the sign. Stand on the beach and one and you can look in either direction and see a couple more with nearly identical setups.

I'm sure you're right about ship board payroll procedures, etc. vs foreign currency. I just answered a question for someone. It's not like this is a $2 bill tipping thread ;)

As someone that has worked service jobs with a cash register and also worked as a bank teller I have very strong opinions about $2 bills. Lol

This is in your experience. But others have posted their own experiences seeing the dress code enforced. This would not be an issue if Carnival management was consistent across the fleet.

 

 

 

But doesn’t Carnival already do this? Elegant night is hosted in the MDR and it is optional. Those who don’t want to participate have other options. Also, again, you are assuming when you state, “The majority of their customers simply don’t care about it.” Unless you have polled every Carnival customer, you simply cannot say this because you don’t actually know. Not everyone feels like you do, which explains all the inconsistencies and the number of board threads on dress codes.

You can look at the replies here and on other sites when it comes to the issue and get a pretty good sampling of people and make the educated guess. Instances of enforcement beyond the extreme are near nonexistent. Saying it is already optional and you should eat someplace else ignores the fact that you are removing the largest, by far, dining venues on the ship from availability. The other venues (really only the buffet) on the ship simply cannot handle that volume of guests in such a short time frame (dinner is the one meal everyone tends to eat around the same time).

Next cruise look hard around the dining room on formal night and you will see very few that are fully compliant with the published dress code. Most do just enough to not look like a slob and wear the same things they wear every other night. Very few are taking it to the extreme with swim suites and the like because they would rather be out at the pool than taking the chunk of time for MDR service.

Once again why does it bother you so much? Why are you so invested in other people’s chosen attire? Wear what makes you happy and leave other to do the same within the bounds of health and safety. Live and let live.

So if you saw your server smoking a joint at the beach would you alert the supervisor when you got back on the ship? If you saw employees stoning on the way out of a restaurant on land (where it is not legal and you know the restaurant has a policy against it) do you go back and tell the manager or alternatively call the restaurant?

.

These examples don’t really apply since they don’t involve or impact you or your service. The solicitation of tips against company policy directly involves you and is obviously an issue with proper service.

They specifically asked about pesos and I know in Cozumel my change is always given in pesos.

Even in Cozumel I haven’t experienced this. I will say though, I don’t deal in cash a ton on vacation. I find it easier to use a credit card, but the times I have used cash I’ve always been given change in US currency if that’s what I payed with.

Even so, I still would imagine it is more of a hassle for them to get tipped in pesos than it’s worth unless it’s a higher dollar amount. I don’t imagine too many of the Stewards are spending money in Mexico or any other port for that matter. Keep in mind they may not have the same privilege of visa free foreign travel as Americans do and depending on their citizenship may not even be able to leave the ship in some

ports.

I would say the safe bet is US dollars or perhaps inquire before leaving foreign currency.

And hopefully none of this has come across as negative. I mean we aren’t talking about MDR dress codes here.

Why would I need to sail a more formal line when Carnival already has a dress code and provides other eating options for those who would rather not be bothered? I just don’t see the problem. It’s a win win for everyone.

They have clearly set the precedent that they aren’t going to strictly enforce the dress code. They haven’t for quite some time. The ship has sailed and they aren’t likely to reverse course.

Like I said in a different thread, the best soulution in my eyes would be to simply make elegant night optional and hold dinner for those who wish to participate in one of the dining rooms or one of the floors in a dining room. The majority of their customers simply don’t care about it. We are too busy having fun and enjoying our vacation to care about what someone wears to dinner.

What does income have to do with following a bare bones basic dress code?

In comes one of the aforementioned wardrobe police. The point is if you want a more upscale and formal experience there are ships geared specifically for that. It’s well established that Carnival isn’t strict about the dress code and they are clearly trending in the direction of more casual. If that bothers you, which it obviously does, then sail on a more formal line.

I want to address something in your post I didn't have time to address before. You mentioned that sometimes the proper thing to do is abide by someone else's customs, like for example when you are in someone else's home. I agree with that. That is why I feel it is right to abide by Carnival's written dress code. To not do so, imho, is disrespectful. And I'm not talking about dressing to the nines. I don't do that either. I'm talking about simply respecting the rather lax dress code that is in place, which I do. Put on clean pants or shorts or dress (long pants or a dress on elegant night), take a shower if you've been sweating, wear a clean shirt or blouse, leave the sweaty tank tops, ball caps, and gym attire in the cabin, and you are abiding by the dress code, as best as I can tell. That really isn't a lot to ask of someone. To not be willing to do those simple things does show a level of disdain, disrespect, or whatever to me.

The problem is that some around here think that isn’t enough and are clearly bothered by it since they go to war or make disparaging posts on every related thread. Most of us are more in the live and let live crowd. Be clean, comfortable, and don’t make a ruckus. Want to wear a suit and tie? Fantastic! Want to wear shorts and a polo? Great! I’m far more concerned about if you are clean than I am about your clothes. This is, after all, a budget line geared toward the lowest income group of cruise customers. Those that want a more formal experience have many other options just in the Carnival Corp family alone.

When you sail from international destinations to more exotic ports of call, the likelihood of USD being accepted decreases.

While I understand that to obviously be true for those foreign departures, it doesn’t really apply here given Carnival serves a very specific US based market (with a few small exceptions). None of the Caribbean ports I have been to use anything other than the dollar as the primary currency, and even venturing away from the ports the locals will still gladly take them. Was just asking out of curiosity since I haven’t encountered any instances of local currency in the ports I’ve visited. Even outside the cruise world in that area I’ve experienced most people prefer dealing in US dollars. Hell, dealing with the locals in the Bahamas, most want US dollars and won’t take anything over 20 Bahamian. (And I’m talking about small town locals and businesses, not the tourist spots. Was fortunate enough for the Army to send me there every other 90 days for several years for counter narcotics work. )

 

Also, anyone see a problem with leaving leftover pesos to the cabin steward instead of USD?

Would think it would be quite a pain for them since the ship and pretty much all of the ports use the dollar. May I ask why you would have pesos to begin with? I don’t know of anywhere I’ve been in a port of call, even excursions well away from the ship, where USD weren’t accepted or even preferred.

Shake my head! That's what managers are for, it's up to a them to manage, help and if necessary weed out bad employees. A person on vacation doesn't need to go around getting people fired and having that on her conscious.

If it isn’t worth bringing to the attention of management then it isn’t worth creating a thread on here to throw out the anonymous accusation about the dining staff in general. If you are gonna make the accusation, be specific or don’t bother.

"worn for 3 hours on a week long trip."

3 hours for what? never been in the MDR more than 1 1/2 hours

Well I was being generous and counting on 2 formal nights for a week. Lol

For the dining room, I’ll say no to naked, pajamas and bathing suits.

 

Service will still be the same.

 

Heck, in Antoine’s in New Orleans, I saw people in there at night with jeans on,,, que horror!!

Exactly. I am more worried about personal hygiene than dress. I think perhaps these people would be more productive policing hand washing. I could get onboard with that. Give them an outlet for their anger while providing a valuable public service.

We give them to any kids around

We take them home for nieces and nephews. They love them and doesn’t cost us anything. Most of the staff I’ve seen also seem to look for just about any reason to hand out all they have leftover to kids in the area. Last sailing there was a day after some trivia that they were having kids come up and sing or tell a joke for ships and medals.

This is the scummiest thing I've read on the internet today (just woke up in fairness).

 

Cannot believe you would call for someone to go out of their way to get someone fired. That's not stepping up to the plate, that's paving your way to hell or at least miserable Karma!

Think the point was if you’re going to go to the trouble of making anonymous general accusations online, then perhaps you should just be specific or hold your tongue.

I fully expect that this was a simple misunderstanding and the staff member was requesting a mention by name on the survey or a good rating in that category. That is something that definitely happens while soliciting of cash tips by carnival employees seems to be limited to porters in my limited experience.

It has been 11 years since I sailed Carnival. Do they still award “Golden pieces of Ship”?

They certainly do. We came home with 4 earlier this month thanks to our movie and television trivia prowess. Lol

It used to run about 50/50 in the comments of who wanted to dress up and who didn’t, and now it is down to a handful (two posters on this thread) who still have the energy and resolve to go to bat for elegant night.

 

To me, that says it all.

I keep going because I find it entertaining how adamant they are about how it doesn’t bother them and in the same breath talk about how inappropriate it is or how you should talk to the staff to get people booted. Plus when training a long haul truck driver that is almost ready to go solo I spend all day riding around board out of my mind.

Simple fact is that the overwhelming majority don’t care what you wear because it doesn’t have any impact on their vacation . Carnival has made it pretty clear that they aren’t strict with the dress code. Those stubborn few are welcome to wear their tux and I’ll wear my shorts and polo and enjoy the same wonderful meal and service, that I paid the same money for, while being more comfortable.

If I wanted a higher end experience with stricter dress codes I would sail one of the more formal lines that cater specifically to that crowd.

And by the way, spare me the worn out, tired argument that "it doesn't affect the taste of your food". My food would also taste the same eaten with my fingers off of a paper plate while standing up. But that's not appropriate for a dining room, either, now is it?

You are trying to equate a drastic decrease in service by the company to the chosen apparel of other guests. Not remotely the same issue. You know exactly the point I was making, and it is completely valid.

Nah, it's because they have no respect for others. But it's ok, it's not your fault your parents raised you that way.

 

And how many times do you need to be told that it's not about dressing up, it's about your stubborn insistence that YOUR opinion (it doesn't bother ME so it shouldn't bother YOU) is the only correct one? Apparently you have a comprehension problem in addition to a manners problem. Pity, really.

This entire thread is about dressing up and what is appropriate/acceptable on Carnival ships. Sorry, but an individual choosing not to get fancied up for dinner has nothing to do with manners.

It is my opinion. One based on practicality and treating others decently. Many choose not to waste the space packing clothes that will be worn for 3 hours on a week long trip.

As someone stated below, it doesn’t matter anyway since it is Carnival that get to make the decision, and they are clearly not worried about wether or not a guy wears a tie to the dining room.

I’d like to see them eliminte formal nights or perhaps choose one evening to make it an optional occasion in one of the dining rooms with a strictly enforced dress code. This would allow them to still offer it to those that really love to get dressed up on a cruise, while the large number of us with no desire can go about our vacation. Judging from casual observation most people really aren’t that interested in formal nights anymore and choose to just ignore the dress code anyway which creates a bunch of wardrobe police that want to moan and complain. Would save a lot of people from having to pack outfits for the family that will get worn for 3 hours on a week long cruise.

Obviously other people DO.

 

 

 

No, you're rude for assuming that your opinion is the only one that matters and if something doesn't bother you, it shouldn't bother anyone else either.

Pointing out how petty it is to worry about others clothing and how it has no impact on you isn’t rude. It’s stating the obvious and calling someone else out for being too uptight. Does ones dinner attire impact the taste of the food? The level of service from the staff? Does it impact your safety? Your health? No. So why are you so damn worried about it? Some Of you really need to think long and hard about why it is you are so obsessed with the innocuous actions of others. Worry about yourself and let others do the same. Trying to berate someone for not dressing up or snitching on them to teacher is far more rude that telling those that do these things to lighten up.

Hopefully in the near future the point will be moot and Carnival will do away with the formal nights completely or make them optional in one of the dining rooms perhaps on longer cruises for those that feel the need to get dressed up. Carnival isn’t a line marketed to be fancy, it is marketed to be family friendly, fun, relaxed and. Why budget friendly. Sorry but putting on a suit on vacation is none of those things for most people. Which is why many choose to ignore the formal dress code.