sparks1093

Actually this is a question that Heald has answered numerous times and it is always that the employee keeps any extra tip. If a customer removes the tips and tips in cash it is my understanding they have to turn that in (and again, that's something discerned from reading a lot). Carnival is transparent at the "point of sale" for anyone who wants to know and removing tips because of lack of transparency is one of the silliest reasons I've heard for doing that. That's like saying "I'm not going to leave a tip for my waitress because I don't know who gets a share of it".

It is my understanding that if more than 10% of the customers remove the tips on any particular sailing shipboard management has to answer to Corporate and the presumption is that the customers were dissatisfied with the service in some way (I believe passengers are asked the reason for removing/reducing the tips and of course one would expect their answer may be a self-serving one). The impression that I get is that it rarely approaches that number. In any event every cruise line has a pretty good idea what is normal and what is abnormal in this area based on their actual records.

From what I've read from insiders and other sources (fancy way of saying that I'm guessing😉) it's likely under 10%. Again, the advantage of a tip pool is that it minimizes the impact to any one employee.

Carnival is adding so many new places on the new ships that I can't keep up. Thanks for this!

When I posted about not wanting to stand in line I almost mentioned that one could do this, order from a table near the pizza place. I know on Glory it told us on the app how long it would take and that was likely dictated by how busy they were.

If you mean from Pizza Pirate, yes, that is where it comes from. Worth it not to have to stand in line and we used it a few times on Glory.

I think they are raising the amount so they can remain competitive in a tight labor market. Similar to shore based establishments they are only obligated to cover a certain amount of wages for removed tips and I don't think enough people are removing them for that to happen. One of the advantages of a tip pool is it minimizes the damage done by someone not tipping.

Ah, I was looking at one from ancient times- 2012.

What Carnival doesn't do is tell you how much your particular steward or waitstaff receives nor do they provide a breakdown of tip distribution in their FAQ. The general breakdown is disclosed onboard as previously discussed. We can say tips are "optional" but let's face it, this is the way tipped employees earn their living, both at sea and ashore.

Very true!

I forgot to look while we were onboard Glory but a breakdown is provided on the invoice in the Hub App, which someone posted about upthread. What people may not realize is that while a percentage may go to "steward" that doesn't mean that your assigned steward is necessarily receiving that percentage of your tip (and I have seen it stated in tipping threads "well, my steward receives $x from me and he does x number of cabins which totals $y per month and I think that is too much, so I reduce the tip accordingly". I have also seen people say that they object to people they don't see getting a portion of the tips, and use that as the reason to decrease them.).

They are color but they aren't the same size that they used to be. They are a tri-fold now, a little bit bigger when folded then the old tear off sheet used to be on the old Fun Times. All of the info is still there, although it's less wordy. It's nicely laid out and easy to carry with you. They removed the picture of the funnel from the front page and that saved a lot of space. I like the new format.

An abbreviated one is what we received on Glory.

A couple of months ago, I believe (but my memory isn't what it used to be so it could have been longer ago then that).

While the guy cleaning the crew deck bathrooms isn't likely a customer tipped person, the guy/gal who is cleaning the public bathrooms likely is.

And as I said the tips are pooled and there is no exact breakdown.

But there is no difference in what happens to the tip itself and that was my point.

Every restaurant handles tips differently and many pool tips among various staff and the customer has no way of knowing how that is done. In some restaurants the waitstaff tips out to the bussers. Your customers had no idea you were splitting the tips with your hostess, nor did they know you kept the entire tip when you worked in the small restaurant. It is no different on cruise ships. When I am obligated to leave a tip I leave it and forget it since I have absolutely no say in how it gets distributed.

The folks that clean the public places, the folks that move the luggage on embark/debark day, and others that provide services behind the scenes.

When you leave a tip in a land based establishment you have no idea where it goes, why should it be different on a cruise ship?

The tips are pooled so an exact breakdown isn't possible.

They had more data then we have and it very well could have been that the demand didn't even warrant a smaller tray. As for condiments and fries I'm too fastidious to squirt the gondiment all over the fries, I put it on the side and dip the fries.

Absolutely. I have a picture of mine on my phone. Weighs less.

I did try mustard with my fries the other day. Not bad at all. I prefer to eat them plain, every now and then with ketchup and now, now and then with mustard.

There had to be a business reason behind it and the fact that so much went uneaten is as good a reason as any. Carnival doesn't do things just to make customers angry (although a small percentage of people will no doubt be angered by any change).