Gratuities on RCL

[andrzej5914]

[quote name='livingstone']I am just wondering why one can pre-pay tips in advance, for service you had not yet recieved. I was under the impression that in USA people were rewarded for the service they provided by tipping, and this is after the service had been provided not before. E.g leave some money on the table at a resturant. Where is the incentive to provide good service if you get the tip regardless. I am happy to tip at the going rate but only after a full assessment of the services provided and I will tip accordingly. hey maybe it is an Australian thing but I think great service = great tip, poor service = poor tip. is it just me or do others have a thought on this?[/QUOTE]

You could look at the glass being half empty or half full.

With pre-paid tips (actually it should be called service charge), the cruise line employees know that they are guaranteed to receive their "pay". You be surprised to learn on how many people that did not pre-pay "disappear" on the last night just so they won't have to tip.

The pre-paid employees work just as hard. They have to. With comment cards, personal reviews, etc., they are in constant danger of losing their jobs if they didn't. At the same time, if they do provide excellent service, many have learned that at least some passengers leave "extra" at the end of the cruise, so besides the "guarantee", they have an incentive to possibly get more....

We did MTD during our last cruise and had to pre-pay our "tips". The service in the restaurant was way and above excellent. In fact, our waiter who accidentally was our "regular" waiter for all nights even though we were there at different times, told us that there is a big competition for the servers to get into the MTD section. Once there, they try very hard to keep their assignment. Why shouldn't they? They are guaranteed their pay at the end of the cruise.

OTOH, our room attendant, also part of the pre-pay deal was average, but he did an adequate job, even though I gave him an extra $20 on the first day with just one extra request, PLEASE make sure our ice bucket is full at all times. It wasn't. He just did his regular runs. During morning cleaning and evening turn down service. I had to chase other attendants at different times just to keep the bucket full.

The waiter, his assistant and the head waiter went out of their way to provide excellent service even though I did not slip them any extra before the cruise. We did at the end of the cruise.

So there is no formula, but just because you pre-pay it does not mean you'll get any less service.

[pcur]

I like the prepaid tips: you get it included in the price of the cruise and out of the way. You also don't have to keep track of your cash to make sure you've got enough for the envelopes at the end of the cruise. I have never had prepaying change the service level I've received. As mentioned above: the crew's entire livelihood depends on their job and satisfying customers, whether they get tips from everyone or not.

We usually add a $10 bill to some envelopes for exceptional service.

I forgot to tell our two sons last December on our Independence cruise that tips were automatically added to drinks they ordered around the ship. They are used to adding a tip at bars in the US, so they were double tipping the bar staff. When we did point it out to them, they both said, that's OK, they didn't think the tips automatically added were enough anyway. Go figure.

[Ambrosia64]

My experience has been that tipping some in advance gets you even better service - they know upfront that I will make it worth their efforts and I won't stiff them.

[quote name='Captaincruz']IMO it's allways best to tip at the end of your cruise, pre paying tips will eventually lower the quality of service.Just as if you went out for dinner,good service good tip!!!!!! Service first tip after!!!!!! We have have allways had good service on rccl but I'm concerned that if everybody prepayed there tips, service would suffer.[/quote]

[DGNY]

[quote name='pward123']My view is that it would help if the cruise lines renamed 'gratuities' (which is some parts of the world implies 'optional') to 'service charge' and make it mandatory. Then we would all know where we stood.[/quote]

Perhaps this will help explain the system. From a cruise employee that often posts on CC:

[quote name='BruceMuzz']In America - the key market for the cruise lines - most passengers consider 3 major elements when shopping for a cruise; Price, Price, and Price. If one cruise line offers a cruise for $5 less than the others, everyone flocks to the cruise that costs $5 less.

Then they should ALL add the tips at the same time, you say.
Great idea. But in America that can be construed as price fixing. Strictly illegal. The legal costs to work this out in the American court system would be staggering.

Then there are the labor Unions to deal with. Unlike other businesses, there are multiple labor unions involved in this situation. Often there is a Filipino Labor Union for the Filipino Crew; an Indonesian Labor Union for the Indonesian Crew, etc, etc, In many ways the unions are quite happy with the situation as it is. Optional tips means that the tipped employees make a bit less than they would otherwise. The unions know that the cruise lines have a budget for labor cost. Lower earnings means more employees can be employed under that budget. More employees means more people paying dues to the union. The unions make more money this way. They would very likely oppose any changes as you suggest.

All the labor contracts for all the service staff on all the ships - except Disney - are written and negotiated with the current tipping system in mind. Changing the system would force the cruise lines to re-negotiate all the contracts with all the different labor unions. Can you imagine how expensive and time-consuming that would be?

Next we have to consider income taxes. Paying the service staff (officially) only US$1 per day dramatically reduces the paperwork and expense of dealing with tax liability for employees from about 100 different countries.
If the tips are legally changed to "salary", the cruise lines will be forced to spend big money to hire additional staff and administrate all the tax business for all their employees.

The employees are not too excited about changing those "tips" to salary.
In many countries tips are not taxed; salary is taxed. If the tips legally become salary, many cruise line employees will demand higher pay to cover the taxes - or they will resign and go elsewhere. The cruise lines cannot afford either scenario. Judging from passenger feedback about cruise prices, neither can many of the passengers.

And finally - and most importantly - why change a system that works so well for so many people? The cruise lines are making big money every year.
An average of 96% of mass market cruisers tell us that they like the current tipping system. That approval rating gets better every year as the older cruisers who preferred the previous systems are dying off. 99.9% of mass market cruisers come from countries where tipping and other added costs are normal. Most are quite comfortable with the status quo.[/quote]

[Jolimont]

[quote name='Captaincruz']IMO it's allways best to tip at the end of your cruise, pre paying tips will eventually lower the quality of service.Just as if you went out for dinner,good service good tip!!!!!! Service first tip after!!!!!! We have have allways had good service on rccl but I'm concerned that if everybody prepayed there tips, service would suffer.[/QUOTE]

I don't think that holds water unless you tip at the end of every encounter. If you wait until the end of the week the person being tipped has no idea what you liked.

And, if you don't pre-tip, there's always a chance you won't do it at all. So why should they go the extra mile with you?

Are crew members aware of who's prepaid the tips and who hasn't?

[Jolimont]

[quote name='Rosiepuff86']I'm going on a med cruise in may and just wondering should i tip in US dollars or euros? Do we need any dollars to spend onboard e.g casino? Thanks[/QUOTE]
They never turned down my Euros, but we carried some of both. Some places, especially Turkey, they gave us a nasty frown if we tried to pay in dollars. They are not fools!

[andrzej5914]

[quote name='Jolimont']

Are crew members aware of who's prepaid the tips and who hasn't?[/QUOTE]

Yes, but as explained by me just few posts earlier it doesn't make any difference in service, in fact we found just the opposite, it improved service because the employees knew they had a guaranteed payment coming at the end of the cruise. Not so with non pre-paid guests as many just simply disappear on the last evening just so they don't have to tip.

[Aquahound]

[quote name='Autumn3']I agree completely. I have always received fantastic service regardless of the method of tipping. [/quote]

Me, also. I have tipped every way permitted and have done both traditional and MTD. Regardless of how I tipped, the service never suffered.

[Mary1951]

I have reserved my second curise and have prepaid again ,and the service the first time was excellent . It is one less thing to think of at end of cruise and does not affect the service in the less .

[Captaincruz]

[quote name='Ambrosia64']My experience has been that tipping some in advance gets you even better service - they know upfront that I will make it worth their efforts and I won't stiff them.[/QUOTE]

You make a good point!!!

[ialawhawk]

Just of the Majesty (RCCL) and am very very happy we didn't pre-pay our tips. I understand that some see tips as a 'service charge.' However, the LACK of service we received from our room attendant was terrible. Specifically, we requested separate beds - they were together (not a big deal but it took him almost 10 hours to get them separated), ice bucket was never full, didn't even see him until the 3rd day, the bottle of champagne and dirty/used glasses were left in our room until the last day of the cruise (we had it on the first), I discovered that my underwear had been moved (in a drawer:eek:), etc. Needless to say, his tip suffered. We still tipped, but below recommended. Our other service was wonderful! We overtipped everyone else (we even saw the HEADWAITER removing plates from tables!) based on their service. I can't imagine what service would have been if our room attendant had already gotten his money ahead of time - we never would have seen him!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Just a thought but did you ever consider that the steward knew you didn't tip so he gave his services to the rooms that did tip? The stewards know when someone has removed auto-tips. Maybe RCI is different but on Carnival tips are automatically deducted when you board or they are prepaid before you even get on the ship and you have to go to the pursers desk to have them removed if you wish to not tip. That generates the steward being questioned by the supervisor about service and you will likely get a call directly to see if everything is okay.

I've always prepaid tips and never had a bad experience. Often I tip additional up front. Not only the auto-tip but add another $5 or $10 if I ask the steward for something like filling my ice chest or removing contents of the fridge and if they took good care of me throughout, they get even more. They treat me like royalty for it.

[ialawhawk]

[quote name='Yukon111']Just a thought but did you ever consider that the steward knew you didn't tip so he gave his services to the rooms that did tip? The stewards know when someone has removed auto-tips. Maybe RCI is different but on Carnival tips are automatically deducted when you board or they are prepaid before you even get on the ship and you have to go to the pursers desk to have them removed if you wish to not tip. That generates the steward being questioned by the supervisor about service and you will likely get a call directly to see if everything is okay.

I've always prepaid tips and never had a bad experience. Often I tip additional up front. Not only the auto-tip but add another $5 or $10 if I ask the steward for something like filling my ice chest or removing contents of the fridge and if they took good care of me throughout, they get even more. They treat me like royalty for it.[/quote]



Royal Caribbean is different. You can choose on the website to either pre-pay or not. In my experience, many do not choose to do that and prefer to pay tips the last night. So in that way, RCCL and Carnival are different. I also had a tip ready to hand the room steward on the first day - however, we never saw him, so I never gave it to him.

[Paul65]

RCI is, indeed, different. Many people pay tips in cash or add them to their seapass account later in the cruise. A room steward would not assume you were stiffing him/her, just because you did not prepay tips.

[Scotty G]

[quote name='pward123']As I see it, the problem with tipping on cruises is largely one of naming; it isn't really a tip; the money essentially pays the crew wages; whether that's right or wrong is another discussion but that's the way it is. Our friends from the US are used to this concept. Their waiters get a low hourly rate which is expected to be supplemented with 'tips', hence the EXPECTATION that customers will add c.15% for adequate service and more for good service.[/quote]

The wait staff and room attendants get $25 US every two weeks. They are provided room and board as well as a minimal insurance. Their contracts are for 9 months and they get transportation to and from the ship/home at the start/end of the contract. If they renew their contract it is after 2 months at home. Obviouly those of us that cruise frequently are grateful for their service and provide the gratuities they deserve. Hope this helps!

[Scotty G]

[quote name='ialawhawk'] I also had a tip ready to hand the room steward on the first day - however, we never saw him, so I never gave it to him.[/quote]
Did you see the room steward after the first day and then tip accordingly on the last evening? The first day is the most active for them in that they have just a few hours to get all the cabins prepared for the next sailing and get your luggage to your cabin. Oh, and that day they get their four hours off the ship if they can afford to take it; and, another room steward has to fill in when that happens.

[andrzej5914]

[quote name='Scotty G']The wait staff and room attendants get $25 US every two weeks.[/QUOTE]

Beam me up Scotty... :rolleyes:

[ialawhawk]

[quote name='Scotty G']Did you see the room steward after the first day and then tip accordingly on the last evening? The first day is the most active for them in that they have just a few hours to get all the cabins prepared for the next sailing and get your luggage to your cabin. Oh, and that day they get their four hours off the ship if they can afford to take it; and, another room steward has to fill in when that happens.[/quote]


We didn't see him until the 3rd day. He never brought our luggage (or whomever does that) - we had to track it down ourselves. As the rest of my post states, we had TERRIBLE service from him - including him going through my underwear, no ice, not removing dirty glasses EVER, etc. so no we did not tip the recommended amount, although he was tipped (I understand they make like no money without tips).

[Scotty G]

[quote name='ialawhawk']We didn't see him until the 3rd day. He never brought our luggage (or whomever does that) - we had to track it down ourselves. As the rest of my post states, we had TERRIBLE service from him - including him going through my underwear, no ice, not removing dirty glasses EVER, etc. so no we did not tip the recommended amount, although he was tipped (I understand they make like no money without tips).[/quote]

My apologies for missing your first post. If anyone is not receiving service on RCL I can assure you a visit with the applicable manager or director will get it corrected immediately. Especially if they include the allegations you made. This was most unusual!

[ialawhawk]

[quote name='Scotty G']My apologies for missing your first post. If anyone is not receiving service on RCL I can assure you a visit with the applicable manager or director will get it corrected immediately. Especially if they include the allegations you made. This was most unusual![/quote]


Thanks. I know it was quite odd. It felt like our room was the last one he wanted to serve, plus the undergarments being moved around. I don't know if it is enough to make a serious allegation about him, however it did make me uncomforable and his tip reflected it. It was frustrating to say the least. I just wanted to let others know why some choose not to pre-tip. I'm generous with those who serve and serve well, however, some are just bad! Thank you for your offer. I did put it in the guest survey with my name and cell number. I think those guest surveys are great!

[Aquahound]

[quote name='Scotty G']The wait staff and room attendants get $25 US every two weeks. They are provided room and board as well as a minimal insurance. Their contracts are for 9 months and they get transportation to and from the ship/home at the start/end of the contract. [/quote]

Maybe I'm reading this in the wrong context. What do you mean by $25 every 2 weeks?

Also, the typical contract is 6 months.

[masechase]

do you have to tip your head waiter? our last cruise we saw him one time. we tipped him but it thought that was stupid becasue he didnt do anything for us. thanks

[constable145]

[quote name='ialawhawk']Just of the Majesty (RCCL) and am very very happy we didn't pre-pay our tips. I understand that some see tips as a 'service charge.' However, the LACK of service we received from our room attendant was terrible. Specifically, we requested separate beds - they were together (not a big deal but it took him almost 10 hours to get them separated), ice bucket was never full, didn't even see him until the 3rd day, the bottle of champagne and dirty/used glasses were left in our room until the last day of the cruise (we had it on the first), I discovered that my underwear had been moved (in a drawer:eek:), etc. Needless to say, his tip suffered. We still tipped, but below recommended. Our other service was wonderful! We overtipped everyone else (we [B]even saw the HEADWAITER[/B] removing plates from tables!) based on their service. I can't imagine what service would have been if our room attendant had already gotten his money ahead of time - we never would have seen him![/quote]


I'm shocked. I was in 2nd seating on the FOS last January and saw him once, got a "hello" and that was it. I didn't tip him. He didn't earn it.

[andrzej5914]

[quote name='masechase']do you have to tip your head waiter? our last cruise we saw him one time. we tipped him but it thought that was stupid becasue he didnt do anything for us. thanks[/QUOTE]

The head waiter's job is mostly done behind the scenes. S/he is responsible for making sure your section is running smoothly, your servers are not slacking and if needed, s/he will help out as ours did one night when we really wanted to see a show and our great waiter, as hard as he tried, could not center all his attention on our table. The head waiter came over and ran our table that one particular evening just so we could get done with dinner in about 1 hour.

The point is, the head waiter is not there to actually work the tables, s/he is there to assure wonderful service from your regular waiter and anybody else serving you on any given night.

So, yes, you should tip her/him the minimum.

[constable145]

[quote name='andrzej5914']The head waiter's job is mostly done behind the scenes. S/he is responsible for making sure your section is running smoothly, your servers are not slacking and if needed, s/he will help out as ours did one night when we really wanted to see a show and our great waiter, as hard as he tried, could not center all his attention on our table. The head waiter came over and ran our table that one particular evening just so we could get done with dinner in about 1 hour.

The point is, the head waiter is not there to actually work the tables, s/he is there to assure wonderful service from your regular waiter and anybody else serving you on any given night.

So, yes, you should tip her/him the minimum.[/quote]


So do you tip the chefs who work behind the scenes to ensure the food tastes good?

The sound engineers who work behind the scenes to ensure the shows sound good?

I could go on and on but I think you get my point.