Gratuities??

[Pam in CA]

It is so sad that the cruise lines are now using "HIT LISTS" if you decide not to do auto tips.I should not have to waste my time to make adjusyments for poor service or great service while on vacation.Not a very classy way to handle this issue.

It's not a "hit list" but rather an attempt to find out whether you are removing the tip because service has been bad. It's automatically assumed that this is the case which can have a detrimental effect on the employees performance review.

 

Assuming I leave auto-tip in place, do I get little envelopes with vouchers on them to hand out at the end of the cruise or do we just not give the staff anything?

If you wish to tip additionally, there are envelopes in which to put cash. You put the name of the person receiving the tip on the outside; no "vouchers."

 

To the OP, it's really better, easier and more efficient to leave the auto-tip in place. It's not just your steward, dinner waitstaff and Maitre D' who deserve a tip; if you go to the dining room or buffet for breakfast or lunch, those people also often deserve a tip as many of them don't work in the dining room. If you have Anytime dining, you'd have to have an envelope ready every night if you remove the auto-tip.

 

Just before the auto-tip, we were on the first cruise on the "old" Royal Princess following her world cruise of over 100 days. We were astonished to learn that sothe waitstaff and stewards didn't receive a single tip from some passengers; over three months of service and not a penny of recognition. There are a lot of very cheap people in this world.

[donna5]

A real "hit list" would be "red flagging" the non-tippers and if they do anymore cruises, charging them ahead of time for tips.:p

 

As for the buffet, how do you think the food get to the buffet, who do you think cleans the tables, who do you think makes sure clean glasses, cups, silverware and such get to the buffet area? Actually they never use to serve you your coffee and drinks in the buffet unless it was "pay for" drinks.

[NYGirl1002]

Is it a known fact that if you remove auto-tips and give envelopes that the steward/waitstaff HAVE to put it in the pool? I remember this being a debunked myth on the Carnival boards where a CD who has a blog said that it wasn't true. Or is this just the way Princess does it?

 

Personally I keep the auto-tip and then reward my steward/bar staff and waitstaff with an envelope on the last night of the cruise.

 

I also think that the companies that own these ships are really paying the hard working staff peanuts and I feel bad that they have to depend on the passengers to bring their pay up to a reasonable amount. The way they work the tips should be a bonus to them. Meanwhile the companies that own the ships are making money.

 

There was another post on the Carnival board from a credible poster who saw the list of passengers who removed the auto-tip tacked up on a bulletin board.

[donna5]

You can pre-pay tips by sending yourself enough shipboard credit to your onboard account to cover them. It isn't actually pre-paying them, but since they are deducted from your shipboard account, it works out the same.

The charge that will be put on your shipboard account will be $10.50 per person in the cabin per day for balcony cabins and below, $11.00 per person per day for mini suites and full suites.

You can call Princess and have these credits waiting for you on your account when you board. They will charge your credit card now (when you request the credits) for doing this.

 

If you do this and then something happens that you can't take the cruise, how do you go about getting this money back?

 

I rather like paying at the end of the cruise since I make sure our cards are paid off before the cruise.

[Toto2Kansas]

If you do this and then something happens that you can't take the cruise, how do you go about getting this money back?

 

I rather like paying at the end of the cruise since I make sure our cards are paid off before the cruise.

 

Since you are sending yourself a gift of shipboard credit, if the cruise has to be cancelled, you can get a refund of the money. Some like doing it this way so the credit card bill is paid off before they leave as they don't like to come home to a huge credit card bill. ;)

[toberman]

If you search from the main Princess board "search this forum" it works fine. :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for being so helpful. :rolleyes:

 

I too find the search works... it's not Google, but if one takes the time to learn how it works, you will find the info you need. Sometimes repetitive questions kinda get .... repetitive.

[toberman]

It is so sad that the cruise lines are now using "HIT LISTS" if you decide not to do auto tips.

 

Perhaps it's not a "HIT LIST" at all. Perhaps it's a reminder to the crew that they have to turn in any cash tips they get from the people who have removed the Auto-Tip. In other words, their Manager/Supervisor is watching them ?? :confused:

[costaco]

I think the 'auto-tips' are ridiculous. Nowhere else in the world, are you automatically charged tips, or 'expected' to tip a certain amount each day.Personally, the first thing I do when I board the ship is cancel the auto tip. I tip our waiter, IF the service was good, I tip our steward, IF he has done a good job for us, and, if the maitre'd gets us a good table, then a firm handshake goes to him as well.

 

It was nice to see that I wasnt the only scrooge on board, as the purser pulled out a clipboard with atleast a couple of hundred other names on it of passengers who also opted out of the 'auto tip'.

 

My tips go directly to the people that derserve them, and, I have yet to see a waiter say... 'oh darn, now I have to put this $10 bill in the fish bowl over there.' lol.

 

By the end of the cruise, my guess is that our tips either meet, or exceed what we would have paid in tips using the 'auto tip' option, but it is somewhat more satisfying , knowing that my tips went directly to the ones that made our holiday a memorable one.

[j!m]

yes and for a 30day b2b its a little over 1300

 

strange the way arithmetic works

 

dont worry about 336

 

hava great cruise

[jagsfan]

Funny someone should complain about cruise lines not paying a higher wage. The

service industry under US rules pays much lower than minimum......I'm talking about

servers in restaurants. The customer makes up the difference in tips. I agree that

in all cases a reasonable wage should be paid, eliminating the necessity for

gratuities. If that is done, however, the prices....restaurants and cruise lines, will

go way up. We'll pay, either way.

As far as not running into set gratuities anywhere else, most of the restaurants I

visit have an 18pct gratuity added to checks for parties of 6 or 8 and more. A

few do it automatically, regardless of how many guests in a party. I usually tip

20pct, so they're shortchanging themselves, but I'm not going to tell them.

On the other hand, if the service is bad, or the server seems to have an attitude,

rare, but it happens, I cut my tip way back.

On a cruise line, instead of hurting everyone by withholding tips, the best thing

to do is let the maitre d' know of the problem, and if that doesn't work. the officer

over the hotel staff. This can work in restaurants, as well. I used to accept bad

service and not go back.....now I open my big mouth and let the right people

know...that way, when I do go back, things will be better.

I think 10.50 per day is very reasonable, and I plan ahead.......I do do OBC, for

my tips and my shore excursions.....feels like it's free by the time I sail!

Mimi

[genevieve7000]

Is a firm handshake considered a gratuity by some? I'm guessing most maitre 'ds (sp?) would prefer a cut of the auto-tip pool to a firm handshake. :confused:

[costaco]

ummm, yup, a firm handshake is considered a tip by 'some'. I'm guessing most maitre'd's would prefer cash in the hand rather than having to share from the pool with everyone else.:D

[genevieve7000]

oh, gotcha...

[Pam in CA]

Is it a known fact that if you remove auto-tips and give envelopes that the steward/waitstaff HAVE to put it in the pool? I remember this being a debunked myth on the Carnival boards where a CD who has a blog said that it wasn't true. Or is this just the way Princess does it?

I have no idea what Carnival Cruise Lines does or doesn't do. The only thing that relates the two cruiselines is that they are both owned by the same holding company. They are operated and managed completely separately. It is not a myth... it IS a fact that if you remove the auto-tip, the steward/waitstaff MUST hand it over to their Supervisor, who checks to see if the person who gave them the tip removed or left the auto-tip on. If it was left on, they get to keep it; if it is removed, it goes into the pool.

 

By the end of the cruise, my guess is that our tips either meet, or exceed what we would have paid in tips using the 'auto tip' option, but it is somewhat more satisfying , knowing that my tips went directly to the ones that made our holiday a memorable one.

Uhhh... no they didn't. Believe what you want but they are all handed in and go into the pool. If you makes you feel any better, the person you handed the tip to gets to see your tip be put into the pool and waves "bye-bye" to it.

 

ummm, yup, a firm handshake is considered a tip by 'some'. I'm guessing most maitre'd's would prefer cash in the hand rather than having to share from the pool with everyone else.:D

Doesn't make any difference. You believe what you want, and I'm sure you will, but by removing the auto-tip without an explanation, you are putting a black mark on your steward/waitstaff's employment record, which can affect them when it comes to promotion or choice of jobs. Glad you feel so good about this.

[costaco]

oh Pam, you make me laugh. Please, oh Please explain to me why me opting out of the auto tip option will put a "BLACK MARK" on our stewards emplyment record?? That is probably the most ridiculous thing Ive read here.

 

also, ....why do you care so much how I spend my money??

[Pam in CA]

oh Pam, you make me laugh. Please, oh Please explain to me why me opting out of the auto tip option will put a "BLACK MARK" on our stewards emplyment record?? That is probably the most ridiculous thing Ive read here.

 

also, ....why do you care so much how I spend my money??

I don't care how you spend your money but I do care about the stewards and waitstaff. And yes, it's true that if people opt out of the auto-tip, it raises a red flag that there's something wrong with the service. It doesn't mean an automatic "black mark" but if several people assigned to the same waitstaff or steward, questions are raised. This is true whether you want to believe it or not.

[costaco]

nothing like a little spicy conversation before bedtime huh??

 

honestly Pam, I dont believe you, and despite your dissaproval, we will continue to opt out of the auto tip program.

 

but, thanks for your concern.:D

[springfire]

The auto tip works for some people but not for me, I always remove the auto tip, I prefer to tip in person. Princess allows me to do this and it has always worked better for me.

[sultan_sfo]

Me Me Me Me!

What is best for those you tip?

 

The auto tip works for some people but not for me, I always remove the auto tip, I prefer to tip in person. Princess allows me to do this and it has always worked better for me.

[rdsqrl]

Wow!! so thats $336 for our 16 day cruise, that boosts the final payment up a bit.

Wait til you see the bar bill at the end of the cruise . . . ! Autotips are always the smallest part of my onboard bill.

As for the poster who demanded that Princess adjust their operational philosophy to adopt an approach suitable to all, I just have to laugh. By your reckoning, all variations in this world should be eliminated to make life easier for those who can't seem to wrap their heads around the concept of doing things differently in different cultures. Seriously, dude, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this issue or any other -- way to miss the whole point of traveling.

[Toto2Kansas]

nothing like a little spicy conversation before bedtime huh??

 

honestly Pam, I dont believe you, and despite your dissaproval, we will continue to opt out of the auto tip program.

 

but, thanks for your concern.:D

 

I know there is no sense in this post, but I will say it anyway. Pam is correct. If a staff member who is in the tipping pool has passengers remove the auto tip, or doesn't receive tips to turn in to the pool in cash several times, it is a silent way to show his superiors you disaproved of his/her service and he/she was not worth tipping. I totally agree with what Pam said here, whether you believe it or not. This goes against the staff members service record and they monitor them to make sure they are being honest, and his superior will want to know why passengers do not feel his service is worth being tipped for. This is just part of how cruising has been as far back as I can remember, it is nothing new.

Of course you can remove your tips, the cruise line still allows you to do that. But I for one hope someday gratuities are mandatory to avoid all this conflict and give these hard working staff what they justly deserve for working so hard for us passengers throughout the voyage.

[Umbarger]

by removing the auto-tip without an explanation, you are putting a black mark on your steward/waitstaff's employment record, which can affect them when it comes to promotion or choice of jobs. .

 

At the end of the cruise I always stand in that really long line to get a copy of my charges printed out. I couldnt beleive how many people were removing their tips. This would mean an awful lot of black marks on a lot of employment records.