No pre-paid gratuity?

[springfire]

They don't just turn in the cash above the autotip amount they have to turn in everything that you give them. If you leave the autotip on they get to keep anything above that amount.

 

One other thing you are not tipping in advance, the crew does not get your tip until after the cruise is over. In fact your credit card it not charged until the last evening, along with the rest of what you charged on board.

 

As others have said if you have a service issue, deal with it when it happens so it can be fixed.

 

I find it easier to tip at the end of my cruise. When the family cruises, its all about my family and those that make it a good experience. I have worked on ships and worked in the cruise line industry for over 30 years here in South Florida. I get how it works. If you feel better prepaying your tip, please do so and continue to do so but if someone prefers to receive service first and decide how much to tip, that is also a nice option to have.

[brfan]

I find it easier to tip at the end of my cruise. When the family cruises, its all about my family and those that make it a good experience. I have worked on ships and worked in the cruise line industry for over 30 years here in South Florida. I get how it works. If you feel better prepaying your tip, please do so and continue to do so but if someone prefers to receive service first and decide how much to tip, that is also a nice option to have.

 

You are not prepaying tips. The cruiseline puts a hold each day for the tip amount, but you are not charged until the last evening. The crew does not get your tips until after the crusie. So there is no prepaying. This is no different then you putting $10 (or whatever the daily amount is) per person in your safe each day, then getting it out on the last day to give out. Would you consider that prepaying? The only way you can prepay is if you pay the tip amount with your final payment. Autotips is not prepaying.

 

Also you don't appear to care that the crew member you tip doesn't get to keep it, but must turn it in and only gets a share of it? I would think by what you say that you would be angry that the crew member doesn't get to keep all of your tips.

 

Plus as I mentioned before removing the autotips is seen by the cruise line as a service issue. Apparently you don't care that by your removing the tips it could cost a crew member. It could be a black mark on their record so no extra perks (eg. time off) or promotion or worse it could mean they won't be asked back. At the very least their supervisor will be watching them closely to ensure that they are providing you with good service and to ensure that they turn in any money you give them.

 

May I suggest that, if you don't wish to follow a cruise lines methods for tipping (eg. auto tip), then select a cruise line that is more in line with your thinking. Royal Caribbean, for example does not do autotips and as long as you don't choose their select dining, you can tip the way you described. Select dining you must pre-pay your tips. That is pay the tips with your final payment.

[springfire]

You are not prepaying tips. The cruiseline puts a hold each day for the tip amount, but you are not charged until the last evening. The crew does not get your tips until after the crusie. So there is no prepaying. This is no different then you putting $10 (or whatever the daily amount is) per person in your safe each day, then getting it out on the last day to give out. Would you consider that prepaying? The only way you can prepay is if you pay the tip amount with your final payment. Autotips is not prepaying.

 

Also you don't appear to care that the crew member you tip doesn't get to keep it, but must turn it in and only gets a share of it? I would think by what you say that you would be angry that the crew member doesn't get to keep all of your tips.

 

Plus as I mentioned before removing the autotips is seen by the cruise line as a service issue. Apparently you don't care that by your removing the tips it could cost a crew member. It could be a black mark on their record so no extra perks (eg. time off) or promotion or worse it could mean they won't be asked back. At the very least their supervisor will be watching them closely to ensure that they are providing you with good service and to ensure that they turn in any money you give them.

 

May I suggest that, if you don't wish to follow a cruise lines methods for tipping (eg. auto tip), then select a cruise line that is more in line with your thinking. Royal Caribbean, for example does not do autotips and as long as you don't choose their select dining, you can tip the way you described. Select dining you must pre-pay your tips. That is pay the tips with your final payment.

 

You may suggest but again, we are given a choice. Most cruise lines gives me a choice. Princess gave me that choice. So again, it is me using my freedom of choice to remove the autotip and tip at the end after service has been received.

 

As for a black mark on their record, give me a break. First you have comment cards that you can fill out and show your support. I always make a point of doing this. I understand the crew must turn in their money. Most do, some don't. What he or she does with the money after they get it from me is up to them.

 

My only point was to let people make up their own mind and tip how they feel most comfortable. They should know the pro's and con's of both ways. Just like everything in this world, two sides, understand them both and tip the way you seem fit.

 

Now that was easy.

[seasy going]

Hello fellow cruisers,

 

My goodness! Can't we all agree to disagree. And besides that, can't we disagree and be nice about it? I read these threads to glean information and to be better informed. I personally don't have a problem with auto tipping or tipping at the end of the cruise based on service rendered. It's a choice that each of us can make and should make without being critical of each other. I have no idea how the tips, however given, are tallied up other than what the cruise line states. For me, the auto tipping seems a little high but is very handy and thus, that is how I choose to tip. I could just as easily choose the other way too.

 

My point is this, treat other people as you would have them treat you. BE NICE! and learn from these posts. You will be the one to benefit when all is said and done. :)

[vacation luvver]

You are not prepaying tips. The cruiseline puts a hold each day for the tip amount, but you are not charged until the last evening. The crew does not get your tips until after the crusie. So there is no prepaying.

IMHO this is an excellent explanation.

 

My friend and I are going on an NCL cruise (which has an autograt) in July. Two women that we know are going on the same cruise. Those women are extremely cheap, and I'm afraid they'll wind up having a fit when they find out about the autograt. They booked their cruise with a TA, and I have no idea if their TA told them about the autograt. I don't want to tell them about it ahead of time, because I want to keep my nose out of their business, but I am so afraid that they'll make a big fuss when they find out about the autograt and try to get the charges taken off their account, and they'll wind up stiffing everyone entirely.

 

If that happens, I hope that NCL won't give a black mark to their cabin steward or anyone else, because it wouldn't be personal - the women would have acted like that no matter who took care of them and no matter how good a job they did.

[Cruisin' Chick]

You are not prepaying tips. The cruiseline puts a hold each day for the tip amount, but you are not charged until the last evening. The crew does not get your tips until after the crusie. So there is no prepaying. This is no different then you putting $10 (or whatever the daily amount is) per person in your safe each day, then getting it out on the last day to give out. Would you consider that prepaying? The only way you can prepay is if you pay the tip amount with your final payment. Autotips is not prepaying.

 

Also you don't appear to care that the crew member you tip doesn't get to keep it, but must turn it in and only gets a share of it? I would think by what you say that you would be angry that the crew member doesn't get to keep all of your tips.

 

Plus as I mentioned before removing the autotips is seen by the cruise line as a service issue. Apparently you don't care that by your removing the tips it could cost a crew member. It could be a black mark on their record so no extra perks (eg. time off) or promotion or worse it could mean they won't be asked back. At the very least their supervisor will be watching them closely to ensure that they are providing you with good service and to ensure that they turn in any money you give them.

 

May I suggest that, if you don't wish to follow a cruise lines methods for tipping (eg. auto tip), then select a cruise line that is more in line with your thinking. Royal Caribbean, for example does not do autotips and as long as you don't choose their select dining, you can tip the way you described. Select dining you must pre-pay your tips. That is pay the tips with your final payment.

 

This is a great explanation of how the tips work on Princess. You don't pre-pay tips. Besides that, the amount of tips hasn't really changed in years. So I truly don't understand why if on Princess it works a certain way, and one chooses to sail on Princess, why mess with the tips, which in the long run negatively affects the staff. If one has service problems, address it at the time but don't use it as an excuse to lower the tips. And that's what in essence one days by removing the autotips and tipping in cash. That crew member doesn't get to keep all that money. He or she has a support staff that is part of the tipping pool too. So are you going to run around and track down each of these crew members and give them an individual tip? Are you going to give a major amount of cash to your cabin steward that allows him to share with his support staff, and the same with your waiter? And then fill out the "you made a difference" cards for each of these people?

 

I prefer autotips to the old way of getting out those envelopes and figuring out how much cash we would put in the envelopes. So much easier to just concern ourselves with the extra tips we'll give.

[iheartbda]

You may suggest but again, we are given a choice. Most cruise lines gives me a choice. Princess gave me that choice. So again, it is me using my freedom of choice to remove the autotip and tip at the end after service has been received.

 

As for a black mark on their record, give me a break. First you have comment cards that you can fill out and show your support. I always make a point of doing this. I understand the crew must turn in their money. Most do, some don't. What he or she does with the money after they get it from me is up to them.

 

My only point was to let people make up their own mind and tip how they feel most comfortable. They should know the pro's and con's of both ways. Just like everything in this world, two sides, understand them both and tip the way you seem fit.

 

Now that was easy.

Here's the explanation of the black mark.

If you remove the autotip but you tip the cabin steward in cash and they don't turn that money in, their superior assumes that they were not tipped at all. It then looks like they did not provide good enough service to warrant a tip. The steward is then "put on the line" to try and explain why they didn't receive a tip. It is in their best interest to turn in the money because if there are too many times they don't, their job is truly in jeopardy.

 

Yes, there are two ways to tip and one of them results in the crew getting less in the end.

[springfire]

Here's the explanation of the black mark.

If you remove the autotip but you tip the cabin steward in cash and they don't turn that money in, their superior assumes that they were not tipped at all. It then looks like they did not provide good enough service to warrant a tip. The steward is then "put on the line" to try and explain why they didn't receive a tip. It is in their best interest to turn in the money because if there are too many times they don't, their job is truly in jeopardy.

 

Yes, there are two ways to tip and one of them results in the crew getting less in the end.

 

Good Morning

 

First of all, have you ever seen the amount of people that have the tips removed and prefer to pay in cash. It is a very long list of people who remove the autotip. If the cruise line were to give a crew member a black mark for this, we would not have any crew left. When you have the tip removed the first day, they know its not the service, maybe for some people who keep it on all week and than have it removed at the end, that would make you think about it being service related issue. Fill out a comment card, that is what will help or hurt a crew member with the cruise line.

 

The cabin steward, wait staff, and cruise line never had a problem with my method of tipping, only some posters here who insist you tip the same way they tip. I have no idea how many crew staff pocket the cash or turn it in the cash.

 

I encourage you to tip. You have a choice how and when to tip, don't give up your options and do whats best for you.

[basil's mom]

I read this on another one of the Boards. Seems like the best explaination why autotip should be left on:

 

"Every day the Purser issues a report on which cabins have changed the auto tips.

Which cabins increased them, which cabins decreased them, and which cabins removed them.

This report goes to all Department Heads who have tipped employees working for them.

The number of cabins on this report is generally quite small.

Each department head calls in each tipped employee who services these passengers and:

1. congratulates him on the gratuity increase.

2. wants to know what the employee has done to cause the passenger to decrease the tips

3. wants to know what the employee has done to cause the passenger to remove the tips

At the end of the cruise, the department head once again calls in the employees to have them turn over any cash tips received from cabins that decreased or removed the auto tips.

That cash goes into the tipping pool.

If those employees do not come up with any cash, it is noted on their performance record. They may not be invited back for another employment contract.

The other tipped employees are also informed that these crew are responsible for everyone receiving less money from the tipping pool.

Quite often, crew whose passengers did not tip are forced to take money from their own pockets and put it into the pool, to avoid being hassled by their supervisors and fellow employees.

"