Tips or no tips?

[AWCHIEF]

There is a post on John's blog from someone claiming to be a Platinum level Carnival cruiser bragging about how they cancel all their tips and do not tip at all. What do the rest of you feel about this practice?

[Bunkie103]

This is such a controversial topic I ALMOST hate to comment. We always prepay our tips and with one exception add personal tips to servers and room stewards. The first time we didn't hand something to the room steward was on our last minute cruise in October on the Fantasy, because we never met him/her. It was almost like the Phantom was our steward.

 

I don't care what others do. This is our personal policy. We also tip the baggage handlers, mainly because my Dad worked on the docks years ago and I remember what a tip meant to him.

[hihosilvers]

...and here we go.

[Essiesmom]

Personally, when I see those posts on John's blog, I suspect that the person had borrowed someone's CC ID and posted as a troll to make the other person look bad. It has been documented to happen before. Oh, and I tip well. I leave on the suto-tip and feel guilty if I don't supplement. EM

[Crusin6]

well taking off the auto tip and tipping zero is a ridiculous practice....and we all know that

 

 

all this nonsense about tipping or not is just crazy..because we are a society that tips....plain and simple

 

 

whats upsets people is being told what to tip by way of the auto tip...and the fact that they actually see how much it costs for 7 days and it makes them feel that they would never tip hundreds of dollars anywhere else so why do it on a ship....

 

Simply put...just pay the service charge and then...if you want...give the steward an extra $20 per cabin...maybe an extra $10 for his/her assistant.....same for the head waiter and assistants.....unless you have anytime dining...then I say....tip extra or not...doesn't matter...but $5 or $10 is no big deal.

 

Personally, I always leave the auto tips in place...and for a family of 6 that is a lot of money...and then hand out $50 or $60...at the most to the above mentioned workers.....and leave it at that...and then forget about it...and do not let it make any difference in my cruising ability

 

btw...we don't tip bartenders extra...because we rarely see them...and forget the maitre d....because his job is to fix any problems we have.

[H82seaUgo]

when someone chooses a service industry vacation, just like when they dine in a service restaurant, it should be common knowledge that these people are being brought in to serve them, and it is the tip that is providing the majority of their salary.

 

it should also be common knowledge how these people are paid.

 

but to know such, and not refuse this service, and to not tip them for the service they provide, they deserve everything coming to them.

[CJinFLA00]

Leave the tips on! The cruise employees work hard for these tips.

[DFW Airwolf]

Once again I will put in my .02 cents. Tips are supposed to be for Service above & beyond the norm. What the cruise lines have done is the same thing Govt has done. They call it something other than a Tax Increase. Cruise Lines add Tips instead of raising your Fare so they look like they are cheaper than the other guy.

 

Personally I would rather pay $ 10.00 more per day in Fare cost than get Nickeled & DImed on the actually cruise. Also many other countries (England I believe) doesnt believe in tipping the ay we in the Americas do. So there is always issues with people from those cultures.

 

I usually leave the tips alone, but I have had some cruises where I felt the service was not as good as it should have been, so I adjusted them to what I think was appropriate. And that is the KEY WORDS you will always hear from the Cruise lines. "The amount we reccommend is x.xx per day. But feel free to change it to whatever you feel approrpriate for the service rendered".

[Cruisin Christi]

As a former waitress this totally ticks me off. I will over tip. I have not cruised yet but because my parents have I am already planning to tip well over the $10 a day per person limit they set. I would never go down and take the tips off, even if I get bad service. If I get bad service, I just won't go above and beyond. I was appalled to read that on John's blog.

[DFW Airwolf]

when someone chooses a service industry vacation, just like when they dine in a service restaurant, it should be common knowledge that these people are being brought in to serve them, and it is the tip that is providing the majority of their salary.

 

it should also be common knowledge how these people are paid.

 

but to know such, and not refuse this service, and to not tip them for the service they provide, they deserve everything coming to them.

 

 

When you choose to work in any industry, you are told by management what you will be paid. You are free to accept it or not. Just because certain industries have been able to get away with paying low wages and making people depend on tips is not my problem. When I partake of those services, I am told how much it is before I purchase something. Then I am FREE to choose wether I wish to leave something extra for service that is better than average. MY CHOICE the same as it is their choice to accept that job with the wage they are being paid.

[redpelican]

I know a person that shall remain nameless, that cruises another line that NEVER tips!! Appalling! This said person had to call room service 3 times for a pot of coffee. When it finally arrived, it was empty. Just goes to show you...

We always tip above and beyond the automatic tips and don't begrudge it at all. Any one that does should read Cruise Confidential and What time is the Midnight Buffet!

[Delnatha]

Ok, I always autotip the full amount and sometimes add some cash to it depending on service. What a lot of you may not realize is that there are a lot of people out there who are not like you. There are some people who will not pay anything they are not specifically required to pay. They don't tip at restaurants, bars, cruise ships, or anything else. They care more about their money then the people serving them and some of them don't care if everybody knows about it. The whole reason for the autopay system is to try and limit the number of people who otherwise would not tip at all but some people still refuse to pay anything which is not absolutely required.

 

When I was a pizza delivery driver I kept some statistics and, at least where I worked, roughly 40% of people did not tip. Once I went an entire Friday night shift with no tips. The price was often $12.92 and people would give you $13.00 and ask for their change back. (almost as insulting as them saying "keep the change")

 

Tipping well is also pretty much just an American thing. That's why nobody wants to work at any of the restaurants in the international terminal of airports.

[surmy555]

I consider the automatic tips part of the cruise fare and the employee's wages, not really tips. If I get great service, and I usually do, I then provide a cash tip at the end of the cruise

[jpg1747]

I think this topic has been discussed enough. The horse has been tanned and made into clothes and boots.

[nevadabadgirl]

I know a person that shall remain nameless, that cruises another line that NEVER tips!! Appalling! This said person had to call room service 3 times for a pot of coffee. When it finally arrived, it was empty. Just goes to show you...

We always tip above and beyond the automatic tips and don't begrudge it at all. Any one that does should read Cruise Confidential and What time is the Midnight Buffet!

 

That person is lucky it was just empty. I hate to think of what "additives" there were in their other drinks and meals :D Well actually, as a former tipped employee I know what was in there :eek:

[careywv]

I consider the automatic tips part of the cruise fare and the employee's wages, not really tips. If I get great service, and I usually do, I then provide a cash tip at the end of the cruise

 

I do the same thing, and consider the tips part of the cruise fare. If family goes with us, I quote them the pricing with taxes, fees and tips included so there is no surprises at the end. We bring extra cash for tips at the end of the cruise and singles for room service deliveries. And we always tip the luggage porters at the pier around $2 per bag.

[blindrid]

...and here we go.

 

That's what I was thinking..... I'm not even sure why one would start a thread on this one as I think everyone knows the answer :rolleyes:.

[luckycruzer]

There is a post on John's blog from someone claiming to be a Platinum level Carnival cruiser bragging about how they cancel all their tips and do not tip at all. What do the rest of you feel about this practice?

 

 

RE: the Platinum claimant...is poster saying that because they are Plat, THEY..ie: Carnival, or they, themselves xl tips ? To me it is not a practice, but a REAL thing! If I cant afford the tip, but the cru$e is "noooo problem", as far as cost....I'll stay home and wait on myself, and clean my own cabin and cook my own meals.....oh wait....I do , do that...and I tip myself ! via a cruze every month or so !

[travelntreats]

There is a post on John's blog from someone claiming to be a Platinum level Carnival cruiser bragging about how they cancel all their tips and do not tip at all. What do the rest of you feel about this practice?

 

I feel it is probably one of the worst questions that you could ask on this topic !

 

The thread will be eventually locked !

[elcuchio24]

I would say that they sound like a cheapo.

[Julienatul]

Ridiculous!!! DH and I are platinum cruisers and we always tip. In fact we always tip extra in addition to the prepaid tips. The crew work hard and they deserve to be rewarded for their labor. They certainly make my cruise experience exceptional each and every time.

[rlkubi]

Ok this discussion drives me crazy! We leave the tip on and always tip extra. Sometimes we don't see our room steward that much but he still cleans the room two times a day and picks up our laundry, etc. I still tip him.

 

We just went on a cruise and a friend of mine went with us on her first cruise. She met me a week before the cruise to discuss her questions. The first thing she said is she doesn't believe in tipping. Well, I gave her my comments! IMO it is a must unless they aren't doing a good job!

 

DFW you talked about Europe. That is true but they also get paid more too. My daughter was a waitress and was paid $2.90 per hour. They depend on tips. IMO, if you can't afford to tip at restaurants, go to McDonalds!

[ib4cruzn]

We always tip extra. Tons.

[Delnatha]

In the U.S. waitstaff depend on tips. Same on cruises. Some other parts of the world waitstaff are paid well and the practice is to only tip a small amount for good service.

 

The problem comes when people from a non-tipping culture travel to an area with a tipping culture. It's not that those people are bad, they just come from an area with different practices. This is why cruise ships have tried to make tipping seem like part of a cruise expense and less like an option.

 

Also, I find that the people who don't believe in tipping are the people who never had to work for tips. Find me an ex-waiter who doesn't believe in tipping. I bet there aren't very many of those around.

[yst347]

Hmmm......taking the services of another with no intention of paying for them? There's a word for that...oh, what's the word, what's the word? :confused: