Tipping over suggest amount

[SciFiCruiser]

I was just thinking out out after reading another thread on tipping. If I tip someone above the recommended amount, does that staffer who I tipped have to pool the extra amount or can/should he keep it?

[Merion_Mom]

I was just thinking out out after reading another thread on tipping. If I tip someone above the recommended amount, does that staffer who I tipped have to pool the extra amount or can/should he keep it?

 

None of us has worked as a tipped employee on a Royal Caribbean ship, but I believe that the answer to your question is yes, s/he keeps it.

[SciFiCruiser]

None of us has worked as a tipped employee on a Royal Caribbean ship, but I believe that the answer to your question is yes, s/he keeps it.

 

My thought too. Good to know that someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty and is tipped well should not have to subsidize a co-worker who may not be as thoughtful or service oriented.

[Marie51]

If I want to tip extra I put the $$$ in an envelope and hand it to the person. This way I am sure the right person gets it. I like doing this instead of adding extra tips onto my shipboard acct.

[Rancher Dave]

Whn I give extra, I use cash directly to the person I want to receive it so they can pocket it... If they need/want to tip out the folks that help them be productive and help the front line folks shine, then I would not feel bad if they share with those directly helping them.

[HA6099]

When I was on the Freedom of the Seas I gave cash in an envelope with a card to my stateroom attendant as he was so great. I had prepaid all tips and this was extra. He thanked me but said he had to turn it in as this is required.

 

A little later as I was walking down the hall I did see him hand it over to someone. So, I don't think they get to keep the extra cash but have to share it with everyone. :(

[DonnaK]

When I was on the Freedom of the Seas I gave cash in an envelope with a card to my stateroom attendant as he was so great. I had prepaid all tips and this was extra. He thanked me but said he had to turn it in as this is required.

 

A little later as I was walking down the hall I did see him hand it over to someone. So, I don't think they get to keep the extra cash but have to share it with everyone. :(

 

 

It's my understanding that they have to turn it in until it is confirmed that you pre-paid the suggested tip amount, and then they get anything above that amount back to keep for themselves.

[Ocean Boy]

It's my understanding that they have to turn it in until it is confirmed that you pre-paid the suggested tip amount, and then they get anything above that amount back to keep for themselves.

 

So you are saying that if I do not pre-pay my tips but do it the old fashioned way and I decide to give my cabin steward extra that he has to pool it? He only gets to keep the extra if I pre-pay? If I do it the old fashioned way is he/she only required to pool up to the recommended amount? Do they hire a staff person whose job is to deal with this bookkeeping nightmare?:confused:

[phoenix1181]

It's my understanding that they have to turn it in until it is confirmed that you pre-paid the suggested tip amount, and then they get anything above that amount back to keep for themselves.

 

So you are saying that if I do not pre-pay my tips but do it the old fashioned way and I decide to give my cabin steward extra that he has to pool it? He only gets to keep the extra if I pre-pay? If I do it the old fashioned way is he/she only required to pool up to the recommended amount? Do they hire a staff person whose job is to deal with this bookkeeping nightmare?:confused:

 

It really isn't that much of a "nightmare". It's easy enough for RCCL to determine who has either prepaid or added tips to their SeaPass account. With that information, they can quickly determine which cabins each Steward would (should) be getting tips from & what the amount is that they "owe" the pool.

 

The real nightmare is when they have to put what should be extra money in because people chose not to tip or did not tip the recommended amount.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I am in agreement that when you hand cash in an envelope to your cabin steward or wait staff it is THEIRS TO KEEP and it is definitely not pooled. As well as, logically, why do you think [some] crew/staff go above and beyond? The motivation isnt because they are sharing their well earned [hopefully additional] tips. We have found that the well seasoned cabin attendants [waitstaff too] will recoginize the well seasoned cruiser and we have always [except once] had exceptional cabin stewards.

 

About prepaying your tips; both RCI and your cabin steward know if you have prepaid your gratuities. The cabin steward will put the envelopes and vouchers in your cabin. I am almost certain the wait staff receives a list the second to last night too, but Im not 100%, so Im not saying they do.

 

cruisedivanj

[cb at sea]

They don't "pool" tips...tips go to those who serve you. And, if you hand someone CASH, you can bet it's not even reported..it's cash and untracable and it's THEIRS!

[dzcruisers]

This is how it has been explained to me over many cruises.

Thought this was well explained.

I think the "Cash Tippers" who have commented here may not understand how tips work on most cruise lines. Here it is as simple as I can make a complicated procedure:

 

1st - If you choose to auto-tip or pre pay gratuities, that money is divided in differing percentages as stated on the suggested tip scale to those who took care of you..

 

2nd - If you "turn off" auto tips and do not pre pay tips, then any cash tips given to those employees you deem tip worthy will be turned into the same pool and divided out on the same percentage scale.

 

3rd - If you do pre pay or auto tip, then any additional cash tips given may be kept solely by the recipient. (and will be greatly appreciated)

 

In summary, if you turn off your auto tips and choose to handsomely tip only your favorite employees in cash, it goes to the same pool as auto tips and is divided up. And yes, they do know who has pre paid and who has auto tips etc. If you chose to turn off your auto tips, your cabin attendant and servers will be questioned because it is assumed that you are unhappy with the service. They can loose their jobs if they keep money from someone who has turned off tips.

 

On a side note: in addition to tipping any employees who have made your trip memorable, you can also help them out tremendously by filling out a comment card and include their full name and position and why they were so great. This is how they gain promotions and better job tiers.

 

Whew, is that clear as mud? :)

[brfan]

This is how it has been explained to me over many cruises.

Thought this was well explained.

I think the "Cash Tippers" who have commented here may not understand how tips work on most cruise lines. Here it is as simple as I can make a complicated procedure:

 

1st - If you choose to auto-tip or pre pay gratuities, that money is divided in differing percentages as stated on the suggested tip scale to those who took care of you..

 

2nd - If you "turn off" auto tips and do not pre pay tips, then any cash tips given to those employees you deem tip worthy will be turned into the same pool and divided out on the same percentage scale.

 

3rd - If you do pre pay or auto tip, then any additional cash tips given may be kept solely by the recipient. (and will be greatly appreciated)

 

In summary, if you turn off your auto tips and choose to handsomely tip only your favorite employees in cash, it goes to the same pool as auto tips and is divided up. And yes, they do know who has pre paid and who has auto tips etc. If you chose to turn off your auto tips, your cabin attendant and servers will be questioned because it is assumed that you are unhappy with the service. They can loose their jobs if they keep money from someone who has turned off tips.

 

On a side note: in addition to tipping any employees who have made your trip memorable, you can also help them out tremendously by filling out a comment card and include their full name and position and why they were so great. This is how they gain promotions and better job tiers.

 

Whew, is that clear as mud? :)

 

That is how it may work on some cruiselines that have autotipping (I've read on these board that on Celebrity and Carnival crew can keep tips if autotipping removed, but on HAL, NCL and Princess, they cannot). However Royal Caribbean does not have autotipping (so nothing to turn off). Passengers can choose to have the tips added to their S&S card by filling out a form and giving it to guest services, if they do not then they tip the old fashioned way by handing out cash. The only exception are those who select my time dining and they must prepay their tips with their final payment (other passengers are free to prepay their tips as well).

 

For Royal Caribbean to have some means to account for how passengers tip to determine if crew can keep extra or not would be a nightmare and likely very costly to administer compared to cruiselines where the default is autotipping.

[island lady]

We always use MTD, which means all tips are prepaid.

 

Our last room attendant on the Monarch was outstanding, so on the last day we made up our own wild towel animal with TV remote in a "paw"...with shower cap, coffee mug...and "holding" his envelope that had the extra cash in it. ;)

 

As to keeping their tips...we live 5 miles from PC and the crew members use the same Wal-Mart that we do. The DH was behind one crew member the other day as he pulled out various piles of singles, fives..etc. to pay for his supplies. I am guessing the tip money went to good use! :)

[griffy116]

We auto-tip, having it added to our Seapass Account. We put the slips into the envelopes for pick up, as suggested. We then put our extra money in a plain envelope and personally hand it to the Steward after the pre-paid slips are picked up. It's our understanding that this money goes directly to the steward...cash, untraceable to our account. We also complete our survey with excellent rating and special remarks, naming our steward and waiter, asst. waiter or whomever, and turn it in to Guest Relations in their survey box. We also take a minute to write a short note praising our special service, naming the individual and giving our cabin number and/or table assignment. Sometimes this can get them special recognition, which affects their personal rating.

[DonnaK]

So you are saying that if I do not pre-pay my tips but do it the old fashioned way and I decide to give my cabin steward extra that he has to pool it? He only gets to keep the extra if I pre-pay? If I do it the old fashioned way is he/she only required to pool up to the recommended amount? Do they hire a staff person whose job is to deal with this bookkeeping nightmare?:confused:

 

 

No, if you pay in cash at the end, then they get to keep any amount that is above and beyond the suggested tip.

[QuitMyDayJob]

On a side note: in addition to tipping any employees who have made your trip memorable, you can also help them out tremendously by filling out a comment card and include their full name and position and why they were so great. This is how they gain promotions and better job tiers.

 

Just want to second the importance of the comment card. We have heard again and again the extreme importance of naming the crew member who gave exceptional service. And we have been told (on another line) by our cabin steward that we should be sure to put it into the comment card box ourselves and NOT give it to a crew member who might be standing nearby who offers to "take care of it".