If tips are so important, include them in the cost of the cruise

[H82seaUgo]

All the cruiselines outline their tipping policy in their brochures.

 

tell me one place you can get a brochure. :rolleyes:

[big_duck]

• Tipping is optional.
  
• Including tips in the fare makes it income for the cruise line to do with as they wish, possibly resulting in little or none of the money reaching it's intended target.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Mandatory service charges will reduce the incentive for the service staff to perform at a high level.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Even in its present form the gratuities charged are not a part of the fare, they are part of the onboard discretionary spending because:
  
• Tipping is optional.
  

[sparks1093]

tell me one place you can get a brochure. :rolleyes:

 

I've received them from the cruise line's website (not sure if they all offer this option or if only some of them do).

[Cruise Organizer]

tell me one place you can get a brochure. :rolleyes:

 

Go to a TA office

[Nolesfan]

I can imagine how much fun it must be to cruise with you. Probably bring a scale to the steakhouse to make sure your porterhouse is exactly 24 oz., wait that would require $30 not originally included in the price so thats out.

 

Maybe your in line at the pizzeria trying to get an explanation why the slice of pizza that the previous cruiser received was 10% larger and had 1.67 more pepperoni slices on it.

 

Now were in the MDR and through your calculations the table across from you has been served and avg of 8.3 minutes earlier than your table each night.

 

Wow the bartender is sure giving you a strange look when you ask to calibrate the jigger to insure you are getting the proper 1.5 oz of alcohol you paid for. (Yes, we realize that techinically this was not included in the original price and the 15% tip added to it is not included in the price qouted but you just had a nasty run in with the local steel drum player in port when you tried to make change on the quarter tip you were leaving and you really need it.)

 

"A COKE IS FIFTY CENTS !!!" is what we all hear just before we see the waiter on the Lido ducking and running away as you rip the leg off a deck chair and fashion it into a crude club with a incredulous look wondering why everyone else is so willing to just enjoy themselves why they are being bent over by the profit mongering cruise line.

 

"Hey isn't that the guy who threatened to sue when his omelette was cooked medium well and not medium, disembarking?" I sorry what you say? I was distracted by all the crew members cheering and high fiving. You know what else is funny I know my german isn't that good but I could of swore the crew member just said he still has the video from the other night when they burned someone named Herr Kostengynstig in effigy.

 

We do all owe you thanks though, it's no longer a mystery why some passengers "accidently" fall over board I think that picture just got much clearer.

[halos]

• Tipping is optional.
  
• Including tips in the fare makes it income for the cruise line to do with as they wish, possibly resulting in little or none of the money reaching it's intended target.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Mandatory service charges will reduce the incentive for the service staff to perform at a high level.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Even in its present form the gratuities charged are not a part of the fare, they are part of the onboard discretionary spending because:
  
• Tipping is optional.
  

 

 

:D They still won't get it.

[halos]

as have i. and then they don't point it out.

 

and i have seen people try to tip on top of that!

 

looks like a lot of folks here have no problem have additional monies taken out of their wallets.

 

I tip more if the service was exceptional....I'm not rich, just appreciative.

Being this way hasn't caused us to falter financially.....I don't understand your anger and very obvious bitterness with people who are generous.

It's kinda weird.

[airhead22]

Money is not taken out of my wallet...I give it freely...as I can afford...to show appreciation.

[elcuchio24]

No, but many people posting here have brought it up.

 

30 years ago if one were to say their were problems in the mortgage industry then everyone would laugh and say there are bigger problems to worry about.

 

Yet, look what the mortgage industry became in 30 years!

 

So, I say let's stop this now with the cruise industry and not let it become a mortgage industry in 30 years!

 

Let's stop it now and make it easier for the consumer to understand pricing and require the cruise industry to advertise up front pricing that includes all of the required costs in the price that is advertise.

 

I'm just asking the cruise line to simplify and not advertise low ball prices that no one really pays.

 

So you are somehow implying that not understanding the fine print of a cruise contract will lead us down the same road as a bedrock foundation of our economy, mortgages, did? I really don’t even know how to reply to this. Did you ever take Micro/Macro Econ?

[H82seaUgo]

I tip more if the service was exceptional....I'm not rich, just appreciative.

Being this way hasn't caused us to falter financially.....I don't understand your anger and very obvious bitterness with people who are generous.

It's kinda weird.

 

you are misreading me.

 

i have absolutely no problem in people tipping in direct correlation to the service they receive. tipping the guidelines on board, to me, is like those tipping 15% on land.

 

those that are 20 to 30% tippers will have no problem paying more. and i'm still fine with that.

 

tipping 15% more, and knowing 2/3rds of that is now going to the Charro, Ace, and Gopher? talk to me and i'll engage.

[Cruise Organizer]

I can imagine how much fun it must be to cruise with you. Probably bring a scale to the steakhouse to make sure your porterhouse is exactly 24 oz., wait that would require $30 not originally included in the price so thats out.

 

Maybe your in line at the pizzeria trying to get an explanation why the slice of pizza that the previous cruiser received was 10% larger and had 1.67 more pepperoni slices on it.

 

Now were in the MDR and through your calculations the table across from you has been served and avg of 8.3 minutes earlier than your table each night.

 

Wow the bartender is sure giving you a strange look when you ask to calibrate the jigger to insure you are getting the proper 1.5 oz of alcohol you paid for. (Yes, we realize that techinically this was not included in the original price and the 15% tip added to it is not included in the price qouted but you just had a nasty run in with the local steel drum player in port when you tried to make change on the quarter tip you were leaving and you really need it.)

 

"A COKE IS FIFTY CENTS !!!" is what we all hear just before we see the waiter on the Lido ducking and running away as you rip the leg off a deck chair and fashion it into a crude club with a incredulous look wondering why everyone else is so willing to just enjoy themselves why they are being bent over by the profit mongering cruise line.

 

"Hey isn't that the guy who threatened to sue when his omelette was cooked medium well and not medium, disembarking?" I sorry what you say? I was distracted by all the crew members cheering and high fiving. You know what else is funny I know my german isn't that good but I could of swore the crew member just said he still has the video from the other night when they burned someone named Herr Kostengynstig in effigy.

 

We do all owe you thanks though, it's no longer a mystery why some passengers "accidently" fall over board I think that picture just got much clearer.

 

 

The problem was that the second appetizer and third entree took longer to get than the first.

I expected that my water glass be refilled every 7.125 minutes.

The pizza is being cooked to order - why do you think I want fresh pizza, give me the leftover slices.

I have to wait on a line to get a deli sandwich?

MDR - I want to shovel in as much food as possible in the smallest amount of time - why talk to anyone? I don't want to waste time at the table - dinning experience is for others

I didn't have time to shower and change, but it's my vacation so it doesn't matter.

 

and on...

[halos]

you are misreading me.

 

i have absolutely no problem in people tipping in direct correlation to the service they receive. tipping the guidelines on board, to me, is like those tipping 15% on land.

 

those that are 20 to 30% tippers will have no problem paying more. and i'm still fine with that.

 

tipping 15% more, and knowing 2/3rds of that is now going to the Charro, Ace, and Gopher? talk to me and i'll engage.

 

It's because I don't care who or how CCL pays.

It's none of my business.

All I care about is what I pay and what I recieve in return. It's up to every employee on that ship to determine if they think how thye are paid is fair. I will not sit here and try to judge how CCL runs their business unless/until it affects the product I pay for. What goes on in their accounting dept is NOT my business.

[H82seaUgo]

It's because I don't care who or how CCL pays.

It's none of my business.

All I care about is what I pay and what I recieve in return. It's up to every employee on that ship to determine if they think how thye are paid is fair. I will not sit here and try to judge how CCL runs their business unless/until it affects the product I pay for. What goes on in their accounting dept is NOT my business.

 

salary? nope. until i am expected to chip in.

[sparks1093]

you are misreading me.

 

i have absolutely no problem in people tipping in direct correlation to the service they receive. tipping the guidelines on board, to me, is like those tipping 15% on land.

 

those that are 20 to 30% tippers will have no problem paying more. and i'm still fine with that.

 

tipping 15% more, and knowing 2/3rds of that is now going to the Charro, Ace, and Gopher? talk to me and i'll engage.

 

When I see "entertainment staff" I don't think "headliner" but the guy that's schlupping the stuff around the stage who is probably a waiter in his off time trying to earn a little extra money. I imagine clarification will be forthcoming.

[iTouch]

go to carnival home page

 

special prices bottom right corner.

 

None of those prices are the actual cost of the cruise.

 

I looked.......and did you happen to see the "from" before the price of the cruise.......

I think this whole ordeal of yours could be cleared up with a visit to the optometrist.

[H82seaUgo]

When I see "entertainment staff" I don't think "headliner" but the guy that's schlupping the stuff around the stage who is probably a waiter in his off time trying to earn a little extra money. I imagine clarification will be forthcoming.

 

i doubt it.

 

but i really would have posted those names instead of the above had i known what they were. those credits just scroll by so fast!

 

i don't even remember what teri hatcher's name was on that show.

[iTouch]

I agree phone bills are a big problem and we need to fix that too.

 

Have you ever looked at the Nutrition Facts on food. That was added despite the food industry fighting against it tooth and nail.

 

Let's require cruise lines to simplfy their pricing so the consumer doesn't have to do any extra work to determine the true cost of the cruise.

 

What extra work are you talking about:confused:

[big_duck]

When I see "entertainment staff" I don't think "headliner" but the guy that's schlupping the stuff around the stage who is probably a waiter in his off time trying to earn a little extra money. I imagine clarification will be forthcoming.

 

I believe by "entertainment staff" they mean the "Social Hosts". Whilst I am sympathetic to the fine folks at the Guest Services Desk who have to put up with all whiners, etc I believe that 99% of the guests on board go from embarkation to debarkation without coming within yards of the GSD.

[iTouch]

• Tipping is optional.
  
• Including tips in the fare makes it income for the cruise line to do with as they wish, possibly resulting in little or none of the money reaching it's intended target.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Mandatory service charges will reduce the incentive for the service staff to perform at a high level.
  
• Tipping is optional.
  
• Even in its present form the gratuities charged are not a part of the fare, they are part of the onboard discretionary spending because:
  
• Tipping is optional.
  

 

You may have to define the word "optional"......nah don't think that would work either....

[mk695]

No matter how hard I try, people continue to try to take this discussion off-topic and make it largely about trying to either get out of paying tips or if we make them required then staff won't perform. Or the other reasons people have tried to fragment this discussion.

 

My point is that cruise lines offer low-ball advertising prices to entice shoppers to buy and then add on tons of fees, taxes and other costs in order to get the money they would have really needed to operate as a business.

 

What I'm advocating is that cruise lines are required to PUBLISH / ADVERTISE / MARKET the actual cost of the cruise. This advertised price is irrelevant how the final bill looks. For all I care everything could remain the same on the back end -- even the ability to adjust tips.

 

I just want to see the advertised price to be $512.35 instead of $399.

 

I wouldn't be opposed to even inflating the price higher and then it becoming less when you check out!!

 

I think this should be for all businesses and not just cruise lines.

 

This would be for fixed costs that you have to pay (or forced optional charges). This wouldn't be for optional, discretionary charges like bar charges or bingo.

 

Imagine seeing a cell phone plan advertised as $63.46 instead of $39.99 because with no discretionary optional charges it will cost everyone $63.46 in the end.

 

I think all businesses should be forced to do this.

 

Why? Because they way the system is now, any business can continue on the path of breaking out more and more charges in order to keep the advertised price the same.

 

Imagine is McDonalds needed to raise prices for their business, but rather than this they added .25 to every ATM transaction. Now, it costs an extra 25 cents every time you use an ATM but you learn this at check-out or are in a rush and don't see.

 

This is to protect the consumer and make it truth in advertising.

 

Business owners will never get this nor accept it.

[InEEDofAcruise]

I agree, but this is much more blatent than the fees and port charges... These charges are laid out when booking, the auto tips are not. At that point, if you do not agree, you must remove the tips or suck it up.

 

The only way I would agree with the autotipping policy is if it were manditory and was charged when booking.... as then it is part of the fare... and if I think the fare is too high.... I'M GOING TO DISNEY LAND!!!

 

Hang in there friend and get the aloe ready... the hollier than thous will be coming at you with fire for having the nerve to start an anti-auto-tipping thread!!:eek::eek:

 

If tips are so important, then just include them in the cost of the cruise.

 

But, wait, for "business" reasons, they'd like to be able to quote a low entry price and then tack on taxes, fees, and tips later to make it up to the price they want in the first place.

 

None of these so called add-on charges are optional. Of course they will tell you the "tips" are optional, but then everyone in the cruise industry and their shils posting on these boards will inundate you with heavy manipulation to "encourage" you to tip the "optional" amount.

 

IF IT IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT JUST INCLUDE IT IN THE COST OF THE CRUISE!!!!!!!

 

We should encourage our legislators to create a law that requires businesses to quote the final price that one has to pay.

[mk695]

I looked.......and did you happen to see the "from" before the price of the cruise.......

I think this whole ordeal of yours could be cleared up with a visit to the optometrist.

 

 

That is truly part of the problem too. This is a complete lie and Carnival should be sued. There is no cruise that exists for $179. You try to buy this for $179 I want to see the receipt.

 

The reality is that $179 doesn't exist. The from price should start at what it actually costs with all the required add-ons added in.

 

 

We've been discussing this for many posts now and you're not understanding my point. I can totally understand that you don't agree or accept my point. I just want you to understand where I'm coming from.

[sparks1093]

i doubt it.

 

but i really would have posted those names instead of the above had i known what they were. those credits just scroll by so fast!

 

i don't even remember what teri hatcher's name was on that show.

 

Amy. (But I'm another one that doesn't really care who it's going to as long as it's going to the crew. There, I stayed on topic so I won't get yelled at;).)

[mk695]

So you are somehow implying that not understanding the fine print of a cruise contract will lead us down the same road as a bedrock foundation of our economy, mortgages, did? I really don’t even know how to reply to this. Did you ever take Micro/Macro Econ?

 

 

I say get rid of all fine print. Why is it fine print? To HIDE IT and make it difficult to find and understand.

 

If there is any fine print, then there is a problem.

 

If the price is quote up front the actual cost of the product, then no fine print is needed.

 

I'm asking the industry to simplify and make this more efficient for the consumer.

 

Not bury tons of details in the fine print.

 

This is a philosophical decision and has nothing to do with economics.

 

Maybe you should take philosophy or logic 101 again.

[sparks1093]

That is truly part of the problem too. This is a complete lie and Carnival should be sued. There is no cruise that exists for $179. You try to buy this for $179 I want to see the receipt.

 

The reality is that $179 doesn't exist. The from price should start at what it actually costs with all the required add-ons added in.

 

 

We've been discussing this for many posts now and you're not understanding my point. I can totally understand that you don't agree or accept my point. I just want you to understand where I'm coming from.

 

I understand where you are coming from but I don't agree with you, does that help?