Gratuities?

[DARSGANG]

Does anyone know do you have to charge the gratuities to your ship board acct or can you pay them in person to your cabin steward, waiter etc, if you want to ?

[Pia1913]

Does anyone know do you have to charge the gratuities to your ship board acct or can you pay them in person to your cabin steward, waiter etc, if you want to ?

 

If you remove the charges from your account, whomever you give monies to will not be allowed to keep it.

[paul929207]

You can do either. Leaving on the autotip is just so much simpler.

[chrysalis]

This thread should help you.....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1538923&highlight=gratuities

[Pam in CA]

Does anyone know do you have to charge the gratuities to your ship board acct or can you pay them in person to your cabin steward, waiter etc, if you want to ?

Yes, you can remove the gratuities from your onboard account. However, several things you should know:

 

-- Your cabin steward and waitstaff will be informed by their supervisor.

 

-- Anything you tip in cash will have to be turned in to their supervisor and the money will go directly into the tipping pool. They do not get to keep it so it's a bit of a tease. For the cynics, yes, they really do turn it in because if they're caught keeping it, they could be released and have to pay their own way home from the next port. It's a very closed society and they will be found out.

 

-- It'll be assumed that the reason you have removed the tips was due to poor service and could negatively impact your steward's and waitstaff's job performance review.

 

There are many in the buffet and grill area who clean tables, will get you coffee, tea or juice, etc., assist your steward, serve in the dining room at breakfast and lunch, work in the specialty restaurants, or otherwise help make your cruise experience good or great. Instead of carting around cash with you day and night to reward these hard workers, most people find it more convenient to leave the "auto-tip" on.

[Woobstr112G]

Simplest and easiest way is to leave the auto-tip in place.

 

Bob

[Times Prince]

Does anyone know do you have to charge the gratuities to your ship board acct or can you pay them in person to your cabin steward, waiter etc, if you want to ?

If I interpret your question correctly the answer is that gratuities are automatically added to your onboard account daily. They willl show as "hotel charge" entries.

 

As mentioned by others these gratuities are shared by the staff, both those who you see and those in the backgound making their service possible.

 

We will leave these automatic charges in place and then will provide extra in person to those who have gone beyond expectations and done an extraordinary job.

[preschool teacher]

We always leave the auto tip in place but then tip extra....do they get to keep the extra, or must they turn it in?

[Pam in CA]

We always leave the auto tip in place but then tip extra....do they get to keep the extra, or must they turn it in?

What happens is that they turn it in and their supervisor gives it back if the auto-tip hasn't been removed. So, the bottom line is, yes, they get to keep it if you give extra.

 

One benefit to them by turning it in is that their supervisor sees that they've done a good job and been rewarded. Every little bit counts when it comes to performance reviews and whether their contract is renewed.

[cr8tiv1]

I am very interested in this thread. Will someone please let me know how the information was revealed to passengers (the turn in all tips in particular)? I will be following comments. Thank you to everyone for contributing.

[Pam in CA]

I am very interested in this thread. Will someone please let me know how the information was revealed to passengers (the turn in all tips in particular)? I will be following comments. Thank you to everyone for contributing.

This has been the case for over 10 years, in 2001 when Princess first implemented the auto-tip with the launch of the Grand and Anytime dining. Sorry, can't remember who told me over 10 years ago but it's been verified over and over. Does it really matter who learned of this first in 2001?

[Times Prince]

I am very interested in this thread. Will someone please let me know how the information was revealed to passengers (the turn in all tips in particular)? I will be following comments. Thank you to everyone for contributing.

We heard it directly from the Hotel Manager on board ship during a Most Travelled passenger luncheon with the ship's officers. He told us that the personal tips are held until the books close on the cruise (about Tuesday after a cruise ending Saturday). At that time all tips given to individuals are returned to them if the auto-tip (hotel charge) was left in place. This is why it is best to put your cabin number on the envelope containing the tip for outstanding service - it makes it easier to correlate with the accounting.

[fishywood]

I am very interested in this thread. Will someone please let me know how the information was revealed to passengers (the turn in all tips in particular)? I will be following comments. Thank you to everyone for contributing.

 

On Star Princess this past April, in the big brown bound book of info found on the cabin desk (quoting as best as I can from memory): "All gratuities given up to $10.50 [at that time] per person per day will be shared amongst the staff..."

 

Many have commented on here that if you reduce the auto charge without eliminating it entirely then those who you tip individually do not have to turn it in. Definitely not true.

[cruiserjinx]

WOW, Don't I feel like a noob! I have in the past, just removed our auto-tips and given our cabin steward $100 or so on our first meeting each other, usually on the first day. In six cruises I have only dined 2x in the dining area, just not our gig. (and those were pre-gratuity days.) Do you realy think 'my guy/gal' is reporting monies I specificaly given to them, behind closed doors? Then only to share with others not involved?!? Had no idea this was how it worked out. Well, at least now I know...:o

[geoherb]

WOW, Don't I feel like a noob! I have in the past, just removed our auto-tips and given our cabin steward $100 or so on our first meeting each other, usually on the first day. In six cruises I have only dined 2x in the dining area, just not our gig.

Unless you ate room service for every meal and tipped the people who brought them to you, then you were stiffing the staff. The crew members who work in the Horizon Court get part of the tips. Even if you get your own drinks, they still have to clean the table when you've finished.

[paul929207]

WOW, Don't I feel like a noob! I have in the past, just removed our auto-tips and given our cabin steward $100 or so on our first meeting each other, usually on the first day. In six cruises I have only dined 2x in the dining area, just not our gig. (and those were pre-gratuity days.) Do you realy think 'my guy/gal' is reporting monies I specificaly given to them, behind closed doors? Then only to share with others not involved?!? Had no idea this was how it worked out. Well, at least now I know...:o

The staff knows that if they are caught keeping cash that is given by you, they will be put off the ship in the next port.

[kywildcatfanone]

Does anyone know do you have to charge the gratuities to your ship board acct or can you pay them in person to your cabin steward, waiter etc, if you want to ?

 

You can remove the auto-tip but the person you give individual tips to has to turn them in and it gets pooled out, so if your intent is to give a tip to an individual for outstanding service, leave the auto-tip in place and give them something above and beyond that.

[Pia1913]

We heard it directly from the Hotel Manager on board ship during a Most Travelled passenger luncheon with the ship's officers. He told us that the personal tips are held until the books close on the cruise (about Tuesday after a cruise ending Saturday). At that time all tips given to individuals are returned to them if the auto-tip (hotel charge) was left in place. This is why it is best to put your cabin number on the envelope containing the tip for outstanding service - it makes it easier to correlate with the accounting.

 

What envelope? The extra monies we tip is just cash in hand; at the table, in the cabin, at the coffee bar, etc. I don't recall the last time I saw someone handing a waiter an envelope.

[JimmyVWine]

...Do you realy think 'my guy/gal' is reporting monies I specificaly given to them, behind closed doors? Then only to share with others not involved?!?

 

Uh...Yeah. They do report the money. Unless you are handing out thousands of dollars, (as opposed to a Benjamin), the good will garnered from being honest, demonstrating that honesty to their supervisor, and getting money back from the cash pool mean far more to the crew member than your $100 bill. You may feel like a big spender when you hand over the cash, but do you really think that the crew member is going to risk his/her job over a measly hundred dollars?

[heatescapee]

Regarding envelopes for extra tips, on our most recent cruise there were not tipping envelopes in the cabin, but when I asked for them at the desk I was directed to a box of available envelopes on a side table.

[geoherb]

DH still likes to give extra to our waiters for good service. He does it discretely, so Pia won't notice.

[Pam in CA]

What envelope? The extra monies we tip is just cash in hand; at the table, in the cabin, at the coffee bar, etc. I don't recall the last time I saw someone handing a waiter an envelope.

I always go to the Passenger Services Desk and pick up envelopes on which I write the recipient's name and my name and cabin #. There definitely are still envelopes although they are no longer distributed to cabins.

 

To answer the other question, it's very close quarters below decks and everyone knows everyone else's business. It'll be noted if someone has more cash than they should because if the crew member keeps it, they are stiffing their fellow crew members from their share. That doesn't go over very well.

[gelo7]

Keep your life simple and leave the auto tips alone. Tip extra cash if you desire.

[Pia1913]

I always go to the Passenger Services Desk and pick up envelopes on which I write the recipient's name and my name and cabin #. There definitely are still envelopes although they are no longer distributed to cabins.

.

 

I know they're available Pam, I just prefer to do the "cash in hand" thing.

[DPk400]

I'm curious. There are a lot of opinions on this thread, especially on that of the culture and environment of cruise ship staff on board. Are there cruise staff members on the thread speaking from experience? There seems to be quite a bit of information here.