Stewards had a clipboard on cart clearly showing who had not paid tips

[picklebongo]

I wasn't snooping when I saw the clipboard, it was in clear view, not concealed by anything. Granted it wasn't for me to see most likely, but I noticed it in passing, did a double take, walked back to get a better look, tried to take a photo and then went on. What I DID do was walk down the hallway to the next cart to see if they had one and lo and behold, it was hanging on the back of that cart too. I never touched anything, just gawked, for want of a better word.

[kazbar]

Was your name on it or was it from the previous cruise?

[vols_159]

Then tell the cruise lines to pay them more.

 

If they pay them more than the cruise fare would go up.. how much more are you willing to pay for a cruise?

[vols_159]

Then why don't the cruise lines make the tips part of the cruise fare. That way cruisers know what the full cost is upfront? Why do they continue to mislead the customers in the true cost of the cruise?

 

 

Marketing tool.. Keep prices low get more people on board.. Same reason a car dealership doesnt add all the prices in the sticker price..

[waiting4acruise]

If they pay them more than the cruise fare would go up.. how much more are you willing to pay for a cruise?

I will pay what I can afford and so will everyone else.

At least the price will clearly up front and people will not have to be surprised by hidden cost they did not budget for.

[waiting4acruise]

Marketing tool.. Keep prices low get more people on board.. Same reason a car dealership doesnt add all the prices in the sticker price..

When I buy cars if the dealer gives me a price higher that the sticker price I walk away.

[mikel24m]

I hope they do know who tips and who dont and I also hope they clean the toilet with their toothbrush as well;)

[waiting4acruise]

I hope they do know who tips and who dont and I also hope they clean the toilet with their toothbrush as well;)

That will get them fired.:rolleyes:

[mikel24m]

That will get them fired.:rolleyes:

 

how would one be caught ;)

 

Hows this one. I work for free for you all week and you have crappy breath all week .All said with a smile

[Zoedokey]

I will pay what I can afford and so will everyone else.

At least the price will clearly up front and people will not have to be surprised by hidden cost they did not budget for.

 

But they are not hidden. They are clearly laid out on the website and documents. Do you think loads of people see their s&s on the last day and have no idea what the charges are?

[waiting4acruise]

how would one be caught ;)

 

Hows this one. I work for free for you all week and you have crappy breath all week .All said with a smile

Why would you work or free for any company?:rolleyes:

[waiting4acruise]

But they are not hidden. They are clearly laid out on the website and documents. Do you think loads of people see their s&s on the last day and have no idea what the charges are?

Why should you have to search all over the place for a major hidden cost that you were not told about when you booked?

[mikel24m]

Why would you work or free for any company?:rolleyes:

 

Ok i will explain this for you .If you remove tips from your bill ,the cabin steward is working for YOU for free the entire cruise.Its not rocket science

[waiting4acruise]

Ok i will explain this for you .If you remove tips from your bill ,the cabin steward is working for YOU for free the entire cruise.Its not rocket science

He is not working for me. I am not his employer. The cruise line is his employer. That might be rocket science to some people.:rolleyes:

[topofE]

I guess I see this as a real "chicken and egg" thing. It would be awesome if everyone paid their autotips and more. However, everyone telling everyone that if you can't afford it not to go...I highly highly doubt the cruise line industry feels that way. Without customers who pay for the cruise, they don't need as many staff. I guarantee that if you call your PVP now and say you are not going because you can't afford to tip that they would pull teeth to get you to realize that tips are voluntary and they'd rather have your $2200 cruise fare...

[topofE]

Plus I think if someone would do something as disgusting as clean your toilet with your toothbrush, I think they should be fired. There is no excuse for that. What kind of a person does that? Same with people who spit in your food and urinate in the coffee pot. It takes a special kind of nasty to do that...

[lizjoemom]

Interesting thread, troll or no troll, I do think it is something to address.

 

Personally, I liked it better in the old days when you actually tipped your server, room steward, etc...based on guidelines given by the cruiseline and payed the server directly. We never used the somelier on a cruise so we never tipped him. Occasionally we would tip the head of the MDR if he would come over and speak to us, I would tip the cocktail servers extra in the MDR when they would remember from night to night what I liked to drink before and after dinner. Sometimes we would give our room steward a little money at the beginning of the cruise to make sure we had extra towels, etc... you get the idea.

 

As for the voluntary tipping, I dont know how many people reduce or remove their tips from their bill in America, but I do know that tipping is not commonplace in other countries, specifically in Europe, tipping really is voluntary and according to most people we spoke to while travelling abroad tipping servers is rare. We always tipped while traveling through Europe and I can tell you that the workers/servers are very appreciative.

 

Whatever, it's different now and they have auto tip and you can choose to take your tip off or reduce it, but to me, the very idea of not tipping someone who is waiting on me, who is away from home sometimes for months at a time, who may have a spouse or children depending upon them to send money home, and who come from a place where the majority of the people who live there will never be able to EVER take a vacation let alone a luxury cruise....well to me, that is just unforgivable. I dont care if they didnt give you the service that you expected. I have worked in retail and restaurants my whole life and the one thing that I have learned is you never know what is going on in someone's life when they are waiting on you. Their child could be sick, they could be sick, maybe their mother just died, or maybe their home is in forclosure. You cant judge a server by the service that they give you one time and just say "oh, this person is an ass and if he hates his job then why doesnt he just quit!" People need to take a step back and see the human side of this person. Ask yourself, are you always friendly and personable in your own job back home when you arent on vacation?

[TheFenz]

The servers are only paid very little by Carnival, they only get paid like 50 cents an hour (and they work 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week). They survive on their tips (I believe the same is for the stewards with the none existent pay and long hours). A good server/steward can make $5000+ a month in tips, but still only get like $180 a month from Carnival. Carnival is registered out of the United States for these reasons, so they don't have to pay the wages required by the US and can keep the cost of the cruise low for the customers. Those of you that complain about tipping your servers and stewards are usually the same people that complain that the "quality" of the guests are trash. It's amazing how some people think - I'd love to see those of you tip complainers work the hours these people do. :(

 

Do you have any facts that can back up your claim of such a low hourly wage? I only ask because I am genuinely curious if this is true or not.

[FiremedicMike151]

Do you have any facts that can back up your claim of such a low hourly wage? I only ask because I am genuinely curious if this is true or not.

 

http://www.cruiseshipjob.net/joblistings/

[FiremedicMike151]

That is a good starting point for reference.. A bit more than $0.50/hr, but still pretty low comparatively speaking. One only has to do a little bit of google searching to find many stories of deplorable salaries, extortion by the maitre'd, and so on. Those stories need to be balanced with the good, and one needs to consider that bitter employees will always be bitter, but after a few hours of reading I had a pretty decent picture of what the work conditions and pay rates likely were.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I guess I see this as a real "chicken and egg" thing. It would be awesome if everyone paid their autotips and more. However, everyone telling everyone that if you can't afford it not to go...I highly highly doubt the cruise line industry feels that way. Without customers who pay for the cruise, they don't need as many staff. I guarantee that if you call your PVP now and say you are not going because you can't afford to tip that they would pull teeth to get you to realize that tips are voluntary and they'd rather have your $2200 cruise fare...

 

I think you are correct, my problem is I just don't believe that anyone who is able to book a cruise is not able to afford the gratuities. I don't buy it.

 

Skip buying the drinks on board, don't book the cruise ship excursions or forgo all the shopping for new clothes / new suitcase or whatever. Heck if funds are really that tight you could probably find a cheaper cruise or book a cheaper cabin. I don't know how people justify allowing the waiter & cabin steward to work their butts off all week & not pay the small amount the cruise line recommends.

[waiting4acruise]

I think you are correct, my problem is I just don't believe that anyone who is able to book a cruise is not able to afford the gratuities. I don't buy it.

 

Skip buying the drinks on board, don't book the cruise ship excursions or forgo all the shopping for new clothes / new suitcase or whatever. Heck if funds are really that tight you could probably find a cheaper cruise or book a cheaper cabin. I don't know how people justify allowing the waiter & cabin steward to work their butts off all week & not pay the small amount the cruise line recommends.

It could be IT IS NOT their responsibility to pay the cruise lines employees. IT IS the cruiseline responsibiity.

Because the the cruise cruise lines have chosen this route, they are using deceptive pricing practices in getting people to pay for the cruise. Then they pull on the passengers' heart strings to get the passengers to pay for their employees' salaries.

[lizjoemom]

I think you are correct, my problem is I just don't believe that anyone who is able to book a cruise is not able to afford the gratuities. I don't buy it.

 

Skip buying the drinks on board, don't book the cruise ship excursions or forgo all the shopping for new clothes / new suitcase or whatever. Heck if funds are really that tight you could probably find a cheaper cruise or book a cheaper cabin. I don't know how people justify allowing the waiter & cabin steward to work their butts off all week & not pay the small amount the cruise line recommends.

 

You are absolutely correct, I dont buy it either. It's not like gratuities on a cruise ship are a secret, the cruise line tells you right up front what to expect. If you cant afford the gratuities then you shouldnt go on the cruise. I feel the same about going out to eat at home, if you cant pay the anticipated gratuity then you should go to a buffet or McDonald's not a sit down restaurant.

[CanWeGoYet?]

It could be IT IS NOT their responsibility to pay the cruise lines employees. IT IS the cruiseline responsibiity.

Because the the cruise cruise lines have chosen this route, they are using deceptive pricing practices in getting people to pay for the cruise. Then they pull on the passengers' heart strings to get the passengers to pay for their employees' salaries.

 

The way I see it - if the cruise lines paid the wages at the rate they should be to the workers, then the cruise fare would be that much higher. PLUS the taxes they would pay on those wages. If we know the cruise fare would be higher if no gratuity were expected, don't see what difference it makes. Pay now or pay later. I don't see it as deception. No more than the port charges & taxes being added on to the cruise fare, or the taxes you pay booking a hotel room or airfare / over and above the advertised price.

[waiting4acruise]

The way I see it - if the cruise lines paid the wages at the rate they should be to the workers, then the cruise fare would be that much higher. PLUS the taxes they would pay on those wages. If we know the cruise fare would be higher if no gratuity were expected, don't see what difference it makes. Pay now or pay later. I don't see it as deception. No more than the port charges & taxes being added on to the cruise fare, or the taxes you pay booking a hotel room or airfare / over and above the advertised price.

Wherever you go to the cruise booking the have port charges and fees in the total. No where in that total are any of the recommended tips.

You might stumble on some other sight to find the tips the cruise wants you to pay.

 

If the price of the cruise included the tips, you would know what the cruise lines want you to pay up front.