tipping

[jerry49]

I have asked this question at the pursers desk on our last cruise but really did not get a satisfactory answer. If we leave the auto gratuity in place do the cabinn stewards and waiters know this? I tend to be afraid they will think we stffed them if I don't tip in person. So we always remove it and tip personally on the last night. Besides I think stewards and waiters deserve the bulk of the gratuities.

[paul929207]

Yes, they get a list of those who have canceled the autotip

[PeterTellus]

I was told by the purser on another line that if you remove the tip the cruiseline interprets that as if you were unsatisfied with the service and shows as a black mark on the particular staff that served you. He suggested leaving on the autotip.

 

Whether or not this was just his way of insuring that we didn't skip out altogether without a tip, I don't know.

[Astro Flyer]

If you remove auto tips & give cash they cannot keep it and it goes into the general tip pool so there's no real benefit to do it your way.

 

We keep the auto tip & give additional cash when appropriate which they get to keep. :)

[antsp]

i was told they don't know its has been removed until 3 days after the end of the cruises, all cash tips are turened in regardless and if so thats when they are returned

[Dayenu]

I have asked this question at the pursers desk on our last cruise but really did not get a satisfactory answer. If we leave the auto gratuity in place do the cabin stewards and waiters know this? I tend to be afraid they will think we stiffed them if I don't tip in person. So we always remove it and tip personally on the last night. Besides I think stewards and waiters deserve the bulk of the gratuities.

 

Yes, they know. And no, they don't get "the bulk" of your tips. They must surrender the amount of tips that otherwise would be taken out of your credit card and put it in the pool to be divided among all employees. Only if you give above the required amount, this will go to the person who receives money from you.

[andynew]

So reading most of these tipping threads, it appears that the only reason to remove the auto-grats would be to enable you to tip less than the recommended amount

[MSN-Travelers]

So reading most of these tipping threads, it appears that the only reason to remove the auto-grats would be to enable you to tip less than the recommended amount

 

 

Yes.

[skynight]

It is best to leave the auto tip in place, don't remove it. Articles on CC support this position. The proper staff will get their share. In addition to the auto tip we have ALWAYS tipped the room steward extra, and the waiters if we have traditional dining. They work so hard for so little, a little extra from us really makes them feel good.

FYI, if you remove the auto tip then those you tip will have to share your cash tip with the those in the auto-tip pool. They don't get to keep it. If you do not remove the auto tip then they will get to keep any additional tip ypu provide them.

[andynew]

Yes.

But obviously deny this and pretend it is so they can tip personally.............I'm starting to get the hang of this now:rolleyes:

[Pam in CA]

So reading most of these tipping threads, it appears that the only reason to remove the auto-grats would be to enable you to tip less than the recommended amount

That's it in a nutshell.

 

There are three primary rationales people use: some say that they prefer to tip individually so they know who is receiving the tip; some say they have always done this; or, some say that they don't tip in their own country. All of which is a bit delusional because the person receiving the tip doesn't get to keep it plus there are many who have made a difference and are ignored, the "auto-tip" has been standard since 2001 and the vast majority of cruisers started cruising after 2001, and they're not in their own country.

[dedosr]

Yes.

 

As I stated previously on a thread about removing the auto-tips, its just a way of them "cheaping Out". Oh and then they say " I tip the ones that I think deserve it". Well we always leave the tips on, and then tip EXTRA to them personally. They deserve it. They work extremely long hours. :(:(

[dedosr]

So reading most of these tipping threads, it appears that the only reason to remove the auto-grats would be to enable you to tip less than the recommended amount

 

As I stated previously on a thread about removing the auto-tips, its just a way of them "cheaping Out". Oh and then they say " I tip the ones that I think deserve it". Well we always leave the tips on, and then tip EXTRA to them personally. They deserve it. They work extremely long hours.

[Happy2cruise]

As I stated previously on a thread about removing the auto-tips, its just a way of them "cheaping Out". Oh and then they say " I tip the ones that I think deserve it". Well we always leave the tips on, and then tip EXTRA to them personally. They deserve it. They work extremely long hours. :(:(

Totally agree with you and yes they do work long hours and work very hard!! We always leave the auto tips on, to us it's part of the cruse fare;). In addition, we always tip extra if the service is very good.

[DLCrouch]

If you remove auto tips & give cash they cannot keep it and it goes into the general tip pool so there's no real benefit to do it your way.

 

We keep the auto tip & give additional cash when appropriate which they get to keep. :)

 

On our first and most recent cruise, we left the auto tip on, extra tips for room service and gave our steward a thank you note and cash at the end of the trip.

[CZEE]

If you remove auto tips & give cash they cannot keep it and it goes into the general tip pool so there's no real benefit to do it your way.

 

We keep the auto tip & give additional cash when appropriate which they get to keep. :)

 

Well, we tip in addition to the autotip. I do know people who remove one of the autotips so they can give the money directly to whom they want it to go to. I don't know if it gets there or not. Their reason is that Princess doesn't know if anyone tips extra. It's no one's business. The steward or waiter just doesn't have to tell.

 

Frankly, I have no idea how Princess handles tipping and it appears than neither does anyone else here. I truly wish they'd address what really goes on so we could stop endlessly speculating about what actually happens with the tips, auto and otherwise.

[tmcleanrn]

So is the auto-tip in place when you board, or do you have to request it?

 

Thanks,

Tracey

[rdsqrl]

The "auto-tip" (not what Princess officially calls it) is automatically added to your on-board account each night. That's the beauty of it -- you don't have to lift a finger and all expected gratuities are taken care of.

 

[Pam in CA]

I do know people who remove one of the autotips so they can give the money directly to whom they want it to go to. I don't know if it gets there or not. Their reason is that Princess doesn't know if anyone tips extra. It's no one's business. The steward or waiter just doesn't have to tell.

They're rationalizing their decision. However, they are wrong. The Supervisors absolutely know who and when passengers remove tips so they know who should be turning in tips. It's a very closed society below decks with several crew in a shared cabin. If the Supervisor doesn't know, the roommates sure will. They know everything about everyone, and if one of them isn't forthcoming by declaring cash tips, it affects everyone as it's considered stealing. Which it is. If caught, the crew member can be fired immediately and sent home from the next port. The vast majority aren't going to risk that as it means going home in disgrace with no prospects. It's very different from someone working in a local restaurant and not sharing tips.

[Astro Flyer]

Frankly, I have no idea how Princess handles tipping and it appears than neither does anyone else here. I truly wish they'd address what really goes on so we could stop endlessly speculating about what actually happens with the tips, auto and otherwise.

If you're waiting to see a written statement from Princess that's highly unlikely.

 

If those of us sharing our experiences based on frequent input from onboard staff is "endlessly speculating" you'll never believe us...when auto tips are removed cash tips have to be turned in or they risk termination.

[PunkiC]

When we first started cruising we just left the tip on and never thought about it. Then we met some very experienced cruisers who told us to take the tip off and tip individually, so we did--quite generously, I might add.

 

Then we learned that when we took off the tip, that the people we tipped didn't get to keep the money and we were very embarrassed. When we talked to our friends who told us to remove the auto-tip, and who had been elite for a long time, they were very surprised as they had no idea that that was the result.

 

After that we started leaving the auto-tip in place and tipping special service over and above. I wish I had understood the system right from the start.

[MauiLvrs]

...when auto tips are removed cash tips have to be turned in or they risk termination.

There it is ... one more time... Yep some folks will never believe it :(

 

In simple, logical terms....

IF

you turn off "auto-tip"

AND

don't tip at least the "auto-tip" amount ...

THEN

everyone gets the shaft.

:eek:

 

We ALWAYS leave "auto-tip" on because we have never had an experience so bad the the hundreds of folks that work their butt off for us to have an nice cruise didn't deserve their cut of ~$11/day

 

And because we have always had an amazing time aboard ship we have always tip more than that.

 

IF there is an instance that there is a specific issue THEN one can discuss the issue with the Purser and address that specific issue.

 

Onetime ... on a Princess cruise ... we didn't seem to get the best of cabin service on a B2B where we changes stewards mid cruise. We didn't turn off the auto-tip just because of that. Service was adequate .. but not much more than that. The tips were already budget ... and our dining staff was awesome ... so we added that extra to the extra that we were already going to give them.

[Blk_Amish]

There it is ... one more time... Yep some folks will never believe it :(

 

In simple, logical terms....

IF

you turn off "auto-tip"

AND

don't tip at least the "auto-tip" amount ...

THEN

everyone gets the shaft.

:eek:

 

 

And rightfully so when so many times opinions are stated as fact. I take most things posted with a lump of salt. My tipping is my decision and my business. YES, I am cheap which is not to say I don't do right.

 

OP- I was told by a worker that they get a list of the passengers who remove auto-tip.

[SwissDave]

OP, in answer to your actual question, yes, the stewards do know if you left it on (more accurately they will be told if ou take it off).

 

There are many people (especially first timers, and I might add people who have taken several cruises) who do not know that if they take the auto charge off then anything they give in cash has to be turned in.

 

As has been mentioned, and as per OPs preference, these people prefer to tip personally.

 

I know from speaking to some people who have taken the auto charge off have actually given their stewards and wait staff MORE than they would have got if the auto charge was left on.

 

They didn't know they couldn't keep it.

 

To say that all those people who take the auto charge off are just trying to be cheap is wrong. Not everyone out there is trying to 'stiff' the staff, they just don't know the process. As is usual on this site eveyone assumes the worst, jump down peoples throats, and take any thread on 'tipping' way off from the orginal question - just as happened on this one, people just couldn't help themselves do anything but answer the actual question.

[eatranman]

:)Since this is a tipping thread and I am new to cruising. I have a question that no one seems to address. Why do we wait till the end of the cruise to tip by envelope? At this time I will be leaving on the auto tip and tipping daily to reflect quality of service. Hopefully that will let the staff know if they do a great job they will get great tips.:cool: