Tipping on the cruise

[dread_pirate]

I just wish all lines would call it a daily service charge, which cannot be removed, and stop calling it a tip or gratuities. Anything that a person decided to give over and above the DSC would then be an actual tip.

 

And I just wish all lines would simply add all fees to the fare, so that you know exactly how much you're paying before you book, and don't have to calculate, "I'm paying 1000 per person for my cabin, and then 11.50*7 nights, so I'm really paying 1080.50 per person for my cabin." If it can't be removed, it should be added in.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I too am confused. I haven't been on a Carnival ship in 11 years, and back then, you filled up envelopes to give to your cabin steward and waitstaff. But back then, there weren't flexible dining rooms, which I believe is the reason for going the auto-tip route. I find it much easier to have the auto-tips. Then we're not futzing with that last day's exercise of gathering up our cash and dividing it up among the envelopes (including the kids' staff). We know that the crew members are being taken care of, and we just work out any other tips that we'll be handing out.

[sloopsailor]

And I just wish all lines would simply add all fees to the fare, so that you know exactly how much you're paying before you book, and don't have to calculate, "I'm paying 1000 per person for my cabin, and then 11.50*7 nights, so I'm really paying 1080.50 per person for my cabin." If it can't be removed, it should be added in.

 

And by adding it on, the fare will go up at least that amount, and maybe more. Now the cruise fare is higher, and any taxes and fees that may be required will also go up. And, if you purchase insurance, the higher fare might put you in a higher price bracket, so you might also pay more for insurance.

 

Bottom line, you may think you are paying the same, but it could be hundreds of dollars more to cover the added fees and insurance costs if the new price surpasses a certain price point that allowed lower fees and insurance to be assessed.

 

When Azamara decided to include gratuities in the base fare, the fare went up much more than the cost of the tips. People ended up paying more just for the convenience of having it included. Seems like that is an expensive way to save a moment's worth of math.

 

I prefer that they keep it the way it is. If the math to figure out the total cost is too complicated for someone to figure out, they will have much worse problems in life than worrying about the cost of tipping on a cruise.

Edited August 11, 2013 by sloopsailor

[luddite]

And I just wish all lines would simply add all fees to the fare, so that you know exactly how much you're paying before you book, and don't have to calculate, "I'm paying 1000 per person for my cabin, and then 11.50*7 nights, so I'm really paying 1080.50 per person for my cabin." If it can't be removed, it should be added in.

 

If the charge is 12 bucks/day and they decide to include it in the fare, a good guess is it would need to be 12$ plus 35% ---16.20/day.

How's that math lookin'?

[iheartbda]

And I just wish all lines would simply add all fees to the fare, so that you know exactly how much you're paying before you book, and don't have to calculate, "I'm paying 1000 per person for my cabin, and then 11.50*7 nights, so I'm really paying 1080.50 per person for my cabin." If it can't be removed, it should be added in.

Now, just HOW hard was that to calculate?:confused:

Sloopsailor provided a good explanation of why the tips, gratuities, DSC should not be included.:)

[JustCruiseMe]

OP don't worry about it. Your heart was in the right place. However it happened it happened. Some people always think their way is the way everyone should do something and look for the worst in any situation and are so negative.

 

I promise no cruise cops are coming to arrest you for you, unknowingly, trying to make sure the people who served you were thanked properly by your tip. (I'm 100% sure it wasn't for per fuse thanks or that you wanted to play "big dog" with the minions).

 

Negative people, she/he was misguided but trying to do the right thing give it a rest.

[Treven]

Yes they gave me the money in a envelope to give personally to the room lady and our waiters.

Huh?!

[Treven]

... I just wish all lines would call it a daily service charge, which cannot be removed, and stop calling it a tip or gratuities. Anything that a person decided to give over and above the DSC would then be an actual tip.

I think I would agree with that process.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Treven

[njhorseman]

And by adding it on, the fare will go up at least that amount, and maybe more. Now the cruise fare is higher, and any taxes and fees that may be required will also go up. And, if you purchase insurance, the higher fare might put you in a higher price bracket, so you might also pay more for insurance.

 

Bottom line, you may think you are paying the same, but it could be hundreds of dollars more to cover the added fees and insurance costs if the new price surpasses a certain price point that allowed lower fees and insurance to be assessed.

 

When Azamara decided to include gratuities in the base fare, the fare went up much more than the cost of the tips. People ended up paying more just for the convenience of having it included. Seems like that is an expensive way to save a moment's worth of math.

 

 

I prefer that they keep it the way it is. If the math to figure out the total cost is too complicated for someone to figure out, they will have much worse problems in life than worrying about the cost of tipping on a cruise.

 

Azamara's fare went up much more than the cost of the tips largely because they were adding much more than tips to their base price....for example, bottled water, sodas, specialty coffees and teas, and wines at lunch and dinner. They also added complimentary shuttle service in many ports from the pier to actual city or center of the port's destination. Also by making these product changes they were able to move their marketing emphasis into a different, higher income demographic...a market that was accustomed to paying more.

 

Frankly a lot of the arguments about adding service charges or tips into the base fares leading to much higher fares than the value of those charges are factually bogus. It will not lead to higher charges due to taxes because cruise fares in the US are not subject to sales taxes, with the exception of a sales tax-like impost in Hawaii. It will not increase because cruise lines will have to pay travel agent commissions, because they won't...it will be included in what is called non-commissionable fare. It won't lead to higher costs for the cruise lines due to credit card fees because the vast majority of passengers are already paying it by credit card as part of their on board account charges. In reality including the service charge in the fares can be done for little more than the cost of the service charge itself.

 

The principal reason that mass market cruise lines don't want to include it in their base fare is marketing. Adding an extra $85-100 per week to per passenger fares means that they can't advertise those bargain-basement $299-399 entry level fares designed to lure passengers, who will then end up spending more than their fare while on board for drinks, excursions, photographs, in the duty free shop, in the casino, etc.

 

I wish the cruise lines would fold the charges into the base fare and end this nonsense. Then if you wanted to tip for exceptional service it would truly be a tip.

Edited August 11, 2013 by njhorseman

[nikiandscotti]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

[boogs]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

 

In most cases, yes. But, two things to consider: 1) service on cruise ships is rarely so bad as to require such a reaction; and 2) instead of reducing the tips at the end of cruise because of poor service, it is so much more effective to report your concerns to the housekeeping manager immediately when they happen so the situation can be corrected.

 

Why suffer through poor service? Do something to correct it when it happens. Waiting until the end and reducing or eliminating the tips makes about as much sense as meekly watching as painters use the wrong color of paint on your house, then asking for a discount or refund after they are done because the color is not what you wanted. Be proactive, not reactive! Speak up.

 

In all of my many cruises, I have never had bad service, so I have never, ever had a reason to question the value of the tipping amount I was paying.

Edited August 11, 2013 by boogs

[paul929207]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

Welcome to cruising.

 

If you get poor service, immediately report it to management so that the situation can be corrected.

 

In 35 cruises, I have never had a problem with service that would lead me to reduce or eliminate the tips, but on most lines you can if you feel it is justified.

[smeyer418]

Azamara's fare went up much more than the cost of the tips largely because they were adding much more than tips to their base price....for example, bottled water, sodas, specialty coffees and teas, and wines at lunch and dinner. They also added complimentary shuttle service in many ports from the pier to actual city or center of the port's destination. Also by making these product changes they were able to move their marketing emphasis into a different, higher income demographic...a market that was accustomed to paying more.

 

Frankly a lot of the arguments about adding service charges or tips into the base fares leading to much higher fares than the value of those charges are factually bogus. It will not lead to higher charges due to taxes because cruise fares in the US are not subject to sales taxes, with the exception of a sales tax-like impost in Hawaii. It will not increase because cruise lines will have to pay travel agent commissions, because they won't...it will be included in what is called non-commissionable fare. It won't lead to higher costs for the cruise lines due to credit card fees because the vast majority of passengers are already paying it by credit card as part of their on board account charges. In reality including the service charge in the fares can be done for little more than the cost of the service charge itself.

 

The principal reason that mass market cruise lines don't want to include it in their base fare is marketing. Adding an extra $85-100 per week to per passenger fares means that they can't advertise those bargain-basement $299-399 entry level fares designed to lure passengers, who will then end up spending more than their fare while on board for drinks, excursions, photographs, in the duty free shop, in the casino, etc.

 

I wish the cruise lines would fold the charges into the base fare and end this nonsense. Then if you wanted to tip for exceptional service it would truly be a tip.

 

 

I hate tipping threads because they contain so much misinformation. Azamara's announced fare increase to include the tips etc was 25%. None of the individual items added together would justify a 25% increase. Whether they actual got a 25% increase is another issue. Since the brochure rate is rarely gotten anyway but I assure you it more than covered the individual items with profit and coverage of some of the home office issues.

Will it always cost more to include the base tips in the fare? Not always(again because of discounting) but in 99% of the cases it will cost you more to do the same thing that a "mandatory" daily service charge or hotel charge or whatever the cruise line calls it does now. The issue will at least be the amount paid to travel agents(10-15% or occasionally more-sometimes there is a push money kicker paid to get TA's to push a certain cruise). The cruise lines today remove non-commissionable fare from this calculation based on what they call pass throughs- port charges or "similar" they don't pay commissions on now. TA's would fight for it to be included. Some cruise lines would claim it as pass through as it isn't currently included in the amounts paid to the TA even when its prepayed or required- it as by Azamara I believe on the additional amount charged now. If you think I am wrong about this just remember that the cruise lines have challenge the US tax on cruise fares(1/4 of one percent) on precisely this issue up to the US Supreme Court-twice. and the cruise lines won they don't have to pay the tax on the identify-able pass throughs but they would if the "tips" were included in the base fare.

Most cruise lines will remove the "required" DSC/Hotel Charge/service charge if you complain. No cruise line wants some egghead(please feel to substitute another end of the body for head)screaming at the customer service desk. the compliance rate on most cruises is over 90% when its an opt out(90% leave it on). There are occasional cruises when its less but those are based upon some nationalities of the cruisers- its why for Australia cruises most cruise lines have just bitten the bullet and include it in the base fare for Australians and require that they go through the mostly more expensive Australian based TA's.

The Florida Ag has been the one who has challenged the cruise line on mandatory additions. THe Florida AG has NOT challenged the mandatory add ons for service charges as long as they are fully disclosed much as NCL has done on its advertising and remember NCL's home office is Florida based. But NCL has chosen to modify its language on "mandatory" anyway. Where NCL has had some problem is the mandatory turning in of cash tips when people remove the DSC. NCL requires its foreign flagged crews to turn in all cash tips when people remove the DSC(they circulate a list or removers). They will go to the room steward and ask if they got cash tips from the removers. If the room steward says no a couple of things will happen. If it happens all the time they won't believe them as they will assume that the room steward is telling them to remove it and give cash tips and they will assume there is both lying and a service problem. Its more difficult for the food service staff. many time when you leave a cash tip in the dining room , they do get your cabin number anyway(they ask most of the time when you check in to be seated) so they will check and most servers turn in most cash anyway as they don't want large amounts of cash in their rooms. It is illegal in Hawaii to require staff to turn in cash tips but this only effects the American flagged vessel. One of the reasons that this language has changed on NCL is they combined the two websites it was maintaining to one that covers both the American flagged vessel and the foreign flagged ones.

As I said the compliance rate for opt out is in the 90% range on most cruises.

 

The problem and the reason there has been a change has been because of a large number of people who refused to tip at all even when there was no service issue. The numbers again come from NCL. 40% of the people who used to remove the tips when it was opt in just to leave cash left either nothing or less than the suggested amounts even though they had no service issue.

And what you might consider exceptional is one of those things that is clearly in the mind of the giver.

Opt out has made it more difficult-as opposed to opt in.

On longer cruises(two weeks or longer) its always been an issue. that is why you see on most longer cruises that they "include it" for "free".

The dsc/hotel charge/ what ever the cruise lines call it, is the remuneration for the traditionally tipped employees and those they used to tip out as well. There are still some people you need/may want to tip anyway who are not included in that charge- conceirge butler kids crew casino staff room service(although some cruise line do specifically include them in the DSC both Cunard and Princess does but I almost always tip them extra).

Someday it may be included int fare as the high end lines do anyway but until the mass cruise lines add it in the fare, IMO leave it on and tipped extra for what you consider excellent service.

[njhorseman]

I hate tipping threads because they contain so much misinformation. Azamara's announced fare increase to include the tips etc was 25%. None of the individual items added together would justify a 25% increase. Whether they actual got a 25% increase is another issue. Since the brochure rate is rarely gotten anyway but I assure you it more than covered the individual items with profit and coverage of some of the home office issues.

Will it always cost more to include the base tips in the fare? Not always(again because of discounting) but in 99% of the cases it will cost you more to do the same thing that a "mandatory" daily service charge or hotel charge or whatever the cruise line calls it does now. The issue will at least be the amount paid to travel agents(10-15% or occasionally more-sometimes there is a push money kicker paid to get TA's to push a certain cruise). The cruise lines today remove non-commissionable fare from this calculation based on what they call pass throughs- port charges or "similar" they don't pay commissions on now. TA's would fight for it to be included. Some cruise lines would claim it as pass through as it isn't currently included in the amounts paid to the TA even when its prepayed or required- it as by Azamara I believe on the additional amount charged now. If you think I am wrong about this just remember that the cruise lines have challenge the US tax on cruise fares(1/4 of one percent) on precisely this issue up to the US Supreme Court-twice. and the cruise lines won they don't have to pay the tax on the identify-able pass throughs but they would if the "tips" were included in the base fare.

Most cruise lines will remove the "required" DSC/Hotel Charge/service charge if you complain. No cruise line wants some egghead(please feel to substitute another end of the body for head)screaming at the customer service desk. the compliance rate on most cruises is over 90% when its an opt out(90% leave it on). There are occasional cruises when its less but those are based upon some nationalities of the cruisers- its why for Australia cruises most cruise lines have just bitten the bullet and include it in the base fare for Australians and require that they go through the mostly more expensive Australian based TA's.

The Florida Ag has been the one who has challenged the cruise line on mandatory additions. THe Florida AG has NOT challenged the mandatory add ons for service charges as long as they are fully disclosed much as NCL has done on its advertising and remember NCL's home office is Florida based. But NCL has chosen to modify its language on "mandatory" anyway. Where NCL has had some problem is the mandatory turning in of cash tips when people remove the DSC. NCL requires its foreign flagged crews to turn in all cash tips when people remove the DSC(they circulate a list or removers). They will go to the room steward and ask if they got cash tips from the removers. If the room steward says no a couple of things will happen. If it happens all the time they won't believe them as they will assume that the room steward is telling them to remove it and give cash tips and they will assume there is both lying and a service problem. Its more difficult for the food service staff. many time when you leave a cash tip in the dining room , they do get your cabin number anyway(they ask most of the time when you check in to be seated) so they will check and most servers turn in most cash anyway as they don't want large amounts of cash in their rooms. It is illegal in Hawaii to require staff to turn in cash tips but this only effects the American flagged vessel. One of the reasons that this language has changed on NCL is they combined the two websites it was maintaining to one that covers both the American flagged vessel and the foreign flagged ones.

As I said the compliance rate for opt out is in the 90% range on most cruises.

 

The problem and the reason there has been a change has been because of a large number of people who refused to tip at all even when there was no service issue. The numbers again come from NCL. 40% of the people who used to remove the tips when it was opt in just to leave cash left either nothing or less than the suggested amounts even though they had no service issue.

And what you might consider exceptional is one of those things that is clearly in the mind of the giver.

Opt out has made it more difficult-as opposed to opt in.

On longer cruises(two weeks or longer) its always been an issue. that is why you see on most longer cruises that they "include it" for "free".

The dsc/hotel charge/ what ever the cruise lines call it, is the remuneration for the traditionally tipped employees and those they used to tip out as well. There are still some people you need/may want to tip anyway who are not included in that charge- conceirge butler kids crew casino staff room service(although some cruise line do specifically include them in the DSC both Cunard and Princess does but I almost always tip them extra).

Someday it may be included int fare as the high end lines do anyway but until the mass cruise lines add it in the fare, IMO leave it on and tipped extra for what you consider excellent service.

 

Having owned a travel agency, I can tell you that they have absolutely zero leverage and there will be no way they can force the cruise lines to pay commissions on the service charges if the cruise lines don't want to. Even if you were right (and you're not), the additional cost would be minimal. At 10 -15% on an $84 or so charge for one week, the additional amount for a week would be $8-12, something that no passenger is going to notice...it's the price of a drink. As far as the 1/4 of 1% tax...what is that worth on $84? It's all of 21 cents! So they'll make the service charge $85 to cover it.

 

You need to read the explanation Azamara's CEO gave when they made the changes. He publicly stated that he was repositioning the cruise line's target demographics to households with incomes of $300,000 and up(or maybe it was 250 K...I don't recall the exact number) and that required their charging a (higher) fare commensurate with that's market's norms. What he was doing was invoking the psychological principle of cognitive dissonance...people who are willing to pay more and are used to doing so tend to believe the product is better just because of the premium price. So while part of the fare increase was due to including service charges and part was due to beverage and other inclusions, that still didn't add up to the total. By the way, for anyone who drinks a little wine with dinner, the retail value of that inclusion alone exceeds the cost of the service charge. The remainder was psychological marketing smoke and mirrors.

 

Using Azamara's product changes as an example of how including the service charges in the fare could increase prices up to 25% is just plain hooey that ignores everything else they did.

Edited August 11, 2013 by njhorseman

[JoMoe]

And by adding it on, the fare will go up at least that amount, and maybe more. Now the cruise fare is higher, and any taxes and fees that may be required will also go up. And, if you purchase insurance, the higher fare might put you in a higher price bracket, so you might also pay more for insurance.

 

Bottom line, you may think you are paying the same, but it could be hundreds of dollars more to cover the added fees and insurance costs if the new price surpasses a certain price point that allowed lower fees and insurance to be assessed.

 

When Azamara decided to include gratuities in the base fare, the fare went up much more than the cost of the tips. People ended up paying more just for the convenience of having it included. Seems like that is an expensive way to save a moment's worth of math.

 

I prefer that they keep it the way it is. If the math to figure out the total cost is too complicated for someone to figure out, they will have much worse problems in life than worrying about the cost of tipping on a cruise.

 

The fees and taxes are based on the ports and not on the price of the room. The cheapest room pays the same in the fees and taxes as the most expensive room. If they raised the price of the cruise more than the tips it was because the took advantage of the tip increase to also increase the price.

 

I don't mind doing the math but I do think that the cruise lines do it the way the do so they don't have to disclose it in the original price and cannot advertise the really low fares.

 

Tipping is just a way for the cruise line to charge you for something without it being in the price of the cruise. Here is why I say that:

1. If you eat in an anytime dining situation they charge you automatically. It is not based on any specific service or person providing a service, it is just a mandatory charge to pay people with. So it is really a service charge.

2. Some people don't tip so the amount they expect you to pay is higher because of that. The people who do tip end up paying for the people who don't. That is not fair on my book. If it was in the price, everyone would have to pay.

3. There are lots of people on the ship who "serve" you that are not tipped, they are paid out of the cost of the cruise. The service desks, entertainers and a host of others are paid to "serve" you. It may not be as direct as a waiter but it is a direct as someone who works at the buffet. The whole ship is there to serve you, in a general sense.

4. If everyone stopped tipping, they would raise the price of the cruise, pay the "servers" about the same as the get on tips, but then they wouldn't be able to advertise there low price.

5. I have done some research on this and the cruise line often guarantees the "servers" a certain amount in tips. If they don't get that amount the cruise line pays them the balance.

6. The "servers" deserve a good salary that is certain and regular. Think of some poor waiter who does a great job all week and then no one tips him. If the cruise line is not paying him he makes nothing for the whole week. That is not fair but a very real possibility in the current system.

7. I am not wanting to pay less, and I think the "servers" should make more than they do. The way to make everyone pay there fair share and for the "servers" to get a fair wage, is to stop the current system of "optional" tipping and pay them a decent wage by increasing the cost of the cabin.

Thanks

[GIXOHOLIC]

They get the money. That's how they keep the crew from killing the officers.

lmao

[nissach]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

 

Yes, the amounts can be changed, cancelled, etc.

I always see tipping as an optional thing for services provided to me. We always tip our room steward over and above what the auto tipping gives them as they have always been awesome.

On many of our cruises we make adjustments to the other amounts.

[donaldsc]

They gave you the cash....:confused::confused:

 

Assuming that you actually gave all the money to the people who served you, you do realize that you accomplished absolutely nothing by your quixotic need to personally present the tips to the crew members. In the end, they have to turn it in so that it can be distributed to the people who would have gotten it in the first place if you had left it alone.

 

It is the equivalent of taking the money out of one box and then replacing it into the same box.

 

What you should have done instead was to give extra tips to the people who provided you special services. The individuals get to keep that money. Did you tip any extra to anyone?

 

DON

[ithaca gal]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

 

As you probably have learned by reading these posts, if you remove the auto-tip, or "adjust" it, you will be taking money away from lots of people who served you well, even though you just mean to "punish" one person who gave you poor service.

 

I know that I really shouldn't read these "tipping" threads because it just makes my blood pressure go up. I am so tired of reading "I like to give the tips to the ones who gave me good service, so I remove the auto-tip. I am not cheap -- I sometimes tip MORE than the auto-tip would be. I just want to tip who I want to tip!". We would not DREAM of removing the auto-tip that is shared by so many people we do not see but who make our cruise pleasurable. Yes, we tip extra to our room stewards, waiters and others who may give us great service.

 

The only time I was sorry that I gave an individual tip (above the auto-tip) was on our last cruise. I really enjoyed one of the dealers and wanted to give him some encouragement (long story), so I put ten dollars in an envelope and wrote on it "Buy yourself some ice cream" (inside joke but meaningful to him). He had finished his shift on that last night, so I had to hand it to the pit boss. I asked if she would give it to him and she said yes. Only later did she tell me that all the dealers have to pool their tips and she had already put the money in the pooled box but would give him the envelope. (She knows that I tipped generously every night in the casino, to the dealers who then have to drop it in the communal box, which is fine. The envelope with the message was more of a "gift" than a tip and I was very unhappy that she said she would give it to him as I handed it to her and then told me LATER that it had to be pooled.)

[donaldsc]

I'm a new cruiser! I'm wondering something about tips!! I don't mind auto tips, but what if I get poor service! Do I have the option to change the amount?

 

If a person consistently gives you bad service, do not take it out on the many people who gave you good service. Take the name of the single person who gave you bad service and write them up on the cruise member comment card.

 

The implications of doing this can be serious to the crew member so be very sure of your facts before you do this. Don't do it if they gave you bad service just once.

 

DON

[JoMoe]

Anytime you have a voluntary system like the tipping on cruise ships, you will have free riders. Those who use the services but don't pay their fair share. Those of us who are fair minded and generous end up paying for the free riders. That is one of the many problems that are part of the cruise line tipping scheme. They should pay the employees a decent wage and make everyone who cruises pay for it.

 

I wish I could pay a fair price for the cruise that includes everything (tipping) and not have to worry about it or feel like if I don't tip someone doesn't get paid.

 

Thanks,

Joe

[luddite]

I had a question on tipping. I've been on 1 other cruise and going on another one in a few weeks. Do the tips that they add to your bill at the end of your cruise actually go to the room steward and the waiters you have in the main dining room. I asked them to give me that money in cash so I could personally give it to them just in case. Anybody know for sure? Thanks

 

They get the money. If they didn't get the money, there wouldn't be a crew.

[donaldsc]

Anytime you have a voluntary system like the tipping on cruise ships, you will have free riders. Those who use the services but don't pay their fair share. Those of us who are fair minded and generous end up paying for the free riders. That is one of the many problems that are part of the cruise line tipping scheme. They should pay the employees a decent wage and make everyone who cruises pay for it.

 

I wish I could pay a fair price for the cruise that includes everything (tipping) and not have to worry about it or feel like if I don't tip someone doesn't get paid.

 

Thanks,

Joe

 

Or else make the freeloaders wear t-shirts on board that say "I am a cheapskate freeloader - kick me".

 

It would never happen but it would be a hoot.

 

DON

[JoMoe]

I recently too another cruise and have some more thoughts on the tipping discussion.

 

Many people tip because they feel the receiver is underpaid and deserves the extra money. This is noble but I think it misses a key point. The main reason the person is underpaid is because of the expectation of tips. If the person received no tips the cruise line would have to pay more. The cruise line pays them a very low salary and tells them that the tips will make up the difference. So by tipping we are enabling the cruise lines to continue to underpay those employees. If everyone would stop tipping, the cruise lines would have to pay them a decent salary.

 

Many cruise lines allow you to prepay your tips. Many require mandatory tips be added to your room if you are using anytime dining. If tips are a reward for good service, why would you prepay them. You have no idea what kind of service you will receive before you even board the ship. Why require tips if you do anytime dining? These both indicate that tipping is not a viewed by the cruise line as a reward for good service, but part of the cost of the cruise that you pay separately.

 

Free riders who do not pay tips make the tip requirement higher for those of us that do tip. They also short change the person who deserves the tip. If the cruise lines paid the person a decent wage and put it into the cost of the cruise, everyone would pay their fair share and the workers would earn a fair wage.

 

Have you ever tipped the chef on a cruise? When your steak comes out exactly as you asked, why do you tip the waiter when it was the chef who provided great service. When the Captain does a great job of piloting the ship, do you tip him? Why do we tip some people who directly provide us with great service and not others? Because tipping is used as way for the employer to pay the person less and put the responsibility on the customer to pay the person.

 

My point is that although many tip out of good intentions, they are enabling the unfairness to the crew and customers.

[cbr663]

I had a question on tipping. I've been on 1 other cruise and going on another one in a few weeks. Do the tips that they add to your bill at the end of your cruise actually go to the room steward and the waiters you have in the main dining room. I asked them to give me that money in cash so I could personally give it to them just in case. Anybody know for sure? Thanks

 

Depending upon the cruise line, the tips "kinda" go to the room steward and the waiters. On HAL, for instance, if you leave the Hotel Service Charge in place and pay by credit card, HAL deducts the credit card service charge from the total amount. HAL also deducts an amount (less than 1%) and reallocates it to other ships. In other words, you are contributing to tips for a cruise you didn't take.

 

Once these deductions are taken, the remainder is then pooled and allocated to the crew on a points based system. So it is the number of points that each crew member has accumulated that determines how much of the tip that he or she receives. It is a mystery how points are allocated, but it is reasonable to assume that points are awarded based on crew position, tenure and passenger feedback (this is the reason so many crew want you to write that you received great service from them).

 

Just know that it isn't a simple, "you pay $11.50 a day and the crew receives $11.50 a day."