!! I Cringe at my fellow travellers !!

[Thetrail]

Tipping isn't part of our culture as it is over in the States, however most Brit's I come across who balk at tipping take the view "well this trip is expensive enough as it is, without having to tip on top..." so sadly I don't think that people don't want to tip for moral reasons. They just don't factor it in as part of their vacation and see it more as an 'Optional Extra'.

 

Fortunately there are lots of us who DO know that tipping is expected, we're not all like that, promise!

 

I agree with xxoocruiser though, unless they're in the same Stateroom as you there's nothing you can do about it really - at the end of the day they are adults.

and you forgot to include extreme cheapskates..:D

[evelyn51]

Unfortunately, That $20 must be reported by the steward and it too will be split up between himself and the others who normally get the tips. Doesn't do much good to tip by hand if grats are not paid thru the gratuities program first.

 

 

 

Does any extra $ (tips) given besides automated gratuities still have to be reported and divided among all?.

 

Edited:. I see that this question has been asked and answered in another post.

Edited February 25, 2014 by evelyn51

[Essexlass2]

We shall be on our first RCI cruise this summer. We're on MTD and were under the impression that we had to pay the gratuities up front, so assume that we wouldn't be able to remove them and do our own thing anyway. Is that right?

[Thetrail]

Lets put it into perspective. Lets say your stateroom attendant was not attentive after numerous attempts to rectify this. But then your assistant waiter was out of this world. It would make more sense for me as the customer to decide who gets what.

 

At a restaurant if you got bad service of course you would leave a smaller tip and if the service was excellent you would tip accordingly.

 

I don't like automatically being told who should get what. At most restaurants unless its a large group or the tip is included like in Europe(and even then I can ask them to lower it if the service was really bad) I as the customer should be allowed to decide who gets what.

 

If everyone got their 'full tip" for half the service then we would not be getting the Royal Advantage.

 

This is not to say that I don't tip. I am reasonable if the service provider is reasonable. If I got bad service then why should I have to reward them.

 

Its just like at work one is rewarded for their sales and good service. Why should one get rewarded if they failed to meet the standards set forth by the company?

 

Tips are earned and not guaranteed. What happens if you pre paid your tips for My Time Dining and you were not served properly by your stateroom attendant, waiter and other staff? Can you adjust your tip at guest services.

 

I think pre paying tips does not guarantee you good service.

 

When I go to a restaurant I don't pre pay my tip to use Opentable to get my reservation etc.

 

I think there are some people who think its funny to not tip period if their service was great.

 

Last year on our cruise our stateroom attendant was not attentive and he did not bring back a shirt from the laundry or even check to see what happened to it. We gave our stateroom attendant the benefit of the doubt and asked him about the shirt and we even gave him 24 hours to help us. Enough was enough so I had to go down to the Hotel Director who graciously removed the laundry charge(without even asking). On some days the stateroom attendant did not refill the soap or even give us ice after we requested it once. So of course we tipped less after telling him in a nice way about our preferences. We were on a 2 week cruise. So we spoke to the head Stateroom attendant officer who promised our stateroom attendant would give us better service. And still we felt we could have had more attentive service. Now mind you we did not ask much from our attendant.

 

On the last day he was not warm towards us because we decided to tip less. I mean I understand that these service individuals work for tips. But if you are not giving top service then why should you expect to get your full tip? We were very understanding and nice towards him. I always said "Hi" and spoke with him and like I said above we asked for very basic service such as extra towels one day after coming in from a shore excursion. After dinner we still did not see the towels after requesting them over 4 hours before.

I even took the liberty to call his extension and he said he was bringing them in 20 app minutes. Well 20 minutes came and went without even a courtesy to apologize and say it was taking longer than usual. So it was already time for dinner. And still after dinner no towels.

This is my 2 cents and your more than welcome to agree or disagree.

but ok, I disagree...:rolleyes:

[Essexlass2]

but ok, I disagree...:rolleyes:

 

and I agree ;)

[PerferWarmWeather]

Apparently a Problem shared is a problem halved ??

 

We will be travelling in May on INDY , 6th Cruise , 2nd with RCCL .

 

HOWEVER

 

A family that is cruising with us ( never cruised before ) are planning on immediately taking their Auto Grats on as they 'technically don't have to pay them so why would you ?'

 

Makes me cringe , anyone ever been in this situation before , Iv had may say but it has little effect ..... Makes Me Cringe !

 

I didn't read all 3 pages, but since you introduced them as "a family" traveling with you I wouldn't do a thing. It doesn't sound like their your family or very close so IMO it's non of anyone's business what they do or don't do.

 

I may not agree with their decision, but I wouldn't say a thing. Again, JMHO

[Presto2]

So that brings up an interesting question, that I honestly don't know the answer to. We leave the automatic gratuities in place, and tip extra personally where we feel they deserve it. So do all those personally-delivered tips have to be reported and split up, as JYD says, or do the recipients get to keep them?

 

Same here - and we're from the UK - but am now wondering about the question above. We always pre pay gratuities but still pay extra for good service when we feel it is appropriate for individuals. :)

[tigerwilf]

Is anyone on this forum from Europe? I've been in Disney groups where a lot of Europeans argued that they didn't think they should have to tip because the companys/restaurants/whatever should pay their workers enough to not need us to tip.

 

Edit: I see the OP is English - is that what your travel partners think?

 

I am from England and most people I know tip for good service. When we book we are asked if we want to pre pay grats, which I always do. I think the confusion is in Europe no one is expected to work for less than minimum wage. The cruise companies make Hugh profits maybe they should pay there staff better.

[masspector]

I am from England and most people I know tip for good service. When we book we are asked if we want to pre pay grats, which I always do. I think the confusion is in Europe no one is expected to work for less than minimum wage. The cruise companies make Hugh profits maybe they should pay there staff better.

 

 

This.

[Guest maddycat]

We shall be on our first RCI cruise this summer. We're on MTD and were under the impression that we had to pay the gratuities up front, so assume that we wouldn't be able to remove them and do our own thing anyway. Is that right?

 

You are correct. MTD prepaid gratuities cannot be removed.

[Tommyg74]

I am from England and most people I know tip for good service. When we book we are asked if we want to pre pay grats, which I always do. I think the confusion is in Europe no one is expected to work for less than minimum wage. The cruise companies make Hugh profits maybe they should pay there staff better.

 

Half the problem here is, some now look at the auto gratuity as the staff sees this as the regular salary. Other think the gratuity should be based on service. Then others feel the staff that you don't see should be getting part of the gratuity.

 

I remove auto gratuity on every trip. I tell my room attendant that I will remove it and give them cash instead, they seem to like that. We don't eat the MDR every night, so why am I tipping for the nights I am not there, and when I do tip it is to the waiter and his assistant. I have only seen the head waiter one time, so why am I tipping him.

[FireStation46]

and I agree ;)

 

Ditto

[nelblu]

Is anyone on this forum from Europe? I've been in Disney groups where a lot of Europeans argued that they didn't think they should have to tip because the companys/restaurants/whatever should pay their workers enough to not need us to tip.

 

Edit: I see the OP is English - is that what your travel partners think?

 

In Europe isn't there a line on a restaurant bill titled "Table Service" which represents the grats--I know that is the case in Italy. I remember at a restaurant in Rome , the waiter noticed that we were Americans, and casually mentioned that he expects a tip. We knew better, however we left a couple of euros as extra.

[TubbyMrT]

If the website didn't force auto gratuities we wouldn't have to remove them at guest services.

 

Just because they are removed at guest services doesn't mean that the guest doesn't leave a tip.

 

In my world, a tip must be earned. Once you earn it, I tip very generously.

 

Making a tip mandatory completely removes the transaction from being a tip. It is just another hidden charge on the cruise fare and does NOTHING to improve service but does contribute to poor service.

 

I normally tip much more than the mandatory tip. But since they want the mandatory tip that is ALL they get no matter. I don't like it. They force me. So, its their loss.

Edited February 25, 2014 by TubbyMrT

[Esmerelda]

If I would post what I really think about this, I'm positive I would be banned from the boards. There are no 'good' words I can type here on that subject.

 

If people are that hard up, what in the heck are they taking a cruise for? <only NICE thing I can say...

 

:cool:

Edited February 25, 2014 by Esmerelda

[time4u2go]

and I agree ;)

I also agree.

[MommaBear55]

Its a Bit of a long story , but .... They are not paying for the trip , another family member is ( big group going ) , without sounding awful or degrading , they wouldn't have naturally picked a cruise , but are happy enough to come along . BUT , i have tried the when i rome' and all that .

 

Like I said , our booking are all linked and it makes me cringe , I can't let it put a dampener on my happy place ( any cruise ship , sitting in a hot tub with a beer ! ) but it still make me Cringe !

 

If someone else is paying, and this family is removing the tips, who gets the money back? The person who paid or the cheapskate looking to spend this money on something else?????

 

Yikes! I am sorry for you and this situation. Makes it awkward for you!

 

Enjoy the cruise anyway, and just rise above their behavior.

[warbar]

We will not be eating in the MDR so why would I want to tip them. I would rather tip the people delivering the food to our room.

[gerif]

Half the problem here is, some now look at the auto gratuity as the staff sees this as the regular salary. Other think the gratuity should be based on service. Then others feel the staff that you don't see should be getting part of the gratuity.

 

I remove auto gratuity on every trip. I tell my room attendant that I will remove it and give them cash instead, they seem to like that. We don't eat the MDR every night, so why am I tipping for the nights I am not there, and when I do tip it is to the waiter and his assistant. I have only seen the head waiter one time, so why am I tipping him.

 

If you eat in another venue, do you leave extra tips there? Your dining room tips also cover breakfast and lunch servers as well - do you tip at breakfast and lunch each day? I prefer knowing that everyone who serves me is ultimately tipped at least the minimum and then leave extra where warranted. You may not have the headwaiter fawning over you, but rest assured that if service is running smoothly he is performing his job well and deserves his tip.

 

Sure, they could just increase the cruise fare to include the amount charged for tips and they just might do that if enough cheapskates remove tips.

[ryano]

You may not have the headwaiter fawning over you, but rest assured that if service is running smoothly he is performing his job well and deserves his tip.

 

I have to totally agree with this!

[warbar]

I tip who I want, when I want, and how much I want, and will not be told by anyone who, when, or how much it should be. In the end it is WAY more than the pre paid gratuities.

[JYD Hawkeye]

Sorry to ask a stupid question but I have never removed the prepaid tips and I'm curious. When you ask to have the tips removed, can you specify which ones? For example, if a person did not use the main dining room but ate at a specialty restaurant, buffet or had room service each night, could they request only the dining room tips be removed?

Don't know about the specifics of changing tips, but what I can tell you is that your' waiter and asst. waiter don't just work in the MDR. We were brought drinks from our MDR waiter on day in the Windjammer and our Asst. waiter brought our breakfast one morning when we ordered room service. The portions of the tips for food service are split with people all over the ship and not just the MDR.

( General statement not aimed at you ) Every sole working on that ship deserves something for basically, being your' servant for a week or more. In general, if you have not or are not presently working on an RCCL ship, you don't know how it all works, and most of us probably never will. I know what I was told. Others know what they were told. But who is correct? That's why this subject blows up so much on these boards. Almost wish it was a forbidden subject on here, but I know alot of people have questions about it. As long as you never set your' expectations too high as far as getting a solid, defenitive answer about this subject, then you will be happy with the multitudes of answers you do get. I too questioned the tipping before my first cruise last year. After just one cruise, I see the importance of the system for the crew. Those folks work hard. If you don't like it being called a tip, call it a service fee. If you don't want to think of it as being an extra charge, consider it part of the cruise cost and pay it, then don't worry yourself about it anymore. I like the fact I don't have to think about the tipping while I'm on vacation. Learned alot on my first cruise, like, take less luggage and more money. I am a Medic. Cardiac drugs and monitors are great, but you can't forget your' basics. Airway, breathing, and circulation. That applies here. Don't forget your' basics. Take care of those who take care of you. We are all equal in God's eyes. Never put yourself above another. Status, wealth, or even your' C&A level mean nothing in the end.

[LovesCruising]

Its a Bit of a long story , but .... They are not paying for the trip , another family member is ( big group going ) , without sounding awful or degrading , they wouldn't have naturally picked a cruise , but are happy enough to come along . BUT , i have tried the when i rome' and all that .

 

Like I said , our booking are all linked and it makes me cringe , I can't let it put a dampener on my happy place ( any cruise ship , sitting in a hot tub with a beer ! ) but it still make me Cringe !

 

If someone else is paying, and this family is removing the tips, who gets the money back? The person who paid or the cheapskate looking to spend this money on something else?????

 

Yikes! I am sorry for you and this situation. Makes it awkward for you!

 

Enjoy the cruise anyway, and just rise above their behavior.

 

I would cringe as well OP - they are not paying for their cruise and they want to remove the tips???? wow:eek:

[crazyventures]

I tip who I want, when I want, and how much I want, and will not be told by anyone who, when, or how much it should be. In the end it is WAY more than the pre paid gratuities.

 

I have to wonder how true this is for the people who say this on CC or the other people who remove tips :rolleyes:

[RW20]

I remember when I was going on my first cruise two years ago and thought that the amount we were tipping per day in the auto grats was high. I left them on and paid them. By the third day on the cruise experiencing the incredible service I was receiving from many of the staff on Princess I realized the auto grats were very reasonable and almost thought I should be tipping more.

 

Tell your friends to think about how much money they tip when going out for meals. Then also think about the quality of service they receive, I am sure they will realize the people are earning their tips.

 

However that being said if I had an experience where I receive poor service I do tip accordingly. Tips are to be earned and well deserved for the effort being put forth!

 

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