Oh NO! Not another tip question

[TWOFERTWO]

You would think by now, I would know the answer to this; are tips (cabin steward and assistant, waiter and assistant) pooled? Reading another message board :eek: , they are saying that the tips are pooled, with mentioning Celebrity. I have spent more than an hour on searches and can't seem to find a difinitive answer for Celebrity ships.

 

Anyone? :)

[CruisingChick]

Gee, I just read the exact same thing, probably on the exact same message board by someone who is "supposedly" in the know. I was shocked. I thought Celebrity didn't pool the tips.

 

Anne Maria

[teedee]

This is one of those ask 5 different people get 5 different answers questions. With people saying yes and no swearing they are correct. I have been told both answers from people working on the ship! I have no idea and don't know how to get a definitive answer, but good luck!

 

Terri

[TWOFERTWO]

I hope that 'someone' knows the answer. I hate to think that the times that we included extra, was being shared in a pool. If it is the case, we will stop that! :o

 

CruisingChick I think that it was the same site. I, also am confused by the one 'in the know'. Although, no mention of Celebrity. His comments, are what prompted me to post this.:confused:

 

teedee You are soooo right, too many opinions. Who knows..........I hope we do get the right answer. :confused:

[chessbriar]

From what I have been told by my restaurant servers "No"

From the cabin stewards "No"

From the bar servers, "Some of it is, that way if you get stuck in a certain bar at dead times you aren't penalized" It was like 5% went to server, 5% to bar tender and 5% into pool. Don't quote me on the percents, I was told that abou a year ago.

[geoherb]

I don't think the answer matters to me. I'm sure that even if the tips are pooled that the waiters/cabin stewards bringing in extra tips are somehow rewarded and that those not bringing in their share are rewarded in a different way.

[nu2sea]

I don't think the answer matters to me. I'm sure that even if the tips are pooled that the waiters/cabin stewards bringing in extra tips are somehow rewarded and that those not bringing in their share are rewarded in a different way.

 

And since there is not a lot we can do about it either way, why worry about it? Just tip according to the service rendered. We can't be responsible for what the recipient does with any gratuity.

[slotaddict]

If you hand your envelope directly to the waiter or room steward how can it be pooled. We always put in extra. The waiter or room steward could say that you didn't give anything if they had to pool it who would know.

[hajekfam]

I was also told that if you didn't leave an envelope for the asst. chief housekeeping, the room steward would have to take care of him out the envelope you leave the room steward.

[bob278]

I have no idea what the practice is. But the only way they could force pooling is for each person to turn in the envelopes unopened.

 

If they do that, one way to be sure the person you want to have extra gets it is to put the standard amount in the envelope and hand the deserving person the extra cash.

[CruisingChick]

This is what was posted on the other board under Celebrity by someone in the know regarding tips:

 

They are pooled, regardless of if you leave them in the cabin, hand them to staff.. or slip them cash in the hall. They are expected to turn it over to the pool, and most certainly do. Getting found out would lead to the end of their employment.

 

The problem with the "old" system, were there many top servers getting "stiffed" by their guests (at a rate close to 20%). So, great service wasn't necessarily being rewarded.

 

If you talk the staff they are happier with the pools, because they can pretty much rely on X number of dollars per week.

 

They'll also tell you that in fact with the pooled system they feel they must provide better service now because people will more purposely comment negatively about bad service now because of expectations.

 

If you want to reward excellent service, mention the staff BY NAME on your comment cards. That results in promotions, and thus higher income.

Anne Maria

[zalusky]

Thanks for reposting this. I have commented before that TIPs infact have two components Salary and TIP incentive. Since the cruise line and restaurants basically dont give raises, the raises essentially come through the TIP pool. It would be hard to say what portion of a TIP is really salary and what portion is infact incentive these days but the above post makes it clear they would like reliable income not gambling based income (Good weeks and bad weeks).

 

I dont think we realize all the other little people downstream that get paid by these tips AKA salary. Its not just the big three.

 

The cruise line and the other establishments like TIPs because they can in effect advertise a lower price and not have to deal with labor rates. This is the part of the TIP based system I abhor.

[BrooklynGirl2]

I had no idea that Celebrity pools the tips for the dining room waiters. It would make sense as mentioned that there are pools for the servers at the bars since they don't have a regular flow of customers. We had excellent service from our waiters and tipped extra as they deserved it. I hate to think this went into a pool for everyone.

 

So, now to reward a specific person for excellent service we should put the recommended amount into an envelope and then slip the staff person an extra amount "outside" the envelope????

 

I sure wish someone could clarify this.

[TWOFERTWO]

This was my original question.......hope we get an 'official' answer before we leave Oct. 4th, for our Med. cruise! :D

 

I hope that this will be answered. :)

[Schplinky]

Pooled tips may not be a bad idea in one way. If a waiter/room attendant/whomever is not performing up to par and is "dragging down" the average tip, then the other staff are less likely to accommodate this behaviour because it affects their own take-home pay. This way, the high service standards are upheld by staff and supervisors.