Tipping stewards

[CowPrincess]

Thanks OV. A little clearer, although it is interesting that HAL interprets no tip as an indication of a service problem.

 

For what it is worth, I have been doing a lot of research on employment conditions on cruise ships and have come across references that highlight that the introduction of automatic tipping has been met with great resistance from cruise staff. The argument being that they experienced a reduction in their total compensation after its introduction, even on the "no tipping required" lines.

 

Can you cite some sources, please? And can you please provide some verbatim info, not your interpretation, please?

[cruz chic]

Can you cite some sources, please? And can you please provide some verbatim info, not your interpretation, please?

 

I'd like to hear that too since I've heard just the opposite from the crew. Maybe they were just tired of chasing all over the island picking up stray towels and getting stiffed on tips.

[boss neil]

Sail7Seas....Thank you for the clarifacation, regarding extra tips.......

 

I would hate to think, that in all the many cruises that I have taken, and all the tips over the standard HCS, that I have given , for the good service, that I have received, went back to the Company.

 

The purpose of tipping is to thank the ONE person or persons, that gave you the good service.

 

Neil

[jankn]

We were on the Zuiderdam a month ago and when we were given the speech related to disembarking, tipping etc, I remember hearing that it was fine to tip our waiters, stewards etc a bit extra, whatever we felt appropriate, and it was theirs to keep for their own, and HAL had no restrictions on that. I even mentioned to my husband later, that it was good to know that as we wanted our money to go to those who went out of their way for us, and we always tip generously.. I hope we weren't being misled. I cannot imagine having others wait on us on our cruise and at the end find out that their tips had been Removed by a passenger but I also want to know my tips are going where I intended.

[jtl513]

Actually on the last cruise I tipped both DR stewards the same as they both were fantastic.

I don't tip them individually. Since my happiness in the MDR depends on them working as team, I give one envelope with both names on it, and leave it to them to decide how to split it. (Although once, many cruises ago, we liked the Asst better, and he did more for us, so we tipped separately and gave him more than the senior man.)

 

Similarly, I never know exactly what tasks the room steward and his assistant do, so I also give them one "team" envelope.

.

[cruz chic]

I don't tip them individually. Since my happiness in the MDR depends on them working as team, I give one envelope with both names on it, and leave it to them to decide how to split it. (Although once, many cruises ago, we liked the Asst better, and he did more for us, so we tipped separately and gave him more than the senior man.)

 

Similarly, I never know exactly what tasks the room steward and his assistant do, so I also give them one "team" envelope.[/size]

.

 

I do the team thing too. I used to split them but this seems a better way to go.

[erewhon]

This is the entire post by HAL - interesting about the breakdown:

 

 

 

Holland America Line

Hi Annemarie, thanks for the great question! A Hotel Service Charge of USD $12.00 per day for suites, and USD $11.50 for other staterooms for dining and stateroom services will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. A 15% service charge will be automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine account.

 

 

 

We are confident that you will find the service onboard exemplary and, should you wish to make adjustments, you may do so at the end of the cruise by contacting the front desk. The hotel charge goes beyond your stateroom steward and waiter: There are also many others that tend to your care that you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To breakdown where your money is going, 70% goes to your stateroom and your dining room stewards. The remaining 30% is divided among the supporting crew. In terminals, airports, and ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices.

 

 

If you choose to opt out of the automatic hotel service charge and leave a gratuity with the crew directly the crew is required to keep track of any gratuities. In these cases the crew will turn in their gratuities and then they are divided among the crew as noted above. If no tips are left and the guest opted out of automatic gratuities the cabin stewards are asked if there were any service issues. If a guest leaves the hotel service charge on their bill, and also tips the stateroom steward additional gratuities, then the steward can then keep the additional gratuity. Similar information is on our website at

http://www.hollandamerica.com/.../PlanningAndAdvice...# - click on “Is There A Hotel Service Charge (Gratuity/Tip)?” We hope you found this information helpful. Happy cruising!

 

Thank you for posting this information from HAL.

[sail7seas]

Sail7Seas....Thank you for the clarifacation, regarding extra tips.......

 

I would hate to think, that in all the many cruises that I have taken, and all the tips over the standard HCS, that I have given , for the good service, that I have received, went back to the Company.

 

The purpose of tipping is to thank the ONE person or persons, that gave you the good service.

 

Neil

 

 

You're Welcome, Neil.

We fully agree with you. Extra tips we give are meant for the person(s) to whom we give them. The HSC is for sharing.

 

[serendipity1499]

I don't tip them individually. Since my happiness in the MDR depends on them working as team, I give one envelope with both names on it, and leave it to them to decide how to split it. (Although once, many cruises ago, we liked the Asst better, and he did more for us, so we tipped separately and gave him more than the senior man.)

 

Similarly, I never know exactly what tasks the room steward and his assistant do, so I also give them one "team" envelope.[/size]

.

 

I give individual envelopes to both our Dining Room Stewards & our Cabin Stewards with a Thank you note...I thank them for the special things they have done for us such as for the DR Steward suggestions on ordering something or not.. And for his Assist I thanked him for taking care of my DH..

 

For the room stewards I always go down the hall & look for them individually We give them the envelope with our thanks & shake their hands.. I enjoy handing it to them personally..

 

Betty

[POA1]

We have never removed the auto gratuity / hotel charge. We also do not wait until the last day to tip. Put yourself in the employee's shoes. Would you work harder for a guest who is known to appreciate good service or for one who definitely does?

 

:confused:

[Topsham]

It should be quite simple..... or should be!

 

If a passenger wants to opt of HSC then must go to the Front Desk. First hand the passenger with a form to filled in... and with a duplicate copy.

 

On the top of the form:

 

1. PASSENGER NAME

2. CABIN NUMBER

 

Then the full text of HAL's HSC Policy.

 

3. PASSENGER SIGNATURE

 

4. REASONS FOR OPTING OUT OF HSC

 

5. CABIN STEWARDS

 

6. RESTAURANT

 

7. PINNACLE

 

8. CANALETTO

 

9. LIDO

 

10. BAR

 

11. OTHERS

 

 

12. AMOUNT TO BE REMOVED.

 

13. CONFIRMATION & PASSENGER INITIALS

 

14. ORIGINAL TO HOTEL MANAGER

 

15. COPY TO PASSENGER

 

 

 

It would take a moment. In a second moment because the "walk off's" would think twice. If any passenger has a real gripe with the service they will happily fill out this form. if such a form is handed no later than Noon on last day it gives the chance for the management to talk to the passenger.

 

 

 

Hanging at sunrise on last morning.... from waiter OR passenger!!!!

[Wakepatrol]

It should be quite simple..... or should be!

 

If a passenger wants to opt of HSC then must go to the Front Desk. First hand the passenger with a form to filled in... and with a duplicate copy.

 

On the top of the form:

 

1. PASSENGER NAME

2. CABIN NUMBER

 

Then the full text of HAL's HSC Policy.

 

3. PASSENGER SIGNATURE

 

4. REASONS FOR OPTING OUT OF HSC

 

5. CABIN STEWARDS

 

6. RESTAURANT

 

7. PINNACLE

 

8. CANALETTO

 

9. LIDO

 

10. BAR

 

11. OTHERS

 

 

12. AMOUNT TO BE REMOVED.

 

13. CONFIRMATION & PASSENGER INITIALS

 

14. ORIGINAL TO HOTEL MANAGER

 

15. COPY TO PASSENGER

 

 

 

It would take a moment. In a second moment because the "walk off's" would think twice. If any passenger has a real gripe with the service they will happily fill out this form. if such a form is handed no later than Noon on last day it gives the chance for the management to talk to the passenger.

 

 

 

Hanging at sunrise on last morning.... from waiter OR passenger!!!!

 

 

 

At the terminal BEFORE boarding simply have passengers sign a paper saying they will be charged HSC daily. If they don't sign they don't sail EZPZ

[iancal]

We would never consider taking away the auto tips. We view this is part of the cruise fare. We selectively tip on top of that for great service. I just cannot imagine anyone trying to 'stiff' the crew.

[Randyk47]

At the terminal BEFORE boarding simply have passengers sign a paper saying they will be charged HSC daily. If they don't sign they don't sail EZPZ

 

Which kind of brings us back to just rolling the service charge into the basic fare as an unidentified separate charge. You don't pay the fare, you don't cruise. :)

[cruz chic]

We have never removed the auto gratuity / hotel charge. We also do not wait until the last day to tip. Put yourself in the employee's shoes. Would you work harder for a guest who is known to appreciate good service or for one who definitely does?

 

:confused:

 

Sorry but that seems like a bribe to me. It's like they won't do a good job unless you bribe them.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We would never consider taking away the auto tips. We view this is part of the cruise fare. We selectively tip on top of that for great service. I just cannot imagine anyone trying to 'stiff' the crew.

I agree as well ..

[mort&fran]

Sorry but that seems like a bribe to me. It's like they won't do a good job unless you bribe them.

 

Now that you mention it, I suppose that it might appear to be a bribe. But I have been handing a small tip to the room stewards the first day of the cruise. Service received has always been top notch, and when I see the amount of the HSC at the end of the cruise it's always an uncomfortable number. So I give the extra when it will not be as painful, and I cannot recall a time that I felt the extra was not warranted. (MDR has not been as relevant since before I started doing this I moved to open dining.)

[1313steve]

Sorry but that seems like a bribe to me. It's like they won't do a good job unless you bribe them.

 

 

Call it a bribe if you want, but when I'm on vacation, great service is one of the most important things to me. As soon as we meet our cabin steward for the first time, I introduce myself and GF, make sure I learn(and remember) his name, let him know if there is anything special we would like (usually just " always keep the ice bucket full") and hand him $30 or $40. I make sure he knows we understand he has a tough job, and how much we appreciate it.

 

I've always had great service doing that. Whether or not that extra few bucks is actually improving the quality of the service or not, I can never know. But I know it can't hurt. An extra few bucks isn't going to make a meaningful difference in the overall cost of our vacation.

[POA1]

Sorry but that seems like a bribe to me. It's like they won't do a good job unless you bribe them.

 

I don't view it as a bribe. We've always had good service. If we're going to tip extra anyway, we don't really gain anything by waiting until the end.

 

We also tip our bar servers and wine stewards as we go. Most people don't - and we kinda count on that. We like never waiting for service and it's worth a few extra dollars to us.

[Swelldame]

Which kind of brings us back to just rolling the service charge into the basic fare as an unidentified separate charge. You don't pay the fare, you don't cruise. :)

 

Exactly right. But that won't happen because the published per diem will be higher and seem less competitive. The nickle-and-dime-'em-to-death business model seems to be working too well for HAL thus far.

[cruz chic]

I don't view it as a bribe. We've always had good service. If we're going to tip extra anyway, we don't really gain anything by waiting until the end.

 

We also tip our bar servers and wine stewards as we go. Most people don't - and we kinda count on that. We like never waiting for service and it's worth a few extra dollars to us.

 

I've gotten good service too without tipping ahead.

[POA1]

I've gotten good service too without tipping ahead.

 

I wasn't saying that you wouldn't get good service. I was simply saying what we do in terms of tipping.

[jtl513]

Exactly right. But that won't happen because the published per diem will be higher and seem less competitive.

The advertised prices could stay the same as they are if the HSC was rolled into the "taxes and fees" that are always added to the published base fare. That would also (hopefully) make it more difficult for the skinflints to get out of paying. Edited March 16, 2014 by jtl513

[cruz chic]

Call it a bribe if you want, but when I'm on vacation, great service is one of the most important things to me. As soon as we meet our cabin steward for the first time, I introduce myself and GF, make sure I learn(and remember) his name, let him know if there is anything special we would like (usually just " always keep the ice bucket full") and hand him $30 or $40. I make sure he knows we understand he has a tough job, and how much we appreciate it.

 

I've always had great service doing that. Whether or not that extra few bucks is actually improving the quality of the service or not, I can never know. But I know it can't hurt. An extra few bucks isn't going to make a meaningful difference in the overall cost of our vacation.

 

Don't get me wrong. I often tip extra in addition to the hsc. I just do it at the end because i want to, not because i expect anything. We all need to do what we feel comfortable with.

[Wakepatrol]

Which kind of brings us back to just rolling the service charge into the basic fare as an unidentified separate charge. You don't pay the fare, you don't cruise. :)

 

Yes perhaps Hal should raise the prices and run flash sales claiming tips/gratuities included.

 

Whatever they need to do to slam the brakes on the cheapskates.