Gratuities

[ryano]

Where is exactly is the breakdown of what amount the server/bartender gets to keep of the gratuity added to the bill.

 

I dont believe such a list exists. Not to us, the consumer, anyway.

 

They dont even provide a breakdown of the regular daily gratuity charged to your Seapass account anymore.

Edited February 10, 2015 by ryano

[delirious9876]

I don't agree with the inflation theory either but where I'm from 18 percent is customary. I don't know about the rest of the country but if that's generally the same elsewhere in the US, maybe that's why it got bumped up. We always tip on top of the 15 at the bars anyway so I'm not really concerned. I can certainly see where customs differ this will go over like a lead balloon.

Where I'm from 0% is customary :)

[Big_G]

Where I'm from 0% is customary :)

 

Believe me, I understand and would not trivialize that in the least. ;)

[jakenashleysmom]

Where I'm from 0% is customary :)

 

Please enlighten us, where are you from?

 

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[icsys]

You can count me in that small handful!

 

I've never understood why some people feel it is necessary or even warranted for the "accepted" tipping rate to ever go up. Tips are based on a percentage of the price of a product or service that ALREADY goes up in price. I'm not sure why that's such a difficult concept to grasp.

 

Count me in on that small handful too!

 

We may have to just amicably agree to disagree here. Granting a worker a higher percentage gratuity doesn't actually guarantee them more money. If sales are consistent, the worker makes out. If sales increase, the workers makes out. If sales slip, the worker loses. If the company had agreed to a wage increase the worker would be fairly compensated for their time from the start regardless of the gratuity (as that amount is variable based upon sales).

 

The company doesn't seem to be performing in good faith here, otherwise they would just pay employees more out of their own revenues and not mandate an onus on the guest.

 

Words DO have meanings and I don't accept that the terminology is interchangeable or has the same meanings. I would agree that it ALL comes from the guest in some form. And I still maintain that it is a shame that a company with record breaking profits still won't pay their employees properly. The gratuity pool includes people in the deck crew and laundry. Before mandated automatic gratuities had anyone EVER heard of tipping this staff? NO. Because the ships were registered in Norway and not the Bahamas and they weren't allowed to pay non-guest facing service infrastructure workers off guest tips, they had to pay real guaranteed wages.

 

Hey, listen, I pay my tips. And I put plenty of cash on top of it. You probably do too. I do it because I get good service and I know how hard they work for it. But I'm not under any sort of false impression that the cruise line treats workers in some sort of great fashion. If they could find places more lax about labor laws than the Bahamas, Monrovia, Liberia, and Panama they would fly those flags off their ships. The cruise line has shifted the onus from paying out of corporate revenue to essentially guilting guests into it.

 

Again... well said.

[perthbull]

When booking in Australia we pay all grats up front .. On a recent cruise a large group were all very unhappy paying the daily service charge as in their opinion the service was sub standard . We paid for ours in our ticketed price , so were unaware of any charges . So when you don't see that amount being added to your room acc daily you don't seem to care as much ... I like the fact that we pay up front .

[kruzerci]

We may have to just amicably agree to disagree here. Granting a worker a higher percentage gratuity doesn't actually guarantee them more money. If sales are consistent, the worker makes out. If sales increase, the workers makes out. If sales slip, the worker loses. If the company had agreed to a wage increase the worker would be fairly compensated for their time from the start regardless of the gratuity (as that amount is variable based upon sales).

 

The company doesn't seem to be performing in good faith here, otherwise they would just pay employees more out of their own revenues and not mandate an onus on the guest.

 

Words DO have meanings and I don't accept that the terminology is interchangeable or has the same meanings. I would agree that it ALL comes from the guest in some form. And I still maintain that it is a shame that a company with record breaking profits still won't pay their employees properly. The gratuity pool includes people in the deck crew and laundry. Before mandated automatic gratuities had anyone EVER heard of tipping this staff? NO. Because the ships were registered in Norway and not the Bahamas and they weren't allowed to pay non-guest facing service infrastructure workers off guest tips, they had to pay real guaranteed wages.

 

Hey, listen, I pay my tips. And I put plenty of cash on top of it. You probably do too. I do it because I get good service and I know how hard they work for it. But I'm not under any sort of false impression that the cruise line treats workers in some sort of great fashion. If they could find places more lax about labor laws than the Bahamas, Monrovia, Liberia, and Panama they would fly those flags off their ships. The cruise line has shifted the onus from paying out of corporate revenue to essentially guilting guests into it.

 

Very well said!

[WupperAV]

I tip what I deem is appropriate for service, not what someone tells me to. I laughed at an article that said tip your mailman (he makes more than I do by 2X) He should tip me for shoveling out the mailbox.

 

Here's my tip. Don't read Baloney labels!

Edited February 11, 2015 by WupperAV

[The_Big_M]

I don't agree with the inflation theory either but where I'm from 18 percent is customary. I don't know about the rest of the country but if that's generally the same elsewhere in the US, maybe that's why it got bumped up. We always tip on top of the 15 at the bars anyway so I'm not really concerned. I can certainly see where customs differ this will go over like a lead balloon.

 

Too true.

 

I accept the idea of tipping as per US convention, and have been a supporter in the past, but I just consider this increase unjustified (which it is) and unreasonable.

[Ocean Boy]

Not really. If I never use the spa, it doesn't matter to me whether they raise their rates. It doesn't affect me. Only those using the service have to decide if it is still worth it.

 

In the same way, if they raise tips 3% on a package I will never use, it doesn't affect me. Only those buying the package have to decide if it is still worth it.

 

That is a fairly common attitude around here. If it doesn't affect me I don't care. I suspect if they raise the gratuities on the drink packages they will increase the gratuities on everything that they charge for aboard the ship.

[icsys]

Apparently, if other threads are to be believed, all gratuities are being increased but RCI doesn't think it necessary to let anyone know.

 

Unlike celebrity who are upfront

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45419702&postcount=1

[Ocean Boy]

Please enlighten us, where are you from?

 

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The info is located right under his "Joined Date" for everyone to read just like your location.

[Paul65]

I wonder if the percentage increase might be tied to heavier drinkers moving toward buying the drink packages, and their gratuities on a per drink basis end up lower (therefore the tip revenue for bar staff was down).

[icsys]

I wonder if the percentage increase might be tied to heavier drinkers moving toward buying the drink packages, and their gratuities on a per drink basis end up lower (therefore the tip revenue for bar staff was down).

 

So those that DON'T buy the drinks packages subsidise those that DO.

An interesting concept.

[trev71]

Dam I guess I should have ordered my soda package before this happened. It would have been real nice if they gave people a heads up.

 

 

But like someone else posted what are you gonna do right :cool:

[trev71]

I wonder if they will be doing this on single drinks if you dont have a booze package at the bar does anyone know for sure ?

[ryano]

I wonder if they will be doing this on single drinks if you dont have a booze package at the bar does anyone know for sure ?

 

yes, I definitely think we will see it being applied to single drinks as well. Someone also reported this morning that the daily gratuity rate will be increasing as well for all stateroom categories.

[trev71]

yes, I definitely think we will see it being applied to single drinks as well. Someone also reported this morning that the daily gratuity rate will be increasing as well for all stateroom categories.

 

 

Sometimes my wife and I would tip a $1 or so extra, But i wont be doing this anymore. Its only 3% yes I know. But after a while you get sick of being nickel and dimed to death

[Folk Singer]

I tip what I deem is appropriate for service, not what someone tells me to. I laughed at an article that said tip your mailman (he makes more than I do by 2X) He should tip me for shoveling out the mailbox.

 

Here's my tip. Don't read Baloney labels!

 

 

:):D:cool:

[mak5]

I don't mind paying the extra. What I do mind though, is having to walk up to the bar myself, and wait there for 10 minutes when it is not very busy, in order to get a drink , then wait while they swipe the card (after they make a few more drinks) and be charged an extra gratuity. The drinks are already expensive.....the gratuity is supposed to be for good service. We did not find we had very good service on our last cruise. (We did both have the ultimate drink package) I felt like the bartenders waited on everyone else before us , most of the time. I am not pushy, and patiently waited my turn, but did feel annoyed. (we started off the cruise tipping an extra buck or two for each drink.....but since we barely got a smile, and certainly no better service, we stopped that)

We also found that the bar servers around the pool were few and far between. It was very difficult to get their attention.

(We still had a fabulous time, but did notice a definite decrease in service)

(this was my first time on RCI, but my travelling companion is a frequent cruiser here. I have not cruised for a couple of years)

[LoveyHowell]

We may have to just amicably agree to disagree here. Granting a worker a higher percentage gratuity doesn't actually guarantee them more money. If sales are consistent, the worker makes out. If sales increase, the workers makes out. If sales slip, the worker loses. If the company had agreed to a wage increase the worker would be fairly compensated for their time from the start regardless of the gratuity (as that amount is variable based upon sales).

 

The company doesn't seem to be performing in good faith here, otherwise they would just pay employees more out of their own revenues and not mandate an onus on the guest.

 

Words DO have meanings and I don't accept that the terminology is interchangeable or has the same meanings. I would agree that it ALL comes from the guest in some form. And I still maintain that it is a shame that a company with record breaking profits still won't pay their employees properly. The gratuity pool includes people in the deck crew and laundry. Before mandated automatic gratuities had anyone EVER heard of tipping this staff? NO. Because the ships were registered in Norway and not the Bahamas and they weren't allowed to pay non-guest facing service infrastructure workers off guest tips, they had to pay real guaranteed wages.

 

Hey, listen, I pay my tips. And I put plenty of cash on top of it. You probably do too. I do it because I get good service and I know how hard they work for it. But I'm not under any sort of false impression that the cruise line treats workers in some sort of great fashion. If they could find places more lax about labor laws than the Bahamas, Monrovia, Liberia, and Panama they would fly those flags off their ships. The cruise line has shifted the onus from paying out of corporate revenue to essentially guilting guests into it.

 

 

What a breath of fresh air - someone who understands how business operates.

[Thetrail]

So if you buy Refreshment or Replenish packages it won't bother you to pay more?

 

 

These new packages are just over a year old. In that time they gave you the total price from the beginning, then they gave you a "base rate" plus the tip (which ended up being more than before), and now they are raising it to 18%?

 

But so many people say that service has actually decreased since the start of the packages. Why are they increasing the gratuity? Crazy.

Average is 1.47 a day, don't have heart failure!...:rolleyes:

[Thetrail]

I bet its coming for sure. Wonder how many will care here then?

Will it stop me from cruising RCL, not at all. I'm more concerned about the price increase in a specialty dining venue than an increase in gratuites for the crew. Different strokes for different folks...:)...K.O. Edited February 11, 2015 by Thetrail

[ColoradoGurl]

I think the increase is a good thing. I've always been a 20% tipper, at minimum for average service and have always added an additional tip whenever the "included" tip is less than 20%. What I do wish is that the bartenders were actually receiving the tips.

 

My guess is that they increased the amount because bartenders have complained about low wages since the packages have come out. And from reading this board, I've been pretty disgusted to see how many people not only don't tip extra, but actually REMOVE their onboard tips entirely. I get it that in theory tips should be given for good service, but in the cruise industry they are used differently...because they can be. Cruise operators offer free room and board for the employees, but they don't pay them a salary (I asked several of our waiters on our last cruise). They rely 100% on tips. I don't mind adding an additional $300 or $400 to my spending money in order to cover this. Sure, I'd rather just pay it as part of my cruise fee and know the employees were getting a salary, but they aren't. So I include that additional cost myself. In fact after reading how cheap so many cruisers are in this dept. (Especially the ones from the UK), I am sorry that I didn't tip MORE last time. I gave all 3 waiters and my room attendant an additional $40, but after thinking how much I'd have paid on an equitable dinner if I'd gotten a bill and calculated my tip, especially with the great service I received, I would have tipped far more than that in "real life" and plan to make sure I bring an extra $100 bucks for all of them on my next cruise to make up for all the cheap tippers complaining about an extra $1.50 a day. Give me a break. If you think that's too much, then downgrade your room category to give you the extra money for tips. I even make sure my daughter has a pocket full of dollar bills and have taught her from a young age to give a couple bucks to bartenders for her sodas, and I have her hand her own money to bus and taxi drivers and porters and room service people when we're on vacation.

Edited February 11, 2015 by ColoradoGurl

[jakenashleysmom]

Ocean boy, that information doesn't show on my tablet so I still don't have an answer lol!

 

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