Rumor about new policy that cash tips are shared by entire crew

[cb at sea]

Just do as suggested...leave tips as is, and those who are supposed to get them, will. If folks weren't getting their tips, they wouldn't work for the company...they are not forced to work there!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Indeed!! Someone had to say it...and I thank you for putting it so bluntly!

 

I have had several staff members telling me their sad story in hopes to get extra tips. I have also seen it the other way around but one of the best examples was a B2B we were sailing on... unbeknownst to our waiter. Every night he would go on and on about it being his last cruise and he barely had enough money for his airfare to get back to see his family ... his wife and 3 kids. Our table mates on the first leg of our B2B were very generous to ensure he could get back home after this cruise and even gave him extra to he could pick up some gifts for his kids on the way home. He showed us pictures of his kids but I swear, they were cut out from a magazine. When I asked him the names of his kids, he seems a bit stunned ... kind of like he couldn't remember his own kid's names. Really?

Well, you can imagine the shock on his face when we saw him pulling the same act on our second leg of our cruise. Yep...his last cruise of his contract ... pictures of three kids from a magazine, not enough money to make it home. Excuse me for being so cynical but some (certainly not the majority) are working the room for suckers! I have even had one of the bar waiters once insist we add an additional tip as he doesn't get any of the 15% that is added to the charge. Bull pucky! The cruise line takes out a fair and appropriate amount of money to compensate the staff by way of gratuities. If someone goes far out of their way to make my cruise extra special (and it has to be something extraordinary for us and it has happened), I will either tip above or purchase something on shore as a token of my appreciation. Bringing your meal or a drink with a 'story' is certainly not going to get an extra tip from us.

 

On the other hand, we have had employees go way above and beyond ... even had them state an additional tip is not necessary. Most all employees are so good at what they do so don't mean to sound harsh but this poster is correct ... whatever their compensation is, it is!! They take the job knowing what it is and it may not seem fair to you but it is what they have agreed to. I will leave it at that!

 

I would've caught onto that sob story right away. The cruise lines pay for the employees to get TO the ship and HOME from the ship. ;)

[varoo]

I was under the impression that extra cash tips were not shared with other staff members. On our recent cruise, we were in Select Dining with the prepaid tips. WE had a fabulous cabin attendant and ate with the same waiter on 12 out of 14 nights. Waiter was truly outstanding. The other nights, we ate at a table with the world's worst waiter once and at the buffet on the other. We tipped the waiter and the cabin attendant in cash at the end of the cruise. They really deserved the extra tips. I would hate to think that our extra tips went to the world's worst waiter. After reading this thread, I am wondering whether or not I will continue to extend extra tips to staff who really deserve them. On other cruise lines, tipping may be pooled. I was on Viking recently, tips are charged to our bill and distributed to everyone. I asked our cabin attendant if she could keep any extra tip. She said that she could keep it as long as it was in cash. Seems fair. I would really like to have Celebrity respond to this thread.

Whenever this subject has come up, we have always been told that if you leave the standard gratuities in place, then if you give any additional cash tips, the individuals who receive them get to keep them.

 

But if you remove the standard gratuities, then any cash tips must be pooled.

 

I also hope that the Celebrity rep will come on here and either confirm or deny this information and post a correction if this is no longer the way they do it.

 

 

Celebrity Cruises, if you see this also please confirm whether or not the individual gets to keep additional tips if they are added to the passenger's onboard account instead of being given in cash.

 

The reason I am asking this is because some passengers have extra non-refundable onboard credit that they would like to use this way, so your answer can make an important difference.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2016 by varoo

[davekathy]

Just do as suggested...leave tips as is, and those who are supposed to get them, will. If folks weren't getting their tips, they wouldn't work for the company...they are not forced to work there!

 

Agree. We don't concern ourselves with how the Cruise lines divide up what we pay in gratuities to the different disciplines.

Edited February 7, 2016 by davekathy

[varoo]

We don't concern ourselves with how the Cruise lines divide up what we pay in gratuities to the different disciplines.

But some of us do.

If we want to put an extra tip on our onboard account specifically for our stateroom attendant or waiter, we want to know whether or not it is really going to that stateroom attendant or waiter.

 

[davekathy]

But some of us do.

If we want to put an extra tip on our onboard account specifically for our stateroom attendant or waiter, we want to know whether or not it is really going to that stateroom attendant or waiter.

 

 

 

My post was in regards to the suggested gratuities not additional gratuities. If you feel so inclined to tip extra then that's the chance you take and you have no control of!

Edited February 7, 2016 by davekathy