opting out of RCL per- dieum costs

[myjillian]

Can you still opt out to pay the per dieum on RCL ?? I know that NCL will let you fill out a form and monies will be returned into your checking account. Celebrity, as of last Feb still let you fill out the "opt-out form and so did Princess. We have been cruising for 5 decades and still enjoy the "old" way of handing enveloped to people who made your stay memorable. We enjoy giving everyone a tip ie. The hamburger man etc:D We always tip our cabin stewards when we meet them and(depending on the length of the cruise) we will give them pocket money for their days ashore etc. Anyone have any up to date knowledge. I know that RCL just raised their per dieum !!:eek: Do they still have forms to sign??

[Shmoo here]

Can you still opt out to pay the per dieum on RCL ?? I know that NCL will let you fill out a form and monies will be returned into your checking account. Celebrity, as of last Feb still let you fill out the "opt-out form and so did Princess. We have been cruising for 5 decades and still enjoy the "old" way of handing enveloped to people who made your stay memorable. We enjoy giving everyone a tip ie. The hamburger man etc:D We always tip our cabin stewards when we meet them and(depending on the length of the cruise) we will give them pocket money for their days ashore etc. Anyone have any up to date knowledge. I know that RCL just raised their per dieum !!:eek: Do they still have forms to sign??

 

I guess another question that should be asked here is - does removing the service charge reduce the actual tips those people will get?

 

I know that on some lines, the hotel service charge (or auto-gratuity) is divided among more than the people you see (room host, dining room servers). And removing the HSC means that those who receive cash tips directly must turn them in for the cruise line to determine if you've removed the HSC. If so, then the tips you give in cash are just added to the pot and still divided among everyone in the pool (including the behind the scenes personnel). That way you're actually penalizing the people you wish to tip directly.

 

I think a better option is to just leave the service charge intact and tip additional monies in cash. Those cash tips, after being turned in, and the determination made that you've not removed the service charge, are returned to the person you wanted to tip directly in totality.

[Clarea]

Can you still opt out to pay the per dieum on RCL ?? I know that NCL will let you fill out a form and monies will be returned into your checking account. Celebrity, as of last Feb still let you fill out the "opt-out form and so did Princess. We have been cruising for 5 decades and still enjoy the "old" way of handing enveloped to people who made your stay memorable. We enjoy giving everyone a tip ie. The hamburger man etc:D We always tip our cabin stewards when we meet them and(depending on the length of the cruise) we will give them pocket money for their days ashore etc. Anyone have any up to date knowledge. I know that RCL just raised their per dieum !!:eek: Do they still have forms to sign??

Yes, go to Guest Services and request the forms.

[Donray]

What percent of the people that cruise are so cheap that they remove the auto tips?

[Clarea]

What percent of the people that cruise are so cheap that they remove the auto tips?

Not always a matter of cheapness. Depending on the local culture, the percentage can be quite high.

Edited April 17, 2016 by clarea

[myjillian]

I guess another question that should be asked here is - does removing the service charge reduce the actual tips those people will get?

 

I know that on some lines, the hotel service charge (or auto-gratuity) is divided among more than the people you see (room host, dining room servers). And removing the HSC means that those who receive cash tips directly must turn them in for the cruise line to determine if you've removed the HSC. If so, then the tips you give in cash are just added to the pot and still divided among everyone in the pool (including the behind the scenes personnel). That way you're actually penalizing the people you wish to tip directly.

 

I think a better option is to just leave the service charge intact and tip additional monies in cash. Those cash tips, after being turned in, and the determination made that you've not removed the service charge, are returned to the person you wanted to tip directly in totality.

 

When this auto tipping started my husband and I started to say things like..."boy, this is a full ship , you will get a bigger paycheck" Everyone we spoke to on Princess, Holland, NCL and Celebrity told us the same....that their paychecks do not change no matter how many passengers are onboard ! We always sneak the tips to the people so I doubt if they report them. We have tipped the person behind the dining desk because they would always give us great tables or people to sit with. We have given tips to hard working waiters on the Lido deck who we observed helping people when others would just look away...even though they didn't even help us;) We find that it's great observing people and rewarding them. It's like being little elves:D We have done full drink and Speciality dining packages in which we never ate in the DR...everyone who did wait on us were given tips...we just don't see why the Matre'd etc should get monies when the only time you have contact with them are the last night of the cruise !!! We have tipped people behind the counters...also people who give good advice for side trips. I was just courious about RCL because we have not cruised with them for a few yrs and we will be on 3 ships in Europe this upcoming Fall:D

[myjillian]

Yes, go to Guest Services and request the forms.

 

Thank you !:)

[leaveitallbehind]

What percent of the people that cruise are so cheap that they remove the auto tips?

 

Simply removing the auto tips is not cheap if after doing so you still convey the suggested amount (or more) individually in cash. Its only cheap if you remove the auto tips and also decide not to pay them at all, or pay a reduced amount if the service level warranted the recommended amount. And who knows what percentage of the people would do that.

[SadieN]

It was sad the last night of a cruise to see the MDR half empty when 'tips in hand' were commonplace. That was on Royal.

 

With the complaint of the raise in gratuities colors are showing. [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited April 17, 2016 by SadieN

[navybankerteacher]

When this auto tipping started my husband and I started to say things like..."boy, this is a full ship , you will get a bigger paycheck" Everyone we spoke to on Princess, Holland, NCL and Celebrity told us the same....that their paychecks do not change no matter how many passengers are onboard ! We always sneak the tips to the people so I doubt if they report them. We have tipped the person behind the dining desk because they would always give us great tables or people to sit with. We have given tips to hard working waiters on the Lido deck who we observed helping people when others would just look away...even though they didn't even help us;) We find that it's great observing people and rewarding them. It's like being little elves:D We have done full drink and Speciality dining packages in which we never ate in the DR...everyone who did wait on us were given tips...we just don't see why the Matre'd etc should get monies when the only time you have contact with them are the last night of the cruise !!! We have tipped people behind the counters...also people who give good advice for side trips. I was just courious about RCL because we have not cruised with them for a few yrs and we will be on 3 ships in Europe this upcoming Fall:D

 

How and when do you tip the people keeping the buffet loaded?

[BlueRiband]

If you have been sailing for "five decades" then you started out when ships tended to have a more affluent passenger mix than they do today. According to the board's industry insider, this is why per-diem charges were introduced:

 

I have been on nearly 1,400 cruises (you might guess what I do for a living)... possibly the biggest reason for the auto-tipping was the fact that the cruise lines with larger ships were marketing their cruises to all of humanity in an effort to fill those larger ships. In the process they attracted (and continue to attract) a certain percentage of clientele who really cannot afford to cruise - but go anyway.

They are barely able to afford the cruise if they "forget" to tip the staff.

 

In the late 1980's, into the 1990's, as many as 30% of passengers on a mass market ship "forgot" to leave any tips.

 

As a result, the cruise lines lost most of their best service staff, who could no longer afford to work there. Service levels plummeted as we tried to replace those veteran service staff with newbies who had little experience, but who were willing to work for the lower earnings.

 

The auto-tip acts to shame or otherwise impede the attempts by these "Cheap Charlies" to stiff the service staff in order to afford the cruise.

Most of the major mass market lines now have auto-tipping. On a typical cruise, the number of passengers who go through the trouble to remove the auto tips is under 5%.

 

The tipped service staff are now making more money than they have seen in the past few decades (but not nearly as much as they earned in the 1960's and 1970's when only the wealthy were cruising).

 

When somebody starts moaning about auto-tipping being the source of lower service levels on ships today, they just do not see the big picture.

 

Lack of tipping by the lower class passengers caused us to lose our best staff, resulting in lower service levels.

Auto-tipping is an attempt by the cruise lines to solve that problem by making these difficult jobs more financially attractive.

 

By removing the per diem charge a lot of people behind the scenes are literally getting short changed. How do you tip the hamburger grill man if he's reassigned to fill in elsewhere the last day?

 

I hope you will reconsider. By leaving on the per diem all the behind the scenes people get compensated and there's no stopping you from giving extra should you wish to do so. I always leave the autotip on and discretely slip small envelopes to those who personally served me who I believe deserve more.

[ithaca gal]

When this auto tipping started my husband and I started to say things like..."boy, this is a full ship , you will get a bigger paycheck" Everyone we spoke to on Princess, Holland, NCL and Celebrity told us the same....that their paychecks do not change no matter how many passengers are onboard ! We always sneak the tips to the people so I doubt if they report them. We have tipped the person behind the dining desk because they would always give us great tables or people to sit with. We have given tips to hard working waiters on the Lido deck who we observed helping people when others would just look away...even though they didn't even help us;) We find that it's great observing people and rewarding them. It's like being little elves:D We have done full drink and Speciality dining packages in which we never ate in the DR...everyone who did wait on us were given tips...we just don't see why the Matre'd etc should get monies when the only time you have contact with them are the last night of the cruise !!! We have tipped people behind the counters...also people who give good advice for side trips. I was just courious about RCL because we have not cruised with them for a few yrs and we will be on 3 ships in Europe this upcoming Fall:D

 

As long as you know that "sneaking the tips" to the crew and their not reporting them may very well result in losing their jobs. Yes, it is their responsibility to report those tips but you should not put them in that position by removing the auto-tips so that you can feel like an elf and hand it to them directly.

 

We love to tip those that make our trip special but we would never dream of fueling our "Santa behavior" by removing the service charge, auto-tip, etc.

 

Remember, you cannot possibly have access to every person that worked hard to make your cruise memorable, so you will end up stiffing some of them while you smile and hand out the cash to others.

[donaldsc]

When this auto tipping started my husband and I started to say things like..."boy, this is a full ship , you will get a bigger paycheck" Everyone we spoke to on Princess, Holland, NCL and Celebrity told us the same....that their paychecks do not change no matter how many passengers are onboard ! We always sneak the tips to the people so I doubt if they report them. We have tipped the person behind the dining desk because they would always give us great tables or people to sit with. We have given tips to hard working waiters on the Lido deck who we observed helping people when others would just look away...even though they didn't even help us;) We find that it's great observing people and rewarding them. It's like being little elves:D We have done full drink and Speciality dining packages in which we never ate in the DR...everyone who did wait on us were given tips...we just don't see why the Matre'd etc should get monies when the only time you have contact with them are the last night of the cruise !!! We have tipped people behind the counters...also people who give good advice for side trips. I was just courious about RCL because we have not cruised with them for a few yrs and we will be on 3 ships in Europe this upcoming Fall:D

 

While it make you feel good to personally hand monies to crew members in an envelope or to sneak them money so their supervisors do not see them receiving a tip, I doubt that they are going to risk loss of their jobs by not reporting them. In the end, while your gesture may make you feel superior to the staff, your gesture is totally futile .

 

The world has changed in 50 years. Accept the changes instead of being a luddite (look it up).

 

DON

[GUT2407]

Can you still opt out to pay the per dieum on RCL ?? I know that NCL will let you fill out a form and monies will be returned into your checking account. Celebrity, as of last Feb still let you fill out the "opt-out form and so did Princess. We have been cruising for 5 decades and still enjoy the "old" way of handing enveloped to people who made your stay memorable. We enjoy giving everyone a tip ie. The hamburger man etc:D We always tip our cabin stewards when we meet them and(depending on the length of the cruise) we will give them pocket money for their days ashore etc. Anyone have any up to date knowledge. I know that RCL just raised their per dieum !!:eek: Do they still have forms to sign??

 

Ask at the purser's desk