Service = Gratuities

[Tripper10]

We usually prepay the gratuities to avoid having our onboard account go up so much each day. This is just our preference. We generally forget about them on board and just enjoy our cruise. We bring cash to tip with for excellent service. I try to relax and just go with the flow. I'm on vacation.

 

That's great, but clearly you are being taken advantage of by RCI and they hope and set up the auto-gratuities system so more customers feel and act like you. You even prepay it to them to earn interest.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Tripper10

[GUT2407]

Thanks you for your input.

 

Considering there's another thread on tipping pretty much every day it's hard to blame them.

[Tripper10]

Decline in service could it be a result of waiters with more tables to take care of, housekeeping more rooms. Do waiters who work in the WJ daytime and MDR at night get a larger piece of the pie? Just seems to me that RCI is getting much more involved in the tipping issue but then I'm sure it's the same with other cruise lines.

 

I agree with you, but the biggest problem with automatic tips is for most employees it leaves no incentive to do more than the minimum needed. I see it everyday on my cruises compared to before this so called auto-gratuities system. It should be a salary plus optional tips and service would be better.

[yogimax]

I agree with you, but the biggest problem with automatic tips is for most employees it leaves no incentive to do more than the minimum needed. I see it everyday on my cruises compared to before this so called auto-gratuities system. It should be a salary plus optional tips and service would be better.

 

Nonsense! There is great incentive to perform well. If not, why are the employees always asking for positive ratings on the post cruise surveys? Their whole future with the company depends on these evaluations. Not only do they want to move from Assistant Waiter, to Waiter to Head Waiter to Maitre D', they want the salary increases and perks that go with them.

 

It's not just the tips, it's also the ability to climb the ladder and move from a Hawaiian shirt to a white shirt with a bar on the shoulder.

 

In addition, those with poor ratings know they will be fired or their contracts will not be renewed.

 

Plain and simple, you are wrong on this issue!

[AussieVisi2r]

Of course it is your choice to pull your tips and do it yourself......

But

...I want to have some time on my holiday. It would take the whole trip to track down all the people who get a share of my automatic tips and make sure I was not stiffing them.

 

Waiters and room steward are easy.

And sure it would only take me an hour or two each day to find all the glass hoppers, dish washers, bannister wipers, toilet cleaners etc. But I have no idea how I would be able to find the guy that peels the carrots, the guy that scrapes my half eaten food from my plate, or the person that washes the sheets for my room steward to out on my bed etc.

 

And the thought on doing the Math just does my head in. I have a pretty good idea (from days past) of how much the waiters and room steward should get, but imagine!!! I then have to work out how many people have assisted me on this trip. My meal alone has to be 100 people in the background, then I have to divide it between those people. Then give each their share.

It will probably only be a very small amount to each of those people so I will need to bring a few suitcases of small change mainly pennies (as we don't have cents in Australia - and then there is the issue of ordering them and collecting them for the post office or where ever I get my US$) so I can give each person their fare share.

 

So imagine my excess luggage fees as I don't have a port nearby - and only for 5 months of the year. I have to fly.

 

No. It all seems far to complicated to me if I want to be fare. I'll leave my tips as the company and staff representative have worked out. They have thought about all these difficulties and they really do want me to have fun!

 

MIND YOU! The first time I see a staff member sitting down and having a smoke, or reading a magazine while I am waiting to be served...that will be a different thing. :D That could change my mind. If service drops. I might change my ways.

 

Raina

[pspercy]

I've only read a handful of comments, so this may be repetitive, but did you know that the employees have a list in the back of who has removed gratuities? That's what our waiter told us on our last cruise. Since they know - they might just give up on you thinking you're cheap OR they could work harder to try to earn your tip. That probably depends person to person. I prefer to leave the auto-gratuities on and add cash for excellent service at the end.

 

That's what we do, no stress, no fuss.

We also slip the bartender a buck or two (cash) every so often if we find ones we like:D:D

Edited May 2, 2016 by pspercy

[csnarpy]

Like a few others, I prefer the personal approach. Thus the staff are tipped appropriately. They still give the envelopes and the breakdowns, so why not use it. Plus, I don't think tipping is awkward, if anything, I take great satisfaction in tipping people who make my life easier. I think all but one time, I gave more then the recommended amounts - so good on those crew members, they did great.

 

The only time we didn't over tip was because we ate only once in the MDR - the first night. We still tipped him but not as per usual.

 

IMO, everyone has their own way of doing things, I was in the service industry for years and prefer the personal approach. To each their own.

[little britain]

Death knell for the restaurant service charge

http://dailym.ai/23hx3gE

via http://dailym.ai/ios

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad mini 4 using Tapatalk

[Biker19]

Death knell for the restaurant service charge

http://dailym.ai/23hx3gE

via http://dailym.ai/ios

 

This has as much influence as to what happens on ship as US labor laws - zero.

[BonTexasNY]

I don't believe there is staff that only works in the WJ. All MDR wait staff have shifts that they have to cover in the WJ. We had our assistant waiter from our MDR table. on our last cruise, saying good morning to us, many days as the "washy washy" attendant outside of WJ.

 

I wonder if the division of shifts is equitable for the entire wait staff. We leave our tips on auto but prefer tipping individually in person at the end of the cruise. I believe those that give good service should be tipped accordingly BUT RCI is making it seem more and more mandatory. Has anyone tipped less than the suggested amount due to poor/sub standard service? I can't believe I'm contributing to the longevity of yet another tipping thread :eek:

[little britain]

This has as much influence as to what happens on ship as US labor laws - zero.

I never said it would have any impact on board: it is just an interesting change in sentiment for the UK....and given that over 50% of cruises are now non-US..it 'could' make for a different sentiment on board.

 

As if the Brits need any further excuse not to tip.. :rolleyes:;)

[3happyferrets]

That's what we do, no stress, no fuss.

 

We also slip the bartender a buck or two (cash) every so often if we find ones we like:D:D

 

 

We do that too but usually on sea pass. It seems to make them remember us more. Maybe it's my imagination, idk, but I have plenty of OBC so why not? We also do this at all inclusive resorts we book for the day. I definitely can tell a difference in those places. I once had a little waitress on Sovereign cry when I handed her the envelope with the "voucher" they used to give with prepaid tips and added some money to it. You would've thought we have her a million dollars. She earned it, she was amazing. I plan on the extra money as part of the cost of the cruise. I get what people are saying with the prepaid gratuities, but I don't feel less service, just less servers, and man they work hard.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Biker19]

I never said it would have any impact on board: it is just an interesting change in sentiment for the UK....and given that over 50% of cruises are now non-US..it 'could' make for a different sentiment on board.

 

As if the Brits need any further excuse not to tip.. :rolleyes:;)

 

A majority of cruisers probably don't even know that grats are removable - so if RCI in those markets calls it a service charge, there's no need to worry about not tipping. It would be interesting to see the grats removal rate by market.:cool:

Edited May 2, 2016 by Biker19

[marci22]

...I want to have some time on my holiday. It would take the whole trip to track down all the people who get a share of my automatic tips and make sure I was not stiffing them.

 

Waiters and room steward are easy.

And sure it would only take me an hour or two each day to find all the glass hoppers, dish washers, bannister wipers, toilet cleaners etc. But I have no idea how I would be able to find the guy that peels the carrots, the guy that scrapes my half eaten food from my plate, or the person that washes the sheets for my room steward to out on my bed etc.

 

And the thought on doing the Math just does my head in. I have a pretty good idea (from days past) of how much the waiters and room steward should get, but imagine!!! I then have to work out how many people have assisted me on this trip. My meal alone has to be 100 people in the background, then I have to divide it between those people. Then give each their share.

It will probably only be a very small amount to each of those people so I will need to bring a few suitcases of small change mainly pennies (as we don't have cents in Australia - and then there is the issue of ordering them and collecting them for the post office or where ever I get my US$) so I can give each person their fare share.

 

No. It all seems far to complicated to me if I want to be fare. I'll leave my tips as the company and staff representative have worked out. They have thought about all these difficulties and they really do want me to have fun!

 

Previously, the tipped positions covered by the suggested gratuities were waiter, asst waiter, head waiter, and room steward. So if I was going to tip myself, these are the people I would consider. The people who are peeling carrots and doing your laundry are not tipped positions, but I don't disagree that they may share in the 'new suggested gratuities' that Royal promotes.

 

I do not believe this is my problem. And I disagree with you that Royal is doing this just so you can have fun. They are doing it because it makes them more money, because you are allowing them to subsidize the wages of people you don't come into direct contact with.

 

If you like the new 'suggested gratuity' system as it is, that is fine. Others might view it a different way and want to tip differently, or not at all. And that is fine. It is Royal's problem to pay all these people, it is not yours.

[nbsjcruiser]

The problem with the survey is it is 'all or nothing' type scale. If you give anything other than a 10 it is as if you gave the employee a zero. That is unfair to both the cruiser trying to be honest and the staff member, as well as what the purpose of the survey should be, which is as a tool to see who are really your best and who of the staff/team need to have more training/assistance to do their job better.

 

Exactly. I wonder if the CEO and Board of Directors have the same rating for themselves? 10 or you're a failure. I'm guessing not.

 

What they should be striving for is more of a bell curve where 7,8 is where most people fall in and where acceptable performance is targeted. Outliers 9, 10 or 1-4 should be a rarity. This is when you get your true feeling for how staff is performing.

 

To me if they want to stick with the system they use and they want to continue to fool themselves then either do away with it completely or give you 2 options to rate people - 1 or 0. That's it, because basically that's what they've turned it into.

[marci22]

I never said it would have any impact on board: it is just an interesting change in sentiment for the UK....and given that over 50% of cruises are now non-US..it 'could' make for a different sentiment on board.

 

I thought that article was interesting, mostly because it suggested that businesses do not pay out all the tips collected, as customers would assume.

 

Decades ago, I was a coat check girl in a restaurant. And people tipped me. And the owner of the business kept the tips, and paid me a minimum wage. Once in awhile, people would ask, and I would tell them that no, I did not get to keep the tips. Those people didn't tip me, and I didn't blame them. Customers shouldn't always assume the business is doing the right thing, or even the thing that they assume them to be doing.

 

But Royal is not forcing anyone to pay these suggested gratuities, they make it optional. So I really don't have a problem with it, as it currently exists. People can make their own choice. As long as they allow that choice, they are off the hook for how they spend the money. But I wouldn't assume that the extra amounts they are charging/allocating are making any employee's life any better than it was before the change.

Edited May 2, 2016 by marci22

[marci22]

Without question, we always tipped and/or in addition to automatic gratuities but how many of the crew / service staff share the total amount of automatic gratuities and do they all share equally?

 

Currently they do not specify exactly who gets what.

 

Q: How is the automatic daily gratuity shared between members of the staff and crew?

 

A:

The automatic gratuity is $13.50 USD, or $16.50 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. Here's how it is shared between your onboard service team:

Dining & Culinary Services: $8.30 USD

Stateroom Attendant: $3.85 USD OR Suite Attendant: $6.85 USD

Other Housekeeping Services: $1.35 USD OR Housekeeping and Suite Services: $1.35 USD

[Paulette3028]

Nonsense! There is great incentive to perform well. If not, why are the employees always asking for positive ratings on the post cruise surveys? Their whole future with the company depends on these evaluations. Not only do they want to move from Assistant Waiter, to Waiter to Head Waiter to Maitre D', they want the salary increases and perks that go with them.

 

It's not just the tips, it's also the ability to climb the ladder and move from a Hawaiian shirt to a white shirt with a bar on the shoulder.

 

In addition, those with poor ratings know they will be fired or their contracts will not be renewed.

 

Plain and simple, you are wrong on this issue!

 

Thank you for putting it so well.....there is always incentive for performing well regardless of what the payroll system is.

 

But lets also be honest, there is something very wrong with the survey/rating system. If a cruiser gives a rating of less than 10, it is as if they are giving a zero to that employee. That isn't right, but companies that use these survey systems, and plenty do in other industries as well, follow the same pattern.

[Tripper10]

We never ever fill that survey out.

[Paul65]

Have you considered doing the same - perhaps in the hope that service might improve?

 

No. I have not experienced your perceived decline in service.

 

What I would like to know, is what would you recommend per night for our waiter, asst waiter and cabin steward these days (we are returning to traditional dining from now on).

 

I would recommend just going with the auto-gratuities, so you don't really even have to think about or wonder how much is appropriate.

 

IF I have to stand in line at a bar (as they have cut down on wait staff) I shall also be reclaiming the 18% tip on that too.

 

Good luck with that. I would rather not spend my vacation time trying to get a dollar or two back from each drink I purchase.

 

I would rather it went to the servers in the Diamond Lounge.

 

I guess I'm just getting seriously fed-up with such poor service for what was once a quality experience.

 

I have had good luck with service, but if, instead, I felt fed-up with poor service, and no longer felt I was getting a quality experience, I'd explore other vacation options.

[Paul65]

I agree that service has declined since the imposition of auto-grats.

Not so much in the DR or cabin attendant who have to perform to get an advancement; but with bar and other staff.

 

I prefer to hand my waiter etc cash and more than recommended.

 

So, are you suggesting there is some cause/effect relationship between auto-gratuities and your perceived decline in service from bar staff, where gratuities have always been added to drink prices?

[funship freddy]

Just off Allure. Had the drink package and (almost) always put a buck or two in the receipt folder. The bartenders took very good care of me. At dinner I tipped the drink server. Never had an empty drink. If we had breakfast or lunch in the MDR I always left a tip. We far prefer the "old" system of envelopes. I even tip the omelette person in the buffet. I found the service on Allure to be good +.

[MNfamilycruiser]

So, are you suggesting there is some cause/effect relationship between auto-gratuities and your perceived decline in service from bar staff, where gratuities have always been added to drink prices?

 

Does anyone know how the tips from the packages are allocated? That would be the most significant change.

I would say there certainly seems to be less bar staff - coinciding with the push for sell packages? Or just part of the constant cost reduction efforts.

[funship freddy]

Another question would be.... when the beverage package is a perk does RCCL contribute to the pool or is the pool just smaller because the PAX did not pay the 18% on the package ?

[CoupleUK]

Re the Guest Survey

 

On my last few cruises, we have never had the same wait staff for more than one night; quite often we don't get the same wait staff for more than one food course.

 

Dining staff are now just nicely dressed fast food waiters - I wonder how long before the roller boots are added.

 

So, how do I mark a specific server with a 10 - when I have had a bunch of different ones?

 

Is someone seriously telling me that with all these staff rushing around like headless chickens, Royal kept records on who served me?

 

So, forget any notion about the results of a Survey influencing job promotion prospects.

 

Perhaps an overall score of 8/10 across all guests might give ALL wait staff their full wage but certainly not on an employee by employee basis.