Curious how Ready Set Sail included gratuities works??

[aotmc]

For the promotions that include the service charge with your fare, are the service staff actually tipped out the same from HAL as if I turned money/cash over to HAL at the end of my cruise as I would on a normal fare? Just wondering if everyone involved is actually getting the same fair share.

[Scrapnana]

There are some people who do not believe that the crew ever gets all (or any) of the tip money collected. However, I have asked a few crew members and they say they do get the allotted amount.

[Crew News]

For the promotions that include the service charge with your fare, are the service staff actually tipped out the same from HAL as if I turned money/cash over to HAL at the end of my cruise as I would on a normal fare? Just wondering if everyone involved is actually getting the same fair share.

 

Your stateroom account is charged the HSC for each day and that goes to the crew account. The charge. Your stateroom account is reimbursed from a promo account. The crew knows from whom a daily HSC can be expected as well as those who have cancelled the HSC.

[OlsSalt]

Your stateroom account is charged the HSC for each day and that goes to the crew account. The charge. Your stateroom account is reimbursed from a promo account. The crew knows from whom a daily HSC can be expected as well as those who have cancelled the HSC.

 

On an Oosterdam cruise in AUSNZ we saw lines of passengers at the front desk presumably taking their HSC off the bill at the end of the trip, since tipping is not a tradition in both those countries. How does the crew "know" who took the tips off?

[RuthC]

How does the crew "know" who took the tips off?

A list is posted in a crew area. They check the list for names of people who have given them a cash tip, and are required to turn in cash tips if the name is on the list.

Very simple, very easy.

[OlsSalt]

A list is posted in a crew area. They check the list for names of people who have given them a cash tip, and are required to turn in cash tips if the name is on the list.

Very simple, very easy.

 

Please explain a little more - HAL keep a running account on thousands of passengers and this tipping amount designation follows a passenger on every other HAL ship from now until eternity and is located at every service point in the entire ship?

[pcur]

Please explain a little more - HAL keep a running account on thousands of passengers and this tipping amount designation follows a passenger on every other HAL ship from now until eternity and is located at every service point in the entire ship?

 

UMMM, I believe the explanation references "per cruise".

[OlsSalt]

UMMM, I believe the explanation references "per cruise".

 

Thanks. One hears rumors about other "lists". This would conclude it makes no sense to tip directly with cash for any ship service since it all gets pooled anyway - just add more to the HSC at the end and keep the loose cash needs out of the daily onboard cruise experience.

 

Wouldn't it be better to ask for the servers name and write up a compliment card instead of handing that server some daily cash that has to be given back to the pool and the server never gets the extra recognition?

[kazu]

Thanks. One hears rumors about other "lists". This would conclude it makes no sense to tip directly with cash for any ship service since it all gets pooled anyway - just add more to the HSC at the end and keep the loose cash needs out of the daily onboard cruise experience.

 

Wouldn't it be better to ask for the servers name and write up a compliment card instead of handing that server some daily cash that has to be given back to the pool and the server never gets the extra recognition?

 

It only does no good to tip directly by cash IF you remove the HSC. If the HSC is kept in place the additional cash tips are kept by the crew member they were gifted to.

 

 

It is always wise to do a LUK card for those crew that are making your cruise special. It's the key to promotions and recognition on board and means a lot to those that get them.

[midwest 852]

Please explain a little more - HAL keep a running account on thousands of passengers and this tipping amount designation follows a passenger on every other HAL ship from now until eternity and is located at every service point in the entire ship?

 

 

I also wondered about that?

John Heald Carnival Brand Ambassor has posted on his face book page that they do not post a list of passengers that remove gratuities. And they do not know how much they will receive until the following pay peroid.

He did say that if a guest has a complaint it maybe posted for the steward to correct.

[RuthC]

John Heald Carnival Brand Ambassor has posted on his face book page that they do not post a list of passengers that remove gratuities.

Apparently Carnival has a different procedure than HAL has, then. Which is not surprising, since they are different in other ways, too.

Or did he mean the list isn't posted publicly? HAL posts it in the stewards' work room, away from the public (although, if a passenger walks in by accident, they can see it).

[RocketMan275]

On an Oosterdam cruise in AUSNZ we saw lines of passengers at the front desk presumably taking their HSC off the bill at the end of the trip, since tipping is not a tradition in both those countries. How does the crew "know" who took the tips off?

 

A list is posted in a crew area. They check the list for names of people who have given them a cash tip, and are required to turn in cash tips if the name is on the list.

Very simple, very easy.

 

Expanding upon what RuthC said. It could be very simply done. By the morning of debarkation, the ship knows who has cancelled their HSC and could provide a list to the crew. The crew could then turn tips received from those who have cancelled.

 

IMHO, waiting until the evening of the last day to cancel HSC is a very cowardly act. Obviously, those who do so understand that what they are doing is wrong and only wish to escape their perceived consequences. Those who intend to cancel their HSC should have the courage of their convictions. They should announce their intent to do so on the first day of the cruise to the members of the crew, their steward, their waiters, etc. covered by the HSC. They can of course accompany such announcement with a suitable statement explaining why their actions are in the best interest of the crew.

[happyglobetrotter]

Answering the OP question, I have presently 2 cruises booked under the promo set sail and gratuities included. There is also a note at the bottom of the reservation confirmation that the prepaid gratuities are non-refundable.

[alwaysfrantic]

Back to the initial question, so it will just be a debit and credit on the account daily, or will it not even show on the statements? I have this from Explore 4.

[aotmc]

OP here. To clarify, I don't want to cash anything out or cancel HSC. I want to know how the crew is getting paid (if they are?) or if this just is a way for HAL to get customers and the staff is left with out.

 

Answering the OP question, I have presently 2 cruises booked under the promo set sail and gratuities included. There is also a note at the bottom of the reservation confirmation that the prepaid gratuities are non-refundable.

[Florida_gal_50]

Expanding upon what RuthC said. It could be very simply done. By the morning of debarkation, the ship knows who has cancelled their HSC and could provide a list to the crew. The crew could then turn tips received from those who have cancelled.

 

IMHO, waiting until the evening of the last day to cancel HSC is a very cowardly act. Obviously, those who do so understand that what they are doing is wrong and only wish to escape their perceived consequences. Those who intend to cancel their HSC should have the courage of their convictions. They should announce their intent to do so on the first day of the cruise to the members of the crew, their steward, their waiters, etc. covered by the HSC. They can of course accompany such announcement with a suitable statement explaining why their actions are in the best interest of the crew.

I think that you have to wait until the evening of the last day to cancel the hsc but I'm not 100% positive. I've never done it so I can't speak from personal experience. I wish Hal would make this non removable.

[Crew News]

Back to the initial question, so it will just be a debit and credit on the account daily, or will it not even show on the statements? I have this from Explore 4.

 

On our Explore4 promo last December, the HSC appeared as a charge each day and then a deduction of the same amount each day.

[RocketMan275]

OP here. To clarify, I don't want to cash anything out or cancel HSC. I want to know how the crew is getting paid (if they are?) or if this just is a way for HAL to get customers and the staff is left with out.

 

What would convince you that HAL isn't cheating the staff and that the crew is getting paid?

[aotmc]

I asked a question. I am not convinced one way or the other. I wanted more insight. I was simply curious, because HAL would have to be paying them from someplace, and tips are not salary, so I got to thinking of how it worked logistically.

 

For further context, I used to work retail and with other promotions sometimes staff was affected if things were at such a discount that our commission would take a hit. But, overall we didn't mind because we sold more. For example, it wouldn't be totally out of control if the staff actually didn't get tipped out from promos like this, but then they knew they would have no empty cabins.

 

What would convince you that HAL isn't cheating the staff and that the crew is getting paid?

[Boytjie]

I asked a question. I am not convinced one way or the other. I wanted more insight. I was simply curious, because HAL would have to be paying them from someplace, and tips are not salary, so I got to thinking of how it worked logistically.

 

For further context, I used to work retail and with other promotions sometimes staff was affected if things were at such a discount that our commission would take a hit. But, overall we didn't mind because we sold more. For example, it wouldn't be totally out of control if the staff actually didn't get tipped out from promos like this, but then they knew they would have no empty cabins.

 

It iis likely to how OBC can cover the HSC; since there are many offers of HAL offering OBC and it getting mixed in with HSC and other charges like purchases, I doubt they would stiff the staff all the time.

[RocketMan275]

I asked a question. I am not convinced one way or the other. I wanted more insight. I was simply curious, because HAL would have to be paying them from someplace, and tips are not salary, so I got to thinking of how it worked logistically.

 

For further context, I used to work retail and with other promotions sometimes staff was affected if things were at such a discount that our commission would take a hit. But, overall we didn't mind because we sold more. For example, it wouldn't be totally out of control if the staff actually didn't get tipped out from promos like this, but then they knew they would have no empty cabins.

 

It's simply a promo. The HSC promo isn't like a sale with a 10% discount where sales personnel take a 10% commission cut but make it up on volume resulting from the sale. Think about it. What would the crew do if HAL told them they gave away their HSC for the next year to promote sales? Do you think there would be a crew?

 

You may not have noticed this but HAL, or any other cruise line, are not doing you favors with their promos. You can ask your TA or the cruise line for a price that doesn't include the promo. You'll find that there is very little savings with the promo.

 

We signed up for the Explore 4. It included a specialty dinner, a beverage package for two, and included gratuities. The value of those 'includeds' (dinner, beverage, and gratuities) was about $1050. The cost of the cruise with the 'includeds' was $1050 more than the cost of the cruise without the 'includeds'.

 

Now, there are some exceptions and some have been able to save money with the promos but it's more common that you will not. So the bottom line is this, the cruise line is still charging you for those things included in the price and still can pay the HSC.