Being asked to give extra tips

[juju2454]

Don't forget to bring singles with you. You'll need them to tip the guys at the curb who help with your luggage, the room service waiters, the guides on your excursions, etc. We always pick up a pack of $50 singles from the bank before we leave on our cruise. And, we also bring thank you note cards for our room steward and waiters so we can give them cash and a friendly note.

 

singles for the guy t the curb?? we don't do anything but a flat $20 and we get right away service ;)

[Thorben-Hendrik]

This is so generous and purely customer oriented from Royal! I suggest they should also publish a guideline for additional tips for convenience and let you prepay it. Tip till you drop!

 

 

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Someone pointed out that tipping is good for health...... some are very sick! :D:halo:

[DHADEN]

Your prepaid tips are a fraction of what you'd pay at a nice hotel and restaurant. Standard is 20% for good service and upwards for excellent service. Think about how much three meals at a nice restaurant would cost you, housekeeping, room attendant to bring you ice, entertainers etc etc. $14.50 a day pp is a steal. These folks bust their butts working 10+ hours a day, every day for up to 7 months at a time. Can you imagine working 70 hours per week with not a single day off? Open up your wallet and show some gratitude.

 

I paid about $8,500 for our Grand Suite on a 13-night cruise - you are saying I should TIP the staff $1,700 ?:eek:?

 

Analysis:

Some people feel guilty when they are successeful and feel that they HAVE to give away their rewards because they don't deserve them.

Some people like to feel important by telling everyone else how wonderful they are BECAUSE they give away their rewards.

 

Between this and your posts on the other tipping thread, I would just comment that wording like that does little to get others to come around to seeing your point of view. Oh and by the way, back in my medical residency days there were plenty of weeks when I worked over 70 hrs without a single day off so I don't have to use my imagination to know what it is like. And there are still weeks when I work over 70 hours only I do it knowing that there is absolutely no room for mistakes. I don't look for, or expect, any sympathy from anyone. We all make a choices in life then we live with them.

 

This is a GREAT answer and well said.;)

 

 

I think RCI could just add another line when you book your cruise. There is always the line for "Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses" that you HAVE to pay. You simply consider it part of the cruise price. They should just add another line to that and call it "Payroll Expenses". ;p

[TEXASMUNK]

Auto tipping began solely because so many people were stiffing the staff. If you cannot afford the gratuities, stay home, save up more money, then cruise and tip the staff. By the way, your cabin stewards get a list of those that have prepaid their gratuities. Your tips are split. For example, the Cabin Steward will split with his or her assistants (sometimes one person, often two). Dining, does not only go to your Waiter and assistant, but also a portion gets split with the team that work the buffet, and other food venues (staff behind the scenes). To those that say, eliminate tips and put it in the cost, well it is a competitive marketplace and when customers compare pricings, that would put one cruise line way out of line with others.....that won't work.

The envelopes are purely a convenience...no one is twisting anyone's arm.

[Missusdubbya]

This applies to the US only! At least try to see it from a global perspective, ships crew is from all over the world as well. Most people from the rest of the world would never tip 20 % and up in hotels and restaurants, 5-10% is a fair global average I would say.

 

 

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This.

 

Most of the world does not have a tipping culture.

 

 

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[Charles4515]

Your prepaid tips are a fraction of what you'd pay at a nice hotel and restaurant. Standard is 20% for good service and upwards for excellent service. Think about how much three meals at a nice restaurant would cost you, housekeeping, room attendant to bring you ice, entertainers etc etc. $14.50 a day pp is a steal. These folks bust their butts working 10+ hours a day, every day for up to 7 months at a time. Can you imagine working 70 hours per week with not a single day off? Open up your wallet and show some gratitude.

 

Well, if they provide above the service expected I will show gratitude and leave extra beyond the automatic gratuity. Otherwise not, I don't tip extra based on guilt that they are hard workers. Earlier this month on Jewel of the Seas the cabin attendent did the minimium and for example did not replace dirty glasses with clean glasses every day. So no extra. The dining room servers did not know how to serve properly. Serving the plates from the wrong side and crossing over. So no extra tip. After that I was pleasantly surprised that the server in Chops did serve correctly including asking the ladies for their orders first.

[GUT2407]

Auto tipping began solely because so many people were stiffing the staff. If you cannot afford the gratuities, stay home, save up more money, then cruise and tip the staff. By the way, your cabin stewards get a list of those that have prepaid their gratuities. Your tips are split. For example, the Cabin Steward will split with his or her assistants (sometimes one person, often two). Dining, does not only go to your Waiter and assistant, but also a portion gets split with the team that work the buffet, and other food venues (staff behind the scenes). To those that say, eliminate tips and put it in the cost, well it is a competitive marketplace and when customers compare pricings, that would put one cruise line way out of line with others.....that won't work.

The envelopes are purely a convenience...no one is twisting anyone's arm.

 

 

The only people “stiffing the staff” are the lines.

 

Tipping is for exceptional service. To be honest I’ve rarely ad service on any cruise that I would consider above aerate, let alone exceptional.

[haply]

Auto tipping began solely because so many people were stiffing the staff. If you cannot afford the gratuities, stay home, save up more money, then cruise and tip the staff. By the way, your cabin stewards get a list of those that have prepaid their gratuities. Your tips are split. For example, the Cabin Steward will split with his or her assistants (sometimes one person, often two). Dining, does not only go to your Waiter and assistant, but also a portion gets split with the team that work the buffet, and other food venues (staff behind the scenes). To those that say, eliminate tips and put it in the cost, well it is a competitive marketplace and when customers compare pricings, that would put one cruise line way out of line with others.....that won't work.

The envelopes are purely a convenience...no one is twisting anyone's arm.

 

Auto tipping began solely ......so that the cruise lines could get access to the employee gratuities. The only way to be sure that the employees are getting the tips is to tip them directly.

[Redrobo]

Auto tipping began solely because so many people were stiffing the staff. If you cannot afford the gratuities, stay home, save up more money, then cruise and tip the staff. By the way, your cabin stewards get a list of those that have prepaid their gratuities. Your tips are split. For example, the Cabin Steward will split with his or her assistants (sometimes one person, often two). Dining, does not only go to your Waiter and assistant, but also a portion gets split with the team that work the buffet, and other food venues (staff behind the scenes). To those that say, eliminate tips and put it in the cost, well it is a competitive marketplace and when customers compare pricings, that would put one cruise line way out of line with others.....that won't work.

The envelopes are purely a convenience...no one is twisting anyone's arm.

 

And you know that for certain, what a load of flimflam.

[Saab4444]

Has anyone noticed a difference in how people leave their cabins? I would never expect that a cabin steward picks up my dirty underwear and other stuff from all over the place. We clean up our waste by ourselves and make it quick and easy for him/her. For me this is a better sign of respect for the hard working people than leaving a mess twice a day and tip more. Many cabins look like after an earth quake and it takes the cabin stewards twice the time or more to clean it. Especially if children are involved. This disrespectful behavior of many guests makes the crew work more than the average standard of 8 hours per day.

 

 

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[GUT2407]

And you know that for certain, what a load of flimflam.

True.

 

For many years here in Australia the lines under the Carnival group rolled it all into the fare, those under the Royal group didn’t, both brands flourished.

 

Last year RCCL and Celebrity decided to bundle it in the fare too.

 

Seems contrary to what many post about price advantages.

[fishtaco]

Auto tipping began solely because so many people were stiffing the staff. If you cannot afford the gratuities, stay home, save up more money, then cruise and tip the staff. By the way, your cabin stewards get a list of those that have prepaid their gratuities. Your tips are split. For example, the Cabin Steward will split with his or her assistants (sometimes one person, often two). Dining, does not only go to your Waiter and assistant, but also a portion gets split with the team that work the buffet, and other food venues (staff behind the scenes). To those that say, eliminate tips and put it in the cost, well it is a competitive marketplace and when customers compare pricings, that would put one cruise line way out of line with others.....that won't work.

The envelopes are purely a convenience...no one is twisting anyone's arm.

 

Not true about putting cruise lines out of line with others if they add the grats to the price anyway it should be compulsory for all cruielines to include grats in the cruise price?

 

A cruiseline has to keep its prices low enough to be competitive which only affects profits so including the grats in the cruise price does not raise cruise prices. Australia is a prime example of this! no grats at all just a cruise price you pay once then pay no more,same ships same staff same food same entertainment! only we have "Consumer Protection Laws" to make it so.

 

Australian cruise prices have not gone up since the grats had to be included in the price,the cruiselines are still coming here and have not left because their profits are too low and the staff have not abandond ships through the lack of extra tips.

[fishtaco]

Has anyone noticed a difference in how people leave their cabins? I would never expect that a cabin steward picks up my dirty underwear and other stuff from all over the place. We clean up our waste by ourselves and make it quick and easy for him/her. For me this is a better sign of respect for the hard working people than leaving a mess twice a day and tip more. Many cabins look like after an earth quake and it takes the cabin stewards twice the time or more to clean it. Especially if children are involved. This disrespectful behavior of many guests makes the crew work more than the average standard of 8 hours per day.

 

 

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Curious as to how you know just how many other cabins look like inside to be able to say they look like just after an earthquake?

 

Also how do you know cabin stewards go around picking up passengers dirty underwear? Given you would never leave them yourself ? do you ask them about dirty underwear in the cabins?

[fishtaco]

True.

 

For many years here in Australia the lines under the Carnival group rolled it all into the fare, those under the Royal group didn’t, both brands flourished.

 

Last year RCCL and Celebrity decided to bundle it in the fare too.

 

Seems contrary to what many post about price advantages.

 

We know grats included in the cruise price works but some will just never have it!

 

What would happen to the TA free grats perk some get? they would be jumping up and down with rage if noone had to pay grats.

What they dont realize is every person who gets free grats as a perk is a person paying "no grats" at all and its many of those free grat getters who profess to pay the most in cash tips for above and beyond and tell others they should do likewise when in fact all they have paid out is a bit of cash nowhere near the entire grat cost others have paid.

Edited December 31, 2017 by fishtaco

[Saab4444]

Curious as to how you know just how many other cabins look like inside to be able to say they look like just after an earthquake?

 

 

 

Also how do you know cabin stewards go around picking up passengers dirty underwear? Given you would never leave them yourself ? do you ask them about dirty underwear in the cabins?

 

 

 

Just by looking left and right when walking along the decks in the morning but also by listening to cabin stewards. Same in hotels, you can guess where guests come from.

 

 

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[GUT2407]

Just by looking left and right when walking along the decks in the morning but also by listening to cabin stewards. Same in hotels, you can guess where guests come from.

 

 

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You can guess where people come from by how they leave their cabin??

 

True psychic powers there.

[fishtaco]

Just by looking left and right when walking along the decks in the morning but also by listening to cabin stewards. Same in hotels, you can guess where guests come from.

 

 

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I was just poking fun lol but I have to say your last statement was a trifle elitist dont you think?

 

You can guess where guests come from? well yes most cruise guests around the world come from USA :D

[Ocean Boy]

We know grats included in the cruise price works but some will just never have it!

 

What would happen to the TA free grats perk some get? they would be jumping up and down with rage if noone had to pay grats.

What they dont realize is every person who gets free grats as a perk is a person paying "no grats" at all and its many of those free grat getters who profess to pay the most in cash tips for above and beyond and tell others they should do likewise when in fact all they have paid out is a bit of cash nowhere near the entire grat cost others have paid.

The TA could just offer some OBC instead. This isn't hard. And why does it seem to matter to you if the customer pays the grats or the TA pays the grats for them? It doesn't matter to me if my patients pay for their office visit or their insurance does. I doubt that the ships staff cares much where the money comes from.

[iluvit!]

My career in sales brought my $$ in via 100% commission. I liked it that way since I paid myself directly for the extra work and effort I always put forth. There were some reps that just didn't feel like putting in the additional work...and their paychecks would show that result. If I were on a common salary with those "other" reps...would I feel my extra effort was rewarded when they received the same paycheck? Not so much. :o

 

The idea of extra income from additional tips...puts the same spin on things. I have had fantastic cabin attendants, and some not so much. Guess who got the extra dollars in their pockets...and at the same time, we enjoyed that extra effort they put forth. If they were all paid the same? :confused:

 

 

 

When they initiated this auto charge system we asked our room steward what he thought of it, and his reply was “well, the lazy ones like it”.

 

 

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[goldi272]

Sorry but thank you cards do not pay bills. The envelopes are provided as an option if you would like to express monetary gratitude to your service staff. It's not an obligation, but it is appreciated, much more than a thank you note. The crew is paid marginally in Panama wages which equates to roughly $4 per hour. They rely on gratuities for their livelihood and for their families. I don't think it hurts anyone to give a little extra for all the long hours they work. Additionally, I have no respect for people who go to Guest Services on the last day of the cruise only to complain and demand that gratuities be removed from their bill. These people should never set foot on a cruise ship & probably have never worked a day in their lives in the service industry. Chintzy cheapskate people! So if you decide to go on a cruise, be kind to your service staff. They work very hard to make a good experience for you.

 

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[LMaxwell]

I don't think it hurts anyone to give a little extra for all the long hours they work.

 

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So the new increased amounts being charged are not sufficient?

 

And when they raise them again in a year, will be told they are still not sufficient and we should feel compelled to give more?

 

Giving more is not compulsory, it is a personal decision to extend additional amount based on the services you received and should be a reward for efforts to make your vacation memorable, not just handed out based on guilt and regardless of services provided. You *may*, but that's just my opinion. Rewarding the best keeps them the best. Rewarding mediocrity begets mediocrity.

 

If you feel the staff are not compensated appropriately, your issue is with the cruise line. Write them a letter. Waitstaff have to handle more tables and room attendants have to cover more rooms than in the past, so that coupled with yearly near double digit percentage increases means they should be doing quite well.

 

The work is long but it would seem they are happy with the compensation plan otherwise they would not return.

 

I don't recall overtly being asked to give additional tips on a ship anyways.

[goldi272]

Exactly. It is personal choice. No matter what your profession I personally think anyone would be happy with more money. Not just Cruise Line workers.

 

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[nu_cruzer1]

So, in order to possibly receive "outstanding service" I have to pay gratuities .. it's not included in my base cruise fare. If I just want good service, is that included in my cruise fare?

[LMaxwell]

If I just want good service, is that included in my cruise fare?

 

Yes

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/cruise-vacation-price

[Clarea]

So, in order to possibly receive "outstanding service" I have to pay gratuities .. it's not included in my base cruise fare. If I just want good service, is that included in my cruise fare?

With very few exceptions,. we've always received outstanding service, even before they went to automatic gratuities.