Can I alter he amount of tips at guest services

[mafig]

Thank you, a lot of people are making judgements about what I can afford, where I’m from etc and accusations of being cheap etc. I’m not bothered by them as these people don’t know anything about me.

 

 

People will be making those judgements about you for years. Every time they click on your name and go to see your prior posts they'll see you believe in not tipping the staff. Probably people on your roll call too.

 

:p

[normannna]

It's my understanding that you cannot reduce automatic gratuities. Your options are to leave them intact, remove them altogether, or add to them, i.e., give your stateroom attendant and/or waiter additional tips.

Thanks - will double check with guest services on board and then let the board know

[LH25]

Thnaks Sam for this great response. This is the way we have been tipping since our first cruise in 1978. We personally tip those we come in contact with directly, to make sure their efforts are rewarded appropriately. When we go to a restaurant, I tip the server for their service. It is not up to me to tip all the back of house staff. That is the responsibility of the owner, as it should be the responsibility of the cruise line to do the same.

 

Wait staff I know say they do in fact share tips with back of the house staff.

[normannna]

While I am considering the source, nowhere did he say he would be decreasing the suggested amount which is what you intended to do. Quit trying to find someone who agrees with you.

 

Geri, you seem to be taking this personally. My tip to you is troll someone else who cares

[normannna]

People will be making those judgements about you for years. Every time they click on your name and go to see your prior posts they'll see you believe in not tipping the staff. Probably people on your roll call too.

 

:p

Thanks. Not worried in the slightest and have never said I do not believe in tipping and it’s obvious many posters responding to my question cannot actually read properly :D

[Wine-O]

Thanks. Not worried in the slightest and have never said I do not believe in tipping and it’s obvious many posters responding to my question cannot actually read properly :D

 

The staff knows if you removed your tips. Aren't you afraid someone will spit on your food or lose your luggage on disembarkation? :rolleyes:

[voyager70]

I always tip EXTRA in cash to those who deserve it.

 

As do I, along with the auto grats. Would never consider removing grats, that's a huge part of their income and a small amount when looking at the total cost of the vacation.

[grapau27]

I needed a good laugh this morning:)

Fantastic laugh.

Let that be a warning never stop your tips lol.

[grapau27]

Be sure to do it on the first day so the staff can take care of those that take care of them and not bother with you or your family.

Great reply.

[gerif]

Geri, you seem to be taking this personally. My tip to you is troll someone else who cares

Quite obvious you care about no one but yourself. There are a few things that upset me and stiffing the staff happens to be one of them. Truly, I’m saying nothing on this thread that I would not say to you in person. If you are not a cheap selfish person, why not share with us your reason for lowering tips - we just might understand.

[grapau27]

Funny how you don't hear many stories of the removers doing so the first day and proudly informing the steward and waitstaff that they won't be tipping.

 

Given they're from the UK, I'm guessing its one of those "its not how we do things where i'm from" situations. Which would make sense if you didn't know better. But to be aware of the system and still use unfamiliarity as an excuse is just gauche.

Thankfully we are not all tightwads from the UK.

[normannna]

Just be prepared to have your cabin host and your servers ask what they can do to improve their service. The supervisors do get a list of those who have removed or lowered tips and will approach the crew to find out what has happened. The supervisor might approach as well to find out what is wrong so that they can help fix it.

Thanks for your comment - good to know they are proactive

[grapau27]

Not in the UK.

If you are a good customer a UK TA will pay the autogratuity.

[voyager70]

Thankfully we are not all tightwads from the UK.

 

And there are plenty of my fellow Americans who ARE tightwads. Was at GS on a Med cruise a few years back and overhead an American couple at the next counter asking to have their grats removed. Said they were on a tight budget. Right, they can afford to travel to Europe for a cruise but they can't afford a few bucks a day to tip the hard working crew. Really disgusted me.

[grapau27]

Thank you for the 2 posters who replied without sharing judgement or opinions. To the others - suggest you learn to read or just don’t respond if you don’t like a question!

 

As an aside and nothing to do with my question but a couple of posters mentioned UK people and also tips in general. I went for an expensive meal in Miami with some expensive bottles of wine - the head waiter brought my bill with 25% tips already added in - needless to say I removed the tip completely and handed the busboy some cash direct so Americans can be pretty dreadful with this type of behaviour so please do not think it’s all overseas issues!

The crew work very hard and deserve all the tips they can get.

Unlike the P&O UK site you are setting your self up for critisism if you mention reducing or stopping autogratuities.

[crzndeb]

I never understand why people make these threads? Obviously the OP was well aware of comments they would get back. Would it have made a difference if they just went to guest services when they boarded and asked?

 

I really think some people love the snark so they can come back with the snark.

[grapau27]

Thank you for the 2 posters who replied without sharing judgement or opinions. To the others - suggest you learn to read or just don’t respond if you don’t like a question!

 

 

You don't get to ask a question and then tell people how to respond. It doesn't work that way on Cruise Critic.:rolleyes: I can turn your response around and say don't ask the !question if you might not like the answer

I agree Tipping crew is a must do.

[Guest]

I am going to stick up for the OP on this.

 

As a fellow Brit, it is not in our nature to tip to the extremes that you do in the States. As someone said, a gratuity is an added amount of money for good service. If i have received good service throughout my cruise, the gratuities will stay on. If i feel the standard has been subpar, they will be altered. I have asked the question at guest relations regarding who the gratuities go to. On both RCI and Celebrity i was informed that they are split between room stewards, wait staff and galley staff. The lowest wage jobs on the ship are mainly the customer facing (steward/wait staff). They depend on their gratuities, therefore it is in their interest to give better service. I can guarantee that giving them cash in hand will make sure more ends up in their pocket than gratuities that are spread across all members of each team. Galley staff are renown for moving up the ranks, so are in the position to earn a wage that is not dependent on tips.

 

In the UK, our staff are paid a wage for the work they do. The customer is not expected to top that up. I worked in a bar through University, and would be lucky to take £2 tips at the end of the night. It is not a done thing. So you can understand why a Brit may be uneasy of paying an extra £100+ on top of a holiday they have already paid for.

 

I sailed on a P&O (British) ship last year, and nearly everyone i spoke to had taken the tips off, and given cash in hand to those who they felt went above and beyond.

 

The OP is not a terrible person or cheap. Its just a change in culture.

 

And to those who say "stay away from cruises", don't be so damn ridiculous. There is no law, it is a suggestion. If it was mandatory, they would include it in the full fare.

 

I have been to the States multiple time as i have family in SC. We tip if the service is good. We alter if it is not. The staff know they depend on their tips so it is very rare we don't tip the full amount. The same principle applies at sea.

[LH25]

I am going to stick up for the OP on this.

 

As a fellow Brit, it is not in our nature to tip to the extremes that you do in the States. As someone said, a gratuity is an added amount of money for good service. If i have received good service throughout my cruise, the gratuities will stay on. If i feel the standard has been subpar, they will be altered.

 

In the case of the OP, they are planning to remove them now, before the cruise and before they have any idea of what kind of service they will get.

[lbjen]

Thnaks Sam for this great response. This is the way we have been tipping since our first cruise in 1978. We personally tip those we come in contact with directly, to make sure their efforts are rewarded appropriately. When we go to a restaurant, I tip the server for their service. It is not up to me to tip all the back of house staff. That is the responsibility of the owner, as it should be the responsibility of the cruise line to do the same.

 

Actually the wait staff have to tip the back of house staff from what you left them, and in some cases it’s a fixed amount so if you are cheap, your server might have to pay their back of house staff out of their own pocket.

 

OP the fact that you asked to not get any lectures on morality shows you know it’s wrong. It’s all very well paying cash to the people you see, but there are people not getting paid for their work when you do that. If you don’t agree with the system, don’t sail on a US line. It’s not difficult.

[Guest]

In the case of the OP, they are planning to remove them now, before the cruise and before they have any idea of what kind of service they will get.

 

Ah ok, well i am guessing it is still a culture thing. I guess as i travel to the states/ on cruises often, i at least wait till the end of the cruise to make amendments (if any)

[LH25]

Ah ok, well i am guessing it is still a culture thing. I guess as i travel to the states/ on cruises often, i at least wait till the end of the cruise to make amendments (if any)

 

And if you get bad service, and no resolution to the issues, removing tips makes sense.

[lbjen]

I am going to stick up for the OP on this.

 

As a fellow Brit, it is not in our nature to tip to the extremes that you do in the States. As someone said, a gratuity is an added amount of money for good service. If i have received good service throughout my cruise, the gratuities will stay on. If i feel the standard has been subpar, they will be altered. I have asked the question at guest relations regarding who the gratuities go to. On both RCI and Celebrity i was informed that they are split between room stewards, wait staff and galley staff. The lowest wage jobs on the ship are mainly the customer facing (steward/wait staff). They depend on their gratuities, therefore it is in their interest to give better service. I can guarantee that giving them cash in hand will make sure more ends up in their pocket than gratuities that are spread across all members of each team. Galley staff are renown for moving up the ranks, so are in the position to earn a wage that is not dependent on tips.

 

In the UK, our staff are paid a wage for the work they do. The customer is not expected to top that up. I worked in a bar through University, and would be lucky to take £2 tips at the end of the night. It is not a done thing. So you can understand why a Brit may be uneasy of paying an extra £100+ on top of a holiday they have already paid for.

 

I sailed on a P&O (British) ship last year, and nearly everyone i spoke to had taken the tips off, and given cash in hand to those who they felt went above and beyond.

 

The OP is not a terrible person or cheap. Its just a change in culture.

 

And to those who say "stay away from cruises", don't be so damn ridiculous. There is no law, it is a suggestion. If it was mandatory, they would include it in the full fare.

 

I have been to the States multiple time as i have family in SC. We tip if the service is good. We alter if it is not. The staff know they depend on their tips so it is very rare we don't tip the full amount. The same principle applies at sea.

 

In the US bar staff get paid $2 an hour, they only make an actual wage if people tip them. It’s not fair, and a lot of us don’t like it, but it’s the way it is. Not agreeing with it is not an excuse to not pay your way!

[voyager70]

As they say "when in Rome". When I travel outside of North America I adhere to local culture. I tip minimally in Europe as service industry are paid a higher wage. In North America they rely on tips. At the end of the day you pretty much end up paying the same amount whether you tip or pay a higher up front price to cover the staff's higher wage.

[mafig]

The staff knows if you removed your tips. Aren't you afraid someone will spit on your food or lose your luggage on disembarkation? :rolleyes:

 

 

LOL. Don't forget about the toothbrush.;p