Gratuities aboard Royal Caribbean

[Toofarfromthesea]

Nobody would dispute how hard these people work,what is in dispute IMO is what the effects of withdrawing this payment are,as I have said on other forums many do not believe that all the money goes where the cruise line say.

As for paying the staff more making the cruise dearer well P&O cruises are not significantly dearer than RCI IME,if anything quite the opposite,but somehow charge a much lower amount,seem to be able to withstand many people not paying this AND don't charge the 18% extra on top of drink prices which are also considerably lower than on RCI,& don't forget they are part of the Carnival group so are essentially American owned.

Choosing which cruise line you travel with isn't always that simple either,for us we book which ever cruise line has destinations that we like,no other reason.

 

Many people find it very easy to believe anything that allows them to justify their actions.

 

As to the rest, if you prefer Cunard's way of doing business then by all means sail Cunard. But using Cunard as a justification for stiffing crew on mass cruise lines makes no sense.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Fully agree with all your points - boy, there are some rude people on these boards...aggression / nastiness first - explanation after (or not at all). Sad state of affairs.

 

I do wish the compulsory 'gratuities' were included in the up front cost, then all this unpleasantness would be avoided. :(

 

No, they wouldn't. You've obviously never been on a discussion board for all-inclusive resorts, where the 'gratuities included' aspect does nothing to prevent these exact kinds of threads, although there the equities are different.

[Toofarfromthesea]

It is contradicted on other threads, I have never seen this contract of which you write on any previous threads.

Point me in the right direction to read it if you don't mind.

 

It is contradicted on other threads by people who find that a theory that has been refuted over and over again by board members with intimate knowledge of the inside working of cruise ships because they have worked in the industry and built up strong credibility over years of participating here, is very convenient because it 'justifies' keeping their money in their pockets.

[Toofarfromthesea]

The only ones that "have assured that they do not have to turn in tips" are those who are against the auto-gratuities.

 

Crew quarters are small and the crew knows who is keeping the tips when they shouldn't. A discrete word to a supervisor...

 

Plus, if 'their' pax are taking off the auto-grats it is interpreted by management as the service was not up to snuff, which may affect the crew member's chances for their next contract.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Pretty sure that only works for unreported income. The auto grats will get reported

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

No, the tax laws in those countries tax wages and tips differently. It has nothing to do with reporting or not reporting income.

[Mikew0805]

Guys, let's just end this thread. We know folks in the UK (generally) don't tip. They know they should, as you can researching coming to the USA... it's not too hard to find out. That's nothing specific to cruising, they don't when they come to the US either. (The majority don't I should say to hedge myself) That's why service/wait people in Orlando dred getting UK folks at their tables, they know they are going to work so hard, and not get tipped because "That's not their culture" I have so many friends in the service industry in the Disney/Universal area who can attest to this. The funny thing is, whenever I go to the UK I always tip 20%, no one ever ran after me to give that money back, lol.

 

Ok, so just so I understand this. You are critical of UK travelers coming here, and not adhering to our standards, and not tipping the employees that have employers that are too cheap to pay them appropriately, and hide behind a

 

However, then you travel to a country where you are not adhering to their standards, and seem to think (based on the words you typed) that your decision is okay? Just making sure I have the hypocrisy straight. :confused:

 

Oh and since they can research when coming to the US, I believe you can as well when traveling abroad. It's not too hard to find out.

[Mikew0805]

OP - It's not really my business who you tip or who you don't. I am not going to stress out over your decisions, call you names, etc., since I am not willing to send a check to RCI employees to cover any tips that you choose not to pay.

 

The answer to your question is.. yes you can remove them, and tip those you wish to tip in person.

[GUT2407]

OP - It's not really my business who you tip or who you don't. I am not going to stress out over your decisions, call you names, etc., since I am not willing to send a check to RCI employees to cover any tips that you choose not to pay.

 

The answer to your question is.. yes you can remove them, and tip those you wish to tip in person.

And really that’s the bottom line, the line allows it.

[ONECRUISER]

About as helpful as I can be. The contract has been posted several times but I've not retained a link. I can assure you the contract did stipulate that failing to report gratuities offered by a passenger that had removed the auto-grats was cause for dismissal.

Heard that from a Room Attendant that if he held out tips cause for dismissal, though can't remember which Cruise Line...

[ReneeFLL]

and of course you only replied to the person that said what you WANTED to hear. Typical.

(y)

 

Don´t you just love people who live their life at the cost of others. Your father would be proud of you.

True. She said she was hard working, but she must not think the crew are alao hard working. I'll bet they work harder than she ever has in her life. I agree if you can't afford it then don't go or leave the kids at home as this would probably be cheaper.

[spookwife]

I'm a little reluctant to dip my toe in this thread - its so nasty !!! But there is something I would like to know.

 

 

Now by question is, we are told that a 'work for tips' or very low paid jobs where tips are expected in America keeps the prices down. In my local pub/restaurant a 175ml glass of wine is around GBP4 to GBP5. Are drinks in a good neighbourhood bar in America similar or a lot cheaper because you are paying the staff directly in tips? I have no idea what the conversion rate is, but a standard pour of a Middle of the Road House Wine in $8-9 US. Lables/varietals start at $10-12 for something that is drinkable.

 

Another reason why the tipping system is often preferred on these boards is that people say they get better service, but I find that in our local pubs the bar staff work very hard and can't imagine how they could work any better if they got tips?

 

as for the 'better service' mantra, yeah not so much. we have experienced the same level of service( very good to excellent) whether we prepay, leave them to be charged daily or use OBC/have them covered by an outside agency.

 

one thing that I have not really seen mentioned much if at all is that when you go to GS to remove the auto tips, the first thing that happens is they ask the passenger what was so terrible about the service that they felt the need to remove them. the second thing that happens is the crew member gets interrogated as to why their work sucked so badly they were removed. in other words the default assumption is , the service was poor. it has NOTHING to do with your misguided attempt to only reward certain people based on YOUR erroneous assumptions as to who deserves your money.

[Ocean Boy]

How did your employer know that you were not stealing from a company you worked for? Did they search you every night when you left the building?

 

They don't have to search. The benefits of turning the tips in and making sure the company knows that the guest was satisfied, just not using auto tips, if far greater than keeping the tip money from a guest and having their customer satisfaction rating dropped.

 

Also if a customer removed auto tips, but the steward turned in his, but the dining room folks did not, or vise versa you can be pretty sure it would raise a red flag.

 

There will still be some that might not turn it in and might get a way with it, but I would expect those are employees that are not planning to come back on another contract.

It is no wonder RCI can't get their website to work, their IT department is way too busy tracking gratuities.

[spookwife]

Do passengers tip in the Diamond lounge when they receive their complementary drinks? Damn....I just went down another rabbit hole.

 

I can only answer for myself and my personal observations: yep. some people tip per drink/night. others, like me, tip on the last night. ( hate carrying around a butt ton of singles)

 

its interesting to note that the people who tip per drink often were the ones NOT drinking alcoholic beverages. tonic or club soda were the norms there. you also tend to get the same 2-3 bar stewards the entire week so you quickly learn their names and can make sure they get an envelope with their name on it if by some chance they are not there the last night. we trust the Concierge to make sure it is =delivered, but some people prefer to go directly to GS and drop off the envelopes.

[Iamcruzin]

as for the 'better service' mantra, yeah not so much. we have experienced the same level of service( very good to excellent) whether we prepay, leave them to be charged daily or use OBC/have them covered by an outside agency.

 

one thing that I have not really seen mentioned much if at all is that when you go to GS to remove the auto tips, the first thing that happens is they ask the passenger what was so terrible about the service that they felt the need to remove them. the second thing that happens is the crew member gets interrogated as to why their work sucked so badly they were removed. in other words the default assumption is , the service was poor. it has NOTHING to do with your misguided attempt to only reward certain people based on YOUR erroneous assumptions as to who deserves your money.

I wonder if anyone goes to GS and says, "I'm British and we don't agree with the American tipping culture."

[Ocean Boy]

Do passengers tip in the Diamond lounge when they receive their complementary drinks? Damn....I just went down another rabbit hole.

As a matter of fact, yes.

[grapau27]

In my opinion the U.S. tipping system is broken just like the U.S. economic system. Yes we tip based on service. In hair/nail salons and barber shops you build personal relationship over time with the person who is providing the service so you tend to tip better than you would a stranger. Dining in restaurants is were it lacks credibility in my opinion because the tip is a percent of the total order. It takes just as much effort to serve a $10 hamburger as it does for a $20 steak. You will also spend more for the same hamburger in midtown Manhattan than you would in an uptown or downtown neighborhood restaurant and the service will be better in the non tourist area. Tipping has nothing to do with keeping prices down. Prices are determined by the cost of running the establishment, and the popularity of the establishment. You will never receive the type of service in a U.S. restaurant that you do on any cruise line unless you are a celebrity or a politician. This why most Americans are willing to prepay the gratuity. With that said I feel that the 18% gratuity is over priced for beverage service especially with high prices they charge just for a soft drink or water. Princess only adds 15% and their drinks are less expensive than Celebrity or Royal. The bar tender works just as hard on a Princess ship as a bar tender on Celebrity or Royal. Princess doesn't offer free drinks as part of their loyalty program. Do passengers tip in the Diamond lounge when they receive their complementary drinks? Damn....I just went down another rabbit hole.

I tip a dollar a drink in the DL and most of the time I don't see anyone else doing that.

[grapau27]

as for the 'better service' mantra, yeah not so much. we have experienced the same level of service( very good to excellent) whether we prepay, leave them to be charged daily or use OBC/have them covered by an outside agency.

 

one thing that I have not really seen mentioned much if at all is that when you go to GS to remove the auto tips, the first thing that happens is they ask the passenger what was so terrible about the service that they felt the need to remove them. the second thing that happens is the crew member gets interrogated as to why their work sucked so badly they were removed. in other words the default assumption is , the service was poor. it has NOTHING to do with your misguided attempt to only reward certain people based on YOUR erroneous assumptions as to who deserves your money.

Good point.

I always prepay our tips and always expected and received excellent service so an extra $200 per 7 night cruise is what I give.Most of this goes to the DL and Speciality restaurant waiters and our cabin steward.

[grapau27]

It is no wonder RCI can't get their website to work, their IT department is way too busy tracking gratuities.

Maybe they want a part of our gratuities too.

[grapau27]

I wonder if anyone goes to GS and says, "I'm British and we don't agree with the American tipping culture."

I am sure there will be a lot of people who do that and not just Brits.

[Ocean Boy]

when you go to GS to remove the auto tips, the first thing that happens is they ask the passenger what was so terrible about the service that they felt the need to remove them. the second thing that happens is the crew member gets interrogated as to why their work sucked so badly they were removed.

How do you know this?

[Redrobo]

as for the 'better service' mantra, yeah not so much. we have experienced the same level of service( very good to excellent) whether we prepay, leave them to be charged daily or use OBC/have them covered by an outside agency.

 

one thing that I have not really seen mentioned much if at all is that when you go to GS to remove the auto tips, the first thing that happens is they ask the passenger what was so terrible about the service that they felt the need to remove them. the second thing that happens is the crew member gets interrogated as to why their work sucked so badly they were removed. in other words the default assumption is , the service was poor. it has NOTHING to do with your misguided attempt to only reward certain people based on YOUR erroneous assumptions as to who deserves your money.

 

I wonder if anyone goes to GS and says, "I'm British and we don't agree with the American tipping culture."

 

 

I think it has already been pointed out, there is no need to go to GS in person, the task of removing or altering tips can be done with a phone call.

As far as I am aware there is no interrogation as to the reasons, and certainly no need to state your nationality, a rather idiotic concept.

Your statement about the crew being interrogated, there is no truth in that because the first part negates the second. The third a figment of you imagination.

[grapau27]

I think it has already been pointed out, there is no need to go to GS in person, the task of removing or altering tips can be done with a phone call.

As far as I am aware there is no interrogation as to the reasons, and certainly no need to state your nationality, a rather idiotic concept.

Your statement about the crew being interrogated, there is no truth in that because the first part negates the second. The third a figment of you imagination.

You are right, the nationality thing is someone trying to slur Brits.

We prepay tips and give a lot extra in cash but that is me.

Crew will only be investigated if someone puts in a formal complaint about them.

[sft429]

snip.....The op has probably worked his or her arse off to go on this cruise and then you expect him or her to pay someone's wages for the privilage....

 

Just where do you think the money is supposed to come from to pay the crew?

[grapau27]

Just where do you think the money is supposed to come from to pay the crew?

Usually out of the price you pay for the cruise plus all the extras you buy on board.

[RocketMan275]

Usually out of the price you pay for the cruise plus all the extras you buy on board.

including the auto-gratuities