Congratulations - You're now auto-tipping 18% on drinks instead of 15%.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, SwordBlazer Cruising said:

Let me ask a question. Since there are so many people who are concerned where a crew members tip goes, is there the very same public outcry when people smuggle onboard bottles of alcohol and other items which force a cruise line to raise the actual cruise cost? Come on guys, these crew members deserve the gratuities and really who are we to drill down and question to the PENNY how a cruise line " compensates" a crew member? I am not aware of anyone here that works as a director or is an officer for Carnival?

  

 

and to your point, which I mostly agree with, smuggling liquor is a minor problem which does NOT affect their bottom line. Anyone smuggling is probably so cheap they are not going to buy a lot of booze. Before Cheers, we were smugglers and still bought drinks aboard the ship. On bottle of Vodka is not going to make a dent in our paid drinking. 

[SwordBlazer Cruising]

51 minutes ago, coevan said:

  

 

and to your point, which I mostly agree with, smuggling liquor is a minor problem which does NOT affect their bottom line. Anyone smuggling is probably so cheap they are not going to buy a lot of booze. Before Cheers, we were smugglers and still bought drinks aboard the ship. On bottle of Vodka is not going to make a dent in our paid drinking. 

I agree with you however it could affect the on board revenue. Imagine if it was a free for all and people were allowed to bring on whatever and no one purchased drinks. My point ( I did a poor job making my case) was the very same people who are super duper curious about the micro cent of gratuities and where they go and the very same people who smuggle booze, take the shipboard towels and do not pay for them among other things. I will say if the service is not what I want, they of course I will adjust the amount but to drill down and make this issue so massive and to question the compliance of a fortune 300 company after all the bad accounting in companies that has happened over the past decade is nonsensical. Royal, NCL and Carnival all do a fine job for their crew.

[SwordBlazer Cruising]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Actually there is a fairly good outcry when the topic of smuggling is broached. Once I've left a tip it is out of my control and I try not to worry about things that I can't control, but that's just me.

You do make a point sparks1093. That is true

[declansdad]

On 11/30/2018 at 8:23 PM, Jared100 said:

I personally disagree with the auto added gratuities because I tip per drink, as do most people who understand social standards. This causes me to feel like i am paying double tips, but if I don't tip per drink I feel bad and think the bartender will not like me

 

That's on you. There wasn't any need to tip on drinks before and there isn't any reason to now, the tips are there now.

[coevan]

1 minute ago, declansdad said:

there isn't any reason to now

 

 

Sure there is, because I want to. I am sitting in a lounge chair and a server brings me a drink. I give them a dollar a drink. I am in the service industry and I think it's the right thing to do. I can also guarantee the server is going to find me more often then he will find you.

[declansdad]

4 hours ago, Crazy4Camping said:

I guess I'm still trying to figure out why folks think this is such a cheap vacation.  When all is done and paid for, we will have paid over $3k for a weeks vacation for 2 people.  We spent that several years ago to have our family of four go to Disney-food, flights, rental car, hotel, tickets to the kingdoms, everything.  I'm not saying it won't be worth it.  I'm really looking forward to our first and only cruise but I wouldn't say it's "cheap" by any means-unless you live close enough to drive to a port and you don't drink anything alcoholic.  JMHO

 

When did you go to Disney? In the 70s?

[declansdad]

11 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Sure there is, because I want to. I am sitting in a lounge chair and a server brings me a drink. I give them a dollar a drink. I am in the service industry and I think it's the right thing to do. I can also guarantee the server is going to find me more often then he will find you.

 

The tip was already and I've never had a problem getting a drink on a cruise because I didn't add $1 but if you feel it helps good for you.

[Swagner36]

On 11/30/2018 at 1:42 PM, Micah's Grandad said:

Has it been established how much of the 18% actually goes to the crew as pay?

Yes the crew gets 1.5%

 

[Swagner36]

24 minutes ago, Swagner36 said:

Yes the crew gets 1.5% of the new 3%

  

 

[Expat Cruise]

1 hour ago, Swagner36 said:

Yes the crew gets 1.5%

 

The question was "Has it been established how much of the 18% actually goes to the crew as pay?"  The answer 1.5% is not correct. We know from the letter to crew posted on CLN that the crew will get 1.5% of the 3% increase, we do not know how much of the 15% already charged they get.  The line will not tell the guest how this 18% total is paid to the crew. it is represented as a tip  so this information should be known. Based upon the 3% letter it could be less than half of the 18% goes to the crew as a tip.

 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Expat Cruise said:

The question was "Has it been established how much of the 18% actually goes to the crew as pay?"  The answer 1.5% is not correct. We know from the letter to crew posted on CLN that the crew will get 1.5% of the 3% increase, we do not know how much of the 15% already charged they get.  The line will not tell the guest how this 18% total is paid to the crew. it is represented as a tip  so this information should be known. Based upon the 3% letter it could be less than half of the 18% goes to the crew as a tip.

 

 

Speculate on the rumor? It could be more than half. It could be all.

 

We know from the letter that the crew gets all. It seems you are just quibbling about semantics.

 

Carnival representatives have said time and again none goes to Carnival. If you don't believe it after the 100th time, 101 isn't going to make a difference. What other cruise line provides close to the amount of information that Carnival does?

[mredandchis]

On 11/30/2018 at 1:53 PM, beachbum53 said:

So, if an alcoholic drink is $9.00, it will cost $10.62. I wonder how much this gratuity increase will embolden those wanting to smuggle booze? I"m guessing any smuggled booze that gets confiscated gets thrown out. But wouldn't it be funny if it was resold back to the smuggler one drink at a time? 

Carnival gives the booze back at the end of the cruise according to a video i saw from a booze smuggler. They just treat it like the booze we buy on the cruise

 

[sparks1093]

17 minutes ago, mredandchis said:

Carnival gives the booze back at the end of the cruise according to a video i saw from a booze smuggler. They just treat it like the booze we buy on the cruise

 

If it's in the original unopened bottle. If it is in a different container they dispose of it (at least that's my understanding).

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

The question was "Has it been established how much of the 18% actually goes to the crew as pay?"  The answer 1.5% is not correct. We know from the letter to crew posted on CLN that the crew will get 1.5% of the 3% increase, we do not know how much of the 15% already charged they get.  The line will not tell the guest how this 18% total is paid to the crew. it is represented as a tip  so this information should be known. Based upon the 3% letter it could be less than half of the 18% goes to the crew as a tip.

 

No different than a restaurant not telling customers how the tips are handled. In some places the staff retains all tips, in some places the staff tips out to support personnel and in some places the tips are pooled and shared equally. I have heard numerous times from cruise line officials that 100% of the tips go to the staff, but of course they don't disclose exactly how they are distributed nor should they. I don't want my company telling anyone how much I make and I'm sure the staff feels the same way. Once I've left a tip my obligation is done and I have absolutely no control over what happens to it. None. Zilch. Nada. But if I thought for a minute that any company was keeping any part of it for the company then I wouldn't use that company again, no matter how good they are.

Edited December 4, 2018 by sparks1093

[mredandchis]

Look, I personally see tipping as a form of gratitude for a job well done.  A lot of businesses over the decades see it as employee compensation and allows them to pay the employee less.  I was a supper club waiter in my younger days and we recieved NO pay and depended on tips.  Of course we found ways to make the customers evening really good so it at least seems that the owner , the waiter and the customer all benefitted,   When I first cruised the cruise line passed out envelopes and suggested the tipping amount per day.  When i first saw the amount on my first cruised i was shocked and thought it was high.  At the end of the cruise i was transformed and went above on many of the suggestions.  Then one day it become a thing that the tip was included.  So i now take that into consideration.  The trouble is with this system is some servers will just do the job and if you ever looked for a bar waiter on the lido on some cruises you may have come up short.  Now what I have found out that happens is the different servers all share a pool of tips on each cruise.  Even the people that arent usually directly serving you are getting a piece of the pie.  So sometimes it doesnt motivate the servers to do extra.   But if you tip the person that made you happy a little extra and made you happy you become their personal VIFP.  I can go to lido and order a drink from 100 feet away.  So this 18 percent doesnt mean much except they may get better quality of servers on board.  

 

[mredandchis]

13 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

If it's in the original unopened bottle. If it is in a different container they dispose of it (at least that's my understanding).

I am not sure. This fella had some sort of a special plastic bag like container that he felt was unstoppable and filled it with tequilla.  he said they called him on the carpet and said he would get it back before departing the  last day.  I am sorry but i took pleasure in seeing him caught lol.  For me there are rules that we all agree to when we purchase a ticket.  You dont got to buy one if you dont like them.  

 

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, mredandchis said:

I am not sure. This fella had some sort of a special plastic bag like container that he felt was unstoppable and filled it with tequilla.  he said they called him on the carpet and said he would get it back before departing the  last day.  I am sorry but i took pleasure in seeing him caught lol.  For me there are rules that we all agree to when we purchase a ticket.  You dont got to buy one if you dont like them.  

 

I agree. I believe CCL has changed their policy within the past few years and it is possible they used to return it. 

[Joseph2017China]

A few facts......

 

A $10.00 drink, the bartender gets $1.80.  It takes about 3-4 minutes to complete the drink.  While he is mixing the drink, he grabs a beer for $7.00 and gets a 1.25.  By the time he rings up both orders, in maybe a 5 minute time, he gets $3.05.  Multiply that by 12 and his tip pool is $36.60.  That's $36.60 per hour in income.  He might be sharing some of it behind the scenes.  Pretty good, for a guy/gal that pours beverages into a glass. 

 

I'm proud to say, that I do not add additional tips to my bar tab.  At 18%, they are tipped, more than enough.  I'm more annoyed that it is even that high.  I think it should be 10% at most. 

 

Adding a $1.00 tip to your drink, is just giving the person a $12.00 or more pay raise to a whopping $50.00 an hour. (Assuming everyone does that). 

 

I don't feel bad for the staff.  They chose the job.  I do feel a little jealous. 

 

I don't care, where, or what percentage the tips are split within the department.  I just pay the 18%, get my drink, and I have never, met a bartender, that failed to not take care of me, at 18%.  (or 15%). 

 

 

[sparks1093]

33 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

A few facts......

 

A $10.00 drink, the bartender gets $1.80.  It takes about 3-4 minutes to complete the drink.  While he is mixing the drink, he grabs a beer for $7.00 and gets a 1.25.  By the time he rings up both orders, in maybe a 5 minute time, he gets $3.05.  Multiply that by 12 and his tip pool is $36.60.  That's $36.60 per hour in income.  He might be sharing some of it behind the scenes.  Pretty good, for a guy/gal that pours beverages into a glass. 

 

I'm proud to say, that I do not add additional tips to my bar tab.  At 18%, they are tipped, more than enough.  I'm more annoyed that it is even that high.  I think it should be 10% at most. 

 

Adding a $1.00 tip to your drink, is just giving the person a $12.00 or more pay raise to a whopping $50.00 an hour. (Assuming everyone does that). 

 

I don't feel bad for the staff.  They chose the job.  I do feel a little jealous. 

 

I don't care, where, or what percentage the tips are split within the department.  I just pay the 18%, get my drink, and I have never, met a bartender, that failed to not take care of me, at 18%.  (or 15%). 

 

 

I personally don't care how much the person is making, if they have earned a tip from me they get it. I'm sure that there have been many times I've given tips to people that were earning much more than me at the time. Meh. They still got a tip. 

[asalligo]

It's even worse at RCCL, I am paying 18% gratuity on a beverage I get myself from a kiosk. I guess someone puts syrup in the kiosk. 

[coevan]

3 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

A few facts......

 

A $10.00 drink, the bartender gets $1.80.  It takes about 3-4 minutes to complete the drink.  While he is mixing the drink, he grabs a beer for $7.00 and gets a 1.25.  By the time he rings up both orders, in maybe a 5 minute time, he gets $3.05.  Multiply that by 12 and his tip pool is $36.60.  That's $36.60 per hour in income.  He might be sharing some of it behind the scenes.  Pretty good, for a guy/gal that pours beverages into a glass. 

 

I'm proud to say, that I do not add additional tips to my bar tab.  At 18%, they are tipped, more than enough.  I'm more annoyed that it is even that high.  I think it should be 10% at most. 

 

Adding a $1.00 tip to your drink, is just giving the person a $12.00 or more pay raise to a whopping $50.00 an hour. (Assuming everyone does that). 

 

I don't feel bad for the staff.  They chose the job.  I do feel a little jealous. 

 

I don't care, where, or what percentage the tips are split within the department.  I just pay the 18%, get my drink, and I have never, met a bartender, that failed to not take care of me, at 18%.  (or 15%). 

 

 

 

 

 

Completely flawed logic, no cruise ship bartenders make $50 an hour. 

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

A few facts......

 

 

Hard to find a few facts among all those assumptions.

 

One fact is there are people and cultures who don't tip, or only under extreme duress.

[Joseph2017China]

43 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

 

Completely flawed logic, no cruise ship bartenders make $50 an hour. 

 I would hope not, but I believe the sentence you are referring to has the word "assume" in it.  A good bartender that can produce 24 drinks in an hour....which is not that hard to accomplish.....will make over $36.00 an hour in tips, which will have some of it removed to back tip, the behind the scenes group.  I was just pointing out, that bartenders on the ship, are most likely the highest tipped people, and adding additional tips, which make the percent 25-35% in tips for a simple drink, is not really necessary.  If I was a bartender, I wouldn't have an issue with it, so go ahead, and give out the tip.

 

Also, they are not always busy on their shift.  Maybe, they only produce 12 drinks.  That's still a good amount of tips. 

 

Tipping is personal.  I don't really care, how much they make.  But I personally would never tip more, than what I already did. 

[beerman2]

4 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

A few facts......

 

A $10.00 drink, the bartender gets $1.80.  It takes about 3-4 minutes to complete the drink.  While he is mixing the drink, he grabs a beer for $7.00 and gets a 1.25.  By the time he rings up both orders, in maybe a 5 minute time, he gets $3.05.  Multiply that by 12 and his tip pool is $36.60.  That's $36.60 per hour in income.  He might be sharing some of it behind the scenes.  Pretty good, for a guy/gal that pours beverages into a glass. 

 

I'm proud to say, that I do not add additional tips to my bar tab.  At 18%, they are tipped, more than enough.  I'm more annoyed that it is even that high.  I think it should be 10% at most. 

 

Adding a $1.00 tip to your drink, is just giving the person a $12.00 or more pay raise to a whopping $50.00 an hour. (Assuming everyone does that). 

 

I don't feel bad for the staff.  They chose the job.  I do feel a little jealous. 

 

I don't care, where, or what percentage the tips are split within the department.  I just pay the 18%, get my drink, and I have never, met a bartender, that failed to not take care of me, at 18%.  (or 15%). 

 

 

"I do feel a little jealous "?!?!?!

Most of us wouldn't work the hours they work, be away from family for months at a time ( unless in the Service), be polite on a daily basis with demanding pax ( yes there are some).

 

I am one who could care less what they make, I also always plan on tipping over and above. For those that say the service isn't better if you tip or not, keep thinking that.

 

Bartenders know who tips , who doesn't tip.

[Crazy4Camping]

18 hours ago, declansdad said:

 

When did you go to Disney? In the 70s?

Actually it was 2003 but then it got even cheaper cause they had those bad hurricanes down there.  Not sure what it costs these days I'm just saying that we were led to believe it's so cheap to cruise and then you see the cost for a week-oh wow 600 bucks includes everything let's go-then you find out it only includes food-and not all food-and  beverages cost extra and then the flights, gratuities, transfers, excursions, etc. just adding up quick.  If you can do this more than once, all the power to you!!