Tips

[John&LaLa]

6 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

The list used to be Cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter. And back in the pre-auto grats era those were the only envelopes left in the cabin that were directed to anyone.  I never saw any mention about the ship's laundry. Some posters around here are notorious for making up their own facts. That may be how the "list" has grown.

 

The cabin steward used to have an assistant

[not-enough-cruising]

50 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I didn't realize there were so many cheapskates on Royal. I thought the cruisers on Royal were a bit classier than that, but apparently not.  I really hope all the mass market lines build the gratuities into the fare so cheapskates can't take the money out of the crew's pockets and put it back into their own.

No different than people on the other mass market lines, I guarantee it.

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

Do you really hope that Royal would just pay the crew a decent wage and stop the charade?

 

Perhaps the entire hospitality industry in USA could do the same - would make it something similar to the rest of the world! 

[grapau27]

12 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

The list used to be Cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter. And back in the pre-auto grats era those were the only envelopes left in the cabin that were directed to anyone.  I never saw any mention about the ship's laundry. Some posters around here are notorious for making up their own facts. That may be how the "list" has grown.

I totally agree.

We have cruised several lines since 2003 and the crew you mentioned got our tips has always been the case.

On RCI for several years we have always prepaid our gratuities and RCI until recently left pre paid vouchers and envelopes with names on for 

Waiter,

Assistant Waiter

Head Waiter

Cabin Steward.

only.

 

[grapau27]

7 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

I Said Some... They do it now, sure were doing it then. Not like there was anywhere else to eat, no choices like today...

We have seen this happen also during 16 years of cruising and seen the reaction on the waiters faces.

I remember one of our first cruises when a family got off the ship a day early in Barcelona instead of Palma.

We were sitting in a small bar the night before they disembarked and they were in and they were having a great laugh that they were stiffing crew.

On the last night the waiter was gutted when he found out what they had done and they had not tipped him the previous night.

Several of us who had the same waiter who we tipped well as he was brilliant had a cash collection among us to cover this awful families action.

[Expat Cruise]

47 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We have seen this happen also during 16 years of cruising and seen the reaction on the waiters faces.

I remember one of our first cruises when a family got off the ship a day early in Barcelona instead of Palma.

We were sitting in a small bar the night before they disembarked and they were in and they were having a great laugh that they were stiffing crew.

On the last night the waiter was gutted when he found out what they had done and they had not tipped him the previous night.

Several of us who had the same waiter who we tipped well as he was brilliant had a cash collection among us to cover this awful families action.

 

i'm sorry but I do not get it. You said stiffing the crew, tips are optional, not required, at the choice of the person leaving them. Not to pay a tip is the choice of the guest, even today the daily service amount on Royal is only a recommendation.  The wait staff and crew is paid by the cruise line, the guests are not required to provide anything extra it is a choice.

 

If some choose not to tip others need to respect that choice because really it is no ones business but the person involved. Why try to fight with someone for not tipping when you can do nothing about it? You make your choice and let others make the choice they want.

[mugtech]

Or you could give the waiters empty envelopes, no one else would be the wiser.

[holiday-shrek]

36 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

If some choose not to tip others need to respect that choice because really it is no ones business but the person involved. Why try to fight with someone for not tipping when you can do nothing about it? You make your choice and let others make the choice they want. 

👍

[grapau27]

48 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

 

i'm sorry but I do not get it. You said stiffing the crew, tips are optional, not required, at the choice of the person leaving them. Not to pay a tip is the choice of the guest, even today the daily service amount on Royal is only a recommendation.  The wait staff and crew is paid by the cruise line, the guests are not required to provide anything extra it is a choice.

 

If some choose not to tip others need to respect that choice because really it is no ones business but the person involved. Why try to fight with someone for not tipping when you can do nothing about it? You make your choice and let others make the choice they want.

Of course like everything in life it should be the choice of the individual what they do or don't do.

The example I gave was on a 14 night cruise in 2004.The Philippino waiter was absolutely fantastic and deserved any extra he got as he went out of his way on many occasions for all the tables he looked after and he was in tears and genuinely upset with what happened with the family who disembarked a day early without saying anything to him.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by grapau27

[Expat Cruise]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Of course like everything in life it should be the choice of the individual what they do or don't do.

The example I gave was on a 14 night cruise in 2004.The Philippino waiter was absolutely fantastic and deserved any extra he got as he went out of his way on many occasions for all the tables he looked after and he was in tears and genuinely upset with what happened with the family who disembarked a day early without saying anything to him.

 

 

 

 

 Sorry but I think I know Filipinos  better than you do.... Philippino is not a word Filipino is,  I have only lived in the country for the last 10 years and my wife is a Filipinia. Yes o means male and a means female.  the poor waiter you talked about doing the same job here in the Philippines would only be making 5 to 6 dollars a day, have no food or lodging.

 

Even without tips he makes much more than his pay would be here at home.  Add in the free extras his monthly pay is 5 to 10 times his home wage.  He did his job which is to provide the best service for his customers,  you do not need to be rewarded for doing your job.  They are very good actors and know how to great the most out of people. The family  did nothing wrong it was their choice to make.

[vacationlover_mn]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The cabin steward used to have an assistant

Intersting!  That must have been before we started sailing?  When did that stop?

[Ocean Boy]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

The cabin steward used to have an assistant

And there was no envelope for him as I remember it.

[Ocean Boy]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

You're one of them. 😱

And proud of it, too!

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

 Sorry but I think I know Filipinos  better than you do.... Philippino is not a word Filipino is,  I have only lived in the country for the last 10 years and my wife is a Filipinia. Yes o means male and a means female.  the poor waiter you talked about doing the same job here in the Philippines would only be making 5 to 6 dollars a day, have no food or lodging.

 

Even without tips he makes much more than his pay would be here at home.  Add in the free extras his monthly pay is 5 to 10 times his home wage.  He did his job which is to provide the best service for his customers,  you do not need to be rewarded for doing your job.  They are very good actors and know how to great the most out of people. The family  did nothing wrong it was their choice to make.

Sorry I misspelled Filipino because I have enormous respect for their friendly and hard working nature.

The family were sneering in the bar the night before they left the ship early on what they were doing and it left a bad taste in our opinion.

[grapau27]

Just now, Ocean Boy said:

And proud of it, too!

We are proud to call you DS friend too.

Graham & Pauline.

[clean1owner]

4 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

And there was no envelope for him as I remember it.

 

 

On my first 2 cruises in 1984, there was an envelope for Assistant Cabin Steward. Recommended tip was in the area of $0.50 per day.

[grapau27]

7 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

And there was no envelope for him as I remember it.

In our experience there has never been an envelope for an assistant CS.

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

On my first 2 cruises in 1984, there was an envelope for Assistant Cabin Steward. Recommended tip was in the area of $0.50 per day.

I wasn't cruising in 1984.

[clean1owner]

19 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I wasn't cruising in 1984.

 

 

Sorry for your loss.

 

Hopefully, you will have ample opportunity to make up for lost time!

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

And there was no envelope for him as I remember it.

 

I thought there was, but we were not doing Royal back then. Carnival, Princess, and Holland. Started in 1989.

 

Holland was supposed to be no tipping required

Edited February 15, 2019 by John&LaLa

[grapau27]

59 minutes ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

On my first 2 cruises in 1984, there was an envelope for Assistant Cabin Steward. Recommended tip was in the area of $0.50 per day.

Our first Cruise was in 2003.

I have heard Cabin Stewards sometimes pay a helper but not in an official way.

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Our first Cruise was in 2003.

I have heard Cabin Stewards sometimes pay a helper but not in an official way.

 

Especially on turn around day

[pacruise804]

15 hours ago, katiel53 said:

Last night I had a chat on Royal Caribbean's FB page and spoke with Gwen.  I kept pushing to know who was tipped and who were the "others."  

 

This is a direct quote from our conversation:

 

The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams. If you chose to pay the stewards in cash they don't have to turn in any of those gratuities.  I then pushed to ask who the other hotel service teams are.  She didn't answer and I continued asking. 

 

Below is what she advised me.

 

I understand that you want to know where it goes. It goes to just about everyone but the Officers and Entertainers. -Gwen

 

Gwen's comment about daily gratuity being shared with bar staff is surprising.  I thought there was an 18% mandatory, non-removable charge to all bar purchases because they are not included in the daily service charge pool.

[Expat Cruise]

1 minute ago, pacruise804 said:

 

Gwen's comment about daily gratuity being shared with bar staff is surprising.  I thought there was an 18% mandatory, non-removable charge to all bar purchases because they are not included in the daily service charge pool.

The more one studies the statement made and printed from Royal the more you see it is never complete answers. As others have said the cruise line really does not want guests understanding where these fees go and how they are used. It is really just a shell game to make more profit for the cruise line.

 

[ONECRUISER]

12 hours ago, mr walker said:

 

Perhaps the entire hospitality industry in USA could do the same - would make it something similar to the rest of the world! 

Actually you'd be surprised how many workers love the US system. Was a Restaurant Manager early-mid 80's. Know some of my Waitresses made more money then Managers. Even when I waited tables for 6 months 35+ yrs ago I had Brand New car and paid the monthly payments with just coins I got as Tips. Even though I only worked tables 12hrs a week. Didn't even need the Dollars for by car payment. Wait staff made $2.35hr and could make $200 in tips in 5hr shift, this in 1983... Currently I take my Family out and usual Tip I leave is $50-60 USD. At those Restaurants I wonder if they'd rather have those Tips or just Minimum wage of $10hr... Just saying seen both sides of it

Edited February 15, 2019 by ONECRUISER