Do gratuities really go to the staff?

[marci22]

3 hours ago, kernow said:

Really?

This was left in our cabin in May by our cabin steward .Presumably he didn't have a card for those who had removed auto tips so he must have known.

Also like many others we've done the galley tours and seen the lists on their notice board about which passengers have tipped or not.

 

This is for prepaid tips. A lot of people do the daily auto tips once onboard.

[snaefell]

The obvious reason (well to me anyway!) I asked about whether or not anybody had really checked the list was on the thought that it could just be any list there to make people think that they had a list of those not tipping,looking closely I would wonder if you would find such regular cruisers as M.Mouse,W.Churchill,I.P.Freely,F.A.Sinatra,etc.

[kernow]

15 minutes ago, marci22 said:

This is for prepaid tips. A lot of people do the daily auto tips once onboard.

Yes, you are correct, I was just trying to show that the crew do have access to this type of information. They probably also know when people remove the auto tips mid cruise. 

[OSUZorba]

6 hours ago, MJDMV said:

Lots of intrigue with this topic but here's the 'reality'. Whether you continue with the current system is your choice.

 

1) Auto-tips are distributed 2 weeks after you leave the ship.

2) Royal takes 20% of your tip.

3) There is no list of who has or hasn't removed their auto-tips. 

4) Crew keep the cash you give them or sometimes share with helpers - Cabin Stewards for example.

5) There is no obligation for crew to hand cash over to Royal.

 

That's funny in basically every cruise I'm thanked in the MDR the first night for pre-paying my grats, since there is no way to remove them.

[sellwingri]

Royal Caribbean DOES NOT take 20% of the tips.  They are split among the staff.  

[voyager70]

1 hour ago, kernow said:

They probably also know when people remove the auto tips mid cruise. 

 

This has also been my understanding.

 

[MJDMV]

7 hours ago, MJDMV said:

Lots of intrigue with this topic but here's the 'reality'. Whether you continue with the current system is your choice.

 

1) Auto-tips are distributed 2 weeks after you leave the ship.

2) Royal takes 20% of your tip.

3) There is no list of who has or hasn't removed their auto-tips. 

4) Crew keep the cash you give them or sometimes share with helpers - Cabin Stewards for example.

5) There is no obligation for crew to hand cash over to Royal.

 

Apologies, I do need to clarify Point 3 above: By no means do all the ships display lists of passengers who have removed auto-tips, however any list seen would refer to 2 cruises prior to the current cruise. Imagine having to update it every day and then display it in various crew areas!

I didn't want to believe it either but Point 2 above is true, sorry.

[cruiselvr04]

I hope so is my answer.  We pre pay so it’s one last thing to worry about onboard.   It also makes the on board bill easier to read.

 

We tip the Diamond/ suite lounge extra and the bar tender during diamond hour at a bar  and usually leave a little extra for the wait staff and cabin stewards depending on service. This is always cash and I’ll bet ( and hope) that goes straight into their pockets as no one else needs to know about it.  We don’t use the envelopes just pass with a handshake.

 

Until we have proof otherwise we’ll continue to do it this way.

[DISFANS3]

We always tip extra with good service..

[livylotte]

5 hours ago, kernow said:

Really?

This was left in our cabin in May by our cabin steward .Presumably he didn't have a card for those who had removed auto tips so he must have known.

Also like many others we've done the galley tours and seen the lists on their notice board about which passengers have tipped or not.

 

 

 

But this would not apply to everyone as not everyone pays gratuities upfront.

 

Those that prefer to have gratuities added daily to their sea pass account and settle at the end of the cruise (me) are not included here.  

 

I  don't see why I should be giving RC my well earned money months in advance of my cruise.  I would rather it be earning me interest than them [smile]

 

Whilst I'm sure it's nice know that your steward knows you are lovely  - I would like to think that she/he thinks I am lovely without knowing if I did or didn't pay my tips up front.   

 

It makes no difference to me - regardless of the method of payment, the important thing is that RC passes gratuities on (all of them) which I think was the OP's question.  I'm still non the wiser but I am erring on the side that they do.

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[Joseph2017China]

Personally, I don't care how my tips are handled.  I prepay and forget it.  My first cruise, (pre computer age) I tipped in cash the same way.  They said I should tip $x.00 and I did.  Same as today.  I prepay and forget.  It is part of the cruise.  If I tip more in cash, I don't care what they do with the money.  It's is no longer mine, so I gave it away.  I don't ask people how much they make.  I don't discuss tips with employees who only purpose is to serve me on my vacation and do it well.  They are not my friends.  It is strictly a service industry, where I am the customer.  Sure I talk to them, but not about their finances.  I also talk to the coffee lady at Starbucks, and the cashier at the place I been going to lunch for a decade.  It is friendly chat, not how much do you make.  My point is that tipping topics are just plain humorous with the amount of random, and mostly false info and the stories shared by staff are mostly designed to encourage you to give them more.  They are experts at collecting tips, and I'll have another beer please.....and I already tipped 18% so no need for that receipt

[livylotte]

I suspect any list of tips pinned up for crew to view would be of the previous cruise/s.  It would be impossible to have an accurate list of who tipped and who didn't before the cruise was over.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, sellwingri said:

Royal Caribbean DOES NOT take 20% of the tips.  They are split among the staff.  

How do you know?

[jon76indc]

8 hours ago, MJDMV said:

Lots of intrigue with this topic but here's the 'reality'. Whether you continue with the current system is your choice.

 

 

2) Royal takes 20% of your tip.

 

 

And what evidence/knowledge do you have of this one being "reality"?