tipping

[jofred]

We've been on several cruises and I always wonder if the staff-especially the cabin attendant know if the customer has prepaid tips?  Also are they informed if the customer removes tips from the account for poor service?    We prepay but also for excellent service tip the cabin attendant a little before the cruise and after.  Thanks

[sparks1093]

It is my understanding that this information is shared with them, especially if the customer claims poor service. That's a black mark on their record.

[clo]

4 minutes ago, jofred said:

also for excellent service tip the cabin attendant a little before the cruise

How would you know if you're going to get "excellent service"?  When you're out to dinner do you tip in advance?

[RocketMan275]

6 hours ago, jofred said:

We've been on several cruises and I always wonder if the staff-especially the cabin attendant know if the customer has prepaid tips?  Also are they informed if the customer removes tips from the account for poor service?    We prepay but also for excellent service tip the cabin attendant a little before the cruise and after.  Thanks

Nothing wrong with that approach.  We too like to start the cruise with a small tip to the cabin attendant to show your appreciation for their work.  We've yet to receive service that was another less than excellent so there was no reason to regret that approach.

[clo]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Nothing wrong with that approach.  We too like to start the cruise with a small tip to the cabin attendant to show your appreciation for their work.  We've yet to receive service that was another less than excellent so there was no reason to regret that approach.

Some of us consider paying for services not yet rendered to be a bribe.  To each his own.

[RocketMan275]

11 minutes ago, clo said:

Some of us consider paying for services not yet rendered to be a bribe.  To each his own.

We consider it to be a 'down payment'.  To each his own.  

[Host Kat]

9 hours ago, jofred said:

We've been on several cruises and I always wonder if the staff-especially the cabin attendant know if the customer has prepaid tips?  Also are they informed if the customer removes tips from the account for poor service?    We prepay but also for excellent service tip the cabin attendant a little before the cruise and after.  Thanks

 

Howdy jofred!

 

Thank you for your inquiry. 👍 

 

 All things regarding the tipping/gratuities subject has been "cussed & discussed"  many times in many threads on this forum as well as many of the other Cruise Critic message board forums for many years. The subject is a very 'hot topic" along with dress codes and others. Especially with the pro or con CC members with their views regarding giving cash to cabin stewards at the beginning & end of a cruise vs. just at the end. You can see examples by some of the posts in this thread so far.

 

As for the crew members benefiting from pre-paid tips/gratuities being aware if they are removed, yes some cruise line crews are aware. Apparently on Carnival AFTER the cruise and guests have disembarked is when they are informed. On one of the older threads from August 2019 titled Tips to the Wait staff there is information regarding how they were notified in post #212. It refers to another post #1 on an archived thread from 2009 titled The Prepaid Gratuities Removed List that may be of interest to you. I am sorry but the actual picture of the list is not available at this time. In that thread is post #257 containing Carnival's statement about the situation.

And since you state you have been on several cruises, I am moving this thread from the First Time Cruisers forum to the Ask a Cruise Question forum where it will be more on-topic for you.

 

I sincerely hope this will be satisfactory and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[Shmoo here]

9 hours ago, clo said:

How would you know if you're going to get "excellent service"?  When you're out to dinner do you tip in advance?

While the gratuity is "prepaid" the people receiving it don't actually get it until the end of the cruise.  This allows you plenty of time make any necessary adjustments to it.

 

 

[clo]

2 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

While the gratuity is "prepaid" the people receiving it don't actually get it until the end of the cruise.  This allows you plenty of time make any necessary adjustments to it.

 

 

Does it get put on our account at the beginning or end?  But regardless giving money to someone in advance of the service being provided doesn't sound like a gratuity.  But as @Host Kat commented above this horse has been beaten 🙂

[Shmoo here]

24 minutes ago, clo said:

Does it get put on our account at the beginning or end?  But regardless giving money to someone in advance of the service being provided doesn't sound like a gratuity.  But as @Host Kat commented above this horse has been beaten 🙂

It's typically been added daily to our onboard account on all our cruises.  But the account isn't settled (paid off) until the end of the cruise.  So the money isn't there to give anyone until the end of the cruise.

 

 

[clo]

2 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

It's typically been added daily to our onboard account on all our cruises.  But the account isn't settled (paid off) until the end of the cruise.  So the money isn't there to give anyone until the end of the cruise.

 

 

So I guess if the tip/bribe doesn't work then it can be adjusted.  But I've never had anything other than good/great service.  

 

I just checked and see the recommended tip for hotel housekeeping is $1 to $5 per day per room, not per person. So if we're paying $32 per couple per day I'm kinda guessing that $5/day is likely the share that that person receives.  Just mulling all this over.

[lenquixote66]

3 minutes ago, clo said:

So I guess if the tip/bribe doesn't work then it can be adjusted.  But I've never had anything other than good/great service.  

 

I just checked and see the recommended tip for hotel housekeeping is $1 to $5 per day per room, not per person. So if we're paying $32 per couple per day I'm kinda guessing that $5/day is likely the share that that person receives.  Just mulling all this over.

You never had anything but good/great service ? Amazing,I have had terrible service more than once .

[clo]

7 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

You never had anything but good/great service ? Amazing,I have had terrible service more than once .

I'm a firm believer - for myself only of course - that you get back what you give out.  I can be a real 'suck up' when I'm dealing with people who give me benefit. I wrote about this today on an aviation site.  I make eye contact, smile, shake hands, ask where someone is from and on and on and on.  The fact that I find the human animal endlessly fascinating helps 🙂 Also I'm a pretty easy guest (hotel and ship). Before  leaving my room I've picked up any and all messes, my towels are hung up to be reused, etc.  Just me again.

[lenquixote66]

14 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm a firm believer - for myself only of course - that you get back what you give out.  I can be a real 'suck up' when I'm dealing with people who give me benefit. I wrote about this today on an aviation site.  I make eye contact, smile, shake hands, ask where someone is from and on and on and on.  The fact that I find the human animal endlessly fascinating helps 🙂 Also I'm a pretty easy guest (hotel and ship). Before  leaving my room I've picked up any and all messes, my towels are hung up to be reused, etc.  Just me again.

I have yet to leave a mess or dirt of any kind in a cabin.That is one reason we never have food ordered to the cabin.I am very compulsive about having a clean cabin.

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Some of us consider paying for services not yet rendered to be a bribe.  To each his own.

It is hard to see an advance payment as anything but a bribe.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have yet to leave a mess or dirt of any kind in a cabin.That is one reason we never have food ordered to the cabin.I am very compulsive about having a clean cabin.

Ah, but it's what I call "establishing rapport" as the important part.  I want them to leave the cabin thinking "wow, she's nice."

[clo]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

It is hard to see an advance payment as anything but a bribe.

I guess I'm getting comfortable with people who want to bribe but don't want to call it that.

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, clo said:

Ah, but it's what I call "establishing rapport" as the important part.  I want them to leave the cabin thinking "wow, she's nice."

We usually have that type of communication with the Wait Staff. A few years ago we had an Asst.Waiter who was 6’2 .She was formerly a basketball player in Russia.We established a rapport because I am usually the tallest passenger on a ship .We discussed basketball and that we both played semi-pro.

On a cruise last year an Asst.Waiter had an nusual first name.His mother named him after a character in an American sitcom.

[navybankerteacher]

3 minutes ago, clo said:

I guess I'm getting comfortable with people who want to bribe but don't want to call it that.

There are things/people  you might need to get used to - but you want to be selective about the things/people  you are “comfortable with”.  This sort of reminds me of a neighbor kid years ago - referred to as “Johnny Fast Pants” — who was adept at stealing candy bars from local news stands and drug stores — he insisted to referring to such takings as “borrowing”.  

 

[lenquixote66]

We have never given money in advance of a service.

[clo]

6 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

but you want to be selective about the things/people  you are “comfortable with”.

Oh, rest assured, I'm VERY, very selective.  Bribing someone with what I assume is a few bucks and likely affects service not one whit tends not to be one of those things.  I did read here about someone giving a bartender a relatively large bribe and subsequently getting triple pours.  Were I to witness that I would likely be contacting management.  And you might not be surprised to know that I've 'unfriended' a number of people over the last three years.

[leaveitallbehind]

To echo sparks1093's comments, with most cruise lines the staff is informed in advance of those guests in their area that have prepaid v those who are having them charged daily.  They also know of those who have them removed as that has to be done by request through guest services.  As this is typically done on Day 1 it would not be for poor service and the concern from the cruise line would be that it would be done to avoid having to pay the gratuities at all.

 

For someone to ask to remove them after they have been paid for poor service would IMO be rare and more likely an attempt to avoid paying them and justifying it by claiming poor service.  But the logic as I see it would be that if service were poor that would be reported as it was occurring in order to have it corrected, not a full week later after the fact.  That is akin IMO to eating a steak and then complaining it was not to your liking to get comped for your meal.....

Edited November 16, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[clo]

2 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

That is akin IMO to eating a steak and then complaining it was not to your liking to get comped for your meal.....

Actually I've read that people eat an entire whatever and then say it wasn't okay.  Since then I've talked to servers and, to a person, everyone has had that occur.  So I'm guessing it happens in other areas.

[leaveitallbehind]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

Actually I've read that people eat an entire whatever and then say it wasn't okay.  Since then I've talked to servers and, to a person, everyone has had that occur.  So I'm guessing it happens in other areas.

 

I'm sure it does - IMO just a pretty poor way that shows no class to get out of paying for a service rendered. It also reflects badly on those performing the service who don't deserve the grief.

Edited November 16, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, clo said:

So I guess if the tip/bribe doesn't work then it can be adjusted.  But I've never had anything other than good/great service.  

 

I just checked and see the recommended tip for hotel housekeeping is $1 to $5 per day per room, not per person. So if we're paying $32 per couple per day I'm kinda guessing that $5/day is likely the share that that person receives.  Just mulling all this over.

Some cruise lines provide a breakdown of how the gratuities are distributed but the stewards provide more service than the typical housekeeping staff (turn down service and ice immediately come to mind) and waitstaff generally receives a larger percentage of the daily gratuity. I suspect that $1 to $5 recommendation is somewhat dated, I leave $5-$10 a night when I'm staying at a Days Inn, more if I'm staying in a more upscale hotel. There was a time when gratuities were put in an envelope by the guest on the last night but as I understand it too many people were skipping out on this, so the lines started automatically adding them to the account. I personally like the system because it's one less thing for me to worry about. If the staff goes above and beyond I will give them something extra at the end of the cruise. (I did try giving it at the beginning of the cruise once as an experiment and noticed no change in the level of service.)