Pre Paid Gratuities

[RMMariner]

4 hours ago, Sam Ting said:

We always remove the service charge and tip as we go. if We have mtd we always ask for the same section, and the wait staff knows we will leave a tip the service becomes fantastic, just like the old days.   
 

As far as the room steward goes the tip is also based on the service received as it should be. 

Almost impossible to believe that you tip as much as the gratuities are, and even if you do, it is not being distributed to the crew who are working hard behind the scenes.

 

And the good old days weren't all that good for the crew. My dad says that a lot of passengers skipped the last night in the MDR so they could skip tipping.

 

My understanding is that the crew rely on the tips to move their remuneration up to reasonable levels. The crew is paid a very minimal amount without the gratuities, and the gratuities make up the bulk of their pay. I do not begrudge them a reasonable wage. The cruise lines have created a situation where the passengers are really paying the crew's wages. I do not understand why the cruise lines do not make the gratuities part of the fare. It would also help if the cruise lines were more transparent as to exactly how the crew is paid.

 

I do agree with you that the tips should be for good service, but that is not how this is set up. 

 

I don't know how many people are actually pulling their tips. My belief is that it is significantly more than the number of people that admit to it. That means those of us paying are actually subsidizing those that are not. 

 

Do what you want. I pay my tips because it is the right thing to do. 

 

 

 

[RMMariner]

7 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

Guess if you did not have what happened to us I can understand you getting upset if a person lowers or removes gratuities. We had a very nasty room steward on one cruise. Very verbal. My wife will usually give extra cash to a room steward that did a really nice job. This time we remove ALL gratuities to the room steward. I could care less who did not get the share with that person. We were verbally abused the entire cruise. I did not go and complain. Did not want it to get any worse. But when we returned home, I did email customer relations and indicate what had happened and who the room steward was. I received a prompt return call with apologies and was told I was not the only person that had complained about that person. So you can think bad about us but what if it was YOU!

 

I am sorry that you had such a bad experience, but what happened to you would not happen to me because I would politely talk to the steward about his behaviour, and if it was not corrected I would take it up the chain of command.

 

Princess would have dealt with it immediately. I think the speed with which they followed up your email shows how important Princess views the behaviour of their employees.

 

Not only is pulling your tips not really punishing the steward, but you had to put up with, what sounds like unacceptable behaviour.

 

I hope if this ever happens to you again that you go to the service desk and complain. You deserve good service, Princess deserves to know how their employees are interacting with the passengers, and the crew that is doing a great job deserve to be paid appropriately.

 

I don't think badly about you. I can certainly understand your frustration, but I just think there was a better way of handling the situation.

 

I hope your next cruise is a better experience.

 

[Sam Ting]

3 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

So you screw over the behind the scenes staff that you don't see that also share in the auto tips.

Way to go.  👎

We don’t tip the behind the scenes staff. They do absolutely nothing for us.  They are working for the cruiseline washing their dishes and doing their laundry etc which enables the cruiseline to provide the services you already paid for. 
 

 

[Sam Ting]

2 hours ago, RMMariner said:

Almost impossible to believe that you tip as much as the gratuities are, and even if you do, it is not being distributed to the crew who are working hard behind the scenes.

 

And the good old days weren't all that good for the crew. My dad says that a lot of passengers skipped the last night in the MDR so they could skip tipping.

 

My understanding is that the crew rely on the tips to move their remuneration up to reasonable levels. The crew is paid a very minimal amount without the gratuities, and the gratuities make up the bulk of their pay. I do not begrudge them a reasonable wage. The cruise lines have created a situation where the passengers are really paying the crew's wages. I do not understand why the cruise lines do not make the gratuities part of the fare. It would also help if the cruise lines were more transparent as to exactly how the crew is paid.

 

I do agree with you that the tips should be for good service, but that is not how this is set up. 

 

I don't know how many people are actually pulling their tips. My belief is that it is significantly more than the number of people that admit to it. That means those of us paying are actually subsidizing those that are not. 

 

Do what you want. I pay my tips because it is the right thing to do. 

 

 

 

Lol and by leaving the tips on you are tipping employees fleet wide. Totally ridiculous. 

[PaperSniper4]

On 2/16/2020 at 4:59 PM, RMMariner said:

..................

 

But I do not consider gratuities for the crew tipping. These gratuities bring the crew's wage up to a level that is still far below what you or I would work for.  I have never had anything but great service on Princess, and those that say they judge at the end whether they should pull their tips are generally looking for reasons to do so.

 

............ If there is really a problem with service, it should be brought up immediately and dealt with at that time. 

 

.....................

 

 

 

I agree with that above, if not with the rest of the post. However, I strongly would encourage those who feel their service was above and beyond do tip above what the cruise line collects. In my 40+ cruises I have never felt I received poor service, but many times I've received exceptional service. Almost always it's the steward who gets the extra tip, usually the wait staff, but rarely anyone else; the latter probably because I don't usually interact with them.

 

Doug

[RMMariner]

7 hours ago, Sam Ting said:

Lol and by leaving the tips on you are tipping employees fleet wide. Totally ridiculous. 

There is no use arguing with you. Your decision is exactly why the gratuities should be made into a hotel charge. 

 

I can see your point. Good service should be rewarded. Unfortunately, the crew is not paid appropriately unless the tips are given.

 

The entire system is totally ridiculous. I am just trying to interject some morality into what feels very much like a very unfair pay system.

[springfire]

7 hours ago, Sam Ting said:

Lol and by leaving the tips on you are tipping employees fleet wide. Totally ridiculous. 

Agree completely!

[LB_NJ]

Never pay unless:

 

1.  It is part of a package that includes gratuities.

or

2. Gratuities are going up for your cruise.

[PaperSniper4]

4 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

Never pay unless:

 

1.  It is part of a package that includes gratuities.

or

2. Gratuities are going up for your cruise.

 I bet you meant to say "Never PRE pay unless"......

[SharkieRools]

18 hours ago, Peckishpixie said:

Carnival Corp lost a lawsuit and if they are going to dock in the US they have to follow US employment laws.

15 hours ago, Peckishpixie said:

Sure. Here is a link to what exactly the maritime labor act entails. https://www.mlc-2006.eu/pagina/19/mlc-2006-downloads.html

In 2008 Carnival agreed to comply as part of a settlement 

This appears to be documents related to the Maritime Labour Convention from the International Labour Conference.  Still not seeing anything related to a lawsuit Carnival Corporation lost where they have to follow US employment laws, nor can I find anything in regards to it doing a quick search on the internet.

 

[springfire]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 I bet you meant to say "Never PRE pay unless"......

I get that some cruisers like to prepay gratuities for the convenience, and I am glad they have this choice but I would never prepay.