Gratuities on ships with reduced capacity?

[ipeeinthepool]

If Celebrity decides to sail with fewer numbers of passengers will passengers increase the gratuities to maintain the same income for the staff?  For example, if the ship sails at 50% capacity will you double the amount of your gratuities?

[Lady Arwen]

We’ll do the same as we always do.  The recommended grats plus a little extra in cash at the end for our cabin steward and dining wait staff and anyone else who goes above and beyond.  I would hope that Celebrity will top off any difference.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Honestly have not thought that far in advance but you raise an interesting question.  I think we will fall in line with what @Lady Arwen said regarding grats.  And to that end, I would not be surprised if Celebrity raised the daily gratuity fee as I don't really see them kicking in the rest to close the gap.

[ipeeinthepool]

14 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

We’ll do the same as we always do.  The recommended grats plus a little extra in cash at the end for our cabin steward and dining wait staff and anyone else who goes above and beyond.  I would hope that Celebrity will top off any difference.

 

I wouldn't count on Celebrity making up the difference.  

[HS2BS]

If I remember correctly, gratuities are pooled across all the ships and then paid to all crew on a formula basis. Crew that gets individual tips are “supposed” to add those to the pool as well!

 

Hal

[39august]

For drink servers we will tip as we go, usually $1 per drink or two.  That is for non-alcoholic drinks as well as at bars and the CC cocktail hour. We will continue as we usually do, per ladyarwen.

[garyl62]

I'm not going to get into a "how do you tip" conversation as I don't believe that was the intire intent of the OP, but I will add the thought that a planned reduction in occupancy could also result in a corresponding planned reduction in staff. Especially service staff that are part of the tip pool. If that is done in equal proportions the amount each staff member receives may not change as much as first thought.

Edited June 13, 2020 by garyl62

[whitbob]

Haven’t thought about it, but it would probably depend on the ship crew size. If they lower the crew by 50% to handle the lower guest capacity, the tips/crew pay should remain the same.


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[TeeRick]

I am making the assumption that fewer passengers means fewer staff too.  So the staff gratuities might not be affected if that holds true.  For example a room steward would still have the same number of rooms as before.  The ratio is the same.

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, whitbob said:

Haven’t thought about it, but it would probably depend on the ship crew size. If they lower the crew by 50% to handle the lower guest capacity, the tips/crew pay should remain the same.


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You beat me to it by 1 minute!

[d9704011]

8 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

I'm not going to get into a "how do you tip" conversation as I don't believe that was the intent of the OP, but I will add the thought that a planned reduction in occupancy could also result in a corresponding planned reduction in staff. Especially service staff that are part of the tip pool. If that is done in equal proportions the amount each staff member receives may not change as much as first thought.

whitbob offered pretty much the same opinion.  I agree with Lady Arwen; I’ll do what I normally do (pay grats and some additional tipping as I see fit)  do but will bail if Celebrity, or any cruise line, starts jacking up the gratuities.  I wouldn’t anticipate Celebrity ‘making up’ any lost/diminished income to crew beyond what they are obligated to pay.

Edited June 13, 2020 by d9704011

[PTC DAWG]

54 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

I'm not going to get into a "how do you tip" conversation as I don't believe that was the intire intent of the OP, but I will add the thought that a planned reduction in occupancy could also result in a corresponding planned reduction in staff. Especially service staff that are part of the tip pool. If that is done in equal proportions the amount each staff member receives may not change as much as first thought.

Agree, it’s not rocket science 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, garyl62 said:

I'm not going to get into a "how do you tip" conversation as I don't believe that was the intire intent of the OP, but I will add the thought that a planned reduction in occupancy could also result in a corresponding planned reduction in staff. Especially service staff that are part of the tip pool. If that is done in equal proportions the amount each staff member receives may not change as much as first thought.

My thoughts too. No need to adjust our approach to gratuities.

[groryjm]

One thing to be bourne in mind in a post covid world is the acceptability of passing bits of paper around.  The idea of cashless economy has, out of nesesity become, closer to a reality in the last 3 months with contactless payments becoming much more of a norm. The idea of a handshake with a potentially infected note I think is going to start to disappear and crew may be more reluctant to accept small change in that way 

 

We have in the last 90 days learned as a society to avoid contact and I suspect that is a habit that will stay 

 

In the light of the pandemic as cruisers I suspect we will all accept a slight rise in grats and once rissen I imagine they will stay rissen

Edited June 13, 2020 by groryjm

[jelayne]

16 minutes ago, groryjm said:

One thing to be bourne in mind in a post covid world is the acceptability of passing bits of paper around.  The idea of cashless economy has, out of nesesity become, closer to a reality in the last 3 months with contactless payments becoming much more of a norm. The idea of a handshake with a potentially infected note I think is going to start to disappear and crew may be more reluctant to accept small change in that way 

 

We have in the last 90 days learned as a society to avoid contact and I suspect that is a habit that will stay 

 

In the light of the pandemic as cruisers I suspect we will all accept a slight rise in grats and once rissen I imagine they will stay rissen

There already exists a way to give extra Gratuities to crew And have that amount charged to your on board account. There is a form you can get from Guest Services for the extra. Tips.  We use it regularly on longer cruises to minimize the amount of cash we need to carry.

[Fouremco]

23 minutes ago, groryjm said:

In the light of the pandemic as cruisers I suspect we will all accept a slight rise in grats and once rissen I imagine they will stay rissen

From the responses to this thread so far, I don't think that there is any general acceptance of a rise in gratuities. JMO

[groryjm]

21 minutes ago, jelayne said:

There already exists a way to give extra Gratuities to crew And have that amount charged to your on board account. There is a form you can get from Guest Services for the extra. Tips.  We use it regularly on longer cruises to minimize the amount of cash we need to carry.

agreed but some on this thread have sugested tpping a dollar or two to bar staff and servers. That is a practice that I think will have to stop for the safety of the crew

Edited June 13, 2020 by groryjm

[ipeeinthepool]

19 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

From the responses to this thread so far, I don't think that there is any general acceptance of a rise in gratuities. JMO

 

That's surprising to me.  I read a lot about how much people care about the crew, I'm surprised more people haven't stepped up to spend a few more dollars in order that the crew doesn't suffer any reduction in compensation.  

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

That's surprising to me.  I read a lot about how much people care about the crew, I'm surprised more people haven't stepped up to spend a few more dollars in order that the crew doesn't suffer any reduction in compensation.  

I personally think that the recommended grats plus a little extra is all I’m willing to offer.  I don’t think we should be solely responsible for any reduction in the crew’s compensation.  

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

That's surprising to me.  I read a lot about how much people care about the crew, I'm surprised more people haven't stepped up to spend a few more dollars in order that the crew doesn't suffer any reduction in compensation.  

I based my comments on what appears to be a general consensus on this thread that crew members will be reduced, not just passengers, so the ratio of passengers to cabin stewards or waitstaff will remain more or less the same. This being the case, the crew wouldn't actually suffer any reduction in compensation. BTW, many of us already spend a few more dollars in additional tips because we care about the crew.

 

Now, if Celebrity decides to keep a full complement of crew while reducing the passenger load, a whole new conversation can take place.

[39august]

Whoops! I didn't even think about not using paper money for tips. So used to doing it the "old" way. How to tip drink servers, when they are not the same every time you get a drink? I know about using OBC but you have to have the first and last name in order to do this. Many times I don't see well enough to read their full names.  

[Covepointcruiser]

I will bring sanitized dollar bills or brand new dollars to tip for our drinks.   We put them in the folder presented with our drink bill and we then sanitize our hands.   Always carry hand sanitizer when we leave our cabin and will continue to do so.   

[ORV]

I think things in the future will not change as much as some people project it to be. Look around you, many people are going back to the old ways in many things. 

 

Long way to say that once cruising starts back up I expect plenty of paper money to be passing around. 

[RICCruisers]

I am confident that Celebrity knows how to staff based on the number of guests cruising. They are in the enviable position of knowing the exact load factor prior to each cruise. 

 

I am also confident that that most of the people posting on the board do care about the crew. Suggesting it is the cruisers responsibility to make sure the staff makes up for any shortfall in compensation makes as much sense as suggesting X should charge me less because my stock portfolio has taken a hit due to the current economic situation.

 

Their dynamic pricing model allows them to maximize profits and is a smart business practice. It is also ultimately X’s responsibility.   to make sure their staff is fairly compensated 

[excitedofharpenden]

5 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

If Celebrity decides to sail with fewer numbers of passengers will passengers increase the gratuities to maintain the same income for the staff?  For example, if the ship sails at 50% capacity will you double the amount of your gratuities?

Your becoming bored?  You sure do love getting your entertainment around here. Hopefully lockdown will be over soon, but with some I wonder if it will make that much difference. 😏

 

Phil