Adjusting prepaid gratuities

[ray98]

3 hours ago, mommysoncruiser said:

I don't understand why people care so much about what the next person chooses to do with their money. 

The internet is the worst when it comes to topics like this.  You simply cannot have an adult conversation about it because people are tripping over themselves to show they are the most generous person on planet Earth.  Some truly try to make it seem they walk around with wads of cash just passing it out to any employee who looks at them.

 

I say this as someone who isn't afraid of a gratuity.  We always pay the included amount and spread more out to those who make our trip special.  With that being said, I have not forgot that gratuities are triggered by outstanding service, not just simply showing up for the day.  For example, servers and bartenders usually get another $1 or so per drink from me.  It is not some pure display of generosity though, we both mutually benefit from the encounter.  I get timely service, a well made drink and they earn a little more cash.  If that service falls off and the server forgets to check on us then the extra might not be there next time. That is the only way it should work.

[tallnthensome]

You're better off just asking this question on board because on here it appears that you're already planning on reducing  them already. Everyone knows not to bring up the tip topic when asking how to reduce them even before you cruise. 

[RWolver672]

This is just my opinion.  According to the FAQs on the Carnival site, you can reduce the gratuities on your "onboard account".  Seeing how prepaid gratuities don't show up on your onboard account, the answer would be that it can't be done.

 

What can be done is going to Guest Services and report a problem that you feel deserves a lesser gratuity.  That will go on that person's record.  If several people complain about that person, they may not get a new contract if they aren't doing their job correctly.  Carnival can't correct the problem if they don't know about it.

[Computer Nerd]

17 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Doesn't work that way.  

According to guest services, yes it does because I have done that as well. If you want to argue the point you can argue with Carnival.

[Computer Nerd]

4 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Just in case you win in the casino (LOL) or in case you have an overly large OBC balance, wouldn't it be best in your case to wait on the gratuities and potentially have OBC pick it up?

 

 

This is what I would do as the OP. There is no gain in paying gratuities early. Just pay them on the ship and if you need to adjust them it's easier to do.

[Computer Nerd]

34 minutes ago, RWolver672 said:

This is just my opinion.  According to the FAQs on the Carnival site, you can reduce the gratuities on your "onboard account".  Seeing how prepaid gratuities don't show up on your onboard account, the answer would be that it can't be done.

 

What can be done is going to Guest Services and report a problem that you feel deserves a lesser gratuity.  That will go on that person's record.  If several people complain about that person, they may not get a new contract if they aren't doing their job correctly.  Carnival can't correct the problem if they don't know about it.

Sometimes the problem isn't the person per say but with modifications to Carnival's policy. Such as now only cleaning the cabin once per day instead of twice but still charging the full gratuities as if they were cleaning it twice a day.

[Pyrate13]

Just an FYI, I wasn't saying anyone should or should not reduce grats, just that I don't think you can reduce them by individual. Even if you pay by cash there are going to be those behind the scenes that don't receive anything as you never encounter them in person. But yes, grats are a personal choice and not anyone else's business.

[whyrlygig]

I just can't imagine a steward doing something so bad that we would ever have their minuscule gratuity adjusted.  This could affect their employment!

[sanger727]

10 hours ago, mommysoncruiser said:

The crew signed a contract with their income written in it. They agreed to that amount. Gratuities are what you pay for service that goes above and beyond expectations. Maybe they did not get the service so they did not want to pay for mediocrity. Only a person that had the experience knows their experience and what they are willing to "tip" based upon that service. Everyone automatically assumes that people have the exact same "great service" they had. Anyway, it is what it is. I think people have a right to do whatever they want with "their" money. Salaries still get paid based upon the contract whether one person chooses to tip or not. If they don't want people to remove them, they should be like NCL and build it into the cost of the cruise. Their gratuities are mandatory.

 

Tipped positions have lower income than a similar non-tipped position. In the US you are allowed to pay tipped jobs less than minimum wage. That doesn't mean they are agreeing to earn less than minimum wage. Just an understanding that tips will make up a majority of their income. I don't know exactly how it works on a cruise ship, but I would expect the head waiter to make significantly less than the matre d'. Since one is a tipped position and one isn't. Just like a waitress make significantly less than a line cook does on land. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, mommysoncruiser said:

The crew signed a contract with their income written in it. They agreed to that amount. Gratuities are what you pay for service that goes above and beyond expectations. Maybe they did not get the service so they did not want to pay for mediocrity. Only a person that had the experience knows their experience and what they are willing to "tip" based upon that service. Everyone automatically assumes that people have the exact same "great service" they had. Anyway, it is what it is. I think people have a right to do whatever they want with "their" money. Salaries still get paid based upon the contract whether one person chooses to tip or not. If they don't want people to remove them, they should be like NCL and build it into the cost of the cruise. Their gratuities are mandatory.

Just to be clear, yes, they are guaranteed a certain amount but it's a minimum amount. Their tips take it above the minimum amount. It's like most servers in the US who are being paid less than the regular minimum wage, but if their tips don't bring their wages up to at least minimum wage the employer is obligated to make up the shortfall and pay minimum wage. Finally for those in the service industry the tip is for doing their job, tipping over the recommended amount is for service above and beyond expectations. That may not have been how it started out, but it is the expectation now. You are correct that each person needs to decide what constitutes acceptable service, but thinking that the crew is going to make the same if tips are removed is incorrect. (NCL doesn't build it into the cost of the cruise, they've just removed the customer's ability to make adjustments. If they had built it into the cost of the cruise it would be part of the cruise fare and not charged onboard.)

[tm_aw_love]

4 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

This is just my opinion.  According to the FAQs on the Carnival site, you can reduce the gratuities on your "onboard account".  Seeing how prepaid gratuities don't show up on your onboard account, the answer would be that it can't be done.

 

What can be done is going to Guest Services and report a problem that you feel deserves a lesser gratuity.  That will go on that person's record.  If several people complain about that person, they may not get a new contract if they aren't doing their job correctly.  Carnival can't correct the problem if they don't know about it.

The issue is that the 'prepaid' gratuities are not billed to your onboard account, they are billed with the cruise fare. The onboard staff can most definitely make adjustments to your onboard account/charges; however, they do not have any capability to adjust the cruise fare after you have boarded the ship. 

[crewsweeper]

REMEMBER...Prepaid gratuities aren't just for your cabin steward or MDR server, they do get distributed to a variety of personnel.  These are really token payments and not worth getting all twisted in a knot over.   Don't like the service on board,  don't leave extra tips to individuals.  If it's that important to you for say service at a bar, that your 18% auto for that particular barkeep is worth your time to stand in line for a couple of $, then head to customer service.  Otherwise, don't frequent that bar when that barkeep is on duty.

If the ship service all around this that BAD, toward the end of the cruise you might want to stand in those longer lines and get it returned, but just don't cruise that ship again.

[Elaine5715]

4 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

According to guest services, yes it does because I have done that as well. If you want to argue the point you can argue with Carnival.

Yes, Guest Services would tell you that but like all well trained front facing employees, you are told what you want to hear.  The same GS person is going to go to your cabin steward and tell them and then the cabin steward is going to tell all their coworkers.  

[ScottsSweetie]

8 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

 

What can be done is going to Guest Services and report a problem that you feel deserves a lesser gratuity.  That will go on that person's record.  If several people complain about that person, they may not get a new contract if they aren't doing their job correctly.  Carnival can't correct the problem if they don't know about it.

^^THIS^^   If there is a problem big enough to feel that reduced (or no) gratuities are in order, then attention should be brought to that. Perhaps that person needs some additional training. Perhaps that person needs to work on time management. Perhaps that person has no business being on the ship in that position. But the issue should be reported, because Carnival can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.

Edited November 4, 2021 by ScottsSweetie
spelling

[Computer Nerd]

11 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Yes, Guest Services would tell you that but like all well trained front facing employees, you are told what you want to hear.  The same GS person is going to go to your cabin steward and tell them and then the cabin steward is going to tell all their coworkers.  

Again, believe what you want. I choose to believe GS tells the truth instead of assuming they lie to your face as you believe. Unless you have concrete proof to the contrary, I'll believe what GS tells me, not that it really matters to me because anytime I get half of the service, I'm going to pay half of the price. I don't care who they tell of what they, or you, think.

[Elaine5715]

17 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

Sometimes the problem isn't the person per say but with modifications to Carnival's policy. Such as now only cleaning the cabin once per day instead of twice but still charging the full gratuities as if they were cleaning it twice a day.

Because instead of get $1.50  for cleaning twice, they pocket $3 for once? 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

Again, believe what you want. I choose to believe GS tells the truth instead of assuming they lie to your face as you believe. Unless you have concrete proof to the contrary, I'll believe what GS tells me, not that it really matters to me because anytime I get half of the service, I'm going to pay half of the price. I don't care who they tell of what they, or you, think.

Been there, done that.  "Yes, sir, we will make a note of your concern and discuss at the management team meeting".  

[DAllenTCY]

Getting back to the original post.......my question is "Why pre-pay?".

 

What advantage is that to you?

 

You claim that you do it, yet wonder how you can change it?

 

Do you expect better service with pre-pay than you would get with out?

 

I don't get your point, maybe others do.

 

 

David

 

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 11/3/2021 at 10:20 PM, mommysoncruiser said:

The crew signed a contract with their income written in it. They agreed to that amount. Gratuities are what you pay for service that goes above and beyond expectations. Maybe they did not get the service so they did not want to pay for mediocrity. Only a person that had the experience knows their experience and what they are willing to "tip" based upon that service. Everyone automatically assumes that people have the exact same "great service" they had. Anyway, it is what it is. I think people have a right to do whatever they want with "their" money. Salaries still get paid based upon the contract whether one person chooses to tip or not. If they don't want people to remove them, they should be like NCL and build it into the cost of the cruise. Their gratuities are mandatory.

 

While mandatory aren't they charged daily once onboard the ship?

Edited November 5, 2021 by Illbcruzn4life

[xDisconnections]

Yes, it would be possible. It wouldn’t be returned to the credit card used for prepayment and it also wouldn’t be given as an onboard credit. How it’s refunded would be similar to an onboard credit though.

 

Gratuities, per Carnival’s current definition, are discretionary and prepayment does not contradict that. The onboard billing system utilizes an incidental folio similar to hotels complete with its own night audit. When the gratuities are removed, they are simply adjusted off your folio balance. When there is a prepayment, it’ll have it posted as a credit or deposit against the charges but when the charges are removed or voided off, it’ll act as if it were an onboard credit. Should the folio be in a credit balance at the end without being offset by other incidentals, a check will be processed for the refund. If the balance is below a certain amount, it may be donated to St. Jude unless requested otherwise.

[xDisconnections]

4 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

Again, believe what you want. I choose to believe GS tells the truth instead of assuming they lie to your face as you believe. Unless you have concrete proof to the contrary, I'll believe what GS tells me, not that it really matters to me because anytime I get half of the service, I'm going to pay half of the price. I don't care who they tell of what they, or you, think.

There’s a hotel industry joke:

 

How can you tell if a Front Desk Agent is lying? Their lips are moving.

 

I’m sure it works the same at the Guest Services desk onboard.

[ray98]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Because instead of get $1.50  for cleaning twice, they pocket $3 for once? 

 

They are correct though no matter what guilt trip is used to discredit them, the service has been cut in half.  I thoroughly enjoyed twice daily service over the past 20 years, it is one of the things that made the cruise experience unique.  If the dining staff suddenly decided to no longer serve drinks I would probably also question what level of service they were now providing.

[SNJCruisers]

On 11/3/2021 at 10:20 PM, mommysoncruiser said:

they should be like NCL and build it into the cost of the cruise. Their gratuities are mandatory.

Sorry, but the gratuities are not mandatory on NCL, they just make it slightly more difficult for the cheapskates to remove their fair share.  When on Carnival you can line up at guest services on the final sea day and stand in line for an hour to come up with a BS excuse to remove your tips.  On NCL, it can still be done, but it just needs to be done in writing after your cruise.  It's another hurdle that some will do.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

 

They are correct though no matter what guilt trip is used to discredit them, the service has been cut in half.  I thoroughly enjoyed twice daily service over the past 20 years, it is one of the things that made the cruise experience unique.  If the dining staff suddenly decided to no longer serve drinks I would probably also question what level of service they were now providing.

You do have options, either choose another vacationing methodology that has the service you desire or choose another cruise line further up the scale that also meets your expectations.  It's obvious that Carnival no longer reaches the bar that you were accustomed to so just pivot and spend your vacation dollars elsewhere.  Complaining about only getting once a day service on Carnival isn't going to change things, unless of course your name is Marty McFly and you can go back in time.

[RWolver672]

4 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

While mandatory aren't they charged daily once onboard the ship?

"If guests have not pre-paid their gratuities, the recommended, per person, amount will be posted to their Sail & Sign account on the second to last day of the cruise."