Assistant Chief Housekeeper???? Tipping...

[tmac]

Someone brought this up and I think it is a good point---

 

At the end of the cruise they have an envelope for the assistant chief housekeeper who they say should be given .75 a day per person...I always give that but someone made a good point about why they don't feel the need to tip some anonymous chief housekeeper whom they have never met...I however feel awkward about not tipping them because I figure it is kind of the same thing as the assistant maitre'd in the dining room although I do meet him/her and usually they do something for me. However, on the envelope my stateroom attendant always writes on that envelope "please hand over this to ______" (insert stateroom attendant's name there) and I feel if I don't give him that envelope too then he will endure the wrath of his boss....

 

Anyone else tip or not tip this person? Anyone know what he/she really does?

 

I have to say, that person made a good point---why should anyone tip someone you have never even met?

[superjerryw]

The head housekeeper is the cabin stewards boss just as the Asst Maitre'd is the waiters boss. I think that overall it is a scam to pass this persons salary along to the passengers since as mentioned, the passengers do not normally have contact with this individual. I have heard a rumor that if you do not tip the head housekeeper the cabin steard will have to share their tip with them.

[HurricaneSally]

I always tip him because I don't want him to take the cabin stewards tips.

[DonLou]

I view the assistant chief housekeeper (ACH) as the person to go to if I'm not satisfied with the cabin steward. Also, I assume this ACH performs some supervisory functions of the stewards and the cabins. If this ensures that my cabin is clean and well maintained, then I don't mind paying this anonymous person .75 cents per day per passenger.

[Nancyquilts]

No other cruise line requires a tip for this person.

[Susan-M]

I pay it .... because it's suggested, and I'm usually guilty of trying to do the right thing :)

[montgomeryfamily]

I asked about this once at the pursers desk when I was doing the form to charge the tips and was told that the cabin stewards had to "contribute" this if the guests didn't pay it. I don' t know if that was really correct, but that is what I was told. So I paid at that time because I didn't want the cabin steward to be stuck with it and have continued to pay it on future cruises. I have always found it strange because none of the other cruise lines "suggest" this charge, oops, I mean tip, :) and it also seems odd to tip someone who is in managment if that person doesn't perform a specific service for you or even meet you.

[teedee]

I asked about this once at the pursers desk when I was doing the form to charge the tips and was told that the cabin stewards had to "contribute" this if the guests didn't pay it. I don' t know if that was really correct, but that is what I was told. So I paid at that time because I didn't want the cabin steward to be stuck with it and have continued to pay it on future cruises. I have always found it strange because none of the other cruise lines "suggest" this charge, oops, I mean tip, :) and it also seems odd to tip someone who is in managment if that person doesn't perform a specific service for you or even meet you.

 

My cabin steward on 2 different cruises told me the same thing so I always give the tip, but it is a bit irritating. It's a small amount of money, but I agree that it is strange to tip someone who doesn't perform a specific service.

Terri

[flashdog_1]

It must be that the "assistant" of anything be he ast. maitre d or ast. chief housekeeper is not management, or they'd be on salary like the maitre d and the head housekeeper.

 

Can you imagine having the responsibility to be sure that all of your stewards had x number of clean towels, sheets etc.? Yes, they probably have it down to a science and just refer to a list, but there's got to be a connection with the laundry room, the purser for toiletries, cleaning supplies etc.

 

I have read that the best waiters have to tip the kitchen staff in order to ensure that their tables get their food faster, & hot, directly from the kitchen. There's probably a lot of that kind of employee tipping (bribing) another employee to ensure a higher tip. It's sad, isn't it?

 

Does seem like paying all personnel a decent, living wage would be better than having one employee having to tip another to get his job done.

 

Remember how HAL used to have the policy that tips were included in their fares? Maybe we need to get like Radisson and Crystal with tips included, and just raise the fare. Then if someone does a fantastic over the top job, we tip in cash on top of that, and the laundry guy or the cook would not have to demand a tip. Or would it just continue even if wages were raised?

[sweetair]

sorry but i never tip this person...my cabin steward does the work with his assts and they get my tip. If i should have any problems...i would speak to him and deduct the money from my steward to give to him HOWEVER this has never happened in 16 X cruises.

 

As for the asst maitre d...(goran and ruby are fabulous..thank you!) but as a general rule...if they show up just say hi on formal nights...i do not tip them either.

 

Some people dont even realize to tip the casino employees when they are winning. They also rely on tips.

 

*sweet*

[Hondu]

sorry but i never tip this person...my cabin steward does the work with his assts and they get my tip. If i should have any problems...i would speak to him and deduct the money from my steward to give to him HOWEVER this has never happened in 16 X cruises.

 

As for the asst maitre d...(goran and ruby are fabulous..thank you!) but as a general rule...if they show up just say hi on formal nights...i do not tip them either.

 

Some people dont even realize to tip the casino employees when they are winning. They also rely on tips.

*sweet*

 

I agree with you. I have only been on one X cruise(18 others), but I refused to tip the Asst. Housekeeper because I felt it was extortion and the fact that none of the other lines suggest it. Also, Why should I tip that guy just because Celebrity allows a scare tactic that the cabin steward will have to pay it otherwise. I wrote on the envelope "He is in management. Celebrity should pay a salary. No Tip."

 

What next, the assistant Chef?

[lionheart]

I agree in not tipping the asst. housekeeper. Maybe if this person helped me with an issue then I would. if my cabin steward does a great job (which I have been lucky and they have) I will give the amount asked and more.

I don't usually tip the asst maitre d however, last year on the Zenith, he was at my table everynight talking to us and any special requests I had (like french onion soup on last night) he fulllfilled.

 

Kurt

[frchteaze]

I have read that the best waiters have to tip the kitchen staff in order to ensure that their tables get their food faster, & hot, directly from the kitchen. There's probably a lot of that kind of employee tipping (bribing) another employee to ensure a higher tip. It's sad, isn't it?

 

quote]

 

It's a sad fact that most people who've never worked in the food service industry don't understand. As a former waitress (and bartender), I know first hand that in order to provide the best service for your customers the server often has to tip a bartender, busboy, hostess, and sometimes food runners. Even worse, quite often these tips are required, even when the person being tipped doesn't do their job properly.

 

Makes that 10 or 15% tip seem pretty low now doesn't it?

 

Back to the topic, I don't like the idea of tipping some unknown individual who can't even bother to stop by the room and say hello, but if it's going to go to that person anyway, I'm not going to short the room steward to do it.

[B.A.]

On the other hand, on an X trip, an elderly couple at our table several times "mentioned" that their towel needs were not being taken care of, plus several other matters were not as they should have been in their cabin and they were not too pleased. (The gentleman was a pilot in the RAF of WWII, and his misses was of the same age bracket and did not seem able to "follow thru" mentally). Several at the table found out the couple's cabin number and called the Housekeeper and reported what we had learned during dinner meals. Next evening the wife came down to dinner and reported "some nice man came to their cabin and asked some questions and you know we have all kinds of attention to our cabin...isn't that nice? The Housekeeper then called us back and thanked us for calling his attention to the needs of one who needed extra help. So the Housekeeper is there if and when there is a need to make sure that each cruiser is satisfied.

[MarkSpark]

My cabin steward on 2 different cruises told me the same thing so I always give the tip, but it is a bit irritating. It's a small amount of money, but I agree that it is strange to tip someone who doesn't perform a specific service.

 

Terri

 

So true, thats why I usually call for the Asst. Housekeeper to the room, once he gets there, I ask him or her to clean the windows or get me some more ice. Or something, just so I feel like I paid for a service done. Try it sometime. Make them work for their $$$.

 

Mark

[MarkSpark]

I have read that the best waiters have to tip the kitchen staff in order to ensure that their tables get their food faster, & hot, directly from the kitchen. There's probably a lot of that kind of employee tipping (bribing) another employee to ensure a higher tip. It's sad, isn't it?

 

quote]

 

It's a sad fact that most people who've never worked in the food service industry don't understand. As a former waitress (and bartender), I know first hand that in order to provide the best service for your customers the server often has to tip a bartender, busboy, hostess, and sometimes food runners. Even worse, quite often these tips are required, even when the person being tipped doesn't do their job properly.

 

Makes that 10 or 15% tip seem pretty low now doesn't it?

 

 

 

Even worse is when your table doesn't tip at all, the server still has to tip out all of the other people, ie: Bartender, food runners, & bus help. Both my daugthers work as servers in a seafood rest. and at times have had to take a loss on some tables that stiff them with NO TIP. So they take a negative 4-5% on the table. It realy Sucks.

 

Mark

[Lsimon]

We too do not like the concept of tipping someone we've never seen and have no idea if the work they do has been beneficial to us or not. But we've also heard the stories that the steward has to make this up. So on some cruises we've included the housekeeper tip. But on more recent ones we've added that much extra for the steward so if they do have to pay the housekeeper they will have the money. On our last cruise the assistant steward was great - so although there is no separate tip for him (included with steward tip per guidelines) we gave him some extra.

 

As for Asst. Matr'd - most cruises he comes by and makes sure we know who he is and offers to do something extra if asked ("Let me know if there is anything special I can get you, etc) and we tip the minimum. Once he never even stopped by. I expected him the last night and had a note in the tip envelope (but no money) saying he should have at least stopped by to introduce himself, but he didn't even come for his tip that night. But on our last cruise we had a great Asst. Matr'd who was very friendly and helpful - and we accordingly gave him a very nice tip.

[Moeve]

We have just come back from a 14 day Southern Caribbean on the Constellation and we saw our Ass. Housekeeper almost everyday. I think alot of you just don't recognize the man / woman. Often they are just someone else in a white uniform you don't understand..... Our one always asked it everything was to our statisfaction when we met him. I believe his hole err office is somewhere on deck 7 .

 

The Constellation is lucky to have the most passenger frinedly Capt. in the fleet too. Capt Papaniklou even came to our cruisecritic party in the morning and he seems to really enjoy the interaction with passengers. Very few Capt's do that.

[brigittetom]

We have just come back from a 14 day Southern Caribbean on the Constellation and we saw our Ass. Housekeeper almost everyday. I think alot of you just don't recognize the man / woman. Often they are just someone else in a white uniform you don't understand..... Our one always asked it everything was to our statisfaction when we met him. I believe his hole err office is somewhere on deck 7 .

 

I think if this were the case for the rest of us, we would also tip. Just the fact that I wouldn't recognize this person is reason enough not to tip. We have had a few times when the service in the cabin was really questionable which tells me that the Assist. Housekeeper is not doing his/her job and while we tipped the cabin attendant and his assist. I would not be motivated to tip their boss.

 

On the Century we had mattresses that were so concave that it was obvious the minute we entered the cabin. I layed down on the bed to see if it would feel as bad as it looked, yes it did. I called housekeeping before we went to dinner on the first evening. When we came back from dinner the Chief Housekeeper was there with a staff of 4 to change out the mattresses. Mind you, this was the Chief Housekeeper, not the Assist. We did tip on that cruise but from what you all are saying, we tipped someone who didn't even play a part in this. I personally have never met an Assist. Housekeeper.

 

I did have the pleasure of meeting the Chief Housekeeper on deck a few days later. I thanked him for his prompt attention to our problem and he said that the only thanks he wanted was for us to be repeat passengers. I told him that was already taken care of since we were booked on the next cruise. There was a man with class who was very visable. That's more than I can say for the people we are supposed to tip.

 

Sorry, I've gone on too much but I can honestly say that in 15 Celebrity cruises I've never seen the Assist. Housekeeper and we never tip the Maitre d' who shows up only on tip night to ask if everything has been satisfactory. That would be too little too late. We do tip the Maitre d' who shows up every night asking sincerely if everything is satisfactory. Sincerely is the key word. :)

[tuggers]

Hey BT! See you're up and ready to go!:D

[brigittetom]

Hi Tuggers, Actually I am up and ready to go and having to deal with the pets actually doing a guilt trip. One of them is sleeping on the suitcase, one of them is sleeping on Toms neck, and one of them is sitting right next to the keyboard. They obviously know that something isn't right.

 

The one I've got next to me right now is just laying there like a dead cat. I'm guessing they know life with the sitter is not going to be the same. :D

[caviargal]

Someone brought this up and I think it is a good point---

 

At the end of the cruise they have an envelope for the assistant chief housekeeper who they say should be given .75 a day per person...I always give that but someone made a good point about why they don't feel the need to tip some anonymous chief housekeeper whom they have never met...I however feel awkward about not tipping them because I figure it is kind of the same thing as the assistant maitre'd in the dining room although I do meet him/her and usually they do something for me. However, on the envelope my stateroom attendant always writes on that envelope "please hand over this to ______" (insert stateroom attendant's name there) and I feel if I don't give him that envelope too then he will endure the wrath of his boss....

 

Anyone else tip or not tip this person? Anyone know what he/she really does?

 

I have to say, that person made a good point---why should anyone tip someone you have never even met?

 

The assistant chief housekeeper on Mercury was horribly rude to my mother. I reported her to the hotel director and Captains Club Hostesss aboard. After the cruise sent a long and detailed email to X Customer Service, to which they never responded.

 

I think it is getting out of control how many people we are now being asked to tip, personally. And this is one reason I do not care for auto tipping. IMO, tipping is a reward for service and not something that should just be expected.

[flashdog_1]

On my first cruise w/X I had trouble with my safe. A well groomed man came immediately after I reported the problem, and showed me how to do it. I don't remember why I thought he was the Asst Chief Housekeeper (maybe his name tag reflected that. duh) but he could have been the Chief housekeeper or other supervisor. Because he helped me, I have not had trouble with tipping him.

 

But on a subsequent trip I had a safe problem (hey, I can program my VCR but couldn't get the safe to lock) and no one came. Called again, no one came. 45 minutes had elapsed. Our excursion was about to start so I called and said to cancel the request and I'd call in the afternoon. Did so and someone, definitely not the Asst Chief Housekeeper, came after about half an hour. This fellow was not gracious like the first cruise's AHH was, and I think he was a mechanic or in some department not having to do with hotel services. He was not dressed like the first man. He was in overalls.

 

So, has anyone else who is safe-challenged have experience with ACH?:D :D

[babylene]

I agree with Caviargal. We don't do the automatic tipping for several reasons. One is that we like to "present" the envelopes to the recipients. Another is that I also resent tipping someone I have never seen. Once, we got to know one and we tipped. Now that I am reading these posts, I realized that we knew the Chief Housekeeper, not the assistant! So the assistant benefited from our ignorance!

 

On our last cruise, the assistant (I surmise) did introduce herself. However, when we had a problem, she didn't handle it very well and we were disappointed....so once again...no tip.

 

 

It's interesting, the more we cruise, the more we can distinguish good service from bad. It is not equal across the board.

 

I also want to comment about the staff tipping (bribing) staff in order to get things done. I fell there is definitely something wrong with this picture. Whether it is in a restaurant (as someone here stated) or on a ship, if this is nescessary, why don't they just pool the tips?

 

Personally, I would be very happy to live without the tipping system. I think it is degrading to the tippee and a nuisance for the tipper(unless he or she is a flaunter). Everyone should get a proper salary and that should be the end of it.

[babylene]

I had to laugh! We always screw up the safe! We have had lots of help..these were officers...no tips required!