Tipping

[rudeney]

5 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

They might spend half that time on two trips per day.  In and out in 10 minutes usually.

That probably depends on the size of the stateroom, and is why suites charge and extra $3/pp/day.   BTW, we always cruise in a suite and we see our cabin steward a lot.  It seems like every time we go back to our stateroom, the steward is either in ours or one next door cleaning, straightening up, or doing turndown.

[billslowsky]

Just now, rudeney said:

That probably depends on the size of the stateroom, and is why suites charge and extra $3/pp/day.   BTW, we always cruise in a suite and we see our cabin steward a lot.  It seems like every time we go back to our stateroom, the steward is either in ours or one next door cleaning, straightening up, or doing turndown.

I was in a balcony cabin on the Anthem last week.  Not just our attendant, they zipped down the hallway very quickly.  Seriously, 10 minutes was a slow trip.

[yogimax]

1 minute ago, billslowsky said:

I was in a balcony cabin on the Anthem last week.  Not just our attendant, they zipped down the hallway very quickly.  Seriously, 10 minutes was a slow trip.

So what's your point?

[billslowsky]

7 minutes ago, yogimax said:

So what's your point?

I would ask you the same question but it appears that you want people to know that context doesn't come easy to you.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

I can't believe this thread is still alive! 😜  Personally, I find the tips on cruise ships to be too low.  Yep, that's right - and here's why.  I figure my cabin steward will spend at least an hour per day cleaning our stateroom and making sure we have ice, etc.  On a 7-night cruise, that' at least seven hours of work.  We have a lady that cleans our house every two week and she spends about 6 hours doing that.  We pay her $175 per cleaning.  When we go out to eat, we usually spend around $60 for a meal for the two of us.  For good service, I generally tip 20%, because it's easier to calculate than 15% or 18%, and were talking a few extra dollars which make no difference to me, but might to the person serving the meal.  So if I compare this to my costs at home - $175 for "house cleaning", and 7 dinners @ $60 with a $12 tip each...that comes to $259.  A bit more than the $14.50/day/pp.  That doesn't even count any breakfast or lunch meals I have onboard.

 

Is your cleaning lady collecting a check from an employer that pays her to clean your house?  If not then this argument is nonsense

[SRF]

On 4/7/2022 at 9:39 AM, cruisetorelax44 said:

i said this same thing. cash in a pocket of a person actually serving you is better than what the company might be giving out to each person. $14.50 a day x 7 days a week is $101.50 per person. At capacity, an oasis class ship would have 6,320. That's more than $640,000 collected, not including suites. Divide that by a maximum of 2,100 staff and you get $305. Even if everyone was equally tipped through that, do you really think Royal is giving each worker $305 per week worth of tips? If individual bars and restaurants decide to pool their cash tips and split it among themselves, that's fine. But i no longer trust auto tips going to who they should be. Cash is king, and nothing anyone can say will convince me otherwise.

 

Do you have ANY evidence that the money is not being paid to the staff?

 

 

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Is your cleaning lady collecting a check from an employer that pays her to clean your house?  If not then this argument is nonsense

 

Yes, I pay the lady who cleans my house directly as an independent contractor.  So I guess your "nonsense" comment is because RCI pays a cabin steward a few dollars an hour to clean staterooms, that pax should not pay any more than that?  I respectfully disagree.  I don't know exactly what RCI pays cabin stewards, but my understanding is that it's less than $1,000/month.  If that were a 40hr/week job, it would be $6.25/hr, but it's much more than that.  Even at 8 hours a day for 30 days, it's only $4.17.  I suspect it's closer to 10 hours a day, so just over $3/hr.  OK, so If I figure I get 7 hours a week out of my steward, I'll subtract $25 from that $175 and only pay $150. 

 

Of course some have suggested that stewards don't spend more than 10 minutes a day per cabin.  That is not what I've observed.  Even if it's only 30 minutes a day, I have to decide what it's worth to me for that service.  I'd say easily $175 for a 7-night cruise.  

[grandgeezer]

By charging $14.50 p.p. per day, Royal Caribbean is saying that’s what their excellent service is worth. How hard they have to work to provide that is between the employees and the cruise line. If you truly feel they are giving service above and beyond the norm, feel free to give them extra. Conversely, if you feel you aren’t getting the proper service, you should be able to reduce it, your call.

[cruisetorelax44]

26 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Do you have ANY evidence that the money is not being paid to the staff?

 

 

if you'd like to pay the auto-grats, go for it. i choose not to, and then highly tip the workers who i interact with. don't think anyone should be judged for their choice. 

[rudeney]

46 minutes ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

if you'd like to pay the auto-grats, go for it. i choose not to, and then highly tip the workers who i interact with. don't think anyone should be judged for their choice. 

 

That's the way it used to be and I liked it.  Back then, you were expected to tip the staff in cash.  Most cruise lines gave you envelopes with a list of "customary" amounts for the recipients.  I suspect it was a problem because too many pax would just not tip at all, or they would run out of cash.   Of course if you did run out of cash on the cruise, there were ways to get it - ATM, cash a check at the purser's desk, or use the casino.  Crew members were stiffed so the cruise lines stepped in and took care of the issue by adding the automatic gratuities.  I seem to recall a time before the auto-gratuities, a time when cruise liens would do "included gratuities".  We were on a cruise like that and it was a bit of a hassle.  We received the envelopes for cash, but we had to go to the pursers desk on the last night to have them verify our pre-paid gratuities and they gave us certificates (which I think were actuals drafts) that we handed to the crew.  Of course the last night at the service desk is always no fun!

[Husky1987]

34 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

That's the way it used to be and I liked it.  Back then, you were expected to tip the staff in cash.  Most cruise lines gave you envelopes with a list of "customary" amounts for the recipients.  I suspect it was a problem because too many pax would just not tip at all, or they would run out of cash.   

Ahhhhh, the good ol' days of a half-full MDR on the last night, with the cheapskates not wanting to face the waitstaff they were stiffing.

[cruisetorelax44]

36 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

That's the way it used to be and I liked it.  Back then, you were expected to tip the staff in cash.  Most cruise lines gave you envelopes with a list of "customary" amounts for the recipients.  I suspect it was a problem because too many pax would just not tip at all, or they would run out of cash.   Of course if you did run out of cash on the cruise, there were ways to get it - ATM, cash a check at the purser's desk, or use the casino.  Crew members were stiffed so the cruise lines stepped in and took care of the issue by adding the automatic gratuities.  I seem to recall a time before the auto-gratuities, a time when cruise liens would do "included gratuities".  We were on a cruise like that and it was a bit of a hassle.  We received the envelopes for cash, but we had to go to the pursers desk on the last night to have them verify our pre-paid gratuities and they gave us certificates (which I think were actuals drafts) that we handed to the crew.  Of course the last night at the service desk is always no fun!

If i wasn't doing every specialty, and used main dining, etc, i would do auto-grats, and then just leave an extra $20 for the room attendant. I did it that way for years. But when i switched to UDP, paid an 18% gratuity on that, and left cash at each meal, it just seemed like the auto-grats were going overboard. If i ever didn't do UDP, i'd go back to auto... 

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

Yes, I pay the lady who cleans my house directly as an independent contractor.  So I guess your "nonsense" comment is because RCI pays a cabin steward a few dollars an hour to clean staterooms, that pax should not pay any more than that?  I respectfully disagree.  I don't know exactly what RCI pays cabin stewards, but my understanding is that it's less than $1,000/month.  If that were a 40hr/week job, it would be $6.25/hr, but it's much more than that.  Even at 8 hours a day for 30 days, it's only $4.17.  I suspect it's closer to 10 hours a day, so just over $3/hr.  OK, so If I figure I get 7 hours a week out of my steward, I'll subtract $25 from that $175 and only pay $150. 

 

Of course some have suggested that stewards don't spend more than 10 minutes a day per cabin.  That is not what I've observed.  Even if it's only 30 minutes a day, I have to decide what it's worth to me for that service.  I'd say easily $175 for a 7-night cruise.  

Average salary in the Philippines is far

less than $1000 per month. Seems Royal is paying their folks a very generous salary. In this instance I won’t feel guilted into “supplementing salary” and will tip (as is customary) for superior service; not for the bare minimum, and not in an arbitrary amount that some corporation tells me 

 

[rudeney]

I don't care what the average salary in other countries is.  I like in the USA and I know what the services is worth to me and I pay accordingly.  I gladly pay the suggested or automatic gratuities posted by the cruise line and then I pay more on top of that when the service is above average.  And I've never had personal service from the crew that wasn't.  

[yogimax]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Average salary in the Philippines is far

less than $1000 per month. 

 

You are fortunate to live in a country where the average annual wage was over $51,000 in 2019.  How about basing your tips on that not the average wage in the Philippines.  You have been blessed to be able to afford a cruise.   I simply don't get your rationale.

[not-enough-cruising]

18 minutes ago, yogimax said:

You are fortunate to live in a country where the average annual wage was over $51,000 in 2019.  How about basing your tips on that not the average wage in the Philippines.  You have been blessed to be able to afford a cruise.   I simply don't get your rationale.

Therein lies the problem. You are trying to. normalize an unrealistic salary to the entire world. 
What I make is average for where I live. 
what my room steward makes is above average for where they live. I feel no need to improve upon that situation. Beyond what I feel is deserved. 

[kirtihk]

On 4/6/2022 at 12:08 PM, brillohead said:

So you're saying that you won't eat any breakfast, lunch, or snacks at all on the days you have specialty dining that night?

Because those tips also cover staff at Cafe Promenade, Sorrento's, Park Cafe, El Loco Fresh, Boardwalk Dogs, etc., in addition to room stewards.  

Is $14.50/day really going to make or break your annual budget?  Sheesh.

The final total price for anything, not just for a cruise must be… the real final total price (including whatever is considered gratuity, tip, or whatever).  Then you are aware of what you pay, do not need to think what else to pay, and everyone is happy as is without any expectations. Good job shall be performed by any worker. If you work as a doctor or a computer programmer, or whatever, you do not expect a tip. A customer is charged for a service, you got paid, and no problem. Why not to have that way for any job. Europe and majority of other countries live that way.

[Roybthered]

There are a lot of people on here who judge others! some have stated that because they are on a cruise that they have more money and should spend/use it to provide tips etc. How do you know that someone has had to have saved for this cruise and is on a very limited budget? Will you be calling them because they don't tip in cash even after paying the auto gratuities? Will you be calling them out for being Cheap? Some on here seem to think you should tip no matter what, in reality you should be tipping for getting service over and above in my opinion. Don't get me wrong we leave cash tips for our room attendant and MDR servers but if I didn't would you call me? Like has been said, do you tip at McDonalds/KFC/supermarket? 

Everyone should be allowed to do what they want and you should not judge them, if you want to tip big then go ahead and do so but if someone does not do judge them!

[rudeney]

I really don't see why this is such a complicated issue.  RCI does not include gratuities in the cruise price, so passengers are expected to pay them.  The amounts are clearly outlined on the RCI website.  Because it is "possible" to receive substandard service from tipped crew members, RCI gives passengers the ability to dispute those gratuities.  Unless that is the case, the gratuities are to be paid.  It is stealing when passengers dispute gratuities because they believe RCI line "should" pay the crew a higher wage.  Maybe the RCI should pay the crew more, but that does not change the fact that passengers are obligated to pay the customary gratuity amounts.  Passengers who have the means and want to pay extra gratuities directly to crew members are certainly welcome to do so.  Passengers who are scrimping and saving to take a cruise need to factor in the cost of gratuities, just like they will factor in the cost of transportation to and from the cruise terminal, the cost of passports, etc.

[Sam Ting]

2 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I really don't see why this is such a complicated issue.  RCI does not include gratuities in the cruise price, so passengers are expected to pay them.  The amounts are clearly outlined on the RCI website.  Because it is "possible" to receive substandard service from tipped crew members, RCI gives passengers the ability to dispute those gratuities.  Unless that is the case, the gratuities are to be paid.  It is stealing when passengers dispute gratuities because they believe RCI line "should" pay the crew a higher wage.  Maybe the RCI should pay the crew more, but that does not change the fact that passengers are obligated to pay the customary gratuity amounts.  Passengers who have the means and want to pay extra gratuities directly to crew members are certainly welcome to do so.  Passengers who are scrimping and saving to take a cruise need to factor in the cost of gratuities, just like they will factor in the cost of transportation to and from the cruise terminal, the cost of passports, etc.

My understanding is the crews pay does not change from week to week.  How is that even possible?

[rudeney]

7 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

My understanding is the crews pay does not change from week to week.  How is that even possible?

 

If that were the case, the only way it could work is if RCI paid them based on "average" collected gratuities during their contract.

[Cigar King]

52 minutes ago, Roybthered said:

So if you were not happy you would still tip?

Are you talking about additional tips, or the recommended gratuities?  It would take something pretty extreme before I would cancel the recommended gratuities.  The additional tips would depend on the situation.  I don't believe I have not tipped in a restaurant, even when things were not as expected.  I might have tipped more if things had been better, but, not zero.

[Host Star]

Another tipping thread bites the dust. It has run its course