Carnival tips too high

[timbom]

Have recently taken cruises on RCL and Holland where tip structure is same as on Carnival but on these lines receive far better service. 

 

On both of these lines they change bed linen every three days and make up room twice a day.  Service staff in buffet serves you most of the food and brings you beverages and other items you may need. 

 

In main dining room they have table cloths and have far fewer tables to take care of.  In addition they have extra people to handle drink order so they can concentrate on serving.

 

I do not want to get in a argument on the suggested tip but it appears to me Carnivals suggestion should be less than these othe rlines.

 

 

[ChattTenn]

Carnival cruise price is not cheap but they are trying to cheap out a lot of stuffs such as room one service per day (our cabin steward has 38 cabins to care for), food is down grade/cheap and portion is very small etc.  But the suggestion tip is getting up there with other lines which have a better service.

Peoples might jump on me for saying all this but after 10+ cruises with Carnival plus many more from other lines we can tell the different.

[ArchieCruise]

I did notice on the Spirit we just got off that they did have white table clothes in the MDR so maybe it isn’t all ships that have done away with this.  

[icft]

I agree that Carnival has both decreased the service provided and increased the standard tip charge.

 

If you look at it in terms of tips it makes no sense and has no justification. But these are not really tips and while Carnival pays lip service to them being tips Carnival does not really consider them tips as evidenced by the suggested tip going up as service provided by the crew goes down.

 

The charge labeled tips does have one thing in common with a true tip - the money goes to the crew. But for Carnival this set-up is just a way to have passengers pay part of the wages of the crew and is not related to any service provided. The amount of suggested "tip" is not related to service but rather to what the market will bear. They will shift as much wage expense onto their customers as possible under the guise of tips (while keeping their advertised cruises as low as possible).

 

We just prepay the gratuity and consider it part of the cost of the cruise.

[Bgwest]

EZ fix.

[rps2004]

28 minutes ago, icft said:

I agree that Carnival has both decreased the service provided and increased the standard tip charge.

 

If you look at it in terms of tips it makes no sense and has no justification. But these are not really tips and while Carnival pays lip service to them being tips Carnival does not really consider them tips as evidenced by the suggested tip going up as service provided by the crew goes down.

 

The charge labeled tips does have one thing in common with a true tip - the money goes to the crew. But for Carnival this set-up is just a way to have passengers pay part of the wages of the crew and is not related to any service provided. The amount of suggested "tip" is not related to service but rather to what the market will bear. They will shift as much wage expense onto their customers as possible under the guise of tips (while keeping their advertised cruises as low as possible).

 

We just prepay the gratuity and consider it part of the cost of the cruise.

I agree with your analysis. We remove the gratuities from our sign and sail and then tip the waiters and steward in cash

 

Richard

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

7 minutes ago, rps2004 said:

I agree with your analysis. We remove the gratuities from our sign and sail and then tip the waiters and steward in cash

 

Richard

We do exactly the same. I have heard it is not a good idea to do this. No matter. We do it. it is the way it was done many years ago and we liked it that way.

[Retiredmedic]

59 minutes ago, ChattTenn said:

Carnival cruise price is not cheap but they are trying to cheap out a lot of stuffs such as room one service per day (our cabin steward has 38 cabins to care for), food is down grade/cheap and portion is very small etc.  But the suggestion tip is getting up there with other lines which have a better service.

Peoples might jump on me for saying all this but after 10+ cruises with Carnival plus many more from other lines we can tell the different.

We are going on a NCL and Celebrity cruise in 2023. We live just minutes from the port in Galveston but are tired of the western Caribbean ports. So we figured since we have to travel to get to other ports might was well try other lines.

[icft]

14 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

... it is the way it was done many years ago and we liked it that way.

Ah! Back in the true days of cruising when ships were still used for transportation. I remember something like 50 years ago my parents and I accompanied my uncle's family when they moved from Trinidad back to England. Yes, it was tipping in those days. You tipped those who provided you service.

 

But these days it is a bit different. The so-called tips these days go not only to those who provide you service, but also to to "those behind the scenes." That's another reason it is not really a tip.

 

The problem with doing it the way it was done when it was actually a tip is that part of the pay of "those behind the scenes" is the "tip" money. The cruise lines essentially hold a gun to your head saying "tip our way or else the Filipino guy gets it." It is no fault of that "guy behind the scenes" that part of his pay is this so-called tip and we don't want to hurt those guys so we do it their way.

[Virga]

For our part, we treat the suggested/automatic gratuity the way we treat resort fees - as a complete fabrication that a property/brand uses to pretend that their rate is lower than it actually is, and avoid some taxes to boot.  We feel it is a disservice to the crew to call this amount a tip - it is merely wages called something else to make it seem more palatable.  Your complaint isn't wholly without merit - both cruisers and crew would be better off if they stopped the shady practice of decoupling some portion of wages from fares.

 

We used to remove the automatic 'tips' and directly reward those who provided excellent service, but eventually came to feel that this wasn't fair to behind-the-scenes staff that provided services invisibly to us.  Now, we leave the automatic 'tip' charges on the account and reward excellent service additionally.  I would vastly prefer it if the standard service charge was rolled into quoted fares, but airlines and hotels have made it clear that this won't be done unless it is mandated.  In the meantime, we've settled into a habit that works well for us.  

[RollingMeadows]

IMO, and you know what they say about opinions, if you're not willing to tip, you should probably stay home. If tips are too expensive you should probably stay home. If you don't think tips are earned you should probably stay home. If you think those being tipped make way too much money you should probably stay home. I understand cruising is expensive, but to take food out of the mouths of the recipients of those tips is probably the most inconsiderate thing one can do, regardless of your country's tipping policy. The recipients of your tips have an average minimum wage of $7 a day at home. Considering what the lowest income earning passenger on Carnival makes as compared to those who are cleaning your toilets and scraping the food off your plates, I can't believe people would be so cheap as to prevent those service providers from getting extra for those lousy chores, like cleaning the bathrooms right next to the pool. If you want the tipping charges to be rolled into the cost of the cruise, then please do travel on a line with those things included. But don't climb aboard a line that doesn't include gratuities and expect the employees to be happy that you're wealthy enough to cruise, but not wealthy enough to tip.

[mz-s]

I agree that Carnival's service has materially declined recently - especially since COVID but before COVID as well, and in response they have raised the default gratuity rate which is unacceptable. I have not sailed on other lines recently but Carnival should recognize they are in a highly competitive industry and provide a better experience ASAP or they will lose customers that will be hard to win back.

 

I don't think we need to get into another tipping argument. People will tip how they see fit. Automatic gratuities, prepaid gratuities, removing auto-grats and tipping in cash, removing auto-grats and not doing anything, whatever works for you do it. That's not the point of this post but everyone wants to wave their money in the air any time they get a whiff of a tipping thread so they can brag about how they do it. Nobody cares.

Edited June 12, 2022 by mz-s

[ChattTenn]

Carnival and other lines hire a bunch of cheap labors and we (cruisers) are paying wages for their peoples and they call it as tips.  

[ledges1]

If people think Carnival is cheap, what about some of the people that cruise Carnival?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

If people think Carnival is cheap, what about some of the people that cruise Carnival?

Cheap? No. Not the ones that cruise carnival either. The best for the dollar spent does not mean you are cheap. Frugal for sure.

[slimknyzer]

Do you remember the tip envelopes that were placed in your stateroom before the last cruise day?

[csm5986142]

I think it's all in what you like/expect.  I like Carnival because its a low-key, laidback, affordable vacation.  I like decent service, but I don't need cabin service twice a day.  I don't care if I ever see a table cloth (if it saves them time and money especially).  I typically don't wash my bedding every 3 days at home, so I don't need that done on vacation either. 

On any land-based vacation I take, I easily meet or exceed the daily tip amount Carnival charges me (and don't even get me started on resort fees).

I guess I don't understand why people choose to travel on Carnival when they clearly prefer the service on the other lines?  

[CajunOyster]

4 minutes ago, csm5986142 said:

I think it's all in what you like/expect.  I like Carnival because its a low-key, laidback, affordable vacation.  I like decent service, but I don't need cabin service twice a day.  I don't care if I ever see a table cloth (if it saves them time and money especially).  I typically don't wash my bedding every 3 days at home, so I don't need that done on vacation either. 

On any land-based vacation I take, I easily meet or exceed the daily tip amount Carnival charges me (and don't even get me started on resort fees).

I guess I don't understand why people choose to travel on Carnival when they clearly prefer the service on the other lines?  

You know the answer to this.  You're just not allowed to say it.

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, csm5986142 said:

I think it's all in what you like/expect.  I like Carnival because its a low-key, laidback, affordable vacation.  I like decent service, but I don't need cabin service twice a day.  I don't care if I ever see a table cloth (if it saves them time and money especially).  I typically don't wash my bedding every 3 days at home, so I don't need that done on vacation either. 

On any land-based vacation I take, I easily meet or exceed the daily tip amount Carnival charges me (and don't even get me started on resort fees).

I guess I don't understand why people choose to travel on Carnival when they clearly prefer the service on the other lines?  

 

All of these things used to be standard on Carnival, and they still are on other lines. While Carnival has consistently devalued their product and lowered their standards of service they've expected us to pay more and more gratuities. That is the point.

[Guest BasicSailor]

19 minutes ago, slimknyzer said:

Do you remember the tip envelopes that were placed in your stateroom before the last cruise day?

You can still get them at guest services.

[csm5986142]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

All of these things used to be standard on Carnival, and they still are on other lines. While Carnival has consistently devalued their product and lowered their standards of service they've expected us to pay more and more gratuities. That is the point.

 

I understand the point.  Things change.  You have a choice when you travel, don't choose Carnival if they aren't up to your service standards (and then complain about it).

[Ellaleah]

36 minutes ago, ChattTenn said:

Carnival and other lines hire a bunch of cheap labors and we (cruisers) are paying wages for their peoples and they call it as tips.  

And that is what all Casinos do everywhere as well as many restaurants!  It’s part of the fare and you should plan on it that way.

[RollingMeadows]

42 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

All of these things used to be standard on Carnival, and they still are on other lines. While Carnival has consistently devalued their product and lowered their standards of service they've expected us to pay more and more gratuities. That is the point.

 

Carnival changed their business model and cruise experience years ago. Where've you been? I complained loudly about the changes along with everyone else. Now I've learned to love the the changes and look forward to my Carnival trips. We cruise lots of lines, so we can cruise in any style we want if Carnival isn't classy enough for us.

 

1 hour ago, ChattTenn said:

Carnival and other lines hire a bunch of cheap labors and we (cruisers) are paying wages for their peoples and they call it as tips.  

 

"Cheap labors" have names like I Made and Beverly and Roland and Gede, etc. They are not "cheap labors". They are people who left their wives, husbands, kids, parents behind so they can send money home to their families. I'm happy to put their kids through college so they can find careers outside the service industry. Americans just can't fathom this need and instead make the Beverly's and I Made's Carnival's problem while we complain to Albert that our luggage hasn't arrived yet and we're Platiunum. I'd rather hug Albert or Sidjay or Maria and slip another fiver in his or her pocket. Or buy Ingrid from guest services a coffee on her next break. I am so grateful to be in the position I am today and try to show my appreciation to those from more humble roots. Even if I had to save for 18 months to get on the cruise ship, I'm not going to do it at the expense of those people caring for me on board.

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, csm5986142 said:

I think it's all in what you like/expect.  I like Carnival because its a low-key, laidback, affordable vacation.  I like decent service, but I don't need cabin service twice a day.  I don't care if I ever see a table cloth (if it saves them time and money especially).  I typically don't wash my bedding every 3 days at home, so I don't need that done on vacation either. 

On any land-based vacation I take, I easily meet or exceed the daily tip amount Carnival charges me (and don't even get me started on resort fees).

I guess I don't understand why people choose to travel on Carnival when they clearly prefer the service on the other lines?  

I made a similar point a few weeks ago and my comment was attacked for being “dumb.” But I agree with you. I don’t want a Mercedes or BMW or Jaguar because to me they are all rip-offs but I literally couldn’t care less if someone else wants them and if they are actually great value for the price for certain customers and they are able to go forth and serve a happy clientele for the next 500 years. 
 

What I also don’t do, is find luxury car forums online, join them, and then point out to a bunch of people there why I don’t like the same things they do! Because to me, that’s what I consider dumb.

[DAVLIB007]

2 hours ago, rps2004 said:

I agree with your analysis. We remove the gratuities from our sign and sail and then tip the waiters and steward in cash

 

Richard

may seem this is the way to go but the tips go to a lot of the people you do not come in contact with. laundry those that clean the ship wash the dishes etc. they are part of the tip pool. i have been in the restaurant business the last 35 years. and we tip behind the scenes people who help make your experience better . just my opinion