breakfast room service tips

[destar]

21 hours ago, RichYak said:

It's impressive the lengths some will go to find ways to justify stiffing the staff. Kudos to you on your creativity.

Rich, you just hit the nail on the head.

[buchhalm]

On 6/16/2022 at 6:56 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

The biggest issue and this is true for most cruise lines; if you do not ask for "fresh eggs" they'll use the pre-mix eggs out of a carton

 Difficult to make fried eggs out of a carton....

[mfs2k]

On 6/16/2022 at 7:12 AM, -Lew- said:

 

Until proof is offered that Dining Service Staff and other Stateroom Service Personnel does not include staff who deliver room service, I will not tip for room service when I've paid for the Always Included℠ Pricing Package.  I take Always Included at face value...

 

I think the service staff on cruise ships have an approximate idea how much they'll earn per sailing. 

 

There will always be cheap guests, average tippers and generous guests. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, buchhalm said:

 Difficult to make fried eggs out of a carton....

 

Yup; see post 48

[Dolebludger]

All I do know is that when lines like Regent say tips included, when one asks about tips above and beyond that one is advised to make a donation to the crew fund. This fund takes care of personal problems the crew may have.we have always donated to it. 
 

As you can see, I am balancing the merits of a Celebrity  suite cruise against those of a Regent cruise in a lower category on that line. It seems they are close to the same price. After more Regent cruises than I can count, we stumbled on cruises in Celebrity suites. We feel that suite room accommodations on Celebrity are better, as is food in the Luminae. We also feel that the avoidance of dreaded lines and crowds was actually a plus for Celebrity suites — even though this factor is great on Regent. As a plus for Regent, tips are really not expected, and have often been declined. And some shore excursions are included in the fare on Regent, but they tend to be bus rides. The better excursions cost extra.

 

All I am here to ask about tipping with AI in the Retreat is to get information to compare “apples to apples” As I’m deciding between this and Regent when we book our next cruise. And that will be when the Covid situation, the labor shortage, the airline flight lack of dependability, and the supply shortage all become more under control.

[cruisestitch]

On 6/14/2022 at 2:25 PM, Dolebludger said:

I would think it would depend on whether you are booked “cruise only” or “always included”. I would think the above advice is all good if you are cruise only. But if you are booked always included I would think tips are included in your fare, and there is no motivation to tip twice.

Always included does not cover many tips on board.  Spa services, babysitting, casino dealers among others.  Room service delivery is also not part of “always included”.

[Dolebludger]

Where can I find a list if the many tips onboard that are not included in AI, premium drink package and suite status?

[BigTorino]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:06 PM, helen haywood said:

Room service, except for extra charge items, or the later hours, is free of charge regardless of whether you booked no perks or always included.  The same as the MDR is also free regardless of your booking. 

Free of charge - true, but tip is not a food or item charge, it goes to the crew providing you with a service.

[Mark_T]

9 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

 Room service delivery is also not part of “always included”.

.. by behavior and custom that is certainly true for a lot of people, but I'm not so sure that it is in fact correct based on the description of what the included tips cover..

 

Either way many will feel the need to tip regardless and some will not, no right or wrong answer really and it would be inappropriate to bring US expectations to an Australian cruise for example, but I'm sure people will still do that 🙂

[BigTorino]

2 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

.. by behavior and custom that is certainly true for a lot of people, but I'm not so sure that it is in fact correct based on the description of what the included tips cover..

 

Either way many will feel the need to tip regardless and some will not, no right or wrong answer really and it would be inappropriate to bring US expectations to an Australian cruise for example, but I'm sure people will still do that 🙂

This is an interesting point. I wonder if crew always earns less money in for example Australia (since that was your example) than in the Caribbean or North America? The crew is international and they get assigned ships depending on where there is a need. 

[WestLakeGirl]

There was a time, and perhaps this is still the case, when Celebrity re-priced all the beverage menus for cruises out of Southampton.  
 

for cruises in the rest of the world, the price on the menu does not include the tip.  You got a recept to sign with a line showing the added tip amount. But for cruises out of Southampton, the price on the menu was raised to include the tip.

 

so from the US the $10 drink showed a 15% tip and you signed for the total of $11.50 and if you were sailing from the UK the price of the drink was $11.50.

 

this was because passengers from the UK too often crossed out the tip amount.

 

i think that there also was a policy that all cruises booked from the UK had required gratuities built into the price of the cruise.  That way they could not be removed.

 

with the always included this may have changed, but perhaps not.  Someone currently sailing from Southampton can probably chime in

[dgoz]

Is it true that tips included does not apply to the spa?

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, WestLakeGirl said:

There was a time, and perhaps this is still the case, when Celebrity re-priced all the beverage menus for cruises out of Southampton.  
 

for cruises in the rest of the world, the price on the menu does not include the tip.  You got a recept to sign with a line showing the added tip amount. But for cruises out of Southampton, the price on the menu was raised to include the tip.

 

so from the US the $10 drink showed a 15% tip and you signed for the total of $11.50 and if you were sailing from the UK the price of the drink was $11.50.

 

this was because passengers from the UK too often crossed out the tip amount.

 

i think that there also was a policy that all cruises booked from the UK had required gratuities built into the price of the cruise.  That way they could not be removed.

 

with the always included this may have changed, but perhaps not.  Someone currently sailing from Southampton can probably chime in

You may be confusing the need to add VAT to the prices with the gratuities, as the VAT is 20%.

 

Depending on itinerary it is sometimes required to do that in the UK and other EU countries, and can vary between when in port and when in international waters.

 

So for example, on the 'staycation' cruises last year which were all sold as 'Always Included' the menu prices all had to be increased by 20% to cover the VAT, and the allowance for 'Classic' and 'Premium' were all increased by 20%.

 

It is normal to price with tips included in Australia as you can't impose a 'tip' on a menu price there AFAIK. So right now for example the price of a Murano reservation includes the tip, where it is being added at checkout in other locations.

[klflote]

12 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

All I do know is that when lines like Regent say tips included, when one asks about tips above and beyond that one is advised to make a donation to the crew fund. This fund takes care of personal problems the crew may have.we have always donated to it. 
 

As you can see, I am balancing the merits of a Celebrity  suite cruise against those of a Regent cruise in a lower category on that line. It seems they are close to the same price. After more Regent cruises than I can count, we stumbled on cruises in Celebrity suites. We feel that suite room accommodations on Celebrity are better, as is food in the Luminae. We also feel that the avoidance of dreaded lines and crowds was actually a plus for Celebrity suites — even though this factor is great on Regent. As a plus for Regent, tips are really not expected, and have often been declined. And some shore excursions are included in the fare on Regent, but they tend to be bus rides. The better excursions cost extra.

 

All I am here to ask about tipping with AI in the Retreat is to get information to compare “apples to apples” As I’m deciding between this and Regent when we book our next cruise. And that will be when the Covid situation, the labor shortage, the airline flight lack of dependability, and the supply shortage all become more under control.

So say you are expected to tip $5 for room service breakfast. And say the cruise is a full 14 days (meaning 13 days of breakfast). The $65 you'd spend is what, 0.001% of the total cruise price? This is an important factor in your decision?

 

Tip whomever brings you breakfast -- in your case, tip the butler extra at the end of the cruise.

[WestLakeGirl]

20 minutes ago, dgoz said:

Is it true that tips included does not apply to the spa?

That is true.  It does not apply to the spa, the beauty salon, barbershop, and nail salon.

[WestLakeGirl]

6 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

You may be confusing the need to add VAT to the prices with the gratuities, as the VAT is 20%.

 

Depending on itinerary it is sometimes required to do that in the UK and other EU countries, and can vary between when in port and when in international waters.

 

So for example, on the 'staycation' cruises last year which were all sold as 'Always Included' the menu prices all had to be increased by 20% to cover the VAT, and the allowance for 'Classic' and 'Premium' were all increased by 20%.

 

It is normal to price with tips included in Australia as you can't impose a 'tip' on a menu price there AFAIK. So right now for example the price of a Murano reservation includes the tip, where it is being added at checkout in other locations.

No, it was not VAT.  It was definitely gratuities on the Southampton departures.  It was because so many had removed the gratuiities and the crew was requesting not to be assigned to those itineraries without the gratuities being built in

[Pinboy]

12 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Always included does not cover many tips on board.  Spa services, babysitting, casino dealers among others.  Room service delivery is also not part of “always included”.

The biggest " sucker " in any casino are those who tip a Dealer-- for their '' Good Luck ".

All they do is turn cards, spin a little ball , and " call " the dice---and have no outcome on the results.

Do they tip you as a " Thanks for playing " after losing $$$ ???

 

 

 

[Mark_T]

22 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

No, it was not VAT.  It was definitely gratuities on the Southampton departures.  It was because so many had removed the gratuiities and the crew was requesting not to be assigned to those itineraries without the gratuities being built in

If that was the case then at least it makes it clear that it is a service charge, not a gratuity 🙂

[cruisestitch]

29 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

You may be confusing the need to add VAT to the prices with the gratuities, as the VAT is 20%.

 

Depending on itinerary it is sometimes required to do that in the UK and other EU countries, and can vary between when in port and when in international waters.

 

So for example, on the 'staycation' cruises last year which were all sold as 'Always Included' the menu prices all had to be increased by 20% to cover the VAT, and the allowance for 'Classic' and 'Premium' were all increased by 20%.

 

It is normal to price with tips included in Australia as you can't impose a 'tip' on a menu price there AFAIK. So right now for example the price of a Murano reservation includes the tip, where it is being added at checkout in other locations.

For the most part, itineraries are planned so that there is a stop in a non-EU country, and thus the entire cruise is exempt from charging VAT.  There are some specific exceptions but that is the general plan.

 

if you saw increases in the menu price on your cruise it was most likely not due to VAT 

 

 

[Mark_T]

7 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

For the most part, itineraries are planned so that there is a stop in a non-EU country, and thus the entire cruise is exempt from charging VAT.  There are some specific exceptions but that is the general plan.

 

if you saw increases in the menu price on your cruise it was most likely not due to VAT 

 

 

Specifically on this one it 100% was VAT, as it was one of the 'staycation' cruises which was specifically designed to be UK only, so no escape from the VAT.

 

[mayleeman]

Using the reasoning offered by the 2 who insist AI includes every tip because exclusions aren't listed, we need to insist that X return all gratuities charged for upgrades to the drink package. After all, the bartenders don't have to do any more just because the drink costs more.

 

I am amazed that people spending thousands of dollars on a cruise, many thousands in suites, worry about a possible extra $5. Cheapskates anonymously proudly declaiming that in case of ambiguity, by gosh they will choose to not be even mildly generous.

[Dolebludger]

Good grief! I am not worried about being expected to tip the room service delivery — in and of itself. I almost never use room service anyway. I have questions about Celebrity’s own language seemingly stating that all tips are included (food service is mentioned) — when it may not be. It makes me wonder how many other tips are not included. Now everybody who has ever cruised all inclusive knows that tips for spa treatments, hair cuts and shore excursion guides are not included in the AI policy because these services are done by independent contractors. But room service tips have been included on the many AI cruises I’ve taken. This makes me wonder if there are other tipping expections on Celebrity AI that I would not expect — other than the ones I’ve mentioned above. That’s all.

[Mark_T]

5 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

 This makes me wonder if there are other tipping expections on Celebrity AI that I would not expect — other than the ones I’ve mentioned above. That’s all.

The only other one that comes to mind is the Martini bar where it is not uncommon to tip a little extra to the bar staff in appreciation of their performance in the preparation of your drink, even if you have the Premium Package which includes the tip.

 

I do understand your motivation having been a Regent cruiser originally an d yes, it does take a little effort to get used to the differences with Celebrity.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Mark_T

[Dolebludger]

Yes, Mark, my wife loves martinis, and can quickly tell a great one from a “meh” one. The Celebrity martini bar is alone a reason to cruise Celebrity for her. We have often given the bar tender a tip for exceptional service. 

[TropicalCanadian]

I'll tip at the end of the voyage provided the service has been good. If it has been subpar, then sorry, pick up your game.

 

I'll add more often than not, the service is sublime, so I tip well.