Auto Gratuities- Yes or No?

[John&LaLa]

15 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

We are so generous that we tip Chair Hogs.

 

I tipped the pool deck monitor on Oddysey. 

 

Gave him a shoutout on my survey as well

[sgmn]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I tipped the pool deck monitor on Oddysey. 

 

Gave him a shoutout on my survey as well

Seriously the ones who earn their share of the gratuities are the always smiling lovely staff who keep the public 'ladies' toilets so clean 

Loved the little individual folded towels on our celebrity cruise last month

[snaefell]

57 minutes ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

How would the workers see if they were cancelled?

In previous threads on this topic posters claimed that a list of those withdrawing the auto tips is available to the crew,like many aspects of this subject posters claim many opposites that they KNOW to be true,like I said in a previous post(which annoyingly seems to have been removed),people know everything & nothing about this subject!😆

[Joseph2017China]

Tipping threads are also conspiracy threads.....and are useless.

[MsMidge]

13 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The auto grats are designed to reward all of the hard working crew who have made your cruise memorable. It's like, reward the waiter, but cheat the assistant waiter, bus boys, dish washers, cooks, cleaners. Because of the auto grats, all of those people depend on you to contribute to the auto grarts just to get up to their minimum contract salary levels. 

 

You are still welcome to give extra tips to those who have exhibited exceptional service. 

Seems to us the auto grants are actually designed to reimburse the cruise line for the wages they are obligated to pay its crew to provide the services sold to the consumer.  

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 hour ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

I asked the question only because I like to hand them the tips to show my gratitude.

So, it is to make you feel good about yourself?

What happens when you can't find a particular crew member to hand them the envelop containing the tip cash?

The gratuity system (whether you agree with it or not) is to reward not only the face of the hospitality crew (room stewards, waiters, etc), but also those behind-the-scenes workers that passengers never come in contact with.  The cruise industry's gratuity system may be imperfect, but it allows a large and deserving group of unseen crew members to efficiently share in the gratuities.

 

Keep the auto tips/gratuity in place and leave additional $ for those crew members that really made your cruise extra enjoyable.  Remember crew names, and acknowledge them in the post cruise survey.

 

Do the right thing.  

[TexasRon]

Unless service is ridiculously bad, we do the auto-grats.  We also prepay them so that cost is gone when we arrive onboard.

 

We tip others.  If we can’t tip properly based on our standards—not anyone else’s—we don’t go.  Our son learned that lesson when he worked in a restaurant.  He was young and tipped poorly prior to that.

 

I am not going to judge anyone…you do you.

 

Those that refuse to tip in a tipping culture are likely not people I want to be around or know are around me.  Stop tipping when you actually change the culture, not when it hurts the people who serve you.

 

Okay, maybe I do judge a little.  I am not going to stand by guest services and jeer those who remove tips.

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2022 by TexasRon

[mjkacmom]

17 hours ago, Submariner said:

I hate being auto-charged gratuities and I remove it as soon as I board. Cruises force this onto cruisers and wont make it a service charge as they would have to declare and probably pay taxes on it. Gratuity and tips should be a personal choice and not shoved down our throat but its the American Way - unfortunately. Nevertheless, I make sure to give certain people padded envelopes at the end of the tip, er trip.

 

That’s the way it used to be, wonder why they changed it? Could it be that people are cheap? I’ve heard stories of empty MDR’s on the last night, I wonder why? My last cruise before DSC was in 2007, what a PITA. Now I leave the DSC in place, tip bartenders, my cabin steward, and anyone else who goes above and beyond (plus extras like room service or bringing an iron).

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I’m pretty sure you understood what I meant — pay them a wage that doesn’t require passengers to subsidize it with tips and don’t allow them to accept tips like the two companies that I mentioned

I understand completely what you meant, and I stand by my statement.

The guaranteed minimum salary that the crew receives is roughly 3 times the annual average salary in their home countries, and that is earned in nine months. 
I don’t believe the passengers need to subsidize anything, I am a fan of rewarding excellence, but I do not do it before services are rendered, and I do not do it out of a feeling of guilt.

[MsMidge]

Seems to me, years ago when people tipped directly, they figured some were being way over paid with tips and they could somehow start to control the tips and use it as they please to pay the rest of the crew.

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

Tipping threads are also conspiracy threads.....and are useless.

Yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's headline.  🙂 

[rudeney]

I find it amusing when people argue against gratuities because, "the cruise line should pay the crew a decent wage and not make them rely on tips from passengers."  Um, the money to pay the crew a "decent wage" comes from cruise fare revenue which is paid by the customer.  What difference does it make to the cost of the cruise if each passenger is charged $14.50 per day as "gratuities" or they just increase the price of the cruise by $14.50/day?  Obviously it allows the cruise line to advertise a lower price, which is a marketing tactic.  Many industries do the same thing - hotels, rental cars, phone service, even buying a car - where the advertised price is exclusive of fees and taxes and taxes and fees.

[hotsauce126]

2 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I find it amusing when people argue against gratuities because, "the cruise line should pay the crew a decent wage and not make them rely on tips from passengers."  Um, the money to pay the crew a "decent wage" comes from cruise fare revenue which is paid by the customer.  What difference does it make to the cost of the cruise if each passenger is charged $14.50 per day as "gratuities" or they just increase the price of the cruise by $14.50/day?  Obviously it allows the cruise line to advertise a lower price, which is a marketing tactic.  Many industries do the same thing - hotels, rental cars, phone service, even buying a car - where the advertised price is exclusive of fees and taxes and taxes and fees.

Yeah i guess they could just advertise free cruises and just charge you an electricity bill, water bill, gas bill, and have cover charges at the buffet and mdr 🙄

[UNCFanatik]

7 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I find it amusing when people argue against gratuities because, "the cruise line should pay the crew a decent wage and not make them rely on tips from passengers."  Um, the money to pay the crew a "decent wage" comes from cruise fare revenue which is paid by the customer.  What difference does it make to the cost of the cruise if each passenger is charged $14.50 per day as "gratuities" or they just increase the price of the cruise by $14.50/day?  Obviously it allows the cruise line to advertise a lower price, which is a marketing tactic.  Many industries do the same thing - hotels, rental cars, phone service, even buying a car - where the advertised price is exclusive of fees and taxes and taxes and fees.

 

I am for ending tipping on cruise ships totally and increasing price. There shouldnt be a practice of "auto-gratuity" in the first place especially gratuity added to cruise planner food/beverage packages before service is even rendered. AND they need to remove the auto-gratuity at all the bars as well. A bartender handing me a beer should necessitate an 18% auto-gratuity. Shady practice

[yogimax]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The guaranteed minimum salary that the crew receives is roughly 3 times the annual average salary in their home countries

What difference does that make?  Are you saying their salaries should be based on the average salary in their home country?  Would you reduce the meager salary they make by 67%?  C'mon, their salaries are based on working on a cruise ship.

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, hotsauce126 said:

Yeah i guess they could just advertise free cruises and just charge you an electricity bill, water bill, gas bill, and have cover charges at the buffet and mdr 🙄

 

Sure, they could do that, but it's not the way the business is structured and not what customers expect.  I treat the added gratuities just like the "Federal universal service charge" tacked onto my phone bill.  I know it's going to be added, it's not a "federal" charge, but a "charge the federal government allows" because the phone company wants to make more revenue, but not have to advertise a higher price.  It is what it is. 

 

Just now, UNCFanatik said:

 

I am for ending tipping on cruise ships totally and increasing price. There shouldnt be a practice of "auto-gratuity" in the first place especially gratuity added to cruise planner food/beverage packages before service is even rendered. AND they need to remove the auto-gratuity at all the bars as well. A bartender handing me a beer should necessitate an 18% auto-gratuity. Shady practice

 

I actually agree with you, because that would make it much simpler.  But I don't mind it being done either way.  Whether that beer is $7.99 + 18% or $9.43 is all the same to me.  The only thing that I am unsure about is if there is any sort of tax advantage (either to the company or the employees) with paying the crew with tips vs. a higher wage.  If soo, it might explain the industry's hesitancy to move away from the gratuity model.

[Merion_Mom]

[Merion_Mom]

[not-enough-cruising]

52 minutes ago, yogimax said:

What difference does that make?  Are you saying their salaries should be based on the average salary in their home country?  Would you reduce the meager salary they make by 67%?  C'mon, their salaries are based on working on a cruise ship.

I am saying the tired narrative of “you must leave the auto gratuity in place because the behind the scenes people are working for slave wages”  is a farce, and I wanted to set the record straight with facts. 

Another falsehood perpetuated on these threads is “the crew won’t get their agreed upon salary if you don’t tip” 

[firefly333]

47 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

Sure, they could do that, but it's not the way the business is structured and not what customers expect.  I treat the added gratuities just like the "Federal universal service charge" tacked onto my phone bill.  I know it's going to be added, it's not a "federal" charge, but a "charge the federal government allows" because the phone company wants to make more revenue, but not have to advertise a higher price.  It is what it is. 

 

 

I actually agree with you, because that would make it much simpler.  But I don't mind it being done either way.  Whether that beer is $7.99 + 18% or $9.43 is all the same to me.  The only thing that I am unsure about is if there is any sort of tax advantage (either to the company or the employees) with paying the crew with tips vs. a higher wage.  If soo, it might explain the industry's hesitancy to move away from the gratuity model.

to me that answer is obvious. If rcl can advertise 399 pp, or add 101.50 and then has to advertise its 500.50 pp ....to the average person 399 sounds better. I see this all the time 399 ... they dont even bother to say its pp false advertising. To draw in newbies. 

[Hutcha]

9 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

to me that answer is obvious. If rcl can advertise 399 pp, or add 101.50 and then has to advertise its 500.50 pp ....to the average person 399 sounds better. I see this all the time 399 ... they dont even bother to say its pp false advertising. To draw in newbies. 

 

Damn, I'm a day late to a tipping thread 🥲

 

Exactly! For tips to be included in the fare, the price would have to be increased by more than the $101.50, because the cruise line would have to count that amount as revenue and pay tax. To your point, every line would have to agree to do it, as the outliers would have a hard time raising the price if others kept it low (with separate grats). Think of the airline industry. Spirit started charging for bags. When people searched for an airfare, they saw Sprit's much lower fare, and booked it. Only to find out later that they had to pay for a bag. Eventually, all the other airlines (sans Southwest) had to start charging for bags to stay competitive. You won't see an airline switch back to free bags, because they would have to raise the ticket price to make up for the lost revenue.

[PTC DAWG]

4 hours ago, MsMidge said:

Seems to us the auto grants are actually designed to reimburse the cruise line for the wages they are obligated to pay its crew to provide the services sold to the consumer.  

Actually they put more money into the crews bank account…mainly due to tax reasons.  

[MsMidge]

13 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Actually they put more money into the crews bank account…mainly due to tax reasons.  

It would be even more if it was cash in the pocket!  Somehow people are being hoodwinked into thinking its better to let the owner decide to do with the tips, rather than the people that are actually serving you.

[RedIguana]

5 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Actually they put more money into the crews bank account…mainly due to tax reasons.  

Which countries tax laws make this favorable? This would not be true under US tax law, I do realize most crew are not from the US.

[MsMidge]

21 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

 

Damn, I'm a day late to a tipping thread 🥲

 

Exactly! For tips to be included in the fare, the price would have to be increased by more than the $101.50, because the cruise line would have to count that amount as revenue and pay tax. To your point, every line would have to agree to do it, as the outliers would have a hard time raising the price if others kept it low (with separate grats). Think of the airline industry. Spirit started charging for bags. When people searched for an airfare, they saw Sprit's much lower fare, and booked it. Only to find out later that they had to pay for a bag. Eventually, all the other airlines (sans Southwest) had to start charging for bags to stay competitive. You won't see an airline switch back to free bags, because they would have to raise the ticket price to make up for the lost revenue.

If they then owe more taxes good.  That would theoretically less taxes would have to be paid by others that dont have all kinds of attorneys and accountants to get them out of paying their fair share.