Do room stewards know that you prepaid gratiuties?

[rjrpar]

19 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

I could care less of what they know, don't know, or what others opinions are.  Prepaid tips, is the customary amount for the international industry called cruises.  I tip the customary amount.  How and who gets it, I don't care, I don't ask, and I have never had an employee give me bad service.

 

I agree.   Who cares

[DirtyDawg]

8 hours ago, rudeney said:

"Tip creep" is a real problem.   I'm not talking about traditional tipped positions like restaurant and bar servers, cruise ship crew, etc. but the almost endless line of people who have their hands out for a tip.  Fast food and counter service restaurants have "tip jars" or "tip buttons" on their pay pads.  What's next?  Will I have to tip my HOA representative?  My veterinarian?  The cashier at the Dollar General?  I've long been a proponent of tipping because I believe it puts the customer in charge of the service provider's compensation where it's the customer who is in the best position to evaluate performance.  But this expectation that every person who deals with the public "deserves" a tip is just ridiculous.  I think the pendulum will swing so far out that people will get "tip overload" and just stop tipping everyone.  

I am a huge fan of "tip creep". Please folks, tip your kids' University Professors - OK just the ones who teach Economics and Finance - you can skip all those general arts Profs if you like. I think a $ grand from each student at the end of each semester would be appropriate. Prof Dawg needs to cruise more! 😉

 

After that I'll agree with you 1000%. "Tip creep" is a real, HUGE, MASSIVE, problem!!! 😁

[livingonthebeach]

I could be mistaken but I seriously doubt that the room stewards are privy to any information concerning passengers' accounts. Whether one prepays, pays the daily gratuity or opts to have them removed under the guise of paying cash at the end, is not something I believe gets communicated to those providing onboard services. Imagine the time it takes to create such a grapevine? To what end?

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Your choice. But a question. The auto tips are split between those you see (cabin steward, waiter etc) and those you don't (laundry for example) you can get a breakdown at Guest Services. If you remove the auto you can tip those you see. How do you tip the others or are you happy for them not to be tipped?

If I have no personal interaction with someone, I have no need to tip them. 
 

dishwashers and laundry personnel services are the bare minimum services in my cruise fare. There is nothing “extra” there to be rewarded. 

[cruisetorelax44]

I always used to prepay tips, but now i have them removed. My friends and I do the ultimate dining, which we pay an 18% service charge for. We never even walk into the dining room and rarely are in the buffet. So we tip $10 in cash, per person, each meal we eat, to the server we actually see. And we each tip $10 per day to our stateroom attendant at the end of the cruise. That's more than the steward would see from the daily tips. I don't understand why a head waiter, waiter, and assistant waiter in the main dining room, who we never ever see, should get any of our money. We tip those show serve us... and i understand the "behind the scenes" argument. That's a royal policy that drives me insane. We don't know how much of the daily tips goes to the people behind the scenes, or who qualifies. 

 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, gingerpeaches said:

 

Guess you won't mind sleeping on unwashed sheets or using someone else's dirty towels then.

 

Harsh.

Are you saying there should be an extra fee for laundry services on the ship? That clean linens aren’t included in the base fare?

[SilkySal]

6 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

I could be mistaken but I seriously doubt that the room stewards are privy to any information concerning passengers' accounts. Whether one prepays, pays the daily gratuity or opts to have them removed under the guise of paying cash at the end, is not something I believe gets communicated to those providing onboard services. Imagine the time it takes to create such a grapevine? To what end?

I didn't think so either; however, a few years ago (can't remember when exactly), we were on a B2B. On turnaround day, we noticed a room steward, who seemed very upset. We stopped to ask him if he was ok. He proceeded to tell us that he had been taking care of 2 cabins all week and the young guests occupying the cabins were extremely messy and he worked very hard for them. He was angry that they had their gratuities removed and did not leave him any tips whatsoever. So, now I wonder if they are able to find out when gratuities are removed. Just sayin' that was our experience.

Edited August 19, 2022 by SilkySal
add

[DirtyDawg]

10 hours ago, CanHardlyWait4NextYear said:

I think people knowing you tipped in advance and/or adjusted your tips is just wrong. To me it makes it a "Fee" not a "Tip". Kinda wish they would call it what it is. A Tip is something you give for good service at a suggested rate. Not something you are forced to pay and shamed if you don't. Apparently even put on a list for all crew to see. Feels like cruise lines are thugs and it's a shake down. I just think taking care of those who took care of you without being forced is so much more a class act.

But we are talking cruising here. Cruise lines call the left of a ship 'port' and right 'starboard'. They call the back of a ship the 'aft'.  So, of course, cruise lines will call a prepaid fee a 'tip'. And Cruise lines are not thugs. Cruise lines are just providing a valuable service to us by relieving us of the immense responsibility and enormous pressure of calculating and paying tips to the crew thereby massively increasing our relaxation while on our cruises.  They are 😇.

 

I shouldn't have to but here it is - 😉

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, SilkySal said:

I didn't think so either; however, a few years ago (can't remember when exactly), we were on a B2B. On turnaround day, we noticed a room steward, who seemed very upset. We stopped to ask him if he was ok. He proceeded to tell us that he had been taking care of 2 cabins all week and the young guests occupying the cabins were extremely messy and he worked very hard for them. He was angry that they had their gratuities removed and did not leave him any tips whatsoever. So, now I wonder if they are able to find out when gratuities are removed. Just sayin' that was our experience.

 

I don't know at what point, if any, the stewards are told that the gratuities are removed.  Would he have been upset if these young people left him a big cash tip instead?  It just seems odd to me that stewards would be told -- those auto grats go to the waitstaff and other service people as well. Are they also all told grats were removed? Does the whole ship know? I'm not knocking your experience just that in all practicality I don't see how this would be a common practice -- that's all. 

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

4 hours ago, Coralc said:

 

It is a Fee. And it will be taken out either beforehand or daily. We prefer to pay it in advance. 

In many places the word "Gratuity" is used and it's just so wrong. On top of cruise lines being thugs about the entire thing, people on here tell each other what to do and try to shame one and an other. It's just such a downer all around. And really no problem here tipping for good service. But when everyone from the cruise line to other passengers tells you what to do it leaves such a bad taste.

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

6 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

But we are talking cruising here. Cruise lines call the left of a ship 'port' and right 'starboard'. They call the back of a ship the 'aft'.  So, of course, cruise lines will call a prepaid fee a 'tip'. And Cruise lines are not thugs. Cruise lines are just providing a valuable service to us by relieving us of the immense responsibility and enormous pressure of calculating and paying tips to the crew thereby massively increasing our relaxation while on our cruises.  They are 😇.

 

I shouldn't have to but here is is - 😉

 

"Valuable service" "relieving us of the immense responsibility and enormous pressure of calculating and paying tips". OMG. I need hip boots to walk in that statement. Lol. I'm more then capable of handling that enormous task without there help. They are thugs. 

[livingonthebeach]

2 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait4NextYear said:

"Valuable service" "relieving us of the immense responsibility and enormous pressure of calculating and paying tips". OMG. I need hip boots to walk in that statement. Lol. I'm more then capable of handling that enormous task without there help. They are thugs. 

 

I believe he said that in jest - emoticons to show humor. 

 

I agree that we should be in charge of tipping when it comes out of our own pockets but calling RCI thugs is pretty harsh, don't you think? They do give you the option to remove them and pay as you like.

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

I could be mistaken but I seriously doubt that the room stewards are privy to any information concerning passengers' accounts. Whether one prepays, pays the daily gratuity or opts to have them removed under the guise of paying cash at the end, is not something I believe gets communicated to those providing onboard services. Imagine the time it takes to create such a grapevine? To what end?

 

We were once on a cruise where we had "included gratuities".  This was back in the days where they were transitioning from giving the crew envelopes to having tips added.  I had not seen anything added to my account or any notation of tips, so on the 5th day, I asked the cabin steward and he said that yes, our tips had been accounted for.  Based on that, I do believe they can tell if tips are in place or not. 

 

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

52 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

I believe he said that in jest - emoticons to show humor. 

 

I agree that we should be in charge of tipping when it comes out of our own pockets but calling RCI thugs is pretty harsh, don't you think? They do give you the option to remove them and pay as you like.

Oh I did not see the little smile face. If it was a joke I genuinely apologize. People here take tipping so seriously, I really couldn't tell. As far as thugs, I don't think it's harsh. They under pay employees and put us in the middle. It's handled horribly. But that is my opinion. 

[DirtyDawg]

9 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait4NextYear said:

Oh I did not see the little smile face. 

Or the "I shouldn't have to but here it is - 😉"

 

😁😁😁😁

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

7 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Or the "I shouldn't have to but here it is - 😉"

 

😁😁😁😁

Everyone gets so crazy on this subject it really is hard to tell. Lol.

[LEMJMcC]

At least we're not debating masks and vaccines!😆

[gingerpeaches]

4 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Are you saying there should be an extra fee for laundry services on the ship? That clean linens aren’t included in the base fare?

No. This was in response to the person who said "... I do see very little of them but I also see their direct work in my room." You see the direct work of laundry staff in your room, in the form of clean sheets and towels, and therefore they deserve to receive a gratuity as much as the person who put the clean sheets on the bed. That's why I pay the gratuities, because I believe in paying people for the work that they do, and whether the cruise line choose to call it "gratuities" or "resort fee" or "privileged persons fee" then I'll pay it, because I am privileged to be on a cruise ship and have everyone who works there do everything they can to meet my needs.

Edited August 19, 2022 by gingerpeaches

[robmtx]

I've been on both sides of this argument in my time. While I currently leave tips as-is, I haven't always. And I may not continue. I respect others' decisions to leave tips alone or remove them.

I believe tipping is for service above-and-beyond. We've had stewards and waiters just "phoning it in" with the service, barely doing the job they are contracted to do... and then we've had stewards and waiters who should run their respective departments for the entire cruise line because they knew how to "knock it out of the park" in terms of service levels.

 

Now, question is, do stewards know? I've asked three of them now, and have been told they don't receive such notice on an individual level, nor during the current sailing. I asked a fourth, but he just shied away from talking about it, lol...

 

Will ask again next month!

[PhillyFan33579]

8 hours ago, Bird82 said:

Are you hearing yourself?  Do you realize how stupid that sounds?  I never see them so I should tip them. How do I know what kind of job they are doing or how good of a job they are doing if I never even see them?  How do I know how much to tip them if I never see them?  They can literally be doing  an amazing job or standing around scratching their butts doing nothing and I would never know the difference because I never see them. Tell me one other person in this world that you are supposed to tip that you either never see or never see their direct work. Hotel housekeepers I tip and I do see very little of them but I also see their direct work in my room. If someone is doing work behind the scenes then that is not a tippable position.  It is a payable position and that should be paid by the cruise line. Its not my fault cruise lines choose to only hire people from third world countries and pay them peanuts. I don’t have to supplement their income because Royal brings ok slaves. And as long as you keep tipping people you never ever see Royal is going to continue to be a slave driver. So you’re the problem!! 

You are the one who sounds stupid. Whether you like it or not, almost every major cruise line has a system in place that pays a significant portion of  their employees income thru gratuities. There  our huge financial benefits for this system, but that is a topic for another thread. But if you remove gratuities when you cruise, you are literally treating a lot of employees as slaves because they are working for free for you (and every other passenger who removes gratuities).

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

I always used to prepay tips, but now i have them removed. My friends and I do the ultimate dining, which we pay an 18% service charge for. We never even walk into the dining room and rarely are in the buffet. So we tip $10 in cash, per person, each meal we eat, to the server we actually see. And we each tip $10 per day to our stateroom attendant at the end of the cruise. That's more than the steward would see from the daily tips. I don't understand why a head waiter, waiter, and assistant waiter in the main dining room, who we never ever see, should get any of our money. We tip those show serve us... and i understand the "behind the scenes" argument. That's a royal policy that drives me insane. We don't know how much of the daily tips goes to the people behind the scenes, or who qualifies. 

 

Ask at Guest Relations for a breakdown.

[cruisetorelax44]

53 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Ask at Guest Relations for a breakdown.

the problem is.. even if we got that breakdown, we wouldn't be able to just do a $2 daily surcharge for those impacted if we wanted to. It's all or nothing. and considering we overpay tips for dining and for the room steward.. we call it a wash. There is no need for the dining staff to get our tip dollars when we never see them. 

[Bird82]

8 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

You are the one who sounds stupid. Whether you like it or not, almost every major cruise line has a system in place that pays a significant portion of  their employees income thru gratuities. There  our huge financial benefits for this system, but that is a topic for another thread. But if you remove gratuities when you cruise, you are literally treating a lot of employees as slaves because they are working for free for you (and every other passenger who removes gratuities).

They are slaves. They should not be working for free, the cruise line should pay them a wage using a portion of the thousands of dollars I pay for my cruise. 

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, Bird82 said:

They are slaves. They should not be working for free, the cruise line should pay them a wage using a portion of the thousands of dollars I pay for my cruise. 

No one on the ship works for free all are on a basic salary plus tips. Every major main stream cruise line pays the same way which is made very clear in their terms and conditions. By removing the auto grats and choosing to tip only those people who you see or directly interact with you are reducing the money the others get. I assume you never eat in the buffet, never use any public restroom, never leave a cup/glass/or other item by a sunlounger? The list of crew you don't personally see or interact with is almost limitless.

If you don't accept the system why do you book with Royal?

Surely you should  stick to your principles and change to one of the few lines that includes everything in the basic fare rather than penalising hard working staff by just tipping a selected few.

[Maria63]

19 minutes ago, the penguins said:

No one on the ship works for free all are on a basic salary plus tips. Every major main stream cruise line pays the same way which is made very clear in their terms and conditions. By removing the auto grats and choosing to tip only those people who you see or directly interact with you are reducing the money the others get. I assume you never eat in the buffet, never use any public restroom, never leave a cup/glass/or other item by a sunlounger? The list of crew you don't personally see or interact with is almost limitless.

If you don't accept the system why do you book with Royal?

Surely you should  stick to your principles and change to one of the few lines that includes everything in the basic fare rather than penalising hard working staff by just tipping a selected few.

You do have a point, and for my part I'm okay with paying the daily service charge and have so far never removed it.

 

However, I'm not sure I like the idea that the moral responsibility to pay employees a good salary is shifted to the guests even when the employee works in a position where he/she doesn't directly interact with the guest. You can defend that bar & restaurant waiters, cabin attendants etc are paid a lower base salary, as fairly generous tipping is the norm in the US. But if it's not the norm that you tip the people you don't directly interact with on land in the US, I'm not sure if I can fully agree with the way the service charge is sold to the customers in the cruise industry. But like I said, I can live with the current practice.