Do room stewards know that you prepaid gratiuties?

[Bird82]

2 hours 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.

This is simply not true. I don’t think you understand what “gratuities” are. 

[crazyank]

5 minutes ago, Bird82 said:

This is simply not true. I don’t think you understand what “gratuities” are. 

Totally agree

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, Maria63 said:

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.

Because you're not familiar with the North American standard practice, please allow me to explain.  This is in a sincere attempt to provide information, not an attempt to argue/fight.  

It is standard practice in many bars/restaurants that the waitstaff has to tip some of the behind the scenes staff from their own personal tip collections.  Who receives these tips and how much is supposed to be allocated to them will differ from one establishment to another. 

It may include the greeter/hostess who seats parties, the busser who clears tables, the bartender who makes drinks, the food runner who delivers food orders if the server is busy with another table at the time the food is ready, the dishwasher, and maybe even the cook(s).  

Back in the 1980s, I worked as a server for a family restaurant (no booze).  Back in that time, a standard tip was 10% and a generous/rare tip was 15%.  At the end of the shift, the hostess would run a computer printout of all of my food/drink sales for that shift, and I had to tip the busboy (it was always a boy in those days) 2% of my gross sales.  If I had a bunch of crappy/deadbeat customers and only averaged 5% in tips that shift, the busboy got almost half of my cash.  

So yes, this is a long-standing norm that people who don't directly interact with the customer get part of the cash tips in the USA... it's just that you don't personally hand it to them like you hand it to the person who served your food.  

As for the "moral responsibility" part of it... you're aware of the charge before your cruise.  You're aware of what the money is for / who is receiving the money (meaning it goes to the workers, not the company).  You're aware that it's a tax/accounting thing that makes it a separate charge (keeps it out of the revenue stream, which reduces taxation, which reduces cruise fare).  The workers take on their contracts, agreeing to be separated from their families for eight months at a time, with the understanding that they will be making X amount per week, plus an estimated Y amount of tips.  If people take away the Y amount of tips.... who is the immoral one in that equation?

Would you rather pay $101.50/person/week in Daily Service Charge on top of your cruise fare, or would you rather have the cruise fare increased by $150/person/week (or some other amount that is significantly more than $101.50)?  If it really bothers you that it's not part of the cruise fare, ask your travel agent to put Prepaid Gratuities on your invoice, and pay it all in full when you pay for your cruise fare.  Problem solved, no moral dilemma.

 

[Maria63]

37 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Because you're not familiar with the North American standard practice, please allow me to explain.  This is in a sincere attempt to provide information, not an attempt to argue/fight.  

It is standard practice in many bars/restaurants that the waitstaff has to tip some of the behind the scenes staff from their own personal tip collections.  Who receives these tips and how much is supposed to be allocated to them will differ from one establishment to another. 

It may include the greeter/hostess who seats parties, the busser who clears tables, the bartender who makes drinks, the food runner who delivers food orders if the server is busy with another table at the time the food is ready, the dishwasher, and maybe even the cook(s).  

Back in the 1980s, I worked as a server for a family restaurant (no booze).  Back in that time, a standard tip was 10% and a generous/rare tip was 15%.  At the end of the shift, the hostess would run a computer printout of all of my food/drink sales for that shift, and I had to tip the busboy (it was always a boy in those days) 2% of my gross sales.  If I had a bunch of crappy/deadbeat customers and only averaged 5% in tips that shift, the busboy got almost half of my cash.  

So yes, this is a long-standing norm that people who don't directly interact with the customer get part of the cash tips in the USA... it's just that you don't personally hand it to them like you hand it to the person who served your food.  

As for the "moral responsibility" part of it... you're aware of the charge before your cruise.  You're aware of what the money is for / who is receiving the money (meaning it goes to the workers, not the company).  You're aware that it's a tax/accounting thing that makes it a separate charge (keeps it out of the revenue stream, which reduces taxation, which reduces cruise fare).  The workers take on their contracts, agreeing to be separated from their families for eight months at a time, with the understanding that they will be making X amount per week, plus an estimated Y amount of tips.  If people take away the Y amount of tips.... who is the immoral one in that equation?

Would you rather pay $101.50/person/week in Daily Service Charge on top of your cruise fare, or would you rather have the cruise fare increased by $150/person/week (or some other amount that is significantly more than $101.50)?  If it really bothers you that it's not part of the cruise fare, ask your travel agent to put Prepaid Gratuities on your invoice, and pay it all in full when you pay for your cruise fare.  Problem solved, no moral dilemma.

 

Thank you for the explanation, and for understanding that I'm not familiar with the system.🙂

 

I was thinking of this quote from the USA Today -article I linked to in my earlier post, and concluded that some people in the US also share this view - but as I said, I'm personally okay with the current practice, it's no big deal for me either way.

 

Some see the charges as a thinly disguised method for cruise lines to push the responsibility for paying crew members to their customers. To that point, cruise industry watcher CruiseCritic has reported that some lines now pay housekeeping and dining department workers on ships as little as $2 per day in base wages, relying on the automatic gratuity to provide the bulk of their compensation.

 

[livingonthebeach]

It is important to note that not all restaurants participate in tip pooling and that state and local regulations legally take precendence over federal labor laws. In Florida, it is illegal for tipped employees to be forced to share their tips with non-tipped employees (managers, cooks, bouncers, etc). A valid tip pool allows for contributions to be shared only among other employees who regularly receive tips. Many restaurants allow their servers to keep all of their tips and don't participate in distributing tips among other front of the house waitstaff. What is more common in Florida is a tip credit - in other words employers can get away with paying less than the minimum wage if the tips cover the difference. 

[brillohead]

40 minutes ago, Maria63 said:

Thank you for the explanation, and for understanding that I'm not familiar with the system.🙂

 
And thank you for taking it as explanatory versus argumentative.  Who knew that polite discussion can actually take place on Cruise Critic?  LOL

 

 

41 minutes ago, Maria63 said:

I was thinking of this quote from the USA Today -article I linked to in my earlier post, and concluded that some people in the US also share this view - but as I said, I'm personally okay with the current practice, it's no big deal for me either way.

 

Some see the charges as a thinly disguised method for cruise lines to push the responsibility for paying crew members to their customers. To that point, cruise industry watcher CruiseCritic has reported that some lines now pay housekeeping and dining department workers on ships as little as $2 per day in base wages, relying on the automatic gratuity to provide the bulk of their compensation.

I just don't understand why anyone who has been familiar with the cruise industry for more than a couple of years would think that this is "something new".  I've been cruising since the 1980s, and tipping every single staffer (whether you used their services or not) at the end of the cruise was a regular expected thing back then. 

 

You were given a stack of envelopes and a list of people and an amount per passenger per day that each staffer was to be given.  As I recall, that list included the Maitre d', the Headwaiter, the waiter, the assistant waiter, the cocktail server in the MDR, the sommelier, the room steward, and the assistant room steward.  And this was back before everyone carried a calculator in their pocket, so you had to take out a pen and paper and do the math for each role.... $.35 times four people times seven days... $1.20 times four people times seven days... etc., and then you had to make sure you had enough change to be able to put the expected amount in each envelope.  Then you had to tote all the envelopes to the MDR (stopping in the hallway on the way to hand the room steward and his assistant their envelopes) and then pull out the right envelope to hand off to the right person.  Ugh.  Such a pain!

 

I remember back in 2013 (when fortunately the auto-grats had been put in place, no need to divvy up a bazillion envelopes and do math problems on vacation), my MDR waiter told us that his salary was $25/week, and the rest of his pay was made up of auto-grats and cash tips.  He was Jamaican, and he had been able to put all of his children through private school because of his job with Royal Caribbean (he'd been with them for 20 years at that point).  

So any cruise commentator who has any knowledge of the cruise industry should realize that this is nothing new -- it's just the way it's always been, and likely the way it will continue to be for some time going forward.  

 

52 minutes ago, Maria63 said:

a thinly disguised method for cruise lines to push the responsibility for paying crew members to their customers.

I see this brought up any time tips get mentioned, and I just don't understand the thought process, because EVERY company's employees' wages are ultimately paid for by the customers.  If you go to McDonald's and get a burger and fries, your payment at the register will go towards the cost of the food, the cost of the labor, and the profit of the company (among other things).  If you go to a furniture store and buy a couch, your payment will go towards the cost of the furniture, the cost of the salespeople and delivery people, and the profit of the company (among other things).  Why shouldn't we expect money paid by cruise customers to go towards the cost of the labor on the ship, too?  

Again, not being argumentative with you, specifically -- just pointing out something that never made sense to me when someone makes a statement like that (which inevitably happens in any tipping thread).   If people really want their cruise fare to "include a decent wage for the employees" all they have to do is prepay their auto-grats and that "decent wage for the employees" has been paid for in their cruise fare.  

 

[Maria63]

3 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 
And thank you for taking it as explanatory versus argumentative.  Who knew that polite discussion can actually take place on Cruise Critic?  LOL

 

 

I just don't understand why anyone who has been familiar with the cruise industry for more than a couple of years would think that this is "something new".  I've been cruising since the 1980s, and tipping every single staffer (whether you used their services or not) at the end of the cruise was a regular expected thing back then. 

 

You were given a stack of envelopes and a list of people and an amount per passenger per day that each staffer was to be given.  As I recall, that list included the Maitre d', the Headwaiter, the waiter, the assistant waiter, the cocktail server in the MDR, the sommelier, the room steward, and the assistant room steward.  And this was back before everyone carried a calculator in their pocket, so you had to take out a pen and paper and do the math for each role.... $.35 times four people times seven days... $1.20 times four people times seven days... etc., and then you had to make sure you had enough change to be able to put the expected amount in each envelope.  Then you had to tote all the envelopes to the MDR (stopping in the hallway on the way to hand the room steward and his assistant their envelopes) and then pull out the right envelope to hand off to the right person.  Ugh.  Such a pain!

 

I remember back in 2013 (when fortunately the auto-grats had been put in place, no need to divvy up a bazillion envelopes and do math problems on vacation), my MDR waiter told us that his salary was $25/week, and the rest of his pay was made up of auto-grats and cash tips.  He was Jamaican, and he had been able to put all of his children through private school because of his job with Royal Caribbean (he'd been with them for 20 years at that point).  

So any cruise commentator who has any knowledge of the cruise industry should realize that this is nothing new -- it's just the way it's always been, and likely the way it will continue to be for some time going forward.  

 

I see this brought up any time tips get mentioned, and I just don't understand the thought process, because EVERY company's employees' wages are ultimately paid for by the customers.  If you go to McDonald's and get a burger and fries, your payment at the register will go towards the cost of the food, the cost of the labor, and the profit of the company (among other things).  If you go to a furniture store and buy a couch, your payment will go towards the cost of the furniture, the cost of the salespeople and delivery people, and the profit of the company (among other things).  Why shouldn't we expect money paid by cruise customers to go towards the cost of the labor on the ship, too?  

Again, not being argumentative with you, specifically -- just pointing out something that never made sense to me when someone makes a statement like that (which inevitably happens in any tipping thread).   If people really want their cruise fare to "include a decent wage for the employees" all they have to do is prepay their auto-grats and that "decent wage for the employees" has been paid for in their cruise fare.  

 

You do have a point - and thinking about it (but not to go too far off-topic, just as a passing thought): All (mostly all?) land based hospitality businesses do add a service charge too. If I get it right, this charge doesn't necessarily go to the employees at all. But it's very true that at the end of the day, the customer naturally pays for the salaries one way or the other. So I do agree that perhaps this shouldn't be such a controversial topic - but never mind.🙂

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Bird82 said:

This is simply not true. I don’t think you understand what “gratuities” are. 

Sorry which part isn't true?

In this instance it doesn't matter what you or I understand by "gratuitues" it's how Royal (and every major main line cruise) intreprets/ uses the word.

What matters is the "bottom line" which is simply if anyone removes the auto grats then some people on board will be getting less than they otherwise would.

Personally I would rather auto grats were simply included in the basic fare with no option to remove them. But until Royal does that I will continue to pay the auto and tip extra as and when the service I get warrants it.

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Maria63 said:

Thank you for the explanation, and for understanding that I'm not familiar with the system.🙂

 

I was thinking of this quote from the USA Today -article I linked to in my earlier post, and concluded that some people in the US also share this view - but as I said, I'm personally okay with the current practice, it's no big deal for me either way.

 

Some see the charges as a thinly disguised method for cruise lines to push the responsibility for paying crew members to their customers. To that point, cruise industry watcher CruiseCritic has reported that some lines now pay housekeeping and dining department workers on ships as little as $2 per day in base wages, relying on the automatic gratuity to provide the bulk of their compensation.

 

Of course the ships aren't American. 

[not-enough-cruising]

19 hours ago, gingerpeaches said:

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.

We obviously have different definitions of the term “gratuity” 

 

[BecciBoo]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:36 PM, 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.  

When they disperse them equally, you then cannot make exceptions for bad or good service.  The tips should be left to the customer...period.  We like to let it ride and on the last day determine whether we have received good service, tip in envelopes and/or add more to the envelope on top of theirs.  We are not cheap, if it's earned I'd give them the moon, and on occasion have just about done that for some.  But I resent service personnel with an entitlement attitude and unfortunately, there have been a few like that over our 26 year cruising experience.  We have elected not to  tip at all on 2 occasions. Both room stewards.  

 

The other thing is, I run a tight ship.  Most of the room I take care of, with the exception of cleaning the bathroom (I even use the toilet brush daily) and changing linens ( I even spread the bed, can't abide the bed in a kerfuffle)  I am OCD and keep things extremely tidy.  I've seen rooms as we walk by that are pig stys IMHO.  I couldn't cruise like that.  All our things are folded and put away and stay away in the drawers and closets.  I have every respect and sympathy for our crew and appreciate them tremendously, but when things are substandard, don't mind letting the chips fall where they may.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

 
And thank you for taking it as explanatory versus argumentative.  Who knew that polite discussion can actually take place on Cruise Critic?  LOL

 

 

I just don't understand why anyone who has been familiar with the cruise industry for more than a couple of years would think that this is "something new".  I've been cruising since the 1980s, and tipping every single staffer (whether you used their services or not) at the end of the cruise was a regular expected thing back then. 

 

You were given a stack of envelopes and a list of people and an amount per passenger per day that each staffer was to be given.  As I recall, that list included the Maitre d', the Headwaiter, the waiter, the assistant waiter, the cocktail server in the MDR, the sommelier, the room steward, and the assistant room steward.  And this was back before everyone carried a calculator in their pocket, so you had to take out a pen and paper and do the math for each role.... $.35 times four people times seven days... $1.20 times four people times seven days... etc., and then you had to make sure you had enough change to be able to put the expected amount in each envelope.  Then you had to tote all the envelopes to the MDR (stopping in the hallway on the way to hand the room steward and his assistant their envelopes) and then pull out the right envelope to hand off to the right person.  Ugh.  Such a pain!

 

I remember back in 2013 (when fortunately the auto-grats had been put in place, no need to divvy up a bazillion envelopes and do math problems on vacation), my MDR waiter told us that his salary was $25/week, and the rest of his pay was made up of auto-grats and cash tips.  He was Jamaican, and he had been able to put all of his children through private school because of his job with Royal Caribbean (he'd been with them for 20 years at that point).  

So any cruise commentator who has any knowledge of the cruise industry should realize that this is nothing new -- it's just the way it's always been, and likely the way it will continue to be for some time going forward.  

 

I see this brought up any time tips get mentioned, and I just don't understand the thought process, because EVERY company's employees' wages are ultimately paid for by the customers.  If you go to McDonald's and get a burger and fries, your payment at the register will go towards the cost of the food, the cost of the labor, and the profit of the company (among other things).  If you go to a furniture store and buy a couch, your payment will go towards the cost of the furniture, the cost of the salespeople and delivery people, and the profit of the company (among other things).  Why shouldn't we expect money paid by cruise customers to go towards the cost of the labor on the ship, too?  

Again, not being argumentative with you, specifically -- just pointing out something that never made sense to me when someone makes a statement like that (which inevitably happens in any tipping thread).   If people really want their cruise fare to "include a decent wage for the employees" all they have to do is prepay their auto-grats and that "decent wage for the employees" has been paid for in their cruise fare.  

 

The waiter that told you his salary was $25 per week was lying to you 

[BecciBoo]

Well, I can see we are just about one word from removal!

[Ocean Boy]

On 8/19/2022 at 2:51 AM, 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?

How were those "unseen" people compensated before auto gratuities were invented?

[Ocean Boy]

On 8/19/2022 at 9:12 AM, 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. 

It was quite clear he was joking.

[crazyank]

43 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

When they disperse them equally, you then cannot make exceptions for bad or good service.  The tips should be left to the customer...period. 

Absolutely agree

[Ocean Boy]

Odd how it didn't take too long after auto gratuities were put into place for the ships to start putting envelopes back into the cabins as friendly hint that you should feel free to leave more.

[gavvy]

I've said this before, but it's not a tip, its an 'onboard service fee' that's  what RCL calls it, so the only way to look at it really is like a resort fee where it's goes to god knows where and whom.  I agree with tipping people who give me service, but not the people I have no interaction with- thats what part of my cruise faire is supposed to go for, I don't tip the maintance man in TGI Fridays, or the person who cleans the restrooms, their wages come from what I've paid for in the restaurant.  So that's why I think this 'auto tip' business is a bit grey.  The cruise ships should be clear on what is a tipped and non tipped position and let me decide who provides me good service and who I reward.  The rest should be paid from RCL general revenue- just like anywhere else.

[not-enough-cruising]

8 minutes ago, gavvy said:

I've said this before, but it's not a tip, its an 'onboard service fee' that's  what RCL calls it, so the only way to look at it really is like a resort fee where it's goes to god knows where and whom.  I agree with tipping people who give me service, but not the people I have no interaction with- thats what part of my cruise faire is supposed to go for, I don't tip the maintance man in TGI Fridays, or the person who cleans the restrooms, their wages come from what I've paid for in the restaurant.  So that's why I think this 'auto tip' business is a bit grey.  The cruise ships should be clear on what is a tipped and non tipped position and let me decide who provides me good service and who I reward.  The rest should be paid from RCL general revenue- just like anywhere else.

Royal does NOT call it an “onboard service fee” 

 

You are right, the whole thing is “grey” there is zero transparency. Due to the fact that it is voluntary, you can decide on who gives you above and beyond service and tip appropriately. 

[twangster]

It's done for marketing and competitive reasons.  

 

Until all cruise lines are forced or agree to market pricing the same way cruise lines will continue to find ways to gain a competitive edge by trying to appear less expensive.  At least in the mass market cruise segment.  

 

Hotels use "resort fees", airlines use a myriad of fees, cruise lines have these required fees, all so that they can appear to be less expensive than they really are for marketing purposes.

 

Royal can't include them if their competition isn't also going to include them.  Unless required by region laws there will always be one company that will keep them separate so they appear to be a lower cost.  Given 50% or more of a typical Royal cruise is new to Royal or new to cruising in general the competition is real.  

[LinRon3]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:53 PM, PolicromaSol said:

I remember doing this years ago, and someone mentioned/suggested people who pay their gratuities all at once to get things like two dollar bills or particularly collectible coins for tips, just so that you have something to give.

 

Makes me feel better that they know, though. Tip creep is scary.

Yea, I know!!  Used to be 10 to15%, then 18% then 20%...some receipts listing all now.  We went to a restaurant last week and now there's a 25% category, ha.  Talk about inflation, ha!  Weird how tipping has become socially mandatory now when it's origin was to recognize SPECIAL Outstanding service.  Insane really.  But cruise employees probably a special category in that tips are much of how they are paid.  We pre pay gratuities, then tip as we go...mostly for room steward and MDR.  25% though; wow!  In a few years...50% maybe?  At some point, just double the bill, ha?

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

12 hours 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.

Well the "system" also states you can remove them if you want. It's an imperfect system start to finish. This is like the main thing I hate about cruising. 

[ALKID]

We remove the auto service charge and tip as we go, but only to the people who serve us directly.  Couldn’t care less about the cook or dishwashers etc as clean plates and prepared food are part of our fare.  Back in the day, we would would fill the envelopes on the last night, to all but the maitre de as he never did anything for us, and would only come out the last night looking for an envelope, so we considered him some kind of management employee.   Nowa days, we tip the waiters whenever we eat, by leaving moneys on the table.  After a few days of doing that, the service is better than ever and the waiters even tell us to request their table the next time we are in there.  Too bad if anyone dont like it, I couldn’t care less.  I am sure the cruise line dont like it the most as they have less money to subsidize the salaries, since the salary is the same from week to week anyway, except for the cash that is given that they individually keep.

[footzz]

7 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

It was quite clear he was joking.

Caveat of CC; You can introduce humor into the conversation, but you can't understand it for them.

Edited August 20, 2022 by footzz

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

19 minutes ago, ALKID said:

We remove the auto service charge and tip as we go, but only to the people who serve us directly.  Couldn’t care less about the cook or dishwashers etc as clean plates and prepared food are part of our fare.  Back in the day, we would would fill the envelopes on the last night, to all but the maitre de as he never did anything for us, and would only come out the last night looking for an envelope, so we considered him some kind of management employee.   Nowa days, we tip the waiters whenever we eat, by leaving moneys on the table.  After a few days of doing that, the service is better than ever and the waiters even tell us to request their table the next time we are in there.  Too bad if anyone dont like it, I couldn’t care less.  I am sure the cruise line dont like it the most as they have less money to subsidize the salaries, since the salary is the same from week to week anyway, except for the cash that is given that they individually keep.

I'm seriously considering this now. Especially if it gets me better service.