Regents Seven Seas - Gratuity

[Pcardad]

9 minutes ago, cwn said:

Well, it does not take much time energy or effort.

Some people really like that Regent includes a full package cruise. Regent  states in bold letters what the cruise price includes….including gratuities.

Others like to go the extra mile to take the time to make management aware of staff who gave good service.

Some like to thank the whole crew with something extra to the crew fund.

Others like to just pass a little money to a couple of people. It is the passenger’s choice and there is nothing wrong the path each pick.

I agree 100% - the only thing wrong is when someone tries to convince others that their choice is wrong.

[RetiredandTravel]

On 9/10/2022 at 5:47 PM, Pcardad said:

 Some Regent employees make as little as $800 a month and, in general, they make less (in normal tipping positions like bartenders, etc.) than on other lines. 

 

Thanks.  I find this very surprising.  How does Regent ensure they have top talent if they aren't at the top of the pay scale?  

 

Also, how do they justify being at the top in cruise cost but not in employee pay? 

 

[Pcardad]

7 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Thanks.  I find this very surprising.  How does Regent ensure they have top talent if they aren't at the top of the pay scale?  

 

Also, how do they justify being at the top in cruise cost but not in employee pay? 

 

I have no idea but I know that some bartenders who left more than doubled their pay when tips were part of the equation. Same for waiters and cabin crew. Perhaps some people appreciate the higher BASE pay? A bartender is/should be a sales job, not a service job and some people appreciate the opportunity to earn according to their potential...and some people fear it.

[RetiredandTravel]

12 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

I have no idea but I know that some bartenders who left more than doubled their pay when tips were part of the equation. Same for waiters and cabin crew. Perhaps some people appreciate the higher BASE pay? A bartender is/should be a sales job, not a service job and some people appreciate the opportunity to earn according to their potential...and some people fear it.

 

I have to think its a better work environment, maybe a better lifestyle?  I just found $800/month, even when including room and board,  to be surprisingly low.   Its only $5/hr for 160 hrs of work a month.   

 

We've always tipped but will certainly tip more in the future.

 

Thanks for  the information.

 

 

[Pcardad]

4 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

I have to think its a better work environment, maybe a better lifestyle?  I just found $800/month, even when including room and board,  to be surprisingly low.   Its only $5/hr for 160 hrs of work a month.   

 

We've always tipped but will certainly tip more in the future.

 

Thanks for  the information.

 

 

That was a starting point for laundry I believe...it moves upwards of course. I think a bartender is around 1800 a month. I can find the hiring info on the internet if I look - Regent uses a staffing and provisioning company for all except high-ranking employees.

[RetiredandTravel]

Ok that makes more sense 

 

People who work there certainly seem to like it.

 

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Regent-Seven-Seas-Cruises/reviews

 

https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Regent-Seven-Seas-Cruises-EI_IE199858.11,36.htm

 

 

[cwn]

33 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

That was a starting point for laundry I believe...it moves upwards of course. I think a bartender is around 1800 a month. I can find the hiring info on the internet if I look - Regent uses a staffing and provisioning company for all except high-ranking employees.

$800 a month seems low…..that is starting? pay for laundry staff. This is staff who don’t benefit from any cash tips. But they do benefit from the things provided by the crew fund.

 I have been told the the pay scale is a sliding scale based on the crew members home country. So it is hard to compare salaries in the US or UK with other countries.

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, cwn said:

$800 a month seems low…..that is starting? pay for laundry staff. This is staff who don’t benefit from any cash tips. But they do benefit from the things provided by the crew fund.

 I have been told the the pay scale is a sliding scale based on the crew members home country. So it is hard to compare salaries in the US or UK with other countries.

Agreed - but the crew fund does nothing for the crew in terms of cash. It goes to pay for an occasional excursion and it subsidizes the departmental parties in the crew bar.

[cwn]

39 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Agreed - but the crew fund does nothing for the crew in terms of cash. It goes to pay for an occasional excursion and it subsidizes the departmental parties in the crew bar.

My point is that the whole crew can benefit from our contribution to the crew fund.

We have been cruising regularly for 40 years with many hundreds of days on a number of lines. Regent most be doing something right as they have the happiest crew (most satisfied) of any line we have sailed. And the crew themselves talk about the crew fund.

[flyau98]

From what I've heard about the Crew Welfare Fund, it seems to me the Regent ought to be the one funding that...

[jessandarnie]

We have cruised a number of other cruise lines, we really appreciate ( at a substantial cost way above others), what Regent offers us..one total cost up front, knowing that we are not paying  out for additional expenses, e.g, tours, alcohol, dining, taxes and importantly gratuities.   Yes we are from Australia where we are not accustomed to tipping. We also are paying a lot more to cruise with Regent, we can do this in AUD $ here, then everything is taken care of. It is comforting know Regent Seven Seas values their crew and rewards them accordingly.
When we have cruised with other lines, we are subject to extra costs which are generally in USD, our exchange rate can vary,  between 50% to generally 80%  on these additional expenses. This has been and is always a consideration whenever we head to USA, we don’t have a unlimited budget consequently we always have to take this into account when we travel.

There are lots of opinions and viewpoints to this story.

 

 

 

 

 

[Techno123]

As someone from the UK who also struggles with the tip everyone concept I also prefer to pay more upfront and not have to worry about who I should tip and how much. I know every country has a different take on this but people should not have to rely on tips so they earn a living wage - their employer should be paying them that and tips should be for excellent service. We do tip for good service but if the service is not good we don't tip.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 12/8/2022 at 12:38 PM, flyau98 said:

From what I've heard about the Crew Welfare Fund, it seems to me the Regent ought to be the one funding that...

Yes, I have to agree about that.

[puppyluv1]

On 12/8/2022 at 12:38 PM, flyau98 said:

From what I've heard about the Crew Welfare Fund, it seems to me the Regent ought to be the one funding that...

Is the crew welfare fund solely funded by passenger contributions?  I would have thought it was funded by Regent and enhanced by passenger contributions. An assumption on my part and certainly could be wrong. 

[Gilly]

I see the Crew Welfare Fund as a means of ensuring the staff who work just as hard behind the scenes receive their same share of benefits as those who are more front-line.  

[Pcardad]

What the CWF used to do and what it does today are different things. Now, it primarily funds the departmental sponsored parties in the crew bar...thats about it. Ask the GM the next time you are onboard.

[cwn]

59 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

What the CWF used to do and what it does today are different things. Now, it primarily funds the departmental sponsored parties in the crew bar...thats about it. Ask the GM the next time you are onboard.

I would think that would be an important plus for the crew especially the ones that work out of the public eye.

Edited December 10, 2022 by cwn

[Pcardad]

5 minutes ago, cwn said:

I would think that would be a inportant plus for the crew especially the ones that work out of the public eye.

I agree and we always donate in addition to tipping. I just wanted people to know where it went. 

[rcandkc]

On 12/10/2022 at 1:17 PM, Pcardad said:

What the CWF used to do and what it does today are different things. Now, it primarily funds the departmental sponsored parties in the crew bar...thats about it. Ask the GM the next time you are onboard.

On our last cruise in July 2022, the crew fund sponsored a crew excursion to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.  They were all very excited.  So, it does do more than parties. 

[Pcardad]

8 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

On our last cruise in July 2022, the crew fund sponsored a crew excursion to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.  They were all very excited.  So, it does do more than parties. 

Glad to hear they restarted this aspect post Covid...I love good news!!!!!!!!

[rcandkc]

They really deserved it too!  We had additional sea fog days around Greenland which meant no break for them.  It was a great crew. 

[CINGULARONE]

My wife works for big tech, a company that is quite well known.  Off of a ship, 9 times out of 10 when she identifies her employer the first questions is "Do you have a stickers?".  What we have figured out is that when we tip on a ship, we will always add a sticker for the server (along with a small cash gratuity).   Most of the time the recipient will recognize what it is and seems to be grateful.  Yes, over a sticker, I still shake my head at this.  This practice works well on Non 6 star or all included ships, not yet sure how we will handle tipping on the Voyager in April, but vast quantities of stickers have already been ordered.  I have never been accused of being ordinary!

[NYC-London]

1 hour ago, CINGULARONE said:

My wife works for big tech, a company that is quite well known.  Off of a ship, 9 times out of 10 when she identifies her employer the first questions is "Do you have a stickers?".  What we have figured out is that when we tip on a ship, we will always add a sticker for the server (along with a small cash gratuity).   Most of the time the recipient will recognize what it is and seems to be grateful.  Yes, over a sticker, I still shake my head at this.  This practice works well on Non 6 star or all included ships, not yet sure how we will handle tipping on the Voyager in April, but vast quantities of stickers have already been ordered.  I have never been accused of being ordinary!

I know that I have been working for long hours and am tired, but I cannot follow this post and have no idea what it means - can someone please enlighten me?

[CINGULARONE]

51 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

I know that I have been working for long hours and am tired, but I cannot follow this post and have no idea what it means - can someone please enlighten me?

I simply ADD a GitHub sticker when tipping. Developers (and kids) love pasting them on their laptops. Sorry for any confusion. 

[irishwitchy]

Since tipping is included, just hand out stickers.  Funny,  I worked in tech and did have stickers on my laptop,  but since I retired,  I don’t really see the need for them.