Gratuities and MSC

[Paphillyguy]

13 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

Oh no. An I am right and you are wrong character and no one else’s opinion counts. Not quite sure why you are picking on the OP now, but ho hum.

 

There was every reason for my comment and the sentence above spells out why and the uncalled for suggestion the poster you were abusing was someone to avoid on a cruise. Ironic really.

 

Like I’ve stated, several times now, but you apparently claim you don’t read my responses. I don’t have any axes to grind if you wish to tip whatever you want. Just don’t disrespect others like you did and we’ll all get on just fine.

We just have different views on several things.  So I will move on

Edited September 30, 2022 by Paphillyguy

[perakcruiser]

22 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Here in Europe the handling personnel dealing with your luggage in ports are usually workers from the same businesses that deal with your airport luggage handling, because those are the ones authorized to operate by the port authorities. They earn minimum wages on a quite dangerous environment, mostly as temporary contractors.

Wow, never heard this, maybe this is the case in some places in Southern Europe. But in the North these jobs at the ports authorities are definitely good paid and attractive jobs. Same with airport lugguage, that is (one of) the reason why the passenger and airline fees at these airports are so high. 

 

22 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

As said above, in some places, tour drivers and guides, while hired by local tour operators, they receive very minimum wages, so they rely on your tips.

Almost the same situation here, in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France ... these are very attractive jobs with high salaries. Not to speak about Norway and Scandinavia. 

 

Actually the least people I would tip are people who work for the (air)ports and tour guides, they probably earn more than me 😄 And they deserve it, no question about this. 

[Nunagoras]

48 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Wow, never heard this, maybe this is the case in some places in Southern Europe. But in the North these jobs at the ports authorities are definitely good paid and attractive jobs. Same with airport lugguage, that is (one of) the reason why the passenger and airline fees at these airports are so high. 

 

Almost the same situation here, in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France ... these are very attractive jobs with high salaries. Not to speak about Norway and Scandinavia. 

 

Actually the least people I would tip are people who work for the (air)ports and tour guides, they probably earn more than me 😄 And they deserve it, no question about this. 

Yeah, I was talking mostly about southern and east European countries. Here in Portugal that is the case. Most of those jobs are very low paid, and or very rotative. In Germany it is generally better, but even there, several workers from outside Germany earn lower wages. I usually bear that in mind as tipping goes.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

Almost the same situation here, in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France ... these are very attractive jobs with high salaries.

Like everything else in life, it is all relative.

"The national average salary for a Tour Guide is RM 13 in Malaysia. 13 Malaysian Ringgits is 2.81750459 US Dollars 

  The average tour guide gross salary in Germany and Belgium is  an equivalent hourly rate of 13 €. thirteen euros is worth $12.72 (USD).

    The average salary for a Tour Guide is $15 per year in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

    The average tourist guide gross salary in France is an hourly rate of 10 €. 

Whether you're on a multi-day bus tour through the countryside or an hour-long tour in a museum, it's good etiquette to tip your tour guide when in France. For a regular tour guide on a day tour, you can tip between 2 and 5 euros per day when the tour is over.Jan 6, 2020"

Edited September 30, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

The cons of being a tour guide:

[IsanTom]

7 hours ago, CRUISENSNOOZE said:

You then missed the end Imoji..it was winking. I believe he was joshing!...well hope so.

Yes, I also was joshing, but I didn't see the Imoji because I'm not up to date on the technology. I rarely carry a phone or send messages, so I let my wife do the communications! 

[hamrag]

15 hours ago, CRUISENSNOOZE said:

You then missed the end Imoji..it was winking. I believe he was joshing!...well hope so.

 

😉👍

[JAGR]

12 hours ago, IsanTom said:

I let my wife do the communications! 

Very smart!  You will live a long and happy life, at least at home!

[kelleherdl]

I am going to throw a twist into the HSC/tipping discussion.  We just got off the 2 day Hurricane Ian extended Divina cruise, giving us a 6 night cruise. Our two extra ‘free’ days were at the expense of the cancelled 3-night scheduled to follow ours. Not only did MSC not charge us for the two extended days, they did not charge the HSC for those two days. So the HSC pool was theoretically shorted 3 days. The crew members who may have enjoyed a fresh set of guests tipping now were possibly shorted. 
 

I would imagine most guests who normally tip  an extra above the HSC probably upped their tips to a 6 night amount. I know we did.  
 

Yes, this was a North American cruise for point of reference on tipping practices
 

Dennis

[perakcruiser]

20 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

In Germany it is generally better, but even there, several workers from outside Germany earn lower wages.

True, but nobody their earns less then the minumum wage of € 12.00 per hour, no matter which nationality. I know in Portugal or Greece it is much lower. 

 

20 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"The national average salary for a Tour Guide is RM 13 in Malaysia. 13 Malaysian Ringgits is 2.81750459 US Dollars 

Seems correct to me. Bear in mind the salary at a Pizza Hut or Dominos in Malaysia is usually around RM 5 per hour. 

[Nunagoras]

23 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The cons of being a tour guide:

So true. I know some former teachers whom are current tour guides after retirement. A way to remain active and earn a little bit more. The international tour leader ones are another tribe, to say the least, and I know some ones too. They run long distances, stay away several days with groups, sometimes of very difficult individuals... Instead of finishing the day and go home to stay with their little kids, they'll to sleep at same hotels or cruises with their groups... And they don't have better social protection either or too much higher wages as one can think about. Old age "poverty" is quite common even among that tribe... Oh, well, let us not turning this far out of topic. I believe tour guides and tour leaders more than deserve our attention on the tipping scheme. While that might not be the most apparent, they're among the most fragile ones.

[Acadie]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:06 AM, perakcruiser said:

Depends on where you booked, you will read it on the MSC website of your market. Nowadays almost only the US pax get the DSC added to the room account, most others have to pay in advance with the booking. 

But I am not sure if MSC has a special website/procedures for Canada. 

Canadian here - gratuities have always been added directly to our account. 

[phissy]

Daily Service Charge is added to all guest accounts.

A bit of a debate whether these constitute Gratuities or fee to equalize benefit to those working  behind the scenes.

We pay DSC and tip an additional amount to those who have gone above and beyond during our cruise.

 

[JAGR]

Well, I'm so glad that we finally had a thread on tipping that has really cleared things up! 😉

 

I want to add cruise tipping to the list of taboo topics, so now it would read, "No talking about sex, religion, politics, or tipping.

 

Safe and happy cruising everyone!

[JAGR]

42 minutes ago, JAGR said:

Well, I'm so glad that we finally had a thread on tipping that has really cleared things up! 😉

 

I want to add cruise tipping to the list of taboo topics, so now it would read, "No talking about sex, religion, politics, or tipping.

 

Safe and happy cruising everyone!

Wait!  Hate to quote myself, but I wanted to add a fifth taboo:  Dress Code, particularly as it relates to evening dress in the dining room.

[no1talks]

44 minutes ago, JAGR said:

"No talking about sex, religion, politics, or tipping."

(And dress code, if that's everything, JAGR.)

In the broader scope of things and depending on who is tipping whom, more than one of those five topics may apply. 😜

Edited October 3, 2022 by no1talks
Added text.

[JAGR]

3 minutes ago, no1talks said:

In the broader scope of things and depending on who is tipping whom, more than one of those four topics may apply. 😜

Possibly all four at the same time!

[Two Wheels Only]

22 minutes ago, JAGR said:

Wait!  Hate to quote myself, but I wanted to add a fifth taboo:  Dress Code, particularly as it relates to evening dress in the dining room.

 

You forgot smoking locations, children in Yacht Club/Haven/Retreat, chair hogs, butler usage, nickel and dime, bait and switch, buffet line-cutting, drone usage, tattoos, loyalty status bragging, dropping step-grandchildren out of windows.......👎