Paying Cash Gratuities Directly to Staff?

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Yes that is very true.  Have noticed this attitude in Europe and the Caribbean.  Certain customers are targeted.  We don't fall for it.  My favorite tipping is the porters at the cruise port when embarking.  Once in NOLA, my husband put the bags himself out of our Uber directly on the baggage rack.  The porter actually said to him, hey buddy, no tip?  My husband said are you serious?  But we did stand there for a bit to watch our bags actually move on.  We personally feel it's ridiculous to tip the porters when we do our own bags just because we are afraid we may not get them.  Recently in St. Thomas on a land post cruise vacation, we had a shuttle driver who just sat in the shuttle while we brought our bags on.  He sat as we took them off.  And had a tip jar out.  I have my own opinions about the gratuity questions.  I don't think it is anyone's business what you tip, if you tip.  I see a lot of questions from people who yes are confused.  Then they get answers from people who walk on with 100s of ones that they hand out like Robert Deniro did in Goodfellas.  My answer is if you want to walk around tossing ones to the ice cream person, go for it.  If you just want to tip a little more to your room steward, that's fine.  If you don't want to do the auto-gratuity, that's fine too.  It's your vacation and no one else's business.

This doesn't only apply to Americans.

As regular visitors to the US ( our grandson is American born and bred ) we have exactly the same issues.

We have assistance at the airport should we tip or not? We don't in the UK. 

Breakfast at say Denny's, in the UK for a similar level restaurant we would tip £1 a person in the US what 20%? 

Our friends in New York tip 20% at lunch but not on the whole bill but only on the pre tax amount.

In the UK we pay for the meal on a Card and tip in cash. When we did this in the US  cashiers queried it on so many occassions that we now add the tip to the Card.

In a US supermarket at the checkout we are often asked if we want help with the packing, not a service that's available in the UK. We never accept but if we did, do we tip or not and if so how much?

In Hawaii we booked a private sightseeing flight. We booked on the phone with the MD, on arrival the same person checked us in and he was also the pilot.

Yes you've guessed it, there was still a jar for "staff tips". The three of us had a great laugh about it and the pilot explained that he used to have a Receptionist but business was slack so he had to let her go.

It's all part of the joy of travelling and experincing different cultures, it's not that people are out to "get us"

 

 

[Obobru]

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass so the cruise lines pay staff properly, they are a nasty American concept of companies not paying people. When the cruise ships are busy yes the staff do better but when it's not busy they earn less. It's a disgusting way for the cruise companies to absolve themselves of paying a living pay instead it's down to the customers and enough of them sailing. 

 

Fares need to be raised and staff paid then tips are optional for good service like in the rest of the world. 

 

 

[davekathy]

32 minutes ago, Obobru said:

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass so the cruise lines pay staff properly, they are a nasty American concept of companies not paying people. When the cruise ships are busy yes the staff do better but when it's not busy they earn less. It's a disgusting way for the cruise companies to absolve themselves of paying a living pay instead it's down to the customers and enough of them sailing. 

 

Fares need to be raised and staff paid then tips are optional for good service like in the rest of the world. 

 

 

Not going to happen. If tipping irritates you so much, just boycott the cruise lines. 

[Obobru]

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Not going to happen. If tipping irritates you so much, just boycott the cruise lines. 

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff I only use the OBC to give to staff as that's the cruise lines money anyway and isn't real money. The more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Obobru

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, Obobru said:

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff, the more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

Not going to happen. Yeah, you'll show those cruise lines like Celebrity who's boss. So you are screwing the people that work hard and provide you a service by stiffing them. You aren't hurting the cruise lines bottom dollar. Nice! You are hurting those staff members a lot more than the cruise lines are by not paying them what the so called higher end cruise lines are paying.  No one is forcing any staff member (employee) to stay after their contract period. 

 

Simple. Cruise with those cruise lines then. 

 

[markeb]

So refreshing to have a good old fashioned (more or less) tipping thread, isn't it?

 

12 minutes ago, Obobru said:

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff I only use the OBC to give to staff as that's the cruise lines money anyway and isn't real money. The more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

 

You do know that tipping originated in Europe, right? It's actually not a US thing until the mid 1800's.

 

Businesses in the US have tried to eliminate tipping and increase salaries. The employees revolted. They generally received less pay than they were receiving in tips. Yeah, it's a crazy American thing these days, but it's not going anywhere. And since tips are a pass through, not paying them has no impact on the cruise lines bottom line. 

 

And you can cruise on Celebrity without paying gratuities. Just book an All Included fare. Exactly the same as those European cruise lines. Charge a higher fare and add the "tip" to direct compensation. Because you're paying it as the customer either way...

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Obobru said:

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff I only use the OBC to give to staff as that's the cruise lines money anyway and isn't real money. The more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

I support your right not to book with a cruise line that has the tipping policy you don't approve of. What I question is you booking with such a company and then penalising hard working crew members by  withholding their tips. 

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, Obobru said:

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff I only use the OBC to give to staff as that's the cruise lines money anyway and isn't real money. The more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

 

As others have said, just cruise on the lines that implement your preferred policy, rather than shortchange the staff in an attempt to change a cruise lines policy.

 

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, Obobru said:

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass

A guy posted similar " Great Stuff " ( Garbage ) on Cabin Stewards Gifts thread yesterday ( # 95 ).

Be a good sport--- at least bring employees ( only those that go out of their way to provide an excellent cruise " experience " for you ) a few trinkets with "uplifting scriptures" , a tshirt from home, or even a box of chocolates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bikerunner]

3 hours ago, Obobru said:

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass so the cruise lines pay staff properly, they are a nasty American concept of companies not paying people. When the cruise ships are busy yes the staff do better but when it's not busy they earn less. It's a disgusting way for the cruise companies to absolve themselves of paying a living pay instead it's down to the customers and enough of them sailing. 

 

Fares need to be raised and staff paid then tips are optional for good service like in the rest of the world. 

 

 

Prefer not to have a one world system.  Each country area etc has their own customs and ways of doing things.  Not an inconvenience at all. I just make sure I’m aware of the places I travel and their customs.   The employees working have a choice to work other places that don’t do tips.  Many employees have been with celebrity long time.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Not going to happen. If tipping irritates you so much, just boycott the cruise lines. 

Or, X has a solution for them, book AI

[NutsAboutGolf]

33 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

A guy posted similar " Great Stuff " ( Garbage ) on Cabin Stewards Gifts thread yesterday ( # 95 ).

Be a good sport--- at least bring employees ( only those that go out of their way to provide an excellent cruise " experience " for you ) a few trinkets with "uplifting scriptures" , a tshirt from home, or even a box of chocolates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Custom T-Shirt that reads “#1 Stateroom Attendant!!!”

[Cruising89143]

On 2/3/2023 at 9:56 AM, radarcruiser said:

On a cruise a few weeks ago one of my fellow cruisers said they had their automatic gratuities removed.  They then paid their waiter, assistant waiter and cabin steward in the requisite amount in cash.  I’m curious if others have done this?  

We leave the pre paid gratuities in place. We also give extra. For example, on our last cruise we tipped our server each day in Luminae or our specialty dining server in case we did not have them again. Same with bar tenders and bar waiters. At the end of the cruise we extended additional grats to our butler, sommelier, room steward, Luminae managers, etc. It’s a personal choice. Do what makes you happy. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, Obobru said:

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass so the cruise lines pay staff properly, they are a nasty American concept of companies not paying people. When the cruise ships are busy yes the staff do better but when it's not busy they earn less. It's a disgusting way for the cruise companies to absolve themselves of paying a living pay instead it's down to the customers and enough of them sailing. 

 

Fares need to be raised and staff paid then tips are optional for good service like in the rest of the world. 

 

 

As other have stated, it started in Europe and not only is it not going away, it seems to be spreading like a virus.  It seems for many restaurants for take out when using a credit card, it forces you to select a tip amount of 18%, 20%, 22% or other”…If you select other, you have to press 0 three times and enter

 

Not saying this is you, just an overall generalization…I respect the person owns up and admits they don’t tip because they’re a cheapskate far more than a person who claims some ignorant justification that they don’t tip because the crew gets paid enough or it’s not their responsibility if the crew gets a living wage

[Guppy99]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

This doesn't only apply to Americans.

As regular visitors to the US ( our grandson is American born and bred ) we have exactly the same issues.

We have assistance at the airport should we tip or not? We don't in the UK. 

Breakfast at say Denny's, in the UK for a similar level restaurant we would tip £1 a person in the US what 20%? 

Our friends in New York tip 20% at lunch but not on the whole bill but only on the pre tax amount.

In the UK we pay for the meal on a Card and tip in cash. When we did this in the US  cashiers queried it on so many occassions that we now add the tip to the Card.

In a US supermarket at the checkout we are often asked if we want help with the packing, not a service that's available in the UK. We never accept but if we did, do we tip or not and if so how much?

In Hawaii we booked a private sightseeing flight. We booked on the phone with the MD, on arrival the same person checked us in and he was also the pilot.

Yes you've guessed it, there was still a jar for "staff tips". The three of us had a great laugh about it and the pilot explained that he used to have a Receptionist but business was slack so he had to let her go.

It's all part of the joy of travelling and experincing different cultures, it's not that people are out to "get us"

 

 

No. You do not tip the cashier for bagging groceries. Also, on rare occasions, a take out food place will use a pos system that queries whether you want add a tip. I never do that.

[Guppy99]

3 hours ago, Obobru said:

Nah I will just stop tipping on lines that want me to directly pay their staff I only use the OBC to give to staff as that's the cruise lines money anyway and isn't real money. The more people that stop the quicker the staff will turn on their employer and cruise lines will be forced to change. Some cruise lines are doing this already higher end and ones in Europe who don't pretend it's a tip and and have decided to just pay staff. 

If you think OBC is "free money", you are delusional (or simply can not add). Nobody is going to change the practice of gratuities for service positions. It's a custom. If you don't like it, do NOT sail on ships that expect you to tip. That reflects poorly on you, not the cruise line.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

33 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

Our friends in New York tip 20% at lunch but not on the whole bill but only on the pre tax amount.

 

Correct. You don't tip on taxes.

[NutsAboutGolf]

8 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Correct. You don't tip on taxes.

Yes, however many restaurants print the tipping amounts for 18% and/or 20% at the bottom of receipt…I’ve found 80% of the time it’s based on tax included amount

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Yes, however many restaurants print the tipping amounts for 18% and/or 20% at the bottom of receipt…I’ve found 80% of the time it’s based on tax included amount

 

I always use my phone's calculator for 18 or 20% depending on service rather than ever trusting a given amount.

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 hours ago, markeb said:

 

Businesses in the US have tried to eliminate tipping and increase salaries. The employees revolted. They generally received less pay than they were receiving in tips. Yeah, it's a crazy American thing these days, but it's not going anywhere. And since tips are a pass through, not paying them has no impact on the cruise lines bottom line. 

Two topics I’ll touch upon

 

1) You’re right that US a tiny % of businesses have tried to increase wages and remove the tips but most fail and go back to the tip based wage; this includes the national chain Joe’s Crab Shack.  All servers are hoping they get the “elusive whale” or show off tipper, the person who way overtips and wants people to see how much they tip.  Many servers never even ask if it’s separate checks for groups, they intentionally leave it as one check as that attract the whale if there is one there

 

2) Doubtful that the US would ever abandon the tipping model.  Why?  The federal laws allows restaurants to pay wages as low as $2.13/hr as long as they’re allowed to collect tips

 

[SLOTheta]

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

No. You do not tip the cashier for bagging groceries. Also, on rare occasions, a take out food place will use a pos system that queries whether you want add a tip. I never do that.

I always tip a minimum 10% on take out. These staff members are making minimum wage, giving 10%+ isn’t going to impact me greatly. 

[RD64]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Yes, however many restaurants print the tipping amounts for 18% and/or 20% at the bottom of receipt…I’ve found 80% of the time it’s based on tax included amount

Agreed in Canada too, the preset amount is based on the after tax subtotal.

[Banjo]

Now on Celebrity it seems out-of-pocket tipping become a lot less.

 

I been on 3 cruises with Celebrity since covid decreased, all on Edge class ships. On all of them auto tips were included in the price of the cruise. We rotate between the 4 MDRs, so never see the same waiter or asst waiter.

 

Only steady staff member was the room steward. Always throw him/her a few bucks depending level of service and if I had any special requests.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Banjo

[mpdog42]

8 hours ago, Obobru said:

Tips should be banned or people should stop paying them on mass so the cruise lines pay staff properly, they are a nasty American concept of companies not paying people. When the cruise ships are busy yes the staff do better but when it's not busy they earn less. It's a disgusting way for the cruise companies to absolve themselves of paying a living pay instead it's down to the customers and enough of them sailing. 

 

Fares need to be raised and staff paid then tips are optional for good service like in the rest of the world. 

 

 

Let's watch it with the "American" comments!!

[mpdog42]

7 hours ago, davekathy said:

Not going to happen. Yeah, you'll show those cruise lines like Celebrity who's boss. So you are screwing the people that work hard and provide you a service by stiffing them. You aren't hurting the cruise lines bottom dollar. Nice! You are hurting those staff members a lot more than the cruise lines are by not paying them what the so called higher end cruise lines are paying.  No one is forcing any staff member (employee) to stay after their contract period. 

 

Simple. Cruise with those cruise lines then. 

 

Or stay in the UK and or Europe!!!