Paying Cash Gratuities Directly to Staff?

[Dahani]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

And you know this is a fact because?

 

2 very close friends, 1 a former Maitre D on Carnival, the other a Sommelier on Cunard with over 30 years experience between them. 

 

And you know its not a fact because?...... 

[Bo1953]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

On your next sailing, park yourself at the seating near guest services on the last evening to get a sampling of how many remove them.  I don’t know how it works with AI if it even can be removed.  Full disclosure, I have never removed auto-Grats on X

+ see if you can have snacks and cocktails delivered while there as it will be far more exciting than watching a movie... LOL

 

I have done that, sat at GS to listen, and it was amazing the "tales" as to the reason auto grats were being removed...

 

bon voayge

[Pinboy]

4 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

that there were really that many people willing to stiff the crew.

You bet--- Lot's of 'em---

Next time you are on a cruise go down to GR either on the first day or the last night and see the line up of people removing the Grauities (" stiffing " the crew )--- some probably had a good excuse like " My Butler forgot to draw my bath on the 5th night ".

Recently, there was a post where a couple refused to give a few bucks to a porter-- they put their bags on a cart and hung around to make sure their luggage got on board--- Yup, they " beat 'em " for a few bucks. 

 

[davekathy]

5 minutes ago, Dahani said:

2 very close friends, 1 a former Maitre D on Carnival, the other a Sommelier on Cunard with over 30 years experience between them. 

 

And you know its not a fact because?...... 

Has absolutely nothing to do with Celebrity. 

[dlh015]

6 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Has absolutely nothing to do with Celebrity. 

And, frankly, I don't believe that post anyways...

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, Dahani said:

Being from the UK we dont have the tipping culture of our American cousins. It is an alien concept to us and really rare that we tip anybody apart from giving cash to the cabin steward.

 

I have no qualms whatsoever in removing auto tipping and always have done on Princess and HAL, this is based on the opinion that having paid the company to provide a service, it is then up to the company to remunerate employees to provide said service to a satisfactory standard. 

 

We use P&O a lot where its not an issue, and yes we are fully aware its in the price. We will not go with lines that do not allow us to remove tips.

 

And, lets face it, not all the 'gratuities' finds its way to the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pure BS.  You have a right to your opinion about the staff being paid to provide a service and a living wage.  Your opinion is simply put wrong.

In US based businesses many people such as waitresses have a two tiered wage system.  In Arkansas everyone except workers that receive a significant portion of their wages in tips have a minimum wage of $11/hour.  Wait staff get $2.63!

You have paid for your passage.  Not much else.  Spent years educating my Aissie friends about the differences in how restaurant workers are paid here and there.   

The gratuities that you choose to withhold often mean whether a family member in India or Pakistan has food and clothing.

While no tipping is fine in the UK or Australia you need to LEARN that the system is different on board a ship.

[Cruising89143]

33 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Reading a thread like this helps me understand how/why automatic grats came into being. I had no idea (just call me naive I guess)  that there were really that many people willing to stiff the crew.

 

I should have known after reading threads where folks were 'screaming' about a $1.50 increase in daily grats... 

 

Back before the auto gratuities and we handed the gratuities to each crew member personally, it was very common on the last evening in the MDR for it to be much more empty than any other night. Some did not have the courage to face their waiter, asst. waiter or Maitre d’ as they had no intention of extending gratuities. 

[Guppy99]

2 hours ago, Dahani said:

 

 

And, lets face it, not all the 'gratuities' finds its way to the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And what proof do you have that is the case?

[Guppy99]

2 hours ago, Dahani said:

Being from the UK we dont have the tipping culture of our American cousins. It is an alien concept to us and really rare that we tip anybody apart from giving cash to the cabin steward.

 

I have no qualms whatsoever in removing auto tipping and always have done on Princess and HAL, this is based on the opinion that having paid the company to provide a service, it is then up to the company to remunerate employees to provide said service to a satisfactory standard. 

 

We use P&O a lot where its not an issue, and yes we are fully aware its in the price. We will not go with lines that do not allow us to remove tips.

 

And, lets face it, not all the 'gratuities' finds its way to the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

further, stick to the lines that include tips in the fare and state that they do. Sailing on a ship that is less expensive but adds on tips, which you routinely remove without cause is draconian, punitive to the staff,  and just plain mean. Shame on you.

[Dahani]

46 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

And what proof do you have that is the case?

I refer you to post #101

[Guindalf]

2 minutes ago, Dahani said:

I refer you to post #101

I would very much doubt that they know the exact split of all the gratuities. Especially as Maitre’Ds and Sommeliers are not usually included in the pool as they are generally salaried staff and don’t rely on tips (but do enjoy a cash handout)!

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

While no tipping is fine in the UK or Australia you need to LEARN that the system is different on board a ship.

I wouldn't even say that was true, at least for the UK, we do have tipping as part of our culture, just not at the level of the USA.

 

It is not a new thing either, I spent a lot of time in the dim and distant past working in UK bars and restaurants, and certainly benefited from tips...

 

It is however very true that there are some individuals who will ignore the norms and fail to do what others consider to be normal and reasonable...

[Dahani]

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6883/

 

. Nearly all mainstream cruise lines, and some premium lines, have raised daily per-person gratuity amounts for 2023, as companies continue to deal with the impact of economic disruption globally, as well as increased debt loads due to the global health pandemic.

 

But definitely all the money goes to the staff and absolutely none of it goes to increase the profit margins 🤔

 

 

[markeb]

14 minutes ago, Dahani said:

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6883/

 

. Nearly all mainstream cruise lines, and some premium lines, have raised daily per-person gratuity amounts for 2023, as companies continue to deal with the impact of economic disruption globally, as well as increased debt loads due to the global health pandemic.

 

But definitely all the money goes to the staff and absolutely none of it goes to increase the profit margins 🤔

 

 

 

 

Interesting article. Did you read any of it?

 

The next line is: "With staffing problems sitting near the top of the list of challenges, increasing overall compensation is a logical move." 

 

Nothing in the article vaguely suggests the cruise lines are using the gratuities to increase margins. The clear intent of the article is that the cruise lines are going to have to pay more for staff, and that raising gratuities is part of that effort. The article goes on to ultimately discuss cruise lines that roll all compensation directly into the fare. 

 

"Lines that currently package gratuities in their cruise fares include Silversea, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Virgin Voyages, Azamara, and Scenic, the latter even including tips for onshore tour guides and drivers."

 

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, RichYak said:

My understanding, and I could be completely wrong, was that this is true of the cabin attendant and butler, but waiters and bartenders pool any additional cash tips.

 

I believe that the cabin attendant and the butler get to keep the extra cash tips IF you have left the auto tips in place.  I think, for the waiters, it depends on the dining room.  I know for sure that they pool in Luminae and Blu.  Not sure about the MDR or specialty restaurants.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

2 hours ago, Dahani said:

2 very close friends, 1 a former Maitre D on Carnival, the other a Sommelier on Cunard with over 30 years experience between them. 

 

And you know its not a fact because?...... 

 

Just because your very close friends said that was how things worked on Carnival and Cunard does not mean that's how it works on Celebrity.

[bikerunner]

I’m guessing the tips are not added into the cruisefare because of tax reasons.  If they were the companies would be taxed on them and would be less overall in the pool. Having it as an auto grat the taxes are not pushed on the company and then the employee for dbl taxation could be wrong overall on that thought. And all the tips absolutely all go to staff, my best friend was dating someone who worked for celebrity for 20 plus years in service side, waiter bartender etc.  we had long discussions on this subject and many more things about celebrity

The removing of the tips baffles me.  Ohh my country culture does not do tipping.  So stay in that country.  I prefer learning and understanding each country and learn their customs.    To each their own if you want to stay close minded and tunnel vision of what you know from where you live go for it. 

[mom says]

35 minutes ago, Dahani said:

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6883/

 

. Nearly all mainstream cruise lines, and some premium lines, have raised daily per-person gratuity amounts for 2023, as companies continue to deal with the impact of economic disruption globally, as well as increased debt loads due to the global health pandemic.

 

But definitely all the money goes to the staff and absolutely none of it goes to increase the profit margins 🤔

 

 

Interesting how you selectively posted that little snippet, without including the rest, which placed it within the correct context. Nice try, but you were rightly corrected by the next poster.

 

No one is going to change the mind of a denier, no matter what actual facts are put in front of their nose, so I won't even try. I will only ask that you stop cheating and penalizing the crew, and in future confine your cruising to lines that wrap their gratuities within the cruise fare. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

I’m guessing the tips are not added into the cruisefare because of tax reasons.  If they were the companies would be taxed on them and would be less overall in the pool. Having it as an auto grat the taxes are not pushed on the company and then the employee for dbl taxation could be wrong overall on that thought. And all the tips absolutely all go to staff, my best friend was dating someone who worked for celebrity for 20 plus years in service side, waiter bartender etc.  we had long discussions on this subject and many more things about celebrity

The removing of the tips baffles me.  Ohh my country culture does not do tipping.  So stay in that country.  I prefer learning and understanding each country and learn their customs.    To each their own if you want to stay close minded and tunnel vision of what you know from where you live go for it. 

Yes, tipping is generally is in place to save on employer taxes

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Yes, tipping is generally is in place to save on employer taxes

Since the cruise lines pay no taxes on revenues, that is not the reason.  It is not done for employee taxes either, as most countries where the crew come from, tax anything that comes from the employer (whether listed as wages, salary, or gratuity) as normal income.

 

The sad truth of the matter is that the gratuities have been increasing because the cruise lines are finding it hard to find crew, and are having to pay more to get the crew (and the statutory minimum wage for seafarers goes up each year), so the daily service charge is increased to cover it.  Folks, whether you pay a cruise fare and the service charge, or the cruise line rolls the service charge into the fare, it all affects the cruise lines' profits, because if the service charge goes up to cover higher wages, then more of the fare goes to cover operating expenses and the excess becomes profit.  This is how all businesses work.

 

And, in line with my "one and done" on tipping threads, I'll go away now.

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

It is however very true that there are some individuals who will ignore the norms and fail to do what others consider to be normal and reasonable.

OH NO----Watch Out !! Here it comes !!

Another Chic Night dress code !!!!

 

[the penguins]

5 hours ago, Dahani said:

Being from the UK we dont have the tipping culture of our American cousins. It is an alien concept to us and really rare that we tip anybody apart from giving cash to the cabin steward.

 

I have no qualms whatsoever in removing auto tipping and always have done on Princess and HAL, this is based on the opinion that having paid the company to provide a service, it is then up to the company to remunerate employees to provide said service to a satisfactory standard. 

 

We use P&O a lot where its not an issue, and yes we are fully aware its in the price. We will not go with lines that do not allow us to remove tips.

 

And, lets face it, not all the 'gratuities' finds its way to the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You cruise Cunard which adds tips to every drink. So either you never order a drink or your principles "go out of the window" when it suits.

[bikerunner]

14 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Since the cruise lines pay no taxes on revenues, that is not the reason.  It is not done for employee taxes either, as most countries where the crew come from, tax anything that comes from the employer (whether listed as wages, salary, or gratuity) as normal income.

 

The sad truth of the matter is that the gratuities have been increasing because the cruise lines are finding it hard to find crew, and are having to pay more to get the crew (and the statutory minimum wage for seafarers goes up each year), so the daily service charge is increased to cover it.  Folks, whether you pay a cruise fare and the service charge, or the cruise line rolls the service charge into the fare, it all affects the cruise lines' profits, because if the service charge goes up to cover higher wages, then more of the fare goes to cover operating expenses and the excess becomes profit.  This is how all businesses work.

 

And, in line with my "one and done" on tipping threads, I'll go away now.

Thanks for clarification, makes sense, much more competition on getting employees now especially with more ships out there.  

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, Dahani said:

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6883/

 

. Nearly all mainstream cruise lines, and some premium lines, have raised daily per-person gratuity amounts for 2023, as companies continue to deal with the impact of economic disruption globally, as well as increased debt loads due to the global health pandemic.

 

But definitely all the money goes to the staff and absolutely none of it goes to increase the profit margins 🤔

 

 

As I said, mathematical ignorance logistically flawed. You likely believe in other conspiracy theories as well. Have you not heard of or experienced inflation?  Salaries must go up, including gratuities. 

Also, 55 posts? You probably just get a kick out of provoking the readers. That would make you a number of names I am prohibited from using. 

[Boytjie]

On 2/3/2023 at 12:56 PM, 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?  

 

And what advantage would this be, other than making more work for themselves on a vacation?! (That's beyond the question of who gets it and how much!)