Are pre-paid gratuities even worth it any more?

[dlh015]

You're overthinking this. Just leave the autograts in place and then give an additional tip to any staff who you feel has made your voyage more pleasurable.   You know, those who you think went above and beyond. If no one meets that criteria then don't fret about it. They'll get their share of the pool...

Edited March 7, 2023 by dlh015

[miched]

1 hour ago, Alakegirl said:

Gratuities over and above are appreciated but not expected or demanded. If you ran into a steward or waiter who seemed to be pressuring you to give extra, they should be reported to management

On our last cruise it seemed as if many were  pressuring us to give extra.  They kept giving us outstanding service and attention that demanded it.  🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited March 7, 2023 by miched

[Wakepatrol]

58 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But that doesn't solve for the fact there still seems to be an expectation of a cash tip. The pre-pay vs charge to room isn't the dilemma, I am fine with either. It's that it appears there is an expectation for 2 sets of gratuities which seems to make things more complicated than ever

Okay that was on RCL now you’ve going on Celebrity. Rear view mirror your RCL experience and move on. How many members must tell you this doesn’t happen on the Celebrity cruises?

 

[Wakepatrol]

1 hour ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But that doesn't solve for the fact there still seems to be an expectation of a cash tip. The pre-pay vs charge to room isn't the dilemma, I am fine with either. It's that it appears there is an expectation for 2 sets of gratuities which seems to make things more complicated than ever

Okay that was on RCL now you’re going on Celebrity. Rear view mirror your RCL experience and move on. How many members must tell you this doesn’t happen on the Celebrity cruises?

 

[Wakepatrol]

1 hour ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But that doesn't solve for the fact there still seems to be an expectation of a cash tip. The pre-pay vs charge to room isn't the dilemma, I am fine with either. It's that it appears there is an expectation for 2 sets of gratuities which seems to make things more complicated than ever

Okay that was on RCL now you’re going on Celebrity. Rear view mirror your RCL experience and move on. How many members must tell you this doesn’t happen on the Celebrity cruises?

 

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But that doesn't solve for the fact there still seems to be an expectation of a cash tip. The pre-pay vs charge to room isn't the dilemma, I am fine with either. It's that it appears there is an expectation for 2 sets of gratuities which seems to make things more complicated than ever

cj4 - Not on X, after pre-paying the gratuities on your account or in advance, no other grats are required or expected.

 

On X, it would be very rare (IME) that a staff or crew member would be looking for additional cash.

 

If anything, they will ask for positive reviews on the survey... that is their gratuity and not the cash immediately.

 

Rest assured no additional grats at the end of the sailing is warranted, with the exception of those whom you thought provided excellent service... beyond and above what you expected.

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, miched said:

On our last cruise it seemed as if many were  pressuring us to give extra.  They kept giving us outstanding service and attention that demanded it.  🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Yet, you still had the option!!! LOL

 

bon voyage

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But that doesn't solve for the fact there still seems to be an expectation of a cash tip. The pre-pay vs charge to room isn't the dilemma, I am fine with either. It's that it appears there is an expectation for 2 sets of gratuities which seems to make things more complicated than ever

That might have been a one-off on Royal but it is not the expectation on Celrbrity

[Ferry_Watcher]

•  
• •  233
• August 25, 2003
• East Brunswick, NJ

 

• #248  

Posted July 31, 2022

I probably would not do auto gratuities any longer. I used to enjoy it because it made it easier, I didn’t have to hunt down people or carry envelopes to tip. But now it seems even though everyone is doing it they are still soliciting for extra envelopes, so it really doesn’t save much time. I’ll probably just do a cash tip again moving forward so I have something for them in hand 

 

 

OP posted this comment back in July 2022.  I believe he has already made his tipping decision.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Ferry_Watcher

[cruisestitch]

Good catch 

[CuseJeff44]

I completely forgot I posted that. The waiter on our last cruise was VERY pushy asking for an extra tip. Laying deep guilt trips about how his salary was cut and he needs tips to make up for it etc. I recall being pretty uncomfortable and I now recall posting it. It was one of the reasons that we strongly considered bailing on cruising altogether, but eventually decided to just try a different line. Based on the comments above I look forward to trying Celebrity.

 

I apologize for bothering anyone with my post here. It was really more about trying to see what the norm was on Celebrity. I appreciate the info received. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by CuseJeff44

[SusieAV8R]

3 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

When we had prepaid gratuities like as part of AI, the gratuities were posted daily to our cruise account and the reversed on our billing.

We had no sense of any expectations from crew about gratuities, but always hand some $$ to where I will be getting my drinks and $$ to those that gave special services.

We also took time to name those who went beyond in our review and a note to guest relations.

 

2 hours ago, AmberCascades said:

 

Who is expecting this??  As I and others have said, no Celebrity crew member will ever say that or make you feel like that.  Keep the auto grats in place.  You don't have to tip extra for anything you don't want to.  That is the purpose of the daily auto gratuities.   Don't remove the auto grats as it is the crew that suffers for it.  Don't tip extra if you don't want to.  You will still receive the same great service as everyone else. 

 

You seem to be looking for a complication where there is none.

DH and my experience has been similar to yours, AmberCascades.  In 25 cruises, we have NEVER felt like any of the crew expected extra tips.  (We cruise in suites so AI is not optional.). That said, when we give a $2 tip/occasion to a bartender or waitstaff (Martini Bar or Al Bacio)  or the public facilities staff, when their service is particularly cheerful or they have made us laugh or something they did was extra thoughtful, they have always seemed very appreciative. (Yes, we come onboard with a package of $2 bills.)  Maybe Celebrity staff  is different from RCCL?

[SusieAV8R]

18 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I completely forgot I posted that. The waiter on our last cruise was VERY pushy asking for an extra tip. Laying deep guilt trips about how his salary was cut and he needs tips to make up for it etc. I recall being pretty uncomfortable and I now recall posting it. It was one of the reasons that we strongly considered bailing on cruising altogether, but eventually decided to just try a different line. Based on the comments above I look forward to trying Celebrity.

 

I apologize for bothering anyone with my post here. It was really more about trying to see what the norm was on Celebrity. I appreciate the info received. 

Wow!  As I said earlier, 25 cruises on Celebrity (2008-January 2023), DH and I have NEVER experienced what you describe!!

[RMac713]

On our Equinox cruise last summer we tipped extra to our wait staff in Luminae, our stateroom attendant, and our butler.  They all deserved it.

On our last Disney cruise we did tip extra but I was turned off by the wait staff harping on wanting us to rate everything 5 stars--and this was every dinner, not just the last one.  I'd tip more to stop that nonsense.

[DaKahuna]

36 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

The waiter on our last cruise was VERY pushy asking for an extra tip. Laying deep guilt trips about how his salary was cut and he needs tips to make up for it etc.

Thankfully that has never happened to us.  On our last two cruises the stateroom attendant left an envelope with the luggage the next to last evening but not once has anyone mentioned their salary or outright asked to be tipped. 
 

We carry cash and as I have stated before, bartenders and servers in the lounges get tipped on a drink or evening basis.  If the dining room staff, stateroom attendant, butler, etc. go above and beyond then we give additional cash at the end of the cruise. 
 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

10 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I completely forgot I posted that. The waiter on our last cruise was VERY pushy asking for an extra tip. Laying deep guilt trips about how his salary was cut and he needs tips to make up for it etc. I recall being pretty uncomfortable and I now recall posting it. It was one of the reasons that we strongly considered bailing on cruising altogether, but eventually decided to just try a different line. Based on the comments above I look forward to trying Celebrity.

 

I apologize for bothering anyone with my post here. It was really more about trying to see what the norm was on Celebrity. I appreciate the info received. 

No need to apologize and the conversation (always) goes down the rat hole of whether to tip or not. You just weren’t listening to the folks that said this doesn’t happen on Celebrity as you were trying to answer other folks responses. You get it now. 😋

[TeeRick]

13 hours ago, dlh015 said:

You're overthinking this. Just leave the autograts in place and then give an additional tip to any staff who you feel has made your voyage more pleasurable.   You know, those who you think went above and beyond. If no one meets that criteria then don't fret about it. They'll get their share of the pool...

This is a short and sweet answer- and what the majority of people do.

[downsmead]

10 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Thankfully that has never happened to us.  On our last two cruises the stateroom attendant left an envelope with the luggage the next to last evening but not once has anyone mentioned their salary or outright asked to be tipped. 
 

 

I haven’t seen this on any of our cruises but feel that leaving an envelope is tantamount to expecting an additional tip.

We tip our cabin steward extra, just leave the money on the top with a little thank you note. No need to be ‘prompted’ by an envelope.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Did a RCL cruise in September and on the last day there was some envelopes left left in the cabins on the last day , we pre paid the the gratuities , 

indicating you can put tip money in envelope with a name and leave it at GS and it would get to them 

It was surprising to see after years of cruising on Celebrity and always pre paying gratuities , where this has never happened 

[AmberCascades]

With respect to the leaving of envelopes in the cabin, could it possibly be because so many people go to GS looking for them that they are just being proactive and leaving them just in case?  To avoid line-ups at GS on the last day?  I've never seen this, personally, but I just wonder if maybe that's why they are sometimes left. 

 

We bring our own small envelopes and write a little note on them.  They are small enough to be tucked away discreetly, should anyone wish to be discreet about it.  lol

[chemmo]

14 hours ago, dlh015 said:

You're overthinking this. Just leave the autograts in place and then give an additional tip to any staff who you feel has made your voyage more pleasurable.   You know, those who you think went above and beyond. If no one meets that criteria then don't fret about it. They'll get their share of the pool...

One of the best tip advice comments I have ever read…

 

We tend to see the autograts as simply part of the cost of the holiday and then the additional tips, as you say, for the staff who have gone above and beyond. 

12 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I completely forgot I posted that. The waiter on our last cruise was VERY pushy asking for an extra tip. Laying deep guilt trips about how his salary was cut and he needs tips to make up for it etc. I recall being pretty uncomfortable and I now recall posting it. It was one of the reasons that we strongly considered bailing on cruising altogether, but eventually decided to just try a different line. Based on the comments above I look forward to trying Celebrity.

 

I apologize for bothering anyone with my post here. It was really more about trying to see what the norm was on Celebrity. I appreciate the info received. 

I would be very uncomfortable with this too. Only ever experienced similar once out of many, many cruises. It was from one of the bar servers in Michael’s Club…It started mid cruise with comments when we sat down with a drink about how hard it was to make ends meet at home, progressed to the poor rates of pay on the ship and how she relied on tips to supplement her income…We were dithering about what to do as it was making us uncomfortable and ‘invading’ our time in Michael’s as she would come over every evening with more to her story…We thought about mentioning something to the concierge as we felt it was inappropriate but equally we didn’t want to get the girl in trouble.
 

Fortunately for us she was telling her story to a lovely straight talking lady from Texas who responded friendly but firmly saying. “Look we all know how extra tips are needed and appreciated by staff we don’t need telling! You’ll get a much better tip from all these people here if you greet them every evening with a smile and a strong drink rather than a sob story”

 

Needless to say ‘all these people here’ were very grateful the advice had been given and all nodded our agreement.  The girl obviously listened as her narrations did back off until the last evening. Yes, we did give the girl a good tip at the end of the cruise…

Edited March 8, 2023 by chemmo

[NJLochness]

I don’t tip at all and guess what? I still get the same service. If they don’t like it then quit.

.problem solved

[StingBeanz]

1 hour ago, AmberCascades said:

With respect to the leaving of envelopes in the cabin, could it possibly be because so many people go to GS looking for them that they are just being proactive and leaving them just in case?  To avoid line-ups at GS on the last day?  I've never seen this, personally, but I just wonder if maybe that's why they are sometimes left. 

 

We bring our own small envelopes and write a little note on them.  They are small enough to be tucked away discreetly, should anyone wish to be discreet about it.  lol

 

I wish that I took a photo of the note accompanying the envelopes that were left in our Cabin as we neared the end of our Connie cruise a few weeks ago. The note listed the suggested additional cash gratuities for the Cabin Steward, waiter and I believe the beverage steward. 

 

It went a little beyond just the envelopes, it kind of felt like they were implying or requesting that you do this. 

[Bo1953]

14 minutes ago, StingBeanz said:

 

I wish that I took a photo of the note accompanying the envelopes that were left in our Cabin as we neared the end of our Connie cruise a few weeks ago. The note listed the suggested additional cash gratuities for the Cabin Steward, waiter and I believe the beverage steward. 

 

It went a little beyond just the envelopes, it kind of felt like they were implying or requesting that you do this. 

LOL, did you remove the Auto-Grats at GS the night before????

 

bon voyage

[jelayne]

That would have had me seeking out the Guest Relations Mgr and Hotel Director.  A note like that would have the opposite of the desired response and actually would make me reconsider doing extra tipping.