Gratuities on board

[dylan400d]

Does anyone know if you can choose to cancel the onboard gratuities and give staff directly? I remember this was an option years ago?

[wrk2cruise]

Yes it can be done.  But remember the staff supported by the tipping pool goes well beyond the staff you come into contact with daily.  We may not like it but tips pool makes up the majority of the compensation of many non officer staff.

Edited November 3, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[dylan400d]

Just now, wrk2cruise said:

Yes it can be done.  But remember the staff supported by the tipping pool goes well beyond the staff you come into contact with daily.  We may not like it but tips pool makes up the majority of their compensation.

 

Fully understand, it's just something I was thinking about when looking at the next cruise. In the UK, we don't have a culture of tipping, and with UK focused cruise companies, they do not add tips. I was just wondering if it can still be done as I have heard that NCL will not allow you to cancel them, instead, you pay them, then you have to try and claim it back by outlining what you were not happy with. Again, not sure how true this is however, I'm sure that I have read it somewhere. 

[wrk2cruise]

On Celebrity if you experience a lapse in service you are encouraged to bring it to their attention so it can be corrected.

[bikerunner]

Also even if you tip directly it still will mostly be pooled by the people you tipped.  I think if you do an individual envelope with the persons name then they might be able to keep it.  Completely understand the Ie norms of the different cultures and how it applies to tipping. I go on the basis of how that country business does the tipping not where I am from as I don’t expect everyone to follow the way my country does tipping. Yes I am from usa but also make sure i have a basic understanding of every country I visit.  

[cruisestitch]

Choosing to remove, the auto tips goes as a black mark against your servers and  housekeeping staff.   It makes it look like they have done something wrong so it is not advisable to do so.

[blueslily]

I'm glad that celebrity allows customers to choose. Wonderful. 

[vaskohop]

I always leave gratuities in place. I then give extra throughout and at end of cruise to those who have made my experience extra special. They appre iate that Immensely. 

[mahasamatman]

My wife always tips the washroom attendants directly.

[dylan400d]

7 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Choosing to remove, the auto tips goes as a black mark against your servers and  housekeeping staff.   It makes it look like they have done something wrong so it is not advisable to do so.

I can‘t see how this can be the case. What if someone boards the ship and stops them immediately? They can’t surely base it on experience. 

[crazyank]

7 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

Choosing to remove, the auto tips goes as a black mark against your servers and  housekeeping staff.   It makes it look like they have done something wrong so it is not advisable to do so.

False,

[Ex-Airbalancer]

10 hours ago, dylan400d said:

Does anyone know if you can choose to cancel the onboard gratuities and give staff directly? I remember this was an option years ago?

Just think of it as part of the cruise base price that is broken out for you to see how much goes to staff 

just pay than tip we’re you see fit 

[mickey89]

The problem with auto-tips is that the staff still expect you to tip them again.........

[dylan400d]

28 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Just think of it as part of the cruise base price that is broken out for you to see how much goes to staff 

just pay than tip we’re you see fit 

Why don't they include them in the price if that's the case? 

 

Just now, mickey89 said:

The problem with auto-tips is that the staff still expect you to tip them again.........

 

That's what happens most of the time. 

 

 

[Bullswood]

3 minutes ago, dylan400d said:

Why don't they include them in the price if that's the case? 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, dylan400d said:

They do include if you book from Australia - much simpler, isn't it!

 

 

[dylan400d]

Just now, Bullswood said:

 

 

100% - MSC do this if you book through a UK travel agent. 

[Lena11033]

1 minute ago, dylan400d said:

Why don't they include them in the price if that's the case? 

 

 

That's what happens most of the time. 

 

 

 

I don't think tipping culture is going anywhere, if anything it's worse. I hate it personally, just pay people.

I'm British living in Canada and even here it's a lot, I order pizza and it's now 'do you want to give 30% for the driver' that's a nope not for driving for 5 mins.

 

As previously mentioned I do the auto tips and then call it a day as I treat it as part of the original cruise fare.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

11 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

The problem with auto-tips is that the staff still expect you to tip them again.........

No , they do not expect you to tip 

[mickey89]

Dylan - You new the score when you booked, you were given the opportunity to pre-pay gratuities when you booked, you obviously decided against.  Be it on your own conscience............the saying "when in Rome" appear appropriate.

[dylan400d]

Just now, mickey89 said:

Dylan - You new the score when you booked, you were given the opportunity to pre-pay gratuities when you booked, you obviously decided against.  Be it on your own conscience............the saying "when in Rome" appear appropriate.

 

I haven't booked? It was just a question, as I had heard that NCL were changing their policy.

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, crazyank said:

False,

No it isn’t false.  This is how it works.  Please don’t create a problem for the staff who work so hard for you.

[cruisestitch]

39 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

The problem with auto-tips is that the staff still expect you to tip them again.........

No they don’t.  

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, dylan400d said:

I can‘t see how this can be the case. What if someone boards the ship and stops them immediately? They can’t surely base it on experience. 

But ultimately the cruise line does, without regard to the timing of when you removed tge auto-tips.

[crazyank]

10 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

No it isn’t false.  This is how it works.  Please don’t create a problem for the staff who work so hard for you.

It is completely false.  We have two family members who are crew members on RCL.  We asked this specific question and their answer was an emphatic NO!

[chemmo]

13 hours ago, dylan400d said:

 

Fully understand, it's just something I was thinking about when looking at the next cruise. In the UK, we don't have a culture of tipping, and with UK focused cruise companies, they do not add tips. 

We tend to simply see the gratuities as part of the cruise fair when booking a cruise with stated daily gratuity rates as many do. Celebrity follows this model. We then budget extra for those staff that go above and beyond…
 

I must confess I don’t know why you are saying ‘we don’t have a culture of tipping’ in the UK? We do! Restaurants, hairdressers…Perhaps it is less prescriptive (doesn’t suggest a %) but it is still there…

 

13 hours ago, dylan400d said:

Does anyone know if you can choose to cancel the onboard gratuities and give staff directly? I remember this was an option years ago?

The snag with this is twofold…firstly you won’t see directly everyone who serves you and secondly if this was generally allowed some guests may simply see removing gratuities as a way of reducing their cruising costs. Much as I know this isn’t why you are querying sadly some people would cancel their auto grats and then find excuses not to pay what staff see/expect as part of their salary.

13 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

On Celebrity if you experience a lapse in service you are encouraged to bring it to their attention so it can be corrected.

Agree, on the odd occasion we have had iffy service we have brought it to the attention of an appropriate staff member and it has been corrected. No reason to remove gratuities.

 

I agree that the phrase ‘When in Rome’ is fairly appropriate. We choose Celebrity knowing its tipping policy and accept it as it is…

Edited November 4, 2023 by chemmo