How much of those gratuities does each group get? Carnival confesses!

[Elaine5715]

13 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Aren't the Lido servers the same wait staff as the dining room? At least at breakfast or lunch I've seen my dining room waitstaff working, unless I'm remembering from another line. I've always assumed they have some sort of rotational schedule to staff during dinner.

Most are, some aren't.  

[Rudyard]

Do the cabin stewards even have assistants these days? I remember when I first started cruising the steward would introduce his/her assistant as well as themselves. I'd frequently see the assistant in the hallways or helping clean the cabins, but now I only see my steward and maybe the stewards for the next group of cabins over. 

[Elaine5715]

57 minutes ago, Rudyard said:

Do the cabin stewards even have assistants these days? I remember when I first started cruising the steward would introduce his/her assistant as well as themselves. I'd frequently see the assistant in the hallways or helping clean the cabins, but now I only see my steward and maybe the stewards for the next group of cabins over. 

Yes, they do.  

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, Rudyard said:

Do the cabin stewards even have assistants these days? I remember when I first started cruising the steward would introduce his/her assistant as well as themselves. I'd frequently see the assistant in the hallways or helping clean the cabins, but now I only see my steward and maybe the stewards for the next group of cabins over. 

the last few times I have cruised my recollection is the same as yours.

[n6uqqq]

2 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

And that's a problem why? I thought that's what we are fighting against: Those cruisers who, knowing gratuities are optional, don't pay them.

I am not fighting against anything. Other people removing their gratuities because they are a cheap arse is none of my business. If gratuities become mandatory then like I said, they are no longer gratuities. The incentive to provide better service is no longer there. The chance the they could be removed might just keep some of the stewards etc on their toes. And then there would be a new expectation to provide gratuities once again. The current system has worked for many years. I like it exactly the way it is. I hit the prepay box, pay it by final payment, and am done.

[TiredTrucker]

13 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I recently disembarked from a cruise on the Carnival Magic.  One of the most interesting things I discovered on this cruise was by accident. 

 

As I was looking at my account balance in the app,  I noticed this item:

 

 

This is standard so far; I've gotten variations of this across many cruise lines and many, many cruises.

 

But I followed the arrow and this is what I saw:

 

 

(Personal details redacted)

 

In case your personal calculator is a little slow, that's $4.68 per day for my cabin steward and his assistant(s) (Aris was the lead this time around; he was pretty good), $7.56 per day for the dining team, and $3.76 for "alternative services ", whatever and whomever they are.

 

Before the fanatics say their piece, let me make a three of comments.  First, I remember Carnival sharing a breakdown like this several years ago somewhere (not the app - maybe one of their FAQs?), though the numbers are significantly higher now. Second, I don't remember any other cruise lines sharing anything like this, so I consider Carnival's honesty in this regard a point in their favor. And third, during one of our cruise director Mike's presentations, he made it clear that the CD and officers don't share in this pool.

 

I'm sharing this because I thought it was interesting.  I won't give my opinion on whether the amounts are enough, or how companies should pay their workers, or anything like that.

 

Be nice, be respectful,  and let's try to keep this thread up and unlocked. Thank you, and you're welcome.  👍

 

I have a hunch if we saw even further behind the scenes we'd see more employees in those categories than we ever expected to see.

 

Still it's nice to see any kind of breakdown.

Edited November 19, 2023 by TiredTrucker

[TiredTrucker]

9 hours ago, Riles34 said:

I would prefer it if they would just add the gratuity to the cruise cost total, so $96 more to your cruise fare and advertise no gratuities. So many people remove the gratuities which is allowed and I am sure some are for good reasons. I always tip extra to my room steward and the dining members. But if you got rid of gratuities people wouldn't have the option to take them away nor would people notice the extra cost.

 

Do that many people actually remove them? I've heard people threaten it on different posts here and there but when push comes to shove do they actually do it?

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Aren't the Lido servers the same wait staff as the dining room? At least at breakfast or lunch I've seen my dining room waitstaff working, unless I'm remembering from another line. I've always assumed they have some sort of rotational schedule to staff during dinner.

A lot of them are. When you work more than one job, you should be compensated more.

[BlerkOne]

6 minutes ago, TiredTrucker said:

 

Do that many people actually remove them? I've heard people threaten it on different posts here and there but when push comes to shove do they actually do it?

Have you ever seen the lines at Guest Services the final night?

[Linsuesue]

On our last cruise our room steward said he had 35 rooms and he had a part time assistant for a few hours in the morning. 

[TiredTrucker]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Have you ever seen the lines at Guest Services the final night?

 

Haven't even cruised yet, not for a few more months.  But to that point, are they there to remove gratuities specifically or to address other concerns? I'm not arguing that people don't do it, but I'm genuinely curious how common it is.

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, TiredTrucker said:

 

Haven't even cruised yet, not for a few more months.  But to that point, are they there to remove gratuities specifically or to address other concerns? I'm not arguing that people don't do it, but I'm genuinely curious how common it is.

Carnival doesn't provide specific numbers, but what concerns might someone have that they would wait in line the final night of the cruise? Why wouldn't they try to get them addressed earlier in the cruise, when something could be done about them?

[PayneAS]

15 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival doesn't provide specific numbers, but what concerns might someone have that they would wait in line the final night of the cruise? Why wouldn't they try to get them addressed earlier in the cruise, when something could be done about them?

Generally I print out a final statement of all charges and check to make sure that it is correct and there is nothing unauthorized on there. Yes, I could probably do something like that daily but when I'm on vacation I don't want to think about doing that every night. When the servers, waiters, and bartenders are entering folio numbers as fast as they do they are bound to occasionally make mistakes. I don't want to pay for someone else's $12 drink if I'm not on the drink package. 🤷‍♀️ Thankfully I haven't had to stand in that long line on the last night very often but it has happened. 

For the record, not that it matters, but I also prepay my grats and leave extra as appropriate. 

[Drew B 58]

57 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Have you ever seen the lines at Guest Services the final night?

I’m sometimes in that line - NOT to remove tips, but to pay off my balance with cash (usually because I have either won or not lost much in the casino).

[BlerkOne]

48 minutes ago, PayneAS said:

Generally I print out a final statement of all charges and check to make sure that it is correct and there is nothing unauthorized on there.

I periodically check mine, and address before the last night. There is almost never a mistake, although I know they sometimes happen.

[BlerkOne]

22 minutes ago, Drew B 58 said:

I’m sometimes in that line - NOT to remove tips, but to pay off my balance with cash (usually because I have either won or not lost much in the casino).

If there were separate lines for that, do you think your line would be the longest?

[Drew B 58]

14 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

If there were separate lines for that, do you think your line would be the longest?

No clue.  I’m generally not focused on what other people are doing unless it affects me…

[BlerkOne]

48 minutes ago, Drew B 58 said:

I’m sometimes in that line - NOT to remove tips, but to pay off my balance with cash (usually because I have either won or not lost much in the casino).

Why not use a kiosk for that and avoid the guest services line?

[momof3cruisers]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival doesn't provide specific numbers, but what concerns might someone have that they would wait in line the final night of the cruise? Why wouldn't they try to get them addressed earlier in the cruise, when something could be done about them?

A multitude of reasons. They are not seasoned cruisers and don’t expect a long line. They need info about something in regard to the next day. (I’ve done that twice. Once on a B2B when we never got any info on where to go n turn around day.  Once when my son had Covid.)  They are paying off their account with cash or collecting leftover cash they didn’t spend. (I’ve done that too.)Now, I am sure many are removing gratuities. However, it’s not the only reason. 

[sgttami]

9 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

I am not fighting against anything. Other people removing their gratuities because they are a cheap arse is none of my business. If gratuities become mandatory then like I said, they are no longer gratuities. The incentive to provide better service is no longer there. The chance the they could be removed might just keep some of the stewards etc on their toes. And then there would be a new expectation to provide gratuities once again. The current system has worked for many years. I like it exactly the way it is. I hit the prepay box, pay it by final payment, and am done.

Yes.

It's no concern of mine on how they split them and who gets what and if I want to tip extra to those that I've had direct contact with, I do so.(Dining staff, cabin stewards, bar service, etc)

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

A multitude of reasons. They are not seasoned cruisers and don’t expect a long line. They need info about something in regard to the next day. (I’ve done that twice. Once on a B2B when we never got any info on where to go n turn around day.  Once when my son had Covid.)  They are paying off their account with cash or collecting leftover cash they didn’t spend. (I’ve done that too.)Now, I am sure many are removing gratuities. However, it’s not the only reason. 

Of course there are a multitude of reasons, but I think removing tips is one of the top reasons. 

[MURCOTT]

Our last two cruises I asked the cabin steward how many rooms he had to do. The answer from both was 33. This may be since they went to once a day cleaning.

[staceyglow]

2 hours ago, MURCOTT said:

Our last two cruises I asked the cabin steward how many rooms he had to do. The answer from both was 33. This may be since they went to once a day cleaning.

I believe they do have assistants (or an assistant) that don't get the face time that the main steward does.  There have been times in the recent past where I have gone to my room while it was being cleaned, and there was someone with my cabin steward helping them.

[Stick93]

If people have an issue with the way the tips may or may not be split they can tip on their own  - either remove the tips and give money or just give extra. 

 

I know this is taboo to say remove the tips and give but its an option and carnival lets you. 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, Stick93 said:

If people have an issue with the way the tips may or may not be split they can tip on their own  - either remove the tips and give money or just give extra. 

 

I know this is taboo to say remove the tips and give but its an option and carnival lets you. 

If you remove gratuities for any reason, any cash given to room attendants or wait staff must  be turned in.  Crew still get the contracted amount from the gratuities pool.  They only keep the extra when auto grats are paid.  Carnival also doesn't let guest punish crew for perceived slights.