Back to back gratuities/staff rotation

[feist]

Next month I will be on the Symphony for a back to back.  Super Yippee!

If I choose to give out gratuities, should I do this at the end of the first cruise and then, perhaps, at the end of the second?

I am wondering if butlers/housekeepers and the like rotate cruise to cruise?

Thanks.

[Observer]

Presumably, you will have established some relationship with the crew members whom you are inclined to tip. You can simply ask them several days before the end of the first cruise, whether they will be remaining for the second leg. If, as is more likely than not, they are continuing, you probably should defer your gratuity until the end of the second cruise.

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, feist said:

Next month I will be on the Symphony for a back to back.  Super Yippee!

If I choose to give out gratuities, should I do this at the end of the first cruise and then, perhaps, at the end of the second?

I am wondering if butlers/housekeepers and the like rotate cruise to cruise?

Thanks.

I do it at the end of each cruise and have been doing it this way since our first back to back in 2005.

 

I just turn in a form at the desk for those I want to give something to. It does include crew who likely won't rotate and others who could. While they might not rotate they could be going home.

 

Keith

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

I just turn in a form at the desk for those I want to give something to. It does include crew who likely won't rotate and others who could. While they might not rotate they could be going home.

 

On a B2B, I just ask staff if they are going to on for the next segment or not.  Often, I phrase it in terms of "so when does your contract end?", which also provides a conversation starter.

 

Bar staff rotates far more than others - most dining waiters are dedicated to their venue, IIRC.  So again, just ask where they will be.  And go from there.

 

 

[Keith1010]

As noted, like most things there are options when to give gratuities.  As background, we have sailed on many back to back cruises including some that were 10 or more voyages so that is when I found it much easier to leave gratuities at the end of each segment.  

 

As to how to give gratuities. You can give it in cash, or you can place them on your shipboard account or do a combination.  

Should you wish to use the shipboard account, at the reception desk you can get a form to use and the actual form follows.

 

You can ask for cards which reflect the name of the person and the amount and give it to them or not ask for cards.  Either way if you use charge them to your shipboard account the crew will be notified but how they are notified and when does vary. 

 

 

Gratuities that are automatically added are for spa and salon services. There is a standard tip or you can add to it.  I have found on both ships the person performing the service gets to that page with gratuities  on their tablet which shows the amount and the total and on both ships in August and September moved past that to the signature page so no pressure to increase the amount. I am not implying that this is always how it works just my experience having gone to the spa/salon six times and Anne Marie two times the during this time frame and having the same experience.  

 

Should you wish to show appreciation for the entire crew you can give to the Crew Welfare Fund by using the form I have attached and writing Crew Welfare Fund or Crew Fund and the amount.  

I don't total the amount on the line Total Gratuity Paid and when I do this for each voyage for Embarkation Date I just put the first day we boarded.

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

[Helene1111]

Keith, I’m wondering if the crew member gets the full amount you tip if you do it through the front desk with a voucher card and charge the gratuity to your shipboard account. If your shipboard account is going on your Visa or Mastercard the credit card company takes like 2% from the vendor and Amex takes like 3%. Does crystal deduct this 2 or 3% from what the crew member ultimately receives? I know that when you put the waiter’s gratuity on a credit card in a restaurant on land the waiter does not get the full amount . I’d hate for the Crystal crew member to not receive the full amount I tip because a percentage of it came off for the credit card company. Thanks! 

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Helene1111 said:

Keith, I’m wondering if the crew member gets the full amount you tip if you do it through the front desk with a voucher card and charge the gratuity to your shipboard account. If your shipboard account is going on your Visa or Mastercard the credit card company takes like 2% from the vendor and Amex takes like 3%. Does crystal deduct this 2 or 3% from what the crew member ultimately receives? I know that when you put the waiter’s gratuity on a credit card in a restaurant on land the waiter does not get the full amount . I’d hate for the Crystal crew member to not receive the full amount I tip because a percentage of it came off for the credit card company. Thanks! 

Excellent question. I have been told they get the full amount whether it goes on your shipboard account or if you pay with cash. 
 

Keith

[Txcotn]

Please remind me - can you use shipboard credit for gratuities or is that all in the past?

[nancygp]

9 minutes ago, Txcotn said:

Please remind me - can you use shipboard credit for gratuities or is that all in the past?

Thing of the past

 

Nancy

[goldengatecruisers]

Since open seating it is rare to be seated with the same wait staff/sommelier team every evening unless specifically requested of the Maitre D'.  I have found using the Crew Welfare Fund a great way to say 'thank you' when so many individual crew members have taken care of us during a voyage, whether short or long.  

[crickette]

I know that the Lido guys "switch" between the pool area and Marketplace every cruise.  

[Mrs. Claypool]

On my last voyage I had some extra cash in my pocket on the last day, so rather than go to the trouble of putting the donation on our shipboard account, I just handed over the bills at the Reception Desk and asked for it all to be given to the Crew Welfare.

 

They seemed to be quite surprised at the request, and had to call back to the accounting department to see if such a thing could be done.  They ended up by agreeing to take the donation in the form of Yankee dollars, but it appeared as if it was an unusual situation for them. 
 

So I guess the Crew Welfare Fund would prefer to take onboard account donations?

 

Emily

[Woodrowst]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

On my last voyage I had some extra cash in my pocket on the last day, so rather than go to the trouble of putting the donation on our shipboard account, I just handed over the bills at the Reception Desk and asked for it all to be given to the Crew Welfare.

 

They seemed to be quite surprised at the request, and had to call back to the accounting department to see if such a thing could be done.  They ended up by agreeing to take the donation in the form of Yankee dollars, but it appeared as if it was an unusual situation for them. 
 

So I guess the Crew Welfare Fund would prefer to take onboard account donations?

 

Emily

I am not an accountant, but the response was in keeping with my understanding of generally accepted accounting principles. Other than tips and at cash registers, employees of a company are never supposed to handle (pass-through) cash.  It needs to go directly to the accounting department.  This rule minimizes the chance and temptation of an employee to embezzle part or all of the cash amount.  The accounting department staff are typically bonded in order for them to accept cash.  Just my two cents from when I worked in senior management and we were repeatedly reminded never to handle cash.

[Keith1010]

4 hours ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

On my last voyage I had some extra cash in my pocket on the last day, so rather than go to the trouble of putting the donation on our shipboard account, I just handed over the bills at the Reception Desk and asked for it all to be given to the Crew Welfare.

 

They seemed to be quite surprised at the request, and had to call back to the accounting department to see if such a thing could be done.  They ended up by agreeing to take the donation in the form of Yankee dollars, but it appeared as if it was an unusual situation for them. 
 

So I guess the Crew Welfare Fund would prefer to take onboard account donations?

 

Emily

Emily this really makes sense.  The front desk is really not set up to take cash like that.

 

Glad you donated to the Crew Fund.

 

Keith

[BWIVince]

3 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

I am not an accountant, but the response was in keeping with my understanding of generally accepted accounting principles. Other than tips and at cash registers, employees of a company are never supposed to handle (pass-through) cash.  It needs to go directly to the accounting department.  This rule minimizes the chance and temptation of an employee to embezzle part or all of the cash amount.  The accounting department staff are typically bonded in order for them to accept cash.  Just my two cents from when I worked in senior management and we were repeatedly reminded never to handle cash.

 

That seems to be exactly what they were thinking through...  Though in the past, since the front desk is set up to accept cash for guest folios, I've seen them process cash donations to crew welfare by posting the donation on the folio like they would if someone was having it sweep to their card on file, and then the agent posts the same amount in cash received (like they usually do for a cash payment), offsetting the donation exactly.  The most recent time I saw that was during the Genting years though, so it's been a while, and I think the entries may have actually been done in reverse order because of the donation posting process -- I was just hearing the exchange and not seeing the details.

 

Vince

[KenzSailing]

1 hour ago, BWIVince said:

 

That seems to be exactly what they were thinking through...  Though in the past, since the front desk is set up to accept cash for guest folios, I've seen them process cash donations to crew welfare by posting the donation on the folio like they would if someone was having it sweep to their card on file, and then the agent posts the same amount in cash received (like they usually do for a cash payment), offsetting the donation exactly.  The most recent time I saw that was during the Genting years though, so it's been a while, and I think the entries may have actually been done in reverse order because of the donation posting process -- I was just hearing the exchange and not seeing the details.

 

Vince

 

Uh huh, ever seen the movie "Casino?"

 

 

[BWIVince]

5 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Uh huh, ever seen the movie "Casino?"

 

 

A long time ago, but I don’t remember the details…. 😔. Was that a Genting joke?

 

Vince

[KenzSailing]

23 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

A long time ago, but I don’t remember the details…. 😔. Was that a Genting joke?

 

Vince

 

Yes, that was a Genting joke.  I do not hold them in high regard.  And I'll never cross the threshold of a Resorts World establishment.