Prepaid Gratuities

[Troyer5]

Many of those "tipped" don't realize that gratuities are personal choice and some of them consider it t be their right. I look @ how well they served me. For example; yesterday I ate lunch at café [the waitress only took my order, delivered it but didn't do much beyond that], I left her 2.4%. But if she had taken interest, I may have left her as much as 48%.

[donaldsc]

Many of those "tipped" don't realize that gratuities are personal choice and some of them consider it t be their right. I look @ how well they served me. For example; yesterday I ate lunch at café [the waitress only took my order, delivered it but didn't do much beyond that], I left her 2.4%. But if she had taken interest, I may have left her as much as 48%.

 

Here is the problem with this. Was her service bad or just ordinary? Remember, it was just lunch.

 

Whether you like it or not, her salary is based on the assumption that you will give her a decent tip. Even the amount of income taxes that she pays is based on the assumption that you will give her a decent tip. By giving her a 2.4% tip, you were implying that there was a problem with her service and I get the impression that there were no problems. Not only are you costing her salary but she will be required to pay income taxes on the tip money that you chose not to pay her.

 

Certainly they could raise her salary so that she does not have to depend upon your tips. However, this will mean a significant increase in the cost of your meal. We were in Australia once over the time of a major holiday. All the restaurants had signs saying that meal costs would be increased by I believe 10% because they had to pay the servers holiday pay. Do you want that?

 

Obviously everyone who cruises thinks that the current service charge policy is stupid. However, that is the way it is and it is a cost of cruising. If you don't want to or can't pay it - don't cruise.

 

DON

Edited March 20, 2015 by donaldsc

[Cuizer2]

Certainly they could raise her salary so that she does not have to depend upon your tips. However, this will mean a significant increase in the cost of your meal. We were in Australia once over the time of a major holiday. All the restaurants had signs saying that meal costs would be increased by I believe 10% because they had to pay the servers holiday pay. Do you want that?

 

DON

 

Why not? I get holiday pay. Why shouldn't the restaurant employees get holiday pay?

 

If you don't like it, then don't eat out.

[donaldsc]

Why not? I get holiday pay. Why shouldn't the restaurant employees get holiday pay?

 

If you don't like it, then don't eat out.

 

I totally agree w you. I also think that the American tipping culture is absurd but it is what it is. My point to the poster was that in tipping 4% for what was probably reasonable lunch service was doing a double hit on the server.

 

DON

[Cruisin' Chick]

Here's how I see it:

1. If you don't want to "pay" tips, you can go on the premium lines where these are folded into the fare. Of course, the fares are usually a lot more than the mass market fares (haven't been on Oceania, etc., so don't know if it's really a higher quality cruise...but then I'm not a major drinker and can even go months or years without a drink, so I don't want to pay for included alcoholic beverages).

 

2. On some cruiselines, your folio gets charged nightly for a hotel charge or whatever the line calls the auto-tip. You don't have to deal with paying ahead of time if this is what's bothering you.

 

3. On other cruiselines, it's those on the flexible dining plans who are required to prepay grats. Those with traditional have their accounts charged while on the cruise.

 

4. If you try to justify removing auto-grats because of "poor service," that is ridiculous. If you think there's something off, go to the passenger desk and ask to speak to the hotel supervisor or whatever it's called on your ship. He or she will want to remedy any specific problems you're having so you can end up having an excellent cruise.

 

5. If you want to simply not pay auto-grats because you're against the idea of tipping, please consider either the first type (where it's included in the fare) or just don't cruise.

 

6. If there's autograts but you decide to remove them and pay in cash, consider that the way it works is that any cash you give your cabin steward or wait staff has to be turned in to a tipping pool.

 

It used to be that passengers would hand over their tipping envelopes on the last night of the cruise. I remember that time and it was a royal pain. I much prefer this system where it's done for us, and then anything we give to the staff is extra. I believe that it was the flexible dining being instituted (your waiter at night probably worked in the buffet for lunch) and this is the way to make it more fair for crew members. Also the cruise lines know that many people will avoid going to the dining room for dinner on the last night mostly to avoid rewarding their waitstaff for the cruise. As for including it in the fare, there are reasons most cruiselines don't do this (ask your accountant).

 

But again, rather than rage on that it's a conspiracy on the part of cruise lines or that it's unfair to pay a gratuity on a glass of wine...remember it's a choice to go on a cruise, it's a choice to go on a specific cruise line. It's even a choice to go on vacation or go to a restaurant.

[jb456]

Here's how I see it:

 

4. If you try to justify removing auto-grats because of "poor service' date='" that is ridiculous. If you think there's something off, go to the passenger desk and ask to speak to the hotel supervisor or whatever it's called on your ship. He or she will want to remedy any specific problems you're having so you can end up having an excellent cruise.

 

You also can't justify "exceptional service" compared to regular service when you tip months in advance before even being on the ship. If they are just doing their job that they applied to and providing the same service to all guests then wheres the exceptional service? Going out of their way to provide you something special that is not on the menu, or going down 7 floors to get you a coffee and bring it up on the pool deck is exceptional service above and beyond their job description.

 

5. If you want to simply not pay auto-grats because you're against the idea of tipping, please consider either the first type (where it's included in the fare) or just don't cruise.

 

It's always amusing when people say "just don't cruise" North American tipping culture at's best LOL - Cruises seem to be even worse then all inclusive tipping debates

 

 

It used to be that passengers would hand over their tipping envelopes on the last night of the cruise. I remember that time and it was a royal pain. I much prefer this system where it's done for us, and then anything we give to the staff is extra. I believe that it was the flexible dining being instituted (your waiter at night probably worked in the buffet for lunch) and this is the way to make it more fair for crew members. Also the cruise lines know that many people will avoid going to the dining room for dinner on the last night mostly to avoid rewarding their waitstaff for the cruise. As for including it in the fare, there are reasons most cruiselines don't do this (ask your accountant).

 

Reasons cruise lines don't include it is because they register their ships in Bahamas and other Caribbean places to pay their employees SLAVE WAGES and to save on taxes.. then use great marketing to make all travelers pay the employees salaries by this absurd autotips. They likely pocket a good amount for themselves to. All these people saying how they feel bad about the employees, etc, maybe should start a petition and ask the cruise lines to pay decent wages.

 

But again, rather than rage on that it's a conspiracy on the part of cruise lines or that it's unfair to pay a gratuity on a glass of wine...remember it's a choice to go on a cruise, it's a choice to go on a specific cruise line. It's even a choice to go on vacation or go to a restaurant.

 

 

I DISAGREE With this one. Automatic 15% on alcohol drinks is absurd it gives the consumer no leeway to tip at their discretion based on service received. It's not fair for a slacking bartender who does not care about their job to receive the same tip as an awesome bartender. Go to any land based bar or cruise ship bar you will likely always find a crappy bartender in the mix of awesome bartenders

 

As for cruise ships some things are a joke. For instance when you buy a beer bucket. They make $3.45 tip to put 4 beers in a bucket and open 1.

 

Our cruise for example we purchased 15 beer buckets. All of which were purchased while sitting right at the bar. The bartender only had to walk 2 feet to do everything. There were also bottle openers at the bar so after they open the first one additional ones you open yourself.

 

Did he deserve $51.75 in tips to open 15 beer and put ice in 15 buckets? Absolutely not!! They still got em tho lol

 

Had we been sitting away from the bar lets say on the other side of the pool and the bartender was attentive, always coming over when he notices 1 beer left, asking if we would like another bucket, being proactive in that sense and us never having to wait to long for a refill then YES he would deserve all those tips.

 

A bartender could be having a bad day, slightly rude, make you wait 20 minutes for a drink and he still gets tipped automatically which is not fair to those awesome bar tenders running around doing an exceptional friendly job serving guests.

 

Then again when cruise lines give away FREE drink packages.. Do they really pay the 15% tips to their bartenders? I highly doubt that!

 

.

 

Comments in red above - not trying to be rude or anything just sharing my view points.

Edited March 22, 2015 by jb456

[mattmax11]

We have also pre-paid our tips on the Mariner for end of December. We intend on tipping extra for extra special service. But I am wondering, do the steward's etc. know that we have prepaid tips for them.....are they told that we have tipped already or will they think we are just cheap that last night:o ? Sorry for the silly question, but this is our first cruise!!!:)

 

I'm sure they receive something at the end so they know they received a tip. Aswell they can keep track of what they received .

[SpainAlien]

I'm new to this thread but would like to put in my two penneth:

 

I don't mind the auto tipping as it is shared across all the staff not just pocketed by the front of house staff however I don't then like being pressured to give extra tips.

 

If tips are included I assume that it is to encourage exceptional service why then does your room attendant hang around incessantly on the last day to the point of making you uncomfortable for extra cash when all he has done is his job? If you are expected to pay extra tips for ordinary service what are the tips you paid for with your fare to actually cover?

[NMLady]

I'm new to this thread but would like to put in my two penneth:

 

I don't mind the auto tipping as it is shared across all the staff not just pocketed by the front of house staff however I don't then like being pressured to give extra tips.

 

If tips are included I assume that it is to encourage exceptional service why then does your room attendant hang around incessantly on the last day to the point of making you uncomfortable for extra cash when all he has done is his job? If you are expected to pay extra tips for ordinary service what are the tips you paid for with your fare to actually cover?

 

We always prepay the tips, considering it a service charge, and we have never had a cabin steward hanging around on the last day. In fact I can rarely find ours to say good-bye to and usually give an extra tip to. So I leave it in a thank you envelope on the bed for him to get when he prepares the room for the next passenger.

If your cabin steward is hanging around it could be he is anxious for you to get out of the room so he can get it ready for embarking passengers. We are out of our cabin before 8am since the stewards have so many cabins to get ready.

[Dr.A]

I'm new to this thread but would like to put in my two penneth:

 

I don't mind the auto tipping as it is shared across all the staff not just pocketed by the front of house staff however I don't then like being pressured to give extra tips.

 

If tips are included I assume that it is to encourage exceptional service why then does your room attendant hang around incessantly on the last day to the point of making you uncomfortable for extra cash when all he has done is his job? If you are expected to pay extra tips for ordinary service what are the tips you paid for with your fare to actually cover?

 

I agree that it would be a real problem if people pre-pay gratuities and then are expected to leave an extra tip. I would never leave extra tips if I have pre-paid the tips, it is possible to change the amount at guest services.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Dr.A

[maywell]

I'm new to this thread but would like to put in my two penneth:

 

I don't mind the auto tipping as it is shared across all the staff not just pocketed by the front of house staff however I don't then like being pressured to give extra tips.

 

If tips are included I assume that it is to encourage exceptional service why then does your room attendant hang around incessantly on the last day to the point of making you uncomfortable for extra cash when all he has done is his job? If you are expected to pay extra tips for ordinary service what are the tips you paid for with your fare to actually cover?

 

Or it could be, he needs to clean the room (Fix the bed, wipe tables, clean the bath, etc) for like 10-20-something rooms before 12pm (when the other occupants of your room might arrive) and is waiting for you to get the heck out since you're just hanging around now. Just saying.....

 

Me personally; I prepay my gratuities because 1) it makes it easy to budget / spend without having to worry if I have enough to cover for it; like for example, you're planning to spend $300 for a 7 day trip and didn't prepay the tips of $84, that leaves $216 to spend for the whole trip for paid drinking, last-minute excursion, shopping for rum / vodka / whiskey and playing the penny machines at the casino - not much money to spend due to not paying the tips beforehand when you think about it. And 2) I use the buffet and room steward alot and the tips cover them, with me just tipping the poor room steward in $2-3 in cash more because I'm a messy person. 3) the room steward knows who prepaid and didn't (they're the ones that brings whatever you preorder for your room like shore excusion tickets, water, vodka, etc); pay attention if they go out their way to meet you on the 1st or 2nd day. And if you go to Guest Services and tell them to remove the service charges on the 1st day of the trip, guess who they are going to tell 1st?

Edited March 22, 2015 by maywell

[Troyer5]

Don:

The point that I had [which you may have overlooked] is that the waitperson is assuming that her tip would be 15% so she doesn't have do more than basic. Her employer is required by LAW to pay her extra if her wage +tips doesn't equal minimum. AZ has a higher minimum than FEDERAL and is a Right to Work state (she can be let go for any reason).

 

At the time, there were many empty tables, waitstaff just standing around, & a limit of 77 persons. Not all of us live in LV.

Doug

[Cuizer2]

Don:

The point that I had [which you may have overlooked] is that the waitperson is assuming that her tip would be 15% so she doesn't have do more than basic. Her employer is required by LAW to pay her extra if her wage +tips doesn't equal minimum. AZ has a higher minimum than FEDERAL and is a Right to Work state (she can be let go for any reason).

 

At the time, there were many empty tables, waitstaff just standing around, & a limit of 77 persons. Not all of us live in LV.

Doug

 

"Right to work" has nothing to do with what is required to let someone go. Right to work simply means that a labor union cannot make membership a condition of employment.

 

Letting someone go for any reason means that person is an at will employee.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Comments in red above - not trying to be rude or anything just sharing my view points.

 

And I still disagree with your posts on this thread. It still comes down to choices. If you have qualms about paying gratuities on drinks, then either don't drink or go with a premium cruiseline that includes drinks in their fare. We have had great service on our cruises and I don't think it's just dumb luck. And your reasoning that the cruiseline "likely pocket a good amount for themselves to" seems a bit like a conspiracy that likely doesn't exist.

 

Again, choices.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Here's how I see it:

 

1. If you don't want to "pay" tips' date=' you can go on the premium lines where these are folded into the fare. Of course, the fares are usually a lot more than the mass market fares (haven't been on Oceania, etc., so don't know if it's really a higher quality cruise...but then I'm not a major drinker and can even go months or years without a drink, so I don't want to pay for included alcoholic beverages).[/quote']

 

 

If you disaggregate an Oceania fare and take into consideration the qualitative aspects of the voyage as well, you may be surprised at how good is the cost-to-benefit. Also, one of the nice things about "premium" line pricing is that it is NOT all-inclusive. While O does include things like all non-alcoholic beverages and specialty restaurants as well as airfare, its base fare does not include gratuities, alcohol or excursions (which would be included on a "luxury" line like its relative, Regent- at a much higher price).

 

As for gratuities, O adds them to the base cabin cost and certain other services. However, on the right itinerary, free gratuities (and/or internet and/or OBC) will be offered as a perk by O and that is in addition to always available discounts on multiple shore excursion purchases, air credit (if you pass on the included flights) and alcoholic beverage packages that include an 18% gratuity (though surprisingly, the package cost for unlimited imbibing costs less than similar packages on many mass market lines). And then there are the perks provided if you happen to have a preferred top producing O partner TA: added OBC, base cost discounts on exclusive O/TA specials (e.g., new O cruiser), price drop credits/refunds- even after final payment (depending on TA/O relationship).

 

At the bottom line: with the right itinerary and TA, O will surprise you. For last year's Alaska trip, our bottom line on a balcony was very close to the cost of several mass market lines (yes, free gratuities/air credit/etc. made that so). Equally important is what we do not get: bothersome announcements, hordes of passengers, boring itineraries, nickel-diming, photogs, art shows and (really important for us) the "cafeteria food" we had experienced on the several mass market lines we had tried in the past.

 

Back to gratuities specifically: call them what you want. But, in essence, they are a part of what ultimately becomes your bottom line cost. Remember when airlines used to publish disaggregated fares and you were surprised when confronted with the total charge? Even when forced by government to advertise single inclusive fare, they still figured out how to charge for "options" like food, seat location, service fee on FF point use, etc.

 

The service industry in general is looking at bottom line revenue and you should be looking at bottom line cost. In reality, how the cruise line splits the tips or how much they pay folks is irrelative because you are a consumer and not any crew member's "long lost cousin." IMO, you get what you pay for. As it applies to cruising, project out your expenses for everything: cabin, airfare (and/or pre/post cruise private transport/accommodations), tips, booze, excursions, "specialty" restaurants, more tips, etc. You then come up with a daily rate, which you use to compare cruise line "quantity."

Whether it happens before or after the "quantity" measure, you then also have to look at the "quality" issue (and yes, O is definitely a quality experience): Itineraries, amenities, comestibles, etc.

It's your vacation, focus on you.

[NMLady]

It is just as easy to have the tips charged to your on board account as it is to prepay the tips.

 

Easy, yes, but on long cruises that's a lot of charges to look at since the charge is billed daily per person. So, even on a 7 day cruise that is 14 charges in addition to whatever else you have charged.

 

Our last cruise was 28 days. Prepaying saved us an additional 56 lines of charges to look at. A much easier bill to check, and a lot fewer pages.

[amie9769]

Avoids sticker shock[emoji51][emoji50]

[Troyer5]

I'm replying to my post to clarify some points. I'm not a cheapskate, just want good service. Hopefully the waitress will see the point. For instance today I went out for meals twice and got great service [the waitress & waiter were given in excess of 30% in tips].

Most times it just me & I frequently have my order already decided.

 

Doug

[amie9769]

I didn't think you were a cheapskate at all!!! I understand what you meant. I'm a great tipper, sometimes too good but I like for people to know when they are working hard. I don't like getting a 14 page statement on the last day of my vacation of things that I could have just handled!!

[14Terry]

We always pre-pay.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GreeneyedJean]

It's also easiest to pre pay tips because that means any money you budget for trip can truly be spent on fun, shopping and extra tipping as needed.

[Lulubelle45]

Unless you have a huge OBC then prepay them