Here we go...another "tipping" thread

[Chivalrygirl]

I actually think it's a bargain! For about $150 or so a day, I'm getting accomdations, tons of food, entertainment, transportation, and more! If I scheduled my family to go to on a "land" vacation with the same, it would cost tons more! My husband and I are going away this weekend (first time leaving my son!). Our basic hotel room is $200 a night. (So, $100 a person.) We'll enjoy a nice dinner for probably another $40 each. Breakfast and lunch would be about $30. If we go to a cool show of some sort (not a movie!), it will be at least another $40 each. Taxis to and from dinner and a show and the hotel would be probably $30 or more. So that's working out to $240 or so at bare minimum (no ice cream, no room service, etc)- and we aren't going to travel the world! I figure by cruising we are "saving" $100 a day! :)

 

I don't know what sort of cruise you go on, or cabin category, all I know that our forthcoming cruise on the Grand is costing $340 a day each. Then on top of this we can add $10 each a day gratuity and the $500 each for the shore excursions and on top of that if we want to take a little tipple, only god knows how much that will cost, but it will be, as sure as god made little apples, an amount of some extortion by the US shipping line :eek:

Really all I can say mate, is dream on...............................

Maybe we live in a world whee only US citizens have the great pleasure of being able to join a cruise ?

[wickedlymale]

I dont want to know what people earn. I want to know what my holiday costs when I read a brochure... 'guilt charging' and auto added tips is not an ethical way to treat a customer.

[smeyer418]

I don't know what sort of cruise you go on, or cabin category, all I know that our forthcoming cruise on the Grand is costing $340 a day each. Then on top of this we can add $10 each a day gratuity and the $500 each for the shore excursions and on top of that if we want to take a little tipple, only god knows how much that will cost, but it will be, as sure as god made little apples, an amount of some extortion by the US shipping line :eek:

Really all I can say mate, is dream on...............................

Maybe we live in a world whee only US citizens have the great pleasure of being able to join a cruise ?

Why did you do this? Did any one attack the NZ's? Different cultures have different traditions. Tipping on cruise lines is a time honored tradition on almost every cruise line. What US shipping line? None of these ships are

registered in the US or they would have to pay a living wage.

[quincytoo]

I actually think it's a bargain! For about $150 or so a day, I'm getting accomdations, tons of food, entertainment, transportation, and more! If I scheduled my family to go to on a "land" vacation with the same, it would cost tons more! My husband and I are going away this weekend (first time leaving my son!). Our basic hotel room is $200 a night. (So, $100 a person.) We'll enjoy a nice dinner for probably another $40 each. Breakfast and lunch would be about $30. If we go to a cool show of some sort (not a movie!), it will be at least another $40 each. Taxis to and from dinner and a show and the hotel would be probably $30 or more. So that's working out to $240 or so at bare minimum (no ice cream, no room service, etc)- and we aren't going to travel the world! I figure by cruising we are "saving" $100 a day! :)

 

On our 7 day Mexican Rivera cruise last Nov, the dinners we ate alone would have been well over $150, we had one of the best rack of lamb suppers ever as well as the prime rib the first night, both meal were outstanding and would have cost us well over $30.00 each (actually I think our son ate two racks).

 

The lobster dinner I am sure they lost money on us...LOL...my DH and DS are a lot. We had an inside stateroom so I am thinking around $130.00 at the local holiday Inn.

 

Not to mention the incredible lunches and breakfasts, and the entertaining shows. :)

 

Our cruise portion cost $1600.00 Cand for the three of us taxes in a little over $530. each........We paid about 600 bar and tip bill at the end.

 

Truly an amazing deal :) Oh and I am Canadian NOT American...

[sonomaphil]

I don't know what sort of cruise you go on, or cabin category, all I know that our forthcoming cruise on the Grand is costing $340 a day each. Then on top of this we can add $10 each a day gratuity and the $500 each for the shore excursions and on top of that if we want to take a little tipple, only god knows how much that will cost, but it will be, as sure as god made little apples, an amount of some extortion by the US shipping line :eek:

Really all I can say mate, is dream on...............................

Maybe we live in a world whee only US citizens have the great pleasure of being able to join a cruise ?

 

If it bothers you so much...why in the heck do you do cruise vacations??? You must have other choices in New Zealand?

 

(and send me some sauvignon blanc...love NZ sauvignon blancs! :D)

[OnTheBrink]

I don't know what sort of cruise you go on, or cabin category, all I know that our forthcoming cruise on the Grand is costing $340 a day each. Then on top of this we can add $10 each a day gratuity and the $500 each for the shore excursions and on top of that if we want to take a little tipple, only god knows how much that will cost, but it will be, as sure as god made little apples, an amount of some extortion by the US shipping line :eek:

Really all I can say mate, is dream on...............................

Maybe we live in a world whee only US citizens have the great pleasure of being able to join a cruise ?

 

I'd love to hear about your travel plans! Sounds much more posh than mine! I'll have to settle for 10 days in a balcony room traveling through the Caribbean. Somehow I'll make it work.

[spongerob]

Why do you say that, just curious? If they make a fair wage with a $10 per person per day charge, why would it cost any more than that?

 

Cheers,

Peter

I say that because once it shows up on paperwork as wages paid by the company, it is subject to taxes and other fees. We pay it all as consumers regardless the method. If the system changes, there is absolutely no option but to pay regardless of the quality of service.

 

What I'm really trying to say is that one way of doing things isn't necessarily better than the next. Every solution creates new problems. I just have to think that any new solutions w/ regards to tipping on cruises is going to cost me more or make me sacrifice service - it has always been so and always will be.

[OuiOnboard]

...I just have to think that any new solutions w/ regards to tipping on cruises is going to cost me more or make me sacrifice service - it has always been so and always will be.

I wonder if the truly deserving great performers among the crew would agree with you after being stiffed by some cheapskates. Financially speaking, the status quo doesn't impact us as pax, or Princess as the employer, anywhere near as much as the crewmembers whose income is heavily dependent on discretionary tips. Perhaps if a higher percentage of their income was guaranteed, the risk of "stiffing" behaviour would not have to be borne disproportionately by those least able to absorb such losses.

[dforeigner]

Here is an interesting article that should be a must read.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=263

[spongerob]

I wonder if the truly deserving great performers among the crew would agree with you after being stiffed by some cheapskates. Financially speaking, the status quo doesn't impact us as pax, or Princess as the employer, anywhere near as much as the crewmembers whose income is heavily dependent on discretionary tips. Perhaps if a higher percentage of their income was guaranteed, the risk of "stiffing" behaviour would not have to be borne disproportionately by those least able to absorb such losses.

I agree entirely with your statement, in fact I've argued that point here. Let me clarify - when I state that we might have to sacrifice service, I'm consdering things like possible cutbacks in staffing levels and reduction in services offered, such as room service. I'm not saying that the staff is going to suddenly become lazy. In fact, I think a high wage and completely optional tips, as done on the high-end lines, would attract the better performers from other lines who might have been stiffed just once too often.

[CruiseKidz]

Why did you do this? Did any one attack the NZ's? Different cultures have different traditions. Tipping on cruise lines is a time honored tradition on almost every cruise line. What US shipping line? None of these ships are

registered in the US or they would have to pay a living wage.

 

The OP is pointing out to you that the NZ/Australia cruiser up until this year has not had a great variety of options to choose from. Us Antipodeans are charged a heck of alot more to cruise, simple market forces, supply & demand. As for where ships are registered, that is has nothing to do with the actual company that employs the low wage earning staff and that gets back to Carnival, American base owners of Princess P&O Australia & Cunard to name a few of their woldwide companies.

P&O Australia employ Asian staff for the dining room & housekeeping. The entertainers are westerners, I have a freind who was a dancer on a ship who got paid a good wage monthly by the company, the hospitality staff were paid a fraction of his wage Why?? Is a dancer more important than a waiter, that's one for Carnival to answer .

[terrierjohn]

Auto-tipping was probably set up because of the "cheapskates" who never tipped the staff. This way , they at least, get a fighting chance. I can not tell you how many times I have seen people remove the tips and then skip the last night in the DR so they do not have to face the people they stiffed. Believe me, the staff is told well in advance of the last night who has removed tips.

 

Think of it this way, if a ship sails half full (like that happens a lot) the wait staff gets less tips because they are doing a little less work. When the ship is full they make more money. If they were paid higher wages as some suggest, the cruise line would have to make up for the lack of passengers by charging more. The way it is now makes sense because it is basically a sliding scale. The staff is static (on all the time) so full or not full they are working.

Every cruise I've taken has been full, when did anyone take a cruise only half full?

[terrierjohn]

I say that because once it shows up on paperwork as wages paid by the company, it is subject to taxes and other fees. We pay it all as consumers regardless the method. If the system changes, there is absolutely no option but to pay regardless of the quality of service.

 

What I'm really trying to say is that one way of doing things isn't necessarily better than the next. Every solution creates new problems. I just have to think that any new solutions w/ regards to tipping on cruises is going to cost me more or make me sacrifice service - it has always been so and always will be.

Spongerob, according to our Polish waiter on our last cruise they already declare their full wages, including tips, so your theory don't hold water.

[Casshew]

Auto-tipping was probably set up because of the "cheapskates" who never tipped the staff.

 

I agree, people who stiff the staff or give out phone cards or something :rolleyes:

[peterv]

Auto-tipping was probably set up because of the "cheapskates" who never tipped the staff.

 

First off a tip is NEVER required, no one HAS to tip. If someone chooses not to, then that is their own business.

 

Setting up an automatic form of payment would in no way eliminate people who do not wish to pay it. What it does do is set an amount and allows the cruise line to distribute it as they see fit, instead of paying a normal wage in the first place. Especially when they decide who receives it and the amount they receive.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[peterv]

I say that because once it shows up on paperwork as wages paid by the company, it is subject to taxes and other fees. We pay it all as consumers regardless the method. If the system changes, there is absolutely no option but to pay regardless of the quality of service.

 

Taxes and fees, to who? I can guarantee that no government taxes are withheld for shipboard service workers.

 

If they do happen to owe taxes to their respective governments, then it is the workers concern, not the cruise line. In any event whatever is paid to the worker is recorded, whether it comes as a form of salary or as a combination of salary and tips.

 

So I most humbly disagree that customers would be charged any more than they are now.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[spongerob]

You might be right, Peter. I'm basing my comments on my own skepticism that changes to how things are charged are ever going to benefit the consumer. The IRS has sticky fingers, and so does the Social Security Administration - case in point, the fact the gambling winnings that exceed a certain threshhold are now taxed for US residents and citizens even if they are won in international waters.

[spongerob]

Spongerob, according to our Polish waiter on our last cruise they already declare their full wages, including tips, so your theory don't hold water.

I hope that I am wrong, and wouldn't mind it in this case. As I stated in my previous reply, I'm a skeptic when it comes to such things, living in the world of business and all.

[cruzinchris]

This topic came up on a message board where I post that has absolutely nothing to do with cruising/travel (women's health issues). I was surprised that the OP was asking how much she should tip housekeeping staff in a hotel and not even if others did this on a regular basis :eek: .

 

The only times that DH and I have left a tip for hotel staff was at resorts where we have spent 5-7 days and knew that the same housekeeper serviced our room. We've never done an all-inclusive so I have no experience with tipping procedures at these properties. Most of our hotel stays are 1-3 nights, and we never have contact with housekeeping staff.

Chris

[donna5]

This topic came up on a message board where I post that has absolutely nothing to do with cruising/travel (women's health issues). I was surprised that the OP was asking how much she should tip housekeeping staff in a hotel and not even if others did this on a regular basis :eek:

 

The only times that DH and I have left a tip for hotel staff was at resorts where we have spent 5-7 days and knew that the same housekeeper serviced our room. We've never done an all-inclusive so I have no experience with tipping procedures at these properties. Most of our hotel stays are 1-3 nights, and we never have contact with housekeeping staff.

Chris

 

We don't tip housekeeping staff at resorts. They are paid well at places such as Sandals and tipping is not the norm. Of course the daily rate per person is a heck of a lot more than on a ship and room sevice is quite limited.

 

I'm not sure what type of wages they pay in the U.K for people that work at hotels, but we were looking for hotels in London and Edinburgh and they are outrageous(over $200) and don't include breakfast or airport shuttles, etc. Maybe that's why they all come to the U.S. it's cheaper to vacation here.

 

I think they should just tell you that you will be charged the mandatory $10 a day and it will be put on your shipboard account as a sevice fee that goes to the service industry. I hope they keep it on the shipboard account because that is another part of the cruise that doesn't need to be pre paid. Why pay the tips 3 months out before a cruise.

 

Also I would like to know which cruise on the Grand that the person from NZ is going on that costs $340 a person.

[rdsqrl]

This topic came up on a message board where I post that has absolutely nothing to do with cruising/travel (women's health issues). I was surprised that the OP was asking how much she should tip housekeeping staff in a hotel and not even if others did this on a regular basis :eek: .

 

The only times that DH and I have left a tip for hotel staff was at resorts where we have spent 5-7 days and knew that the same housekeeper serviced our room. We've never done an all-inclusive so I have no experience with tipping procedures at these properties. Most of our hotel stays are 1-3 nights, and we never have contact with housekeeping staff.

Chris

You never have contact with the housekeeping staff??? What, they don't clean your room? Change the sheets/make the bed? They perform the same serivce as does the housekeeping staff at resorts. I know that some people choose not to tip hotel maids, and that's their business totally, but even though you don't have "contact" with them doesn't mean they aren't working to keep your room clean.

[quincytoo]

I travel alot for work and I do tip housekeepers and such when I travel. They might make all of $10.00 a hour??

 

When in Mexico at AI we tip housekeepers...$20.00 pesos a day for the two of us. Also I bring down professional shampoos and Conditioners and such ( I work for Loreal) for the housekeeper as gifts, I always leave a note in Spanish saying it for them for their excellant service, we have always been blessed with the best housekeepers :)

 

I also left gifts like that for Olivia our female room stewart on our Diamond Princess cruise, now I am feeling very guilty we didn't leave her more money then the auto tips that we paid, I was under the assumpations of we had left her more money she would have to split it with the other crew members. Next cruise we will leave more.

We tip bar staff, waiters, and bellmen at the AI's also, same as we do here in Canda, I don't usually leave Canadian or American housekeepers gifts..

[OuiOnboard]

....when I state that we might have to sacrifice service, I'm consdering things like possible cutbacks in staffing levels and reduction in services offered, such as room service. I'm not saying that the staff is going to suddenly become lazy. In fact, I think a high wage and completely optional tips, as done on the high-end lines, would attract the better performers from other lines who might have been stiffed just once too often.

I see what you are saying and would not appreciate any further reduction in service levels. I would, however, not mind sharing with Princess the burden of increasing the tips-eligible-crew base pay such that a tip is once again just that...a tip.

[quincytoo]

..I travel alot for work here in Canada....I believe the starting wage here is $10.00 an hour.

 

Sorry :(

[peterv]

You might be right, Peter. I'm basing my comments on my own skepticism that changes to how things are charged are ever going to benefit the consumer. The IRS has sticky fingers, and so does the Social Security Administration - case in point, the fact the gambling winnings that exceed a certain threshhold are now taxed for US residents and citizens even if they are won in international waters.

 

Yes, but they have to have some sort of standing in order to charge someone taxes.

 

I would doubt that any of the service personnel are US Citizens or posses Social Security numbers. They are not employed in the US, and do not earn wages there.

 

The IRS and gambling winnings of US citizens on cruises more than likely revolve around the fact that US Citizens are required to pay taxes on worldwide earnings. They have probably forced the cruise lines to provide this information in the same way that the amount of duty-free purchases made on board is provided to US customs officials.

 

If a non US citizen won, no US taxes are paid to the IRS. If you are going to make a large duty free purchase, buy it at the ports.

 

Cheers,

Peter