Is tipping getting out of hand??

[RoofingPrincess]

Erica, you are either in a regular stateroom or a suite so you only need to tip the one that applies to you.

 

I'm assuming Erica just copied in the whole tipping suggestion section from the RCCL website. I think she is quite aware of that based on the math:

$3.50 per person per day x 2 people per room = $7.00 per room per day

$7.00 per room per day x 25 rooms = $175 per day

[PhoenixCruiser]

I'm assuming Erica just copied in the whole tipping suggestion section from the RCCL website. I think she is quite aware of that based on the math:

$3.50 per person per day x 2 people per room = $7.00 per room per day

$7.00 per room per day x 25 rooms = $175 per day

 

Missed that, thanks!

 

###

[negc]

I'm assuming Erica just copied in the whole tipping suggestion section from the RCCL website. I think she is quite aware of that based on the math:

$3.50 per person per day x 2 people per room = $7.00 per room per day

$7.00 per room per day x 25 rooms = $175 per day

 

Of course that assumes that the figure of 25 rooms per room steward is accurate, something which I seriously doubt, base on my unscientific observation of the number of staterooms for which our room stewards have been responsible. Remember the old saw about figures lying.;)

[pcur]

We already consider tips as part of the basic cost of the cruise, and always have. I consider the room steward's tip as part of the cost per day for the room, plus twice daily clean-up service, which I have only had at a REALLY expensive hotel before. So, it's part of the "hotel room" cost.

 

The dining room tips are like the tips you leave in a restaurant.

 

If you calculate it as part of the cost of the cruise, then it's not really an "extra"; you are just paying some of it at the end of the cruise.

 

As far as tipping up front to the individual (usually the cabin steward), we don't do that unles we actually ASK for extra service, and give an extra gratuity as a thank you.

[Kruuzin]

I have to ask her name...my daughter fell in love with our waiter her name was lovlin...something like that/quote]

 

Our waitresses name was Oana. She was from Romania. I am glad that you found someone that made your cruise memorable too.

[A Sixth?]

So, (and please believe me... I don't know how it works on RCL and I booked/paid-up today for a cruise in early August) what about bar drinks that I sign for on my onboard account. No 15% added? If I add a "tip" does the waiter/ess get it or does it end up somewhere in some New York accounting firm representing the cruise company?:confused:

[sj25]

I have to ask her name...my daughter fell in love with our waiter her name was lovlin...something like that/quote]

 

Our waitresses name was Oana. She was from Romania. I am glad that you found someone that made your cruise memorable too.

I wonder if you can ever request to have the same waiter..that was just a thought...see we will be on the same ship the end of Sept. and it's her birthday cruise.

Anyone know if you can ...sorry I know this is off topic sorry....

[PH8]

I wonder if you can ever request to have the same waiter..that was just a thought...see we will be on the same ship the end of Sept. and it's her birthday cruise.

Anyone know if you can ...sorry I know this is off topic sorry....

This thread might help you....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=585044&highlight=waiter

[sj25]

This thread might help you....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=585044&highlight=waiter

thanks....

[pmshirl]

I was told that the 15% tip , if a bartender made the drink, it goes into his account, if a server (like someone in the shows, or the pool area) serve you the drink, it goes into a pool and gets divided, by all the servers. Now if the servers do not make a certain quota by the end of (not sure if its a week, 2 weeks, 30 days) then RC has an option to subsidize(sp) their incomes. Now since everyone is doing the math on all these hard workers incomes...let me tell you about the Bridge Tour I took on the Liberty of the Seas and..YES I had the nerve to talk pay scales with the 2nd in command of the Ship..Imagine that! I was told by the 2nd in command on that ship, that he made $4000.00 a month, yes his room and board is paid ,just like the cabin stewards, bartenders, cleaning crew, laundry personnel, etc. If the 2nd in Command is making $4000.00 a month , you mean to tell me the others (cabin stewards etc.) make MORE!!!!!! You do the math at $175.00 a dayx 7 days... I DON'T THINK SO!

[lovemylab]

I do not think tipping is out of hand. The staff on the ship work 7 days a week, for many months at a time. They also work long, hard hours and are the reason why so many of us have such memorable cruise vacations.

 

I like that RCCL does not include the tips into the cruisefare. I feel we receive better service because of this and I enjoy being able to personally thank my waiter, stateroom attendent, etc. at the end of the cruise while providing them with their tip.

[TEXASMUNK]

When folks are looking to gt around the socially acceptable norm for something, any excuse works for them.

Arguing with them is useless.

[jimbulger]

Ship tippping is definitely getting out of hand!

 

Patrick

 

 

was this the marine version of cow-tipping

[Tanker4]

Took my first cruise sometime back in the mid 80's and the tipping policy then was to tip your cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter and the head waiter (if he had done something extra for you) daily. Hmm.. things haven't changed much the way I see it. So, is tipping really getting out of hand or, do folks cruising today have a different attitude towards it? Also, compared to 'back in the day' my current cruise tickets are cheaper with bigger ships with more ammenities. A pretty good deal I'd say.:D

 

Tanker 4

[A Sixth?]

Took my first cruise sometime back in the mid 80's and the tipping policy then was to tip your cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter and the head waiter (if he had done something extra for you) daily. Hmm.. things haven't changed much the way I see it. So, is tipping really getting out of hand or, do folks cruising today have a different attitude towards it? Also, compared to 'back in the day' my current cruise tickets are cheaper with bigger ships with more ammenities. A pretty good deal I'd say.:D

 

Tanker 4

 

 

Our first cruise wasGroundhog Day 1991, First Gulf War in full gear......(went dragged kicking and screaming..... but had so much fun it turned me into a cruise fanatic)

 

As Tanker said, That's how tips worked for us for at least the first four or six cruises.... but not since 2000..... so I for one am glad for the info....

 

Personally, I like tipping those who supply good service. It brings me as much pleasure as those who receive it.

[Twaincruisers]

I've never been one for tipping at the beginning of a cruise...always felt people who did (and especially those who brag about it) couldn't get good service otherwise! :)

 

We used to provide additional tips to our room stewards but we rarely see them anymore, even on the last night, since autotips have been added. (Come to think of it, this also eliminates one of the Cruise Director jokes about tipping). That is their loss.

 

Speaking of tips: they have really gotten out of hand in St Thomas where Captains expect you to pay their crew 20% of your fare...pretty pricey on most water excursions like BOB (or BOSS or next year maybe called Carol or Employee).

[Rudi610]

Thinking on it, 25 does seem to be a bit high. That would be 50 passengers, assuming double occupancy (more if 3 or 4 in the cabin). On our last cruise, our dining room waiter handled 3 tables with 16 passengers (our table of 8 and 2 tables of 4--assuming all were full) times two seatings would be 32 passengers. Since the cabin steward and waiter have the same tip recomendation, I would assume that they probably serve the same number of passengers. So a cabin steward probably services more like 15 or 16 cabins per cruise, rather than 25 to 30. That seems more reasonable. At $3.50 per person per day, that would be $112 per day (at 16 cabins double occupancy) or $784 per week or about $26,000 per year (assuming they only work 8 months out of the year), most of which is probably sent home to family. Now $26,000 per year is not enough for most Americans to quit their day jobs and go work on a cruise line (especially under the conditions that these crew members put up with), but in a lot of these other countries (especially in the 3rd world) that is a lot of money. Now added to that would be any base pay these crew members receive from the cruise line. And not to mention when they started working, they made even less than that.

[Kruuzin]

I wonder if you can ever request to have the same waiter..that was just a thought...see we will be on the same ship the end of Sept. and it's her birthday cruise.

Anyone know if you can ...sorry I know this is off topic sorry....

 

 

For the first time ever, we are in an Owner's Suite. I think the husband is having a mid-life crisis. I guess I should be thankful that this is the only way he's dealing with it. Anyway, I've heard that sometimes the Conceirge emails you ahead of time. We are going to ask him if he can find out whether or not she is still there and if we can be seated in her section. It doesn't hurt to ask.

[Kruuzin]

PMSHIRL-not to get off subject, but I noticed you were going on the Crown princess next month. I'd be curious to see what you think of her and the service. We were on her in April.

[Kruuzin]

Took my first cruise sometime back in the mid 80's and the tipping policy then was to tip your cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter and the head waiter (if he had done something extra for you) daily. Hmm.. things haven't changed much the way I see it. So, is tipping really getting out of hand or, do folks cruising today have a different attitude towards it? Also, compared to 'back in the day' my current cruise tickets are cheaper with bigger ships with more ammenities. A pretty good deal I'd say.:D

 

Tanker 4

 

 

Our first cruise was a 4 day on the Carnival Mardi Gras. What a beauty-all wood with a real porthole. It was in August 1989? We never saw our cabin steward-that was the idea. He came in when we left-and when we got back our shoes were in order everything was neat and tidy . There were no laundry carts in the halls. Tipping back then was for service. There was no phone to "ring" him up on. Things are so different now. If you don't see your room steward, people seem to be put out. Things change-some for better others not.

[Nitra]

Being married to someone that works on the ships, I can tell you they also work on average 70 hrs per week. are away from home for at least 5 months at a time, sometimes longer, do not get days off until the end of their contract, do not get paid vacation, have to buy their own plane ticket to work, and on most of the International flagged ships make a whopping 50 dollars a week and some only make 50 a month. They also have to pay to have their cabins cleaned, and after they get off from working from early morning to late at night, if they have an inspection the next day, they have to get that area into order, meaning they might have to work the rest of the night for a morning inspection. They do not make extra for overtime on most lines, they do not get benefits and so many other things.

 

Now my husband used to work for RCI but now is with NCLA, and he makes much better but it is a US flagged ship so he gets OT after 40 hrs a week. He does not make a lot in tips, because tipping is put on your account at the end of the week and they use that to pay their salaries. He is union, so has to pay union dues, he also has to pay for his shoes and many other things.

 

I never begrudge anyone their tips because I know how hard they work. I know what they go thru daily and think they earn every dime. I also do not tip extra at the beginning of the week, never needed to. I get extra service without doing so because I treat them well, so they do the same for me. At the end of the week, I usually give more than the minimum. I also usually tip 20 percent when I go out locally.

 

I know this is a hot topic on here, but I live the other side. I have seen the paychecks without any tips, and am glad he is on a US flagged ship for now. It makes a big difference. He still gets tipped but he is good at what he does.

 

Another thing to remember about the cabin stewards, is first, they have an assistant they share the money with, also with all on the ship, believe it or not, there are many folks that do not tip. It happens more than you know.

 

One more thing, based on the numbers given

 

175 per day - lets say they give 75 of that to their assistant. That now makes 100 a day right?

 

so take 100 a day and figure they work 7 days, so 700 a week, with an average of 70 hours a week, is only 10 dollars an hour, since they do not get OT pay.

 

A lot of these folks are supporting families back home, some are just saving to buy a house, or go to college, or start a business, and some are doing it just to work, because back home, things are not that good.

 

My husband is from Turkey, he just got back from a few weeks visit, the average beer in a club cost 12 dollars US, equiv. he was telling me. He filled the car up 4 times, 150 dollars, 175 dollars, etc, US equiv. So really if someone is from Turkey, working on one of these ships, making 700 a week, it wont go far back home but yes it is better than they would make there.

 

I know it is a different story for each person working on the ships but I would not do some of those jobs for what they make and have to depend on people tipping me to live. I admire them for what they do, because they make my vacation so much nicer.

[CruiseKidz]

Okay, I have been trying to ignore this subject and not state my opinions... fearing starting WW3 but, I'm feeling rather saucy today... so as someone who worked in the service industry for 10 years, here I go.

 

Acccording to the RCI guidelines, tipping is as follows per person:

$5.75 - suite attendent

$3.50 - stateroom attendent

$3.50 - waiter

$2.00 - assistant waiter

$.75 - head waiter

 

So, let's say my husband and I are going on a 4 night cruise. Based on that, our stateroom attendent will have earned $28 from us alone. That does not seem too bad does it? However a stateroom attendent will take care of anywhere from 20-30 rooms (based on information from a previous stateroom attendent). So, for math sake, let's just say they take care of 25 rooms. Over 4 nights, they are making $700 (not to mention the free room and board and the monthly stipend that they do receive... as working for tips only in the US Gov is not legal) and that is only IF each room has the minimum of 2 guests and not a single person tips above and beyond. In tips alone, that is $175 a day minimum. And yet, people talk about tipping extra in the beginning of the cruise in order to get decent service??? In my opinion (again as someone who worked for tips for a very long time) tipping should be earned, not expected or demanded by people. I am all for tipping a job well done, however when I hear of people being disappointed because they received an extra $30 for great service, it makes me feel like that person is in the wrong business! So, to me, yes, tipping and the tipping expectation has definitely gotten out of hand.

 

Erica

 

To answer the OP's question, yes tipping has got out of hand , I think shipping companies have been allowed to use tips to subsidize crew wages. Our culture here in Oz doen't have the same obligation to tip in the hospitality sector as the wages here meet the national minimum wage. We do tip but it is a personal choice based on the service rendered. Us Antipedeons do not have the same choices when it comes to cruising as the US/Canadian market thus the fare is alot more per cruise than the Us market price. We also have penalties when paying with credit cards as the shipping companies convert to US$ charging us 3% for the pleasure. That is before our family of 4 pay our tips.

[madforcruising]

I don´t see any changes in tipping over the years. I started cruising about 12 years ago and as I remember it was still the same tipping guideline except for the now raised suite attendant tip.

 

If you do the math it looks like they are getting a good amount, but hey I think they deserve it. In addition as mentioned before they don´t work as single cabin attendants anymore but it´s a team and so the tips will be split amongst them. They also have to "tip" other people onboard. As mentioned their cabins have to be cleaned as well and I even heard they have to tip the laundry for getting their towels, linens etc. in time.

 

So no I don´t think they are overpaid.

 

Just as a side note.....

If those people would make such a huge amount of money and being sooo overpaid I´m just curious why there are not more American people on the ship working in the areas that are paid by tips. Just a thought.

[tem0627]

I actually looked into cruising jobs when I was in college because I thought it would be a fun summer job. I was actually surprised at how few jobs were available because once people get into the business they stay. I am not giving a value statement by saying this, but I think it is more lucrative than most people think (again otherwise people wouldn't stay for so long). For example, it is very easy to walk out of an 8 hour day working at a popular restaurant with over $100 in tips. Had I not done this for 10 years, I would never have guessed you could even make close to that (and that is before your min. wage salary). My whole point from the beginning of this thread was not how much an individual can make (nor trying to put a value on that), but rather the frustration that it is expected or that when you do tip extra, there are some people that will let you know they don't feel it is good enough. (You see this in US restaurants too). To me, that takes the joy out of it. Instead of tipping in order to receive good service, I feel that a tip should be earned through good service. That is where I was trying to go.

[dsan]

Tipping?? Why not... that is part of the trip.. I would never do what they do for the little money they receive.. On top of it all having to deal with rude people who think they are there to be their personal slave.. If you dont want to tip I suggest to tell the room captian not to clean you room you will do it yourself. Dont go to the dining hall, go to the buffet and get it yourself, Need clean towels?? Find out where the laundry is and go get them. Would this make an enjoyable vacation.. I think not!! How can anyone begrudge anyone a lousy few bucks for all the work they do.. I would never put up with some of those people on the ship for what they get.. Every time I ask for something etc. such as laundry service, room service, extra towels, I always tip a minimun of $5.oo each time. Lets face it if you can afford the trip what is a few more dollars to really enjoy it.. Only my opinion