Rant!!

[TEXASMUNK]

thank your husband for his service! (serious comment)

As for you and me? I love the fact we CAN disagree! :cool:

 

As for tipping? oh yeah, the original topic, LOL, the variances are many, but the key point still goes back to those that can rationalize stiffing the staff.

[bnjrsmom]

thank your husband for his service! (serious comment)

As for you and me? I love the fact we CAN disagree! :cool:

 

As for tipping? oh yeah, the original topic, LOL, the variances are many, but the key point still goes back to those that can rationalize stiffing the staff.

 

Thanks, Texasmunk, I appreciate that. A little sense of humor is good in a debate. :p I just couldn't resist when I saw that you were from Texas. Also btw even though we are Wash DC Metro area natives - my son is a huge U of Texas fan so I may be venturing to your great state in a few years if he can get in - since I won't let him go to Austin without me. ;)

 

I won't stiff anyone...just because I have read too many threads on the topic...but I can honestly say I know my parents will because they don't read messageboards. A guideline is a suggestion and a gratuity is for exceptional service. And my bleeding heart won't allow me to sleep if I think anyone isn't eating due to my selfishness. :) Now let's see if I can write these 'charitable contributions' off on my taxes.

 

Again - all humor, people. Relax - it is a vacation.

 

Lisa

[TEXASMUNK]

Stop cruising now!

Stop eating, it costs money!

Turn off the heat, wear heavy coats, it cots money!

 

You will be amazed at how UT can find ways into your wallet!!!!

 

The tuition formula is easy! Work for a living then...one for me, two for UT, one for me, two for UT!

 

 

Hook Em!!!!

[Happy ks]

A simple answer to these tipping problems would be of course to pay all the "wait" staff a decent wage in the first place. Those who gave an over acceptable service would be rewarded a "tip".

If unacceptable service was provided report via end of cruise questionaire. If warranted from level of complaints crew member could be dealt with accordingly. Hopefully retrained but demoted fired if necessary

 

 

This is exactly what it has come to on several lines. It's interesting that so many people will desire this method now. Several years ago, when "auto" tipping first started, the uproar it caused on CC was tremendous and it was far more like watching a tennis match than this thread ;) !

 

It started with NCL Freestyle and some people just didn't get it. You ate in whatever restaurant of your choice and the entire tip was split between all servers. Except, many people wanted to actually give the money into the hands of the person who served them. To me it was simple, you didn't have to carry around a lot of small bills and tip out every time you ate.

 

Fast forward to now and "auto" tipping is almost the norm. We still generally tip in cash, but that's our personal choice, we don't care for charges like that to go onto a credit card and we generally add more than the recommendation.

 

Before (I think) 2001, it was unheard of to tip any staff anything other than cash in an envelope at the end of the cruise. Tradition is falling as more and more people are cruising that never would have dreamt of going to sea in the past. Some of the tradition will be missed by many, newer younger cruisers are a lot more open to new ideas.

 

It was also quite amusing to read about the "new" specialty restaurants and they had an extra charge :eek: . We've had the pleasure of eating in a number of specialty restaurants and the food is far superior to that of the dining room, if it isn't the person didn't order the right thing. Many people say the food used to be better years ago. Well it wasn't, it was just like it is now, similar to that of banquet quality.

 

You can get quite a crick in your neck here watching this any many other debates here on CC :)

[bnjrsmom]

Stop cruising now!

Stop eating, it costs money!

Turn off the heat, wear heavy coats, it cots money!

 

You will be amazed at how UT can find ways into your wallet!!!!

 

The tuition formula is easy! Work for a living then...one for me, two for UT, one for me, two for UT!

 

 

Hook Em!!!!

 

I plan to take lots of pics next month on the Freedom so we have something to look back at when we move into the 'poorhouse' on poverty -but atleast my children are going to college- lane as my daughter takes off to Univ of Tampa in 2009 and my son goes 'somewhere' in 2011.

 

Then our only vacations will be delivering supplies to college campuses.

 

Lisa

[Nliedel]

Happy KS,

 

The food did used to be better, at least to me, but that was 25 years ago. Oy!

[dagadget]

Happy KS,

 

The food did used to be better, at least to me, but that was 25 years ago. Oy!

 

 

LOL you look to young to remember food 25 years ago :D

[ORANGEinINDY]

I'm sorry, I did not wade through all of these posts, but I have a question anyway.

If I have prepaid my tips, and have my voucher delivered to me, can I give hat voucher to who I want ? (Say the waiter that served me all week in windjammer, or room service if I did that all week)

I don't think I'd have the need to do this, but I was curious.

[Lynnees]

I'm sorry, I did not wade through all of these posts, but I have a question anyway.

If I have prepaid my tips, and have my voucher delivered to me, can I give hat voucher to who I want ? (Say the waiter that served me all week in windjammer, or room service if I did that all week)

I don't think I'd have the need to do this, but I was curious.

It says on the voucher who it's for. "My waiter" for example.

[FrancescaH]

I'm sorry, I did not wade through all of these posts, but I have a question anyway.

 

If I have prepaid my tips, and have my voucher delivered to me, can I give hat voucher to who I want ? (Say the waiter that served me all week in windjammer, or room service if I did that all week)

 

I don't think I'd have the need to do this, but I was curious.

 

Someone may correct me but my understanding is that your servers assigned to the account at the time the vouchers were created receive the gratuity whether or not you actually hand them the paper.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Someone may correct me but my understanding is that your servers assigned to the account at the time the vouchers were created receive the gratuity whether or not you actually hand them the paper.

 

You are correct :)

 

###

[marle7]

Someone may correct me but my understanding is that your servers assigned to the account at the time the vouchers were created receive the gratuity whether or not you actually hand them the paper.

 

this is correct. You cannot give that voucher to the waiters in Windjammer, in Chops or Portofinos. If you prepay your gratuities, the servers assigned to your dining room table receive them, regardless of whether you eat there at all or whether you hand them the slip of paper.

[GranysT]

No No, a thousand times No. Please, please RCL, don't start adding the automatic tips to your cruises. Carnival implemented this practice quite awhile ago. Just as I feared would happen at the time, the expected "great service" went Down. Why work your tail off if the tips are going to be there anyway? That is human nature. I know, people say you can have the auto tips removed, and you can. But, you have to stand in line at the Purser's to do this. Unless you have a really bad beef with the service, most will not take the time, or hassle, to actually do this. That also, is human nature.

Carnival feels it works,and supposedly less people get stiffed. Except for the passenger's who feel the service slowly slipping and slipping. Personally, I love the special service, and handing out the envelopes in appreciation of that "special" service.

[Pineapple Princess]

Just curious... Does anyone know when the auto and prepaid tips are distributed to the staff? On average, 7 day cruise X 2500 passangers X $10 pp X 20 Ships X 4 sailings each month = lots of extra cash for the cruise line to invest. Anyone know when the staff receives our auto tips?? :rolleyes:

[woof22]

Waiters even here in the States make a special minimum wage because a large part of of their income is expected to be tips.

 

In Washington state waiters are paid minimum wage (one of the, if not the, highest in the country) and collect tips.

 

Tipping is nothing more than a motivational tool used by the service industry to maintain service standards...

 

Pre-paying tips or tacking on a "service charge", IMO, sets the standard of service at a low bar... Seriously, what's the motivation to deliver top-notch service if you've already gotten the tip and there is no hope for receiving more???

 

Folks, don't take it out on the working class... it will always come back to bite you in the ass... :)

 

As another member of the working class I'm a little troubled by the idea that someone will work hard if they receive tips but won't if they don't. I receive a salary and work hard for it. I believe I am doing the best job I can do and go above and beyond for my salary. If I didn't receive the salary and got tips instead I would still work just as hard and continue to go above and beyond, but be a little disenchanted with my employer that they don't take care of me and instead expect someone else to. Then I would hunt for another job.

 

I would much prefer to pay a higher cruise fare up front and not be expected to pay extra. Then I could actually tip people if I felt that they deserved a little extra.

 

I think the system is poor. The workers get paid very little but are told they'll make it up in tips. Then the passengers who "don't follow the rules" are the bad guys. It seems instead that the bad guys are the employers, not the customers. Like I said, I would much prefer to pay more and know that the workers are paid reasonably by the company.

 

Just in case, yes I'm wearing flame resistant undies, they'll burn through quickly but I'll see if I can find another pair. Also, we always tip, but then we always eat in the dining room. Just love the experience there.

[Tikibird]

I'm sorry, I did not wade through all of these posts, but I have a question anyway.

 

If I have prepaid my tips, and have my voucher delivered to me, can I give hat voucher to who I want ? (Say the waiter that served me all week in windjammer, or room service if I did that all week)

 

I don't think I'd have the need to do this, but I was curious.

 

Someone may correct me but my understanding is that your servers assigned to the account at the time the vouchers were created receive the gratuity whether or not you actually hand them the paper.

 

this is correct. You cannot give that voucher to the waiters in Windjammer, in Chops or Portofinos. If you prepay your gratuities, the servers assigned to your dining room table receive them, regardless of whether you eat there at all or whether you hand them the slip of paper.

 

In regards to the quoted posts, we have prepaid gratuities provided by the online travel agent. So we don't have to bother with envelopes at all? The correct people will be tipped via the voucher, the system will work and everyone will be happy? We will probably have the formal nights in the dining room and all other nights in the Windjammer. We won't be in the dining room the last night but they still get paid because the system is programmed to give the prepaid vouchers to them?

[marle7]

Originally Posted by amybear912 View Post

Tipping is nothing more than a motivational tool used by the service industry to maintain service standards...

 

 

Actually, I'd take this a step further, and say that tips are nothing more than a tool used by the service industry to justify substandard pay.

[04cruises]

As a commision salesman most of my life,I more often wait on a person who doesn't buy.I do not expect them to tip me if they don't buy.However,I have had many job offers at a much better salary then the close to minimum wage draw that I now work under.Like a great waiter I am very good at what I do and exceed many times over what any company would pay me as a salary.Good waiters make great money,poor ones complain.They know if we prepay,most people would consider the tipping process over.A few empty chairs will not break their income because they will give great service and make it up on those who do use their services. I would be insulted if somebody felt they had to 'tip' me even though they didn't use my service.After all, it is not a hand-out,but a gratitude of their abilty.

[amybear912]

If I didn't receive the salary and got tips instead I would still work just as hard and continue to go above and beyond.

 

The difference is that going above and beyond as salaried employee means you still get paid the same - you could do crappy work or just average work and still collect the same salary...

 

However you get paid, your work is evaluated and your pay is tied to its' quality... But in most lines of work, you get evaluated what? Once a year? So once a year you get a bump in salary, a raise...

 

In the service industry, you are evaluated with each and every customer, you get a "raise" (tip) if you do a great job... Do an average job and you'll be lucky if you get your "base salary" (15% of the sale)... Do a poor job and you'll be lucky if you get anything... It's a crapshoot... just like commision-paid jobs... you ain't makin' commission if you can't sell something...

 

Let's not act as though these people aren't making decent money (tips and base rate)... if they weren't, do you really think they would be doing this for a living? and if they weren't any good and couldn't make the money because they weren't getting good tips or any tips at all - do you really think they would continue doing this??? seriously...

 

The system has been in place for eons... it works... millions of people make their living off of tips, and there are some who make a darned good living at it to boot...

 

The system is what it is and we're all aware of what is suggested of us when it comes to tipping... If you want to do the math every day and divide it up into crumbs to determine who gets those crumbs - have at it... I'm on vacation... tips were part of the budget from my early planning stages...

[Merion_Mom]

In regards to the quoted posts, we have prepaid gratuities provided by the online travel agent. So we don't have to bother with envelopes at all? The correct people will be tipped via the voucher, the system will work and everyone will be happy? We will probably have the formal nights in the dining room and all other nights in the Windjammer. We won't be in the dining room the last night but they still get paid because the system is programmed to give the prepaid vouchers to them?

 

You are correct.

[Alexis]

You are correct.

 

I asked that of someone the other night, but I guess they did not see it.

We have never prepaid the tips but have thought about doing it.

If I were to choose to eat elsewhere the last night, (I probably will not, but one never knows) how would my waiters know that they would be getting their tips from us if I do not hand them the envelopes and vouchers?

I would never want them to think I skipped out on them. :o

[dfishner]

In my 4 years of cruising on RCL I can honestly say we never had a bad wait team, we had some that were better then others but overall they all did a great job. We nornally will eat in the Speciality restaurants once or twice during the week, but will always tip the team for the entire week. We always do the automatic gratuity and will leave extra if we felt anyone went beyond what we expected...

 

For those who say the cruiseline should pay the waitstaff a living wage needs to think about what they are saying because in the end it will not be the cruiseline whose pays them but all of us and that will result in even higher cruise rates.

 

What it comes down to is $10 pp per day for the two harderst working departments. Dining and Housekepping. We can discuss this to the cows come home..all I can say is just take care of them.

[billyelliot]

Still say pay them a wage... Put the $10pp on the cruise. This would then stop all this confusion, plus put an end to those who dont tip.

[KelJ]

I asked that of someone the other night, but I guess they did not see it.

We have never prepaid the tips but have thought about doing it.

If I were to choose to eat elsewhere the last night, (I probably will not, but one never knows) how would my waiters know that they would be getting their tips from us if I do not hand them the envelopes and vouchers?

I would never want them to think I skipped out on them. :o

 

You will get vouchers and envelopes, but they are a formality so that you have something to hand them on the last night (and to add extra, if you'd like). If you do not hand out your vouchers, they will still get the tips. It's an accounting thing, and by the last night they more than likely know which customers prepaid the tips so they will not feel stiffed.

 

In regards to the quoted posts, we have prepaid gratuities provided by the online travel agent. So we don't have to bother with envelopes at all? The correct people will be tipped via the voucher, the system will work and everyone will be happy? We will probably have the formal nights in the dining room and all other nights in the Windjammer. We won't be in the dining room the last night but they still get paid because the system is programmed to give the prepaid vouchers to them?

 

Even though prepaid by the TA, I think you will still have the vouchers and envelopes delivered to your stateroom. If not, the correct people will still be tipped.

[nbsjcruiser]

 

I can understand the desire to minimize expenses, get a good deal on a cabin, save some money with reduced parking, etc. BUT stiffing the wait staff stinks!

 

Saw a show once. The CEO of Carnival did a job swap for a week. He worked a cruise ship in various roles. One of the jobs he did was as a room attendant. They explained how the room attendant relies solely on tips for her money. At the end of the cruise, one room didn't tip - cheap SOBs - they showed the girl looking for the envelope and it never came. She was in tears - man I felt so bad for her. We have always tipped extra after seeing that show. I slip them a 10 or 20 (depends on length of cruise) on the sly when nobody is looking early in the cruise. Makes them happy and gets great service to boot. I do the same to the waiter. You'd be surprised how good it makes you feel tipping extra.