Tipping?

[Livin4Real]

Not to argue with you but don't forget that in addition to their $1200 - $1800 per month, they also receive room and board which in the US is worth at least that much more.

Have you seen their "room and board"? Cut a standard cabin in half, stick in bunkbeds and live in it for 4-12months, not exactly a big perk.

[big_duck]

Regarding the 15% auto gratuity on the cruise line I have just come back from. This is directly from the mouth of one of the barmen who has worked on different lines for over 15years. They are guaranteed $1200 a month and on Caribbean cruises where they make well over their quota they usually earn about $1800 a month but on a South American cruise, such as the one I was just on, they don't make their quota so the company only pays them the guaranteed amount of $1200. So where does our 15% gratuity really go, seems to me its right in the pocket of the company

 

If the quotas aren't being met, it is just as likely that the cruise line is absorbing a loss paying the minimum. Hmm barman for over 15 years, I guess the pay doesn't suck that much.

 

It makes the $50 a month wages thats bandied around these sites a joke. But then again anyone with half a brain knew that anyway.

 

One should not confuse the bar service personnel with Stewards and DR Staff, different terms of employment.

[garrethe]

What do you tip the Valet's at the ports? I gave one $5 at the Tampa port and he acted like I had spit on him.

[finoky]

Mandakate42, your question was pretty much answered by post #7. The rest is your typical message board nonsense where people try and shove their views on whatever the subject of the day happens to be. Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[dan40]

Have you seen their "room and board"? Cut a standard cabin in half, stick in bunkbeds and live in it for 4-12months, not exactly a big perk.

 

 

OK the room is not so good but how about the board? 3 meals a day, no cost, no work, no clean up. If you went out to a buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for months, what would be the cost to you? And free medical while they're on board. What does medical coverage cost you or your employer?

 

Not in any way saying they are living the sweet life. They work crushing hours and are away from home and family for months at a time. But compared to their world [not ours] they make excellent money. And deserve it.

 

Dan

[big_duck]

What do you tip the Valet's at the ports? I gave one $5 at the Tampa port and he acted like I had spit on him.

 

I assume you mean the porters. A dollar a bag is standard, 2 a bag is more then generous.

[dan40]

Regarding the 15% auto gratuity on the cruise line I have just come back from. This is directly from the mouth of one of the barmen who has worked on different lines for over 15years. They are guaranteed $1200 a month and on Caribbean cruises where they make well over their quota they usually earn about $1800 a month but on a South American cruise, such as the one I was just on, they don't make their quota so the company only pays them the guaranteed amount of $1200. So where does our 15% gratuity really go, seems to me its right in the pocket of the company

 

Different cruise lines handle tips and compensation to the workers in different ways. It is possible that no 2 lines do it the same way. For instance, Carnival and Princess, both owned by the same corporation, but Princess pools all the tips while Carnival applies them to each passengers individual servers. So knowing what one line worker tells you [iF TRUE] means zero when talking about a different line.

 

Also, my opinion is that the tippee is the WORST POSSIBLE source of information about tipping. They come from 3rd world countries, they do not come from idiotland. They can read people as well as or maybe better than the average American. And they will tell you what you most want to hear that will garner them the best tip. Human nature exists in the 3rd world too.

 

Bedsides, we are talking $10 pppd, my guess is that most pax just leave that on the account and do not give it another thought. Excellent service give xtra cash, poor service, adjust the tip. Either way fretting about it is just being cheap. [NOT DIRECTED AT NEICIE]

 

Dan

[VentureMan_2000]

Your logic suggests that even though someone busts their ass for you for 12-16hrs a day, since they live in a third world country there is no sense in giving them anything "extra" because $12000 a year is a fortune where they're from. I don't just automatically throw money their way, but I also realize it's still the same job whether they spend their paycheck in my country or anywhere else.

 

 

 

You totally misconstrued Wilba's point. She was very clear and concise in her answer.

 

Wages in the USA have no bearing...

 

Compared to working in their native Country, some crew members are enriching themselves tremendously from their wages on a cruise ship... even at pay you so desparately want to compare against USA wages.

 

 

Here is an excerpt from a Officer who worked aboard a cruise ship for three years, regarding Wages:

 

"At last, my most important point, people should not forget that there is a huge difference between the living standards and purchasing power between the first and third world. Take two crewmembers who fulfill the same duties and earn the same salaries; one goes home to a third world country, the other goes back to Europe. The guy in the Third World would be able to buy a house and some land while the guy in Europe would be lucky if he could rent some small room on the 10th floor in some obscure suburb. Many of my ex-colleagues who hailed from Indonesia acquired land, properties and businesses I could only dream of.

 

Again, I do not want to talk them down, they all do a great job, working very hard far away from home, trying to satisfy guests who complain about $10 more on a daily expense of much more. But I also know of crewmembers specifically trying to work the passengers' emotions by pointing out the unfair difference between first and third world in hope for some extra tips."

 

 

You can read the whole story here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=463

[garrethe]

I assume you mean the porters. A dollar a bag is standard, 2 a bag is more then generous.

 

No, I meant Valets. Tampa has Valet parking that parks your car in the parking deck.

[cathyoo]

I'm still confused about the resistance to tipping on a ship. When you tip in USA I'm sure you realize that some of those bartendars make 6 figures, especially in places like VEGAS. My nephew bartended on week ends during the summer and made $14000 working Friday, Sat and Sun for three and half months. And it was not a high end establishment.

 

I don't care if the staff member has three summer homes and owns half of their country, I tip because I appreciate the service. I'm sure none of us want our bosses to use how much we have in the bank or the kind of house we live in to determine our salary.

 

Whatever the crew members make, whatever benefits they receive, more power to them. I never complain about what others make at jobs I do not want to do. I don't care if the trashmen make more than me.. I don't want to pick up trash. I tip them at Christmas because I think it is a hard job and I appreciate them taking my garbage away and leaving my trashcans in my yard.

[Kurbanfan]

I don't care if the staff member has three summer homes and owns half of their country, I tip because I appreciate the service.

 

I believe that is what most here are saying........

[Wilba]

You totally misconstrued Wilba's point. She was very clear and concise in her answer.

 

Wages in the USA have no bearing...

 

Compared to working in their native Country, some crew members are enriching themselves tremendously from their wages on a cruise ship... even at pay you so desparately want to compare against USA wages

 

Thanks Ventureman you got my point exactly. Nothing to do with tipping or not tipping, but more more to do with the assumption that these guys are working for a pittance. The example quoted in your Officers Statement is something I have been aware of for many years.

On every cruise I have been on I’ve always struck up a relationship with the onboard staff, usually the table waits, & never once have they inferred that their family are starving or deprived. Quite the contrary, they talk of the folks back home like you & I would, albeit on a different level to the western world. In fact the last cruise I was on at Christmas, our table waiter told us his intention next year was to open a small supermarket for him & his family. Don't take me wrong, I am not decrying the fact he has made enough money to do this, merely making the point that a lot of garbage written on this subject.

 

 

 

Ventureman sorry to disappoint you, but I'm male.........but very hunky

[VentureMan_2000]

Ventureman sorry to disappoint you, but I'm male.........but very hunky

 

 

Funny... as I was typing, I was wondering if I had the gender right... :D

[big_duck]

Funny... as I was typing, I was wondering if I had the gender right... :D

 

I thought he was the wife of Freb. :D

[2 rednecks]

Wow after reading through all of this it makes me wonder how many of the passengers that fall off a cruise ship either adjusted their tips, or told someone from CC that they were going to lower or cancel their tips. I think i will carry around a brief case full of $1, $2, and gold coins, and anyone that remembers my name, or smiles i should stop them, open up the brief case and let them take the tip of their choice. maybe then i won't be a bad cruiser.

and on a side not thank you all for answering my question. (some people almost nicely and others bluntly and with an attiture) it was a simple question from someone hoping to gain some more information which I now have. (you should get a tip for that) I will leave my tips alone and give extra for service that I feel is above and beyond. Thats is what we had done in the past and that's what I will do in the future.

[cathyoo]

two rednecks.. one thing I've learned.. there are certain topics that having been bringing out the devil in some folks since the beginning of CC. Tipping, jeans, kids, and smoking. Those topics are always good for strong opinions. Other topics are more trendy.. fuel surcharges, adults only, anytime dining. Those threads come and go.

 

I'm all for sharing opinions and I tend to be bull headed myself (I'm a Taurus) but I don't like when it the feedback is personal or mean. I don't stay away from threads like this because you never know when you can pick up a good idea. I never equated overboard with tips but I think you might be right. Maybe I'll get a tee shirt made that says "We NEVER remove our tips.

[peterv]

Uh...$1200-$1800 a month is still poverty level in the U.S. and most cruiseline employees work twice as many hours a month as one of us to get what little they do make.

 

It may be poverty level in the US if it was their gross income and a family of four, but that is their net pay.

 

They also do not live in the US, they live on a ship with included room and board. How much of your net per month is left after subtracting out your housing, food, utilities, auto expenses, the crew does not pay for any of those?

 

Oh yeah, you do realise that they do not pay US taxes, don't you? That cash is net to them.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[peterv]

It's not like they're going back to their third world towns and buying up flat panels and xbox 360's, they're trying to feed, clothe and educate their families.

 

No, they buy those things in the ports, along with jewelry, cameras, mobile phones, etc. Not all, or even most of the crew is working to support a family back home. Many of them are single and know that by getting a job on a ship is the best way to earn big money so that they can then go back to their country with a big bundle of cash.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[peterv]

I would like to see some proof of this....because when I give my waiter tips (after cancelling Auto TIP) he told me he gets all of it himself...I went to great lengths to ask him....why would he lie?? He even said he prefers it this way.

 

Carnival has no pool and all cash given to the staff is theirs to keep. This is just another one of those legends that has attained truth merely for being repeated ad nauseum.

 

See this link for more details about this subject.

 

Cheers,

Peter