auto tips

[kooljamming]

going on grand princess on saturday with my husband and 2 kids.dont mind paying tip for hubby and myself but wont like to remove kids tip, this would allow me to tip extra to individuals .Has anyone done likewise.:)

 

I travel with kids and consider the tip for the kids important. Traveling with children adds to every aspect of our trip and tipping is no different. Mentally it's hard paying the same for kids but it's what it is. On excursions and resorts, I pay the adult rate for my 13 yr old son. It would be nice if they structure pricing to reflect an adult verses a child rate but they don't, so we do right by the people taking care of us. We pay the 3rd and 4th passenger adult rate for the kids without complaints, also the adult rate for air.

 

Lets take care of the people who take care of all of us while on vacation. Please don't take this post as intent to flame or put down, really it's not my intent. Heck, I leave the tip on and always tip extra but I do things that have gotten my butt scortched and called names:D For ME it's about fairness and doing right by the staff. I have tipped in places where it's NOT required and even taboo, such as Sandals/Beaches resorts.

[Megsdad]

But its always being hammered away on these tipping threads, by the many of the same people who are hammering away here on this thread, that autotips should never be removed as then all the crew suffer and rather, if someone experiences poor service, the correct way to go is to fill in the comment cards:confused:

 

As for those advocating bringing in a mandatory service charge - the sooner the better in my opinion, then we will have a transparent cruise price and the staff will presumably receive a living wage for all their hard work.

 

The tenor of some of the responses to these tipping threads never ceases to amaze me - they are extremely rude to anyone who does not agree with them.

 

Spot on

[springfire]

But its always being hammered away on these tipping threads, by the many of the same people who are hammering away here on this thread, that autotips should never be removed as then all the crew suffer and rather, if someone experiences poor service, the correct way to go is to fill in the comment cards:confused:

 

As for those advocating bringing in a mandatory service charge - the sooner the better in my opinion, then we will have a transparent cruise price and the staff will presumably receive a living wage for all their hard work.

 

The tenor of some of the responses to these tipping threads never ceases to amaze me - they are extremely rude to anyone who does not agree with them.

 

Nicely said!!!

[Pam in CA]

Even though I have about 30 cruises under my belt, I think I may have learned something new here.

 

What I think I read was that only if you leave Auto tip intact, can you privately tip an individual and they will be able to keep it.

 

Being a traditionalist, I have opted out of auto tipping everytime, because I enjoy presonally thanking and handing the tip to each person, with a short letter of appreciation.

 

I have never tipped less than the auto tip amount, and seldom have not tip more, including some people who do not participate in the group disbursement.

 

Now I fear, that the entire amount must have been reported and relegated to the pool.

 

In the future I will leave the Auto tip authorized, and simply provide the letter and additional tips or simply the letter of thanks with the deserving people.

 

Since even old, experienced cruiser can learn from others, I do not believe open and honest discussions should be stifled. As in all cases, on all subject, I ALWAYS choose whether or not I agree with the respondent, but also ALWAYS recognize their right to believe as they do, right or wrong !

You are exactly right. I completely understand one's logic if someone removes the auto-tip because they have received consistently poor service from their cabin steward and waitstaff. I don't understand it if someone says they can't afford it or don't think they've used all of the services the auto-tip covers. Since auto-tipping has been in place on Princess since 2001, it's been long enough not to be considered "traditionalist" as since that time, dining attire has gone from either formal or semi-formal every night to mostly smart casual and Anytime dining has been available. The point is that there have been a lot of changes to the entire cruise experience since 2001. Most people removing the auto-tip and/or wanting to tip individually forget that your cabin steward has helpers that you rarely see; if you eat breakfast and lunch in the dining room, those people receive part of the tip; and, if you eat in the buffet at any time, waitstaff is there to clean the tables, bring you juice, iced tea, coffee or whatever. They also participate in the auto-tip and as many don't also work in the dining room, their only chance at a tip is through the auto-tip as I can't see someone carrying money around with them constantly and tipping everyone in sight throughout the day. Particularly in the case of families with kids, the people in the buffet do a lot of work and deserve recognition.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I hope you are having a great weekend !

 

As always, topics such as this, generate some very interesting responses. Most of us have very strong feelings about this subject, and we welcome them !

 

As you may have noticed, I've deleted several posts, which were rude or personal comments against other members. This is against our Guidelines. If you see any problem posts, please report it, by clicking on the red triangle, and I will take care of it immediately.

 

I'm going to leave this thread open for now, but if the personal battles continue, expect this thread to be closed.

 

Where this thread goes from here, is up to you. Thank you very much for your consideration !

[ByeBye1]

going on grand princess on saturday with my husband and 2 kids.dont mind paying tip for hubby and myself but wont like to remove kids tip, this would allow me to tip extra to individuals .Has anyone done likewise.:)

 

At guest relations you can remove/adjust auto tips. That is the answer to the question.

[NSWP]

At guest relations you can remove/adjust auto tips. That is the answer to the question.

 

Hear, hear, there is the answer. Make your own mind up on the 'automatic wage subsidy.' The Purser is waiting for you.

 

You either pay what Princess want, pay more, pay less or wipe it out completely. Your money, your choice. :confused:

[wombat50]

as a few of the more sensible people on here have said it is your choice not anyone elses if you want to auto tip for the kids.this fourm is not about criticizing other people but alot of you do it by the comments you make, eg:- '' if you cant afford to tip then you cant afford to cruise'' ''cheap bum'' and so on and then there was this comment ''but tipping is the way things are done in the USA'' so then does this mean that on cruises here in Australia we Aussies dont have to tip because it isent the way things are done here. until the cruise lines change it then tipping is a personal choice and not something other people should be trying to make you do by their comments

 

ross

[SeattleCruiselover]

Just to clarify, on your shipboard account, it is called a hotel charge, not a tip or gratuity.

 

Maybe they should not give room steward service to those removing this charge, since you paid for your passage, but not the extra service of having your stateroom cleaned and special things done for you twice each day?

Maybe those removing tips should be forced to go to the buffet, so their waiter can take better care of those that do not remove the service charge from their account?

Maybe they shouldn't tack on a 15% service charge on every drink, but make you go to one bar at the very front of the ship and wait in line for your drinks?

 

Lots of different views on this one, and those are mine.:o

 

 

Toto, I agree with you 100%. I am lucky enough not to have to work for tips, but one of my DD's does. In this state, with one of the highest minimum wage rates in the US for non-tipping jobs, employees who are entitled to tips have to work for $2.13 per hour plus whatever their tips are. And they don't any less hard than anyone else, no matter the age of their clients/customers---in fact they probably work harder, just to make the tips that will give them something to live on.

 

The same applies to shipboard staff. The more people in a stateroom, or the more people they have to serve, the harder they have to work. More than 95% of the time, they deserve every penny they get from the hotel fees/gratuities.

[cynbar]

I was one of the posters who referred to tipping as the way things are done in the USA, and Princess works on this model no matter where her ships are sailing or what country they are registered in. My point was to make sure that potential non-tippers understand this, whether they agee with this policy or not. And my other point is that there are other workers who benefit from auto tipping in addition to the MDR waiters and cabin stewards. If people think all of this through and still feel comfortable removing the tips, it is clearly still their right to do so. By the way, I think all the cruise lines should just raise the fares and be done with all this tipping discussion. It would make these message boards a lot more boring, though, wouldn't it?

[ByeBye1]

What other tip or don't tip is really none of my business and doesn't enhance or diminish my cruise experience. I feel we need to answer the question without all the judgments and opinions. I'm amused by the comparisons to land based jobs in the USA which are highly different then the ships crew who get room, board, medical, flights to and from the ship and where their dollar goes far in their economy. Calling someone a cheap bum shows no class

[Pam in CA]

then there was this comment ''but tipping is the way things are done in the USA'' so then does this mean that on cruises here in Australia we Aussies dont have to tip because it isent the way things are done here.

The fallacy of this is that Princess ships are owned by a U.S. corporation and run according to U.S. tipping custom so regardless of what country you come from, the hotel charge/auto-tip is according to what is done in the U.S. It's not us being "ugly Americans" and saying you have to do it our way. It just happens to be the way it's done in the U.S. If I were on a British- or Australian-owned ship that is managed according to British or Australian customs, I'd expect to follow that, not U.S customs.

[jackdiamond]

One of the world's most significant aphorisms is simply-"When in Rome, do as the Romans do". I would hope that our host would forever put to bed these types of threads.

[kooljamming]

Since some of these US based companies are marketing to other countries and cultures, why not respect the way they are used to doing business. Price their vacation in a way that they are comfortable and let tipping be an option as they are used to. I do land all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico that cater to Americans. The resorts serve American foods because they factored in the American tradition of bacon and eggs for breakfast.

 

I heard a lot of complaints when bacon and eggs were not present on the buffet served in Mexico and Caribbean. I doubt very much many (not all) Americans would be willing to accept the whole tipping bit if they did things differently. Another cliché when in Rome do as the Romans do, so why so many complaints about American amenities lacking when not in the States? Let try taking bacon and eggs away the day we are in Mexico and see what happens. Next any country you are in for formal night, then their national dish is served throughout the ship. What's the National dish in Roman because I am ready to eat like the Romans:p While on vacation I have NOT come across many Americans who were willing to eat and do things the Roman way.

 

I have accepted the American tradition of tipping but 30 years ago, fresh off the boat (no pun intended), I thought it was pretty crazy.

 

JMOP, experience and 20 years of observation

[h3rjp]

The fallacy of this is that Princess ships are owned by a U.S. corporation and run according to U.S. tipping custom so regardless of what country you come from, the hotel charge/auto-tip is according to what is done in the U.S. It's not us being "ugly Americans" and saying you have to do it our way. It just happens to be the way it's done in the U.S. If I were on a British- or Australian-owned ship that is managed according to British or Australian customs, I'd expect to follow that, not U.S customs.

 

Ok this is getting more off topic by the second. But as has been discussed on these boards princess is not own by an American company. Carnival corporation & plc is a corporation that has dual listings in both new York and london. So it's an international company; but right or wrong they go choose to go by an American model. But that's a choice, not a custom.

[Pam in CA]

Ok this is getting more off topic by the second. But as has been discussed on these boards princess is not own by an American company. Carnival corporation & plc is a corporation that has dual listings in both new York and london. So it's an international company; but right or wrong they go choose to go an American model. But that's a choice, not a custom.

You are right; they choose to go with a U.S. model because their headquarters is in CA and most of their employees and crew are paid in $US. However you say it, the custom onboard Princess ships is according to U.S. customs.

[wombat50]

when Princess ships are stationed here in Aussie they add a lot more beds to the ship as in making a lot of 4 berth cabins and also the price of our cruises are dearer than in the USA so they do change things when they come over here and dont stick to the US model

[LENORA516]

What other tip or don't tip is really none of my business and doesn't enhance or diminish my cruise experience. I feel we need to answer the question without all the judgments and opinions. I'm amused by the comparisons to land based jobs in the USA which are highly different then the ships crew who get room, board, medical, flights to and from the ship and where their dollar goes far in their economy. Calling someone a cheap bum shows no class

 

 

While I agree that calling someone a cheap bum is totally uncalled for. I would read the book "Cruise Confidential" before saying how good you think the ships crew have it .

IMHO, regardless of what economy the crew comes from and how far their dollars will go, they are hard working and deserve the grauities.

[love2bonboard]

While I agree that calling someone a cheap bum is totally uncalled for. I would read the book "Cruise Confidential" before saying how good you think the ships crew have it .

IMHO, regardless of what economy the crew comes from and how far their dollars will go, they are hard working and deserve the grauities.

 

 

Off subject...but I read that book and I gotta tell you...yes, it reveals how hard they work, but I also found it a little disturbing at how the crew made continuous jokes and negative comments about Americans. It was interesting to read, though.

[Megsdad]

One of the world's most significant aphorisms is simply-"When in Rome, do as the Romans do". I would hope that our host would forever put to bed these types of threads.

 

"When on vacation do what you want to do not what others think you should do"

[caber]

On the subject of calling someone a "cheap bum", why has the host not removed this post?

 

Surely this is not acceptable.

[Megsdad]

On the subject of calling someone a "cheap bum", why has the host not removed this post?

 

Surely this is not acceptable.

 

Spot on

[Joe Pflanz]

Cheap bum or no class.... neither of these people have a clue on how to win friends and influence people....and those of you who take sides and want to chastise the oen who said cheap bum...are just as lacking in common courtesy.

 

I am asking the moderator to permanently close this thread..it has outlived it's usefulness

[caber]

I hope he does.

[Megsdad]

Removing auto tips = CHEAP BUM

 

That's my opinion and I dont care what anyone else thinks.

I pray that all cruiselines will simply add them to the cruise cost so CHEAP BUMS have to pay them.

 

Tip culture = begging or tantamount to