Tipping Over and Above Suggested Gratuities

Cruising isn't cheap, and I'd rather have enough included in the fare so if that's all I choose to pay the cruise line, I'm not considered to be "stiffing staff". No offense I like to pay what I owe for a service.

I agree, but I still think the system is stiffing the staff, without the staff the cruise line makes zip, yet rather than pay them a fair wage they are forced to rely on others tipping them, and in my observations many of the "Big Tippers" seem to think that this gives them the right to treat the staff like >%#|.

The phrase "across the fleet" rang a bell and reminded me of this from a thread started back in April 2014 by CRLess:

 

"Now comes the interesting stuff…Princess has gone to a newer internal system recently as it relates to “pooling” of tips. Pooling of tips is now done by ship class. ALL tips collected on the auto-tip system on “like-class” ships in the fleet are pooled together and distributed to the staff based on a point system. For example, ALL tips for a 7 day period collected from the Ruby, Emerald and Crown, are pooled together by HQ, and distributed back to the staff on a “point system”. The same applies to all tips collected on the Island and Coral in a given period. I am not clear how it works with ships that are one of a kind like the Royal (at least for now). Tips from the pool to the wait staff and housekeeping are determined by the number of “points” that person has (a function of seniority, ratings from surveys, and job classification). This system was implemented to protect staff from removal of auto-tips, less than capacity cruises, and scheduled/unscheduled dry docks. It is my understanding that since this was implemented, the staff’s income has become more consistent and has helped with employee retention and overall crew satisfaction."

 

Link to thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2031235

 

:D

That's interesting. Something new.

That's interesting. Something new.

I'm not certain pooling within a class is new. I'm pretty sure it's been discussed here before. Possibly some of the intricacies of it are new, especially now that the Pacific is a one-ship class.

In a way, protecting staff from the removal of autotip sort of misses the point, if you look at it from a certain perspective.

What if they're Australian, and come from a culture where tipping is not expected?

 

When in Rome....but I bet you an extra tip wouldn't be refused.

When in Rome....but I bet you an extra tip wouldn't be refused.

There are advantages to non-tipping cultures. You can drop off your bags at the pier without having to bestow largesse on a person who is well compensated, and has eagerly sought after this duty, and without having to fear that if you do not, your bag will arrive in the cabin with a wheel sheered off.

I have been reading these boards for years and you are the only person I have come across who has ever claimed this. Until you provide us with something to back up your claims, I will continue to ignore your conspiracy theory about where tips end up.

 

Must be lonely tilting at that windmill all by yourself. :)

Really? Read post 93 and see I am not the only person. You want your tips to go to those that actually served you but it's just not true. The only way to achieve it would be to remove the auto tips and tip in cash.

Only a percentage of your DSC gets routed back to your sailing and a percentage goes to ships within the class you sailed on that might be from a non tipping culture. You are supplementing the ships in Australia as an example. If you're ok with that then do nothing, if you're not ok with it then remove your DSC and use cash or reduce your DSC at guest relations. I personally don't like the system. When I tip someone I want to tip the actual person who rendered a service to me.

Really? Read post 93 and see I am not the only person. You want your tips to go to those that actually served you but it's just not true. The only way to achieve it would be to remove the auto tips and tip in cash.

Only a percentage of your DSC gets routed back to your sailing and a percentage goes to ships within the class you sailed on that might be from a non tipping culture. You are supplementing the ships in Australia as an example. If you're ok with that then do nothing, if you're not ok with it then remove your DSC and use cash or reduce your DSC at guest relations. I personally don't like the system. When I tip someone I want to tip the actual person who rendered a service to me.

Wow! A whole two people. That's an impressive number. I guess if this was an election issue, you would be thinking you were winning by a landslide. :D

Wow! A whole two people. That's an impressive number. I guess if this was an election issue, you would be thinking you were winning by a landslide. :D

Your mind is closed so no sense trying to educate you.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but why is all this tipping nonsense such a d*mn secret????

Your mind is closed so no sense trying to educate you.

No, not closed. It is open to verifiable facts - when they are presented. That is why I doubt your claim. The majority of the information that I have been exposed to is contrary to your opinion, so forgive me for leaning towards verifiable information instead of opinions. If relying on such information is considered having a "closed mind", then I am guilty as charged. ;)

Besides, as a business owner myself I have a hard time understanding why a large company like Princess would subject themselves to the additional hassle of dealing with the logistics of pooling all tips across the fleet, and then dividing them evenly across all those people on all those ships. Seems like a lot of effort for very little benefit.

Do you normally tip a waiter before a meal?

If there is no threat of lowering or removing tips, it doesn't really matter if it's before or after the meal. The service doesn't change. Cruise tip feel more like a fee....not a tip.

The mystery is in who gets to share in it, who decides who shares in it. That is why I also feel it is not a gift, but a fee.

This is the part that bothers me. Many other lines are totally up front about how their "automatic" tips or "pooled" tips are divided. Princess seems to feel that it should be a deep dark secret.

 

Does it ultimately matter? I guess not. But I know I'm more likely to add to my tips if I know that the money will be rewarding the person who took care of me.

What other business do people insist on knowing the internal workings of a company unless they are buying stock. You don't go in to the grocery store and demand to know about their salary packages do you?

You don't go into Wendy's and demand to know how they are paid. You (generally, not you personally) don't ask this so why does it bother everyone so much how they are paid and the ins and outs of the whole thing.

I can tell you this. Last cruise I was talking to a bartender and he said these are the guys really suffering under the drink plans. Tips that are meant to go to the bartenders for the AIBP don't. They get 50% because the waiters that serve alcohol in the restaurants - they get 50% of the tips you think are going to the bartenders. Guess what? Bartenders are quitting because their income has gone down so much.

You are right that I don't go into a fast food restaurant or grocery store and want to know what their salary package looks like (and I get that the "you" is in the generic sense, not a finger pointed at me). But at that fast food place or grocery store, I'm not being asked or required to contribute over and above the cost of my purchase to subsidize their salary.

Does it influence my restaurant tipping to know that in my state, a restaurant is only required to pay a server $2.73 per hour? Very probably. No, I don't ask how much my server makes, but I do know what the required minimum is. Does that influence me when I decide whether the tip will be 15, 18, 20% or more? You know, it might. I've been known to look around and realize that the server has 4 tables, which might explain why my beverage isn't refilled or service seems a little slower than I'd like. That level of "understanding" might play into my decision as to what to tip. I don't sit there and calculate these things specifically, but knowing that my tip represents the vast majority of the server's salary...yeah, that matters.

In the same way, knowing that every penny of what I tip goes to a server on the ship or that if I give the bar tender a $20, he gets to keep it likely makes a difference over me wondering whether my tip money goes into some corporate account. I'm more likely to increase the tip if I know it is going to the people who are working their tails off to give me a good vacation vs. someone sitting in an air conditioned office drawing a fat salary.

And in fact, I have increased the tips on a line where I know the recipient keeps it on a whole lot more cruises than on Princess.

What other business do people insist on knowing the internal workings of a company unless they are buying stock. You don't go in to the grocery store and demand to know about their salary packages do you?

 

You don't go into Wendy's and demand to know how they are paid. You (generally, not you personally) don't ask this so why does it bother everyone so much how they are paid and the ins and outs of the whole thing.

 

I can tell you this. Last cruise I was talking to a bartender and he said these are the guys really suffering under the drink plans. Tips that are meant to go to the bartenders for the AIBP don't. They get 50% because the waiters that serve alcohol in the restaurants - they get 50% of the tips you think are going to the bartenders. Guess what? Bartenders are quitting because their income has gone down so much.

No bar tender that ever helped me has ever suffered. I get the AIBP and I tip cash when I order drinks. Just $1 to start with but if I'm there a while I'll up it, $5, or more.

Good service keeps me at that bar for the duration of my cruise, and my loyal tips coming. :)

No bar tender that ever helped me has ever suffered. I get the AIBP and I tip cash when I order drinks. Just $1 to start with but if I'm there a while I'll up it, $5, or more.

Good service keeps me at that bar for the duration of my cruise, and my loyal tips coming. :)

But does he get to keep those tips? Or must they be turned in to be pooled with a zillion guys who didn't serve you? Or does that matter?