another gratuitous gratuity question

Going on the Regal Princess soon, I noticed that the latest gratuity charge is $12.95 per person, per day. We like to dispute that charge, get it refunded, then pay the appropriate workers in cash, plus an extra gratuity to the most deserving.

 

Have you ever come across a breakdown for the various workers in amounts per day? For example:

 

housekeeping $5.00

head waiter $4.00

asst waiter...

 

I apologize if this matter has been covered before...

 

Thanks.

 

John

You're aware that by turning off gratuities, those "appropriate workers" will just have to hand your cash in to the pool anyway, plus it will reflect negatively on your stateroom steward, right?

If you remove the "auto-tip," anything you tip directly goes right into the tipping pool. They don't keep it since if they're caught, they could lose their job and be sent home. As they are hired by agencies, they'll never work on a cruise ship again. So by tipping directly, you're teasing them and short changing all the others who make those helping you directly provide better service.

 

FYI, under your system, how much do you tip the people in the buffet? In Alfredo's, specialty restaurant, etc.?

Yawn - not again. Just leave the auto tips in place and everyone will be happy.

If you have the auto tips removed which you can do, you will be viewed as yet another stingy jerk. If you need tips to get the different personnel to perform their jobs, you need to go to another cruise line. May I suggest Carnival where you will be more comfortable.

If you remove the auto tips, do you plan to bring with you a large pile of cash and distribute it as you go through your day, at places like the buffet and the pizzeria and the International Cafe? In the "old days" of cruising, the plan was that cruisers would be served all through the cruise by the same few workers, since all 3 meals were scheduled for traditional dining at the same table, same time every day. So, tipping in cash at the end of the cruise made sense. It's not like that any more, cruisers are served by multiple workers every day and even more if they have anytime dining. Best advice is to leave the auto tips so everyone is compensated, and you don't have to worry about tipping as you go.

Plus the auto is just so easy!!!

Edited February 13, 2016 by deise17311

When we first started cruising . We paid thru the envelope(cash) system. The employees that received the envelope had to give part of it into a pool to some other people who served you.

Look. This is a bit of a pet peeve. Why should the cruise line companies be able to get away with shifting their responsibility to pay their employees a decent wage by tacking an automatic charge onto their customers to subsidize what they should be paying? Other service industry sectors (hotels, restaurants etc. ) don't do that.

Edited February 13, 2016 by jargey3000

Look. This is a bit of a pet peeve. Why should the cruise line companies be able to get away with shifting their responsibility to pay their employees a decent wage by tacking an automatic charge onto their customers to subsidize what they should be paying? Other service industry sectors (hotels, restaurants etc. ) don't do that.

 

Many restaurants don't pay the employee enough. The tips received by employee's in restaurants are part of the salary package .

When I've traveled in the US and Canada many hotels and restaurants put a service charge of the room hidden to the fee structure. This fee is the gratuity for the employees .

If the cruise lines paid a living wage . Which country do they base the living wage . The US , Canada , South Africa or China is the living wage to be based on.

I talked to a security guard . He said his wage was based on a similar job in the UK. Doctors where paid the median wage from their home country.

Cruise entertainment staff are also paid by where they are from.

 

If a living wage based on the US rate . Will you be able to afford to cruise?

Edited February 13, 2016 by Kamloops50

Look. This is a bit of a pet peeve. Why should the cruise line companies be able to get away with shifting their responsibility to pay their employees a decent wage by tacking an automatic charge onto their customers to subsidize what they should be paying? Other service industry sectors (hotels, restaurants etc. ) don't do that.

 

The workers on the ship are taxed according to their home country's rules. Unlike the US, most countries do not tax tips.

 

If you were taxed on wages, and not taxed on tips, how would you like to be paid?

Look. This is a bit of a pet peeve. Why should the cruise line companies be able to get away with shifting their responsibility to pay their employees a decent wage by tacking an automatic charge onto their customers to subsidize what they should be paying? Other service industry sectors (hotels, restaurants etc. ) don't do that.

You're forgetting that cruise ship service staff are contracted and hired by agencies, paying those agencies a portion of their non-tip salary. If ship service staff were paid salaries, the winners would be the agencies as the ship's staff would take home less. Is that your objective? I doubt the service staff would be happy with that outcome.

 

Plus that's not taking into account that if service staff were paid salaries, cruise corporations would have to report earnings differently which would affect their stock prices.

John you are not new to CC. Have you not seen the many posts about tipping?

Can't figure out how the OP would find all the people who would have been in the tip pool when it comes time to give them cash -- all the people in the buffet, the International Cafe, the pizza place, the hamburger grill, everywhere you chose to eat -- how could you possible find all of them?

Now, I'm really confused. Can I skip the auto tip after sharing my AIBP card with my shipmates, while wearing khakis and a polo shirt on formal night?:confused: :cool:

Leave them on!!!!

 

Why are you even bothering asking since you've been around here a long time? I'm sure you have seen many threads on this subject. Many of us have many crew members that have become good friends and they work their butts off waiting on you.

 

This subject really pisses me off.

Look. This is a bit of a pet peeve. Why should the cruise line companies be able to get away with shifting their responsibility to pay their employees a decent wage by tacking an automatic charge onto their customers to subsidize what they should be paying? Other service industry sectors (hotels, restaurants etc. ) don't do that.

 

 

Actually that's not true. It varies of course but there is for example a well known place in NOLA that chargers their wait staff depending on the shift, as much as thousand dollars per month to work there. All they serve is bad coffee and square doughnuts.

A serious question--we pay the automatic room charges through our stateroom bill but I never thought about the extra tips we leave with those who have been very helpful. Are they required to add the "extras" to the pool or are they allowed to keep those?

A serious question--we pay the automatic room charges through our stateroom bill but I never thought about the extra tips we leave with those who have been very helpful. Are they required to add the "extras" to the pool or are they allowed to keep those?

 

As long as you keep the auto tips in place they can pocket the extra..

As long as you keep the auto tips in place they can pocket the extra..

 

Thank you for answering. I am glad that they can do this as some of them really go way beyond the extra mile and deserve to be able to keep this extra.

Going on the Regal Princess soon, I noticed that the latest gratuity charge is $12.95 per person, per day. We like to dispute that charge, get it refunded, then pay the appropriate workers in cash, plus an extra gratuity to the most deserving.

 

Have you ever come across a breakdown for the various workers in amounts per day? For example:

 

housekeeping $5.00

head waiter $4.00

asst waiter...

 

I apologize if this matter has been covered before...

 

Thanks.

 

John

 

Why, why, why?

Appropriate? Most deserving? Really?

 

It's $12.95 PP, per day. Per above you are already at 9 bucks,minus the assistant waiter. Leave the auto tips in place.

You're not a new cruiser, you should know this by now.

Leave them on!!!!

 

Why are you even bothering asking since you've been around here a long time? I'm sure you have seen many threads on this subject. Many of us have many crew members that have become good friends and they work their butts off waiting on you.

 

This subject really pisses me off.

 

Me too!

If you have the auto tips removed which you can do, you will be viewed as yet another stingy jerk. If you need tips to get the different personnel to perform their jobs, you need to go to another cruise line. May I suggest Carnival where you will be more comfortable.

 

 

Umm ... Carnival has an auto-tip too and many of us also tip extra.

 

A bit condescending towards another people who sail another cruise line?

You're aware that by turning off gratuities, those "appropriate workers" will just have to hand your cash in to the pool anyway, plus it will reflect negatively on your stateroom steward, right?

 

According to the crew staff, that is not true.

If you remove the "auto-tip," anything you tip directly goes right into the tipping pool. They don't keep it since if they're caught, they could lose their job and be sent home.

 

Again, the crew on the Regal told me that is not true.