Who Cares?

Well this comment specifically applies to Labadee, but you really don't throw a dollar in the basket for the guys who are playing music on the dock?????

 

Again, I just don't get it. We have so much and they have so little.

Actually, no, I don't, really. They are not providing a service for me (I don't need Muzak on the dock). If I asked them to play a song then I would be expected to tip them.

What I earn compared to what they earn is and will always be complete immaterial.

As noted earlier by someone , it is printed in the compass that no tipping is necessary. Someone at sometime gave the chair guy a couple bucks and he said , this is cool. Now he expects everyone to give him something.

Most likely that was the first passenger to ever step foot on Labadee. :D

My local supermarket chain offers carry out service and they specifically have signs saying NO TIPPING. So if I use the service should I explain to the worker not to expect a tip?

Are we talking about Labadee or your supermarket? Care to stick to the subject at hand? :rolleyes:

But to answer your question, I carry my own groceries out unless I'm doing my large monthly shopping and then I tip the person a few bucks for their effort. You don't need to tell anyone anything, you need to do what's right. Sign or not, if someone performs a service for me, I'm going to offer a tip. Reminds me of when I worked at the cable company. We were told not to accept tips. Unlike my colleagues, I would decline a tip the first time offered. If the customer kept pressuring, then I would accept (only twice did they put it back in their wallet when I said no the first time).

If he does put them out for you, and is nice to you while he does it, the LEAST you should do is toss him a few dollars.

The LEAST? What would be the MOST, a good back massage? :p :D

You insist on getting your own chair. I agree with mek. WOW!

That's fine. But I'm not the one having an issue with how people spend their hard earned cash, Mek is. If you want to tip for a service, feel free to do so. If I choose to ignore their service and save money, that's good also. No need to be lectured on how I can't afford to cruise if I don't give a buck to someone who hasn't earned it.

Royal and Celebrity tell passengers that all they need is their seapass card. That Labadee is like being on the ship. I would not bring any money if I did not know about the chair butler tips. I have never taken any money to Half Moon Cay or Princess Cay. There was never a need too. They also are private just like being on the ship. Again, I never carry money on the ship. That is because I am a seasoned traveler and know I don't need any bucks there. I don't actually need any money at Labadee.

Well, I am a seasoned traveler and you never know when a situation may arise (as I have learned the hard way) and ALWAYS carry a few bucks, whether I expect to need it or not. As I learned in the military "Plan for the worst, hope for the best".

Plus, how do you plan to buy trinkets without cash or plastic? You Seapass card does no good in the vendor's area.

We booked the 6 day cruise on March 19 , 2017 two nights ago. At that time we had a choice of 4 HC's. We been to all three ports many times, but I really wanted to be on the Vista and in a Havana Cabana! :)

Take care of the Vista. We'll be getting on when you're crying about getting kicked off. ;)

I've been to Labadee 2X and travel all over the world - I've never encountered anyone who is providing a service to be unfriendly. I'm pleasant and friendly to them, and I tip - but they don't know that until the service has been provided.

 

For those of you who don't see the "value" in handing out a huge $1 for a chair all I can say again is "wow." ( And this has nothing to do with the OP's post about a confrontation with someone who was rude - they should have been reported.)

 

And while I'm on my soapbox, not taking some singles with you so you can tip is just an excuse to not tip.

So do you think I should had out a buck when I get my own chair? :confused:

I was going to start a new thread, but I'll build off of this. While reading the Royal Caribbean Blog's post about the recent incident in Labadee with the protests, I came across a comment I found to be really interesting. One person shared that when they were recently in Labadee, one of the workers confided in them that he was starving and was not allowed to go near any of the food or he would risk losing his job. As a result, he asked them to bring him back a plate of food (which they did.) I think that Royal Caribbean is losing their grasp on Labadee. I believe that these people did the right thing, yet I don't think that they should have been put in this position on a "private island/destination" to begin with. Any thoughts?

I disagree. The food in the compound is paid for by the guests and is for the guests only (which is why the guy didn't get himself a plate). If the guy can't make a living working on Labadee then he can always try somewhere else in Haiti.

Same here. I only bring my Seapass. And a few dollar bills in a ziplock baggie. I only bring the dollars because I have been there and also because I read CC and know about the chair butlers. Otherwise I would not bring the dollars. I never bring cash to Half Moon Cay, Princess Cay, Grand Stirrup Cay. On the ship I don't carry my wallet either.

 

There are passengers who don't have knowledge about the chair butlers and don't bring any cash. They didn't bring cash or a wallet. That was not to avoid tipping the chair butlers. They didn't know about them. I met a couple of roll call members from my sailing a year ago off the ship and suggested Columbus Cove. We then went together. They were totally surprised by the chair butlers. They had no idea. All they had brought were their ship cards.

 

 

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IMO, ANYONE who is a seasoned traveler knows to carry some money when they leave their hotel/ship/plane/etc..... as you never know when you may need a buck or two.

My wallet stays in the safe. I only bring my Seapass with me on Labadee.

No problem. Move your own chair then or tell the guy up front (BEFORE he moves a chair and sticks his hand out) you will not be tipping him.

I found this article pretty interesting. Especially #7:

http://cruiseradio.net/8-cruise-complaints-tired-hearing/

Good read and very accurate. :)

We booked one for March -2017. The are great concept , and I really wanted to try one despite the significant cost premium of doing so. Can t wait.

 

 

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Which cruise?

Because paying for a vacation, whether it is a cruise, or staying at a resort, is NOT the same as paying for someone's service, such as a waiter or cabin attendant / housekeeping person who happens to work where you are vacationing.

Actually, yes it is. A product, a service......either way you're paying for something before you receive it with the expectations that you will get what you paid for (imagine paying for a balcony and showing up and getting put into an inside cabin......you've already spent the money at final payment date 70 days earlier). Yea, its EXACTLY the same thing. Maybe you could wrap your head around it better if you considered it a "service charge"? Or call it a tax or second port charge since you have no problem paying those early.

Wow, I really don't get why anyone who can spend thousands of dollars on a cruise can have a problem with such a few $'s. I'm happy to not have to drag a chair off a pile and across the sand to find a nice shady spot. Giving someone a couple of bucks to do it for me is a great deal, IMHO. And when it comes to the bathroom attendant, really is 50 cents or a dollar going to impact your lives? Maybe that is the only job opportunity they have. I'm lucky to be me and not them and I don't resent any of the tips I hand out on vacation.

I spend thousands of dollars on a cruise because I see the value in it and it's something I can't do myself. I don't spend a dollar to tip a guy to move my chair because I don't see the value in it and I can do it myself. If I were too fragile to move my own chair then I might see the value in it.

Royal says don't pay for it. So no conversation needs to be had regardless. Have you been to labadee?

Twice. Most recently last month (love that you don't have to tender anymore......first time was in 2005). I move my own chairs even though the guy is saying he will get them. I know what they are expecting and I'm not paying it so I do my own work.

I agree, one does not have to have a conversation. But why not have one unless you feel you are doing something underhanded? What's wrong with being upfront with your plans unless one has something to feel a bit ashamed about. And then those that feign "I forgot my wallet" I call total BS on that.

In Lace's world Carnival is lying about who gets a portion of the tip. You can't fix this kind of attitude other than Carnival going the "service charge" route and making them fixed (unable to adjust them).

I'm sure Guest Services would love that as their workload would be cut in half! ;)

No, I don't have it removed. I know the idea of the auto-gratuity came about so that people wouldn't have to put cash in envelopes to give out to the staff. I have also read on here that the staff know if you've had your auto-gratuity removed. If the charge doesn't get posted to your S&S account until the last day or so of the cruise, how would the staff (cabin steward, waiters, etc.) know ahead of time? I realize that some people pre-pay the gratuities (days, weeks, even months ahead of time) as a convenience to themselves, to "get it out of the way", as some have put it. If you're happy doing it that way, fine. However, in my mind, you're paying far in advance for a service that has not been rendered yet. That's a concept I'm having a hard time understanding. Would you pay someone else in the service industry (plumbing repair, carpet cleaner, furnace/a.c. repair person, etc.) before the work is done? Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way, but pre-paying a tip before service is rendered, and particularly a specified (not suggested) amount, just doesn't seem right to me. If it's going to be prepaid, and it's going to be a specified amount, then let's stop calling it a "gratuity" and call it what it really is. An income supplement.

How's that any different that paying in full for a cruise you haven't yet taken? :confused:

No, I don't pre-pay the auto-gratuities. I also don't give the cabin steward any extra cash at the beginning of the cruise. Why pay ahead of time for something that hasn't been done yet? When you go out to eat at a restaurant, do tip your waiter or waitress BEFORE you've even ordered?

Apples and oranges. When you go out to eat in a land-based restaurant, do you have the option to prepay your tip 6 months before you arrive to the restaurant? :rolleyes:

Much Different, as RCI's Offical Labadee map clearly states and I quote: In fact you should not tip as it is clearly against RCI's wishes.

I fully concur that RCCL says not to tip these folks. Then again, EVERY single person here knows they are expecting a tip when they get a chair for you, regardless of what RCCL's wishes are. All I'm saying is don't lie about it. As the guy reaches to get a chair for you, be honest and say I don't have any tip money for you. If he still gets the chair down and sets it up for you, fine. If not, do it yourself. Don't wait until the work is done and then tell the person no tip is coming.

And depending on how one wishes to interpret the passage, the chairs (themselves) are complementary. It states nothing about moving the chairs. So if you do as I do, you see a pile of chairs and you move what you need to your desired location. No tip involved, chair is free. You ask someone to move it around for you IMO, you should tip them or tell them PRIOR to the work that you are not tipping them and then if they still move it, all is good. If they don't, move it yourself.

Uh huh. Keep buying into that. Ask the kitchen help, entertainment and guest services how much of those tips they get. You'll feel like a fool.

At least man up (or woman up) to your actions and know that you are stiffing people. No one here can keep you from doing that but don't bury your head in the sand and then ask others to join you. :rolleyes:

If people want to prepay for things before they leave that is certainly their decision. I just said what we prefer to do.

Actually, you said you see no reason to prepay and I simply gave you one reason someone may want to. ;)

I believe earlier in the thread I gave some advice. If you don't have any cash for a tip, don't tell them you are not going to tip them. Let them set out the chairs. If they say anything or make a face then say you don't have any cash. Don't start a conversation about it. Been to Labadee a bunch of times and there are always passengers who don't bring cash. I have seen the unhappy look on the their faces chair carriers faces but they have to be used to not getting a tip from everyone.

I disagree with this. If you don't want to or have the money to tip, just do it yourself. If you let them do it knowing that they are expecting a tip that you know you're not going to give, that is dishonest IMO. No different than someone who pulls their tips on board on the last night after a week's worth of service has already been rendered.

In the OP first line of her review I believe s/he said it was the Valor.

 

To OP, Made me look!

Ah, missed that. Thanks. :)

I see no reason to pay for stuff before we have too.

As stated, some people like to go on a cruise knowing they will have no final bill when they leave and prepay everything. Nothing wrong with that if that is what they choose.