not-enough-cruising

If I lived in the Philippines, I could live like a king!! There are reasons you don’t see any North Americans or Western Europeans in those roles. One can not make an economic argument when one looks at the world through one homogeneous lens.

And to expand on that for @yogimax the MINIMUM seafarer salary allowed for anyone working 70 hours a week is $1200 MONTHLY, as I said roughly 3 times the average pay in their home country. To reiterate, all this is not to be pro or anti “auto tip”. I am just setting the record straight, and refuse to allow anyone to believe the crew are under paid and taken advantage of.

No, the waiters, assistant waiters, and cabin attendants are very well compensated; that is an undeniable fact. Their minimum salary is dictated and regulated by international convention.

In many instances here it is not an issue of being stingy at all. The discussion at hand is two-fold as I see it. 1. Some are comfortable tipping before service is rendered, other prefer to tip as services are renders, or at the conclusion. Neither group is stingy. 2. Distribution of the facts and debunking of the misinformation about how the crew is paid, and what part the gratuity plays in that compensation.

All the greater reason to teach personal financial responsibilities

The crew contracts don’t read that way. The crew is guaranteed a wage, that is what they agree to. Anyone expecting anything above and beyond what their contract says is just being unreasonable and setting themselves up for disappointment. Would you sign a contract where a portion of your salary was not guaranteed? Neither would I and neither does the ship’s crew. Gratuity is extra; above and beyond; and no one should budget on receiving them. The folks take the jobs as cabin steward and server because it pays over triple what they can make at home (guaranteed), tips not withstanding.

We just carry our bags off at debarkation, and don’t turn anything over to the staff.

No, then the card would be considered a cash account and a $500 line of credit will be granted.

Removing the tips has zero effect on the agreed upon contracted and guaranteed wages.

WRONG The staff (the entire staff) is paid an international standard salary and is GUARANTEED regardless of gratuity. No one is being deprived of anything, they are getting EXACTLY what their contract says

Since when has the ECDC ever stimulated the CDC to do anything

The workforce is beating down the doors to get these jobs at the "current rate"

The fact that do allow you to remove them proves that it isn't the cost of cruising. You can not remove port fees and taxes, therefore that IS the cost of cruising.

only for embarkations outside the US

Would I bust my butt and be gone for 9 months if I could make 3 times my potential annual salary??? ABSOLUTELY 100%

It’s never a problem. The people I wish to tip, I see all the time-that is why they may be getting a tip.

And therein lies the problem, for me, no one knows. A gratuity is for service above and beyond; the guy doing the laundry, or washing the dishes, does nothing "above and beyond", he does his job and gets paid what he agreed to in his contract.

Behind the scenes folks are paid by the cruise line to do what they do, that is part and parcel of the minimum expectation when I pay my cruise fare, no gratuity necessary

I am saying the tired narrative of “you must leave the auto gratuity in place because the behind the scenes people are working for slave wages” is a farce, and I wanted to set the record straight with facts. Another falsehood perpetuated on these threads is “the crew won’t get their agreed upon salary if you don’t tip”

However the suggestion of a large fry or apple pie is a one and done situation. The sales pitch in the spa goes on and on and borders on harassment. If a “no thank you” ended the pitch I’d be OK with it. More often than not, however, saying no thanks seems to be a trigger for the technicians to respond with a litany of reasons why you HAVE to have it, regardless of objection.

It may not be aggressive, however it definitely ruins the post treatment relaxation and euphoria ,if you will, by having to sit through what amounts to a timeshare presentation.

I understand completely what you meant, and I stand by my statement. The guaranteed minimum salary that the crew receives is roughly 3 times the annual average salary in their home countries, and that is earned in nine months. I don’t believe the passengers need to subsidize anything, I am a fan of rewarding excellence, but I do not do it before services are rendered, and I do not do it out of a feeling of guilt.

Can you call the IRS while you are at it and see if you can do something about the income tax rates??

100% absolutely incorrect

NO, staff minimums are set and regulated far outside of the individual cruise lines policies.