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Unpaid Auto-gratuities reimbursed by the cruise line?


drsel
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I couldn't say since I've never booked this type of promotion but I would be greatly surprised it a cruise line didn't cover this base.
Folks are surprised by what cruise lines do all the time.

 

I've taken 2 Princess cruises this year that had "prepaid" gratuities as a booking promotion. The charge does not appear on your onboard account. So, you can't remove it.
Thanks for the first hand account.
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Okay so what you're saying is that the DSC is still discretionary then. In other words, with such promotions, the passenger once aboard can still adjust the amount of the gratuity downward if they're dissatisfied by the service - yes?

If the cruise line is offering PPG as a booking incentive you cannot remove the amount & get the $ if that is what you are thinking

If you have bad service speak to the GM or one of the managers onboard when the problem happens so it can be fixed

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Okay so what you're saying is that the DSC is still discretionary then. In other words, with such promotions, the passenger once aboard can still adjust the amount of the gratuity downward if they're dissatisfied by the service - yes?

 

 

 

No. The fine print on the promotion is that there's no cash value. So if you were to go up to guest services and insist that the DSC be removed, you wouldn't get anything back for it. As others said, at that point there's no debit on your account so nothing for them to credit back. If your service is terrible all you could do is complain.

 

 

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i perrsonally htink some off the questions asked here are really none of our business and it baffles me the extent to which cuiouusity re:cfrew's pay and salaries goes. We wouldn'tt like them to discuss our salariaes. How about if they wanted to know the averfage for all tteachers, professors, nurses, medical technicians? mechanics, librarians, chefs, secretaries,news reporters etc, we would not approve or like it.

 

Howevfer, to make this post relevant, I will say, it has been my uunderstanding that when a ship goes to dry dock and carries no guests,(no hotel servic e charges, no t ips) the cruise line will compernsate those who are missing out on that part of their salary and the cruise line pays it to them.

Edited by sail7seas
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i perrsonally htink some off the questions asked here are really none of our business and it baffles me the extent to which cuiouusity re:cfrew's pay and salaries goes. We wouldn'tt like them to discuss our salariaes. How about if they wanted to know the averfage for all tteachers, professors, nurses, medical technicians? mechanics, librarians, chefs, secretaries,news reporters etc, we would not approve or like it.

 

Howevfer, to make this post relevant, I will say, it has been my uunderstanding that when a ship goes to dry dock and carries no guests,(no hotel servic e charges, no t ips) the cruise line will compernsate those who are missing out on that part of their salary and the cruise line pays it to them.

 

 

 

I cant speak for where you live but in Nevada its no BIG SECRET. http://transparentnevada.com/

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I can guarantee if you hand someone cash, it's going into their pocket.....it will not be "pooled"...as there is no way to know if someone has been given cash. Period. So, if you want to "reward" one of the staff that serves you, slip them the cash. They will be keeping it.

 

Most restaurants give some of the waiter/waitress tips to the bus people, and even, to bartenders. Generally, bartenders pool their tips. Same with casinos....all tips are pooled. It's the way it's done!

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The whole DSC thing is all about peer pressure. It ensures peer pressure to hand in cash tips as noted, and it tries to generate a "team" approach to service, where each crew member ensures that everyone else is up to snuff so everyone's pay is not affected.
I can guarantee if you hand someone cash, it's going into their pocket.....it will not be "pooled"...as there is no way to know if someone has been given cash. Period.
I'm sorry but I think chengkp75 probably has a bit more reliable insight into this.
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i perrsonally htink some off the questions asked here are really none of our business and it baffles me the extent to which cuiouusity re:cfrew's pay and salaries goes. We wouldn'tt like them to discuss our salariaes. How about if they wanted to know the averfage for all tteachers, professors, nurses, medical technicians? mechanics, librarians, chefs, secretaries,news reporters etc, we would not approve or like it.

 

\

I think it becomes my business when I'm expected to subsidize their salaries.

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All it takes is one supervisor or other crew member seeing someone pocket cash and not contribute to the pool for that racket to end.

 

In fact, the employment contract for one popular cruise line states:

"Accordingly, during each voyage of each Participating Vessel a voluntary contribution by each fare-paying passenger will typically be suggested for that purpose. Passengers are not obligated to make a contribution or to adhere to the Company’s suggested guidelines for such a contribution. Nonetheless, to the extent passengers follow the suggested contribution guidelines in whole or in part or otherwise contribute gratuities, each and every Employee agrees that any such resulting contribution is not his personal wage but rather a contribution to the Fleet Pool. All participating Employees shall share in the resulting passenger contributions from each voyage of each Participating Vessel according to his/her allocated points."

 

I would imagine the punishment would be pretty severe for non compliance to the point most crew wouldn't attempt it.

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or when there is a large number of Aussies or Brits onboard.

 

I don't think you can say that as a fact.

 

You can have a ship full of none US nationalities that happen to keep the tips on.

 

You can also have a ship that is mainly made up of US folk that happen to remove tips for various reasons (maybe a sailing full of people trying to save for example).

 

Yes there are a majority of nations that don't have the tipping culture of the US. That doesn't mean to say they will remove tips..everyone I know that cruises leaves tips on...including my French friends.

 

I can remember reading a fb post by a former crew member saying that US people would be surprised how many of their own kind take tips off. One can wonder I suppose.

 

 

On the OP's subject I have always thought that cruise lines should ensure their crew's pay is fair. But at the end of the day this model works for the line because it saves them money and not because of Filapino et al tax laws.

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I don't think you can say that as a fact.

 

You can have a ship full of none US nationalities that happen to keep the tips on.

 

You can also have a ship that is mainly made up of US folk that happen to remove tips for various reasons (maybe a sailing full of people trying to save for example).

 

Yes there are a majority of nations that don't have the tipping culture of the US. That doesn't mean to say they will remove tips..everyone I know that cruises leaves tips on...including my French friends.

 

I can remember reading a fb post by a former crew member saying that US people would be surprised how many of their own kind take tips off. One can wonder I suppose.

 

 

On the OP's subject I have always thought that cruise lines should ensure their crew's pay is fair. But at the end of the day this model works for the line because it saves them money and not because of Filapino et al tax laws.

 

The cruise lines are required to pay the guaranteed minimum. If the service charge pool doesn't meet the minimum, the cruise line has to make up the shortfall.

 

That means the crew will make the contracted salary, and the comments about stiffing the crew are "fluff"

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I cant speak for where you live but in Nevada its no BIG SECRET. http://transparentnevada.com/

 

The same holds for NJ public employees and retirees. It's on the web. Several of the metropolitan newspapers also publish salaries of hospital, higher education, and non-profit execs.

 

That said, I find the overt nosiness about ships' staff personal lives and pay just a bit creepy.

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The cruise lines are required to pay the guaranteed minimum. If the service charge pool doesn't meet the minimum, the cruise line has to make up the shortfall.

 

That means the crew will make the contracted salary, and the comments about stiffing the crew are "fluff"

 

There is a huge difference between minimum contracted salary and the normal full wage. Anyone with an ounce of sense would know that. So, the comments about "stiffing" the crew are not fluff, but real substance.

 

Of course, a long established doubter and a supporter of crew stiffing could not possibly understand the difference. :rolleyes:

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There is a huge difference between minimum contracted salary and the normal full wage. Anyone with an ounce of sense would know that. So, the comments about "stiffing" the crew are not fluff, but real substance.

 

Of course, a long established doubter and a supporter of crew stiffing could not possibly understand the difference. :rolleyes:

 

The crew is not "stiffed" if they make their contracted salary plus their cash tips.

 

I am sure someone can explain it to you, so don't fret if you can't understand.:halo:

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The crew is not "stiffed" if they make their contracted salary plus their cash tips.

 

I am sure someone can explain it to you, so don't fret if you can't understand.:halo:

 

Many of us understand understand perfectly, even me. The crew agrees to a minimum wage, and the cruise line will ensure that regardless of passenger behavior, the crew will at least receive that minimum. The key word here is "minimum", a word that at least one person here should look up in their dictionary. Minimum is not what the crew is working hard to get. They are expecting the normal wage that they should be getting if all the passengers did the right thing and paid the auto gratuities. That normal wage would be significantly larger than the minimum.

 

But when selfish passengers decide to keep the gratuity amount for themselves, the crew receives a reduced wage. If enough selfish passengers remove those gratuities, and the wage falls below the MINIMUM (look up the meaning!), they will receive less than they expected.

 

This isn't brain surgery. It is simple math and economics. Not hard for normal people to understand, but clearly a challenge for some on these boards. :rolleyes:

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Many of us understand understand perfectly, even me. The crew agrees to a minimum wage, and the cruise line will ensure that regardless of passenger behavior, the crew will at least receive that minimum. The key word here is "minimum", a word that at least one person here should look up in their dictionary. Minimum is not what the crew is working hard to get. They are expecting the normal wage that they should be getting if all the passengers did the right thing and paid the auto gratuities. That normal wage would be significantly larger than the minimum.

 

But when selfish passengers decide to keep the gratuity amount for themselves, the crew receives a reduced wage. If enough selfish passengers remove those gratuities, and the wage falls below the MINIMUM (look up the meaning!), they will receive less than they expected.

 

This isn't brain surgery. It is simple math and economics. Not hard for normal people to understand, but clearly a challenge for some on these boards. :rolleyes:

 

Why don't you and others who have the vast knowledge put some numbers to your comments?

 

How much is "significantly larger?????

How much is the minimum????

 

If you don't know, I understand...

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Why don't you and others who have the vast knowledge put some numbers to your comments?

 

How much is "significantly larger?????

How much is the minimum????

 

If you don't know, I understand...

 

 

 

I don't know what's normal for a cruise ship. But I used to waitress and that had the same arrangement. The restaurant gets to pay a reduced minimum wage (roughly $2 an hour) because it's expected you will be tipped. You report your tips (at least the credit card ones are automatically reported). If your salary plus tips doesn't equal at least minimum wage (think it was around $6.50 an hour), the restaurant was required to make up the difference. So you were legally guaranteed at least $6.50 an hour. I averaged $12 an hour between salary and tips, so double what it was required I made. I wouldn't have waitressed for $6.50 an hour.

 

I don't know what the numbers are for ship employees. But I wouldn't be at all surprised t find that many are happy to work for what they usually get between salary and tips; but would be unsatisfied if the only made what they were guaranteed for any significant period of time.

 

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On itineraries where a large number of passengers routinely remove all gratuities the cruise line will subsidize the gratuity pool - or the crew would strike or quit. Either which way you pay. If gratuities are $11.50pp per day on a 7-day sailing then $799pp plus gratuities will be instead be priced at $880pp including gratuities.

 

I received a promotional brochure that some sailings will include "free gratuities" but the T&C mentions that they have no cash value. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody had tried to remove the "free" gratuities "on principal" and asked for the amount to be credited. :eek: Some people just look for any excuse to be cheap.

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