Tips with No credit cards and little cash??

[velotaco]

Here's the deal, we were given this trip last Christmas so its a supposedly "FREE" cruise. The only problem is we are poor people with little cash most days, no credit cards and live paycheck to paycheck. So far our "FREE" cruise when we add up the days our business will have to close and kennelling our pets and now tips, our brother just handed us a $2,000 bill for our Christmas gift that we have been stressing about for 9 months. Not to mention passports, all this before we've even set foot on the boat.

 

Is there any way we can either reduce our tips or not pay at all by telling them this was given to us and we don't have money for extra's? Heck, I will eat in my room with my own food for a week if I have to avoid having to pay tips. I don't like the idea of somebody telling me how much I have to pay them. I pay according to service. I know I sound ungrateful here but I'm very frustrated with this cruise I have never been on before, before I've even left. We are cruising on Carnival Liberty in November to the western Caribbean. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

If you choose not to pay tips, go down to the front desk and have them removed. They are not mandatory. It's your choice.

[cruiserbryce]

and while that is 100% within your right...imo it still makes you cheap and ungrateful;)

[blindrid]

and while that is 100% within your right...imo it still makes you cheap and ungrateful;)

 

+1. I agree.

[Almost Packed]

There is no excuse to ever stiff the help on a cruise ship - the service is always wonderful.

 

If a person is not resourceful enough to save for the "spending" money, which includes gratuities, then they should not take a cruise vacation.

 

wrong!

there is an excuse...poor service...and if it happens, one does not deserve a tip. that is the only time of course...we had a bad experience on our very first cruise with dining room staff. if i was at a land based resturant, i can assure you, there would have been a meeting with the manager, and certainly no tip left...and i was a waitress at one point in time. so yes, you can "stiff" if the service or lack of service warrants it! that does not mean remove all tips associated to everyone..just the people/person deserving

[trish1c]

I skipped from page 1 to p 3 so I might have missed this but . . .

1. downgrading your cabin is a good idea.

2. I would also suggest that you get the original gift giver -- your brother -- to watch the animals while you are gone so that cost savings from not kenneling them can be applied somewhere.

While skipping tips for anything other than poor service is not acceptable, I think a lot of folks missed the OPs statement that she was willing to forgo the services which would have been provided by the people she didn't tip; as a 1st time cruiser I don't think she understood that unlike a hotel room where you can eat in your room with food you brought, that doesn't work on a ship.

Finally people who aren't self employed don't understand that going away can be a double whammy even in a good economy. When you work for someone else you get a paid vacation & the company still operates & makes money while you are not there. Neither of those are true for small businesses.

[dulcimergirl]

Call and put 5$ a week on their shipboard acct. I do this every payday, and by the time I cruise, I've got a nice chunk for tips, drinks, etc.

I actually put 25 to 50 every two weeks, but any amount will add up quickly as long as your cruise isn't close.

I've also Ebayed stuff around the house, and have had a yard sale to make some more funds for my shipboard credit.

Really not that difficult.

 

DG

[dustyroad]

i have not read threw the replies but i must say '' please do not deny the HARD working staff on the ship their tips. they work really hard to make your cruise a special event and they rely on the tips as their income. if i do not go too the main dining room so i do go too the pursers desk and have them take that share of the tips off my bill. but i do save alot of money on the cruise by not going to the casino, buying unnessary things in the gift shop, buying the photos, playing bingo, not going to the art auction and by getting the best reliable outside tour company for a good tour in one port or not taking a tour at all and just investigating the port on foot. i also am not a big drinker . i try not too eat off the ship since the food is really good and i can eat 24/7 for free.so i can acutally get by with a $50 to $100 onboard bill. if you are resourseful and diligient with your money you can still have a wonderful time and not spend hardly any money and give the staff their tips that they deserve. i know you are going to have a great time. and dont worry about the little things. just have an open mind and take in the experience of the cruise.

[GORDONCHICK]

WOW, KITTY9, DARCIE... you really know a lot about me?? How dare you judge me from previous posts, who the heck do you think you are anyways? You must not do anything but check on everyone that posts here, how sad for you! I wish I had that much time on my hands to know every detail about every member here!

 

It's called context, plain and simple.

 

Since you own your own business, here's some context for you: You have agreed to sell a product to a person, but that person has had a change in their situation. They still want the product, but don't want to pay the full price for it. The tips are a part of the price of cruising.

 

Personally, I think when someone "gifts" a cruise, it would be nice if they did pre-pay for the tips too. Maybe your borther plans on paying these and didn't know he could pre-pay them. A very frank chat should take care of this fairly quickly.

[dustyroad]

uh oh. im getting out the popcorn.

[westcruzer]

WOW, KITTY9, DARCIE... you really know a lot about me?? How dare you judge me from previous posts, who the heck do you think you are anyways? You must not do anything but check on everyone that posts here, how sad for you! I wish I had that much time on my hands to know every detail about every member here!

 

FYI, have you ever heard of changes in someone's circumstances?? Our business has took a turn for the worse, hense the bad economy, and Obama, therefore when I posted those wayyyyyyyy back in the spring when we first were planning this cruise we had money for it, then our business is being sued for SEVERAL THOUSANDS which has wiped us out. I would NEVER stiff some hard working person out of their tips if I didn't have to. I've always gone above and beyond when I tip cause I used to be a waitress and I know how hard it is. It is too late now to back out of our cruise and we HAVE talked to my brother, who yes, is very wealthy and doesn't understand it when we tell him our circumstances. He just says to us "don't worry it will all work out by the time the cruise comes". He can't worry about 20 people, afterall he just paid for that many people to go on a cruise.

 

I hope you feel better now accusing me and maybe I should be leary of identity fraud from you, that is pretty scary what you know about me. Beware everyone, Kitty 9, will check up on you so have your facts straight!

 

 

LMAO!!! just on Sept. 29th you posted about going shopping and how much will taxi's cost to run around town.....You might want to scale back on your trip so you can afford the tips or just don't take them at all.....I too am in the same situation.....My income has taken a large hit (as many others) and I earned a free cruise through a sales promo. I have told DW that we will need to scale things back in our life to save up some money to have on the cruise. Things like have a date night at with home cooked dinner and a rented movie instead of dinner out at a restaurant and a movie theater. We will be leaving in December and I just found out I officially earned the cruise at the end of Sept.

 

Bottom Line.....If you can't afford to tip those people that deserve it, don't go. you don't know if they deserve it until you take the cruise but I have never taken a cruise where no one deserved a tip.

[relaxandenjoy]

The more I read, the more I wonder if the OP was actually serious in asking this question. In the grand scheme of things, the tips are a small part of what you spend. If you can't afford tips, you can't afford to go period. I've been broke broke! I understand that sometime there just isn't any other place to draw money from. But, if that's the case, make the tough choice to stay home. You won't enjoy your cruise if you can't spend a dime and you don't deserve to spend a dime if it means stiffing the staff.

[kitty9]

LMAO!!! just on Sept. 29th you posted about going shopping and how much will taxi's cost to run around town.....You might want to scale back on your trip so you can afford the tips or just don't take them at all.....I too am in the same situation.....My income has taken a large hit (as many others) and I earned a free cruise through a sales promo. I have told DW that we will need to scale things back in our life to save up some money to have on the cruise. Things like have a date night at with home cooked dinner and a rented movie instead of dinner out at a restaurant and a movie theater. We will be leaving in December and I just found out I officially earned the cruise at the end of Sept.

 

Bottom Line.....If you can't afford to tip those people that deserve it, don't go. you don't know if they deserve it until you take the cruise but I have never taken a cruise where no one deserved a tip.

 

Wow, this is certainly interesting. The OP was in dire financial straits on September 15th, but two weeks later we're talking about going out in Miami and staying at a Miami hotel for a couple of days pre cruise? Interesting turn of events, one might say. Like I said from the beginning, something was not right with the OP's questions from the very start. Perhaps she came into some very good luck and her finances have turned. Good for her, if that's the case.

[cruiserbryce]

or the whole thing has been bogus all along

[relaxandenjoy]

Well I guess she succeeded in her objective because this thread did have me ticked off a bit. I couldn't believe someone could be so selfish and clueless.

[mafig]

or the whole thing has been bogus all along

 

 

or she was just looking for an excuse not to tip the staff.

[dustyroad]

the more i read, the more i wonder if the op was actually serious in asking this question. In the grand scheme of things, the tips are a small part of what you spend. If you can't afford tips, you can't afford to go period. I've been broke broke! I understand that sometime there just isn't any other place to draw money from. but, if that's the case, make the tough choice to stay home. You won't enjoy your cruise if you can't spend a dime and you don't deserve to spend a dime if it means stiffing the staff.

 

 

ditto

[kitty9]

or she was just looking for an excuse not to tip the staff.

 

 

I think the comment that cracked me up the most was when she said she could bring her own food and eat in her cabin. Can you imagine how silly she sounded on that one? I mean, jeez, thinking you can bring your own food and try and cook it in you cabin, just to stiff the crew?

[mafig]

I think the comment that cracked me up the most was when she said she could bring her own food and eat in her cabin. Can you imagine how silly she sounded on that one? I mean, jeez, thinking you can bring your own food and try and cook it in you cabin, just to stiff the crew?

 

 

Here's my opinion. She never meant to bring her own food.

What she was looking for was to have everyone say

"oh you poor thing. You don't have to do that. The staff will understand that you can't afford to tip them. They'll be happy to serve you and clean your bathroom, etc. just for you."

 

 

And when we didn't say that.....she got huffy and never returned.:D

[trish1c]

I actually thought more charitably about the OP & said so in my earlier post. She said this was her 1st cruise so she didn't understand that this wasn't like a hotel room. While it wouldn't be ideal, you could survive in a hotel room on food you brought even w/o cooking implements.

 

It sounded to me like she had all these grand plans when she originally started planning but things changed & now she was trying to find a cost savings way that would still let her get a way for a while.

 

I didn't read the post to mean that she wasn't going to stiff a staff member from whom she received services. I understood her to be looking for ways not to need / utilize the services if possible so that she wouldn't stiff somebody.

[notentirelynormal]

From the Florida board:

 

One more question :) What fun things are there to do in Miami as we will be there for 2 days before cruise? We are traveling with our 18 and 14 yr. old sons. I know there is the beach area but what else? Is there shopping close to South Beach where we are staying? How much is a taxi to get around? Is it safe to go out at night or even in the day? I've heard its a scary city but then again I'm nervous in most big cities. I'm from a very rural town in Utah, that explains a lot doesn't it :)

 

Sounds like she found some cash......

[DianeO90]

WOW, you guys must REALLY not have anything else to do but be on this forum and STILL commenting on me, its made me chuckle to say the least :p :) :D YUP< YUP YUP!!

[blindrid]

No it's not an interest in you but some of us get offended when someone wastes time or has no clue on life. Since you are a newbie in here, you will find most of us attempt to be helpful and attempt to prevent rude or obnoxious behavior that you were attempting to exhibit.

 

Hasta la vista.

[kona_wahine]

As a first timer my opinion when booking my cruise that the pre-paid tips were a wonderful idea and a part of the cost of the cruise. I couldn't imagine trying to find a way out of paying tips.

 

As for using poor service as a reason, anyone can find a reason to claim poor service, and then no one would give a tip.

[vaughnej2002]

WOW, you guys must REALLY not have anything else to do but be on this forum and STILL commenting on me, its made me chuckle to say the least :p :) :D YUP< YUP YUP!!

 

Here's the deal, we were given this trip last Christmas so its a supposedly "FREE" cruise. The only problem is we are poor people with little cash most days, no credit cards and live paycheck to paycheck. So far our "FREE" cruise when we add up the days our business will have to close and kennelling our pets and now tips, our brother just handed us a $2,000 bill for our Christmas gift that we have been stressing about for 9 months. Not to mention passports, all this before we've even set foot on the boat.

 

Is there any way we can either reduce our tips or not pay at all by telling them this was given to us and we don't have money for extra's? Heck, I will eat in my room with my own food for a week if I have to avoid having to pay tips. I don't like the idea of somebody telling me how much I have to pay them. I pay according to service. I know I sound ungrateful here but I'm very frustrated with this cruise I have never been on before, before I've even left. We are cruising on Carnival Liberty in November to the western Caribbean. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Wow, this is certainly interesting. The OP was in dire financial straits on September 15th, but two weeks later we're talking about going out in Miami and staying at a Miami hotel for a couple of days pre cruise? Interesting turn of events, one might say. Like I said from the beginning, something was not right with the OP's questions from the very start. Perhaps she came into some very good luck and her finances have turned. Good for her, if that's the case.

 

 

I am probably beating a dead horse hear, but I really don't care. I don't think anyone is posting anything in here because they have nothing else to do, but are just so disgusted on your questions of not tipping the wait staff. I have also looked at your other posts, and believe me I am no stalker. In your first post you stated that you have been stressing for the past 9 months over this gift. Well I don't know if the OP doesn't have a calendar but she started this is September, subtract 9 months from that and it is now December/January time frame, when she was posting asking questions about all of these elaborate Shore Excursions. I think maybe she just might be cheap. Oh yeah, by the way, do us all a favor and try cancelling your internet service to save a few bucks or instead of wasting your time on here pay more attention to your business or get a side job. I'm just sayin, this is a little ridiculous. :cool:

 

PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD AS THERE IS NO USEFULL INFORMATION HERE, BUT IT DID ALLOW FOR A FEW GOOD LAUGHS

[Sailor2Cruiser]

My husband and I will be going on our first cruise in November and one of the port of calls is in Ocho Rios and we would like to go to a nude beach. We have been to them before and really enjoy them. We are wondering if there are any close to Ocho or how far away there is one. I know there is somebody on this board who knows about these things. Don't be shy, please share any info. with us. Thanks and happy cruising everyone :-)

 

 

Apparently to poor to afford swimwear.