I say do away with auto tips totally

[MrPete]

I believe that English is not your first language, so I thought that I would give you a quick Spanish lesson. :)

 

Those are "cojones" not "kahunas". ;)

 

Except I'm not sure how many Spanish are on Hawaii, where the Big Kahuna's are.

 

Mahalo!

[Trevoli]

Now, THAT was funny! Thanks for the chuckle.

[mikedw]

I always prepay the tip so I don't have to worry about it. I really hate it when people say that the staff doesn't work as hard when they know the tip is already paid. I think they work pretty hard for it and I truly believe that some people just get off at dangling a tip in front of someone. If you do this, this, and this for me, you'll get your tip, if not you'll get nothing. I'll do that with my dogs with a treat, but never a human being.

 

We go out to dinner several times a week and I always tip 20% without even thinking about. I don't understand why it's a hard concept for some people to accept.

[Cruising89143]

I have cruised on lines that allow the guest to pay the gratuties in cash at the end of the cruise and I have also cruised on lines that automatically add them to your on board account. I have not noticed any difference in service between the two. Yes, some lines do a better job overall but none have had service that I would consider below average.

 

Personally I would rather that they add it to your final cruise payment and be done with it and then if you want to tip more to a particular crew member, you could. That way everyone pays and the crew gets what they deserve. I think that there are some that work to find a way to keep from tipping the staff and will use any excuse to make their case. I have never had a crew member that did not earn at least the minimum set amount. The majority usually deserve more and receive it.

 

Everyone has their own beliefs when it comes to this subject and there will never be an answer that will make everyone happy.:)

[Maraprince]

I strongly disagree. Most people in the service industry are not tipped because they are fully salaried. I for one do not tip politicians, nurses, city bus drivers, grocery store baggers or cashiers, dental assistants, teachers, police officers, military personnel, entertainment staff on the cruise ship, flight attendents etc. A small subset of people in the service industry receive a reduced salary with the expectation that their wages will be supplemented by tips (i.e. most waiters, bellhops at hotels, skycaps at airports etc.).

 

You are confusing "public service" with service providers. If you were to try and tip a police officer or a politician you would be considered to be offering a bribe and not a tip!

 

At a total of $10 a day where else would you find someone to serve your meals, make your bed, give you fresh towels, etc.? People easily spend $5-$6 at Starbucks for their morning coffee and all they have is a cup of coffee that they had to wait on line for with everyone else. With as many a 8 meals and snacks per day and all beverages except soda and alcohol and speciality coffees included in the price of your cruise, a tip of $70-$90 at the end of the sailing is small change by comparison to what you have consumed in food alone without the other services you have received while on board if you were to itemize them and had to pay a la carte for everything.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[bluegirlum]

The thing is, a tip is supposed to be for good service. Why would I pre-pay my tips? My service in the MDR was mediocre, at best. The waiter did nothing--the asst. waiter did everything. I have the right to give the asst waiter more, and the waiter less if they don't give me good service.

[Maraprince]

We've been cruising for 18 years and have noticed a decline in the service provided by staff - especially food services - since the auto tipping started. They don't have to work for their tips anymore because they get them regardless, if they clear tables and serve beverages or stand in groups talking -- we just got off a 32 day nightmare on the Star Princess - we had to almost trip them as they went by to get any service - we had to clear tables and wipe them ourselves a few times - we generally got our own beverages so we could have them with our meals. I have suggested to Princess several times that they should pay their workers a fair wage and then we could tip for good service as we do elsewhere. We were in Brazil on this trip and tried to tip our taxi drivers/guides and they returned the tips to us with a smile saying they were not necessary. Tipping is an American tradition that hasn't caught on all over the world yet! Do you tip a server in a restaurant for poor service - even if their taxes are based on a percentage of their income being from tips?

 

 

 

Cruise ships do not come under US wage rates as they are registered in foreign countries (with the exception of one NCL ship). The money that the crew is paid far exceeds what they could expect to earn in their home countries which is one of the main reasons cruise ship jobs are so desirable. Do not judge the pay the crew gets by US standards. The tips go into a pool and are shared with many staff that you never see -- kitchen, laundry, cleaning staff, etc. who all contribute to making your voyage enjoyable Everyone has a role to play and if everything goes smoothly, you are the beneficary. Nothing is perfect and sometimes there is a hicup but for the most part passengers never realize what actually goes into making a sailing successful.

 

MARAPRINCE

[windjammerB&C]

I agree, Do away with auto tipping. A tip is something you earn. We have also noticed a change in service since auto tipping started.

[Submariner]

I agree, Do away with auto tipping. A tip is something you earn. We have also noticed a change in service since auto tipping started.

 

I concur. A tip is something to be 'earned' for good service - not automatically given. Nothing pisses me off more than when people expect a tip for just doing their everyday normal job. Excellent service warrants a tip - yes. Tipping to supplement a person's wages should not be done. Unfortunately, in America, income supplementation is done under the guise of tipping. No one has the balls to state it as it is .. a service fee!

 

Tips = To insure prompt service. We seem to have forgotten this.

[Maraprince]

You do realize that a cruise ship is not America?

 

A 15% gratuity is added to all bar charges. Will you dispute that as well?

 

It is interesting that the OP is a shareholder. I guess it is alright to receive the OBC due a shareholder but to pay a tip for service is not okay. Very interesting.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[andrzej5914]

You do realize that a cruise ship is not America?

 

A 15% gratuity is added to all bar charges. Will you dispute that as well?

 

It is interesting that the OP is a shareholder. I guess it is alright to receive the OBC due a shareholder but to pay a tip for service is not okay. Very interesting.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

I don't believe that's what the previous poster was saying. I concur with her/him.

 

Let's call it for what it is - a service charge.

 

In the better restaurants in US it is stipulated on the menu that for groups of 6 or 8 or more, a 15% SERVICE CHARGE will be AUTOMATICALLY added to the bill.

 

Service charge, not a TIP.

[DGNY]

Tips = To insure prompt service. We seem to have forgotten this.

 

Except "tips" is not an acronym.

[MrPete]

 

Tips = To insure prompt service. We seem to have forgotten this.

 

We? The word would be ENSURE, not INSURE. Amazing when people post this.

[Submariner]

Sorry, my mistake.

 

TIPS = To improve prompt service.

 

http://www.all-acronyms.com/TIPS/To_Improve_Prompt_Service/1288544

 

A little reading for those so inclined... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_%28gratuity%29

[MrPete]

Sorry, my mistake.

 

TIPS = To improve prompt service.

 

http://www.all-acronyms.com/TIPS/To_Improve_Prompt_Service/1288544

 

Wrong again.

 

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

[Submariner]

Who cares what Snopes thinks.

 

Most people accept that TIPS = what I wrote. It is assimilated into everyday common knowledge. I think I made my point regarding the underlying meaning on what it is, and meant by, tipping.

[MrPete]

Who cares what Snopes thinks.

 

Most people accept that TIPS = what I wrote. It is assimilated into everyday common knowledge. I think I made my point regarding the underlying meaning on what it is, and meant by, tipping.

 

Those that know would laugh at your statement. TIPS doesn't = that at all. Never has.

 

But I've never tipped for prompt service in my life.

[DGNY]

Sorry, my mistake.

 

TIPS = To improve prompt service.

 

http://www.all-acronyms.com/TIPS/To_Improve_Prompt_Service/1288544

 

A little reading for those so inclined... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_%28gratuity%29

 

From the wiki page you linked:

 

Etymology

 

There are common inaccurate claims[2] that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rogues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".[3]

[bluegirlum]

I'll play!

 

Gratuity: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; see "tip"

 

Service charge: a fee charged for a particular service often in addition to a standard or basic fee

 

The difference here is between VOLUNTARY and CHARGED. What the cruise ships are calling a "gratuity" are de facto "service charges."

[MrPete]

I'll play!

 

Gratuity: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; see "tip"

 

Service charge: a fee charged for a particular service often in addition to a standard or basic fee

 

The difference here is between VOLUNTARY and CHARGED. What the cruise ships are calling a "gratuity" are de facto "service charges."

 

But Royal Caribbean does not charge tips unless you instruct them to. It is voluntary.

[bluegirlum]

But Royal Caribbean does not charge tips unless you instruct them to. It is voluntary.

 

Voluntary? You read these boards. If someone admits they don't tip, they are torn to shreds and told that they are terrible people who are depriving these hard working people of their livelihood.

 

RCI gives each passenger a sheet with "recommended" gratuity amounts. The fact that they give you a sheet like this shows that it's pretty much expected. I've never been to a hotel with something like this. People may say that it's to help people not used to a tipping culture, but let's be realistic. If they expect you to tip all these people, they should charge. I always tip and that's fine, but let's call a spade a spade.

[John Henry on CC]

Voluntary? You read these boards. If someone admits they don't tip, they are torn to shreds and told that they are terrible people who are depriving these hard working people of their livelihood.

 

RCI gives each passenger a sheet with "recommended" gratuity amounts. The fact that they give you a sheet like this shows that it's pretty much expected. I've never been to a hotel with something like this. People may say that it's to help people not used to a tipping culture, but let's be realistic. If they expect you to tip all these people, they should charge. I always tip and that's fine, but let's call a spade a spade.

 

Ok, here's a spade. :)

 

Regardless of what people write on CC and what other people say to those people on CC, when it comes to leaving the "gratuities" on board, no one else knows whether you paid them or not.

 

Not tipping doesn't leave a scarlet T on anyone's forehead.

 

You would never know if I tip, regardless of what I post here.

 

Mr. Pete is right. It's voluntary.

[MrPete]

Voluntary? You read these boards. If someone admits they don't tip, they are torn to shreds and told that they are terrible people who are depriving these hard working people of their livelihood.

 

RCI gives each passenger a sheet with "recommended" gratuity amounts. The fact that they give you a sheet like this shows that it's pretty much expected. I've never been to a hotel with something like this. People may say that it's to help people not used to a tipping culture, but let's be realistic. If they expect you to tip all these people, they should charge. I always tip and that's fine, but let's call a spade a spade.

 

It was you that drew the line from CHARGE to SERVICE CHARGE. Not sure how any of the above supports your POV.

 

And no, you won't see it in a hotel, but you would see it at a Catskill type resort. I've been going to one for 50 years, and you tip the servers and the cleaning staff.

 

I went a new one last spring in the Pocanos, and they did tack on an actual service charge; no tipping. It was 15% of my two night stay, which came to $150.

[Rmunson72906]

Tipping is voluntary. No one knows if you tip or how much you tip unless you tell them. You should only be concerned how much you leave as a tip, not how much the people 4 decks up left. If you feel bad and think that the employees are getting short changed, you can leave a bigger tip, even if you prepaid, you can still leave extra if you want. If you don't tip, hey im sure you have your reasons, and that's noones business but your own.

 

As far as some people thinking that the included 15% tip on alcohol and soda is ridiclulous, it's not. How many people do you think would stiff their bartender or cocktail server? a lot thats how many. That gratuity is just making sure those people get compansated, can you imagine serving say 500 people 4 drinks a piece in 1 night and only making $100 or less? and thats just a small number and Im sure they split their tips. The gratuity is also no different than when you go out to eat at a nice restaurant with a large group and they add a gratuity to the bill. Before anyone says I dont know what im talking about, while I have never worked on a cruise ship, I have waitressed and bartended and have worked at a casino for the last 5 years and tips are how I make my living, I know exactly how it works.

[andrzej5914]

Tipping is voluntary. No one knows if you tip or how much you tip unless you tell them. You should only be concerned how much you leave as a tip, not how much the people 4 decks up left. If you feel bad and think that the employees are getting short changed, you can leave a bigger tip, even if you prepaid, you can still leave extra if you want. If you don't tip, hey im sure you have your reasons, and that's noones business but your own.

 

As far as some people thinking that the included 15% tip on alcohol and soda is ridiclulous, it's not. How many people do you think would stiff their bartender or cocktail server? a lot thats how many. That gratuity is just making sure those people get compansated, can you imagine serving say 500 people 4 drinks a piece in 1 night and only making $100 or less? and thats just a small number and Im sure they split their tips. The gratuity is also no different than when you go out to eat at a nice restaurant with a large group and they add a gratuity to the bill. Before anyone says I dont know what im talking about, while I have never worked on a cruise ship, I have waitressed and bartended and have worked at a casino for the last 5 years and tips are how I make my living, I know exactly how it works.

 

so will you please make up your mind?

 

If it's voluntary then why is the 15% included automatically?

 

You start out with the voluntary statement and then you proceed to tell us that the 15% is necessary (as in service charge) because otherwise the bartender may be stiffed.

 

I'm confused?

 

btw, I too bartended in my younger years and I do know the difference between "tipping" as in "thank you" for great service, and AUTOMATIC service charge added to the customers bill.

 

No matter how you look at it and we could all use semantics all night long but when a customer has no choice then it's NOT TIPPING, it's a SERVICE CHARGE.