Well Kept Secrete about Tips

[dan40]

Carnival Cruise lines will not tell you this but I found out this weekend from a crew member who used to work for carnival as a waiter that the tips that are subtracted from your bill ($70.00 pp) is 95% of their income they earn. Carnival only supplements this by only 5%. Meaning that our tips for the wait staff pay for 95% of their salary. So tipping is very important and giving a little extra at the end if you can offord it will help them out. If I had only knew this a long time ago. I can't belive carnival pays them very little for the hard work they do.

 

 

While your information is in the ballpark of being correct, I would not consider an EX-employee of any company a good source of info.

 

There is no % taken into account on Carnival. [each cruiseline has its own methods] On Carnival the service employees get a set salary. More for more experience and position, less for the inexperienced. But it is a set, known amount. IT IS WELL KNOWN TO BE A SMALL AMOUNT. What they get in tips is simply additional. No % are used.

[alwayshappytocruise]

This is not true, and I would do something about all things that secrete.

 

I read somewhere on here that it isn't good to secrete in the hot tubs.....

[monkeyates]

Carnival Cruise lines will not tell you this but I found out this weekend from a crew member who used to work for carnival as a waiter that the tips that are subtracted from your bill ($70.00 pp) is 95% of their income they earn. Carnival only supplements this by only 5%. Meaning that our tips for the wait staff pay for 95% of their salary. So tipping is very important and giving a little extra at the end if you can offord it will help them out. If I had only knew this a long time ago. I can't belive carnival pays them very little for the hard work they do.

 

Just got off the Legend and removed the auto tip and gave all of it to the service staff ourselves. We even had a hundred dollars in one dollar bills and gave three or four dollars to any of the lowly workers we saw. Carnival was not able to skim off the top.

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

I have always given room stewart extra 20.00 at start of cruise and left alone the tips carnival takes out on my sign and sail. If I get good service I always tip extra at end of cruise. These guy's work really really hard for their $$

[alwayshappytocruise]

Just got off the Legend and removed the auto tip and gave all of it to the service staff ourselves. We even had a hundred dollars in one dollar bills and gave three or four dollars to any of the lowly workers we saw. Carnival was not able to skim off the top.

 

Lowly workers........how condescending. FTLOG, no one forced them to sign their employment contracts.

[dan40]

Just got off the Legend and removed the auto tip and gave all of it to the service staff ourselves. We even had a hundred dollars in one dollar bills and gave three or four dollars to any of the lowly workers we saw. Carnival was not able to skim off the top.

 

 

Sure you did!

[glrounds]

This is not true, and I would do something about all things that secrete.

:D so subtle, Pete, so subtle :D

[Aknot]

Ok.... Im totally confused again....

 

The S&S card gets billed each day for Gratuities.

 

Above that we can "tip" some more for whatever reason we see fit. great service, friendly response, etc....

 

When do we "give" that tip? At the end of the cruise? Each night in the dining facility?

 

How do we give that tip? Is there a line item on our bill at the dining facilities? Leave it on the table? Palm it to a person (more then 1 comes to our table though, right?) Attach it to out S&S card.....

 

An envelope at the end with money it in listing out how much shouldgo to which area.....

 

/head bang

 

Sometimes I think I understand the tipping thing and sometimes I dont...

[ava_girl_123]

It is not mandatory. If it was it would be called a service charge. Some lines do that. On Carnival, you may go to the Purser's Desk and raise or lower the tips for each individual that serves YOU. You may increase as much as you like or reduce to zero.

 

The problem with removing tips "to tip in cash" is that 92% of those that do remove the tip for any reason,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,TIP NOTHING.

 

And that stat comes from a cruiseline and has been documented here in the past.

 

 

 

I thought it was mandatory. That if you did not pre-pay your gratuities like we did, that at the end of the cruise, your SS card has the $140 in gratuities added to it automatically.. So it does not then?

I like the idea pre-paying and then giving more as I go.. ;)

[Crusin6]

We pre paid tips.. We will tip extra without a doubt.. :D

But you do not have to

[ava_girl_123]

Sure you did!

 

 

Why assume he did not? :confused:

[YoHoHo]

I have wanted to see Crete myself. I hear the Minoan ruins are amazing....

 

I am shocked you would say that the Minoans are ruining everything. Everyone knows they have been sailing for a very long time.

I'd rather see more Minoans than ... Oh. Never mind.

(Sorry. Sometimes I seem to live in Emily Litella's world.)

[gtouch]

Ok.... Im totally confused again....

 

The S&S card gets billed each day for Gratuities.

 

Above that we can "tip" some more for whatever reason we see fit. great service, friendly response, etc....

 

When do we "give" that tip? At the end of the cruise? Each night in the dining facility?

 

How do we give that tip? Is there a line item on our bill at the dining facilities? Leave it on the table? Palm it to a person (more then 1 comes to our table though, right?) Attach it to out S&S card.....

 

An envelope at the end with money it in listing out how much shouldgo to which area.....

 

/head bang

 

Sometimes I think I understand the tipping thing and sometimes I dont...

 

Tipping is a personal thing as you will find out. The charge to your SS is considered customary. You may change it delete as you see fit. You can tip daily to each person extra or at the end however you will like. You will see a lot about those that remove their tips from the SS (I do not) because a lot of them never tip and just keep the extra money. Do it however you want it's your vacation and your experience.

[alwayshappytocruise]

Why assume he did not? :confused:

 

Why give out $3-4 to random "lowly" workers?? Doesn't make sense......

[Crusin6]

Ok.... Im totally confused again....

 

The S&S card gets billed each day for Gratuities.

 

Above that we can "tip" some more for whatever reason we see fit. great service, friendly response, etc....

 

When do we "give" that tip? At the end of the cruise? Each night in the dining facility?

 

How do we give that tip? Is there a line item on our bill at the dining facilities? Leave it on the table? Palm it to a person (more then 1 comes to our table though, right?) Attach it to out S&S card.....

 

An envelope at the end with money it in listing out how much shouldgo to which area.....

 

/head bang

 

Sometimes I think I understand the tipping thing and sometimes I dont...

If you want to tip the wait staff...on the last night of the cruise...they will be available..don't worry and you hand it to them.....if we tip at this point it is $20 or 30 tops.....$20 to head waiter...$10 to asst.

 

If you want to tip the steward...and you see him at the end of the cruise....again hand it to him/her....if we do this again it is $20 to $30 tops.

 

We don't care to look like big shots to these people but maybe we will give them just a little extra cash.

 

If you drink or use room service...15% will be added to your bar bill....no need to tip extra...but some will need to throw the cash around. We don't feel the need to do that.

[Crusin6]

geez...now we cruisers tipping the "lowly" workers

[ava_girl_123]

Why give out $3-4 to random "lowly" workers?? Doesn't make sense......

 

 

 

I just don't make assumptions.. For all we know he could be worth millions and felt that he wanted to tip extra to whomever..

 

That is just me though..;)

[ticka1]

I have been reading the forums on a daily basis and trying to figure out all the different folks I will encounter that I might be tipping on my cruise. I personally like to tip folks - God has blessed me so I want to pay it forward. So with that said I have started an change bottle at home - all the money in it for one year will be cashed in before our trip and that will be our tipping for the staff on the ship! I am thinking it will be at least $200-400.

[dan40]

Why assume he did not? :confused:

 

Its called experience and the ability to 'read between the lines."

And it is an assumption, not a fact.

[glrounds]

Just got off the Legend and removed the auto tip and gave all of it to the service staff ourselves. We even had a hundred dollars in one dollar bills and gave three or four dollars to any of the lowly workers we saw. Carnival was not able to skim off the top.

 

Yeah, right. :rolleyes:

(a real Robin Hood, foiling that rascally Carnival's sinister plan)

[MrPete]

I have been reading the forums on a daily basis and trying to figure out all the different folks I will encounter that I might be tipping on my cruise. I personally like to tip folks - God has blessed me so I want to pay it forward. So with that said I have started an change bottle at home - all the money in it for one year will be cashed in before our trip and that will be our tipping for the staff on the ship! I am thinking it will be at least $200-400.

 

Can I shovel your driveway?

[ava_girl_123]

Oh well.. To each his own.. We were on an All Inclusive vacation in Playa Del Carmen a few years ago, and again since I was a service worker, I tipped the bathroom girl that was mopping the floors in the restroom..Not the attendant in the bathroom, we tipped her too, but also the woman who was actually mopping the floors.. I didn't have to, I just did. As I walked out another guest replied very nasty "Huh, great now all the people mopping the floors will expect it"

 

I don't assume... never liked it.. ;)

[gtouch]

Can I shovel your driveway?

 

Very Smart to offer to shovel the driveway of someone in South Texas....not a lot of snow.

[MrPete]

Very Smart to offer to shovel the driveway of someone in South Texas....not a lot of snow.

 

Mama didn't raise no fool. I would never tip a person mopping either.

[Crusin6]

I have been reading the forums on a daily basis and trying to figure out all the different folks I will encounter that I might be tipping on my cruise. I personally like to tip folks - God has blessed me so I want to pay it forward. So with that said I have started an change bottle at home - all the money in it for one year will be cashed in before our trip and that will be our tipping for the staff on the ship! I am thinking it will be at least $200-400.

Yes, we have been blessed as well...we spend the extra on cultural/educational events for our family....this includes travel, tuition and other similiar things.......oh and I also support any charity our kids raise funds for......they have raised thousands for local charity.:)

 

Do you need babysitters? All our kids earn their own money.:)