confused about auto tipping???

[c4me]

My husband and I are sailing on the Westerdam on 3-06-05 for 7 nights, and have not yet received our documents, and we are a little confused about the amount ot money to be charge to our credit card. We've read a thread saying $ 10.00 per day per person and another one saying $ 30.00 per person per day. would someone kindly inform us of the correct amount?????

[soccerfootballmom]

I believe it's $10/person/day...so for both of you it would be $20/day or $140 for the cruise :)

[Sea Island Lady]

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

[jcrandle]

Don't know about auto tipping (sounds dangerous - those cars weigh 3 or 4 thousand pounds) but cow tipping can be a lot of fun. What you do is, at night, when the cows are asleep, but still standing up, three of four of you sneak up on them and push them over on their sides. It's hillarious!

[TPKeller]

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

Actually, the cruise tip calculator doesn't have an entry for HAL. Originally, they did not provide a recommendation at all (during the dastardly days of "no tipping required"). And now, they charge a flat $10 per person, per day charge to your account, which I am more inclined to call a "service charge" than a gratuity.

 

I am thinking about adding cruise lines that do this to the calculator, and just having one staff entry titled "Service Charge". This would help people at least figure out how much they will be paying.

 

Any thoughts on whether this would be a worthy addition?

 

Theron

[dakrewser]

You're confusing the auto-tip ($10 pp/day) with the hotel charge card hold ($60/day).

 

 

Here's the offcial word on the auto-tip.

And here's the official word on your on-board account and credit card hold.

 

THe only charge to be concerned with is the auto-tip. THe hold is a standard practice in the hotel industry.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When you do get your documents, there will be a letter inside that talks about the $10 per day per person automatic tipping policy. Of the $10, $3 goes to your cabin steward, $3 to the dining waitstaff, and $4 for all the "behind the scenes" people who make you cruise.

There will also be a 15% added onto all bar bills, wine, sodas, etc.

And the cruise line will also put a hold of an additional $60 per day on your credit card.

[Kami's pal]

the full information about the gratuities policy until passengers have paid the final payments. When you go to the links provided by dakrewser, one reads that if you do not want the automatic charge, you may inform the purser.

 

Only after you have fully committed to the cruise do you receive the information that the $10 pppd is pooled in order to "recognize the efforts of the behind the scenes staff." and further, if you "remove or reduce the amount charged to your onboard account, any gratuities received by waiters or cabin stewards must be turned in."

 

It is this policy that angers passengers who find out about it after it is too late to cancel. Some passengers are of the opinion that the "highly trained kitchen staff" (aren't those the chefs?) should be recognized by wages based on skill level and experience, not tips. Some passengers only want to tip the people they actually see instead of the window washers, laundry staff, Maitre d'. Once in a while passenger might be so unhappy with a particular crew member's service they want to NOT TIP THAT ONE PERSON. However passengers only find out about the penalty of "removing or reducing" which is that "any gratuities received privately must be turned in."

 

Why doesn't HAL post THIS information, which is found in the leaflet titled

 

you need to know on their web-site before the customer commits to the cruise?

[dakrewser]

Once in a while passenger might be so unhappy with a particular crew member's service they want to NOT TIP THAT ONE PERSON.

 

Mentioning any problems on the comment card, or dropping a note to the appropriate supervisor is infinitely more effective then reducing the tip amount.

 

"Kitichen staff" refers to the many people (not a "chef") who work to see your food is prepared and presented properly. In good restaurants, the waiters share their tips with these people.

 

And do you really think people would decide to cancel a cruise because they couldn't cancel part of the auto-tip? I don't.

[Kami's pal]

think anyone would cancel because they couldn't cancel part of the auto tip.

 

My question is why not full disclosure before one books?

[dakrewser]

think anyone would cancel because they couldn't cancel part of the auto tip.

 

My question is why not full disclosure before one books?

 

How much "full disclosure" do you need? Should they warn you that the comedian is most likely lame or that the trio in the Ocean Bar only knows 20 songs? They tell you about the auto-tipping and the amount. That sounds like full disclosure to me....

[boards]

It sure does to me too. Sounds they know now, so what's the problem. Cancel now and then you won't have to pay or be bother about. From what we read it sounds like all the cruise lines doing some method of the same thing concerning tipping.

[Orcrone]

It sure does to me too. Sounds they know now, so what's the problem. Cancel now and then you won't have to pay or be bother about. From what we read it sounds like all the cruise lines doing some method of the same thing concerning tipping.

Boards. I cruised two years ago with Carnival, and they also had the auto-tip. However, the tip went to the dining room steward, his assistant and the cabin steward. All three being people who directly served me. None of the tip went to "behind the scenes people".

 

I think that the policy is ridiculous. It's subsidizing salaries, not providing tips. However, HAL has decided that this method is sufficient. So I will leave the tip in place, and only tip extra if the service I receive warrants an above standard tip.

[ekerr19]

Orcrone, this is what we do as well. I think the whole policy needs to be reviewed. It is too much like a service charge, but I do like the fact that I can partially tip and have it added to my credit card, it reduces the amount of cash we need to bring for tips.I thought that we were pre-authorized $70 pp per night on the Noordam, it was a nine day cruise - we had $560 each pre-authorized, making it $70 for eight nights. Maybe I am wrong...

[Lipp1026]

I tend to agree that the automatic tipping is actually subsidizing salaries - not giving employees an added reward for wonderful service.

 

My husband and I have been on twelve cruises on various cruise lines, and it seems that, as Orcrone stated, many of them have added this policy. I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same occurence that we have had: On the cruises with the auto-tip in place, we noticed that the cabin steward and dining room attendants were less personable than on other cruises without the auto-tip. My husband and I chalked it up to them knowing they didn't have to work as hard for that precious tip at the end of the cruise. (Don't get me wrong... The dining room service was fine, and the cabin was always clean, but those are things we expect when we're cruising; we're looking for exceptional service, and that, to us, should include some (any) personality.)

 

Having said that, we also have known of fellow cruisers who would skip out on the last night of supper to avoid tipping. We even sat with a man one time who handed the dining room attendants an empty envelope so that it looked as if he was tipping! For this reason, I think perhaps the auto-tip may be better in the long run for the employees. And regardless of if they demonstrate an affable personality or not, we know they're working very hard for us.

[dakrewser]

I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same occurence that we have had: On the cruises with the auto-tip in place, we noticed that the cabin steward and dining room attendants were less personable than on other cruises without the auto-tip.

 

Actually, on our Oosterdam cruise last month we found the service from both cabin steward and DR staff to be better than on our last pre-auto-tipping cruise on the Volendam.

[Sea Island Lady]

Do I have this correct?

We will have an automatic tip added to our accounts. No problem there as far as we are concerned. However, are you saying that if we give our steward, waiter, assistant waiter and wine sommelier an additional gratuity, that they would have to turn this in to a pool?

[brfan]

Do I have this correct?

We will have an automatic tip added to our accounts. No problem there as far as we are concerned. However, are you saying that if we give our steward, waiter, assistant waiter and wine sommelier an additional gratuity, that they would have to turn this in to a pool?

 

No, they only have to turn in the tip if you have the gratuity removed from your account. Anything over and above the $10 per day they get to keep.

 

The other thing not mentioned is that HAL no longer pays for their medical, uniforms or the one trip home per year, the money spent from that is taken off of their tips.

 

Brenda

[Sea Island Lady]

The other thing not mentioned is that HAL no longer pays for their medical, uniforms or the one trip home per year, the money spent from that is taken off of their tips.

:eek:

That's part of the allure of working on a cruiseship. Having medical and getting that trip home is a very sizable chunk! Is the HAL salary better than what other cruiselines give?

[AbbieRose]

I just returned from a cruise on the Zaandam, and I have to say, the service from our waiter was atrocious! I attribute this to the automatic tip. He was so slow that we were late for the show every night, because we were waiting for our meals. Some of us never got things we ordered, like salads, soup, coffee, tea. I was extremely disappointed with the service, and I sent HAL and email about it, and I wrote it on my survey.

 

This was my fifth HAL cruise, and I never experienced such poor service from the dinner waiter. All of the other staff, including our room steward, were fabulous! But our dinner waiter, and the assistant were very subpar in my opinion. I don't know that the automatic tipping is working all that well.

 

Melissa

[trubey]

Lousy waiters exist, just like lousy dentists and lousy drivers.

 

Good idea with the email and comment card, but I would have found the headwaiter or hotel manager and made sure I either got good service from then on, or was moved somewhere where I would!

[ron46936]

There is a group that is sometimes neglected but can make a difference. Some of the folks in the Lido are not waiters but hope to become one. They can often add some very nice touches such as refilling coffee or helping to carry trays. Under the old system they got very little. I think they deserve part of the pool.

[brego]

Just wondering how HAL informs you of the automatic tip. I am sailing in a few weeks and knew nothing about this until I read it on this board. Everything that I got in writing (except my tickets) came through my TA and she never once mentioned the new tipping policy nor was it in any of the confirmations she sent me. I review everything I get very carefully.I have sailed with HAL for many cruises and did not know of the change. I am glad I saw it here as there are 7 of us in our family and it would have been a big (and not pleasant) suprise when I got on the ship! Was this something one would have expected your TA to inform you of?

[jhannah]

I am sailing in a few weeks and knew nothing about this until I read it on this board. Was this something one would have expected your TA to inform you of?

Aren't you glad you read this board! Yes, your TA should have informed you. She dropped the ball, IMO. The tipping policy is on the HAL website and is contained in the "Know Before You Go" booklet that comes with your travel documents. Most cruise lines now have this automatic service charge.