Pre-Paid Gratuities?

[PS90]

Hi Everybody,

 

I apologize if this topic has been covered to death - the search function doesn't seem to be working at all, and I'm a noob to this board. (And I'm not sure this is the correct category to start this thread - sorry)

 

Anyway, I am considering a second cruise in the near future, but I wanted to ask the experts here what they thought of using the option of Pre-Paid Gratuities prior to the cruise?

 

I did this option on my first cruise, and figured it would be easy and I wouldn't have to worry about anything, and wouldn't have to worry about bringing any cash along for tips.

 

Anyway, everything went fine, and the pre-paid gratuities went through just fine, BUT my problem was that, on the last day, it seemed like everyone else was giving their attendants, waiters, etc., a bunch of tips. Therefore, I felt the need to explain to each of them that I opted for the pre-paid gratuities, and they should get their money eventually.

 

I have no complaints whatsoever about the Celebrity crew - especially my waiter - they were all excellent, but I don't know if they appeared sad and/or irritated when I told them that I had opted for pre-paid gratuities, or if it was just my imagination.

 

So, MY QUESTION: Has anyone else, that has opted to do the pre-paid gratuities, had the same awkward/embarrassed experience that I did on the last day?

 

It seems like the cruise lines are encouraging pre-paid gratuities, but they don't seem to have figured out the actual implementation of those gratuities.

 

In other words, is it worth doing pre-paid gratuities again? Or are people just going back to the "traditional" tipping method?

 

Thanks very much for any help.:)

[firefly333]

The waiters and cabin stewards etc, all knew you paid the gratuity. dont fret.

 

I personally dont prepay ... and never bring cash to pay them either. Why would you?? I use a credit card when I check in and its charged to my cc.

 

If you want to tip extra, go for it... but its not required. Maybe what you saw was people tipping someone extra, like $20 extra for a special waiter.

[uppitycats]

I much prefer either pre-paid gratuities, or auto-pay (where the cruise line simply bills you per day..some calling it a service charge). Either way, the crew know that you've paid the gratuities one way or another (and they know who hasn't!). I think any "sad" looks was just your imagination.

 

some folks may have chosen to tip extra..and that might have been what you saw.

[PS90]

Thanks a lot for the info, guys.

 

It just seemed like my wife and I were the only ones not handing out little envelopes of cash, but, after reading both of your advice, I guess I won't worry about it.

[AF-1]

My last cruise on Royal Caribbean we pre paid out tips and on the last day, when it was time to give envelopes we already told them they were getting theirs in the mail.

[LarryL]

Hi Everybody,

 

I apologize if this topic has been covered to death - the search function doesn't seem to be working at all, and I'm a noob to this board. (And I'm not sure this is the correct category to start this thread - sorry)

 

Anyway, I am considering a second cruise in the near future, but I wanted to ask the experts here what they thought of using the option of Pre-Paid Gratuities prior to the cruise?

 

I did this option on my first cruise, and figured it would be easy and I wouldn't have to worry about anything, and wouldn't have to worry about bringing any cash along for tips.

 

Anyway, everything went fine, and the pre-paid gratuities went through just fine, BUT my problem was that, on the last day, it seemed like everyone else was giving their attendants, waiters, etc., a bunch of tips. Therefore, I felt the need to explain to each of them that I opted for the pre-paid gratuities, and they should get their money eventually.

 

I have no complaints whatsoever about the Celebrity crew - especially my waiter - they were all excellent, but I don't know if they appeared sad and/or irritated when I told them that I had opted for pre-paid gratuities, or if it was just my imagination.

 

So, MY QUESTION: Has anyone else, that has opted to do the pre-paid gratuities, had the same awkward/embarrassed experience that I did on the last day?

 

It seems like the cruise lines are encouraging pre-paid gratuities, but they don't seem to have figured out the actual implementation of those gratuities.

 

In other words, is it worth doing pre-paid gratuities again? Or are people just going back to the "traditional" tipping method?

 

Thanks very much for any help.:)

 

We always prefer auto-tip or whatever means there is to pre-pay tips. From what I understand, the crew does get a list of those who are pre-paying/auto tipping. That said, we always provide individuals extra for better service, including a nice write up at the end of the cruise. So although you are able to pre-pay you may see many people handing those envelopes as extra effort tips. Don't feel you need to follow suit unless you are especially impressed with the service and want to.

 

One other thing, for those who pull their auto-tips in an attempt to only tip their respective cabin attendants, waiters, etc ends up with the server having to turn the cash in to be added to the tip "pot" which could actually cause them to get less. If your name is on the "list" they can keep all you give them. I hope that made sense.

 

Larry

[livingstone]

there has been lots of discussion about tipping, what nationality tips the most , who tips the least....... and so it goes on. Hey but that is ok because it is an interesting topic. Me personaly, I object strongly to pre paid tips. I consider it an insult for RCI to ask me for $850 AUD in tips for a family of four on a 14 night cruise. I have actually refused to pay the tips in advance and i will be tipping on board what I think the service is worth. But I will tell you one thing it will not be a 850 dollar tip. NOW call me tight, call me cheap even call me ignorant, but the good thing we can put forward our position on the CC forum with out fear of being judged. CC's you guys rock

[livingstone]

you know if the guys working on the ships only give you service for the tips, i worry about theiir work ethic. I work and do a great job because that is what I want to do. what ever happened to job satisfacton, I am all for tipping but performance should not be based on tips. service should be outstanding then rewarded, it should not be the case that we pay for service in advance and hope it will be ok

[livingstone]

I much prefer either pre-paid gratuities, or auto-pay (where the cruise line simply bills you per day..some calling it a service charge). Either way, the crew know that you've paid the gratuities one way or another (and they know who hasn't!). I think any "sad" looks was just your imagination.

 

some folks may have chosen to tip extra..and that might have been what you saw.

 

 

yeah, and........... it does not matter if the crew know who has paid and who has not, becaue at the crusie i will tip acording to the service i recieve. poor service will result in poor tip, so it is up to the crew to aways do there best.

[uppitycats]

yeah, and........... it does not matter if the crew know who has paid and who has not, becaue at the crusie i will tip acording to the service i recieve. poor service will result in poor tip, so it is up to the crew to aways do there best.

 

You see, it is a cultural thing. Folks in Europe, England, Australia, etc. who do the kinds of jobs that stewards, waiters, etc., do,

 

earn MUCH more in your country than they do here in the US. And the "tips" actually supplement their salary. So the cruise lines pay the stewards and waiters and such MUCH less money than you'd expect, and they depend on their tips to make their salary more "liveable".

 

And as someone pointed out, if you -- personally you, in this case -- only tip those you SEE, and miss some of the other folks in the tip pool, the ones you SEE don't get to keep whatever you give them, generous or not. They're required to turn over whatever you've given them to the cruise line, who then divides up whatever you gave them to everyone who normally would be tipped. So the "good service" you're tipping for..and the people you're intending to reward..end up with LESS money than if you would pay the autotip -- as outrageous as that seems to you -- and then tipped additionally for "good service" to those few who you're tipping. In THAT case, they'd get to KEEP your tips, and appreciate your generosity. But when you choose to only tip them, they have to turn it over..and get less..and aren't so happy with you.

 

But do as you choose.

[shelovescruising]

We always just let them chg it to the cc on the account, but we have always gotten a piece of paper with our room no on it to put in a envelope which was provided as well to give to each person..now if we should to tip extra, which we do...we put that money with the other piece of paper and hand them out..we always tip waiter, asset waiter and room attendant extra..because they do more during the cruise for us. But that's just us...

[Chirpbird]

:confused:

And as someone pointed out, if you -- personally you, in this case -- only tip those you SEE, and miss some of the other folks in the tip pool, the ones you SEE don't get to keep whatever you give them, generous or not. They're required to turn over whatever you've given them to the cruise line, who then divides up whatever you gave them to everyone who normally would be tipped.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but if the extra money I give to the ones who go above and beyond has to be turned in, then why should I even attempt to tip folks who go above and beyond? And, yes. I pre-pay the tips, but I believe I should have a say in whom it gets it. (I know I don't get a say, just saying....)

[livingstone]

if RCI asked me to pay a fair amount in pre paid tips I would gladly do it, BUT is it just me or is 850 AUD per cabin for 14 nights a little outragious or am i just being tight. feel free to tell me what you really think, remembering that I am Australian.

[nowataboomer]

if RCI asked me to pay a fair amount in pre paid tips I would gladly do it, BUT is it just me or is 850 AUD per cabin for 14 nights a little outragious or am i just being tight. feel free to tell me what you really think, remembering that I am Australian.

 

 

You are being tight.

[livingstone]

You are being tight.

 

 

Ta, appreciate the feedback

[donaldsc]

Do you prepay the tip when you eat at a restaurant? Nuf said.

 

DON

[janina]

Most likely many of those people were booking extra.

[smeyer418]

as I said I hate tipping threads mostly because there is so much misinformation(in some cases deliberately so by people who have an ax to grind or a particular view of the world).

 

The service people on most of the tipping cruise lines are paid a base salary of something around $100 per MONTH plus on board room and board and some on board medical care) here is a thread from someone who works/ed in the dinning room that talks about this.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1107696

 

They do take home more because they get a draw against the tips and the tips themselves.

 

This method of paying the traditional tipped crew goes back to at least the early 1900's and was continued by Samuel Cunard who was born in Canada and immigrated to England.

 

In fact in the 1910-30 there was a movement in the US to do away with tipping-which obviously failed.

 

Because of the fare structure now the remuneration for the traditionally tipped crew is NOT included in the fare. Generally those cruise lines that do include it charge more than the difference between the cost of tipping non tipping(Azamara announced a 25% increase and included the "basic" tipping and some other items-none of which when added together could justify a 25% increase-but I don't know if the full increase has held this is an example I realize that Celebrity is not Azamara or Seaborn or other of the luxury lines where in general you pay a premium to get the base tip included-do you really think that people no longer tip on these lines).

 

Whether its in the fare or the expected tip, its you are paying it anyway. I really don't see why you may want to pay more to have it included in the fare.

 

On most cruise lines when you remove the auto -tip all or most of the cash tip is put back into the pool anyway so in fact you make it more difficult for those who you want to reward. The best way to reward these people is to either write a note to their supervisors explaining how they went over and above or giving them a little extra(at your discretion of course).

The auto tip takes care of what the employees were required to do anyway(called tipping out). The rooms stewards traditionally tipped out the laundry room supply room staff and asst head housekeeper(the name for this varies among cruise lines); and the waiters tipped out the bus boys, dishwashers, line cooks and asst head waiter/maitre d(also varies by cruise line).

Do the employees just pocket the cash? mostly no. If the auto-tip is removed and they don't turn it in(BTW I have been told by some staff they sometimes convert extra tips left by some which they don't have to turn in at all to pay for the cheapos/stiffers because they ARE marked down when people keep taking the auto-tip off and leave nothing or less than the suggested amount-rightfully or wrongfully its held against them). The employees live in close quarters 3-4 in a room and they don't want large amounts of cash lying around either. The employees know pretty quickly who are the slackers and pocketers and since the supervisor is one of the people being stiffed by the employees they get a. fired b. non renewed or c the worst assignments....and also have been known to be visited by their own countries of origin mafia on board.

Ships are clearly a different culture with somewhat different rules. The tipping culture is a tradition on board. I know some people dis like being told when in Rome....but you aren't in Kansas either.

If you don't like the auto-tip you are of course free to chose another cruise line that includes it but if you like Celebrity's product and the service you really SHOULD follow the tradition.

 

There is also not one iota of evidence that the entire auto tip doesn't make it to the traditionally tipped and tipped out crew. The cruise lines even absorb the credit card charge. Cruise employees sue cruise lines all the time and there is NOT one report of any crew member that the entire amount doesn't eventually get to them and not one reported lawsuit...yet(I monitor a number of cruise lawyers reports who would report any such lawsuit)

 

 

BTW In the past the people who seem to complain about this the most are sometimes from the UK and Australia. But what I have learned is even in these places, tipping rules are not that clear cut(ie no tipping)

here is what the BBC says

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A640018

 

 

So in England at a restaurant tipping is the custom. In Oz its changing and in the large cities its becoming more normal to tip, although the BBC still says no tipping in Oz...

 

 

 

 

Although in the past I promised when in Oz I won't tip, I am now not so sure. I will remove the auto tip in England but if the service warrants I will tip.

 

So for 14 days you are paying about $15AUS per day. This is for all the food service and your room stewards. Its 3-5 meals per day. Its 2 room clean ups(the clean up in the first half of the day and the turn down service at night). In my view your attitude is not only cheap its niggardly.

 

 

 

Now them is the facts. If you would like to discuss the facts please do but just like you may complain when someone on formal night wears shorts, traditions should be obeyed.

[livingstone]

Thanks smeyer418, for the detailed reply, and thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your frank and well explained coments in regard to tipping, and if i did not want to hear what other had to say I would not post on the forum. you are right that the tipping culture of Australia is changing in the big cities, as for tipping in Australia, I would tip in the city resturants, and also the concierge at hotels, but i would not tip taxi drivers etc. As a rule in the outer suburbs of sydney tipping is not really big, but most resturants have a tip jar at the cashier with a few coins in it at most. I guess there is a real problem with many Australians not tipping at all when the ships sail from our ports, hense the pre paid tips that are added to the fare by RCI. i AM AUSTRALIAN and I can tell you now that tipping is not something we do a lot off at home. I just thought that the amount that RCI asked me to pay was was a excessive but from what you have said it may be a resonable amount. it is interesting to note that P&O Australia will be doing away with tipping from October and no doubt the price of the fare will increase to include tips. but the fact that P&O is doing away with tipping just shows what Australia as a population think about tipping in general.

[griffy116]

I live in the US and a tip is expected. That being said, we travel as a family and my son-in-law is known as "the cheapest man alive" in the family. We cruise with my daughter and son-in-law. The was outraged at the amount. We explained, however, as one of the above posted that it is not the total he should look at, and if it made him feel better, to take an envelope and at the end of the day, put the $3.50, $2.50, etc. in the envelope for that particular day. That is exactly what you are being asked to do if you tip. The accumulated amount may look big, but when you look at the daily rate, rarely would anyone think that a $3.50 tip was excessive for each person's service for 3+ meals per day. Tipping as if one were in a hotel, you would probably leave more than $2.50 if you stayed overnight at a hotel for maid service. For convenience, you aren't ask to leave the money on the table, nightstand, dresser or to hand the money to the waiter, maid, etc., each day on the cruise. Why then, would you consider the amount staggering, ridiculous, excessive. The fact that you can, at any time, go to the Customer Service area and request auto-tip be taken off your account indicates that you are not actually paying in advance, but projecting you could/would. pay for exemplary service, which they are saying, in advance, you will receive. I always project the total cost of the cruise, per person with the tip added. In the past, prior to auto-tip, I would add up the cost, label an envelope for each person getting a tip and have the cash, already in the envelop in my carry-on. I would put it in the safe until the envelope arrived. That way I already had the tip ready and didn't have to scramble to get the right amount. If I have extraordinary service, I put a little additional cash in an envelope for that person. That's just the way I look at it. I honestly wish they would just get to the point where it popped up during reservations just like adding in the airafe. That way you are projecting the true "cost" of the cruise. I resent their ability to add the fuel surcharge much more than the tip..and I don't have the option to delete payment.

[Chirpbird]

K - I'm American. Born in America; raised in America; served in the United States Air Force; family came over on the Mayflower (maybe that's why I love cruising) and we signed the Declaration of Independence. Also, my mother was a waitress and bartender until the day she died. We lived and breathed by the money she made. And, I'm about to be very unpopular on this board.

 

No-one is forced to work on a cruise ship. They all sign on the dotted line, and agree to work for the wages offered. Citing how much or little they make is not an inducement for me to tip or not.

 

If you are a service-oriented employee, and you are providing me a service, then your tip is yours to lose. I go in to restaurants, bars, hair salons, taxi cabs, etc. expecting to tip. If, however, you're rude, surly, offer low levels of service or in general act abusively towards me, you WILL NOT be getting the full tip I had planned. I don't care if you make $50/hr or $5.

 

I see no difference on a cruise ship. I have pre-paid my tips this time, because I didn't want to argue with the PVP. I still plan on providing extra tips when someone goes above and beyond. What they do with that money is up to them.

[livingstone]

I live in the US and a tip is expected. That being said, we travel as a family and my son-in-law is known as "the cheapest man alive" in the family. We cruise with my daughter and son-in-law. The was outraged at the amount. We explained, however, as one of the above posted that it is not the total he should look at, and if it made him feel better, to take an envelope and at the end of the day, put the $3.50, $2.50, etc. in the envelope for that particular day. That is exactly what you are being asked to do if you tip. The accumulated amount may look big, but when you look at the daily rate, rarely would anyone think that a $3.50 tip was excessive for each person's service for 3+ meals per day. Tipping as if one were in a hotel, you would probably leave more than $2.50 if you stayed overnight at a hotel for maid service. For convenience, you aren't ask to leave the money on the table, nightstand, dresser or to hand the money to the waiter, maid, etc., each day on the cruise. Why then, would you consider the amount staggering, ridiculous, excessive. The fact that you can, at any time, go to the Customer Service area and request auto-tip be taken off your account indicates that you are not actually paying in advance, but projecting you could/would. pay for exemplary service, which they are saying, in advance, you will receive. I always project the total cost of the cruise, per person with the tip added. In the past, prior to auto-tip, I would add up the cost, label an envelope for each person getting a tip and have the cash, already in the envelop in my carry-on. I would put it in the safe until the envelope arrived. That way I already had the tip ready and didn't have to scramble to get the right amount. If I have extraordinary service, I put a little additional cash in an envelope for that person. That's just the way I look at it. I honestly wish they would just get to the point where it popped up during reservations just like adding in the airafe. That way you are projecting the true "cost" of the cruise. I resent their ability to add the fuel surcharge much more than the tip..and I don't have the option to delete payment.

 

 

yeah agree 3.50 is ok but what about 13.50 us dollars per day per per person is the cabin. I have read many places that 7.50 per day is an amount to budget for tips per person, is any cruise line in the us saying that 13.50 is an great amout to tip per day multipled by 4 for a cabin. if that is the case then I will do some more reading on tipping, and reevaluate my position.

[cruiselover57]

Hi Everybody,

 

I apologize if this topic has been covered to death - the search function doesn't seem to be working at all, and I'm a noob to this board. (And I'm not sure this is the correct category to start this thread - sorry)

 

Anyway, I am considering a second cruise in the near future, but I wanted to ask the experts here what they thought of using the option of Pre-Paid Gratuities prior to the cruise?

 

I did this option on my first cruise, and figured it would be easy and I wouldn't have to worry about anything, and wouldn't have to worry about bringing any cash along for tips.

 

Anyway, everything went fine, and the pre-paid gratuities went through just fine, BUT my problem was that, on the last day, it seemed like everyone else was giving their attendants, waiters, etc., a bunch of tips. Therefore, I felt the need to explain to each of them that I opted for the pre-paid gratuities, and they should get their money eventually.

 

I have no complaints whatsoever about the Celebrity crew - especially my waiter - they were all excellent, but I don't know if they appeared sad and/or irritated when I told them that I had opted for pre-paid gratuities, or if it was just my imagination.

 

So, MY QUESTION: Has anyone else, that has opted to do the pre-paid gratuities, had the same awkward/embarrassed experience that I did on the last day?

 

It seems like the cruise lines are encouraging pre-paid gratuities, but they don't seem to have figured out the actual implementation of those gratuities.

 

In other words, is it worth doing pre-paid gratuities again? Or are people just going back to the "traditional" tipping method?

 

Thanks very much for any help.:)

 

There's nothing wrong with doing pre-paid gratuities or even having the ship post them to your account - that way, you don't worry about it at all - it's already a done deal. However, on one of my past cruises, we had the most idiotic tablemates that literally accused us of skipping out and not paying our tips - of all the nerve! They definitely know who they are and they had no right to say what they said - we got the last laugh anyway! I think they were jealous because they basically were big gamblers and lost a LOT of money in the casino and all they ever did was complain. We always tip and it was none of their business how we decided to do our tips! I was hoping the wife would've fallen overboard from also boozing it up in the casino every night! Sorry to go off on a tangent but I will tell this story to whoever will listen to let others know people cannot get away with slandering others because security takes it very seriously and a formal complaint was made against them - it's just too bad they didn't boot both of them off the ship for other unruly behavior! What scenes they caused! LOL

[infoprof56]

yeah agree 3.50 is ok but what about 13.50 us dollars per day per per person is the cabin. I have read many places that 7.50 per day is an amount to budget for tips per person, is any cruise line in the us saying that 13.50 is an great amout to tip per day multipled by 4 for a cabin. if that is the case then I will do some more reading on tipping, and reevaluate my position.

 

While 13.50 is on the high side, I have never seen a suggested gratuity as low as 7.50. Ours have always been in the 11 to 12 dollar (US) range. The only higher ones I have seen are for suite passengers who have the added service of a butler. I think the problem with the system is that the charge is seen as a tip and not a charge for service. To me tips on cruise ships are the extra cash handed to someone above the standard already paid service charge which is divided up by many crew members. It does not amount to more than a couple of dollars per person in the pool. Paying higher wages and uping the fare the amount of the standard gratuity would eliminate a lot of confussion on this issue. Funny, I never seem to see any objections to paying the 15% added to bar purchases. No where else but on a cruise ship am I forced to give a tip to a guy that sells me an overpriced Coke.

[livingstone]

While 13.50 is on the high side, I have never seen a suggested gratuity as low as 7.50. Ours have always been in the 11 to 12 dollar (US) range. The only higher ones I have seen are for suite passengers who have the added service of a butler. I think the problem with the system is that the charge is seen as a tip and not a charge for service. To me tips on cruise ships are the extra cash handed to someone above the standard already paid service charge which is divided up by many crew members. It does not amount to more than a couple of dollars per person in the pool. Paying higher wages and uping the fare the amount of the standard gratuity would eliminate a lot of confussion on this issue. Funny, I never seem to see any objections to paying the 15% added to bar purchases. No where else but on a cruise ship am I forced to give a tip to a guy that sells me an overpriced Coke.

 

 

thanks for that, yeah I don't know about 15% on bar bills, as we don't have that system in Australia, however we do have GST of 10% that is included in the listed price of food and drinks and most items. I have to say though most if not all resturants in AUSTRALIA will inform you on the menu that there is a 10% fee added to all bills on public holidays and weekends, this is to cover what we call a loading, for an example if you earn say 16.50 an hour a waiter, this rate goes up by 50% on a saturaday and by 75% on a sunday and it may even be double time on a public holiday. that is just how it is and no one questions paying the extra 10%. thid is not linked to service or anything. the service could be poor, the food average but taht 10% will always be paid.'

 

by the way this public holiday and weekend rate aplies to most industries, including hospitals if i work a weekend i cam make as much in the two days as if i had worked 4 days during the week.