RCCL raising tipping "guidelines"

[Crazy4Koko]

Yea that $50 a month sure adds up fast huh??

 

 

wow..I had NO idea the 'salary' was that low! Cripes that barely covers necessary items!!

 

Imagine, having to work a whole week to buy a box of tampax.

 

 

BUT, I suppose if you break it down this way: $2 a day per person to clean my room..figuring that most rooms are double occ: $28 to clean my cabin for 7 days.. multiply that by what? 30 cabins?( I honestly have no idea how many cabins they are responsible for) That's over $800 a week 'minimum', provided no schmuck removes thier prepaids...?

 

I like threads like this because I learn things.. Hope I'm not offending anybody by asking for further explanation..that is not my intent...

[5waldos]

wow..I had NO idea the 'salary' was that low! Cripes that barely covers necessary items!!

 

Imagine, having to work a whole week to buy a box of tampax.

 

Perhaps a bit of an exaggertion but yes, the base salary is low. Of course you have to add onto the food and lodging which is covered in full. But it does support the need for tips.

[serene56]

Don't assume folks in line at guest services are there to have tips removed. We just debarked the Spirit this morning, and last night DH stood in that line - to get change so we could properly tip the maitr'd.

 

 

yikes-- i woulda done that in the casino

[pnjkeith]

It is generally believed to be $50 a month although my source for this is now several years old.

 

Pretty young source. :D

[pnjkeith]

What they should do is if you want to remove the tips from your bill only allow it on the morning after departure, Then inform the room stewards who removed them so they can adjust their service accordingly.

I have seen people remove their tips while I stood in line behind them and the rest of the cruise I would announce hey there are the people who removed their tips every time I saw them.

 

 

That seems pretty childish!

 

Would you also make fun of fat women in a bikini?

 

Would you point out the guy with his pants unzipped?

[silverado44]

Yea that $50 a month sure adds up fast huh??

 

Nobody is forcing them to work for the cruise lines.

[mom2boys97]

:confused::confused::confused:

[Crazy4Koko]

Nobody is forcing them to work for the cruise lines.

 

 

no, but aren't they emotional strong people to put up with the likes of some folks....and usually with a smile.

[glentally]

tell them you won't need their services. problem solved.

 

no problem

 

???

[glentally]

No even considering 15 cabins it is not a lot of money. In fact it is about half what they are worth.

 

who is to say what anyone is worth? You take that money week in and week out and spend it in some of the countries they are from and they are probably living better than what some Americans are in the US. Here come da flames!!

[glentally]

Hear! Hear! However we also tip extra for an extra-special well done job.

 

EXCELLANT point and I agree, well said. I don't really like not being able to hand it to them. I NEVER stiffed a crew member on 8 or so cruises.

 

So here in lies the question.

 

If I cancel the automatic charge and truly hand them cash do they have to "throw it in the kitty"? If they didn't have to, wouldn't they be better off than having to divide it amongst the stewards who got stiffed?

[firefly333]

EXCELLANT point and I agree, well said. I don't really like not being able to hand it to them. I NEVER stiffed a crew member on 8 or so cruises.

 

So here in lies the question.

 

If I cancel the automatic charge and truly hand them cash do they have to "throw it in the kitty"? If they didn't have to, wouldn't they be better off than having to divide it amongst the stewards who got stiffed?

 

John says tips are not pooled, so they got their share of the regular plus the bonus .. per john the blogger. (still a lot of people who dont believe him, even if he works for carnival)

 

Its also a fact that the huge majority of people who remove the tips are trying to tip less .. and also the staff will be notified and probably ask what they did wrong, some will some will just not say.. but the staff knows who removes tips .. and of course will think someone is trying to short stick them. (since thats why most remove tips).

 

.. .. as I posted .. it doesnt matter how many times Host Mach or John say the tips are not pooled .. someone always has a excuse for removing the tips .. unless you are cheap, leave the tips to the person they are designated too .. if you want to tip extra. by all means do so, but there is no reason to removed tips. Do you really want the staff to think you are cheap . .. because thats what they will think .. true, you might be one of the few who surprise them and tip the same in cash .. but its rare.

 

You say you never stiffed them .. which isnt the same as tipping the suggested amount.

[C Cruise Dude]

From $9.75 to $11.65/day for standard cabins and from $12 to $13.90 in suites.

 

http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/12/09/royal-caribbean-raises-recommended-cruise-tips/?icid=maing|main5|6|link5|30254

 

 

Will Carnival follow their lead?

 

I paid $12 a day on NCL. :cool:

[glentally]

You say you never stiffed them .. which isnt the same as tipping the suggested amount.

 

ok, I will clarify for you who appears to not believe me.

 

I paid the specified amount or more whenever I paid cash back in the good old days or left the tips on the card when they changed over, happy now

[hunnypot1]

yikes-- i woulda done that in the casino

 

The line was not THAT long...LOL. He went right before the early dinner seating.

[mcwebber]

YES. I am not a fan of paying for some ones wages with my hard earned money on my VACATION

 

Then don't eat in restaurants anywhere in the US on vacation.

[5waldos]

Then don't eat in restaurants anywhere in the US on vacation.

 

I assumed this was a joke since what does he/she think their cruise costs cover.

[lcgvol]

LHP, just curious, who are the 30,000 Americans you are referring to that come to your area every year? I have an idea and just wondered if I was right. We live in Tennessee too.

[MrCo9]

they should pay their employees more instead of telling us to do it!!!!!!

If they did that the price of your cruise would go up.

[MrCo9]

I pay the cabin steward 3.50 per day (7.00 if you count my other half)

 

that is not a lot of money when you consider what they do.

 

But when you consider he cleans 15 cabins -double occupancy that is a lot of money----BUT not every one tips.

$105 per day that is shared with the assistant steward, they work 10+ hour days. Still think it is "a lot of money"???

[jebuell]

I hate the idea of the auto tips because it's hard to allot it to who you want it to go to and who you don't. For instance, on my first cruise we had a creepy steward who kept coming into our cabin without knocking and would always make jokes about how we always had our shirts on. I even had the Do Not Disturb sign on our door most of the time and he'd still come in. So for that cruise I had the tips removed and just tipped my waiters personally. However, that means that the buffet people and anyone else who usually gets tipped got left out. But there was no way I was tipping that steward!

 

I think at the end of the cruise you should find several envelopes in your room- One for the steward, one for the matra de (sp?), one for your waiters, and one for camp people, and one for the buffet workers with a letter explaining that if any of these people performed a service for you they would appreciate a tip since their jobs are tip based. Then you can pick what you pay based on their services to you. I hardly ever eat at the buffet so I'd give them less and if my waiters rock (like so far they have) I'll tip them more. Since I don't use the Kids Camp, obviously I'll leave that one empty.

[jebuell]

$105 per day that is shared with the assistant steward, they work 10+ hour days. Still think it is "a lot of money"???

 

Actually, yes. Where a lot of them come from the average living wage is about $200-300 a MONTH. There's a reason cruiselines hire their employees from Third World Countries and why you will rarely see Americans and Europeans working on cruises- it increases their bottom line because they don't have to pay their employees that much in order to keep ships fully staffed.

 

Obviously most cruise members wouldn't be able to make a living on a cruise ship if they lived in the US, but in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe they are making about 3-5 times what they could make back home (on average) according to your math.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Actually, yes. Where a lot of them come from the average living wage is about $200-300 a MONTH. There's a reason cruiselines hire their employees from Third World Countries and why you will rarely see Americans and Europeans working on cruises- it increases their bottom line because they don't have to pay their employees that much in order to keep ships fully staffed.

 

Obviously most cruise members wouldn't be able to make a living on a cruise ship if they lived in the US, but in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe they are making about 3-5 times what they could make back home (on average) according to your math.

 

The NCL(A) experiment proved fat (or not), lazy, Americans are unwilling to do the same amount of work for even US wages.

 

Most people from developing nations (3rd World is ignorant speak these days), send money BACK to their families in those developing nations.

 

I am intrigued that people in developing nations have better Internet access than those in backward countries such as the US.

[Molly BPOE]

I never understand why this topic is hashed out over and over on these boards. Do I think the staff works hard and deserves tips? Yes, I do. Do I believe in tipping and tipping well? Yes, I do. Is it any of my business what others believe and how they choose to tip? No, it is not! According to the Freed Dictionary dot com,

gratuity [grəˈtjuːɪtɪ]

n pl -ties 1. (Business / Commerce) a gift or reward, usually of money, for services rendered; tip

2. something given without claim or obligation

3. (Military) Military a financial award granted for long or meritorious service

 

No where in ANY definition I found did it say tips or gratuities are mandatory. If you think the staff does not earn enough, then tip them extra.

[jebuell]

The NCL(A) experiment proved fat (or not), lazy, Americans are unwilling to do the same amount of work for even US wages.

 

Most people from developing nations (3rd World is ignorant speak these days), send money BACK to their families in those developing nations.

 

I am intrigued that people in developing nations have better Internet access than those in backward countries such as the US.

 

How is 3rd World "ignorant speak"? Last I checked the Cold War actually did happen and NATO, communism, and capitalism still exists and countries are still aligning themselves with these and others are not. Maybe the ignorance is not knowing what defines a 3rd World Nation and assuming it's "ignorant speak". :rolleyes: