It's all in the way things are handled

[iTouch]

This is a logic that I can relate to. When I cruise, I always make sure I have access to at 5k on me in the event that we have to purchase plane tickets back from another country, etc.

 

But the plain truth is that most people can't say that they have that much disposable income just laying around. Just because someone has a couple grand on a credit card that they COULD use in an emergency doesn't mean they "can" afford to pay extra money in gratuities.

 

Many people can't even truly afford the cruise because they're 100% charging the entire thing (I did this my first 2 cruises before I owned my businesses.) I paid them off though and wound up paying way more for them and will never do that again. But, I am also not going to tell people they shouldn't cruise if they can't afford to tip extra. It's simply not my place to tell people what they "should" and "shouldn't" do.

 

So your thread really isn't about how this tip policy was handled. You just wanted to start another thread about tipping:p I don't think I read anywhere that if you can't tip extra you shouldn't cruise.......maybe I missed it?

[italianfemmy]

OMG.....i can't believe all these complaints......it is just a SUGGESTED AMOUNT.........if you are not happy with carnival then go pay more to cruise on one of the other lines ........JMHO

cheryl

 

I'm actually not really complaining. Perhaps you didn't really read what I said?

 

I am merely spinning off both sides of this as a rational, neutral person. I am not mad at the cruise lines.. I also am not mad at Netflix or Bank of America. But, stepping outside of my glass slippers for a moment, I can see why other people are upset.

 

I think people get so caught up in their own feelings about how things should be handled based on how they personally can deal with a situation and they fail to think about the factors affecting the other people that are on the opposing side of an argument.

[italianfemmy]

So your thread really isn't about how this tip policy was handled. You just wanted to start another thread about tipping:p I don't think I read anywhere that if you can't tip extra you shouldn't cruise.......maybe I missed it?

 

Actually, this thread is about the buying power that consumers have with everything that has gone viral. But you said something that made me go off on a tangent. lol. I admit that.. I can be easily derailed sometimes. I believe that if it was handled differently, there wouldn't be so many threads about it.

 

In both the deleted "Heald: Tip Increase" thread as well as the "Pre Pay Your Gratuities Now!!" thread.... people have belittled those who say they cannot afford to pay the extra money.. that it would put a strain on them financially.. that they budget every cent. And other people tell them that they shouldn't cruise then.

 

But the truth of the matter is that if those who truly cannot afford to cruise were to stop cruising, the ships wouldn't be full and we'd all be paying a significant increase to keep them afloat.

[iTouch]

I'm actually not really complaining. Perhaps you didn't really read what I said?

 

I am merely spinning off both sides of this as a rational, neutral person. I am not mad at the cruise lines.. I also am not mad at Netflix or Bank of America. But, stepping outside of my glass slippers for a moment, I can see why other people are upset.

 

I think people get so caught up in their own feelings about how things should be handled based on how they personally can deal with a situation and they fail to think about the factors affecting the other people that are on the opposing side of an argument.

 

Other people as in the crewmembers who work hard to make your vacation great..... right? Yes then I agree.....

[italianfemmy]

Other people as in the crewmembers who work hard to make your vacation great..... right? Yes then I agree.....

 

Now, Now, don't make me smack you on the hand. lol. You know that isn't what I was saying. I, 100 billion percent, believe that the crew should be paid sufficiently. I just think it should be billed into the cruise fare and that people should still be able to tip special crew members if they wish.

 

I've been on cruises where I left knowing the waiters name, knowing the names of servers in the show rooms who always brought me my coca cola from the soda card purchase and who went above and beyond to make my cruise awesome.

 

I've also been on a cruise where a crew member in the Mad Hatters showroom did some really nasty, rude things and ruined our entire evening during a show because he was disgruntled that we complained. Eventually, they had him removed.

 

I've been on a cruise where our steward was "too busy" to ever refill our ice and never made us a single towel animal.

 

I've been on a cruise where my room steward knew I wasn't feeling well and went out of his way to go and get me medicine. Another time where I was sunburned badly and a room steward went and got me cold yogurt and helped me apply it all over my face.

 

Then there was the time that we had a waiter that never remembered our names, never remembered our drinks, barely got our food to us and was incredibly slow. Another time, had a kick booty one that was able to get me 3 or 4 lobster tails quickly.

 

It runs the gamut. It really does. With the exception of the rude jerk in the Mad Hatters, I never complained. He did some waaaay over the line things though that pushed me. And I always kept auto tips on. But, if there was no such thing as auto tips, I would not have tipped the ones who didn't even try. And I would still have given more to the ones that did.

[jagsfan]

Wait a minute......are we talking about a $10.50 total increase for a 7 day cruise? Why is that such a big deal? I'm retired....we live on a fixed income, and spend most of our discretionary income on travel. We don't buy drinks...other than a couple of glasses of wine. We're careful about shore excursions, only book what we can afford. Too many past cruises to be still buying souvenirs. Knowing how little the crew makes in salary,and the fact that the cost of living has gone up for everyone, paying 10.50 more doesn't bother me. If we can't afford a 7 day, we go on a 4 or 5 day......planning ahead for the tips.

I don't think Carnival has raised the tips without aforethought. We just paid 11.50 per day gratuities on Freedom of the Seas plus a little extra cash. I object to being nickel and dimed on a cruise like we just were, but raising the gratuity is only right in today's economy.

[helicopter]

Carnival must have thought they deserve more money..but I notice Carnival didn't give them a raise:eek:

[italianfemmy]

Wait a minute......are we talking about a $10.50 total increase for a 7 day cruise? Why is that such a big deal? I'm retired....we live on a fixed income, and spend most of our discretionary income on travel. We don't buy drinks...other than a couple of glasses of wine. We're careful about shore excursions, only book what we can afford. Too many past cruises to be still buying souvenirs. Knowing how little the crew makes in salary,and the fact that the cost of living has gone up for everyone, paying 10.50 more doesn't bother me. If we can't afford a 7 day, we go on a 4 or 5 day......planning ahead for the tips.

I don't think Carnival has raised the tips without aforethought. We just paid 11.50 per day gratuities on Freedom of the Seas plus a little extra cash. I object to being nickel and dimed on a cruise like we just were, but raising the gratuity is only right in today's economy.

 

 

I agree.. I budget for the tips. But, I don't hold it against people that would rather be able to enjoy one shore excursion than to have to pay the tips. Or would rather be able to enjoy 1 or 2 drinks. Whatever the case may be. It's rather selfless of you to be willing to change the way you vacation in order to tip! That's great "for you". Doesn't mean it will work that way for everyone else and everyone is entitled to the way they choose to live their own personal lives and shouldn't have to be antagonized over it.

 

If they raised them by 5 dollars per person, per day, I'd still pay them. I can afford to. Not everyone can.

 

For me, even if I don't use a service, I keep the tips the same to make up for the other people who remove them. For example, I keep my room very clean. I am OCD. But, I don't stiff my room steward just because he has to do a lot less work in my room.

 

When I have dinner, I clean up my personal space, wipe things off and stack my own dirty dishes. I don't think my server should have to clean up behind me to that degree. I don't tip less for it though. Again, I am OCD.

 

But I am not talking about "me". I am talking about an understanding of where other people are coming from and who the heck are we to judge them for it?

[ccruisequeen]

When we booked with Carnival, either via PVP or TA, we were never given the option to pre-pay our tips, unlike HAL or X, or, RCL. Now we read that if you pre-pay, you could avoid the raise, but it's too late because it went into effect yesterday for Dec 11 & beyond cruises. Not going into effect Dec 2011, so we're out of luck no matter how you look at it (final payment is next week).

[lambs2]

Just curious...what was the issue with the way it was announced? I heard they gave travel agents a heads up the day before as a professional courtesy, then notified the public within 24 hours of the travel agents hearing about it.

 

Did I miss something in the announcement? Personally, I didn't see anything that would put me in an uproar so I'm wondering what the issue was.

The travel agency (large internet agency) through whom we booked our Dec. 4 was given absolutely no advance notice from Carnival, they informed me. The agents that work directly for Carnival were, however, and their customers got the heads up ih emails. I called my TA late on October 31 when I first read all this here on Cruise Critic because my cruise has been [aid completely for several months - but not the gratuities. She told me she would have Carnival lock me in to the $10. rate, but had to call back in a couple hours and inform me that Carnival was makng no exceptions. She was very happy that we took it so well, some folks she said were fit to be tied! Our only options now are to just leave the $11.50 tips in place or go make to the front desk once on board and have them adjusted and just give out envelopes. We have not done that in many years as it seems so awkward..especially now (after Dec 1) since the front desk staff is included in the tipping pool!:eek:

[iTouch]

I agree.. I budget for the tips. But, I don't hold it against people that would rather be able to enjoy one shore excursion than to have to pay the tips. Or would rather be able to enjoy 1 or 2 drinks. Whatever the case may be. It's rather selfless of you to be willing to change the way you vacation in order to tip! That's great "for you". Doesn't mean it will work that way for everyone else and everyone is entitled to the way they choose to live their own personal lives and shouldn't have to be antagonized over it.

 

If they raised them by 5 dollars per person, per day, I'd still pay them. I can afford to. Not everyone can.

 

For me, even if I don't use a service, I keep the tips the same to make up for the other people who remove them. For example, I keep my room very clean. I am OCD. But, I don't stiff my room steward just because he has to do a lot less work in my room.

 

When I have dinner, I clean up my personal space, wipe things off and stack my own dirty dishes. I don't think my server should have to clean up behind me to that degree. I don't tip less for it though. Again, I am OCD.

 

But I am not talking about "me". I am talking about an understanding of where other people are coming from and who the heck are we to judge them for it?

 

 

Don't you think you are being a little over dramatic:confused: It's and extra $10.50 on a 7 day cruise.......really.

[kyrisong1]

Where would they sleep?

Well in the whale tail of course ;)

[italianfemmy]

Don't you think you are being a little over dramatic:confused: It's and extra $10.50 on a 7 day cruise.......really.

 

What seems dramatic to you may not seem dramatic to someone else. Using the word really followed by dot dot dots may seem condescending and dramatic to some people. Not me. But maybe to some people :-).

[iTouch]

What seems dramatic to you may not seem dramatic to someone else. Using the word really followed by dot dot dots may seem condescending and dramatic to some people. Not me. But maybe to some people :-).

 

So you don't think you are being overly dramatic about $10.50:confused:

[lambs2]

So you don't think you are being overly dramatic about $10.50:confused:

 

Folks just don't GET IT! It is not the amount but the way this was done with some folks getting "grandfathered" in if they got advance notice from their Carnival PVP so they could prepay while everyone else has to either just accept this, I guess. An option for those who are already paid in full would have been a nice gesture.

[iTouch]

Folks just don't GET IT! It is not the amount but the way this was done with some folks getting "grandfathered" in if they got advance notice from their Carnival PVP so they could prepay while everyone else has to either just accept this, I guess. An option for those who are already paid in full would have been a nice gesture.

 

If it is not about the amount you do have an option to remove the extra $10.50 if you feel you need to make a statement......oh and believe me I think I get it more than your think......

[IwannaGo Now]

The issue I have is that tipping is automatically charged, I believe, and you must actively remove it by going to guest services, which usually has a long line at most times. Why can't it be done pre cruise, or using interactive TV's on board? If you went to a restaurant that automatically added a tipping fee, for your convenience, what they felt the server was worth, before services were rendered, then made you stand in line to change that amount, if service was less than stellar, you probably wouldn't go there again. I used to tip much more than what they take now, and if the help wants a better tip, then they are going to have to earn it. I still tip extra....most of the time, but I'm still tipping less than previous to the auto tip system.

I'm not sure where the extra tip money is going to....maybe the singers will sing louder, and the guy running the machine folding the sheets will make sure the machine folds them more sharply? If pax help pay their way CCL doesn't have to increase ticket prices...so maybe it's just good business?