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Why is CCL making it hard to tip?

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Traveling Bob

Traveling Bob

Posted
Posted
They need to call it what it is, which is a "Service Charge".

This is the final truth. It is not a TIP. The word tip comes from the abbreviation for To Insure Promptness. The auto-tip goes to everyone on whatever formula is used even when a particular service is good, poor or mediocre. It is not a Tip in any sense of the word. It is a payment collected by the line to pay employees, instead of giving a salary increase. It is used to mask the fact that the ticket price is actually higher than advertised and to lower employee compensation on trips that aren't completely filled. It is, in no way, a reward to employees for services above and beyond what is expected and it does not Insure Promptness from any individual.:mad:

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iTouch

iTouch

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Posted
This is the final truth. It is not a TIP. The word tip comes from the abbreviation for To Insure Promptness. The auto-tip goes to everyone on whatever formula is used even when a particular service is good, poor or mediocre. It is not a Tip in any sense of the word. It is a payment collected by the line to pay employees, instead of giving a salary increase. It is used to mask the fact that the ticket price is actually higher than advertised and to lower employee compensation on trips that aren't completely filled. It is, in no way, a reward to employees for services above and beyond what is expected and it does not Insure Promptness from any individual.:mad:

 

 

Weird MY service has always been promt with just the auto TIPS. I will continue to tip this way.......

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GottaLuvCruising

GottaLuvCruising

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Although it not a large amount of money, is it fair for Carnival to raise the prepaid tips long after you have paid for your cruise in full? Mine went from $10.00 to $11.50

 

I prepaid my gratuities and our December cruise has been paid in full for months. My understanding was that our gratuities would not be adjusted. We certainly do plan to tip extra in cash.

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timetogosoon

timetogosoon

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Serious? We have always received great service with just leaving the auto tip on.......

 

Well that was just our experience. It was our room steward. He actually stopped even saying hello to us on the last two days of the cruise because we hadn't tipped him since the tip for the mattress. We left auto tips on. He was mad that he had to replace our mattresses (long story... not our fault. was bowed when we got there and was uneven with the other mattress) and once he did that, even though we had tipped him five bucks for doing it. Anyways, the waiters didn't even care for a tip. They were just awesome.

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mxylpic

mxylpic

Posted
Posted

The point of the auto tip as another poster noted is to insure as much as possible that all the staff receive at least a minimum tip. That Carnival says it is "for your convenience" on its website is more marketing then reality. The most convenient thing would be for Carnival to pay a fair wage and for the cruisers to not have to tip at all. But that's not how it works.

 

Remember, OP, if you go to a restaurant with a large party, most establishments will add an automatic gratuity (last time I noticed it was 18 percent).

 

Personally, I think it's very convenient to not have to worry about it on the last day of the cruise. Assume you take off the autotips and then decide for whatever reason to dine on Lido deck. Do you really want to rush back to the MDR to tip the waitstaff?

 

Just MHO

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secoma4

secoma4

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The point being missed is that cruising is INTERNATIONAL and tipping is very much an American thing, developed due to the way the labour system works there.

Why do the better cruise lines exclude it? Because their international passengers will not do it and it simplifies the whole employment arrangement and makes it fairer for everyone.

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zqvol

zqvol

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If you guys are so worried about the gratuities and where they go I can recommend a line that does not allow tipping and where the crew will not accept them from you even if you try. Rates start at about $700 per person per day.

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Sashalanda

Sashalanda

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While I'm working my employer can have me do quite a lot of things completely unrelated to what my job or job description (other duties as assigned). If they choose to they could have me clean the carpets or the windows or whatever. However, if my work day is done and they wanted me to do those things then they would have to pay me more. So if the entertainment staff is being asked to do something that is both outside their normal job duties and outside their normal hours then they should be compensated more:).

 

 

That is so true because several of the ladies that had been dancing the previous nights performance, I saw waiting tables on lido deck. I asked one lady about that and she said that unless you were the "star" performers that you took on extra jobs to earn more money since they are there anyways. Then I started paying attention and did see even more ppl doing mopping ect. I do however agree that the tipping should be changed into a higher rate so no one is cheated and everyone knows they will get paid. Then disallow tipping so the staff treat everyone the same or allow tipping on the last day only..IDK but this tipping debate has been going on for yearsssssssssssssssss

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mxylpic

mxylpic

Posted
Posted
The point being missed is that cruising is INTERNATIONAL and tipping is very much an American thing, developed due to the way the labour system works there.

Why do the better cruise lines exclude it? Because their international passengers will not do it and it simplifies the whole employment arrangement and makes it fairer for everyone.

 

Tipping is not strictly American. Just returned from two weeks in Israel and tipping is the norm, both in terms of wait staff and our tour guide and driver. And even if true cruise lines that sail from American Ports are foreign flagged just to get around many American labor regulations, so it probably has nothing to do with how labor works here. And as for the "better" cruise lines, when passengers are paying that much they can expect certain things, including that the salaries of the crew is taken care of. Your comparing apples and oranges.

 

Carnival is a major market line and has to cater to those of us who cannot afford the "better" lines. :D

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Dalmore

Dalmore

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Posted

Auto tipping makes it easy and certainly helps avoid those that can't get passed the fact that a one days tip is not sufficient for 7 - 14 days of service. The correct amount is shocking to those who must make an un assisted decision.

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Normal 1

Normal 1

Posted
Posted

Okay... I will probably regret this but am chiming in on this topic. And, I'll admit I only read the first several pages of posts.... So, this may be covered but I missed it.

 

Carnival says: (my comments are in red)

 

$ 3.70 - Per Day Stateroom Services - This is pretty straight forward. This amount is split among those assigned to my cabin and I could if I desired tip these folks individually without much difficulty.

$ 5.80 - Per Day Dining Room Services - Same as above with these folks.

$ 2.00 - Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members. - This is the group that makes things more difficult. This group 'could' be made up of 100's of members... What we DON'T know is WHO makes up these positions. When people hear Entertainment....they automatically ASSUME it is the dancers, comedians, etc. Not necessarily true...what about the person in the fitting room who helps the dancers change costumes.... Same with Guest Services.... I ASSUME these are the folks behind the counter who give me change when needed but imagine there are others behind the scenes who are likely paid less... Hotel Staff Members - think laundry, hallway vacuumer, brass polisher, of the public areas. Willing to bet they don't make much but if they didn't do their jobs, I would surely notice!!

Let's use round numbers for an example....say 10 behind the scene staff members get to split the $2.00 per day on a 5 day cruise. $10 cost me but $1.00 each to them.... That's 10 more envelopes I'd need to fill out and hunt people down to 'thank them'.... Now multiply this scenario by the ACTUAL number of behind the scene staff who are actually 'splitting' this $2/day..... FOR ME.... each person could be receiving pennies on the dollar. Becomes a total PITA to me!!

FOR THE STAFF.... to RECEIVE these tips in cash would become a PITA for them!! Think about it....each cruise they would get a portion of their tips in CASH.... then they have to find a BANK to make a deposit so the money is available for their family members.

Carnival is EASILY able to employ basic accounting programs to allocate and pay the members who earn the tips. Carnival likely uses direct deposit to pay all staff members.

This concludes why the auto tips are easier for me....

 

Whether or not I agree with the business decisions Carnival makes to run their operation is not the point. If I object that strongly, I am free to use another cruise line....or not... My choice!!

 

Enjoy your day.

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cruisecruisecruise2011

cruisecruisecruise2011

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Carnival is EASILY able to employ basic accounting programs to allocate and pay the members who earn the tips. Carnival likely uses direct deposit to pay all staff members.

 

This concludes why the auto tips are easier for me....

 

Whether or not I agree with the business decisions Carnival makes to run their operation is not the point. If I object that strongly, I am free to use another cruise line....or not... My choice!!

 

Enjoy your day.

 

What do you think they are charging them for direct deposit? Look at the financials and see if you see a section on employee banking. The autotip is forcing them into using the bank system.

At the bare minimum,why would they make so much from employee banking?:confused:

They can claim the crew gets 100% of the tip from a passenger,but what they fail to tell you is that they lose when they try and make a withdrawl.

If you give them cash,they can convert it into an international money order and mail it home.

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bella69

bella69

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Posted
If it bothers you so then sail with a cruise line where tips aren't required or don't sail at all. There are many reasons this is handled the way it is and I have read post after post on here about how passengers would skip out on the envelopes at the end of the cruise for whatever reason. The cruise line tells employees "you will earn $x in salary and $y in tips" and the crew relies on that, only to have x number of passengers skip out on the tips. So, it's a convenience all of the way around. I personally do not care how it is distributed, nor do I care about tipping face to face in order to feel good about it.

 

I say just include in cruise fare and be done with it! No one knows where those tips go and I do really think they dont get all the tips! Make it really easy. Then no one has to worry about it. Even drink tips!

:(

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cruisecruisecruise2011

cruisecruisecruise2011

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The auto tips are simply service charges, not true tips for service. Just pay them if you want to cruise and consider this fee as a cruise cost.

 

I agree with you 100% so lets agree that we should not adjust them down in anyway, and the crew should get every penny whether in cash or autotip.

To equate what has happened here,its like going into an establishment in a tourist area where an 18% tip is auto added ,you order the lobster:eek: and a minute before they bring it out to you,you are informed that the gratuity portion if your check has gone up another 15%. Hows your lobster now?

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