The New Tipping Rate ...it appears Carnival has there own tipping concept

[zqvol]

Tipping was originally conceived as a way to acknowledge a personal face-to-face service over and above what was to be expected.

 

 

• A waiter should be tipped for things like thorough knowledge of the menu, the city, local attractions, etc.; not for bringing me the food or keeping my glass full, that is to be expected that is there job and should be adequately compensated through their salary.
  
• A cab driver should be tipped for his knowledge of the local area and suggestions that might help me in my travels; not for taking me to the address I told him to, that is there job and should be adequately compensated for in their fare.
  
• Room service should have never required a tip. I am ordering food which before hand you know needs to be delivered to my room. It should already be in the price and that should cover someones salary to deliver it. I should not be tipping someone I see for less than 30 seconds typically - it should never have been a tipped service.
  
• The pizza delivery guy should have never required a tip. I am ordering a pizza that you know needs to be delivered, the price should include delivery in it. I should not be tipping someone I see for less than 30 seconds typically - it should never have been a tipped service.
  

 

Yes, I understand that tipping in these situations above have now become the norm. I just bring them up to show the slippery path we started down. It is only going to get worse.

 

Tipping is getting totally out of control. We are paying for "tipping" because businesses are trying to keep their prices from appearing higher. The airlines got in on it with baggage service and restaurants and cruises are doing it with tipping. Pulling services that should be compensated for in the base prices and expecting us to pay for the service on the backend making their prices appear lower.

 

Does the $1.50 additional a day bother me at all? NO

 

Does it bother me that people complain about it? YES, in a way.

 

Why?

Because most of the ones that are complaining about it are complaining about THE WRONG THING. You shouldn't be complaining about the extra $1.50 a day it costs you (your cruise is very reasonably priced in most cases and some of this has to do with staff who are inadequately compensated to begin with). That $1.50 a day should have already been in the cruise price, and it should probably be a lot more than that. What you should be complaining about is that now the cruise is asking you to "tip" for many services that should not require a tip.

 

What has now become of "Tipping" on Carnival and shouldn't be....

 

The old tipping levels were broken down as follows (per day): $5.50 to the headwaiter/waiter, $1 to the assistant waiter/cooks and $3.50 to the cabin steward.

 

 

• Other that the cooks listed above, I believe the other people listed above should be "tipped" for service over and above there job.
  

 

The new guidelines allocate $5.80 to dining room services, $3.70 to cabin services and $2 per day for alternative services, which include kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members.

 

 

• Yeah, this whole thing has gotten convoluted. We should only be "tipping" for those people who we interact face-to-face with and who give us a service which is over and above what is expected by their job which should be adequately compensated by a salary.
  

 

"Tipping" even as obscured as it has gotten has always been for a face-to-face service. Yes, it has gotten away from just being a compensation for over and above service, now to a supplement for an inadequate salaries. But Carnival has now taken it a step further and now requesting tips for staff we may never even see and will most likely have no personal interaction with. Yes, I believe the laundry staff does a great job and I'm always appreciative of the clean sheets and towels, that does not mean I should tip them - this is there job. They should get an adequate salary for it. The entertainer on stage who performs for his job, yes he entertains me but also should be adequately compensated in his salary for this.

 

 

 

Do I blame Carnival for this? No. At least not completely.

 

 

• I do like the idea of not having to worry about paying tips continually throughout the day on my vacation and a reasonable daily flat rate is a great idea!!! I commend you for offering this service Carnival! ...I'm not going to give you a tip for it - so don't ask!
  
• My issue is with who they are going to! At a minimum if I don't interact with you face-to-face you should not be getting a tip. You should be getting adequately compensated for it in your base salary.
  
• Until people complain about it (and in the right way, for the right reasons) this will continue to happen and will only get worse.
  

 

Would you feel better if they just called it a service charge and made it mandatory, and told you that tipping was at your option?

[DFW Airwolf]

So if you agreed to a job for $40k a year you would be okay if your employer arbitrarily reduced it to $35k a year (and don't try to make the analogy that wages can be reduced for non-performance because that isn't true except in very limited circumstances)? Yes, this is the job they chose but they chose it with the expectation of making a living from the tips they receive.

 

All I did was state a fact- if that "puts the guilt on you" then that's your issue, not mine;).

 

NO and that isnt the issue. Now you show me where the cruise line GUARENTEES them a certaian amount of tips. If I accept a Job at $35k (using your analogy here) and am told I could make up to $40k with tips. Then I would expect at minimum I would make $35k. Anything beyond that in tips would be GREAT, but not expected.

 

Years I ago I worked with MotorCoach Tours as a driver. I was told I would get a Base rate per day and more based upon Mileage driven. Also I was told that usually people tipped also. The only thing I expected from my employer was the BASE + MILEAGE. When I got several hundred dollars in tips, I was estatic as I didnt plan on them. SAME THING.

 

I guess with your analogy of

Yes, this is the job they chose but they chose it with the expectation of making a living from the tips they receive.

People who play the lottery should all expect to become MILLONARES & such. They must learn they need to expect what they agreed to. Nothing more. Then when they get more, GREAT.

[DFW Airwolf]

My way is the right way for me. What you do is your business.

 

OK service should be tipped. Just no reason to add to the suggested tip but to give nothing is not right.

 

So You are making a JUDGEMENT of me saying I am not RIGHT by giving nothing when I dont feel they deserve anything extra. I will agree we can disagree. But I do not like Hypocrites who JUDGE others. It is my money & I will do with it as I see fit. PERIOD.

[DFW Airwolf]

Do you really believe that the salaried dancers and musicians and staff behind the purser's counter are moving that luggage?

 

gary

 

From what I have seen, the people who move the luggage & such are the behind the scene crew people who you see during the week washing windows, painting, moving things around the ship etc. Dancers & Entertainers may work the Shore excursion desk, hand out literature to try to sell you something etc. But delivering luggage, I think not.

[DFW Airwolf]

OK, so lol wow ... angry person huh ...lol ok so I agree that the tipping people that do their jobs is stupid, short way of saying it. BUT you made an example of the pizza guy.. Do you realize that this person uses, his own car, his own gas, and is bringing you something so you dont have to get off your butt and cook? better yet letting you be lazy. you may not know this but they DO NOT get paid gas or anything or a company car.. its all theirs and its all out of pocket.. i know. Ive worked for 3 different pizza company's. they all work the same..

 

And usually I am charged a $2.00 Delivery Charge. So why do I owe you anything more. You show up at my door, hand me my Pizza which I sometimes pay you for (Unless I used a CC over the phone) and you leave. You havent done anything extra for me.

 

I know someone said to me recently. "You need to tip them to keep them from screwing with your food". So I guess the analogy there is I must pay EXTORTION Money to keep from having something I paid for messed with.

 

Once again, You chose to accept the wage & agreed to use your own vehicle, gas etc. I didnt make that deal. I wouldnt do it. When I use my vehicle for work, I charge $0.50 per mile or I dont go. And I get it on a regular basis also.

[DFW Airwolf]

Would you feel better if they just called it a service charge and made it mandatory, and told you that tipping was at your option?

 

YES I would. There is a concept called "TRUTH IN ADVERTISING" just look at all the heat the airlines are taking over it.

 

http://www.madashellabouthiddenfees.com/

 

If they want to call it a RESORT FEE (Look to Hotels) or a SERVICE CHARGE (similar I guess to Port Charges somewhat) then they will have to disclose it at time of sale. It also wont be optional so it will be part of the TOTAL FARE like when they tell me Cruise Fare + Taxes + Port Charges = Total Fare When you call it TIPPING, then it is optional & I choose wether or not to excerise my option.

[bplazo]

Yep, no wonder I like my dogs better than most people.

 

Do not use the service if you do not want to pay for it.

[sparks1093]

I can pretty much guarantee that dancers are not working the buffet. They will direct you when you first get on the ship and also help with safety briefing.

 

I was only reporting what I had read posted by someone else.

 

NO and that isnt the issue. Now you show me where the cruise line GUARENTEES them a certaian amount of tips. If I accept a Job at $35k (using your analogy here) and am told I could make up to $40k with tips. Then I would expect at minimum I would make $35k. Anything beyond that in tips would be GREAT, but not expected.

 

Years I ago I worked with MotorCoach Tours as a driver. I was told I would get a Base rate per day and more based upon Mileage driven. Also I was told that usually people tipped also. The only thing I expected from my employer was the BASE + MILEAGE. When I got several hundred dollars in tips, I was estatic as I didnt plan on them. SAME THING.

 

I guess with your analogy of People who play the lottery should all expect to become MILLONARES & such. They must learn they need to expect what they agreed to. Nothing more. Then when they get more, GREAT.

 

The tipped staff on a cruise ship earns a small base salary (I have heard as little as $75 per month) and rely on tips for the remainder. I doubt that the cruise line "guarentees" anything but gives a range of what may reasonably be earned.

 

So You are making a JUDGEMENT of me saying I am not RIGHT by giving nothing when I dont feel they deserve anything extra. I will agree we can disagree. But I do not like Hypocrites who JUDGE others. It is my money & I will do with it as I see fit. PERIOD.

 

golfadj was clearly not judging you. He said what he does is right for him and what you do is your business.

 

But let me ask you this, if what you are doing is so right why are you so defensive?;) I don't care what you do either, but you should know how tipped employees are paid (but if you aren't open to the facts, well, I don't really care about that, either. Other people are reading this thread and maybe this will help them).

[H82seaUgo]

I was only reporting what I had read posted by someone else.

 

.

 

this is known as heresay. hope people don't start posting heresay here.

 

firsthand knowledge works best here.

[golfadj]

 

 

golfadj was clearly not judging you. He said what he does is right for him and what you do is your business.

 

 

If you disagree with him he gets rather confrontational, defensive and abusive. Should have remembered and ignored his comments

[sparks1093]

this is known as heresay. hope people don't start posting heresay here.

 

firsthand knowledge works best here.

 

Sorry, didn't know we were in a court of law;).

[H82seaUgo]

Sorry, didn't know we were in a court of law;).

 

nope, but this is why you read things here like, "carnival is a party till you puke line", "royal serves the worst food and has small cabins", and ncl "nickel and dimes you to death", all usually posted by what people have heard.

[sparks1093]

nope, but this is why you read things here like, "carnival is a party till you puke line", "royal serves the worst food and has small cabins", and ncl "nickel and dimes you to death", all usually posted by what people have heard.

 

I think there is a big difference between those types of generalizations and what I posted, but c'est la vie.

[H82seaUgo]

la vie

[Gypsywych]

I have asked several places for clarification of the new tipping guidelines. Like everyone else, no answers have been forthcoming so .....

 

My next cruise I will ask at Guest Services. If I don't receive an answer then I've decided to pull that extra dollar and divide it between the waitstaff and my room staff.

 

 

 

H82SeaUGo - in your sig is the " eye dee ten tee ess" for you? Or other posters?

[golfadj]

I have asked several places for clarification of the new tipping guidelines. Like everyone else, no answers have been forthcoming so .....

 

My next cruise I will ask at Guest Services. If I don't receive an answer then I've decided to pull that extra dollar and divide it between the waitstaff and my room staff.

 

 

 

 

Carnival expects us to follow along like sheep on the auto tip. Will do the same thing without asking for further explanations on our next cruise.

[Cruise Organizer]

Carnival has raised their auto tips to the level of their competitors. The raise doesn't bother me. The issue seems to be the breakout of the amount. I haven't sailed NCL or RCL for a while and I am not up on their polices on tipping. There are reason why the industry calls it tips rather than service charge, but I think CCL handled the raise news poorly.

I think that there would be less griping if the entire raise went to the service staff. CCL could also have raised the cruise rate $10 pp to offset the "other" cost.

Unfortunately, CCL also has cutbacks as they maintain their status as low cost leader. Carnival is still a good value.

I find myself moving away from CCL due to the cutbacks in the MDR (food and service) as this is a reason why I cruise. But that is what I look for.

[scooterpopsnana]

It is a way to pay for the 2.0 upgrades. Carnival can hide the expenses, simply, by not raising salaries and by adding these auto tip increases to cover the lack of raises.

[H82seaUgo]

It is a way to pay for the 2.0 upgrades. Carnival can hide the expenses, simply, by not raising salaries and by adding these auto tip increases to cover the lack of raises.

 

@$700,000 a week. not bad, eh?

[sparks1093]

@$700,000 a week. not bad, eh?

 

Yep, less than $35 a week if split out among every crew member. Not bad at all:rolleyes:.

[H82seaUgo]

Yep, less than $35 a week if split out among every crew member. Not bad at all:rolleyes:.

 

pretty underhanded way to give out a raise, eh? make your customer pay for it outside the fare, so the fare can continue to look low.

[sparks1093]

pretty underhanded way to give out a raise, eh? make your customer pay for it outside the fare, so the fare can continue to look low.

 

But you yourself don't want to argue the merits of passing off labor costs in the form of tips which is what this is, nothing more and nothing less. Is it right? I don't know. All I know is this is the way it is set up and I am not going to penalize the employees for what the company does.

[Lobster Mama]

I'm probably getting myself in trouble here by giving my 2 cents but here goes anyway. I have just finished reading the last 3 pages of this thread & still have no idea why everyone is going so ballistic over the tip increase. Does anyone have any idea where these workers come from? Most are from very poor countries, they leave their families for months at a time just to send $$ home to support them. You say they have a choice about what work they'll do - many of them don't. And so here they are working on these cruise ships knowing that the money we're tossing around like water would feed their families for a year, and yet they suck it up, and smile & give us outstanding service every day we are in their care. I worked for over 20 years as a waitress in some very high end restaurants & you can imagine how it made me feel when they would have a check for $200 & leave me 20 bucks. I made $2.10/hour and was on my feet for sometimes 16 hours a day. Yes, it bothers me that you had to pay my wage, but that is the way it is if you are in this type of work. And that is the way it is if you choose to go out for a meal - not my rules, someone else's but if you don't want to abide by them, then stay home & cook your own meal or buy a plane ticket & fly to these different countries instead of taking an all-inclusive ship. Instead of thinking about the small impact it's going to have on us, let's think of these very hardworking people that day in and day out do nothing but wait on people (many who are crotchety & mean) and do it with a smile. Just my 2 cents anyway - no one has to agree or get on here and pick apart my whole post - just wanted you to know from a servers perspective how hard it is to smile & serve you coffee while you are being demanding or rude or snapping your fingers at me, when I want to spill said coffee on your lap!!!:D

[H82seaUgo]

I'm probably getting myself in trouble here by giving my 2 cents but here goes anyway. I have just finished reading the last 3 pages of this thread & still have no idea why everyone is going so ballistic over the tip increase. Does anyone have any idea where these workers come from? Most are from very poor countries, they leave their families for months at a time just to send $$ home to support them. You say they have a choice about what work they'll do - many of them don't. And so here they are working on these cruise ships knowing that the money we're tossing around like water would feed their families for a year, and yet they suck it up, and smile & give us outstanding service every day we are in their care. I worked for over 20 years as a waitress in some very high end restaurants & you can imagine how it made me feel when they would have a check for $200 & leave me 20 bucks. I made $2.10/hour and was on my feet for sometimes 16 hours a day. Yes, it bothers me that you had to pay my wage, but that is the way it is if you are in this type of work. And that is the way it is if you choose to go out for a meal - not my rules, someone else's but if you don't want to abide by them, then stay home & cook your own meal or buy a plane ticket & fly to these different countries instead of taking an all-inclusive ship. Instead of thinking about the small impact it's going to have on us, let's think of these very hardworking people that day in and day out do nothing but wait on people (many who are crotchety & mean) and do it with a smile. Just my 2 cents anyway - no one has to agree or get on here and pick apart my whole post - just wanted you to know from a servers perspective how hard it is to smile & serve you coffee while you are being demanding or rude or snapping your fingers at me, when I want to spill said coffee on your lap!!!:D

 

the tip increase is only 50¢. no one is complaining about that.

 

it's the addition of the $1 to non service personel.

 

as a waitress, would you have complained that your tip went up 50¢, but a new dollar now goes to the drummer, who gets paid a full salary?

[sparks1093]

the tip increase is only 50¢. no one is complaining about that.

 

it's the addition of the $1 to non service personel.

 

as a waitress, would you have complained that your tip went up 50¢, but a new dollar now goes to the drummer, who gets paid a full salary?

 

But the drummer must split it with the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker (along with many others):D.