TIpping

[simplelife]

Please to try to trick me by advertising a lower price and then adding tons of mandatory item. There employees are their employees not mine.

 

European cruises have to pay more for the cruise because it is not a tipping culture. We should be the same way. It just a way the cruise lines try to hedge their bets on paying wages.

It seems Americans will go after that low bottom line every time. It's not only the cruise industry that has discovered that - Hotels, resorts, and airlines, haveknown this for years, advertising a price and then adding mandatory charges. If you've looked at school tuition, you will see this also - fees of all sorts. Ticket-booking sites and other web-based companies, especially those that advertise on TV, advertise a low price but add hefty "handling" fees which raise the price by as mush as 50%- then offer a "money back guarantee - minus handling of course - to dupe a gullible public into thinkign they are being generous. (Try removing charges from any of these companies from your bill - at least the crusie lines have a process for doing that) .

[PAPERBKWRITER]

I have NEVER or would EVER consider removing or changing the auto tips. I know what working for a living is and most of the people working on the ships knock themselves out to try to please the guests. If I have a problem with something I tell them face to face and it gets resolved on the spot. No ice in the soft cooler? I take mine up to lido deck and put it there to "save" a table, then fill it there. I'm not helpless...I have always tipped extra for both wait staff and cabin attendents since I've always had good service. Some are just friendlier than others but I don't cruise to make friends with the crew, their performance is what counts.

[pmang]

i never understood that anyway. if i wanted to hear a song, i'd insert a dime in the jukebox.

 

these days, i just put on iheart radio.

 

just curious though. did they pay you sub par wages like the service staff? and would you play music if your tip jar was empty?

 

What don't you understand? It's EXACTLY like a jukebox.... You want to pick a song, you put something in. If you just want to listen, sit back, enjoy and let others pick the songs. If you're saying that you don't feel like live musicians should be paid for requests and you only respect the original recording, stay in your cabin with an iPod and pick all the songs you want....

 

Yes, in my opinion, they paid sub par wages for the work/hours required and I wouldn't have been there at all if tips weren't an extra option. Other lines on average pay 30%-40% more with less of a work load required.

 

Of course I would have played music if there were no tips. I wouldn't play requests though... That is an extra service. I would just pick the songs myself....

 

How did I know that you would be commenting on this?

[redraidersrule]

I think you are looking for reasons to not tip what the cruise line suggests. It appears, to me, that you take your tips off and then decide who deserves them and that might, and I say might, be your cabin steward, waiter, if you dine in the dining room, assistant waiter if you dine there, and that's about it. It doesn't matter that your assistant waiter might be in the buffet and bussing your table or bringing you coffee etc.

 

I don't agree with the new tip policy of tipping the behind the entertainment staff and other customer service positions, but I still feel that somehow they made my cruise better.

 

For those of us who allow the auto-tip, even H82 agrees the charge doesn't hit the credit card until AFTER the cruise. To me, the way you look at things is just being cheap. I don't believe for one minute you tip all those who are suggested by Carnival during the week, or even at the end.

 

Cheap is cheap and most people who fit that description find ways to justify their positions. I am one who wishes the tips would become a NON-REMOVABLE service charge and then I wonder what the excuse will be.

 

Hey, as you mentioned, this is MY opinion and I am entitled to it.

The red part, so you are saying that when you auto tip, it doesnt hit your card until after the cruise? If so then that is essentially not prepaying and I'll retract my earlier statement. If it doesnt hit until after I will gladly prepay tips. I just never wanted to pay for it over 2 months in advance (or whenever you pay in full).

 

Im going on my first cruise in July so I didnt know how it worked whenever I booked.

[coachpete]

This thread has jumped the shark, now that we have to tip the dancers and everyone else on the ship.

[cruisenanny]

Thank goodness mamaskittles is wearing her flame retardant teddy.

I hope you all realize I called no one names,

denigrated no one,

and tried to make no one feel small for disagreeing with me.

I chose this post to quote because I don't know how to use multiple quotes but this is for cruisenanny and boo also.

I completely agree I have,

ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION TO TIP AS THE CRUISE LINE SUGGESTS.

I may tip less, I may tip none, but I will most likely tip more, as I have always done.

However I will tip WHEN and WHERE I see fit.

No one has the right to make anyone feel small for stating and standing by their beliefs.

The desk, entertainment, and customer service personel, do not get a tip from me. If Carnival feels they need more money then pay them more.

I do not tip the band at my local nightclub nor do I tip the desk clerk at the holiday inn or the customer service girl at JC Penneys.

If carnival raises my cruise fare the hot $20 I refuse to pay fully compensated staff, so be it.

And pray tell how do any of you know who I tip. Believe it or not I know what an asst. waiter is and does and a cabin steward asst. And the truth is most MDR wait staff also work in the buffet. I also can and do re-instate a portion of the auto tips to whom I feel deserve a tip.

Yes I really think you need to work for your money how American of me.

 

You choosing not pay (auto tip) the workers that the system IS designed to cover, DOES NOT mean they did less work, it means they did the same work but they got nothing, lets be honest & clear. No need to feel small, it is just a choice the line gives you & you admittedly make that choice. (Besides I'm sure that a Mamaskittles who wears a flame retardant teddy & loves to refer to herself in the third person likely has a thick skin)

I agree with others, the lines should call it what it should be, a non refundable service fee, and be done with it. Then you can chose to cruise or not.

Right or wrong, many systems are not set up as we would like them to be or have certain flaws. Again, in this case you still have a choice, so lucky you, & a few unlucky crew.

[coachpete]

They will never do away with tipping and make it non-refundable. The workers wouldn't hear of it. Once people get paid a straight salary, the incentive to go above and beyond goes out the window. Service suffers, and wages drop.

[H82seaUgo]

This thread has jumped the shark, now that we have to tip the dancers and everyone else on the ship.

 

yup. that jump took place back on december 1st, 2011. that $1 will be $5 before long. does someone have an abacas to multiply $650,000 times five?

[H82seaUgo]

The red part, so you are saying that when you auto tip, it doesnt hit your card until after the cruise? If so then that is essentially not prepaying and I'll retract my earlier statement. If it doesnt hit until after I will gladly prepay tips. I just never wanted to pay for it over 2 months in advance (or whenever you pay in full).

 

Im going on my first cruise in July so I didnt know how it worked whenever I booked.

 

pre pay and autotip are two different things. on the latter, you are correct. you don't pay until after your cruise is over.

 

if you prepay, you are charged immediately, and must pay when you get your next statement, if you're a pay in full type of person. and if you're not, you're paying like 20 to 30 % interest on those tipping charges.

[cruisenanny]

The red part, so you are saying that when you auto tip, it doesnt hit your card until after the cruise? If so then that is essentially not prepaying and I'll retract my earlier statement. If it doesnt hit until after I will gladly prepay tips. I just never wanted to pay for it over 2 months in advance (or whenever you pay in full).

 

Im going on my first cruise in July so I didnt know how it worked whenever I booked.

 

If you pre pay, yes they hit before you cruise. If you do not chose to pre pay when you book, then you will just be charged the auto tips at the END of the cruise, which would give you the opportunity to adjust then before you debark, if something wasn't to your satisfaction...

[kayhold]

pre pay and autotip are two different things. on the latter, you are correct. you don't pay until after your cruise is over.

 

if you prepay, you are charged immediately, and must pay when you get your next statement, if you're a pay in full type of person. and if you're not, you're paying like 20 to 30 % interest on those tipping charges.

 

I would never, ever own a credit card that charged that much interest!

Of course we don't have credit cards now that we are out of debt except our mortgage and my brandsmart card and I only use it during 9 month 0% promotions.

 

Sent from Tapa-Talk. Please forgive my brevity and lack of punctuation.

[Silverscreencruiser]

yup. that jump took place back on december 1st, 2011. that $1 will be $5 before long. does someone have an abacas to multiply $650,000 times five?

 

You'd better never go cruising again. Before long, the cost of any cruise will be going up and you'll need an abacus to figure out how much of your money Carnival is taking to allow you to lounge around for a week.

[H82seaUgo]

You'd better never go cruising again. Before long, the cost of any cruise will be going up and you'll need an abacus to figure out how much of your money Carnival is taking to allow you to lounge around for a week.

 

isn't that right now called my fare?

[coachpete]

isn't that right now called my fare?

 

 

That is correct.

[cruisenanny]

They will never do away with tipping and make it non-refundable. The workers wouldn't hear of it. Once people get paid a straight salary, the incentive to go above and beyond goes out the window. Service suffers, and wages drop.

 

Those that perform direct services will still get tipped above & beyond for excellence, just as they do now.

[coachpete]

Those that perform direct services will still get tipped above & beyond for excellence, just as they do now.

 

 

 

I disagree. Most people won't tip a cent beyond. And once the workers know they get their tips automatically, they stop going above and beyond.

[H82seaUgo]

Those that perform direct services will still get tipped above & beyond for excellence, just as they do now.

 

i disagree.

 

we just came back from a place in or near the pocanos, and i assumed we would tip at weekends end like we do at other places we frequent.

 

on morning 2, my 2 sil's inform me i should leave the tip, as they left the tip the previous morning. i asked the 1 sil how tipping worked here, as she made all the plans. she proceeds to tell me how she has tipped all her life. not what i asked.

 

rolled my eyes and left. went to the office, and picked up a brochure. and saw right there they added a service charge of 15%. so, for our 2 night stay, our tips were going to total $150. :eek:

 

and these fools were tipping on top of that, cause they were ignorant.

 

if this help carried me to and from my room, after charging me $150 in tips for 2 nights, they still would have not gotten another dime out of me.

 

sevice WAS excellent, btw.

[pmang]

I disagree. Most people won't tip a cent beyond. And once the workers know they get their tips automatically, they stop going above and beyond.

 

So would you guess that now, the people who are tipping extra are covering over and above those who don't tip at all? For every person that removes their tips for whatever reason, there is someone on the ship paying double? I doubt it. I would guess that there are more people removing tips then those paying extra...

 

Why would the person who pays double stop doing it in the future? Wouldn't those people provide the "motivation" needed for crew members to go above and beyond? I'm sure it would make for a much happier crew if you took away the threat that they could be serving certain people for nothing. I'd guess you would see more of them do the little things to earn extra instead of being frustrated and thinking "what's the point?"....

[coachpete]

So would you guess that now, the people who are tipping extra are covering over and above those who don't tip at all? For every person that removes their tips for whatever reason, there is someone on the ship paying double? I doubt it. I would guess that there are more people removing tips then those paying extra...

 

Why would the person who pays double stop doing it in the future? Wouldn't those people provide the "motivation" needed for crew members to go above and beyond? I'm sure it would make for a much happier crew if you took away the threat that they could be serving certain people for nothing. I'd guess you would see more of them do the little things to earn extra instead of being frustrated and thinking "what's the point?"....

 

Human nature would cause them to not work as hard. And frustrations would go up, because if I'm paying 100% tip, you had better earn it. Same reason service sucks at McDonalds, no incentive.

[pmang]

Human nature would cause them to not work as hard. And frustrations would go up, because if I'm paying 100% tip, you had better earn it. Same reason service sucks at McDonalds, no incentive.

 

But there are people out there who pay quite a bit more according to most here... Wouldn't they be the incentive to work hard? All that would happen is you would remove those who stiff the staff, regardless of service. The "reward" for exceptional service is still out there for those who want more.

 

I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of those who remove or reduce tips is greater for those who do it for their personal beliefs (or cheapness) than those adjusting for bad service.

 

Just curious... what does a waiter have to do to "earn" that $3.50 a day from you (for up to three meals) to satisfy your expectations?

[coachpete]

But there are people out there who pay quite a bit more according to most here... Wouldn't they be the incentive to work hard? All that would happen is you would remove those who stiff the staff, regardless of service. The "reward" for exceptional service is still out there for those who want more.

 

I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of those who remove or reduce tips is greater for those who do it for their personal beliefs (or cheapness) than those adjusting for bad service.

 

Just curious... what does a waiter have to do to "earn" that $3.50 a day from you (for up to three meals) to satisfy your expectations?

 

Most meals on cruise ships are buffets. So what am I actually paying $3.50 for? I get up and get my food and bring it back to my table. I know people that have worked at places where no tipping is allowed, they walk away rather quickly when they see a reduction in income. Same reason the lemmings leave their auto tip on the bill, so that the dancers and window washers can get tipped. They don't know any better. They will see tips included, and therefore won't tip extra.

[H82seaUgo]

But there are people out there who pay quite a bit more according to most here... Wouldn't they be the incentive to work hard? All that would happen is you would remove those who stiff the staff, regardless of service. The "reward" for exceptional service is still out there for those who want more.

 

I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of those who remove or reduce tips is greater for those who do it for their personal beliefs (or cheapness) than those adjusting for bad service.

 

Just curious... what does a waiter have to do to "earn" that $3.50 a day from you (for up to three meals) to satisfy your expectations?

 

it's actually $5.80 per person per day for your wait team.

 

and most skip two of the three service meals without a tip adjustment. and out of those two self serve meals that you've tipppd your reassigned staff in the mdr working the lido restaurant, some suggest double tips up there. in fact, you can usually find your dinner waiters right there working.

 

now, i see they are actually closing the service dining room for certain meals, giving those that like choice, none.

[deew0424]

I would think Carnival would change thier policy and make it a standard charge instead of giving you the "option" of prepaying gratuties during check-in. Since they are going to charge it anyway to your account, just make is standard and then there wouldn't be any choice (and less contraversy). JMO! ;)

[H82seaUgo]

I would think Carnival would change thier policy and make it a standard charge instead of giving you the "option" of prepaying gratuties during check-in. Since they are going to charge it anyway to your account, just make is standard and then there wouldn't be any choice (and less contraversy). JMO! ;)

 

then they can't have that low fare they want you to see.

[joyce&bob]

Are they the same????? Tip shows up on your bill at end of cruise???? or can I actually pre-pay before we leave for cruise. I'm confused....