Royal Carribbean basically "forced me" to tip waiters I never met!

[bbbearden]

This tipping debate is about as old as the chair hog debate, but it never seems to go away and die.

 

Tipping is part of the mass market cruise line expereince. They are very open and up front about it. Not sure why some seem to struggle with this.

 

I love the prepaid tips as it ensures all the people who give me good service are properly tipped in case I do not see them at the end of the cruise. However, I really like to give out the vouchers with a little extra cash because it gives me the opportunity to say "thank you" and show some appreciation for the hard work and great service. I enjoy this, and not sure why others would not.

 

Last year on Voyager, we had a bar servicer in the MDR who came by and checked on us every night in the MTD area. He was so nice, so friendly, and really seemed to care that he got it right. I know that tips were included in the bar tab, but he had been so great we gave him cash in addition to the normal tips on the last night of the cruise that was about the same level as a waiter would get for the week. He was just that good. We also really spoke well of him in our written reviews. After he walked off with the tip to the back somewhere, he must have realized what I had given him and came back out to say thanks. I honestly thought he was about to cry. He never mentioned his personal situation but I got the feeling that the extra money came at a good time for him. That is one of many stories where I have enjoyed tipping and know that it can touch the lives of others We also had the best head waiter I have ever had and tipped him extra also. We are not made of money, but I also now that tips come with cruising and include it in my budget. I would encourage everyone to just accept it as part of the cost of cruising and move on.

[hiccups]

I tip and have no problem doing so. I tip extra if I believe it to be warranted.

 

But am I a cheapskate for not tipping my MDR staff for the night I went to Chops? I hope not, as this is the way I have been doing since I first cruised.

 

BTW I tipped extra at Chops. It was great!

 

And are specialty restaurant tips pooled with the rest of the wait staff in general or just among the specialty restaurant staff if pooled at all?

 

 

I still wouldn't stiff my MDR waitstaff if I ate in Chops. That $6.75 I'd be saving means a lot more to them than it does to me. If that amount matters to me in the grand scheme of things, I probably shouldn't be taking vacations.

[BrianAlt]

According to the show on the cabin television, believe it or not we were told to hunt down all our service people and hand them the envelop with the voucher or cash on our last day. Does anyone really do that?

 

When we were on Oasis, had MTD, and ate in specialty restaurants every night (The Almost Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Oasis of the Seas), we left our envelopes for our "waiters" with guest services.

 

I tried giving them to waiters we had for lunch in the MDR and with the maitre d', but they wouldn't take them.

[Charles4515]

If all the tips are pooled and people being people….. Wouldn’t one expect to see some serious disagreements among the crew about who might be giving up their tips to the pool and who might be holding back?

I really can’t imagine a pooling system working smoothly.

Just pay the recommended amount to all the recommended people and toss in an extra on special occasions. You will be giving the crew more than some and all the crew really expects.

 

Peer pressure works to make sure that all is turned in when tips are pooled unofficially. The coworkers can tell. Someone holding back will be shunned. If pooling tips is official policy at a cruise line the employee will be not only be shunned, they will be terminated.

[mommabean]

This tipping debate is about as old as the chair hog debate, but it never seems to go away and die.

 

Tipping is part of the mass market cruise line expereince. They are very open and up front about it. Not sure why some seem to struggle with this.

 

I love the prepaid tips as it ensures all the people who give me good service are properly tipped in case I do not see them at the end of the cruise. However, I really like to give out the vouchers with a little extra cash because it gives me the opportunity to say "thank you" and show some appreciation for the hard work and great service. I enjoy this, and not sure why others would not.

 

Last year on Voyager, we had a bar servicer in the MDR who came by and checked on us every night in the MTD area. He was so nice, so friendly, and really seemed to care that he got it right. I know that tips were included in the bar tab, but he had been so great we gave him cash in addition to the normal tips on the last night of the cruise that was about the same level as a waiter would get for the week. He was just that good. We also really spoke well of him in our written reviews. After he walked off with the tip to the back somewhere, he must have realized what I had given him and came back out to say thanks. I honestly thought he was about to cry. He never mentioned his personal situation but I got the feeling that the extra money came at a good time for him. That is one of many stories where I have enjoyed tipping and know that it can touch the lives of others We also had the best head waiter I have ever had and tipped him extra also. We are not made of money, but I also now that tips come with cruising and include it in my budget. I would encourage everyone to just accept it as part of the cost of cruising and move on.

 

Nice story.

 

As for the debate dying - That will never happen as long as new members keep joining cruise critic. Expect the debate to not only live on but to thrive. :)

 

Gina

[Jumbiecruiser]

Gina has hit the nail, on the head, again.

 

For me, it is real simple....can't or won't pay the tips....don't cruise!!:eek:

 

Leave the cabin open to those that know what service they receive, and are willing to tip for it.

 

That is why I'm for a total prepaid tipping system!!

 

Royal Caribbean.....wake up!!

 

Rick

 

But that's the issue. There are some that will not tip regardless. Those are the ones that need their butt kicked. Those individuals are just lazy and inconsiderate in my book. I detest cheap people.:mad:

[joe6666]

Peer pressure works to make sure that all is turned in when tips are pooled unofficially. The coworkers can tell. Someone holding back will be shunned. If pooling tips is official policy at a cruise line the employee will be not only be shunned, they will be terminated.

So the tips are pooled and the extra $50 that Uncle Billy gave to the waiter who was so nice got dumped it the gratuity pool to be divided up by the cruise line.

And the waiter that hustled for Uncle Billy got the same amount of money from the pool as the waiter who didn’t feel like hustling.

If that were true, why would any waiter do a really great job and hustle for tips?

Please don't tell me that they will work extra hard so the customer will give them tips that they can add to the pool.

If all tips in the MDR were pooled, there would not only be fights over holding back, but there would also be fights over who was slacking off.

Pooling tips sounds like something a commune would do. And we know communes don’t work.

MTD tip money that is the result of “pre paid gratuities”. There is no way for the cruise line to give more or less to one waiter or another.

Therefore that money must be pooled and divided.

But if some one hands a $20 to a MTD waiter, he is not going to have to pool that money.

 

Cruisers... Pay the recommended amount and a little more on a special occasion.

[Charles4515]

So the tips are pooled and the extra $50 that Uncle Billy gave to the waiter who was so nice got dumped it the gratuity pool to be divided up by the cruise line.

And the waiter that hustled for Uncle Billy got the same amount of money from the pool as the waiter who didn’t feel like hustling.

If that were true, why would any waiter do a really great job and hustle for tips?

Please don't tell me that they will work extra hard so the customer will give them tips that they can add to the pool.

If all tips in the MDR were pooled, there would not only be fights over holding back, but there would also be fights over who was slacking off.

Pooling tips sounds like something a commune would do. And we know communes don’t work.

MTD tip money that is the result of “pre paid gratuities”. There is no way for the cruise line to give more or less to one waiter or another.

Therefore that money must be pooled and divided.

But if some one hands a $20 to a MTD waiter, he is not going to have to pool that money.

 

Cruisers... Pay the recommended amount and a little more on a special occasion.

 

Not sure what you are saying. It is know that some cruise lines pool tips. Also there are restaurants that pool tips. I have never had an occupation that gets tips but I have been had workplace where some coworkers were in such an occupation. They pooled their tips. I saw them dividing the pool up. And it was not an even distribution. Certain staff got a higher percentage. The customers were totally unaware. We have little idea what happens behind the scenes with our tips.

[CanuckMO4]

Thank You Rick

[lysolqn]

I find it quite amusing that those who are certain tips are pooled are just as certain as those who are certain they are not! Guess that means no one knows(!) - regardless of how many cabins stewards, waitstaff, barstaff, chief housekeepers, maitre d's or distant relatives of someone whose cousin used to have a next door neighbor whose uncle's brother-in-law once worked on a ship and shared the "real" inside scoop with them.

[UKLloyd]

Silly question, These threads always come up, But I have a question.

 

What is the difference between a service charge and a tip?

 

Thank you.

[lysolqn]

Silly question, These threads always come up, But I have a question.

 

What is the difference between a service charge and a tip?

 

Thank you.

 

A service charge is a mandatory pre-determined amount added to the bill, whereas technically, a tip is voluntary and the amount is left to the discretion of whomever is leaving it.

[UKLloyd]

A service charge is a mandatory pre-determined amount added to the bill; a tip is voluntary and the amount is left to the discretion of the donor, although there are widely accepted guidelines.

 

 

Thanks,

 

So does the service charge go to the crew?

[grandmamlw]

Silly question, These threads always come up, But I have a question.

 

What is the difference between a service charge and a tip?

 

Thank you.

 

A service charge is an amount added that you have no say in, whereas a tip you have a choice. Even if you prepay tips on a cruise ship you still have a choice to have it refunded if you feel that is appropriate. I never would but some do.

[north29]

I have no problem with tipping, particularly on a cruise, I have never had bad service, on a cruise, yes some cruises are better but never bad. I like prepaid gratuities, better than having them added to the price of the cruise, it is a easier, system and I usually tip something else if service is exceptional, or give a WOW card. I also like RC's MTD which is a perk for prepaid gratuities. I really think you get, well most of the time, better service with Pre paid gratuities. I never have to worry about not showing up on the last night, to find people and that is good, unless you leave a little extra for extra service.

Speaking for the UK, I was shocked that there was no tip place on my first dinner there, I enquired about it, and was told it was basically a part of the bill, and that they are (quote) well paid. But, if you would like to leave some loose change that would be great. On second visit to the UK, the restaurants, many of them, now had a place on the CC bill to add a tip.

PS I forgot now but I was once told that on the Monarch, as high as 60% of passengers on some cruises do not leave a tip. I guess other cruise lines systems would help on that issue.

[mommabean]

I have no problem with tipping, particularly on a cruise, I have never had bad service, on a cruise, yes some cruises are better but never bad. I like prepaid gratuities, better than having them added to the price of the cruise, it is a easier, system and I usually tip something else if service is exceptional, or give a WOW card. I also like RC's MTD which is a perk for prepaid gratuities. I really think you get, well most of the time, better service with Pre paid gratuities. I never have to worry about not showing up on the last night, to find people and that is good, unless you leave a little extra for extra service.

Speaking for the UK, I was shocked that there was no tip place on my first dinner there, I enquired about it, and was told it was basically a part of the bill, and that they are (quote) well paid. But, if you would like to leave some loose change that would be great. On second visit to the UK, the restaurants, many of them, now had a place on the CC bill to add a tip.

PS I forgot now but I was once told that on the Monarch, as high as 60% of passengers on some cruises do not leave a tip. I guess other cruise lines systems would help on that issue.

 

This is interesting. Monarch holds the record for all time worse service over all in all of my cruises. This was just in February. I was shocked. Had I never cruised before, I never would have again. :eek: I tipped anyway, even a bit extra, but not as much as usual. Except for my stateroom attendant who was great and was taken care of. That must be why he was so verbal in his thanks. Maybe he gets stiffed a lot.

 

On the other hand, they may get tipped better if they provided great service to the non regulars on board. I've been on other ships as a first timer/non regular not knowing anyone and have been greatly impressed. Not this time. :( Of course it could just be that the younger crowd and more party like atmosphere doesn't bring the tippers on board. Probably it's a little of both.

 

Gina

[jd10367]

I was always under the impresson that the tips are pooled. We have always eaten in the MDR and prepaid tips. This past cruise, we prepaid tips but never went to the MDR. I went to the desk and asked, and was told they do NOT pool the tips, that the prepaid tip you give to "Head Waiter", "Waiter", and "Assistant Waiter" go to the MDR staff only. I had been under the impression that the tips also went to breakfast and lunch staff. Now, maybe they pool amongst the MDR people, I don't know; all I know is, the worker at the desk basically told me, "If you didn't go to the MDR, you shouldn't tip them." So I had the prepaid tips put back on my credit card (they can't give you a refund right there).

[Charles4515]

I find it quite amusing that those who are certain tips are pooled are just as certain as those who are certain they are not! Guess that means no one knows(!) - regardless of how many cabins stewards, waitstaff, barstaff, chief housekeepers, maitre d's or distant relatives of someone whose cousin used to have a next door neighbor whose uncle's brother-in-law once worked on a ship and shared the "real" inside scoop with them.

 

Someone knows. I know about other cruise lines but not about Royal Caribbean. The ones with auto tips pool. Before they did auto tips they obfuscated what happened behind the scenes. Turned out they pooled before the auto tips. But we just don't know with Royal. Even the inside scoop might not be reliable ...

 

With all the options now on Royal ships and people not always using the MDR I think they should have auto tips and they should pool the tips.

[beryljayne]

I got off a Royal Carribbean Cruise Ship last week and I am still steaming about the tipping policy. I would like your feedback and advice.

 

So basically we ate at alternative restaurants or the buffet (at in the ports of calls) the entire time we were on the cruise. This is our 6th cruise and we did not have the stomach to sit in the main dining room and make small talk to strangers at our assigned table for two hours in the evenings. We ate our dinners in the buffet.

 

So about five days into the cruise we got material asking us to pay our tips for the cruise. We had no trouble tipping our cabin attendent but they also required we tip our Assistant and Head Waiter. Yes there was an alternative that we pay everyone in cash if we did not want our sign and sail card credit card charged. We had gone through all our cash so we just signed the form for the required tips and basically compensated the waiters at the Main Dining Room we never met.

 

According to the show on the cabin television, believe it or not we were told to hunt down all our service people and hand them the envelop with the voucher or cash on our last day. Does anyone really do that?

 

In an era where a large number of cruisers do not eat in the main dining room, there has to be a better way for cruisers who do not have lots of cash along to tip only those service people who they actually came in contact with. What do you think?

We had the same issue on our first cruise and complained. On our second cruise we tiped directly to those who gave us good service. We talked to crew members about the tipping system and they all said that they get more from the automatic tipping system than from the person to person tips. Especially if they were not in their usual places on the last day of the trip.

On our next cruise we have decided to pay up front for tips We have never had bad service on RCI so this time we are happy to do this.

[Grumblediddley]

Keeping to the tipping thread - as a newby and disabled to boot - might I ask a question of you multi cruisers.

Tell me, would it be a wise thought to carry a sheaf of dollar bills to distribute in gay abandon for those little services 'given' to us less able-bodied by members of staff both on and off the vessel. Such as - hailing us a cab/holding a door open/holding back the crowds at the lifts/offering a shove up a hill/a lift up a kerb/stairs/generally being un factotem suprem.

[mommabean]

Keeping to the tipping thread - as a newby and disabled to boot - might I ask a question of you multi cruisers.

Tell me, would it be a wise thought to carry a sheaf of dollar bills to distribute in gay abandon for those little services 'given' to us less able-bodied by members of staff both on and off the vessel. Such as - hailing us a cab/holding a door open/holding back the crowds at the lifts/offering a shove up a hill/a lift up a kerb/stairs/generally being un factotem suprem.

 

No. There is no need. I don't expect you to give me a dollar for any act of human kindness either. If someone holds a door open for me, I don't give them a dollar. It makes no difference what the reason is for holding the door open. It's not their job. Day to day activities and good deeds are not a job.

 

Gina

[lysolqn]

Keeping to the tipping thread - as a newby and disabled to boot - might I ask a question of you multi cruisers.

Tell me, would it be a wise thought to carry a sheaf of dollar bills to distribute in gay abandon for those little services 'given' to us less able-bodied by members of staff both on and off the vessel. Such as - hailing us a cab/holding a door open/holding back the crowds at the lifts/offering a shove up a hill/a lift up a kerb/stairs/generally being un factotem suprem.

 

Granted, common courtesy and consideration for others is definitely on the wane (if not yet extinct!) but disabled or otherwise, one should not have to tip to be the recipient of either!

[Heidils]

I would never work for a company who "pools" tips. I'm to good at what I do to pick up the slack from slackers. If this practice is going on it's stupid.

[teajak]

I would never work for a company who "pools" tips. I'm to good at what I do to pick up the slack from slackers. If this practice is going on it's stupid.

Totally agree. Anyone who has ever worked in a service industry that pools tips knows it doesn't work and makes for terrible relations among the workers.:(

[bbbearden]

Keeping to the tipping thread - as a newby and disabled to boot - might I ask a question of you multi cruisers.

Tell me, would it be a wise thought to carry a sheaf of dollar bills to distribute in gay abandon for those little services 'given' to us less able-bodied by members of staff both on and off the vessel. Such as - hailing us a cab/holding a door open/holding back the crowds at the lifts/offering a shove up a hill/a lift up a kerb/stairs/generally being un factotem suprem.

 

No you should not. As a passenger, I will happily hold open a door for you, help with a cab, or assist with simple needs. That is the right thing to do and I believe the crew members would see it the same way. The tips we pay are for the excellent performance of thier jobs. Human kindness should be and is free. A simple kind word of thanks from you should be enough for anyone. Hopefully that is what you are offering.