WOW ! Up To 400 People Remove Gratuities

[Ladysilver]

We usually remove the gratuities on the second day. We prefer to pay our tips in cash. :)

[caribbean sailor]

My buddy is on the AOS at the moment and has a friend in GS.

 

On the current AOS sailing at 11.59pm last night (9 days into the 12 day cruise) 124 people (not staterooms) had asked for all gratuities to be removed from their Seapass accounts. His friend at GS said they also expect more people to request this tommorrow (the last day before disembarkation) as people tend to do it last minute as they assume their stateroom attendant/waiter/asst waiter won't find out (that's shocking and dishonest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - that makes my blood boil :mad:)

 

Interestingly she did say that despite this happening with sometimes up to 400 passengers per cruise, there are now a lot more gratuities being paid than under the old system. Many more people would not pre-pay gratuities and then not pay anything in cash while on the cruise under the old way of administering gratuities. She said the worst cruises for this used to be the 6 day Caribbean sailing.

 

 

First of all it is none of your business ,what other people feel about tipping.At the price they charge for a cruise it should be included.I cancel my tips also and tip who i please.The only people stiffing the crew is royal.IF YOU FEEL THAT STRONG ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE DO. THEN TIP MORE.:confused: :)

[GBfromOz]

We usually remove the gratuities on the second day. We prefer to pay our tips in cash. :)

 

The problem is with those that remove auto tips with no intention of paying in cash.

 

Next cruise ask your waiter or stateroom attendant how often they get stiffed. You may be surprised.

[MisterBill99]

The problem is with those that remove auto tips with no intention of paying in cash.

I don't think that's a fair thing to say. There are several reasons why people remove the automatic tips, as we've seen from posts here. While I am sure that a good number are doing so because they don't want to tip, it appears that there are also many that do pay them in cash.

[DrD]

 

 

First of all it is none of your business ,what other people feel about tipping.At the price they charge for a cruise it should be included.I cancel my tips also and tip who i please.The only people stiffing the crew is royal.IF YOU FEEL THAT STRONG ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE DO. THEN TIP MORE.:confused: :)

 

Ridiculous. google empathy.

 

for example, if I read about someone who has tortured a dog, it does not affect me at all, but I feel bad for the dog, and that there are people who do that. I do donate money to organizations that help abused animals but still wish it wasn't necessary.

 

Obviously that is orders of magnitude worse than not tipping but it's the same concept. People like me genuinely feel bad that workers get stiffed on tips and resent the people who do it. Perhaps it's because I used to be a waiter.

 

I'm sorry you can't or won't understand this basic human emotion.

[BekkaW]

The problem is with those that remove auto tips with no intention of paying in cash.

 

Next cruise ask your waiter or stateroom attendant how often they get stiffed. You may be surprised.

 

That's part of the problem, but even with people who do then tip in cash they are very unlikely to tip all the people that would otherwise share in the auto tip - especially the behind the scenes workers. Those workers then get paid less, but still have to work just as hard.

[Cruise Cynic]

On my last cruise on NCL Breakaway, I removed all my tips for the first time in 17 sailings.

 

WHY? Because the F&B service was incredibly bad. The servers mostly acted like the passengers were an annoyance. VERY unpolished, unfriendly and under-trained staff, and quite moody to boot.

 

On the other hand, our cabin steward was impeccable. He got his tip handed to him in cash, even though it was removed on my official account. I hope he didn't share it with the F&B guys.

[RDC1]

Don't forget to tell your cabin attendant and servers that at the beginning of the cruise. Of course they will know that you have removed the tips since they get a list.

 

I don't like the way it is done but I am not going to stiff the crew because of that. I leave the gratuities on.

 

Given the increase in cruises in areas that don't have the US tipping culture and don't comprehend the way these workers are compensated I expect it will end up changing to a mandatory service charge.

 

 

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A service charge, instead of tips results in a whole lot of changes from a corporate accounting point of view. Tips are not considered revenue for the company and are not considered to be wages as far as the employee is concerned. Once you go to a service charge, they then become part of corporate revenue and the payout is considered to be non-tip wages. For a number of reasons this is not beneficial to either the company or the employees. This can result in reductions in the amount the employee actually receives due to various government tax policies and withholding, as well impacts on things like recruiter fees, etc.

[MisterBill99]

A service charge, instead of tips results in a whole lot of changes from a corporate accounting point of view. Tips are not considered revenue for the company and are not considered to be wages as far as the employee is concerned. Once you go to a service charge, they then become part of corporate revenue and the payout is considered to be non-tip wages.

A popular NYC restaurant owner (Danny Meyer) has started changing his restaurants to be tip-included. The article I read said that the prices would have to go up by at least 25-30% because of the additional costs like added social security and payroll taxes, and they actually wanted to raise them by more. In their case, they apparently have a lot of foreign tourists as customers to whom tipping was not the norm, so their staff was getting stiffed. They also had the issue of wanting to pay the back of the house people more.

[MicCanberra]

Include the fees in the fare whether they be taxes or surcharges or tips, then they cannot be removed. The company will pay more tax and the employees will pay more tax, but so what, at least one country will gain from it.

[firstcarib]

Ridiculous. google empathy.

 

for example, if I read about someone who has tortured a dog, it does not affect me at all, but I feel bad for the dog, and that there are people who do that. I do donate money to organizations that help abused animals but still wish it wasn't necessary.

 

Obviously that is orders of magnitude worse than not tipping but it's the same concept. People like me genuinely feel bad that workers get stiffed on tips and resent the people who do it. Perhaps it's because I used to be a waiter.

 

I'm sorry you can't or won't understand this basic human emotion.

 

My basic human emotion tells me cruise ship companies should pay all their staff a better living wage!!! Then it would not be such an emotional issue about tipping. We could tip who & where we please without incurring the wrath of those folk from countries where tipping is not just expected, it is demanded. I speak of the US of A...I have never seen such rude, greedy servers in restaurants in all my world of travelling. Indifferent, disgraceful service staff still expect rewarding with at least a 20% tip. Give me the honest good natured service in Australia, New Zealand ...or even UK. Tipping is not a foregone conclusion designed to bolster shabby wages. It is an extra Thank you for great service, with a smile:rolleyes:

[Freehike]

My basic human emotion tells me cruise ship companies should pay all their staff a better living wage!!!:

 

The problem is, if they raise the employees wages, then they will have to pass that cost along and raise the prices of the cruise. When that happens, consumers will start complaining about the price increases.

 

People want it both ways; cheap fares and well-paid employees. You aren't going to get both. Companies and their shareholders aren't going to just say "OK, we'll just make a lot less money every year"

 

 

I don't have an issue tipping at all, as long as the service is good. Hell, I'll tip for average service. My mother was a server for years and I know exactly what kind of crap job it is.

 

What I don't like is being forced to tip people regardless of what the service is like.

 

 

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[gilby]

It is really none of anybodies business, whether people remove the tips or not. I remove them, but I pay cash in envelopes. I am a server and have a daughter that is a server, I know how it feels to be stiffed. I enjoy handing the wait staff and stateroom attendant envelopes and personally thank them for their service. (I know the behind the scenes I am unable to do that, but I will put the envelop in the box at desk.

[Scotty G]

A service charge, instead of tips results in a whole lot of changes from a corporate accounting point of view. Tips are not considered revenue for the company and are not considered to be wages as far as the employee is concerned. Once you go to a service charge, they then become part of corporate revenue and the payout is considered to be non-tip wages. For a number of reasons this is not beneficial to either the company or the employees. This can result in reductions in the amount the employee actually receives due to various government tax policies and withholding, as well impacts on things like recruiter fees, etc.

 

This is an excellent response!

[Big_G]

My basic human emotion tells me cruise ship companies should pay all their staff a better living wage!!!

 

Depending on where they live, maybe they do.

[Paul65]

It is really none of anybodies business, whether people remove the tips or not. I remove them, but I pay cash in envelopes. I am a server and have a daughter that is a server, I know how it feels to be stiffed. I enjoy handing the wait staff and stateroom attendant envelopes and personally thank them for their service. (I know the behind the scenes I am unable to do that, but I will put the envelop in the box at desk.

 

If that's your choice, and you think it is nobody's business, then you should worry about the fact that people are going think you're probably just cheap, when you remove auto-gratuities. People are going to think that. Sometimes they'll be right; sometimes they'll be wrong.

[MicCanberra]

People will try and get away with paying less or not paying at all, no matter what the product, as long as the tips are able to be removed, some people will.

[The_Big_M]

People will try and get away with paying less or not paying at all, no matter what the product, as long as the tips are able to be removed, some people will.

 

Very true.

 

The sad thing is when that and similar statements are made, some act all offended and try to deny that.

[In_Steerage]

In over 30 cruises, I've always removed automatic tips. I tip my waiter and asst. waiter equal or more than they would have received thru auto-tip, and do so with a handshake and a personal message of gratitude.

 

I tip my steward on day #1, and at the end of the cruise. I do it in my stateroom, or when they're cleaning an empty stateroom, out of the hallway where there is no chance of being seen by other stewards, crew, or security cameras.

 

It is my hope that by tipping discreetly, my steward does not share his tip with any other crew member or taxing authority.

[Paul65]

In over 30 cruises, I've always removed automatic tips. I tip my waiter and asst. waiter equal or more than they would have received thru auto-tip, and do so with a handshake and a personal message of gratitude.

 

I tip my steward on day #1, and at the end of the cruise. I do it in my stateroom, or when they're cleaning an empty stateroom, out of the hallway where there is no chance of being seen by other stewards, crew, or security cameras.

 

It is my hope that by tipping discreetly, my steward does not share his tip with any other crew member or taxing authority.

 

Good for you. You must be so proud of yourself.

[John&LaLa]

I've never removed tips, but then our TA usually pays them

[MicCanberra]

In over 30 cruises, I've always removed automatic tips. I tip my waiter and asst. waiter equal or more than they would have received thru auto-tip, and do so with a handshake and a personal message of gratitude.

 

I tip my steward on day #1, and at the end of the cruise. I do it in my stateroom, or when they're cleaning an empty stateroom, out of the hallway where there is no chance of being seen by other stewards, crew, or security cameras.

 

It is my hope that by tipping discreetly, my steward does not share his tip with any other crew member or taxing authority.

 

Yep, good one. Don't worry about all the other staff (housekeeping and service crew) that would normally get a share from the auto tips missing out. At least you feel like you have done the right thing, that is most important.:rolleyes:

[Tripper10]

Yep, good one. Don't worry about all the other staff (housekeeping and service crew) that would normally get a share from the auto tips missing out. At least you feel like you have done the right thing, that is most important.:rolleyes:

 

Isn't it most important that HE feels he's done the right thing? The tip removal is a option which he gets to choose. He can tip who and how he wants. What makes you so high and mighty? I guarantee there are people tipping more than you are. Does that make you a piece of garbage that you are making this man out to be?

[Tripper10]

Good for you. You must be so proud of yourself.

 

Same to you.....read above. ^^^^^^^^

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I believe if the tips become non-removable, then they have to be included as part of the advertised cruise fare. Whoever did this would be at a competitive disadvantage as long as other cruise lines did not follow the same practice.

Agree Bob.

 

This is pretty much a "pay me now or pay me later" issue...as the hard-working and generally underpaid onboard staff earns gratuities based on service.

 

In the vast majority of cases we have experienced...the proposed gratuities are well below what has been earned - we have no hesitation paying them and often addition extra cash.