Opting out of the auto tip

[clean1owner]

First and foremost, this is a religious issue, with some people holier than thou, and more then a few non-believers...but anyway

 

I have been racing through this thread looking for something like the above quote to confirm my suspicions - once the cruise lines found it easier to track everything, they decided to use the tip/no auto tip info to their advantage.

 

Lets speculate:

- Cruise lines want to call it tipping not really for the passengers but for the crew, so they will still focus on service as we have seen in many posts, variable service will still result in changes in the way people tip. I would not be surprised if parts of this thread did not make it to employee communications in some way to remind them of the importance.

- I'm no psychologist, but I would guess that there is a greater esprit de corps amount the service personnel for EVERYONE to deliver better service for the benefit of all, or perhaps pressure imposed on those that seem to not do their best.

- I'm sure if the cruise lines wanted to (and maybe they do) have a computer indicator that shows up whenever your card gets scanned if you are an auto-tipper or not, and perhaps staff could treat you differently based upon that - either way!

- As much as computers can do, I really doubt there is a way staff (aside from maybe your room attendant) can keep the "excess" from a cash tipper - are they supposed to login to a computer to input each tip after finding out the account of the person they just got the tip from?

 

As my TA gives me "free gratuities" as part of my deal, I just hope it does get credited correctly (so the above is mostly irrelevant to me)

 

And I would love to see the difference in average tip on those $399/week cruises vs the full-priced ones, as I suspect there are more than the average number of cheapskates non-tippers (not YOU - please!) on the cheapest cruises.

 

 

 

 

You are the first person I have seen on these boards who has also sailed Regency!

[kingsgirl]

i agree. lol its drama in here . dress code, tipping, lounge chairs. geez just enjoy people , thats what its all about, dont sweat the small stuff.

 

I haven't been on the boards for maybe a year? I was surprised to see these type of topics are still heating everyone up. I mean, no one is going to convince anyone else of their opinion and we all know it. Bah. I'm done.

[clean1owner]

LMAO, you can't be serious:rolleyes::eek:

 

 

 

I don't know about RCCL, but NCL and Carnival were both MDR or nothing throughout the 80's. The only other option was burgers grilled poolside for lunch on sea days.

 

 

I never saw a large a large shortage of passengers in the MDR on tip night.

 

And yes, the cruise lines survived quite well without auto tips.

[NittanyLioness]

Hello fellow CC's...

 

I tell my staff "when you come to me with a problem, bring a solution!"

 

I'll follow my own mantra, and suggest the following:

 

RCCL should no longer call them "Gratuities", but re-classify them as "Shipping and Handling" fees, for the following reasons:

 

1. Quite literally, they are "Shipping" and "Handling...with Care" us passengers! (Whether they do it "well" will be determined by either YOUR future patronage, or lack thereof.)

 

2. In 2014, anyone who has ever purchased a new car...or for that matter, ANY product via phone or online...not only expects S&H fees, but if they truly want the item delivered to them, pays them.

 

As for me, I consider pre-paid gratuities as part of the cost of the cruise, and additionally reward exemplary service. That said, I can certainly understand the disconnect from those passengers in non-tipping cultures.

 

I don't think whether you prepay gratuities or wait until the end of the cruise matters. But I do think you should pay them.

 

It's analogous to spending seven days at an "All Inclusive", but wanting a pro-rated refund since you ventured "off property" and didn't eat/drink at the resort.

 

Just my thoughts!:cool: