Tipping for Room Service

[Lizzie68]

I totally agree that the HSC should just be factored in as part of the cruise cost, just like insurance. You should only be allowed to adjust or reduce in extreme circumstances, if at all. Additional tips are a totally personal thing but we always show our appreciation with tips and a thank you note. Heck I had no hot water but even that is no reason to remove the HSC - it's not the crew's fault.

[petnumber1]

....for all of your great advice. My cruise buddy and I are pretty different than most of you guys, I suspect - we go on cruises to get away from people LOL, so we take almost all of our meals in our cabin, relax and dine on the balcony, peacefully watch the water go by, and talk about our day. On our last cruise, we only went to the MDR once - and that was for the Mariners' luncheon, LOL. :) So for room service tips, it's very important to me to get it right for that reason.

 

And thank you also for the additional hints about having new clean bills and staying away from twenties. I'll just go by the bank on our way out of town and pick up what is needed. :)

[sail7seas]

I totally agree that the HSC should just be factored in as part of the cruise cost, just like insurance. You should only be allowed to adjust or reduce in extreme circumstances, if at all. Additional tips are a totally personal thing but we always show our appreciation with tips and a thank you note. Heck I had no hot water but even that is no reason to remove the HSC - it's not the crew's fault.

 

That's a good point about not refusing to tip crew because of something that displeased you but is not the fault of the cabin steward or dining steward or concierge etc I've heard people removing their HSC because they had bad weather or rough seas or something utterly ridiculous to blame crew.

 

[QARandy]

If you have bad service, empty ketchup, an unfriendly greeter (unlikely), or any other issue with the crew then it should be brought up to his or her supervisor. Get the issue fixed. If someone did something to me that I thought warranted $50-150 in compensation then I would definitely speak to them or their supervisor. Don't use it as an excuse to not tip.

Randy

[Lottie Linda]

I like the idea of being able to remove the HSC, and it should be done only in extreme conditions. Like, what if the entire crew started calling me Chicken Legs. To my face. And laughed every time I walked by, "Here comes Ol' Chicken Legs." At least I'd get the last laugh by stiffing them all.

[serendipity1499]

No it wouldn't. It would be far better to leave the HSC in place and then hand out 3X extra to those who gave special service.

 

(1) I HIGHLY doubt that anyone removing the HSC hands out even the same amount, never mind more. What would be the point of removing it otherwise?

(2) No one behind they scenes would get any of that cash handed out. They rely on that money too.

(3) Even if the pax do hand out more, at least the cabin and MDR stewards would have to put it in the pool, and end up with less than they deserve.

(4) The HSC is NOT a tip. It is a CHARGE for services provided to you. It is the major part of the PAY for most of the Hotel Department crew.

 

 

Totally agree with you! There is no way in &%$@ that someone who removes the HSC is going to tip more cash than the suggested amount!What would the purpose be by doing that, :confused: especially if one knows that part of the HSC goes to other backroom people who also do so much to make HAL's Psgrs happy ?

 

I got seriously flamed once for saying there is a special place in Hell reserved for people who stiff the staff of their tips----so I won't say that; I will just think it.;)

 

Touche' Sapper! I'll be more than happy to say it for both of us!

[serendipity1499]

So...just for argument sake. Say a person tips cash throughout the cruise like most of you suggest. $5 to room service, $3 for the bartender every drink, few dollars to the guy with the onesie fixing the air conditioning vent, who ever. Then at the end of the cruise said person removes the auto gratuity. Do they confiscate the funds that had been previously tipped? How would they know who that was and is there a tip log that the crew must report in each and every tip. They must have a log of the tips according to many posts here. There would be NO WAY to pool the tips if they don't know who they are from. Personally, I think they pool them all.[/QUOTE]

 

Since you are quoting my post for argument sake.. I bolded your last sentence.. Have no idea what a reason would be for anyone to remove the HSC especially if they know how it is distributed..:confused:

 

While on our long Antarctica cruise, several of our Stewards changed mid- cruise.. However, we asked them in the beginning of our cruise if they would be with us the entire time & we tipped extra several times during & at the end of our cruise.. When two of them left us & worked at a new station, they always stopped by to say hello to us.. One day DH left our table in the Lido to get something & got lost.. He probably looked confused, but one of our Stewards saw him, took him in hand & brought him with his food to me.. That kind of concern is why we sail HAL & Love the crew so much! :)

 

An extra Cash tip with our Thank you note, which we give to some Stewards, is our gift to them for the excellent service they give to DH & me.. They can do what they want with it! If they wish to pool it, or not is not my business & it should not be your concern either!;)

[taxmantoo]

If they wish to pool it, or not is not my business & it should not be your concern either!;) [/size]

 

Exactly ... We have never had a waiter ask us where we got our money so I would never ask where theirs goes ;)

Edited May 9, 2015 by taxmantoo

[ithaca gal]

IF (and that's a big IF) a passenger had something negative happen to him/her that prompted them to go to the Front Desk to reduce the service charge, there should be a chart to help them know how much to remove.

 

First, state the issue that caused you inconvenience, discomfort (or just plain ticked you off). Out of all the people in the pool who split that $12.50 that day, how many were responsible for the issue? One? Okay, here is the formula used to determine how much to deduct:

 

$12.50 divided by (number of people splitting the pool) = $x.xx.

 

I don't know how many people are included but, for ease in math, let's say there are ten. $12.50 divided by ten is $1.25. ONE person failed today in his/her quest to give you the perfect vacation? Okay, you may reduce your HSC by $1.25. (Yes, I know cabin stewards get more than that per day, etc. but this is my fantasy, so I'm making the formula be an even division!)

 

(Please note, these issues must be reported on the day they occur so that the issue can be addressed to prevent additional distress to the passenger later in the cruise and not be the basis for additional deductions.)

[Banditswife]

If you scroll down on this page (http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/05/10/fantasissi/), John responds to the acceptance of the $2 bill. John responded that the crew enjoys getting them. John also confirmed with the accounting department that the $2 bill can be used while on the ship and the crew can easily go to the pay office and convert the $2 bill to singles.

This is what I think too. Crew members have a banking type system onboard that they can utilize. If given something not easily cashable, they could exchange it at their pay office. We did a behind the scenes tour on Carnival- it seems they have an entire city's worth of conveniences available to them.