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Gratuities, the facts per Senior Officers

Champagne Cruiser

By Champagne Cruiser,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Champagne Cruiser

Champagne Cruiser

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We just finished our Summit cruise (which by the way was outstanding). At our Connections party we had the Captain, Guest Relations Mgr, Personnel Officer, Head of Hotel, etc. After quite a few questions and answers I decided to go for it and ask them about the rumor here on CC about extra tips given to room stewards and waiters, etc going into a shared pool. We were told this does not happen. If you give cash to a specific person they get to keep it. Just thought I would pass on the "official?" word from the officers on the Summit.

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Wine-O

Wine-O

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Posted
We just finished our Summit cruise (which by the way was outstanding). At our Connections party we had the Captain, Guest Relations Mgr, Personnel Officer, Head of Hotel, etc. After quite a few questions and answers I decided to go for it and ask them about the rumor here on CC about extra tips given to room stewards and waiters, etc going into a shared pool. We were told this does not happen. If you give cash to a specific person they get to keep it. Just thought I would pass on the "official?" word from the officers on the Summit.

 

It's always been that way from what I understand. Only if someone opts out of the automatic gratuities, if they are given a gratuity from that person, those funds go into the regular pool.

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ChucktownSteve

ChucktownSteve

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We just finished our Summit cruise If you give cash to a specific person they get to keep it. Just thought I would pass on the "official?" word from the officers on the Summit.

 

On our February Constellation cruise we tipped the roulette "pull" croupier an equal share of the winnings. Later in Cafe al Bacio he admitted that tip went into the pool.

 

At the Sunset Bar, a couple of days after I cash tipped my bartender, I asked him if tips were shared or kept. He said they get to keep personal tips so I tipped him again the next day. :D I received great service.

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varoo

varoo

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Posted (edited)
It's always been that way from what I understand. Only if someone opts out of the automatic gratuities, if they are given a gratuity from that person, those funds go into the regular pool.

 

That is the way we have always heard it as well, from the officers who answered the question,

and also from the crew members who were the recipients of the extra tips.

But I think this applies to situations where the same people are assigned to serve you consistently, such as your stateroom attendant, assistant or butler.

 

I think the confusion arises because there are some grey areas where cash tips are pooled. One place that comes to mind is the Elite cocktail event, where we hear that they pool tips as you may be served by several different people.

 

So I don't think it is a blanket "yes" or "no" answer that applies to all tips everywhere on the ship.

As for bartenders at the bars, I don't know where they draw the line between personal tips and shared tips.

Does anyone else?

It may be the difference between events where they are passing out drinks, or food, to everyone in attendance as opposed to situations where they are charging an individual account.

 

 

Edited by varoo
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Hawkstar33 Great Review Rare

Hawkstar33

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Usually in a casino, tips on roulette, blackjack, 3 card poker etc , get pooled together. This is because they rotate the dealers. The best way to tip any of the crew that you were happy with otherwise, is to hand them the cash and say: This is for you. More then likely they will genuinely thank you and deep six the cash..

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dkjretired

dkjretired

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It's always been that way from what I understand. Only if someone opts out of the automatic gratuities, if they are given a gratuity from that person, those funds go into the regular pool.

 

Mike:

 

I agree with you but there was a thread in the past few weeks where someone was told they have a new procedure that all the "extra" tips were now being pooled. Glad to see this is not the case.

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mcrcruiser

mcrcruiser

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Not all casino personnel pool tips ,especially in Las Vegas . They keep their tips ;)

 

No doubt this is the case because of the size of those casinos & the many people working in the casino

 

Aboard most cruise ships the casino staff is very small & pooling tips would work there .;)

 

Extra tipping should produce the incentive for above & beyond normal service in any situation .

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LabGuy64

LabGuy64

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Always amazed with the obsession many cruisers have with tipping and how wages are distributed on the various cruise lines. I certainly don't expect the people on board to be worried about my finances.

 

 

 

Mike:

 

I agree with you but there was a thread in the past few weeks where someone was told they have a new procedure that all the "extra" tips were now being pooled. Glad to see this is not the case.

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dkjretired

dkjretired

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Always amazed with the obsession many cruisers have with tipping and how wages are distributed on the various cruise lines. I certainly don't expect the people on board to be worried about my finances.

 

Personally, I give my tips to the cruise line, I trust they will give them out properly, I am not going to be obsessing about it. I believe the OP was passing on info which tends to contradict a thread from a couple of weeks ago.

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Wine-O

Wine-O

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Cash tips are not pooled during the elite hours. According to numerous staff on numerous ships.

 

Tipping is pooled on a case-by-case basis. For example, at Elite Happy Hour up at the Sky Lounge, the two bartenders will pool their tips. Also at the Sunset Bar when there are coupons for drinks, the bartenders will pool their tips.

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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Tipping is pooled on a case-by-case basis. For example, at Elite Happy Hour up at the Sky Lounge, the two bartenders will pool their tips. Also at the Sunset Bar when there are coupons for drinks, the bartenders will pool their tips.

 

That makes cents! :)

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davekathy

davekathy

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Personally, I give my tips to the cruise line, I trust they will give them out properly, I am not going to be obsessing about it. I believe the OP was passing on info which tends to contradict a thread from a couple of weeks ago.

 

Agree.

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england1

england1

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They were pooling them at the martini bar on Solstice. We gave them all $10 and everyone one of them put it in the same envelope

 

I have found they do this at the Martini Bar most of the time. We had 2 bartenders that found out they were going to become fathers during the cruise.. So we wanted to give them a larger tip as a baby gift. But I warned them if the money was going in the tip jar I wouldn't bother. They both put in their pockets.

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warmwinds

warmwinds

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Recently on the Connie we asked the M'D in Blu what happened to extra tips, he said they were pooled (pooled just within Blu).

 

Since we had the same 2 servers every single night we gave them "the handshake" on the last night. I hope they got to keep the money, if not we thought they were worth extra so if it goes through the pool or not we have no control over it. We hope they got to keep it.

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robsmom

robsmom

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Not all casino personnel pool tips ,especially in Las Vegas . They keep their tips ;)

 

 

 

No doubt this is the case because of the size of those casinos & the many people working in the casino

 

 

 

Aboard most cruise ships the casino staff is very small & pooling tips would work there .;)

 

 

 

Extra tipping should produce the incentive for above & beyond normal service in any situation .

 

 

I have never seen a casino in which a dealer of any type was keeping personal tips. The ones that I have tipped always tap the tip loudly on the tip box and then drop it in. I have always thought this was a necessary security measure. If a dealer or roulette attendant pocketed tips there would be no way that the casino could distinguish this from just pocketing casino chips. I am sure there are cocktail waitresses and other roles that may be allowed to keep them, but I do not think

anyone handling chips in any way is allowed to keep them on their .own.

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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Casino dealers do "pool tips"....everywhere...every casino....

 

However, I don't know where the rumor of your cabin attendants and waiters "pooling" anything got started.

 

You cannot ask tipped employees if they get all their tips...it's to their advantage to say "No"!

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