Carnival grats increasse to $12.95 & 16.50 respectively

[loubetti]

$27,375,000 divided by 1,000 average participating crew per ship by 25 ships by 365 days per year by 12 hours per day typical working shift = 25 cents per hour more per crewmember.

 

Numbers seem a little different now, don't they? Keep chuckling, knucklehead.

 

You beat me to it. Thank you for completing the math! :cool:

 

Big $ numbers are impressive until one does the final math. Then again, some do not have a head for finance or business. Thankfully you do!

[musikfans]

Can't really say if I speak for all Canadians or even some or any?? But like you stated, here in Canada, lile the UK, we pay our restaurant staff/servicers an hourly wage that is the same as that of any other minimum wage job(retail, gas station, grocery, etc). I know in the US they are paid quite poorly and depend on tips for a huge portion of their income. This IMO is very wrong.

 

Not quite. In the U.S. a tip-earning worker is guaranteed to receive at least minimum wage. When they turn in their timecard they have to report their tips earned. If that amount, added to their hourly guarantee, doesn't reach the statutory minimum the employer has to make up the difference. Some will not claim their full tips to avoid taxes. This results in them appearing to only make the minimum. Depending on the employer, demographic served and skills of the server they can do quite well. My experience in the past is restaurant management.

[les37b]

You beat me to it. Thank you for completing the math! :cool:

 

Big $ numbers are impressive until one does the final math. Then again, some do not have a head for finance or business. Thankfully you do!

 

But you wouldn't want him as your employer expecting you to work 12 hours every day 365 days per year!! :eek:

[les37b]

Not quite. In the U.S. a tip-earning worker is guaranteed to receive at least minimum wage. When they turn in their timecard they have to report their tips earned. If that amount, added to their hourly guarantee, doesn't reach the statutory minimum the employer has to make up the difference. Some will not claim their full tips to avoid taxes. This results in them appearing to only make the minimum. Depending on the employer, demographic served and skills of the server they can do quite well. My experience in the past is restaurant management.

 

So you agree their tips are their income?

 

No one is suggesting people dont earn well out of tips.. just the fact its being used to substitute employers from paying a wage their toils deserve and not expect others to pay it for them.

[nissach]

Not quite. In the U.S. a tip-earning worker is guaranteed to receive at least minimum wage. When they turn in their timecard they have to report their tips earned. If that amount, added to their hourly guarantee, doesn't reach the statutory minimum the employer has to make up the difference. Some will not claim their full tips to avoid taxes. This results in them appearing to only make the minimum. Depending on the employer, demographic served and skills of the server they can do quite well. My experience in the past is restaurant management.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

I am just going by what others have stated on here in the past that most restaurant staff earn very low hourly wages, say 2.00 to 3.00 per hour and heavily rely on tips to supplement their income.

[loretta5ue]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1059

 

 

"

Tips were everything. Auto-tips were a Godsend, because anyone who thinks he/she tips enough voluntarily is usually wrong. The auto-tips were figured by how many guests are assigned to your dinner section. If you had a small section, say only 18, you were constrained by that number. The biggest sections were 22 or 24, which are a whopper of a section. But there is a lot more money to be had for that extra strain during dinner. Thus, even if the guests don't go to dinner, you get those auto-tips. They are automatically split between you and your assistant waiter for the cruise. Since you work breakfast, lunch, midnight buffet, and room service without any specific pay, those tips are well earned even if the guest opts out of the dining room constantly (by going to the supper club, for example, or eating in port)."

Edited May 12, 2016 by loretta5ue
Added quote

[sfaaa]

But you wouldn't want him as your employer expecting you to work 12 hours every day 365 days per year!! :eek:

 

Feel free to quit. No one is forcing anybody to work at a place he/she doesn't like or can't hack the hours.

[ClCB0911]

On point #1 - I agree. There is no news here as far as I'm concerned.

 

On point #2 - I disagree that people forget they can adjust or remove gratuities. In fact I believe the increase is in large part because so many people do just that. Something I totally disagree with unless service was absolutely horrendous.

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

agreed 100%

[Thorncroft]

If the cabin staff does indeed get every penny that Carnival claims that they do, with the increase in cabins that they service, they could very well be making $30,000-$50,000 a year. Meanwhile they tug at your heartstrings with stories about their young child back home that needs surgery to remove the cyclops from their forehead, bucking for even more cash tips. It a great racket if you can get a seat at the table. ;)

[Hog Rider]

This is a good deal considering most cruise lines are now charging $13.50/day and up.

 

Which ones? Haven't seen that. Only a good deal for beards pockets, not mine.

[BigB0882]

I don't mind the increase one bit, the service has always been amazing and quite frankly $13 per person per day is not nearly enough. That would barely cover the waitstaff at one meal. I wish Carnival would begin paying their workers a better wage and just build it into the price or keep a separate line for gratuities that are not optional. Or maybe a blend of the two, build in some of the gratuities to the price so everyone is getting something and gratuities can actually decrease which will make people feel happy and maybe less likely to have them removed? Just an idea but I am sure Carnival knows what they are doing, I just think in the end they are being awfully stingy and are avoiding paying their workers a fair wage.

[shof515]

Which ones? Haven't seen that. Only a good deal for beards pockets, not mine.

 

NCL is $13.50/$15.50 (for suites) and RCCL is $13.50/$16.50 (for suites)

 

Pretty much every cruise lines these days charge about 13 dollars

[sfaaa]

One MRD staff on Rhapsody told me he managed to buy a house for his family in Philippine after renewing his contracts a few times with RCL. Just got off NCL Pearl last week and a buffet cook from India said he's very happy with his job and treated well by the company. Yeah, slave labor wages to those who think third world countries have the same cost of living index in the first world.

[Sitzmark]

I wish Carnival would begin paying their workers a better wage and just build it into the price or keep a separate line for gratuities that are not optional.

 

If they are not optional and cannot be removed, then they are not gratuities. A gratuity is a gift of money over and above payment due or something given without claim or demand.

[sfaaa]

NCL is $13.50/$15.50 (for suites) and RCCL is $13.50/$16.50 (for suites)

 

Pretty much every cruise lines these days charge about 13 dollars

 

No need to explain really . Anyone who is a bona fide cruiser would know about this.

[BallFour4]

Personally I'd prefer cruise companies paid their staff a decent wage and not expect customers to fund wages.

 

Every expenditure a cruise line makes is paid by their customers. Employers don't print money (except the US govt) to cover costs, every dollar, nickel and dime is passed right back to the consumer of the product.

 

We could make a cruise line employee wages $50k a year and expect your costs to go up 4-5 times the rates of today.

 

Their is no "company" that absorbs costs, it's shareholders expecting a profit, expenses to operate and capital to reinvest in new ships.

 

.

Edited May 12, 2016 by BallFour4

[Hog Rider]

NCL is $13.50/$15.50 (for suites) and RCCL is $13.50/$16.50 (for suites)

 

Pretty much every cruise lines these days charge about 13 dollars

 

Do they skim tips too?

[firemanbobswife]

If they are not optional and cannot be removed, then they are not gratuities. A gratuity is a gift of money over and above payment due or something given without claim or demand.

 

 

As far as I know you cannot remove the 15% "gratuity" from a bar bill, or the Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles Packages so it's really a "Service Charge". The Bartenders are taken care of that way and I think the other Crew who's portion of pay depend on Guests prepaying/auto gratuities should be as well.

 

I am one for just making them mandatory and calling them a Service Charge. Then IF people wanted to give extra above and beyond they could. If not, no biggie. Everyone would get what Carnival recommends and people could get on with their lives not worrying and fighting about it.

[Thorncroft]

 

 

 

We could make a cruise line employee wages $50k a year and expect your costs to go up 4-5 times the rates of today.

 

 

 

.

 

Your steward should be making about that per year now, if their being paid what Carnival claims that they are.

[Sitzmark]

As far as I know you cannot remove the 15% "gratuity" from a bar bill, or the Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles Packages so it's really a "Service Charge". The Bartenders are taken care of that way and I think the other Crew who's portion of pay depend on Guests prepaying/auto gratuities should be as well.

 

I am one for just making them mandatory and calling them a Service Charge. Then IF people wanted to give extra above and beyond they could. If not, no biggie. Everyone would get what Carnival recommends and people could get on with their lives not worrying and fighting about it.

 

If it is to be mandatory then why have a separate service charge at all? why not build it into the cost of the cruise and not even show it? After all they do it with other items, your meal certainly isn't free, but they won't tell you how much it costs. The entertainment isn't free but you don't see individual charges. Why is it not be possible for this one item to do the same thing?

[firemanbobswife]

If it is to be mandatory then why have a separate service charge at all? why not build it into the cost of the cruise and not even show it? After all they do it with other items, your meal certainly isn't free, but they won't tell you how much it costs. The entertainment isn't free but you don't see individual charges. Why is it not be possible for this one item to do the same thing?

 

 

They can't possibly tell you upfront how much your meal costs because they don't know what you are going to eat. They don't tell you how much the entertainment is because they don't know how many shows or whatever you will be going to.

 

I don't care how they did it but I imagine they wouldn't just "roll it in" because it would make the fares appear higher when doing a straight up search/comparison. But if it's broken down separate like the taxes/port fees, then it might not seem so bad to some.

 

It would be disclosed that the service charge is already included. The same way Celebrity did for ATD (I hear they don't anymore but haven't been on them in quite a few years). Any additional tipping would be totally optional (unlike now where Carnival "recommends" a certain amount so the Crew members are expecting to receive that amount as part of their pay).

 

Bottom line is this - just add it in one way or another and quit calling it a gratuity because it's not (directed at Carnival). It's the minimum the Crew expect to receive because that's what was told to them when they took the position. They would be making x amount a day/week/month or whatever plus the gratuities that are added to the Guest's account. It's a service charge plain and simple. If they can make it mandatory for bar purchases, then they should make it mandatory for all the Crew that have it as part of their pay plan.

[Dave994]

Oh! I didnt expect that to happen! hehe

 

 

 

Is that you, or is it shared by others in Canada do you think? I know the majority of Brits will agree with me

 

 

 

And before anyone asked - I have already prepaid gratuities.... so no - not an option for me to remove. All paid in full. :D

 

 

This Canadian agrees 100%.

 

All these people here get outraged if someone dare suggest removing gratuities and tipping in cash. They call them cheap....yet how many times have I read here they are not willing to see their cruise fare increase for these hard working crew to be paid a fair wage? So who is cheap?

 

Your anger should not be directed at the person who didn't tip, but rather Carnival for not paying their staff a good salary.

 

Then you can Tip for the service you receive because it went above and beyond, not because they showed up.

[Dave994]

We'd love to see where you got this information. Can you please provide. Thanks.

 

 

Here you go :

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2016/03/carnival-ups-arnold-donald-s-bonus-by-18.html

[Dora the Ex]

Don't care. We usually tip an extra $40-$50 to the room steward anyway if the service is great, which it has been for just about every cruise.

[LMaxwell]

 

Bottom line is this - just add it in one way or another and quit calling it a gratuity because it's not (directed at Carnival). It's the minimum the Crew expect to receive because that's what was told to them when they took the position. They would be making x amount a day/week/month or whatever plus the gratuities that are added to the Guest's account. It's a service charge plain and simple. If they can make it mandatory for bar purchases, then they should make it mandatory for all the Crew that have it as part of their pay plan.

 

They are told what their contracted salary is and that they can earn above that from the gratuities; the totals of those gratuities are not specified; usually the employment agencies will specify a range.