Awkward Tipper

[LMaxwell]

Yup. That's how it works.

 

But the same thing happens on the ship between the MDR and the steakhouse. They serve the same way, on plates, from the right, yet charge 7 times the tip that they do in the MDR. And most people forget to remove that tip for the uneaten meal in the MDR, for work not performed.

 

That is why I suggest tying to to the cruise fare only (what the room costs without taxes, fees, and add ons that carry their own gratuity). Then you will hear the end of people in balconies that pay 12-15% of their cruise fare, or those in suites that pay 5% to 8% of their cruise fare calling people in interiors paying 20%-30% of their cruise fare cheapskates.

 

Set it at a flat 15% (for discussion sake) and make it equitable just like a land based restaurant. the more you spend, the more you tip. the less you spend, the less you tip.

 

This provides workers that have interiors and OV's on low decks an actual incentive to work harder and "move up" to more expensive cabins as their earning potential increases greatly with that.

 

Flip side; if I am going to occupy a table at a local restaurant for 2 hours, and someone else is going to occupy another table for 2 hours, shouldn't we tip the same amount for time and services regardless of what the food costs? The waiter does nothing different to bring me a soft drink and steak as they do to bring the other patron water and a salad.

 

Both systems are flawed, but which one is inherently more fair for all involved? :confused:

[Je Souhaite]

That is why I suggest tying to to the cruise fare only (what the room costs without taxes, fees, and add ons that carry their own gratuity). Then you will hear the end of people in balconies that pay 12-15% of their cruise fare, or those in suites that pay 5% to 8% of their cruise fare calling people in interiors paying 20%-30% of their cruise fare cheapskates.

 

Set it at a flat 15% (for discussion sake) and make it equitable just like a land based restaurant. the more you spend, the more you tip. the less you spend, the less you tip.

 

This provides workers that have interiors and OV's on low decks an actual incentive to work harder and "move up" to more expensive cabins as their earning potential increases greatly with that.

 

Flip side; if I am going to occupy a table at a local restaurant for 2 hours, and someone else is going to occupy another table for 2 hours, shouldn't we tip the same amount for time and services regardless of what the food costs? The waiter does nothing different to bring me a soft drink and steak as they do to bring the other patron water and a salad.

 

Both systems are flawed, but which one is inherently more fair for all involved? :confused:

 

And the reason you think it needs to change at all? Someone has advised you it's flawed or needs change? Are YOU taking care of YOUR tips between your wallet and those assigned to you?

[ducklite]

I see your point, my response to which is "Maybe".

 

 

 

But my point remains the more you spend, the more you tip (at a fixed percentage). The less you spend, the less you tip.

 

 

 

Why should those in suites be tipping 5% - 8%, while those in interiors effectively are tipping 20% - 30%?

 

 

 

Do you see the point I'm driving at?

 

 

 

Suites already pay higher gratuities on many lines. Some "suites" are only a few feet larger than a regular cabin (or even the same size) and when you step out of that door, the treatment is the same.

 

Like I said, square footage rather than price paid might be a better concept. Or maybe just raise fares and build in tips so this entire topic can be put to rest.

[bizeemom4]

Yup. That's how it works.

 

And most people forget to remove that tip for the uneaten meal in the MDR, for work not performed.

 

Wow. I eat in the Steak House at least once and the Chef's Table as well on every cruise. I would never ever even consider adjusting my gratuities for my 'uneaten' meals in the MDR for those evenings.

 

Do you remove them if you go to the Lido also? Seems a little pinchy to me.

Edited June 11, 2016 by bizeemom4

[firemanbobswife]

Aahhhh, yes. Found it. It was in this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2319880

 

No I don't think so. All the cabins are relatively the same size plus or minus a few square feet with the exception of suites and now they do pay more for their gratuities. Could it be because their rooms are larger or because of the "enhanced" perks? I don't know but I'm fine with the way it is. I eat just as much as someone that stays in a balcony so why should they pay more (I get Insides or OVs)? I require the same amount of towels, and my bed is made the same way as other cabins, so why should I pay less? The service is the same no matter which cabin you have with the exception of suites. And now they do pay more.

 

The resort fees at hotels that charge them are the same no matter what type of room you are in as well. I don't think it should be tied to the fare.

 

 

 

I know that with this way that I would probably save money, but like I've said before - I don't look at gratuities as a punishment that I must pay. It's simply a service charge that is part of the fare and not negotiable just like the taxes and port fees. Almost all the time I give extra cash to those that take great care of me.

 

 

I'm not one to try and complicate things. The simpler the better. If I'm thinking about booking a cruise then I look at the fare with taxes and all that then automatically add in the gratuities since I already know what they will be. Then I decide whether it makes sense for me to choose that sailing or not. Making it a percentage of the fare just muddies up the whole process IMHO.

Edited June 11, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[Je Souhaite]

Wow. I eat in the Steak House at least once and the Chef's Table as well on every cruise. I would never ever even consider adjusting my gratuities for my 'uneaten' meals in the MDR for those evenings.

 

Do you remove them if you go to the Lido also? Seems a little pinchy to me.

 

If that's what you want to do, that's fine. I don't tip in places where I am not only not eating, but no one is serving me what I'm not eating. Land OR sea.

 

I suppose there are people that walk past restaurant windows and see empty tables, decide it's lost income to those servers, and walk in ad drop money on those tables. I'm not stopping them.

 

Oh, but they already take a dollar day from you in tips for alternative dining. I've just never been able to, or wanted to, eat in two different places at once time.

[ducklite]

I'm not suggesting a price list in the dining room. But for that sake at restaurants no table is likely to order the same exact items as another table, so different bills, taking up the same space, similar amount of time, tip roughly the same percentage, but different amounts.

 

 

 

Actually restaurants have timing and spend figured to a science. Yes, there will always be a cheapskate who stiffs a server on a $200 check and there will always be the couple who keeps a table all night on a $50 check, but those are the exceptions. A good EC and FOH manager know within a few percent what the average spend will be on any night, and based in advance reservations will know how many covers there will be on any given night.

 

That said, the only difference in most cruise lines in fare is based on cabin size, and most lines already charge higher tips for suites and specialty cabins, I think they have to an extent already taken higher spend into consideration.

[ducklite]

Wow. I eat in the Steak House at least once and the Chef's Table as well on every cruise. I would never ever even consider adjusting my gratuities for my 'uneaten' meals in the MDR for those evenings.

 

Do you remove them if you go to the Lido also? Seems a little pinchy to me.

 

 

 

I agree. We only ate in the MDR once on one of our cruises. Breakfast and lunch were room service or off ship and diner was specialty restaurants. We left the gratuities intact, although didn't feel the need to add anything extra in that case.

[Rh2458]

Sure, it is a tip. I'm in favor of equity and fairness to guests, but that also includes the guest having discretion if service is poor. I'm not willing to penalize 98% of guests for the 2% that subvert the system entirely.

 

For the record, I don't take issue with people legitimately removing tips for actual bad service. But, I truly believe that is far, far, far from the norm. I haven't personally witnessed anything but superior service!

[Rh2458]

If that's what you want to do, that's fine. I don't tip in places where I am not only not eating, but no one is serving me what I'm not eating. Land OR sea.

 

I suppose there are people that walk past restaurant windows and see empty tables, decide it's lost income to those servers, and walk in ad drop money on those tables. I'm not stopping them.

 

Oh, but they already take a dollar day from you in tips for alternative dining. I've just never been able to, or wanted to, eat in two different places at once time.

 

So, during the afternoon where do you eat? Do you never eat on the lido deck? Plus, I don't know the answer to this because I've never ate at the Steakhouse, but do you tip as you leave the Steakhouse? Don't the prepaid tips including the dining staff which then would include the steakhouse? So, if you are not eating in the MDR one night, you're eating in the steakhouse, right?

[LMaxwell]

And the reason you think it needs to change at all? Someone has advised you it's flawed or needs change? Are YOU taking care of YOUR tips between your wallet and those assigned to you?

 

No one has advised me anything. It is my own thoughts. I don't tend to be a mouth piece for the opinions of others, only myself :D

[Computer Nerd]

If Carnival raised the tip to 30%, you would be one of the first people howling about it.

 

hahaha.....so little you know. if carnival raised it's tips on alcoholic drinks to 30 percent my weekly cruise beer consumption would simply drop from 2 to 0. no need to howl at a company that has a right to charge whatever it wants. that would be immature. just as i have every right to not purchase something if i think it is a ripoff or not worth the cost.

[Computer Nerd]

The IRS? Foreign employees on a foreign ship.

 

Carnival can tell you how much they collect for any given division but how they distribute it and to whom and how much is solely at their discretion and is based on internal metrics. The best are rewarded the most, the worst the least (to help weed them out).

 

But don't for a second believe there is stringent auditing or recourse involved here.

 

and to attempt to state this as a fact you have what kind of proof. :rolleyes:

[Computer Nerd]

Sure, it is a tip. I'm in favor of equity and fairness to guests, but that also includes the guest having discretion if service is poor. I'm not willing to penalize 98% of guests for the 2% that subvert the system entirely.

 

if the tip is changeable/removable then how the tip is derived is a moot point as anyone can change it to anything they see fit.

[Computer Nerd]

Suites already pay higher gratuities on many lines. Some "suites" are only a few feet larger than a regular cabin (or even the same size) and when you step out of that door, the treatment is the same.

 

Like I said, square footage rather than price paid might be a better concept. Or maybe just raise fares and build in tips so this entire topic can be put to rest.

 

there are several ways to make the tip mandatory without building it into the base rate and thereby making the tip taxable as well.

[ducklite]

there are several ways to make the tip mandatory without building it into the base rate and thereby making the tip taxable as well.

 

 

 

I can't be bothered quibbling over what would amount to pennies. Life is too short. If my budget were ever that tight, I would find a different holiday to take.

[poobears]

I haven't eaten in the dining room on any of my last cruises but I leave the tips in tact, the same workers that work the MDR work the Lido and other places too. As long as I get food served either on a line or to a table it's fine by me.

 

I do think there's a bit of exaggeration going on with the tipping though. If everyone tips as much as they say they do, many would need to take more than the $100 they say they take with them.

Edited June 11, 2016 by poobears

[ducklite]

Delete

Edited June 11, 2016 by ducklite

[ducklite]

I haven't eaten in the dining room on any of my last cruises but I leave the tips in tact, the same workers that work the MDR work the Lido and other places too. As long as I get food served either on a line or to a table it's fine by me.

 

I do think there's a bit of exaggeration going on with the tipping though. If everyone tips as much as they say they do, many would need to take more than the $100 they say they take with them.

 

 

When we sailed on Disney and RCCL we were able to add the extra tips onto our guest folio and pay them with the credit card. We had about $100 for room service and such. We also had cash to give tips on shore excursions. We've given as little as $5 per person and as much as $20 pp in the Caribbean.

 

On Windstar we paid the suggested as an auto and gave cash for the overages. We handed out about $500 in extra tips over the two weeks, some got $10, some got $20, a couple got $50, one got $100, one got either $150 or $200, I can't recall which. He took amazing care of us and definitely made our cruise beyond outstanding. We tipped the handful of shore excursions in Euros.

 

On the Paul Gauguin tips were included. We didn't think the overall service was anything more than adequate, and in one case disturbingly bad. My husband discretely palmed extra tips--$30 or so each--in cash to two crew members who were great on the last day. We tipped the shore excursions in XPF.

Edited June 11, 2016 by ducklite

[erinmarie424]

When we sailed on Disney and RCCL we were able to add the extra tips onto our guest folio and pay them with the credit card. We had about $100 for room service and such. We also had cash to give tips on shore excursions. We've given as little as $5 per person and as much as $20 pp in the Caribbean.

 

On Windstar we paid the suggested as an auto and gave cash for the overages. We handed out about $500 in extra tips over the two weeks, some got $10, some got $20, a couple got $50, one got $100, one got either $150 or $200, I can't recall which. He took amazing care of us and definitely made our cruise beyond outstanding. We tipped the handful of shore excursions in Euros.

 

On the Paul Gauguin tips were included. We didn't think the overall service was anything more than adequate, and in one case disturbingly bad. My husband discretely palmed extra tips--$30 or so each--in cash to two crew members who were great on the last day. We tipped the shore excursions in XPF.

 

 

 

And how much extra on Carnival??

 

 

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[GUT2407]

I believe we have visited this idea before and it was deemed unfavorably.

 

Deemed unfavourable by whom?

 

The tipping police?

[firemanbobswife]

Deemed unfavourable by whom?

 

 

 

The tipping police?

 

 

No. You can go back and look at the thread. I don't recall seeing one person in favor of changing it besides the poster that suggested it. There could have been one that I overlooked. You never know. Doesn't really matter what we think anyway since none of us have any pull with Carnival.

[mufc99]

When we did Hawaii with NCL we didnt tip for a single drink!

 

We just presumed the prepaid covered all this - didnt see anybody else tipping either!

[TerReuv]

So, during the afternoon where do you eat? Do you never eat on the lido deck? Plus, I don't know the answer to this because I've never ate at the Steakhouse, but do you tip as you leave the Steakhouse? Don't the prepaid tips including the dining staff which then would include the steakhouse? So, if you are not eating in the MDR one night, you're eating in the steakhouse, right?

 

The tip is included in the price of the steakhouse. So if someone ate every dinner at the steakhouse then they would essentially be double tipping for dinner. If they also ordered room service for both breakfast and lunch and tip for room service then again, essentially double tipping.

[Rh2458]

Deemed unfavourable by whom?

 

The tipping police?

 

Who are the tipping police, and more importantly, if they are who I think they are, why would they find it unfavorable? Aren't the tipping police people that don't like that others remove their prepaid tips? Why would they have a problem if the tips were actually increased, which based on the way I was reading the suggestion here that's what would happen.