Automatic Gratuities

[Living4acruise2day]

My husband and I recently went on a 5 day cruse. Only our 2nd. (last 1 was 20 years ago). We prepaid our gratuities and were told by experienced cruisers that we could leave extra if we wanted to. However on the next to last day we found an envelope on our bed from our cabin steward basically asking for more money. How common is this?? It made me feel very uncomfortable. If I want to leave extra it should be at my desertion....this felt more like an obligation. None of our experience friends have ever had this happen to them.

 

How many places are you going to post this?

[mammajamma2013]

I'm not removing the gratuities but it is highly likely that's all the gratuities they will get. The cruise lines make automatic gratuities all but mandatory and then pass out the plate again in the form of envelopes and the seeming expectation (often discussed here) that more tips are required on top.

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If that's all the gratuities they get, that's fine. I don't really think they are expecting more, but some of them do work hard enough to deserve more.

 

I don't think the envelopes are there as an expectation that more tips are required. If I feel my steward deserves more, I'm happy the envelope is there so that I don't have to go to Customer Service to get one. If I don't think s/he deserves more, I ignore the envelope. It's totally up tome.

[sloopsailor]

How many places are you going to post this?

 

That's at least four threads now, including two old threads (this one almost a year old) that have been resurrected from the dead just to post their complaint. All are identical complaints, word for word. They are trying extremely hard to find someone who will agree with such a trivial complaint as an envelope on their bed.

 

Someone clearly needs a pat on the head!

[NantahalaCruiser]

My cruise just proved why I hate automatic gratuities. My cabin attendant was terrible while most everyone else was excellent. I can't not tip the cabin attendant without punishing everyone else and my understanding is that if I tipped anyone individually for great service, it's supposed to be put into the pool that would then benefit my cabin attendant.

 

The carpet of our cabin on the first day looked like someone nearly took a vacuum bag and dumped its contents on it. Hair beads, several pieces of broken metal and debris everywhere. The next morning, we left a note saying to please vacuum and it looks like she just moved it around with a broom. After a week, I think she finally got the hair beads up.

 

 

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Actually, since your cabin is probably only 1 out of a 1000 or more, whether or not you opt out of the auto-gratuity will have less than 0.1% impact on the entire gratuity pool. Since your steward will receive her share of the pool regardless of your decision regarding auto-gratuities, your opt out would have virtually zero impact on your steward's gratuity receipts. Comments on the survey is the appropriate way to go.

[PTMary]

Actually, since your cabin is probably only 1 out of a 1000 or more, whether or not you opt out of the auto-gratuity will have less than 0.1% impact on the entire gratuity pool. Since your steward will receive her share of the pool regardless of your decision regarding auto-gratuities, your opt out would have virtually zero impact on your steward's gratuity receipts. Comments on the survey is the appropriate way to go.

 

Wow! What a unique way to spin the topic of tipping to rationalize not tipping!

 

On most ships, the room steward receives about $4 per day per person out of the auto gratuities. No matter how you spin it, this person will be losing $28 on a 7 day cruise and $56 on a 14 day cruise for every cabin occupant that twists themselves in such a pretzel to justify stiffing the staff. If both occupants do this, then double the loss to the steward.

 

Yes, tips are pooled. But that is only between all support staff for each passenger. They do not pool the entire ship's tip accumulation and divvy it up the leftovers among all the staff equally. If someone removes the auto grats, everyone who was supposed to receive a portion of that amount will be shorted their share of only that amount. It will not be made up from other staff's gratuity shares. Expand that by the possibility of several passengers doing the same thing, and the amount they lose is even more substantial.

 

Besides, how would you like it if your employer told you that this week he is reducing your paycheck by a few percentage points because one of the company's customers hasn't paid their invoice? I'll bet you wouldn't be so cavalier about those unpaid dollars if it was you that was losing out.

 

Such rationalizing is so amazingly flawed that my eyes are rolling out of their sockets :rolleyes:

[NantahalaCruiser]

Wow! What a unique way to spin the topic of tipping to rationalize not tipping!

 

Sorry, but you misunderstood my post. I was telling pullen0 that removing his auto-gratuities would not accomplish his desire to punish his steward and that comments on the survey would be a better way to show his displeasure.

 

On most ships, the room steward receives about $4 per day per person out of the auto gratuities. No matter how you spin it, this person will be losing $28 on a 7 day cruise and $56 on a 14 day cruise for every cabin occupant that twists themselves in such a pretzel to justify stiffing the staff. If both occupants do this, then double the loss to the steward.

 

Yes, tips are pooled. But that is only between all support staff for each passenger. They do not pool the entire ship's tip accumulation and divvy it up the leftovers among all the staff equally. If someone removes the auto grats, everyone who was supposed to receive a portion of that amount will be shorted their share of only that amount. It will not be made up from other staff's gratuity shares. Expand that by the possibility of several passengers doing the same thing, and the amount they lose is even more substantial.

 

I believe you are incorrect regarding how the pooling works, but I could be wrong. Do you have a reliable source for this information. I believe the pooling is across the entire ship and that is why when auto-gratuities are removed they do not allow the steward or wait staff to keep individual tips but rather take them and include them in the pool.

 

Besides, how would you like it if your employer told you that this week he is reducing your paycheck by a few percentage points because one of the company's customers hasn't paid their invoice? I'll bet you wouldn't be so cavalier about those unpaid dollars if it was you that was losing out.

 

Such rationalizing is so amazingly flawed that my eyes are rolling out of their sockets :rolleyes:

 

Happy Cruising

[donaldsc]

Ok, I'm new here and I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death already. I've seen several discussions about tips in various threads. Who, what, where, when and how much to tip on top of the automatic gratuities, etc. I didn't really want to hijack someone else's thread with this so hear goes.

 

 

Ok, flame suit on. :D

 

Many many many times. So why did you feel that you had to resuscitate a dead subject.

 

DON

[DirtyDawg]

Ok, I'm new here and I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death already. I've seen several discussions about tips in various threads. Who, what, where, when and how much to tip on top of the automatic gratuities, etc. I didn't really want to hijack someone else's thread with this so hear goes.

 

Ok, flame suit on. :D

 

Many many many times. So why did you feel that you had to resuscitate a dead subject.

 

DON

 

Don, the OP wrote that over a year ago.

 

Why are you re-resuscitating a dead thread about a dead subject?

 

And don't expect a reply from the OP, they haven't posted here since February.

[mom says]

Don, the OP wrote that over a year ago.

 

Why are you re-resuscitating a dead thread about a dead subject?

 

And don't expect a reply from the OP, they haven't posted here since February.

Actually, it was a new poster named Madamhound who somehow found this old thread and brought it back from the dead a couple of days ago.