Gratuties Compulsory All Sailings after 15 January 2017.

[AussieVisi2r]

I hate to tip to a pool of people that are not even front line employees that I get into contact with - it does not make sense to me!

 

I think the whole tipping thing - the way they handle it - is a scam by the cruise line and I refuse to be part of that scam.

 

The whole thing is a black-box nobody knows what is really happening with their tips - if I tip somebody I want to give it to THEM and not into a pool of people....

Since that option does not exist on RCI - I just remove my tips and use the money elsewhere...

 

It is not a scam! it is a systemm agreed upon by management and staff. It is fair and equitable. They may not be "front line employees" but they sure make your holiday enjoyable. Where do you think the clean sheets come from. Or the clean glasses, or clean plates. And what about the person who cleans the toilets you use around he ship. Or the person who keeps the buttons clean in the elevator, and the hand rails clean.

They may not be front line employees - but they sure deserve their cut.

 

Raina

[spookwife]

Why is it this way?? Many Europeans are also uncomfortable tipping??

 

its how they do things Down Under. they also haggle on the price of items in Department stores, something we as Americans would never dream of doing. ( but hey, my friend saved about 30% on his electric kettle!)

 

it is also much more common to BYOB to restaurants. ( forgot to note whether a corkage fee is charged)

 

and of the course the dead horse argument: in Oz and Europe( and Japan) the base wage of a server is much higher. you also pay it via higher costs.

 

for instance, when we were stationed in Japan, the Yen to Dollar was roughly 1:1( 100 Yen equaled a buck) we would occasionally get a craving for 'american' food' and would go to Yokohama and hit the Outback Steakhouse. a regular 6 oz Victoria Filet is $20. In Japan it was 4 oz and closer to $30 converted. if we tried to tip our server, they and their boss would be mightily insulted as to them, it implies that we think he is not treating his employees correctly.

 

I should also note that there was a HUGE waiting list for qualified servers to get jobs in the on base restaurants, where the American Way of doing things was the norm. the wife of a fellow Sailor told us it was because even though the hourly rate was much lower than off base, at the end of the week she brought home more NON TAXABLE income.

[spookwife]

I hate to tip to a pool of people that are not even front line employees that I get into contact with - it does not make sense to me!

 

I think the whole tipping thing - the way they handle it - is a scam by the cruise line and I refuse to be part of that scam.

 

The whole thing is a black-box nobody knows what is really happening with their tips - if I tip somebody I want to give it to THEM and not into a pool of people....

Since that option does not exist on RCI - I just remove my tips and use the money elsewhere...

 

so you don't want to acknowledge the laundry folks who spend 12 hours a day in hot humid conditions making sure your cabin steward has fresh clean towels for you to use every day? the sous chef who spends hours stirring your soup so it doesn't burn? the dude in the back washing dishes so you have clean plates whenever you step up to the Buffet?

 

it is people like YOU that are the reason tips are becoming no longer optional

 

I suggest that if you believe that strongly in it then you STOP CRUISING with RCCL as you are insulting every back end employee by indicating you do not consider their contributions to YOUR comfort and enjoyment worthy of compensation.

[katiel53]

What experience? Do you actually watch and count how much money someone is handing to the staff or are you part of the crew on a ship?:confused:

 

My experience is from being at a table where it was discussed openly that they were going to tip the waitstaff and cabin steward but not the amount suggested. It was at a table for 10 and a few of the people were in a group and talked about how much money they spent on drinks etc.

 

I have also been in line at guest services where the person in front of me removed tips and when asked about the service, the man said it was good but he felt it was too much.

 

Additionally, my brother-in-law, now retired, was a crew member and talks about the tipping etc. when asked. I have NEVER watched or counted how much someone handed anyone in spite of what YOU may think. I find your comment insulting.

[gazruss]

so you don't want to acknowledge the laundry folks who spend 12 hours a day in hot humid conditions making sure your cabin steward has fresh clean towels for you to use every day? the sous chef who spends hours stirring your soup so it doesn't burn? the dude in the back washing dishes so you have clean plates whenever you step up to the Buffet?

 

it is people like YOU that are the reason tips are becoming no longer optional

 

I suggest that if you believe that strongly in it then you STOP CRUISING with RCCL as you are insulting every back end employee by indicating you do not consider their contributions to YOUR comfort and enjoyment worthy of compensation.

Isn't that what we pay for in the cruise price, or do we just pay for the rental of the ship. We are currently being forced to pay gratuities no matter how good or bad the serviced received, and then encouraged to tip on top of that for good service by individuals, maybe we should also have a raffle for the captain for getting us safely into port each time.

 

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[Thorben-Hendrik]

It is not a scam! it is a systemm agreed upon by management and staff.

Raina

 

Exactly! :rolleyes:

And currently I get to choose if I want to join in or not!:p

[Ocean Boy]

My experience is from being at a table where it was discussed openly that they were going to tip the waitstaff and cabin steward but not the amount suggested. It was at a table for 10 and a few of the people were in a group and talked about how much money they spent on drinks etc.

 

I have also been in line at guest services where the person in front of me removed tips and when asked about the service, the man said it was good but he felt it was too much.

 

Additionally, my brother-in-law, now retired, was a crew member and talks about the tipping etc. when asked. I have NEVER watched or counted how much someone handed anyone in spite of what YOU may think. I find your comment insulting.

I didn't accuse you of anything. I asked a question so no need to feel insulted. So your experience and conclusions are based on one dining room table, a random place in a guest services line, and your brother-in-law. Got it.

[poncho1973]

Exactly! :rolleyes:

And currently I get to choose if I want to join in or not!:p

 

I hope you'll vote with your wallet and free up rooms for us in the future.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

No - I can go more often! Sorry!:D

[ewenix]

They may not be front line employees - but they sure deserve their cut.

 

The problem with this situation arises when they call it a gratutity, and then they make it worse by distributing it to people who did not directly provide service to a customer.

 

Words have meaning and in this case it's the word 'gratuity.' Which as stated previously in the thread means it is over and above what was due. That literally means everyone has already gotten 'their cut' and this money is in addition to that.

 

It would be preferable to just have Carnival Corp and Royal Corp (and all their subsidiary lines) just include it in the up front cost. They can still line item it on the invoice like taxes and port fees. When they do that just call it 'daily service charge.' Those two making such a change would push the other players in the cruise market to change as well.

 

Then we could get back to just directly tipping people if they really went above and beyond, all the while knowing everyone including all those hard working behind the scenes people already got a fair wage.

Edited December 14, 2016 by ewenix

[Thorben-Hendrik]

They will never do that - if they did it would bring prices down and people would be taken off their guild trip......

That is how this scam works - you auto gratuity them and then you hand them WOW envelopes and then you make them stand up in the dining room every night to applaud the hard working staff ( when service has declined to a very mediocre level ) :rolleyes:.....that's how you get people to feel guilty and empty their pockets!:cool:

[liverpoollad]

Tipping will always be contentious as it is a cultural thing.

In the UK, Australia & Europe tipping is not the norm, people do tip, some don't it is the way it is.

North Americans tip & it's their culture. The first time visiting the U.S. we got the shuttle bus to the car hire firm & the driver definitely seemed to want a tip, then the car hire firm had our car driven a few hundred yards so we could pick it up, same thing the man stood there waiting for a tip, another place a girl poured out water in cafe & again stood there, this left us very uncomfortable as we are not used to tipping. My wife has just come back from New York & leaving the hotel she was carrying a case & one of the staff insisted on carrying the case the few yards to the taxi & yes he put his hand out.

As I have said it is different cultures & will never be agreed on.

Saying this I do tip, not all the time( I do adjust compulsorily tipping) & don't like passengers that minus to zero

[Fred the ferret lover]

so you don't want to acknowledge the laundry folks who spend 12 hours a day in hot humid conditions making sure your cabin steward has fresh clean towels for you to use every day? the sous chef who spends hours stirring your soup so it doesn't burn? the dude in the back washing dishes so you have clean plates whenever you step up to the Buffet?

 

it is people like YOU that are the reason tips are becoming no longer optional

 

I suggest that if you believe that strongly in it then you STOP CRUISING with RCCL as you are insulting every back end employee by indicating you do not consider their contributions to YOUR comfort and enjoyment worthy of compensation.

 

Maybe you should stop cruising RCCL if you don't like their policies. They allow people to remove the gratuities.

 

I only tip the the cabin steward and our waiters. I couldn't care less how the rest of the employees are compensated.

[Merion_Mom]

Tipping will always be contentious as it is a cultural thing.

In the UK, Australia & Europe tipping is not the norm, people do tip, some don't it is the way it is.

North Americans tip & it's their culture. The first time visiting the U.S. we got the shuttle bus to the car hire firm & the driver definitely seemed to want a tip, then the car hire firm had our car driven a few hundred yards so we could pick it up, same thing the man stood there waiting for a tip, another place a girl poured out water in cafe & again stood there, this left us very uncomfortable as we are not used to tipping. My wife has just come back from New York & leaving the hotel she was carrying a case & one of the staff insisted on carrying the case the few yards to the taxi & yes he put his hand out.

As I have said it is different cultures & will never be agreed on.

Saying this I do tip, not all the time( I do adjust compulsorily tipping) & don't like passengers that minus to zero

 

I am an American and I have never had a rental car worker "put his hand out" for a tip.

 

I do tip a shuttle driver if s/he hauls my luggage on and off the bus.

[Merion_Mom]

Maybe you should stop cruising RCCL if you don't like their policies. They allow people to remove the gratuities.

 

I only tip the the cabin steward and our waiters. I couldn't care less how the rest of the employees are compensated.

 

Following your logic, maybe you shouldn't cruise on Royal Caribbean if you don't like their tipping policy.

[grapau27]

In a perfect world all the staff should be paid a minimum wage.Unfortunately cruise staff are poorly paid and I agree if it was called a service charge no one could complain and then you could genuinely call a tip a tip and the person you gave it to could keep it because they knew it was their personality that was gratefully appreciated.

 

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[Thorben-Hendrik]

You can just adjust your tipping to your own policy....no need to avoid RCI!:)

[The_Big_M]

its how they do things Down Under. they also haggle on the price of items in Department stores, something we as Americans would never dream of doing. ( but hey, my friend saved about 30% on his electric kettle!)

 

Generally, people here do not "haggle on the price of items in Department stores."

 

As sales are common, some may individually try when a sale is not on - but mostly would not got anywhere. There are 'price matches' where they will match the price of another retailer. Alternatively there are a couple of furniture/electrical stores where they welcome you to negotiate. But it's not standard and unlikely to get anywhere at a regular department store.

[markeb]

I really try to avoid tip threads, but sometimes it's like watching an accident; you just can't look away!

 

I definitely feel the pain of my Aussie friends if we Americans, who right or wrong seem to have created this "tip culture" in multiple walks of life, can't agree, how are they supposed to understand?

 

My $0.02 on this subject, especially as related to so many of arguments (from Americans) on this topic: The cruise lines have largely created this confusions by trying to tell us what they do with gratuities in the belief that if we understand, we'll support what they're doing.

 

Over Thanksgiving, my wife and I had the privilege of dining at a Michelin 3-Star restaurant in Manhattan. We were assisted by a waiter, one or more assistants, a sommelier, a bartender, and one or more bussers. The restaurant felt no obligation to tell me and I have no need to know how my tip on this meal was split amongst the staff who assisted me. Admittedly, US labor laws largely only consider those who provide a direct service to be "tipped employees", so the kitchen staff, the folks washing the linens, etc., are paid on a salary that is not adjusted for gratuities; RCI makes this probably intentionally vague. I hear people mentioning the "people who do the laundry", for instance, and those would not be tipped employees ashore, so even if they're "housekeeping staff", I doubt they share the tip pool onboard.

 

And I will say again, in a group dynamic where members of the group depend on each other for success (i.e., satisfaction ratings), I'm confident that gratuities are in fact pooled by peer pressure if not official policy, and it's none of my business who gets the tip! And anyone who doesn't believe group dynamics will police themselves has never done push-ups until they can't move along with your assembled company because some f-up in the company (not you) couldn't get to formation on time...

[kerrycoco1]

so you don't want to acknowledge the laundry folks who spend 12 hours a day in hot humid conditions making sure your cabin steward has fresh clean towels for you to use every day? the sous chef who spends hours stirring your soup so it doesn't burn? the dude in the back washing dishes so you have clean plates whenever you step up to the Buffet?

 

it is people like YOU that are the reason tips are becoming no longer optional

 

I suggest that if you believe that strongly in it then you STOP CRUISING with RCCL as you are insulting every back end employee by indicating you do not consider their contributions to YOUR comfort and enjoyment worthy of compensation.

They should be paid a decent living wage by the company they work for and should not have to rely on tips, its terrible treatment

 

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[kerrycoco1]

Isn't that what we pay for in the cruise price, or do we just pay for the rental of the ship. We are currently being forced to pay gratuities no matter how good or bad the serviced received, and then encouraged to tip on top of that for good service by individuals, maybe we should also have a raffle for the captain for getting us safely into port each time.

 

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Agree

 

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[lucymorgan]

Actually thinking about this development (which I personally welcome), I think that there are a number of other cruise lines which sail from Australia where gratuities are compulsory and included in the price.

 

Given that the whole tipping thing causes discomfort and confusion in some Aussies (and others), perhaps RCI has responded to the market for the customers - not so much for the staff.

 

Makes it easier all around.

[grapau27]

I agree everyone should be paid a minimum wage and the customer service people who give you excellent customer service above what is normal service deserve to be recognised and allowed to keep your personal tip of appreciation.

 

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[Ba' Datz]

So on a more practical level if I booked a cruise in November for a cruise in late 2017 leaving Sydney, are tips included or not? If not at what rate will I be charged?

 

And just a side question, if the base price goes down after I adjust for the tips being included, can I get a price reduction?

[Ourusualbeach]

So on a more practical level if I booked a cruise in November for a cruise in late 2017 leaving Sydney, are tips included or not? If not at what rate will I be charged?

 

And just a side question, if the base price goes down after I adjust for the tips being included, can I get a price reduction?

 

Are you booking this through the Australian or the US site?