Gratuities on our own instead of prepaid?

[Soramor]

Hi everyone! Hopefully a simple question... we are sailing in a month and are thinking of booking the deluxe drink package. My husband would MUCH rather tip (well) in cash with each drink to each individual bar tender than pay the 18% gratuity up front with the package. It's there any way to do this or are we stuck with prepaid gratuities if we book the package?

[Clarea]

Hi everyone! Hopefully a simple question... we are sailing in a month and are thinking of booking the deluxe drink package. My husband would MUCH rather tip (well) in cash with each drink to each individual bar tender than pay the 18% gratuity up front with the package. It's there any way to do this or are we stuck with prepaid gratuities if we book the package?

You are stuck with the gratuity charge on the drink package.

 

However, you can always add additional cash gratuity.

[funship freddy]

Just off Celebrity Silhouette Sunday. We always tip additional. Two reasons. 1) The bartenders tend to quickly learn your name and regular drink. 2) I don't think the 18% makes it to your bartender. I observed a couple of things. Very few pax leave additional $$$. I saw maybe 3 pax do so in 7 days. On Celebrity, if you are on a package you don't sign anything. Almost everyone had a package. Saw very few pax sign.

 

 

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[Fouremco]

Just off Celebrity Silhouette Sunday. We always tip additional. Two reasons. 1) The bartenders tend to quickly learn your name and regular drink. 2) I don't think the 18% makes it to your bartender. I observed a couple of things. Very few pax leave additional $$$. I saw maybe 3 pax do so in 7 days. On Celebrity, if you are on a package you don't sign anything. Almost everyone had a package. Saw very few pax sign.

Where do you think it goes?

[Soramor]

Where do you think it goes?

It gets split among all of them. Many people prefer to tip the individual who is actually providing the service

[packercruising]

Leave the gratuity prepaid and tip extra where you feel it is warranted. To remove gratuities means that someone you may not even be aware of, may be providing you a service and not getting tipped. Very unfair, IMO.

[spookwife]

There is no way to not pay the 18% on the package. Just slip an extra dollar every other drink if you are so inclined.

 

 

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[setsail]

Really, no body is forcing you to drink so if you don't want to pay then don't drink . Bar cash tips are also pooled

[Fouremco]

It gets split among all of them. Many people prefer to tip the individual who is actually providing the service

Ah, now I see what Funship Freddy meant. I thought that he was suggesting that the 18% didn't get to the bartenders as a group.

 

As others have said, the only way you can ensure that a gratuity goes to your bartender of choice is by paying an extra tip directly to the bartender.

[packercruising]

Really, no body is forcing you to drink so if you don't want to pay then don't drink . Bar cash tips are also pooled

 

Okay, question- I have read that if you tip extra on your drink receipt that the tips get pooled, but if you give the individual cash, they keep all of it. Is this true? Some bar staff will go out of their way to give you great service and others can walk right by your empty glass.

[Clarea]

Okay, question- I have read that if you tip extra on your drink receipt that the tips get pooled, but if you give the individual cash, they keep all of it. Is this true? Some bar staff will go out of their way to give you great service and others can walk right by your empty glass.

I've seen it both ways with cash tips. Bartenders sometimes put cash tips in a common jar, and sometimes put the cash tips in their pocket.

[mark290]

Really, no body is forcing you to drink so if you don't want to pay then don't drink . Bar cash tips are also pooled

 

You realize you are answering a question that was not asked ?

Edited February 7, 2017 by mark290
Sp

[daze6399]

I've seen it both ways with cash tips. Bartenders sometimes put cash tips in a common jar, and sometimes put the cash tips in their pocket.

 

I would suspect that ALL tips are "supposed" to be pooled either with a bar team, or with all of the bar support staff (I can argue both ways on the "fairness" of that practice, but it's not relevant) but there are always some people that don't like pooling their tips for whatever the reason might be and just put the cash in their pocket.

 

I have also known multiple bartenders that have customers that want to be sure their tips go to the bartender that helps them out, so they put the cash in their pocket and then put it in the communal jar when no one is looking.

 

It's hard to say for sure what any specific bar staff does with a cash tip, no way to track it.

 

I will say that I've worked in several bars in several positions and believe me, EVERYONE earns every bit of money they make from tips. If they don't earn it, they'll be run out of the team in short order. So remember folks...tip your bar staff! :D

[setsail]

You realize your are answering a question that was not asked ?

 

Same answer

[caribbean sailor]

Leave the gratuity prepaid and tip extra where you feel it is warranted. To remove gratuities means that someone you may not even be aware of, may be providing you a service and not getting tipped. Very unfair, IMO.

 

Royal's continual price rise is very unfair.The first thing i do on board is to remove the royal money grab.And tip as i please. :p :eek:

[Soramor]

Really, no body is forcing you to drink so if you don't want to pay then don't drink . Bar cash tips are also pooled

Prerry sure it was quite obvious that we have no qualms about "paying" but would prefer to tip the bar tenders (in cash - hence the question) when they serve us instead of electronically pre-paying. Did you have anything constructive to add?

[Soramor]

Royal's continual price rise is very unfair.The first thing i do on board is to remove the royal money grab.And tip as i please.[emoji14]:eek:

I agree... But Is this applicable to the drink package, though?

[daze6399]

I agree... But Is this applicable to the drink package, though?

 

No, it is not applicable to the drink package. I do not know of any way to remove the tips from the package.

[cb at sea]

No...it is NOT applicable to ANY "package"...18% is simply added to the cost. No way around it.

[Hoopster95]

I learned directly from staff on Harmony:

• the 18% and any extra cash tip you give them is the server's only wage.
  
• the 18% is distributed only within the team that they work for... so for example, Boleros + On-Air are one team, etc. If one "team" (aka one bar) is more popular than another (better drinks, better service, more cruisers go there, etc), that team will end up with more $ in their pocket than servers in the other team.
  
• a direct cash tip to a server is 90% kept by that server, 10% is supposed to be pooled into the team they work in. This is likely the reason why when you tip the extra buck to a particular server you do receive a little better service and ongoing attention throughout the cruise.
  

[Lisa8]

The prepaid gratuities on the drink package is already so little, so I see no reason to remove it. There is no way of removing it either.

 

I always tip a couple of extra dollars on my drinks anyway even with the prepaid gratuities because its a couple of dollars spent well. These people work hard.

[Soramor]

I learned directly from staff on Harmony:

• the 18% and any extra cash tip you give them is the server's only wage.
  
• the 18% is distributed only within the team that they work for... so for example, Boleros + On-Air are one team, etc. If one "team" (aka one bar) is more popular than another (better drinks, better service, more cruisers go there, etc), that team will end up with more $ in their pocket than servers in the other team.
  
• a direct cash tip to a server is 90% kept by that server, 10% is supposed to be pooled into the team they work in. This is likely the reason why when you tip the extra buck to a particular server you do receive a little better service and ongoing attention throughout the cruise.
  

Good to know! Thanks for this!!

[Fouremco]

I learned directly from staff on Harmony:

• 
  
• the 18% and any extra cash tip you give them is the server's only wage.
  
• the 18% is distributed only within the team that they work for... so for example, Boleros + On-Air are one team, etc. If one "team" (aka one bar) is more popular than another (better drinks, better service, more cruisers go there, etc), that team will end up with more $ in their pocket than servers in the other team.
  
• a direct cash tip to a server is 90% kept by that server, 10% is supposed to be pooled into the team they work in. This is likely the reason why when you tip the extra buck to a particular server you do receive a little better service and ongoing attention throughout the cruise.
  

Sorry, I don't believe a word of the bolded text. They may not get paid a high salary, but they do not work solely for tips.

[packercruising]

I've seen it both ways with cash tips. Bartenders sometimes put cash tips in a common jar, and sometimes put the cash tips in their pocket.

 

Us too. Sometimes the really good ones will get an extra tip at the end and we will make sure to comment it is for them.

[NJporkroll]

Hi everyone! Hopefully a simple question... we are sailing in a month and are thinking of booking the deluxe drink package. My husband would MUCH rather tip (well) in cash with each drink to each individual bar tender than pay the 18% gratuity up front with the package. It's there any way to do this or are we stuck with prepaid gratuities if we book the package?

 

 

Stop bucking the system... pay it and move on. The right people get there money. If your so inclined tip additionally.

 

 

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