Gratuities on our own instead of prepaid?

[Ourusualbeach]

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.

 

Might as well be. From many reports its between $50 and $100 per month for tipped positions.

[gerif]

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.

 

I agree, although I don't particularly doubt that a staff member told this to the PP in order to get a better tip.

[daze6399]

Why would working solely for tips surprise you?

 

Many if not most restaurants in the US operate that way, servers are paid very low wages and expected to supplement their income with tips. If they make less than minimum wage their company is required to fill the gap. The last place i tended bar paid bartender $2.25/ hour and the bartender had to tip out the barback 30% of the tips for the night.

 

Consider that most of these ships are not registered in the US and likely do not follow US employment law, tips only makes a lot of sense.

[Fouremco]

Why would working solely for tips surprise you?

 

Many if not most restaurants in the US operate that way, servers are paid very low wages and expected to supplement their income with tips. If they make less than minimum wage their company is required to fill the gap. The last place i tended bar paid bartender $2.25/ hour and the bartender had to tip out the barback 30% of the tips for the night.

 

Consider that most of these ships are not registered in the US and likely do not follow US employment law, tips only makes a lot of sense.

Many threads on many boards have addressed the poor pay that a lot of crew members make, both tipped and otherwise, but the one consistent fact is they do receive a salary. A figure that I read recently on a website other than CC is that tips constitute some 85% of their income, with the other 15%coming from salary.

[daze6399]

Many threads on many boards have addressed the poor pay that a lot of crew members make, both tipped and otherwise, but the one consistent fact is they do receive a salary. A figure that I read recently on a website other than CC is that tips constitute some 85% of their income, with the other 15%coming from salary.

 

 

That would also make sense. However at the pay rate they're making you could argue that they're not really getting "paid" if they're marking only 15% of their income as salary. [emoji47] however, that's neither here nor there.

 

I would suspect there's a rough standard in the industry and I would suspect that the tipped crew members make very little salary, although I wouldn't be surprised either way.

[Soramor]

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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Did you have anything helpful to say or did you just feel the need to be snarky?

[Roce48]

I learned directly from staff on Harmony:

• 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.
  

In an on shore bar or back at home, aren't the tips handed to bartenders normally put in a jar? I have never seen an on shore bartender put a tip in their pocket. Why would it be any different on a cruise ship?:confused:

[Hoopster95]

Might as well be. From many reports its between $50 and $100 per month for tipped positions.

 

Only in Asia/Australia where the servers are poorly tipped... word for word from this server who came from Voyager and Mariner.

For those who "don't believe", why take my word for it, simply ask when you're on board.

[gerif]

Only in Asia/Australia where the servers are poorly tipped... word for word from this server who came from Voyager and Mariner.

For those who "don't believe", why take my word for it, simply ask when you're on board.

 

Who would be rude enough to ask anyone what they make?

[Fouremco]

Only in Asia/Australia where the servers are poorly tipped... word for word from this server who came from Voyager and Mariner.

For those who "don't believe", why take my word for it, simply ask when you're on board.

This is typical of what you'll find if you do independent research on websites that have nothing to gain by stating that bartenders and other tipped personnel receive a salary:

 

Tipping personnel

Tipping personnel are the staff with direct contact with the guests who pay them "tips". There are specified amounts of tips per particular positions which are advised to guests prior to embarkation and which vary from one cruise line to another. Such personnel are waiters, busboys /assistant waiters, bar waiters/waitresses, bartenders, cocktail waitresses, etc. Tipping personnel have a small base salary. Most of their earnings are tips. Approximate sample earnings in this group are (in U.S. Dollars per month):

Waiter from $2500 to $4000

Busboy / Assistant Waiter from $1500 to $3000

Bar Waiter / Waitress from $1000 to $2500

Bartender from $1500 to $3000

Applicants must have a good command of English, good work experience and appropriate education to qualify for this group (the latter is not obligatory if the applicant has enough experience).

 

Or you can believe the person playing on your sympathy for a bigger tip.

[Hoopster95]

In an on shore bar or back at home, aren't the tips handed to bartenders normally put in a jar? I have never seen an on shore bartender put a tip in their pocket. Why would it be any different on a cruise ship?:confused:

 

I'm just the messenger. I apologize... when I try to explain something on most threads I normally provide a picture (or a link to one of my reviews about the topic) to help the explanation and provide first hand experience. I have no reason to throw b.s. out on this forum for the heck of it after trying to be helpful for years in my reviews and to answer other's questions. If I'm wrong, it's because I was lied to, not because I'm pretending to know something. By the way, my business is built on reading people... I'm not always 100% right and I think he was totally legit in demeanor and body language when we were speaking.

Anyhow, no biggie. I repeat that if you really want to know, simply make friends with one of the servers you see every day and simply ask the question to ensure where you're extra cash tips are going, and also ask how the system works. I would love to hear if the same reply you get is what I got, or if it's something else

[Hoopster95]

Who would be rude enough to ask anyone what they make?

 

Hopefully no one.... he offered the explanation. I simply asked if he kept the extra cash that I gave him or whether it gets pooled. He then explained the system. The explanation came on day 7 of a 7 day cruise after I had tipped him all week.

[vacationlover_mn]

Has anyone gotten better service around the pool, by tipping extra? On my last 2 cruises, wandering drink people were almost non-existent, and we had to go to the pool bar 99% of the time to get more drinks...

 

 

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[packercruising]

Has anyone gotten better service around the pool, by tipping extra? On my last 2 cruises, wandering drink people were almost non-existent, and we had to go to the pool bar 99% of the time to get more drinks...

 

 

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You mean tip them up front and hope for better service? We have never tipped for services not yet provided. I don't know what the problem is in the pool area. You would think, with all those people out there, the servers would want to be available. Sometimes they are, sometimes not.

[StolidCruiser]

Has anyone gotten better service around the pool, by tipping extra? On my last 2 cruises, wandering drink people were almost non-existent, and we had to go to the pool bar 99% of the time to get more drinks...

 

 

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You mean tip them up front and hope for better service? We have never tipped for services not yet provided. I don't know what the problem is in the pool area. You would think, with all those people out there, the servers would want to be available. Sometimes they are, sometimes not.

 

The reason drink servers don't float as much is because people don't tip.

 

I don't tip before service, but once I do my drink is never empty. It's amazing how they can always find me again no matter where I roam and I repeatedly get above-excellent service.