thoughts on people constantly asking for tips...

[afgirl]

My husband and I were just on the Westerdam cruise (nov. 13-20). We were extremely disappointed with people always asking for tips. On one occasion we had a tour operator in the Caymans give us a 3-5 minute speech on how we should tip him and his employees. My husband and I give tips for great service. From where we come from people on the job who ask for tips, much less give a speech get fired and don't get a tip. We found this extremely tacky. Do others find this just annoying as well?

[Iggipolka]

I don't find it annoying when people ask for tips, because I know that the daily minimum wage is so low for the people in the countries that we visit. They survive on tourism and they depend on that $2 or $5 that we can give them. The way I look at it is that I'm going to spend $6.00 on a glass of wine on the ship that I'll drink in 30 minutes. I can give them that $6.00 and they will use it to feed their family dinner that night.

[CINCY40]

...you are really a nice person. I love the way you think.

[Cruiseoften]

PLEASE understand that the people asking for tips had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CRUISE LINE - HAL employees do not ask for tips.

 

As has been said - a minimal tip to some island tour operators' employees is, for them, the difference between a reasonable meal and scraps from some one elses table. So many of those folks earn only pennies a day - it's one of our reasons for going with the fellow we pick up at the pier. They are not all pristine but, chat for a bit, ask questions, settle on the fare but make no effort to pay before you leave - at least no more than a token amount - balance payable when you return to the ship - chances are you'll get excellent value for your money.

[cruzermon]

I don't mind gentle reminders, but I'm sure an in-your-face approach might backfire if someone used it on me. Instead of thinking about the pleasantness of the excursion, I'd be thinking more of the unpleasantness of the hard sell, and might adjust accordingly. I say might, because I've never encountered this behavior.

 

So, what is a gentle reminder? The one I'm most familiar with is "While tips aren't mandatory, they are certainly appreciated", seems to get the message across without being offensive.

[afgirl]

Cruzermon I definitely agree with you. A gentle reminder is fine and don't mind that.

 

 

*Note that I was not talking about tipping in regards to holland america cruise lines.

[ryansmemom]

I am always acutely aware of the financial situation of people in service jobs who depend on tips to support themselves and their families. In my profession, I have been given the opportunity to meet many people who work hard for tips and understand the frustration they feel at times.

 

What that has meant, for me personally, is that I am a huge overtipper. One of the reasons I sail on HAL is the wonderful service I receive onboard. For that reason, I would never remove or alter the auto-tip and I aways tip over and above the auto tip. I can say that with confidence because I am confident regarding the quality of service I will receive onboard a HAL ship.

 

However, anything stronger than a gentle reminder would be a huge turn off for me. An "in your face" statement of the expectation or entitlement of a tip would cause me to tip an extremely small amount. I would not want to give the person no tip at all. If I did that they may think I forgot. If I give them a dime, they know I remembered to tip, I just expressed my extreme displeasure.

 

By the way, John D.Rockefeller always left a dime tip.;)

 

Linda

[blackbird71]

Ah the bad old days... :D when cruise lines, Carnivale being the worst, had their waiters crying all over you about the grades that you would give them on their Comment Cards...... And the tons of letters to Cruise Travel magazine about how much that was a turn off.... Same here.

 

I always tip good. Even on ships like Radisson with their "tips are included with your fare". Just do not push it.

[Bramcruiser]

To me a tip is something that is a reward for good service. So I get upset when asked as if its expected - which in reality it is but...............However, given that tips are what many in these poorer places live off of I can understand how they hold these little sessions on tip advice.

[yiddishkopf]

In the early 90's, my daughter and I took a trip to Thailand. We shopped and shopped and I urged her and tried to teach her about bargaining. She said "We spent so much to get here, we spend so much on a meal, why would I try to save 50cents by bargaining with a vendor. We have so much and they have so little"

 

This is certainly true of those who live on tips. I am not rich, but my life has been full of many good things and I figure generous tips into any travel budget.

[JimVrhovac]

Most of the problems with people hinting about tips are on the excursions and they are not HAL personnel.

 

Many of the tour guides work for less than minimum wage and the majority of their income comes from tips. Generally Ruth and I ignore the comments and tip according to the services provided.

 

Jim & Ruth

[ohionana26]

I really do like the mindset of many of you. You really are nice people! I agree...think of how long those people could live on what we are spending for one week on the cruise.

 

Yiddishkopf....your daughter has exactly the same idea about bartering that I have.....I hate doing it....like her I think that they can use the money so much more than I can. I know that most people enjoy it...and that is fine...just not my thing.

 

More than the people in the poorer countries, I resent those baggage handlers at U S airports and at the cruise ships with their hands out. I am under the impression that most of them are union members and are making a good hourly wage already (if someone knows that is not so, I would appreciate hearing it...it would make me feel less resentful toward them) I know that is not so with the wait staff at restaurants who get minimal wages and are expected to make it up in tips. My youngest daughter was a waitress, and I know how hard she worked for her money. I always end up over tipping in her honor.

[ryansmemom]

Since you brought the subject up...bartering....I refuse to participate. My husband and I just don't enjoy the process. Some people do, fine. We don't. For us it ruins the experience.

 

We enjoy feeling generous. We enjoy tipping people if they provide a service to us. We enjoy paying for something when we purchase it. We like the feeling that we are enriching and enhancing another person's life just as they are enriching and enhancing ours.

 

That is why "in your face" solicitation of tips feels so bad to us. That is why bartering feels just as bad to us. Neither of these practices enhance or enrich our lives in any way. As a matter of fact they diminsh the experience.

 

Linda

[PRINSENDAM]

OK... here is time for a wee bit of history....

 

 

Back in the 1930s the Furness Bermuda Line operated two very fine liners on the New York to Bermuda run, the QUEEN OF BERMUDA and the MONARCH OF BERMUDA. They were each around 22,000 gross tons and carried around 700 passengers.

 

It is a well known fact that the stewards on board these two ships were the highest paid stewards anywhere in the world. They could earn in tips upwards of $50,000 per year.... in mid 1930s prices. Heaven knows what that would be today. The ships used to remain in New York overnight at the end of every cruise. Most of the crew were involved in cleaning and painting the ship and loading some general cargo and mail furing the turnaround. The stewards on the other hand would disembark and spend the night ashore in New York's finest hotels!!!!!

 

Stephen

[jhannah]

A sign in the bus to the effect that "gratuities welcomed and appreciated" is one thing. But outright overtures soliciting tips are a real turn-off to me.

[kryos]

More than the people in the poorer countries, I resent those baggage handlers at U S airports and at the cruise ships with their hands out. I am under the impression that most of them are union members and are making a good hourly wage already (if someone knows that is not so, I would appreciate hearing it...it would make me feel less resentful toward them)

Exactly. But here's the problem. If I didn't "grease their palm," I'd worry the whole flight about whether my luggage was onboard. They've got you ... and they know it. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[shonuf]

Exactly. But here's the problem. If I didn't "grease their palm," I'd worry the whole flight about whether my luggage was onboard. They've got you ... and they know it. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

A couple years ago, DH and I were to sail out of Galveston on the Rhapsody OTS. I had convinced him to take the cruise line's "bus" instead of driving down. The bus thing is a whole 'nuther story.

 

When we arrived in Galveston, a porter started grabbing all the bags and there was a LOT of confusion. Having never been there before, we just kind of followed the crowd and the luggage went one way and we went another. It was only later that we realized only one couple from the bus had actually tipped the porter. Our luggage didn't get delivered to our room so we had to go find it. ALL of the luggage tags had been ripped off! The porter was evidently so mad at all of us that he ripped every tag off, including the ones belonging to the couple who did tip him!

 

We won't make that mistake again.

 

67 days but who's counting!

[kelelmel]

We were given this "speech" once on RC transfers from Miami airport to pier by the bus driver. This is understandable when you consider some of places we visit. But Miami!?! I found it quite brash.

[Titan(ic)5.6]

It seems that everyone is getting "tip hungry". It is even getting bad right here in our own country.

 

I get tired of seeing tip jars on the counter every place you go. I often wonder how long it will be before I see tip jars in doctors offices.:D

[Randyk47]

Maybe there is a fine line between being "reminded" to tip and being "pressured" to tip. For instance, we've found residents in some Caribbean islands to be downright pushy while others are more circumspect and polite about the matter. On HAL we've never felt pressured to tip and I don't recall it ever really being mentioned....of course that was the old HAL before the auto-tips and HAL advertised themselves as the "tips not expected" line. On Celebrity they weren't exactly pushy but, on the other hand, our butler delivered envelopes to us with the names of several people already handwritten on them....like his, the room steward and his assistant, and a couple of others like the head of housekeeping, etc. Didn't really bother me but I noticed. Of course, what we really noticed is what we call "apple polishing" the last couple days of our Celebrity cruise. They really jacked up the service to the point of being way too obvious. Other than the butler's envelope delivery and little speech about tipping the really "in your face" attempt was the wine steward who actually gave us a slip of paper with his name on it and a verbal plea to give him "good write ups" on our comment sheets. Funny thing was I wasn't overly impressed with him before this espisode and that kind of sealed the deal. He got a tip though nothing out of the ordinary but no mention in our comment sheets.

[KAKcruiser]

I've noticed recently on HAL that the waiters and room stewards are asking for high scores on the comment cards. They never did that before. Also, a couple of weeks ago on the Volendam, the room steward put a couple of plain envelopes in our room the last night of the cruise. That never happened before, either.

[HeatherInFlorida]

This is an area I should fear to tred because I get blasted every time. Yes, many people here are very nice and tip generously as we should.

 

But there is no excuse for anyone, no matter how poor or bad off they are, to beg and plead for tips. And it doesn't get them anymore tips than they would anyway because those of us who tip will tip anyway and those who don't, won't. In fact ... those who don't will be so annoyed, they'll be less apt to tip.

 

A simple sign "tips appreciated" is enough on the bus. The huge bucket marked "tips" is offensive. The bus driver on our recent tour with 3 $10 bills sticking out of his hand was offensive.

 

Tips are for services rendered above and beyond what we have paid for and that is all they should be. The moment they are "requested" they cease to be that.

 

As for bartering, they expect us to barter. I got into a fun exchange with a guy at the Cristobal Pier just recently. He loved it, I loved it. He would have been disappointed if we hadn't gone that route. Every time I look at my little wooden turtle I will remember that guy and the fact that I gave him what he had asked for even though we had bartered down several more dollars. When he looked in his hand as I walked away, he laughed so hard. I'll never forget the moment.

[Oceanwench]

We had a HAL excursion last week in Grand Cayman. As it was coming to an end, the bus driver gave us a speech on how he depends on tips to make a living. I found that inappropriate. I would have much preferred a sign in the bus and a little tip jar.

We did tip him, but not a lot.

 

In Freeport, we had a delightful taxi driver. He charged $5 per person. There were three of us, and I handed him $20. He immediately handed me $5 back and I said, "That's for you." He was grateful.

 

On the way back to the ship, we had a different driver. When my sister handed him the $20 and said, "The rest us for you," he threw his arms around her, then came over to hug me and my mother! I noticed that none of the other pax in the cab had given him tips.

 

In Mexico, in the silver shops where nothing has price tags, I always barter.

The first price they come out with is usually ridiculously high.

Once in Cozumel my sister asked about a shell necklace. The sales person threw out a number -- $400.

My sister said that was way too high for her and started to look at other jewelry. He then said "$200."

She told him it was still more than she wanted to spend, so he said, "$75."

 

I think in those stores where the items have no sales tags, they expect customers to barter. I have no problem doing that.

[obriendan]

Many years ago (1960), my wife and I were dining with my aunt at a New York restaurant before attending a Broadway play. The restaurant was very crowded, and the service was very poor. When the bill came, I did a rough calculation in my mind, rounded up the bill to an even number, and paid in cash, including a tip of about 13%. The waiter returned with a tray containing the tip and curtly announced that "It is customary to tip at least 15%". At that point I pocketed the tip, complained to the manager, and we left the restaurant. This story has been repeated over the years, and I’m the hero!

Moral: Please don’t bug me about the tip!

[RuthC]

Good for you, Dan. Good for you.