Gratuities & tips are not obligatory

[Diddybubby]

I think everyone is missing the point here.

 

The OP was about having the choice to tip just like we do for hairdressers, taxis, restaurants, hotels etc..... you tip what YOU want to tip.

 

You should not be forced to tip. To have the poverty police then come on to try and make you feel guilty will not wash with me.

 

Fact is YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY.......so for those of you who don't want to then don't. I most certainly will be having these removed when I board IOTH in September!

[lbjen]

There is a massive culture divide in play here, where Americans are completely used to paying 15-20% tip for meals and understand that their server probably only gets paid $3-4 an hour from their employer and therefore relies on the tip to make minimum wage (thereby guilting the customer into tipping even when the service is terrible), and non-Americans who come from countries where restaurant owners pay their staff fairly and customers are free to add an extra something if they feel the service merited it. I think the OP may also not realize that restaurant staff often have to tip out their back of the house staff too, out of what they receive from customers. So the behind the scenes people do get paid out of your tip. Sometimes they don't get to keep any of what you give them if you're cheap, if they have a fixed amount per table they have to share.

 

As a family of 4, we'd spend $40-50 a day on tips if we ate out 3 times each day, in a hotel we would tip $1 per person per day for the housekeeper, a few more $1 tips here and there for drinks etc. It adds up to the same amount at the end of the day. I think that if you added up what it would really cost you to tip each single person, it would end up costing more than you think.

[lbjen]

Just make sure you do it on the first day so that your name goes on the non-tipper list for the whole week and the staff know what they're dealing with, rather than being one of those nasty people that goes on the last night to do it.

[cruisinfanatic]

Nope, not going to be made to feel guilty.

 

Bottom line is if I have booked a land holiday in a hotel or apartment I would not be expected to pay almost $500 in tips. Yes, I would tip waiters, doormen, room service, room cleaners etc.... but this would not go towards the behind the scenes staff.

 

I assume mjkacmom, nolesrules & cruisinfanatic when staying at a hotel that you all are quite generous and leave a massive tip to be shared to all the behind the scenes staff? Can you confirm that is the case?

 

The comment about not affording the cruise if you cannot afford to tip is daft. We as a family have saved for 3 years for this cruise. We are not well off by any means, and can afford to tip. As stated in the OP this should be down to choice.

 

Don't always assume that cruisers are very wealthy people and that all staff are paid an absolute pittance and/or are living in poverty.

 

WOW! The stereotyping poverty police are out to play.

You can't compare tips to a hotel. They are paid a salary for their work and tips are a bonus. Your waiter, asst waiter, cabin steward, and others are paid a minimal salary, far less than minimum wage. They rely on tips for most of their pay. Hopefully many other non cheapo cruisers can make up the difference.

It's the way it always has been and may not ever change. So you now can keep posting hear and brag that you are going to remove tips

[SoCalCruzzing]

Do wait staff in specialty restaurants receive a share of the regular gratuity and also a portion of the upsell cost? I always wondered if that was an extra perk for them and assumed only the best employees get to work in these establishments?

 

 

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[drsel]

Costa doesn't allow removal of the daily service charges

[PlanetX]

Mostly these people are just looking for supporters to justify their stiffing of the cew members.

 

Royal could certainly include staff wages in the total cost of their product like most businesses - if they cared about such a thing.

[Diddybubby]

There is an implicit moral obligation to do things as the cruise lines have set it up when you choose to cruise. All your high handed declarations of how you know better and will deign to tip your way regardless of what is expected just makes you look and sound like a pretentious jerk

 

 

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:'):'):'):') Well at least I am honest about what I will do.. I wonder how many readers will actually have these removed too (even you).....more than you will think I would imagine.

[wales4ever]

Diddybubby, I completely agree with you. Americans are used to tipping everyone and everything. UK people are not. I removed the tips on my February cruise and then tipped whoever I felt deserved it. Some of the drinks waiters were delighted. We even tipped one of the toilet attendants. I will be doing the same for next months cruise on the Naviagtor.

[Paulxyz2004]

Royal could certainly include staff wages in the total cost of their product like most businesses - if they cared about such a thing.

 

Sure they could, if it fit their business model and their standing among their competitors. As long as the majority of their competitors are not adding it into the cruise price they run the risk to be looked at being more expensive, which might hurt their business.

[eatdrinkfly]

i actually feel like the prepaid gratuities system lets me off easy.

on holidays i would always tip the hotel cleaning staff $5/day... and eating a 3-course meal for dinner, would nett a bill that would have a tip in excess of $20... not to mention eating breakfast & lunch out as well...

i shudder to think how much in tips i dole out in a place like Vegas. easily $30+ per day every day. with a fraction of the service level vs on a ship.

so ya. $13/day per person is a steal as far as i'm concerned and I'm happy to pay it, plus i almost always give a little extra.

[lbjen]

I don't think you'll get any arguments from any of us that RC should just pay the staff a proper wage and then leave tips in the hands of passengers as they see fit, but that's not how they currently do it. When you don't pay the service charge, you are making a choice to not pay that part of their salary (especially now that it's been clearly explained to you that this is how it works). Not just not tipping them for their good service, but actually not paying them for the work they did.

 

So sure, you don't have to pay the gratuity. But you should.

[dpostman]

:'):'):'):') Well at least I am honest about what I will do.. I wonder how many readers will actually have these removed too (even you).....more than you will think I would imagine.

 

I appreciate the fact that you are honest. But I do not share your thoughts that "many readers"... or even more than very few actually have the grats removed. We see this thread pop up every so often and it is almost always by someone with very little cruising experience and low post count. I also though the grats were outrageous when we first started cruising. Now, we always pre-pay grats and I'm one of those that brings a good amount of cash to tip, mostly bar staff all along during the cruise, and a lump sums to other staff members at the end of the cruise.

 

I do hope you enjoy your cruise and that you get off the ship feeling that you have met a great deal of caring crew members. Give them a chance to prove to you that they are worth every cent and more.

 

dp

[drsel]

Wirh Costa, nobody is allowed to remove tips, so you have to include the daily service charges as part of the cost.

Why do the others allow removal of tips?

Any idea of what percentage of cruisers exploit this loophole & remove the daily service charges?

[aubreyc1988]

just make sure you do it on the first day so that your name goes on the non-tipper list for the whole week and the staff know what they're dealing with, rather than being one of those nasty people that goes on the last night to do it.

 

+1 SO agree with this. As OP said, you CAN remove your tips, but let the staff know ahead of time that you are removing the tips and it has nothing to do with their level of service throughout the week...at least be fair and honest about it

[tominabox1]

Nope, not going to be made to feel guilty.

 

Bottom line is if I have booked a land holiday in a hotel or apartment I would not be expected to pay almost $500 in tips. Yes, I would tip waiters, doormen, room service, room cleaners etc.... but this would not go towards the behind the scenes staff.

 

I assume mjkacmom, nolesrules & cruisinfanatic when staying at a hotel that you all are quite generous and leave a massive tip to be shared to all the behind the scenes staff? Can you confirm that is the case?

 

The comment about not affording the cruise if you cannot afford to tip is daft. We as a family have saved for 3 years for this cruise. We are not well off by any means, and can afford to tip. As stated in the OP this should be down to choice.

 

Don't always assume that cruisers are very wealthy people and that all staff are paid an absolute pittance and/or are living in poverty.

 

WOW! The stereotyping poverty police are out to play.

 

Emphasis added: then maybe cruising isn't for you

[Paulxyz2004]

:'):'):'):') Well at least I am honest about what I will do.. I wonder how many readers will actually have these removed too (even you).....more than you will think I would imagine.

 

 

Reading threads about this topic for more than a decade on here I doubt the numbers are changed much by these. It´s always about the same about the pro-tipping and no-tipping crowd. Yep a certain percentage will remove them and yep the percentage will vary with where the ship is sailling from, but overall, nope I don´t think it´s a majority.

 

I sure hope you will be honest about what you are doing onboard as well and not only at Guest Sevices, but also in the face of whoever is serving you.

 

Oh, just to save you a surprise, a 18% gratuity will be added to your onboard purchases and there is no way of getting that one removed.

[nyllrap]

I absolutely consider the tips obligatory, and a part of the cost of the cruise. I always prepay and would never remove or lesson the amount of tip. If someone really goes out of his/her way, I provide additional cash, although have rarely done so. But I feel the tip is simply part of the cost of a cruise, as a restaurant tip is part of the cost of a dinner.

[mjkacmom]

Diddybubby, I completely agree with you. Americans are used to tipping everyone and everything. UK people are not. I removed the tips on my February cruise and then tipped whoever I felt deserved it. Some of the drinks waiters were delighted. We even tipped one of the toilet attendants. I will be doing the same for next months cruise on the Naviagtor.

Americans are also used to driving on the right side of the road, is that any reason for them to drive on the right side of the road in your country? Geez, it's not rocket science, just pay your bill.

[wales4ever]

The OP Diddybubby did NOT say thet he was not going to pay any tips (neither did I in my post) Just that they were going to pay who ever they wanted whenever they wanted.

[galfromkazoo]

I always leave the tips on my account and would even if I received lousy service from someone as I consider it a service charge. There are other ways to deal with lousy service.

 

I just returned from a three day land vacation in Chicago with my grandchildren and my tips there exceeded what we would be automatically charged on a cruise ship (meals, taxi, doorman).

 

 

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[E@syPe@zy]

I also think the cruise lines should just include the tips in the price of the cruise.

With that being said, I have never had my tips removed and have tipped above that amount for service that went beyond the expected. I feel that the tips applied to my account alleviates me of having to run around and try to tip everyone at the end of my cruise and therefore makes it easier for me.

However, if a passenger wants to tip employees themselves, then I have no problem with that. The OP said he would tip the deserving individuals.

All of these posts about tipping led to a bit of researching the cruise jobs and their average wages. I believe most will be surprised that these wages are not as bad as what you think. Particularly when they include room, board, medical, work uniforms and other perks. These positions are highly competitive and compared to wages that they could expect working in their home lands, the employees can have a nice little nest egg at the end of their contract or be sending money home on a regular basis. These jobs also prepare them for higher wage employment once they return home.

Happy cruising everyone.

[postmeome]

Reading threads about this topic for more than a decade on here I doubt the numbers are changed much by these. It´s always about the same about the pro-tipping and no-tipping crowd. Yep a certain percentage will remove them and yep the percentage will vary with where the ship is sailling from, but overall, nope I don´t think it´s a majority.

 

I sure hope you will be honest about what you are doing onboard as well and not only at Guest Sevices, but also in the face of whoever is serving you.

 

Oh, just to save you a surprise, a 18% gratuity will be added to your onboard purchases and there is no way of getting that one removed.

Wow 18% on purchases on board x a couple of thousand of people on ship why pay extra :confused:

[tominabox1]

Best part is the 18% on merchandise like t shirts, do you tip the check out person at old Navy??? Oh well we pay it because it's vacation.

 

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[nolesrule]

Wow 18% on purchases on board x a couple of thousand of people on ship why pay extra :confused:

 

You don't have to pay extra on the items that receive the 18% auto gratuity (and it's not added to ALL onboard purchases). But that money doesn't go to the same service personnel as the daily gratuity charges.