Doing some Math. Question on crew size and tipping.........

[zdad59]

My idle brain decided to do some math today. I was curious on how much in gratuity charge an average crew member gets. Some questions that affect the math....

 

1. What percentage of the crew do you say participates in the gratuity distribution?

2. What percentage of cruisers opt out of the auto gratuity ?

3. What percentage of passengers travel in suites that pay the higher gratuity rate?

 

This is all just idle thumb twirling. When you're retired, you need things to stay sharp.

 

A simple baseline analysis based on Harmony OTS and several rough assumptions....

• Harmony crew = ~2,300
  
• Assume 50% participate in gratuity distribution
  
• 5,500-6,700 potential passengers. Assume 6,000 for analysis
  
• baseline 7 day cruise.
  
• Assume all passengers pay $13.50/day
  
• Assume RCL takes no off the top cut of gratuity proceeds.
  

6000*(13.50*7) = $567,000 available to distribute

567000 / (2300/2) = $493.04 per cruise per participating crew member

493.04 / 7 = $70.43 per day in tips

 

Now I know nothing is perfect, and that the analysis will change based on additional info like the questions above, but while it may seem like a lot of money you are paying in gratuities, when it all gets distributed, its not as much as one would think. My son bartends in a college town on weekends, and the cash tips he brings home for one Saturday night compete with the weekly amount above.

 

I will update this first post as I get more info that is reasonable to include.

 

BTW....we do pay the auto gratuity and we also extra tip during the cruise and at the end to cabin attendant and restaurant staff, and any crew member that made the trip special.

[cb at sea]

The tips they add to your account are for your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiters. Those are the folks, in the past, that you would "hand tip" on the last night.

 

Bartenders tips are included either in the price of each drink or on the price of the packages they offer. Either way, their tip is included in the cost of the drink, somehow.

 

It's possible that the cabin attendants may have "helpers" they share with....who knows? The "waitstaff" tips cover ALL meals, whether it's in the dining room or buffet.

 

It's not unusual for tips to be shared...in restaurants, the tips you leave your waiter are generally shared with the bus person, and host/hostess, and sometimes, the bartender. In casinos, tips to your dealer are pooled and shared among all those working a "shift". It's how it works.

[Biker19]

We have not had a good tipping thread in a while, so.......

 

Biker, who likes the math from the OP but should have used $14.50/day.

[RocketMan275]

Tips are not evenly distributed.

BTW, $70 may sound like a big amount but the crew works a 12+hour day...

[A&L_Ont]

We have not had a good tipping thread in a while, so.......

 

Biker, who likes the math from the OP but should have used $14.50/day.

 

Andrew, who likes Biker's way of thinking, and wondering when and how long it will take for this to go sideways.

[LMaxwell]

 

1. What percentage of the crew do you say participates in the gratuity distribution?

2. What percentage of cruisers opt out of the auto gratuity ?

3. What percentage of passengers travel in suites that pay the higher gratuity rate?

 

 

1. I'd guess 30-35%; 50% seems too high per your guess

 

2. Impossible anyone here to say.

 

3. This is easy; go on a site such as Cruisedeckplans.com and it will tell you how many suites are on each ship,balcony, oceanview, inside, etc. You can easily see any given ship how many rooms are suites vs not. That said, those in a suite get a bargain compared to those in non-suite on a percentage basis. It's not uncommon for gratuity to equal, say, 10% of the cruise price for those in an inside, but i doubt it is rarely more than 3% for a suite.

[time4u2go]

Your "baseline 7 day cruise" is really irrelevant. The duration of the cruise doesn't matter. Note that you multiplied by 7 only to divide by 7 later on.

[Jarmo]

I initially read the title of this thread as 'Doing some Meth', the the actual title is a little less interesting.

[grapau27]

We have not had a good tipping thread in a while, so.......

 

Biker, who likes the math from the OP but should have used $14.50/day.

These are always popular threads and interesting to participate in.

[SG65CB]

Interesting analysis. The gratuity is not evenly distributed, your stateroom attendant gets more ofyour gratuity than your waiter, who gets more than your assistant waiter. Of course it is possible a waiter serves more people than an attendant.

[deliver42]

Sounds like somebody else trying to do math to eliminate the DSC. Where have I seen this before?

[LMaxwell]

Sounds like somebody else trying to do math to eliminate the DSC. Where have I seen this before?

 

Where did you get that idea? Why do you jump to be so negative? If someone wants to eliminate it they can, there's no math or discussion necessary. Seems like OP just had a curiosity and is having a discussion.

[molly361]

Ellen who likes Biker and Andrew's thoughts and really has nothing to say (Post Whoring at it's best:halo:)

[katiel53]

I don't know the percentage of cruisers who don't tip or tip less than the recommended amount, but I did want to post what the breakdown of tips comes out to. It is NOT just the wait staff and stewards as some would have you believe.

 

This is from a gentleman from Mr. Bayley's office:

 

Please see the breakdown for the gratuities collected below on a per day basis.

Stateroom Attendant: $3.55 Previously $3.45

Dining Room: $6.25 Previously $6.10

Other Hotel Services: $4.70 Previously $3.95

Total Standard Staterooms: $14.50 Previously $13.50

Stateroom Attendant: $6.20 Previously $6.10

Dining Room: $6.25 Previously $6.10

Other Hotel Services: $5.05 Previously $5.05

Total for Suites: $17.50 Previously $16.50

 

I did want to know where the "other hotel" monies went so he replied with:

The other hotel services include the persons who wash the bed linings as well as whoever cleans balconies or restocks the mini bar. Other hotel services include any additional person other than the stateroom attendant that may attend to any stateroom need.

I did think it was interesting that the person restocking the mini bar gets part of the money as the mini bars are now empty, or at least the ones we've had on Allure were, so no one was restocking. I do know some people may ask for it to be stocked, but I don't know anyone that has had Royal Caribbean fill the mini bar.

[rjrpar]

What is the infatuation with cruise ship wages/tip allocation? Just pay the suggested and enjoy your cruise

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

I did want to know where the "other hotel" monies went so he replied with:

The other hotel services... restocks the mini bar.

 

I thought mini-bar items carried an 18% gratuity already

[time4u2go]

What is the infatuation with cruise ship wages/tip allocation? Just pay the suggested and enjoy your cruise

 

 

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I don't think it's an infatuation. More like a curiosity.

[zdad59]

Where did you get that idea? Why do you jump to be so negative? If someone wants to eliminate it they can, there's no math or discussion necessary. Seems like OP just had a curiosity and is having a discussion.

 

Correct....I'm not trying to start a fire and certainly not trying to start a campaign against the mandatory tips. Actually, I don't believe in tipping, I believe in over tipping.

 

As noted in the original post, my first pass at the math was rough. I guess if anything it shows that the auto tip amount we pay really aren't a lot at the end of the day.

[zdad59]

I don't know the percentage of cruisers who don't tip or tip less than the recommended amount, but I did want to post what the breakdown of tips comes out to. It is NOT just the wait staff and stewards as some would have you believe.

 

This is from a gentleman from Mr. Bayley's office:

 

Please see the breakdown for the gratuities collected below on a per day basis.

 

Stateroom Attendant: $3.55 Previously $3.45

Dining Room: $6.25 Previously $6.10

Other Hotel Services: $4.70 Previously $3.95

 

Total Standard Staterooms: $14.50 Previously $13.50

 

Stateroom Attendant: $6.20 Previously $6.10

Dining Room: $6.25 Previously $6.10

Other Hotel Services: $5.05 Previously $5.05

 

Total for Suites: $17.50 Previously $16.50

 

 

Good stuff.

[zdad59]

What is the infatuation with cruise ship wages/tip allocation? Just pay the suggested and enjoy your cruise

 

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It was just idle math on a cold Pennsylvania day. I can't golf so I had to do something. :D

 

And I happily pay the suggested rate and in fact add to that substantially directly to staff.

[Ken at the beach]

Ellen who likes Biker and Andrew's thoughts and really has nothing to say (Post Whoring at it's best:halo:)

Ken, who concurs with Ellen.

[RocketMan275]

1. I'd guess 30-35%; 50% seems too high per your guess

 

2. Impossible anyone here to say.

 

3. This is easy; go on a site such as Cruisedeckplans.com and it will tell you how many suites are on each ship,balcony, oceanview, inside, etc. You can easily see any given ship how many rooms are suites vs not. That said, those in a suite get a bargain compared to those in non-suite on a percentage basis. It's not uncommon for gratuity to equal, say, 10% of the cruise price for those in an inside, but i doubt it is rarely more than 3% for a suite.

 

It costs the same thing to make the beds in an inside as it does in a suite.

It costs the same thing to serve a passenger's meal in the MDR regardless of whether that passenger is in a suite or not.

That's why it is a fixed amount and not a percentage of the fare.

[Saab4444]

Tips are not evenly distributed.

BTW, $70 may sound like a big amount but the crew works a 12+hour day...

 

 

 

Cabin attendants and restaurant servers work 7 days but average is only 8-9 hours per day. 12+ might apply for some officers but most of them do not get tips.

 

 

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[kingcole]

Anyone know how many cabins a cabin steward typically looks after

[JonRegister]

In casinos, tips to your dealer are pooled and shared among all those working a "shift". It's how it works.

 

 

That is not the case everywhere. At the casinos in FL the dealer tips are the dealers other than 10% that is tips shared between brush carts attendants (9%) and the cash cage staff (1%)

 

 

 

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