Am I tipping too much?

[Gonzo70]

These fess are stealing and should be removed. If you want to tip or give gratuities give directly to the staff members you want.

 

Your posts on this topic have to be among the most asinine and ridiculous I have ever seen on Cruise Critic. You are the one who is stealing and turning the hard-working staff into your personal slaves. The system is what it is; while if you dislike the system you are certainly entitled to that opinion and entitled to express your desire to Celebrity to change the system - but to not pay the gratuities is to punish the staff because you disagree with Celebrity's policy. If you feel so strongly against tipping you should not sail on Celebrity or lines where nearly all the staff's compensation comes from tipping. Truly sickening comments and behavior you seem to be bragging about. :mad::(:rolleyes:

[Bo1953]

Don't make statements that are false, it always will blow up in your face. I think I am the most vocal person in this thread against daily service fees being called and marketed as gratuities. And I'm a American born and raised in the United States.... Many more of us out here than you think most just don't waste their time and post about it. These fess are stealing and should be removed. If you want to tip or give gratuities give directly to the staff members you want.

 

Actually, I did cover my bases by indicating that Americans are in the pool as well.... which statement(s) do you dis-agree with?

 

Not sure how you verify that the gratuities are being stolen or not or is this a hunch or conjecture, please present your supporting info accordingly.

 

For many of us the terms gratuities and tips are interchangeable based on the entity/person we are paying them to/for so I will let you get bogged down in definitions that support your positions on this topic. For many of us, it is not an issue either as we tip more if the service was exemplary and not less.

 

You are definitely very vocal about this, to be sure, as are others are polite and low-keyed on this topic too.

 

Yes, you are an Ex-Pat, now we know...

 

bon voyage

[Gracie115]

What is despicable is overpaying and allowing anyone to pick your pockets. Give away your own money if you want, but don't come after others monies or you could have a problem.

 

 

Since you think it's such a horrible policy why not either NOT cruise on lines that do this or find some other mode of vacation rather than hurting the employees that work so hard to make your vacation wonderful. THEY ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES to be used in your protest against a STATED policy when you booked your trip....very sad....

[C-Dragons]

And this in itself is a reason never to agree to daily auto gratuities. You do not know who is getting paid and the level of service goes down. Again now said for the hundredth time, I want to know who is tipped and control the amount they get.

Simple. Go to Guest Relations.

They will print out a list of exactly who gets your gratuities and how much they are paid per day.

[Blockschip]

Both the restaurant and the server would be tipped in such a scenario.

 

 

Mandatory gratuities/tips/service charges in the US are considered revenue for the restaurant and therefore they are obligated to pay taxes on that amount. If a gratuity is mandatory, the restaurant also can do whatever they want with the money - give it all to the severs, keep some/all for itself and/or tip some back-of-the-house staff (cooks, chefs) who often receive much, much less pay than front-of-the-house (waiters). If a tip is not mandatory, the restaurant does not pay tax on any money left and 100% is required to be allotted to front-of-the-house staff.

 

 

Some upscale restaurants do mandatory tips (often paid at the time you make the reservation - rather than after your meal) with the purpose of having more parity in pay between front-of-house and back-of-house. While this makes it easier to hire and retain cooks/chefs (as they end up getting paid more than they would otherwise), it can be more difficult for them to hire and retain servers. Other restaurants have a mandatory gratuity for larger parties (to prevent a server from being stiffed as the large party may be one of their only tables for a period of time); when the customer is not allowed to remove this gratuity, legally the restaurant must report it as income (and be taxed on it) even if they pass it all on to the server (who also must declare whatever amount is passed on to them for tax purposes).

 

 

I'm not sure that this statement is accurate: "Mandatory gratuities/tips/service charges in the US are considered revenue for the restaurant and therefore they are obligated to pay taxes on that amount."

 

For income tax purposes, the gratuity/tip/service charge would be revenue to the restaurant, but they would also have an offsetting expense for the amount given to the employee, and that amount of the expense would not be subject to income taxes. For employer payroll tax purposes, the employer withholds payroll taxes and pays the employer portion of FICA whether the tip is received directly by the employee or passed-through the employer.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Your posts on this topic have to be among the most asinine and ridiculous I have ever seen on Cruise Critic. You are the one who is stealing and turning the hard-working staff into your personal slaves. The system is what it is; while if you dislike the system you are certainly entitled to that opinion and entitled to express your desire to Celebrity to change the system - but to not pay the gratuities is to punish the staff because you disagree with Celebrity's policy. If you feel so strongly against tipping you should not sail on Celebrity or lines where nearly all the staff's compensation comes from tipping. Truly sickening comments and behavior you seem to be bragging about. :mad::(:rolleyes:

 

(y)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I have a question for you all - when we (any of us) tip a waiter/steward etc - do they get to keep the whole amount? I have read somewhere that they must put everything into a kitty to be divvied up ? In this case you are not remunerating the person you want to

 

Providing you leave the auto tips/gratuities/whatever in place, the person you give the extra cash to may keep it. If you remove them, the workers are to turn in those extra gratuities to the pool to make up for the shortfall.

There are some venues where all the workers have agreed to pool the extra tips. In Luminae, for example, this makes sense, as everyone in the dining room works to make sure you have an excellent experience.

[excitedofharpenden]

Since you think it's such a horrible policy why not either NOT cruise on lines that do this or find some other mode of vacation rather than hurting the employees that work so hard to make your vacation wonderful. THEY ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES to be used in your protest against a STATED policy when you booked your trip....very sad....

This poster is an expat US citizen living in the Philippines. I have met a LOT of people working on cruise ships who are Filipino. I don't know whether the outspoken nature of this poster's comments are in spite of this or because of it, but fortunately these types of people are rare and don't really deserve time or space explaining or trying to convince because you never will.

 

Phil

[C-Dragons]

This poster is an expat US citizen living in the Philippines. I have met a LOT of people working on cruise ships who are Filipino. I don't know whether the outspoken nature of this poster's comments are in spite of this or because of it, but fortunately these types of people are rare and don't really deserve time or space explaining or trying to convince because you never will.

 

Phil

Your point is well taken, Phil. But I find the comments of this particular poster not only disturbing but quite sad as well.

Over the years we have come to know many of the staff very well, and I'm sure you have too. They're decent hardworking people and they sacrifice a great deal to give their families a good life.

For anyone to take away part of their income, and encourage others to do the same, is petty and vindictive in my opinion.

[excitedofharpenden]

Your point is well taken, Phil. But I find the comments of this particular poster not only disturbing but quite sad as well.

Over the years we have come to know many of the staff very well, and I'm sure you have too. They're decent hardworking people and they sacrifice a great deal to give their families a good life.

For anyone to take away part of their income, and encourage others to do the same, is petty and vindictive in my opinion.

Sherry, I think it’s horrible, but thankfully it’s a minority view and people reading here will see it hopefully for what it is.

 

Phil

[mom says]

Your posts on this topic have to be among the most asinine and ridiculous I have ever seen on Cruise Critic. You are the one who is stealing and turning the hard-working staff into your personal slaves. The system is what it is; while if you dislike the system you are certainly entitled to that opinion and entitled to express your desire to Celebrity to change the system - but to not pay the gratuities is to punish the staff because you disagree with Celebrity's policy. If you feel so strongly against tipping you should not sail on Celebrity or lines where nearly all the staff's compensation comes from tipping. Truly sickening comments and behavior you seem to be bragging about. :mad::(:rolleyes:

 

Since you think it's such a horrible policy why not either NOT cruise on lines that do this or find some other mode of vacation rather than hurting the employees that work so hard to make your vacation wonderful. THEY ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES to be used in your protest against a STATED policy when you booked your trip....very sad....

 

Well said, both of you. (y)(y)

[sanger727]

Both the restaurant and the server would be tipped in such a scenario.

 

 

 

 

 

Mandatory gratuities/tips/service charges in the US are considered revenue for the restaurant and therefore they are obligated to pay taxes on that amount. If a gratuity is mandatory, the restaurant also can do whatever they want with the money - give it all to the severs, keep some/all for itself and/or tip some back-of-the-house staff (cooks, chefs) who often receive much, much less pay than front-of-the-house (waiters). If a tip is not mandatory, the restaurant does not pay tax on any money left and 100% is required to be allotted to front-of-the-house staff.

 

 

 

).

 

 

 

I worked at a restaurant that did auto tips on large parties and this was not my experience. From the servers perspective, they were certainly my tips. None went to the restaurant to be allocated. In fact, the way we did it, it was actually serves discretion. We reserved the right to charge them on parties 8 and over, but there’s no way for the computer to automatically know when you have a party that large. As a server you had to request that a manager apply them. Obviously no server would do that unless they got 100% of the tips.,

 

 

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[Gonzo70]

I'm not sure that this statement is accurate: "Mandatory gratuities/tips/service charges in the US are considered revenue for the restaurant and therefore they are obligated to pay taxes on that amount."

 

For income tax purposes, the gratuity/tip/service charge would be revenue to the restaurant, but they would also have an offsetting expense for the amount given to the employee, and that amount of the expense would not be subject to income taxes. For employer payroll tax purposes, the employer withholds payroll taxes and pays the employer portion of FICA whether the tip is received directly by the employee or passed-through the employer.

 

You are correct, what I meant to say was that mandatory gratuities at restaurants are subject to sales taxes. This is not a federal law, but one some states enact - such as my home state: http://www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article183949741.html

 

Also, the IRS treats the money differently if it is a voluntary vs. mandatory gratuity:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tips-versus-service-charges-how-to-report

Edited March 29, 2018 by Gonzo70

[Kiwifromkiev]

Providing you leave the auto tips/gratuities/whatever in place, the person you give the extra cash to may keep it. If you remove them, the workers are to turn in those extra gratuities to the pool to make up for the shortfall.

 

 

 

There are some venues where all the workers have agreed to pool the extra tips. In Luminae, for example, this makes sense, as everyone in the dining room works to make sure you have an excellent experience.

 

 

 

 

 

But how do the person you tip knows that you removed gratuities (not that I would, just in general terms) ?

 

 

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[Kiwifromkiev]

What is despicable is overpaying and allowing anyone to pick your pockets. Give away your own money if you want, but don't come after others monies or you could have a problem.

 

 

 

Have you considered anger management- this almost sounds as a threat!

 

 

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[Kiwifromkiev]

And this in itself is a reason never to agree to daily auto gratuities. You do not know who is getting paid and the level of service goes down. Again now said for the hundredth time, I want to know who is tipped and control the amount they get.

 

 

 

There are many people behind the scenes - kitchen, laundry, cleaners etc who would never get a tip if it was not for the gratuities. This is exactly why the pooling is introduced . You are a despicable and a mean person lobbying to take bread out of mouths of people who make your holidays worry free. Shame on you!

 

 

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[fizzy1]

Ted..... I think it’s great that you tip well.... but are we missing the whole point of pre paying our tips... I love the fact that we no longer have those little envelopes to deal with at the end of the cruise and love that I don’t have to carry money on me while hanging out at pool or having tea or drinks at the Cafe...

We only tip for room service and sometimes if that certain person goes above and beyond...

Looking forward to another great cruise this weekend with all expenses taken care of before we get on the ship.

 

 

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We do the same

 

 

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[MixerDave]

Yes, all restaurant tips in the US are 'supposed' to be reported & taxed. But when a wait person receives a cash tip ... it's an 'invisible' tip. Hence, I ALWAYS tip restaurant wait staff in cash.

 

I was is the business for 25 years. Try to explain "supposed" to be reported, after an IRS audit of a restaurant. A place I worked was audited. The IRS totaled up the charge tips. Let's say it was 20%. They then assume cash sales were tipped at 18%. If employees did not declare enough, the IRS "allocated" tips to all employees, even those who did declare enough.

 

Take a look at your W-2 form - you will see a box for allocated tips. This number becomes income, even if the server was honest.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

But how do the person you tip knows that you removed gratuities (not that I would, just in general terms) ?

 

Because the ship publishes the list for the crew so they know if they may keep their additional cash tips or not. They are expected to turn them in if the auto tips/gratuities/whatever have been removed.

[Kiwifromkiev]

Because the ship publishes the list for the crew so they know if they may keep their additional cash tips or not. They are expected to turn them in if the auto tips/gratuities/whatever have been removed.

 

 

 

Thank you. I am glad if this is true because we were a little put off (although still tipped) by this motion of everything being turned in for being shared. Once again, I am grateful you’ve explained it.

[Kiwifromkiev]

To the TS

I think you tip very, very generously! I also think that it is not in everybody’s budget to tip at the same level and some people can afford to but don’t for various reasons which can probably all be summed up as they don’t want to.

I would love to have a guideline what is an appropriate level - to use as a benchmark. For example, bus touring companies in Europe, such as Insight Vacations, always give you an idea on what is an appropriate/expected level for tipping your tour director, driver and sometimes also for local guides, on a daily basis. This is about 5 Euros for a TD and 2-3 Euros for a driver and they both spend almost all day with the group. We always prepay gratuities for the tour as we have this option in NZ and Aussie , however we also always tip them extra as well and this extra depends on their service etc. (Despite already prepaid gratuities we have always tipped well above the recommended per diem as their service, knowledge and driving skills were second to none and they truly went above and beyond.)

 

Someone mentioned above that we can get a list of how gratuities are divided amongst the staff. Next time we are cruising, I will ask for one and will use this as a rough guide for extra tipping.

 

 

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[Kiwifromkiev]

I was is the business for 25 years. Try to explain "supposed" to be reported, after an IRS audit of a restaurant. A place I worked was audited. The IRS totaled up the charge tips. Let's say it was 20%. They then assume cash sales were tipped at 18%. If employees did not declare enough, the IRS "allocated" tips to all employees, even those who did declare enough.

 

 

 

Take a look at your W-2 form - you will see a box for allocated tips. This number becomes income, even if the server was honest.

 

 

 

About 15 years ago we were on our first visit to SF. We had an early dinner (having only just arrived and “cleaned up”) are a lovely restaurant, fairly upmarket, by the sea. As it was too early and not yet busy, the waitress spent a great deal of time chatting to us. Amongst other things, we asked her about tipping for in NZ even now it is not really common (the stuff are paid at least a set min wage) and was almost unheard of 15 years ago. The girl explained that she is taxed on a certain percentage (can’t remember for sure 15% or 20%) of the transactions she puts thorough this is tax on deemed earnings. I was both mortified and intrigued (as I specialise in International Taxation). Interestingly, at the end of that dinner we gave her a tip and she initially was not prepared to take it for she knew form other tourist that NZers generally did not tip. Needless to say we insisted :) since then we always remember this lesson a and tip accordingly

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

T

 

Someone mentioned above that we can get a list of how gratuities are divided amongst the staff. Next time we are cruising, I will ask for one and will use this as a rough guide for extra tipping.

 

I've seen that information somewhere, but don't remember where. A search of Celebrity's alleged website just throws up special offers that include gratuities. Before they recently raised the gratuity amount, it was $3.50/day each for your cabin attendant and your waiter. Can't remember what the other amounts were.

[ralphd]

No one is stealing money from you. It is you who is stealing money from hard working people by removing the gratuities/tips/whatever. That is their compensation. I hope it gives you great satisfaction to be "right" about your definition. And I'm sorry for the people who have the misfortune to have to serve you when you're on a cruise.

 

Agree!