Gratuities

[bonni99]

One useful tip for anyone booking is to opt out of the prepaid gratuities by filling in a form at the Purser's office. We did this, preferring to allocate gratuities directly to those who had served us well. After all, we had paid a premium for 'White Star Service' so surely, gratuities should only be allocated when this had been exceeded? Maybe a British point of view as we are not big on tipping in the UK.

 

I have not heard of this before- is this done regularly? Is it just done at the Pursers office? We paid the gratuities and then tipped our cabin stewardess and our two waiters in addition- but we would really have liked to have given them more seeing as they made the most difference to our vacation.

[Happy ks]

There has been much debate on this on every board here on Cruise Critic and other boards. To me, having the gratuities pre-paid on your guset account only makes the whole thing simpler for you. The gratuity is distributed to whoever is deserving, you can add to the amount and personally give cash to your favorite servers or attendants.

 

What bothers me is the statement this person made regarding "already paying a premium for White Star service". Unfortunately, the staff and crew who receive tips are not paid a living wage from the premium cruise fare and depend on the kindness of gratuity for their income. Therefore, the people they do not deem to have exceeded the normal service basically make nothing for whatever service they did provide to this individual.

 

I would prefer for all cruise lines to add the gratuity amount to the fare, or call it a resort fee (non-refundable) and be done with "tipping". Then, the service people would make a decent wage, no one would stiff them their income for the week and a gratuity could be what it is intended to be in the first place, a gift or reward for a job well done.

[Terrence Richards]

I am not sure what you mean by "White Star Service". Are you referring to the shipment of your luggage to the pier and then back home, or is it just a general statement about Cunard's promotional advertising for what is offered.

 

My wife and I have been on eleven cruises with Cunard. The last one was on the Queen Mary 2 from December 8-12, to the Caribbean.

 

Over the years, Cunard has offered several ways for passengers to submit their gratuities to the staff. It went from the envelope only method, to either pre-paying or paying at the end of the cruise, to the present method of being billed on your on board account with the option of lowering or raising the amount. Presently, the gratuities on the QM2 are $11 per day per person for the Britannia Restaurant cabins and $13 per day per person per day for the Grill cabins.

 

The cruise director, Brian Price, explanied the gratuity system during his talk the day before we disembarked in NYC. He explained how the monies are distributed amongst the staff that serve the passengers directly. He stated that if you feel a staff member did something for you in a special way and you wanted to give that person a personal tip, it was up to you. He did say that he was not soliciting more tips for the staff, but it is a question asked of him quite often.

 

I feel that the suggested gratuity charged to your account is a fair amount and it is the best way for we passenger to use. Of course, if all cruise lines paid their staff a better wage, there would be no need for such a system. Some cruise lines do not have a gratuity system, but I am sure the cruise fair is higher.

 

There are still some passengers who need to hand their restaurant waiters, and cabin stewards an envelope, regardless of the amount charged to their account. I think a cruise line just loves that type of passenger. Remember, when you do not wish to be billed for the gratuities and only give it to those you wish, you have cut out many others who served you.

 

Terrence

[travel-to-go]

Since we came from the "handing an envelope on the last night" school, and were originally told (when it was you may do either/or) that the British passengers were automatically billed on their account, due to the lesser tradition of tipping in British culture than in American, I wonder if anyone knows the following:

In the old envelope days, did the recipient have to pool the tips and split them with dishwashers, laundry people, and other behind-the-scenes folks we never knew or knew existed? That is sort of preposterous either way! I don't tip my dry-cleaner, nor do I expect him to tip the people he sends it out to. I expect each to be paid by their employers out of the money they are paid for the service! When I go into a restaurant and tip- maybe extra becasue I really like the server, I do understand that some tips are shared with the bus boy, and such. I don't expect they pool tips with the chef however. The first time tips were included in our tab for the on-board account, was the first time I had heard the biusiness of paying behind-the scenes people who would not ordinarily (on land) expect, nor receive a tip.

Kinda made me wonder what had been happening all of those previous years!

The reason ships are not US registered is that they would have to meet US minimum wage and other laws. For what one pays on a cruise, one would expect the lines to have enough operating expenses to pay their employees a decent wage. I am a technician. I don't expect the people I help to tip me to pay my daily wages. I expect my company to pay me! Otherwise, I'd be a consultant! And based on the fact that tipping ranges anywhere from expected, even demanded in some cultures to a perceived insult in others, I don't think it is fair for the lines to expect their people to be paid by passengers from various cultures which have different expectations! That said, this is the way things are. So we deal with them, and try to be as fair as we can to those who serve us. Unfortunately, knowing each will get a certain share regardless of how we felt about thier service is a disincentive to tip higher, and a slight disincentive to provide better service. If a tip is for better service, how do I know how well a particular dishwasher or launderer did? (beyond dirty clothes or dishes.) much less do anything to affect that!

I once heard the amount of approximately $5.00 a week- was the actual paycheck without tip. It was shocking, to say the least, but confirmed repeatedly, and never was contradicted by anyone. Does anyone know if this is true/still true/ updated, but not by much? I also have a friend who used to be a Maitre D' on Costa. He gave me some figures which seemed not to be corrrect. What he told me sounded too good to be true. I am not sure I believe him for whatever reasons. (I kept saying, this is what they make WITHOUT tips? For a Waiter or BusBoy?) I am not sure he understood my question. Or maybe had a reason to prevaricate on the answer..

 

At any rate, I know it must vary, but does anyone know? I'm sure they are not all getting rich! Then too, they send money home to a land where the cost of living (and expectations) is much lower. And they also have their own room and board (and work clothing and laundry) provided, which is most people's major expenses.

Just curious. It changes the whole subject, depending on those answers!

 

BTW, whatever happened to waterboys, which we tipped $2.50 per person per day? (while a waiter got $5.00 and a busboy $2.50)

 

Karie

[jimneycrkit]

Dishwashers, dry cleaners ,chefs etc do not get any money from the tips . Only the waiters, asst waiters, stewards, maitre 'd and in some cases butlers get tips. The bartenders also get tips which are automatically added to your bill when you pay. The bartenders tips are pooled together from all the drinks on board ship during the week and then split with the bartenders and barbacks. They make pretty good money. Their salary is according to what they do and how long they have been in service with the line.The auto tips that are left on are kept track of and then the steward for instance gets his share for his cabins. If someone takes the tips off and they get tipped on the side then they have to report the tips and those are pooled. If you tip extra in addition to the auto tips , they report those tips and after it assured that they had the auto tips left on they get to keep the money personally.The weekely salary is again based on senority, length of service and and type of cabins or in the case of the QM2 class.Tips are only for those that serve you directly.They have a list each week given to them who has left on their tips and who has taken them off.The weekly salary averages 250.00 a week plus all their extras such as room and board, clothing, cheap drinks in their own bar. They get paid fairly well but its the very long hours thats the real bummer. But they do have time off and have parties and fun.I have several friends that have previously worked on ships.

[jbailey]

As a person who worked as a waitress briefly in college, I have always been a generous tipper, although I also would prefer that the tipping system be eliminated.

 

In any case, I always tip an amount on the first day of the cruise to the cabin steward with the promise of an additional extra tip at the end for exceptional service. I received that exceptional service on QE2 on the two crossings I made, but not on HAL's Rotterdam, where I was sorry I had given the extra tip. I gave an extra tip at the end in Caronia but not in Mauretania, based on the service received in each.

 

I think in almost every case, the ship's staff works very hard and long hours and deserves not only consideration in terms of respect but also a little extra financial reward.

[travel-to-go]

As a person who worked as a waitress briefly in college, I have always been a generous tipper, although I also would prefer that the tipping system be eliminated.

 

In any case, I always tip an amount on the first day of the cruise to the cabin steward with the promise of an additional extra tip at the end for exceptional service. I received that exceptional service on QE2 on the two crossings I made, but not on HAL's Rotterdam, where I was sorry I had given the extra tip. I gave an extra tip at the end in Caronia but not in Mauretania, based on the service received in each.

 

I think in almost every case, the ship's staff works very hard and long hours and deserves not only consideration in terms of respect but also a little extra financial reward.

 

Knowing they make a little better base salary than I had been previously informed makes me feel a little better. And yes, they catch their sleep in two hour bits. Especially those in the wait staff covering the three meals, (with two seatings) plus High Tea, and often midnight buffet.

 

J Bailey, you said you often tip a little extra first day out? I am curious. How much extra? Like ten dollars? And how did you handle that? I like that idea. First, because I want them to know up front that I will not stiff them. As for the HAL ship, not sure when you went. Last year we did the Christmas cruise in a Deluxe Verandah suite. The service wasn't as good as we were used to, but it was not our steward's fault. They were servicing three times the number of rooms in the same time frame as they used to. Also the wait staff said the same thing. All were very apologetic and did a good job, but it was a pain not knowing when your room would be made up in the morning, especially if you wanted to do things in the room. Then you had to be inconvenienced and leave or stay out on the verandah or something so they could work. It's nice to go to a long leisure breakfast and maybe tea on the upper deck and come back to find the room done,and you can relax and not wait for that knock on the door. There were times our room was not made up til after lunch! We would have spent more on drinks at dinner if there had been someone around to take an order from us! They were flat out the entire time. No hovering with the water pitcher! And as I remember, years ago, there were three persons waiting your table. Bus boy, what was then called the water boy, and your waiter. Plus the sommelier and the Maitre D' usually came around a time or two. There was more than one head waiter for the room. Things have changed. Whether strictly due to Mickey Arison, or the realities of the market place.

 

Still, it's better than being at work!

[Happy ks]

I've never pre-tipped and never will. I also worked in a job where I received tips and I would have been embarrassed to be tipped in advance!

 

I'd be abit worried, unless the cabin attendant really understood that it was additional, they would feel like that is all they are getting for the week. We've always received great service no matter what ship we've been on, without a bribe. Even in the lowly inside cabins we've sometimes booked.

 

Our latest little cruise was a weekend getaway with family/friends. After reading some of the boards, I was prepared for a lesser quality of service than what we've received in the past. Fortunately I was wrong, we had marvelous servers, friendly attendants and helpful guest relations when we had a slight problem.

 

I've come to the conclusion that if you are a happy, smiling person with a kind word, you will get the best from anyone you are requesting assistance from.

[Kindlychap]

The reason ships are not US registered is that they would have to meet US minimum wage and other laws. For what one pays on a cruise, one would expect the lines to have enough operating expenses to pay their employees a decent wage.

 

Don't be so dismissive of other countries, who also have minimum wages and similar legislation.