Question about additional tipping

[PJB3]

So in past cruises I have left the usual $13.50pp (or whatever the amount was at that time) but then occasionally gave extra money to a few employees who really went out of their way to make our vacation special. I'm a little confused by some threads about whether or not this person gets to keep the money that was intended for them or do they have to put this additional tip into the pool? If they don't get to keep it would there be better ideas for additional tipping, i.e gift cards?

[Host CJSKIDS]

As long as you leave the auto-gratuity on, the crew member gets to keep any extra money that you give them.

[moki'smommy]

My understanding is as above--if you paid the auto gratuity in full for the room category you were in, the person can keep any extra money you give. If you reduced or didn't pay the auto grat, they have to turn it into the pool up to the amount that you reduced the pool.

[cruzsnooze]

This has been beaten to death and there is only ONE truthful answer WE DON"T KNOW and Princess chooses not to divulge this information where your tips go. At least at home when I leave the usual 15 - 20% in a restaurant I know the server gets it.

[moki'smommy]

This has been beaten to death and there is only ONE truthful answer WE DON"T KNOW and Princess chooses not to divulge this information where your tips go. At least at home when I leave the usual 15 - 20% in a restaurant I know the server gets it.

You know they get it, but you don't know what the restaurant's policy is about them tipping out "behind the scenes" people, etc. You don't know how much of it they get to keep!

[Lucky TGO]

As long as you leave the auto-gratuity on, the crew member gets to keep any extra money that you give them.

 

This is what we are led to believe I hope it’s true.

Tony

[geoherb]

This has been beaten to death and there is only ONE truthful answer WE DON"T KNOW and Princess chooses not to divulge this information where your tips go. At least at home when I leave the usual 15 - 20% in a restaurant I know the server gets it.

"Tip pooling" is legal in most states. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would allow employers to change the way tip pools work--allowing employers to use part of the tips to pay behind-the-scenes workers such as cooks and dishwashers with tips. The only saving grace of this proposal is that employers would be required to pay the full minimum wage to all employees and not be allowed to take the tip credit that they currently can take (paying as little as $2.13 an hour to tipped employees as long as they certify that the employee earned at least enough in tips to make up the difference).

[Host CJSKIDS]

This has been beaten to death and there is only ONE truthful answer WE DON"T KNOW and Princess chooses not to divulge this information where your tips go. At least at home when I leave the usual 15 - 20% in a restaurant I know the server gets it.

 

Wouldn't be too sure of that at all. Many restaurants keep some of the tips. My son worked at a restaurant while in college and they got sued because it turns out they were keeping tips from the employees. Happens all the time.

 

I've always been told that they get to keep it when talking with senior crew or officers. Of course they could be telling me what I want to hear but until I hear differently, I would like to believe the crew gets to keep the tips on Princess.

[dreaminofcruisin]

Other threads have indicated and we have been asked by the people we are handing extra tips to....you need to tell them your cabin number as apparently they have to check and see if you left the full tip amount on your account before they can keep the extra tip.

They are usually extremely grateful for the extra tips even if small.

:cool:

[Pam in CA]

The way it works is: All tips are handed in to supervisors. If the tip giver is identified as leaving the full auto-tip on, the additional tip is returned to the staffer. If the giver isn’t identified or has removed or reduced the auto-tip, then anything given directly to the staffer goes into the tipping pool. This is why it’s always better to give any tip in an envelope with your name and cabin number on it. If you think you’re doing them a favor by slipping them cash, think again. If they can’t identify you, it’ll go into the pool.

[joybook]

Once again we are getting a variety of opinions and while I recognise that there are considerably more experienced cruisers here than me, my information is different again. Some few cruises ago I had a discussion with a crew member about this subject (yes it was on a Princess ship and no it was not an Australian based ship) and the crew member informed me that it makes no difference if the auto-tips are left on or removed. If cash is given to a crew member it must be handed in (for the pool) or if the crew member is found out not handing it in that crew member faces instant dismissal. I don't know what the facts are as Princess will not clearly explain it but all I can do is repeat what I was told by a member of the crew.

[GUT2407]

The contract says all cash must be handed in, its silent on what then happens, many have an opinion, no one knows for certain.

[GUT2407]

Once again we are getting a variety of opinions and while I recognise that there are considerably more experienced cruisers here than me, my information is different again. Some few cruises ago I had a discussion with a crew member about this subject (yes it was on a Princess ship and no it was not an Australian based ship) and the crew member informed me that it makes no difference if the auto-tips are left on or removed. If cash is given to a crew member it must be handed in (for the pool) or if the crew member is found out not handing it in that crew member faces instant dismissal. I don't know what the facts are as Princess will not clearly explain it but all I can do is repeat what I was told by a member of the crew.

 

 

That is certainly what the contract says, it doesn’t say what happens then, many interpret it in a way that suits their ideas.

[satxdiver]

Another endless discussion this time about tips. None of us know the answer since Princess is mum on the tip policy. I just hope that Princess is fair about the distribution and does not keep any back. Local restaurants have been known to do that.

 

If you really want to tip someone who has done a great job, write a glowing report on the questionnaire Princess sends to you after the cruise. Be sure to put in actual instances of how the crew member made your cruise better. This helps them get promoted and is much nicer than some monetary tip.

[antsp]

Don’t forget the tip pool is the entire Princess fleet, not just the ship you are sailing on

[keithm]

"Tip pooling" is legal in most states. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would allow employers to change the way tip pools work--allowing employers to use part of the tips to pay behind-the-scenes workers such as cooks and dishwashers with tips. The only saving grace of this proposal is that employers would be required to pay the full minimum wage to all employees and not be allowed to take the tip credit that they currently can take (paying as little as $2.13 an hour to tipped employees as long as they certify that the employee earned at least enough in tips to make up the difference).

In our food service bus. We apply a 20% service charge. This ensures the staff that assist everyone else gets a decent salary. Our dishwashers don't get less than $12/hr. We don't live in NY or other high price districts, so it's a decent wage. Our servers on average make over $16/hr.(not including tips)It's the old adage you get what you pay for. Obviously servers with several years experience, make more than those who've been with us less than a year.

[keithm]

This is what we are led to believe I hope it’s true.

Tony

In talking with staff (on all the lines we've cruised)We've always been told as long as the auto tip is left on (and not screwed around with)any additional cash is theirs to keep.

[joybook]

keithm - you will see that your information differs from mine even though we have both talked to crew. We will never ever get to the bottom of this and get the truth until Princess 'come onboard' and give us the facts. I doubt that will ever happen.

[pablo222]

. At least at home when I leave the usual 15 - 20% in a restaurant I know the server gets it.

 

Except when they have to tip-out the host/hostess, or they get no customers seated in their section...

 

Or, a thousand other things...

[johnandlinda]

Interesting conversation as we had no idea that extras went to a pool! We only tip extra as a special thank you to those who went above and beyond the norm, so now Im rethinking if it even makes sense?

[keithm]

keithm - you will see that your information differs from mine even though we have both talked to crew. We will never ever get to the bottom of this and get the truth until Princess 'come onboard' and give us the facts. I doubt that will ever happen.

I have talked to crew members on Cunard/Celebrity/Princess/Oceania. I got the same response from all those lines. If it varied, I'd agree, but I got the same answers from crews on all those lines. The other one I love is how "empty" the MDR is on the last night of the cruise. Gee, I wonder why that is? Yes, I'm sure some are just grabbing a quick bite, but I think we all know the "rest" are skipping out so they won't have to worry about giving a little extra to the staff who worked so hard to make their trip so enjoyable. Really gives you a feeling about how cheap some pax can be. Please don't anyone support their decision, it will reflect on "you" personally.(Not you, Joybook)I'm referring to those reading the post!

[Cobraman]

I have talked to crew members on Cunard/Celebrity/Princess/Oceania. I got the same response from all those lines. If it varied, I'd agree, but I got the same answers from crews on all those lines. The other one I love is how "empty" the MDR is on the last night of the cruise. Gee, I wonder why that is? Yes, I'm sure some are just grabbing a quick bite, but I think we all know the "rest" are skipping out so they won't have to worry about giving a little extra to the staff who worked so hard to make their trip so enjoyable. Really gives you a feeling about how cheap some pax can be. Please don't anyone support their decision, it will reflect on "you" personally.(Not you, Joybook)I'm referring to those reading the post!

 

We stopped tipping the MDR waitstaff years ago. Princess implemented the "cashless cruising" policy to eliminate the cumbersome tipping process, So if one chooses to utilize it (as we do) then tipping additionally is not warranted and only serves to spawn these endless threads. I realize many here feel obligated to tip each and every crew member they come in contact with, but the auto gratuity was designed to relieve passenger anxiety over who to tip and who not to. I can support an additional tip for a crew member who goes above and beyond; however in all our years Of cruising I can count those instances on one hand. The vast majority are simply doing their job, which is covered by the auto gratuity.

[riffatsea]

It is difficult to picture all crew members handing in extra tip money to be pooled with their fellow workers. We rarely wait until the last night to hand out extras to those with whom we have enjoyed their extra efforts! We give it very quietly so no one else is around to see in case they feel slighted. I cannot imagine that this tip money is shared. Who would know they have it??

[moki'smommy]

Exactly as above--since I've paid the autogratuity in full, I feel no obligation to give an additional tip. The point of the autogratuity is that Princess has defined and collected what the appropriate tip is. This is not a small amount. On our last cruise, it came to 14% of what I paid for the cruise, including all taxes, etc. Our tips came to just under $500 for 10 nights.

 

Interestingly, my young adult daughter witnessed the tipping in the MDR and questioned whether I/we should be tipping. I explained the system to her and that there would be no more on top of what was already paid.

 

I've paid for my cruise. I've paid my "expected" tips thru the automatic system. The crew is not a charity that I choose for my donations. Sorry if that is offensive.

[cruzsnooze]

Wouldn't be too sure of that at all. Many restaurants keep some of the tips. My son worked at a restaurant while in college and they got sued because it turns out they were keeping tips from the employees. Happens all the time.

 

I've always been told that they get to keep it when talking with senior crew or officers. Of course they could be telling me what I want to hear but until I hear differently, I would like to believe the crew gets to keep the tips on Princess.

I was aware that servers at some restaurants tip out the bus people but never knew the restaurant kept any of the tips, that is unfortunate.

On a Celebrity cruise I went to guest services to ask how gratuity's are distributed and was given a WRITTEN breakdown which I appreciated. For Princess I am relying on a friend at Corporate who tells me the tips are pooled fleet wide and distributed by seniority, length of service and survey results and some other criteria. That formula is not proportionate to what we leave via the auto tips because the tip pool pays for employee incentive programs and employee of the month and employee parties and celebrations. I personally preferred it when we paid cash to our servers on the last night because I knew I was putting the cash into the hand who earned it, now I don't believe that to be true. I'm told RCL keeps a 10% administration fee for collecting and administering the gratuity and suspect Princess does similar, it does cost them labor to do all the book keeping and accounting.

I believe the crew tells us their sob story in hopes to extract more from us, like having to leave the auto gratuity intact before they keep any cash you give them. The bottom line is Nobody knows and I am uncomfortable with that. I leave what I feel is appropriate which is my prerogative and in line with the policy that gratuity's are at the passengers discretion.

If Princess wants to clear this up I'd be all ears.