Question related to Pre-paid Tips

[ipeeinthepool]

28 minutes ago, rubydoobydoo said:

So will the waiters still get paid the same if tips are removed assuming they get a good score

I was under the impression that he would still get his full wage from celebrity whether I removed tips or not

and then if I gave him cash he would infact be getting extra 

 

 

 

Yes if you remove prepaid tips on your cruise and give the waiter more than the amount he would get with prepaid tips, he will get more.   The waiter has two parts to his income.  Basic wage and tips.  The point of my response is that the survey results do matter for future cruises for the waiter.  If the waiter gets poor survey results, he may lose tables and fewer tables means less tip income.  It's always been my impression that the basic wage isn't affected by survey results.

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity pays a wage to the wait staff.  It is low by most standards because it is assumed that they will be receiving gratuities on top of that.  The best way to make sure that they do, is to leave the auto-tips in place.  And if you are especially pleased with the service, you can give an extra tip in cash on top of that, which the waiter will be able to keep.

 

When you remove the auto-tips, there are a couple of hidden consequences you may not be aware of.  First, the supervisory staff assumes that you did so because you are not pleased with the service, and this becomes a black mark against the staff.  Second, any cash tips you give them must be turned over by them into the tip pool.  They are not allowed to just pocket that cash.  

 

As to the ratings, they are primarily used as an evaluative tool, and not as a means of deciding their compensation.  

 

Finally, if you really felt that service went above and beyond, please write an "attention to detail" card, or whatever the ship is calling it these days, naming that employee.  Where the ratings go to Miami, the cards are seen immediately by the supervisors on the ship.  They are used to give bonuses, extra time off, and other rewards to the employees, some of which are prized more than cash.

[Wine-O]

2 hours ago, rubydoobydoo said:

So will the waiters still get paid the same if tips are removed assuming they get a good score

I was under the impression that he would still get his full wage from celebrity whether I removed tips or not

and then if I gave him cash he would infact be getting extra 

 

 

If you remove automatic tips and give him cash instead, you are probably screwing him because he has to put the cash into the pool to be shared with others.  He would probably be getting less than if you leave on the auto tips.

 

Leaving envelopes in the stateroom with names on envelopes with tips is probably not a good idea, in my opinion.  They may not get to their intended person.    If you still wish to remove the auto tips, give the envelopes in person to whom they are intended.  That way it won't go into someone else's pocket, if you get my drift.  

[rubydoobydoo]

30 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

If you remove automatic tips and give him cash instead, you are probably screwing him because he has to put the cash into the pool to be shared with others.  He would probably be getting less than if you leave on the auto tips.

 

Leaving envelopes in the stateroom with names on envelopes with tips is probably not a good idea, in my opinion.  They may not get to their intended person.    If you still wish to remove the auto tips, give the envelopes in person to whom they are intended.  That way it won't go into someone else's pocket, if you get my drift.  

We didn’t leave the envelopes in the cabin the empty envelopes were left on the bed for us with the amount we had to put in each envelope

and who it was going to, we then handed them out personally along with the extra cash tips we wanted to hand out 

 

I didn’t realise they had to hand over all cash tips, that seems very unfair as you tip extra cash to those you want to receive it, not for celebrity to decide 

 

 

[Wine-O]

8 minutes ago, rubydoobydoo said:

 

I didn’t realise they had to hand over all cash tips, that seems very unfair as you tip extra cash to those you want to receive it, not for celebrity to decide 

 

 

If you remove auto tips, they have to turn in anything you give them for the pool.  If you leave on auto tips, they get to keep anything extra that you give them.  Everyone knows who removes tips.  

[rubydoobydoo]

14 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

If you remove auto tips, they have to turn in anything you give them for the pool.  If you leave on auto tips, they get to keep anything extra that you give them.  Everyone knows who removes tips.  

I feel really bad now, I thought I was doing them a favour, we actually asked if it was better for them I’d we paid them in cash and

he said it was as he got paid anyway even if we removed tips, or that’s what we thought he meant 

 

 

[cruisestitch]

the other problem with attempting to give money directly is that it is quite easy to overlook someone, or not be able to find them when you go looking for them.  I once had a situation where my stateroom attendant actually was either in his stateroom or was in the medical center on the last day of the cruise.  (He had dislocated his shoulder, according to his substitute.) Getting him his envelope would have been difficult.  Another time, my waiter was unexpectedly moved to another station to cover for someone.  I was glad I didn't have to search for him.  The auto tips covered it.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, rubydoobydoo said:

I feel really bad now, I thought I was doing them a favour, we actually asked if it was better for them I’d we paid them in cash and

he said it was as he got paid anyway even if we removed tips, or that’s what we thought he meant 

 

 

 

Don't feel bad.  He said he preferred cash and that is what you did.  I don't do it that way (remove tips & give cash)  but have also had conversations with staff on Celebrity that cash is preferred.  

[Wine-O]

5 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Don't feel bad.  He said he preferred cash and that is what you did.  I don't do it that way (remove tips & give cash)  but have also had conversations with staff on Celebrity that cash is preferred.  

There seems to be so many "he said, she said" with regard to tipping, and  "do this and don't do that."    Rule of Thumb -- leave on the Auto gratuities and if you have pre-paid gratuities, leave extra in cash to a particular person as you see fit.

 

Additionally, if you leave auto grats and have a lot of non-refundable OBC, you can go to guest services and fill out a form to give extra gratuity to any person as you see fit, using your on board account.

[ldubs]

23 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

There seems to be so many "he said, she said" with regard to tipping, and  "do this and don't do that."    Rule of Thumb -- leave on the Auto gratuities and if you have pre-paid gratuities, leave extra in cash to a particular person as you see fit.

 

Additionally, if you leave auto grats and have a lot of non-refundable OBC, you can go to guest services and fill out a form to give extra gratuity to any person as you see fit, using your on board account.

 

Well, I agree with you and practice the same approach.   In the case of the previous poster, he/she had been told directly by the crew person that a cash tip was preferred.  So why should they feel bad doing what the crew wanted as opposed to what is said on CC -- that was my point.  For whatever it is worth . . . . 

[Marelaine]

On 11/24/2018 at 5:38 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

Do many people tip the waiters in the Select Dining at the end of the cruise?  If we have the same waiter most of the nights we will usually tip a little extra.   However on the last couple of cruises, the waiters have almost seemed shocked that anyone would tip any extra.  Any thoughts?

When we click with a waiter, we request to be seated in his/her section every night. In that case, we give a cash tip on the last night, in addition to the auto-grats that we leave in place. There was one cruise where we moved around quite a bit in Select dining. We didn't tip extra that time.

 

On 11/23/2018 at 4:32 PM, Manchester is blue said:

If you are tipping staff prior to them even giving you service, in order to ensure that you get better service than fellow passengers, by definition you are hoping to deprive others of service / staffs time, in order to monopolise that time / service for your self.

If we all resorted to the same tactic, where do you think it would stop?

I prefer the British/ Aussie system.  I.e. Pay a decent wage, eliminate the race to pay the biggest tip to deprive others of the service we all deserve......just my opinion...shoot away.

 

 

We always have the included beverage packages with our cruise. I have begun to wonder how Celebrity divides that 18% gratuity among the servers that take care of us specifically. For that reason, I plan to tip $1 per drink on our next cruise. I'm not trying to steel service from other passengers, I just want to be sure that the crew members who take care of me are compensated. We tip our cabin steward and MDR staff on the last evening if we've had excellent service. It would be great, though, if the cruise lines paid fair wages, and rolled the cost into the cruise fares. 

 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Marelaine

[Wine-O]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Well, I agree with you and practice the same approach.   In the case of the previous poster, he/she had been told directly by the crew person that a cash tip was preferred.  So why should they feel bad doing what the crew wanted as opposed to what is said on CC -- that was my point.  For whatever it is worth . . . . 

Sometimes I think you need to take what a crew person says with a grain of salt.  Sometimes there's a hidden agenda.   I had one waiter in a specialty restaurant tell me that they prefer tipping with cash, because if you put it on the slip, it all goes to the maitre'd.  Who knows?

 

 

[Wine-O]

1 hour ago, Marelaine said:

We tip our cabin steward and MDR staff on the last evening if we've had excellent service. It would be great, though, if the cruise lines paid fair wages, and rolled the cost into the cruise fares. 

 

I think of it more like a restaurant in the U.S.  Do they get a fair wage, i.e. $2 and change an hour + the tips they make?   The service people on cruise ships are similar, and you don't see them complain.  They all seem to be appreciative of their jobs.  

[ldubs]

49 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

Sometimes I think you need to take what a crew person says with a grain of salt.  Sometimes there's a hidden agenda.   I had one waiter in a specialty restaurant tell me that they prefer tipping with cash, because if you put it on the slip, it all goes to the maitre'd.  Who knows?

 

 

 

Of course there is always an agenda and many crew are going to tell you whatever will maximize their gain.  Again, I'm not promoting anything.  I just don't think the previous poster should be apologizing because they did what the crew wanted instead of what someone on CC says they should have done.  

[bEwAbG]

$8 drink + automatic gratuity +$1 is a 30% tip.  You would be hard-pressed to find any bartender who is really performing at that level of service on Celebrity, considering that I've yet to have any drink made the same way twice.

[CEOofVacation]

We always leave auto grats as is and budget another 5% of the cost of the cruise and divide up amongst staff whom we feel have provided excellent service and give out in envelopes on the last evening, usually to the main server, assistant server(s), cabin attendant, butler (if applicable - we had a crappy one last time who got no extra), assistant maitre d' and Michaels' bartenders when in a suite.  Extra $1, $5 for instant tips at Cafe Al Bacio, and if we use room service or visit a bar/lounge, which is rarely.  That way the cash tips are always extra and they get to keep them without needing to put them back into the pool.  

 

Removing auto grats screw those people behind the scene who should have gotten part of it.  

Edited November 26, 2018 by CEOofVacation

[Marelaine]

1 hour ago, Wine-O said:

I think of it more like a restaurant in the U.S.  Do they get a fair wage, i.e. $2 and change an hour + the tips they make?   The service people on cruise ships are similar, and you don't see them complain.  They all seem to be appreciative of their jobs.  

 

Who would they complain to?  So yes, they have signed on for a job and know what is what. Most likely, they are earning more on the ship than would working in their home countries. I'm not saying that everyone 'should' tip extra. I'm saying we tip extra at the end of the cruise if we had excellent service from the cabin steward and MDR staff. It's extra, since we leave the auto grats in place. 

 

48 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

$8 drink + automatic gratuity +$1 is a 30% tip.  You would be hard-pressed to find any bartender who is really performing at that level of service on Celebrity, considering that I've yet to have any drink made the same way twice.

If I was paying per drink, I would not add the $1 tip because the 18% per drink that is automatically added would be generous. We have beverage packages, though. The auto-grat is based on the cost of the bev package, rather than the service.  I'm going to try it out tipping per drink because  I have a suspicion that the decline in service is a result of the drink packages. But no one should feel obligated to tip extra, it's a personal choice.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Marelaine

[Rala]

On November 23, 2018 at 1:50 PM, cruisestitch said:

Personnel covered by the pre-paid tips or the standard auto-tips:

 

Housekeeping 

Waitstaff

 

 

Not covered by the pre-paid tips:

 

Wine stewards

Bartenders

Bar Servers

spa staff

babysitters

One other NOT covered by pre-paid or auto tips are room service people.  Just FYI  :-)

[Fmitchy]

Cool Cruiser, 

My wife and I agree as well. We always give our room steward a little extra cash on Day 1 . They apperciate taking care of our Us and our cabin . We also will tip employees $1 or  $2 who do go above and beyond during the course of the cruise.  Everyone is different and there is no right or wrong on tipping.  We are on Vacation and have 4 grown kids of our own.  

[SoberJulie]

Tipping BEFORE receiving any service.....is this an American thing?

 

[Wine-O]

3 hours ago, SoberJulie said:

Tipping BEFORE receiving any service.....is this an American thing?

 

Not really.  Some people feel they will get better service if they tip in advance.  My school of thought is to tip after service is rendered.  We've never had bad or mediocre service on Celebrity.

[Fmitchy]

    The Cruise lines work there employees hard, I understand that most are happy to have jobs and traveling away from family and home for months at a time.  The Cabin Stewrad that has 28 cabins  to clean , Vacuum , bathroom, Change sheets and is maybe in and out of your cabin 4 times a day or more?  Might like the couple  a little more in Cabiin 1075  who went out of there way to introduce themselves and hand some exrta cash (yes a pre-tip ) What does it get you ? #1 peace of mind , and Fresh Ice in the bowl, Beach towels clean , extra pillow candy , Smiles and a real Hello and good by's  when passing  ect.  We have been doing 10 and 11 day cruises the last couple of years, The cabins are small and having the clean feeling makes the days and nights more enjoyable. We understand that it is different for everyone on how to view when and when not to tip. A extra happy cabin steward can only enhance your cruise experience.   Reflection coming up in January     

[deliver42]

I never tip in advance, not including the DSC. However, I do tip room service as used, and bar servers as used. At cruise end, I usually tip cabin steward and our wait team in main dining room. I also tip extra if we do specialty dining.