Tipping Question

[katiel53]

22 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

This is not the complete answer to the question.  While a crewmember may not have to physically turn in their cash tips, the same result is effected by the cruise line assessing the crewmember the standard tips, and removing those amounts from their paycheck.

I know that you know more than I do, but my question then is, how does Royal Caribbean know how much was given to the steward, as an example.  Let's say the amount determined by Royal is $25 for the housekeeping staff, and someone gave the steward $50.  What happens then?  He tells the cruise line he got $50 and then Royal deducts $25 which is what would have been given to the "housekeeping staff?" Or using the same numbers, his portion is $10 because he has an assistant, his boss and anyone else the cruise line decides is part of the housekeeping team?  

 

I do believe in tipping the staff and I do tip more than the billed amount, but we now don't eat any meals onboard other than the specialty restaurant where we tip $5 per person, minimum, for lunch and a min of $10 per person for dinner.   So please explain to me why we should continue to pay tips to the dining room staff?  We do NOT eat breakfast when having the UDP.  

 

So far we haven't removed the tips, but we are considering removing those for the dining staff if we can do that.  I don't even know if we can just do that.  Thanks for your opinions/info.

[dpostman]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Maybe Bob/clarea can answer this, or one of the other moderators.

How come if anyone even MENTIONS the new program The Key in a new thread, it gets almost instantly folded into the huge old thread about The Key... but we have a gazillion new threads each month on:
 

• tipping
• smoking
• should I get the alcohol package / is it worth it to get the alcohol package
• what is the best cabin / ship / itinerary
• MDR, MTD, specialty dining
• Crown and Anchor snobs / Pinnacles / Diamond-Plus / Diamond
• Suite Lounge vs Concierge Lounge vs Diamond Lounge

Why not have ONE thread for each of these topics, and then move all newly-created threads into the age-old original threads?

 

 

Probably because every time a simple tipping question is asked, some people go ape$h1t and decide for everyone else what they should do and then half of these threads have to be closed.  I think that's why 😉

 

dp

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by dpostman

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, katiel53 said:

I know that you know more than I do, but my question then is, how does Royal Caribbean know how much was given to the steward, as an example. ...

 

Royal doesn't care what was given to the crewmember.

 

If a guest removes automatic tips, Royal assumes that crewmember was given cash in at least the amount of the standard tip.  That amount is deducted from their pay.  In the case when the crewmember does not get at least the standard tip in cash, they have to submit paperwork attesting to the fact that they got no (or less than the standard) tip in order to stop Royal from deducting the standard tip from their paycheck.

[time4u2go]

14 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Royal doesn't care what was given to the crewmember.

 

If a guest removes automatic tips, Royal assumes that crewmember was given cash in at least the amount of the standard tip.  That amount is deducted from their pay.  In the case when the crewmember does not get at least the standard tip in cash, they have to submit paperwork attesting to the fact that they got no (or less than the standard) tip in order to stop Royal from deducting the standard tip from their paycheck.

How does the crew member know whether or not to turn in this paperwork for any given passenger?  Do they do it for every passenger that doesn't give them a cash tip (or gives them a small cash tip)?  I would bet that many passengers that leave the auto-grats in place do not tip or tip less than the standard amount.  Does the crew member know who has left the auto-grats in place and who hasn't?  What about passengers that remove the auto-grats on the last night?

 

If the method you describe is true, it just seems like an overly-complicated method that's prone to lots of errors, intentional or accidental.

Edited March 19, 2019 by time4u2go

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Maybe Bob/clarea can answer this, or one of the other moderators.

How come if anyone even MENTIONS the new program The Key in a new thread, it gets almost instantly folded into the huge old thread about The Key... but we have a gazillion new threads each month on:
 

• tipping
• smoking
• should I get the alcohol package / is it worth it to get the alcohol package
• what is the best cabin / ship / itinerary
• MDR, MTD, specialty dining
• Crown and Anchor snobs / Pinnacles / Diamond-Plus / Diamond
• Suite Lounge vs Concierge Lounge vs Diamond Lounge

Why not have ONE thread for each of these topics, and then move all newly-created threads into the age-old original threads?

 

+1, though that's a lot of work for the mods.

[brillohead]

6 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

How does the crew member know whether or not to turn in this paperwork for any given passenger?  Do they do it for every passenger that doesn't give them a cash tip (or gives them a small cash tip)?  I would bet that many passengers that leave the auto-grats in place do not tip or tip less than the standard amount.  Does the crew member know who has left the auto-grats in place and who hasn't?  What about passengers that remove the auto-grats on the last night?

 

If the method you describe is true, it just seems like an overly-complicated method that's prone to lots of errors, intentional or accidental.

Because they are given a list of passengers who removed the auto-grats.

[time4u2go]

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

Because they are given a list of passengers who removed the auto-grats.

Many passengers don't remove the auto-grats until the last night.  What then?

[brillohead]

6 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

+1, though that's a lot of work for the mods.

But they already started doing it for The Key, for no apparent reason.

If there is a pinned thread on the subject, DISCUSS TIPPING HERE, then they would only have to keep an eye on that one thread....

 

[brillohead]

Just now, time4u2go said:

Many passengers don't remove the auto-grats until the last night.  What then?

Then they get a list the next day.

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

How does the crew member know whether or not to turn in this paperwork for any given passenger?  Do they do it for every passenger that doesn't give them a cash tip (or gives them a small cash tip)?  I would bet that many passengers that leave the auto-grats in place do not tip or tip less than the standard amount.  Does the crew member know who has left the auto-grats in place and who hasn't?  What about passengers that remove the auto-grats on the last night?

 

If the method you describe is true, it just seems like an overly-complicated method that's prone to lots of errors, intentional or accidental.

 

Yes, the crewmember knows who reduced (or eliminated) automatic gratuities, even on the last night.

 

Overly complicated and prone to error is standard operating procedure for Royal. 

 

 

[time4u2go]

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

Then they get a list the next day.

But by then people are done tipping.  Are you suggesting that the crew members are expected to have remembered every passenger that didn't give them cash, from the night before?

[brillohead]

Just now, time4u2go said:

But by then people are done tipping.  Are you suggesting that the crew members are expected to have remembered every passenger that didn't give them cash, from the night before?

This is how they make their living.

Trust me, they know.

[clean1owner]

21 hours ago, EaganCruiser said:

does anyone know what the tipping standard is for the cabin steward...waiter and bus person / asst, waiter...per day for each...and do we need to go to guest relations and tell them not to ad it to our sea pass acct...that we will be paying them cash at the end of the cruise...thank you in adavnce

 

 

Just go to guest services on day 1 or 2 and ask them to remove auto-tips. They will do it no questions asked. 

 

They recommend $6.25 per person per day for Dining Service (they don't break down Waiter / Assistant Waiter, and $3.55 per person per day for Stateroom Attendant.

 

I fully endorse removing auto-tips and getting envelopes from Guest Services to tip cash at the end of the week. Don't listen to those claiming you are "stiffing" or "shorting" people by doing it this way. They usually don't have a clue about who gets what from Royal.  A tip is recognition for good service, and if they provided no service to you, why tip? 

[not-enough-cruising]

1 minute ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

Just go to guest services on day 1 or 2 and ask them to remove auto-tips. They will do it no questions asked. 

 

They recommend $6.25 per person per day for Dining Service (they don't break down Waiter / Assistant Waiter, and $3.55 per person per day for Stateroom Attendant.

 

I fully endorse removing auto-tips and getting envelopes from Guest Services to tip cash at the end of the week. Don't listen to those claiming you are "stiffing" or "shorting" people by doing it this way. They usually don't have a clue about who gets what from Royal.  A tip is recognition for good service, and if they provided no service to you, why tip? 

Exactly 

and Thank You 

[clean1owner]

6 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Why would you try to deny all the behind the scenes people that serve you. Who is being denied?

Paying in cash is a great disservice to all those  you don,'t see.

 Your waiters and cabin steward are required to turn in your tips to the pool if you remove auto tips.  NOBODY has proven this to be fact.

 

[clean1owner]

4 hours ago, ggtjr said:

Does the room steward know if a person has prepaid their grats?

 

 

Nobody knows for sure.

[clean1owner]

2 hours ago, springfire said:

 

Royal will not give us a breakdown of how much they give to our stateroom attendant or to our dining room team.  

 

Guest Services will provide the breakdown.  Whether or not it is completely accurate, nobody knows.

[clean1owner]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

The tipping standard is to allow the charge to accrue to your on-board account (or prepay as part of your cruise fare) so that everyone gets the allotted amount.

What you're asking about is DIVERTING from the tipping standard.

 

  

 

Actually, that is the RECOMMENDED tipping standard. 

 

Just like the recommended dress code in the Main Dining Room, which most on these boards seem to have no problem ignoring.

 

Remember, it's YOUR vacation, tip as you please.

[marci22]

1 hour ago, katiel53 said:

I do believe in tipping the staff and I do tip more than the billed amount, but we now don't eat any meals onboard other than the specialty restaurant where we tip $5 per person, minimum, for lunch and a min of $10 per person for dinner.   So please explain to me why we should continue to pay tips to the dining room staff?  We do NOT eat breakfast when having the UDP.  

So far we haven't removed the tips, but we are considering removing those for the dining staff if we can do that.  I don't even know if we can just do that.  Thanks for your opinions/info.

 

I don't know how they divide things up when I tip cash,  just as I'm not sure who gets what when I auto tip, so I don't worry about it. I don't think you can remove 'some' tips.

 

Some people would argue that you are not tipping all of the appropriate people if you do not follow Royal's auto tip suggestion. I understand not wanting to tip regular dining staff as you tip generously on your own, in specialty. Some posters would have you think you are stiffing someone, somehow. Don't worry about it. Tip as you see fit. It's a tip.

 

It's up to Royal to worry about employee compensation, not me. If their system wasn't working they would change it. They allocate tips to broad service categories vs individuals (like they used to) and it does feel like more of a tacked on charge vs rewarding exemplary service, like it used to.

 

Best case is I transfer my booking to a TA who prepays my tips and then anything extra I give is truly for excellent service.

[clean1owner]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

Maybe Bob/clarea can answer this, or one of the other moderators.

How come if anyone even MENTIONS the new program The Key in a new thread, it gets almost instantly folded into the huge old thread about The Key... but we have a gazillion new threads each month on:
 

• tipping
• smoking
• should I get the alcohol package / is it worth it to get the alcohol package
• what is the best cabin / ship / itinerary
• MDR, MTD, specialty dining
• Crown and Anchor snobs / Pinnacles / Diamond-Plus / Diamond
• Suite Lounge vs Concierge Lounge vs Diamond Lounge

Why not have ONE thread for each of these topics, and then move all newly-created threads into the age-old original threads?

 

 

 

Controversy breeds interest.

 

Vince McMahon became a Multi-Billionaire promoting that concept.

[Tntt]

We prepaid our gratuity when we booked our cruise... so there shouldn't be any auto pay set up on our account right? As far as gruituity, isn't that taken care of upfront when you prepay so we don't have to worry about tipping unless we wanted to do extra?

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, Tntt said:

We prepaid our gratuity when we booked our cruise... so there shouldn't be any auto pay set up on our account right? As far as gruituity, isn't that taken care of upfront when you prepay so we don't have to worry about tipping unless we wanted to do extra?

 

Yes and Yes.

[Retired LEO]

22 minutes ago, Tntt said:

We prepaid our gratuity when we booked our cruise... so there shouldn't be any auto pay set up on our account right? As far as gruituity, isn't that taken care of upfront when you prepay so we don't have to worry about tipping unless we wanted to do extra?

Quite simple isn't it?

[Hanzo]

4 hours ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

Just go to guest services on day 1 or 2 and ask them to remove auto-tips. They will do it no questions asked. 

 

They recommend $6.25 per person per day for Dining Service (they don't break down Waiter / Assistant Waiter, and $3.55 per person per day for Stateroom Attendant.

 

I fully endorse removing auto-tips and getting envelopes from Guest Services to tip cash at the end of the week. Don't listen to those claiming you are "stiffing" or "shorting" people by doing it this way. They usually don't have a clue about who gets what from Royal.  A tip is recognition for good service, and if they provided no service to you, why tip? 

So you're saying "Don't listen to other people's opinions about tipping, listen to mine"? Got it.

The point is there are people behind the scenes that share that pool, but out of sight out of mind right?

[gerif]

6 hours ago, springfire said:

gratuities are shared among dining, "bar" & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

I guess your post is moot!

Fact - bartenders get 18% of drinks sold plus any extra cash given to them (which is sometimes shared). They are not part of the auto tip pool.