Tipping Question

[Coralc]

I guess people get fired up because they think others should do what they do or think is right. And that is never going to happen. 

 

Tipping is a personal matter. Donating to charities is a personal matter. If someone posts what they do on a message board, they are opening themselves up to differing opinions on what they do or how they do it.

 

I had to run the charity campaign at work one year, I gave my little spiel, about donating. People pulled me aside to tell me about how they made their charitable contributions and why they wouldn't be contributing to the agency drive. And I told them that is absolutely fine. It is not my business. 

 

Other people tipping/giving. It is not my business. Royal Caribbean has what is essentially a service charge on our cruise vacations. We leave it in place. If we want to give tips to people we interact with or at other dining venues during vacation travel, we do so.  

 

[Seville2Cabo]

21 minutes ago, Waycoolrob said:

Ok lets look at this from a mathematical stand point, (my numbers are estimated here) We are sailing on Allure in in 11 days so I will use her numbers. 

First I purchase a drink package x2 for my wife and I,  in which gratuities are included in the price at 18% this is roughly $45.00 each in tips.

Now lets figure very low and say roughly 3000 of the  8565 passengers by the package.

Now we leave on the automatic tips as well. my wife and I at $14.50 per person per day adds up to $101.50 pp

Ok lets add this up

 The 3000 buying the drink package all pay $45.00 in tips automatically added to the price that adds up to.....$135,000.00

let also figure low and say 5000 of the 8565 people leave the auto tips on at $101.50 pp per week, that equals.... $507,500.00

so just with that many leaving the auto tips on and those buying drink packages that adds up too $642,000.00

in auto tips alone. 

So Allure which we will sailing on has a crew of 2384 that divided is roughly $2600.00 rounding down per person per week if every one on the crew got an equal share of the so called tip pool. So really where do you think your auto tip goes? Do you really think your average cruise ship employee makes over 10 grand a month in tips alone? I have a sneaky suspicion they do not. The cruise line is keeping your tip money folks. Lets also not forget every drink you buy is auto tipped at 18% at every bar. I am unsure is tips are automatically included in specialty restaurants or in the coffee shops but if so add even more the alleged tip pool.   Again my numbers of those who but the drink package or leave on auto tips is just me and what I think then I lowered it. I strongly feel these numbers are much higher. Again in my opinion hand it to them, let them put there money in there pocket in my opinion that is the right thing to do. 

 

First Allure does not have 8000 plus passengers. Second. Check your math. Even with overstated passengers 642,000 divided by 2800 employees is about $230 per person per week. 

[Waycoolrob]

32 minutes ago, Waycoolrob said:

Ok lets look at this from a mathematical stand point, (my numbers are estimated here) We are sailing on Allure in in 11 days so I will use her numbers. 

First I purchase a drink package x2 for my wife and I,  in which gratuities are included in the price at 18% this is roughly $45.00 each in tips.

Now lets figure very low and say roughly 3000 of the  8565 passengers by the package.

Now we leave on the automatic tips as well. my wife and I at $14.50 per person per day adds up to $101.50 pp

Ok lets add this up

 The 3000 buying the drink package all pay $45.00 in tips automatically added to the price that adds up to.....$135,000.00

let also figure low and say 5000 of the 8565 people leave the auto tips on at $101.50 pp per week, that equals.... $507,500.00

so just with that many leaving the auto tips on and those buying drink packages that adds up too $642,000.00

in auto tips alone. 

So Allure which we will sailing on has a crew of 2384 that divided is roughly $2600.00 rounding down per person per week if every one on the crew got an equal share of the so called tip pool. So really where do you think your auto tip goes? Do you really think your average cruise ship employee makes over 10 grand a month in tips alone? I have a sneaky suspicion they do not. The cruise line is keeping your tip money folks. Lets also not forget every drink you buy is auto tipped at 18% at every bar. I am unsure is tips are automatically included in specialty restaurants or in the coffee shops but if so add even more the alleged tip pool.   Again my numbers of those who but the drink package or leave on auto tips is just me and what I think then I lowered it. I strongly feel these numbers are much higher. Again in my opinion hand it to them, let them put there money in there pocket in my opinion that is the right thing to do. 

 

Sorry my math has been corrected and I humbly post this to say it. I did check and recheck but I am human, However I am still going to remove tips this time and every time there after. 

[Waycoolrob]

9 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

First Allure does not have 8000 plus passengers. Second. Check your math. Even with overstated passengers 642,000 divided by 2800 employees is about $230 per person per week. 

Thank you for pointing this out, so much for checking and rechecking. 

Have a great night. 

[Jarmo]

Yep.

[clean1owner]

1 hour ago, Waycoolrob said:

Ok lets look at this from a mathematical stand point, (my numbers are estimated here) We are sailing on Allure in in 11 days so I will use her numbers. 

First I purchase a drink package x2 for my wife and I,  in which gratuities are included in the price at 18% this is roughly $45.00 each in tips.

Now lets figure very low and say roughly 3000 of the  8565 passengers by the package.

Now we leave on the automatic tips as well. my wife and I at $14.50 per person per day adds up to $101.50 pp

Ok lets add this up

 The 3000 buying the drink package all pay $45.00 in tips automatically added to the price that adds up to.....$135,000.00

let also figure low and say 5000 of the 8565 people leave the auto tips on at $101.50 pp per week, that equals.... $507,500.00

so just with that many leaving the auto tips on and those buying drink packages that adds up too $642,000.00

in auto tips alone. 

So Allure which we will sailing on has a crew of 2384 that divided is roughly $2600.00 rounding down per person per week if every one on the crew got an equal share of the so called tip pool. So really where do you think your auto tip goes? Do you really think your average cruise ship employee makes over 10 grand a month in tips alone? I have a sneaky suspicion they do not. The cruise line is keeping your tip money folks. Lets also not forget every drink you buy is auto tipped at 18% at every bar. I am unsure is tips are automatically included in specialty restaurants or in the coffee shops but if so add even more the alleged tip pool.   Again my numbers of those who but the drink package or leave on auto tips is just me and what I think then I lowered it. I strongly feel these numbers are much higher. Again in my opinion hand it to them, let them put there money in there pocket in my opinion that is the right thing to do. 

 

 

 

There ya go.

[zdad59]

The funny thing is nobody is ever going to change anyone's mind on this topic.    It pops up here once a month, and the fireworks start.    Usually the same arguments, from the same people.   The arguments, frankly, are pointless.

If you are inclined to remove the tips and "tip whoever gave you good service", I doubt highly nothing can be said here to make you do otherwise.   Similarly, if you believe you should leave the auto tips on, and maybe even tip a bit more to those you felt give great service, nothing here will cause you to change your mind.

 

Whatever allows you to put your head on the pillow at the end of the day and rest comfortably,  do that.

[holiday-shrek]

12 hours ago, The Sunset Glow said:

Curious - how do people who do My Time Dining and remove auto grats handle tipping the various dining staff? I genuinely want to know this as it seems impossible to me so I'm interested in how people do it.

Just forget about tipping - not worth thinking about it!

Edited March 21, 2019 by holiday-shrek

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

There ya go.

 

There ya go where? Someone posted what you wanted to see to support your point & you go all in with them, even though the basis of their calculations & the data was easily shown to be totally wrong.

Objective reading and interpretation of facts is an art that can be learnt.

[brillohead]

12 hours ago, The Sunset Glow said:

 

Marci, we still either pre-pay or leave the daily charge on but I am seriously considering exactly what you are saying. The way RCI has changed the breakdown does not sit well with me. It used to be less than $2 for "other behind the scenes staff" when they first introduced it and now it's nearly $5 and way back it was the service staff's responsibility to "tip out" to the behind the scenes people. I prefer the old way as the people I don't interact with is not my problem.

 

I feel they are using this to subsidize the non-tipped staff which I don't think is right. I have no issue paying my tips to the  service staff and we, 9 times out of 10, pay more than the recommended by leaving an extra tip but RCI should be paying the others (like laundry staff, etc) This is getting out of hand and I have to re-think it.

Where the heck do you think employee wages come from, in ANY industry????

You, the customer, are paying for the wages of the employees at McDonald's, Target, Sony, Chevrolet, ANY type of business makes its money off what the customer/client is paying for.  

It isn't any different than the super-expensive luxury lines that don't have tips -- you pay several thousand dollars more for your cruise, but you don't have to pay for tips. 

Either way, YOUR money is used to pay the employees. 

New York City recently passed a law making a minimum wage of $15 for ALL employees.  Now people in NYC are complaining that food prices have risen too much.  Where the heck did they think that the money for the higher wage was going to come from?  Businesses don't have a closet in the back that is just filled with a money-printing machine.... in order to pay more in wages, they need to take in more from the customer.

 

It's not rocket surgery, folks.... it's pretty basic stuff.

[clean1owner]

6 hours ago, mr walker said:

 

There ya go where? Someone posted what you wanted to see to support your point & you go all in with them, even though the basis of their calculations & the data was easily shown to be totally wrong.

Objective reading and interpretation of facts is an art that can be learnt.

 

 

Nobody EVER posts incorrect information on Cruise Critic boards.

Just like knowing for a fact that all the auto-tip money goes exactly where RCCL says it goes...actually it covers everyone right down to the guy checking Sea Pass cards when getting off in port.

Or knowing for a fact that employees get to keep all the cash tips they are given, errr...they have to turn them into the pool anyway, so why bother. 

They get a daily printout stating who cancelled auto-tips.....no wait, they don't have a clue. 

The list goes on and on.......

 

 

[marci22]

Nobody really knows, so you may as well tip as you see fit. If it is not working for Royal, they will change what they do. Some people tip nothing. If someone wants to tip their own way, great, fine, and Royal allows it so what's the problem? 

[springfire]

1 hour ago, marci22 said:

Nobody really knows, so you may as well tip as you see fit. If it is not working for Royal, they will change what they do. Some people tip nothing. If someone wants to tip their own way, great, fine, and Royal allows it so what's the problem? 

Well said!

[Saab4444]

10 hours ago, Waycoolrob said:

Sorry my math has been corrected and I humbly post this to say it. I did check and recheck but I am human, However I am still going to remove tips this time and every time there after. 

If you devide the amount by all crew members I wonder how much tip does the Captain and other Senior Officers get?  In best case about 50% of the crew is eligable to tips.  

[The Sunset Glow]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

Where the heck do you think employee wages come from, in ANY industry????

You, the customer, are paying for the wages of the employees at McDonald's, Target, Sony, Chevrolet, ANY type of business makes its money off what the customer/client is paying for.  

It isn't any different than the super-expensive luxury lines that don't have tips -- you pay several thousand dollars more for your cruise, but you don't have to pay for tips. 

Either way, YOUR money is used to pay the employees. 

New York City recently passed a law making a minimum wage of $15 for ALL employees.  Now people in NYC are complaining that food prices have risen too much.  Where the heck did they think that the money for the higher wage was going to come from?  Businesses don't have a closet in the back that is just filled with a money-printing machine.... in order to pay more in wages, they need to take in more from the customer.

 

It's not rocket surgery, folks.... it's pretty basic stuff.

 

OMG I get all of that. My point was they are slowly increasing the behind the scenes amount in the gratuity amount and I don't think THAT is where it belongs. I know we will pay for it somehow, of course we will, but it should be in the cruise fare for the laundry staff, etc. We should only be tipping the customer facing service staff. Including the laundry worker's salary in the tip amount is disingenuous.

[The Sunset Glow]

2 hours ago, clean1owner said:

 

 

Nobody EVER posts incorrect information on Cruise Critic boards.

Just like knowing for a fact that all the auto-tip money goes exactly where RCCL says it goes...actually it covers everyone right down to the guy checking Sea Pass cards when getting off in port.

Or knowing for a fact that employees get to keep all the cash tips they are given, errr...they have to turn them into the pool anyway, so why bother. 

They get a daily printout stating who cancelled auto-tips.....no wait, they don't have a clue. 

The list goes on and on.......

 

 

 

I kinda agree with you except I know for a fact they do get a list of who paid their tips or not. I've seen this list on a steward's cart on 3 different cruises now.

[ShillyShally]

7 minutes ago, The Sunset Glow said:

 

I kinda agree with you except I know for a fact they do get a list of who paid their tips or not. I've seen this list on a steward's cart on 3 different cruises now.

This wouldn't surprise me, and I also don't think we can ever believe what anyone hears directly from staff, they all have their own interpretation on how they're compensated and may not tell the full story since most of us they won't see again anytime soon.  I'm not saying they're dishonest, just we only ever get a sliver of anyone with minimal interaction and rarely will we know the whole story!  

 

But really, it should always be do what you feel is right in regards to tipping.  If your information or experience changes, tip accordingly.  I would just disagree with not tipping because you feel it's RCCL's job to pay their employees correctly.  That then leads to what is correct?  Just think of all the varying salaries across the US and all countries and the cost of living?  Every crew member comes from varying backgrounds, I also hope if somehow this gig isn't working for them they seek to change it.  Everyone has a choice, I lose sympathy when someone appeals that they don't.

[HBE4]

On 3/18/2019 at 9:38 PM, 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

 

Bob answered the question in post #2 - $14.50 per day/per person.  You may ignore the other 6 pages of silliness as people will tell you that you have to tip every single crew member on the ship.

 

Unfortunately,  Royal no longer provides the breakdown of how that tip is distributed.   It used to be for the 4 major customer facing crew members (minus bartenders) with the bulk of it going to the Cabin attendant, with the rest (in decreasing order) going to the waiter, assistant waiter and finally the head waiter (aka matre'd).  Some CC memebers have posted the breakdown in the past but I believe it's old info.

 

Now Royal just says it gets distributed to all who enhance your cruise experience.

[Retired LEO]

27 minutes ago, The Sunset Glow said:

 

I kinda agree with you except I know for a fact they do get a list of who paid their tips or not. I've seen this list on a steward's cart on 3 different cruises now.

I've also seen the list on the bulletin board in the galley.

[ScottVV]

2 minutes ago, Retired LEO said:

I've also seen the list on the bulletin board in the galley.

 

[springfire]

30 minutes ago, The Sunset Glow said:

 

I kinda agree with you except I know for a fact they do get a list of who paid their tips or not. I've seen this list on a steward's cart on 3 different cruises now.

People have up to the very last night to remove tips, just not sure how this makes a difference. 

[mafig]

15 minutes ago, Retired LEO said:

I've also seen the list on the bulletin board in the galley.

I remember seeing the list here on Cruise Critic.  This was a couple of years ago and someone saw it on a Behind the Scenes tour and posted it.  It was quickly removed.  Don't recall if the cruise line was Celebrity or not.

[The Sunset Glow]

16 minutes ago, springfire said:

People have up to the very last night to remove tips, just not sure how this makes a difference. 

 

I agree, it does not make a difference. I just wanted to point out that the list does indeed exist because there are many here who don't believe it does.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by The Sunset Glow

[SRF]

On 3/19/2019 at 2:53 PM, Saab4444 said:

There are a lot of ships where tipping is not required or somehow mandatory and the crew is as happy, friendly and efficient...

 

And your cruise fare is higher.

[SRF]

5 hours ago, The Sunset Glow said:

 

OMG I get all of that. My point was they are slowly increasing the behind the scenes amount in the gratuity amount and I don't think THAT is where it belongs. I know we will pay for it somehow, of course we will, but it should be in the cruise fare for the laundry staff, etc. We should only be tipping the customer facing service staff. Including the laundry worker's salary in the tip amount is disingenuous.

 

Big thing is, they should stop calling it tips, and call it a resort fee.

 

Although, then many may feel a need to tip the cabin attendant and waiters over that.  

 

Maybe charge a smaller resort fee for behind the scenes people and call it tips for the direct contact people.

 

So instead of $14.50 per day, a resort fee of $7.50 per day and gratuities of $7 per day.