Gratuities Going Up $1 Per Day Effective May 21, 2019

[capriccio]

5 minutes ago, brian1 said:

The cover charge in Italy is for the bread rolls on the table,the waiter doesn't get it.We normally leave 10% tip,only if we get good service.

Brian - glad you pointed this out because many foreigners visiting Italy don't realize it!

 

For visitors - the charge is actually called pane e coperto ('bread and cover') and should be noted on the menu.  It is not negotiable.

[brian1]

2 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Brian - glad you pointed this out because many foreigners visiting Italy don't realize it!

 

For visitors - the charge is actually called pane e coperto ('bread and cover') and should be noted on the menu.  It is not negotiable.

Our local restaurant on the beach has just opened and he doesn't give you any bread but still charges 2 euro.He doesn't get a big tip,lol. The other place open all year is very generous with hot and cold picky bits for only 2 euros.So it does vary a bit.

[compozer]

4 hours ago, Micah's Grandad said:

Very true. Tip jars are sprouting up in places where it makes no sense.

 10 years ago, there were tip jars on the counter at McDonalds in Cancun 

[springfire]

The fact that people pay these tips is simply amazing to me. 

 

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, bemis12 said:

 

They also don't pay corporate taxes when they pay their employees wages...... so that's sort of silly.

 

No one knows because cruise line corporations are based in foreign countries and do not fall under US tax laws....and in the US corporations are responsible for keeping track of, filing and reporting on employee tips to the IRS......

[JimmyVWine]

6 hours ago, Ep010835 said:

Surly porters get little to nothing. Taxi drivers lacking driving skills or acceptable decorum get little to nothing.

But based on your examples, you are tipping on ordinary service.  Your tip vanishes not when the service provided is "ordinary."  Rather, it disappears when the service is sub-standard.

[richsea]

On 5/2/2019 at 10:37 AM, caribill said:

 

When auto-gratuities were first introduced, I also worried about a possible decline in service from those covered with the tips.

 

I found that the level of service did not go down at all.

I was just thinking the same thing. I haven’t noticed a change in service compared to the days of tipping envelopes, other than areas where is is an obvious reduction in staff, resulting in an overstretched waitstaff for example.

 

This is just my opinion, but it seems like some here are reacting as if gratuities on a cruise ship is something that has just been instituted, not just increased.

To our friends who live in countries where tipping is not part of the culture, I understand your frustration, but cruise lines have operated this way since day one; why the outrage now?