Pre-paid Gratuities: who gets them?

[Marelaine]

1 hour ago, BeeMinor said:

 

A crew member working in a tipped position told me on board a Celebrity ship in a recent year that staff members who received anything less than a 10 on the surveys have their pay scaled down, a little bit for 9s and a whole lot as you go down, and that any time a significant number of passengers remove auto grats the people whose salaries are basically funded by tips just don't get paid.

 

I did not ask at all for this information and the person who described the system to me also said s/he could be fired for sharing the info, thus why this description is a little vague, so I have no reason to believe it's untrue. 

 

That would be really unfortunate, since I haven't received a survey for my last cruise. I would have given our head waiter a 10, the MDR beverage server a 10 and our cabin steward a 7 or8. So what happens to the people who took very good care of us while we were onboard? We have been told by crew members that the surveys are important because excellent comments from passengers contributes to excellent reviews improving their opportunities for advancement. When we first started cruising, about 10 years ago, no crew members asked us for 10s on the survey; now we are reminded throughout the cruise to fill out our surveys. I wonder what has changed.

 

The crew members have accepted their terms of employment, so I suppose it's really none of our business how Celebrity compensates their employees. I'd rather have them eliminate tips, raise the price of the cruise and pay decent wages.

 

[misterkevin]

On 5/12/2019 at 3:41 PM, ccotting said:

Markeb your point about the standard tipping pools is entirely fair.  However, in a restaurant we choose to tip, on the cruise lines we are now being told we have to, we are billed where in the 'not so old' days, tipping was discretionary and we were given envelopes we filled at our own decision.  Folks want to know where their money is allocated given that and that the funds are going to the staff they feel did the best.  

Moreso than ever before, higher-end restaurants no longer give you the option not to tip. When you make reservations, you often put down a deposit or prepay the entire bill including tax and an 18-20% tip. In this regard, Celebrity cruises and most other non-luxury lines are exactly the same as higher-end restaurants where your tip is itemized and expected, and you forfeit your deposit or entire dinner price if you cancel.

 

The only difference is that on the ship, cruisers know they have the option to remove these tips. The unbundling of fees has hit many service industries from airlines to taxis because it makes the taxes for the employers easier, but it ultimately complicates the experience for the customer because a one-and-done all-in fee is no longer the case. That being said, I do not consider the daily tips discretionary, nor do I consider them forced. They are part of the cost of cruising.

Edited June 4, 2019 by misterkevin

[Denny01]

The reasons many Lines went to Auto-gratuities is because more and more passengers weren’t tipping at all. Either the classic, ‘they should pay their staff properly and not use tips’ excuse to stiff the staff, or just not doing it. And asking the staff how gratuities are handled is the same as asking them how much they get paid, not something most of us would, or should, do.

 

Gratuities are shared, just like at a hotel and restaurant. None of us, unless we’ve worked in the business, can say who exactly gets it......and what does it matter. 

 

A Conn?? If you have issues adding what the gratuities cost you and the exclusions and the drinks/drink packages onto your SR costs to know total costs, ask your TA, or go to an All-Inclusive Line and you can pretend they aren’t ‘conning’ you. Not sure where the Conn is in this case since its up front and from how many threads/posts are on CC about this, everybody knows. 

 

Den