Stop removing tips

[PhillyFan33579]

7 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Not really.

 

The prices have been pretty stagnant and when adjusted for inflation, they are considerably less expensive than years ago. Cruise prices have declined to make this type of vacation affordable for the general public.

 

I agree with you 100%. I am paying less for cruises now than I was 5 years ago. It’s probably farther back than 5 years ago, but I only started using a spreadsheet to track all our cruises in 2014. 

[mdsgu]

The crew do work hard for their wages and I think the vast majority are quite happy to see a lot of Americans who tend to tip.  We leave the auto-grats alone and tip our bartenders (usually $1/drink, but more if they remember us or, as happened on one ship, save us seats in the Atrium after dinner) and our room steward.  If we have a really good server in the MDR, we'll tip him as well.

 

That being said, only once did we ever adjust the gratuities.  I didn't remove them entirely, I just cut them in half.  The service on the ship was universally bad -- from dining to the steward to the bars.  Despite multiple complaints to the maitre d' and through guest services, nothing changed.  

[PhillyFan33579]

1 minute ago, mdsgu said:

We leave the auto-grats alone and tip our bartenders (usually $1/drink, but more if they remember us or, as happened on one ship, save us seats in the Atrium after dinner) 

 

A bartender saving seats for someone is not providing good service. That is an action that would get them disciplined and possibly fired if someone complained about it. 

[jbethel11]

2 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

I agree with you 100%. I am paying less for cruises now than I was 5 years ago. It’s probably farther back than 5 years ago, but I only started using a spreadsheet to track all our cruises in 2014. 

Could that be because you are VIFP Club Platinum, and have access to more discounts than a newbie cruiser?

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Could that be because you are VIFP Club Platinum, and have access to more discounts than a newbie cruiser?

 

It’s actually the other way around. My sister who is a Red VIFP, gets far better offers via e-mail than I do. I usually cruise under ES offers that are available to everyone.

[mdsgu]

13 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Could that be because you are VIFP Club Platinum, and have access to more discounts than a newbie cruiser?

 

I don't see that many "discounts" on Carnival.  It seems they price themselves as low as possible for everyone.  Even the VIFP rates are only a few dollars (literally) lower than the regular rates.  ES rates tend to be even lower than VIFP rates, but they do come with restrictions.

[Host Carolyn]

If this veers off again or the arguing and petty comments.continue this can go away.

Thanks for not beating a dead horse

Edited June 26, 2019 by Host Carolyn

[Elaine5715]

11 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

But if it’s the same restaurant why the difference?

Since the guberment is taxing all tipped employed at 8% of gross sales, what other measurement can be used that the average customer understands?  Using percentages is a clear measurement of perception of service when used appropriately.  Wait staff that are clearing 20% or more of their sales (which is tracked) are be presumed to be meeting their customer's needs more than someone clearing less. 

[hotsauce126]

14 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

 

Yes, the option to lower grays would still need to be available once onboard if bad service dictates.  I doubt I would ever elect it though.

 

Why though? Why should we, instead on carnival, decide how much the crew gets paid?. I want carnival to pay their employees and leave the passengers out of it. If they can't do their job without being incentivized by a larger or smaller tip then I'm sure there's somebody else that would like that job. It's not a crazy idea considering other lines are doing it. 

[K&RCurt]

16 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

And you are there to????

As I stated - resolving issues with my folio. Once I was charged twice for a photo I purchased on the last night.  The first time we went to the Chef's Table I didn't understand that the charge would show up as "Steakhouse" and I though I got double charged for a steakhouse meal and once I had a credit show up the last night that I had no idea why.  There are many reasons to have to go to Guest Services the morning before departure, but you can't help but overhear all of the people removing tips.

 

Why did you think it necessary to know specifically why I had to be in the guest service line?

Edited June 26, 2019 by K&RCurt

[xDisconnections]

4 hours ago, Stick93 said:

You may be right but I would say that the most of the general public wages have not been adjusted for inflation. Read all the postings here the prices have become higher - what percentage, who knows. As well what they offer has become less. This making the vacation more expensive for what people want and have received in the past. Although this may aggravate people  this is a reason people remove and adjust gratuities. The Truth it it doesn’t make a difference what the reason is - the cruise lines make it easy to do. 

Perceived value does not equate to actual costs. If anything, these mass market cruise lines are providing a greater bang for your buck these days than in the past. The few things removed cannot be referenced in place of the multitude of items added.

 

Minimum wages have increased and many employers are not paying their employees more than in the past. Cruising is already one of the least expensive ways to travel and Carnival caters to all incomes, including those earning minimum wage.

 

If anything, it’s not the young kids barely making minimum wage who are removing tips. In fact, that demographic is one of the most generous tippers.

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

It’s actually the other way around. My sister who is a Red VIFP, gets far better offers via e-mail than I do. I usually cruise under ES offers that are available to everyone.

Targeted offers.

 

Carnival has your business and they don’t need deeply discounted fares to have you book more.

[jbethel11]

1 minute ago, xDisconnections said:

Targeted offers.

 

Carnival has your business and they don’t need deeply discounted fares to have you book more.

That's why Carnival focuses on attracting new cruisers, instead of maintaining veterans.

[xDisconnections]

Just now, jbethel11 said:

That's why Carnival focuses on attracting new cruisers, instead of maintaining veterans.

Well, that and the new cruisers are profitable for Carnival. The experienced ones are not.

[Tracey.kinney425]

22 hours ago, buckirj1 said:

Having automatic gratuities on my tab is one less thing I have to think about on vacation. In my view, that's a good thing.

 Ditto, but if I received bad service, decently bad not a minor thing unless it was constant, I would absolutely remove tips for that employee only.

[tonit964]

14 hours ago, Kelownacruiser said:

Is it really? Does the waiter or waitress work harder at the higher end restaurant? Do you get better service when they bring you a $100 bottle of wine rather than a $50 bottle, because it will cost you twice the tip. Or they bring you a plate of surf and turf vs a plate of pasta? One plate, twice the tip. Makes no sense. 

I get what you're saying and I agree.

If you order a grilled cheese sandwich & fries or a rib eye & baked potato, they have to carry a plate, shouldn't matter what's on the plate.

[RandomUser123]

I keep it simple, whatever Carnival has as the gratuity amount is what I will pay. I do not add or take away. 

[xDisconnections]

29 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Perceived value does not equate to actual costs. If anything, these mass market cruise lines are providing a greater bang for your buck these days than in the past. The few things removed cannot be referenced in place of the multitude of items added.

 

Minimum wages have increased and many employers are not paying their employees more than in the past. Cruising is already one of the least expensive ways to travel and Carnival caters to all incomes, including those earning minimum wage.

 

If anything, it’s not the young kids barely making minimum wage who are removing tips. In fact, that demographic is one of the most generous tippers.

This should read are now paying. Typo due to autocorrect and it is too late to edit.

[jbethel11]

1 minute ago, xDisconnections said:

This should read are now paying. Typo due to autocorrect and it is too late to edit.

Thanks for clarifying!

[Bob NC]

9 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

A bartender saving seats for someone is not providing good service. That is an action that would get them disciplined and possibly fired if someone complained about it. 

The bartender didn't really save the seats.

 

When they walked up there happened to be 2 seats and the bartender told them he saved them.

[bitemyfly]

I have always tipped thru auto tipp or whatever ever it’s called.. also tip in cash for perhaps the bartender , the waiter and steward.. I also detest people removing tips -like my cheapskate Sil  a platinum cruiser.. however I do believe ccl will continue to keep raising tip amount due a certain percentage of people not tipping .. basically tippers are subsidizing non tippers .. 

 

if everyone stopped tipping , while it would suck for a bit for the workers , ccl would be forced to put in fare service charge , resulting in EVERYBODY paying .. workers would benefit .. cheapskates will pay there own way..   

That or at least put a giant blinking sign for one line stating - tip removal.. and broadcast to a tv channel 

[sanmarcosman]

19 minutes ago, bitemyfly said:

 

That or at least put a giant blinking sign for one line stating - tip removal.. and broadcast to a tv channel 

Well why not? Carnival would have another revenue stream from in cabin pay per view to show the tip removers. There would have to be audio though! 🔊

Edited June 26, 2019 by sanmarcosman

[mkdreams]

Here is a tip for everyone, mind your business and tip as you wish.

[knight2096]

1 minute ago, mkdreams said:

Here is a tip for everyone, mind your business and tip as you wish.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking. 😄 LOL!

[Stick93]

2 hours ago, bitemyfly said:

I have always tipped thru auto tipp 

That or at least put a giant blinking sign for one line stating - tip removal.. and broadcast to a tv channel 

I don’t think anyone would care. Actually it’s possible the line would be longer as some people don’t know and they would be advertising it could be done. 

 

I think this is a bigger issue than we think - there are more people off this thread and platform that couldn’t care less what people think. 

9 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

If anything, it’s not the young kids barely making minimum wage who are removing tips. In fact, that demographic is one of the most generous tippers.

 

Young people are spending money that most of the time is not theirs. I am happy they are generous tippers but they will grow up one day and have to spend their own money. Their debt catches up like their student loans. 

 

 

Bottom line - why don’t the cruise line care about their staff that we all agree are from poor areas of the world looking to make a buck from slave labor. Shame on them...shame on them more than the people who removed their gratuities!!  These are Fortune 500 companies that boast billions of dollars in revenue. Forget the plastic straws and treat people the way they should!! 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Stick93