Use OBC Non-refundable to pay extra tips to specific crew members

[Oxo]

I tried to use my Non-refundable OBC to tip specific crew members, but could not do so.

 

I can only select a category such as Cabin Stewart, Food Service, etc., which is what normally occurs.

 

I wanted a Dollar Amount voucher that I could put into an envelope and personally hand to an individual. 

 

That option is not allowed.

 

I know I can use cash. However, I have NR OBC, so I want to use that.

 

Would any of you like that option? 

Opinions/suggestions.

[jelayne]

To my knowledge the only way to use the non-refundable OBC is via the form.  If they gave you cash to pass on then maybe some would just pocket it.

 

We always take Thank You cards.  When we are using OBC we write a note and include the amount of the gratuity the person should expect.  With cash we also write a note and put the cash in the card.

[Oxo]

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

To my knowledge the only way to use the non-refundable OBC is via the form.  If they gave you cash to pass on then maybe some would just pocket it.

 

We always take Thank You cards.  When we are using OBC we write a note and include the amount of the gratuity the person should expect.  With cash we also write a note and put the cash in the card.

I stated a voucher, not cash. How do you determine the amount the individual person should receive?  I'm talking about an additional extra amount.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I know that you can specifically mention your butler and cabin steward by name and they will get the extra tips.  I believe that you could not specifically tip your waiter, but it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to be on a ship.  In Luminae, the tips are pooled, so no big deal.

[Oxo]

41 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I know that you can specifically mention your butler and cabin steward by name and they will get the extra tips.  I believe that you could not specifically tip your waiter, but it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to be on a ship.  In Luminae, the tips are pooled, so no big deal.

That is my point. Tips are pooled. I don't want to pool the extra I want to give to an individual. I want that individual to get the extra money. 

I will use cash.

 

However. My point is what not allow a voucher with an amount be printed by Guess Relations that is taken from you NR OBC?

 

Anyone think that is a good idea? 

[jelayne]

46 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I know that you can specifically mention your butler and cabin steward by name and they will get the extra tips.  I believe that you could not specifically tip your waiter, but it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to be on a ship.  In Luminae, the tips are pooled, so no big deal.

That is my experience also. 

[Oxo]

To clarify crew members:

Wine Stewart 

Waiter/Waitress

Asst. Waiter/Waitress

Hostess

 

Hope this helps too understand my idea.

[sunonfire]

20 minutes ago, Oxo said:

That is my point. Tips are pooled. I don't want to pool the extra I want to give to an individual. I want that individual to get the extra money. 

I will use cash.

 

However. My point is what not allow a voucher with an amount be printed by Guess Relations that is taken from you NR OBC?

 

Anyone think that is a good idea? 

The last time I cruised on Royal Carribean which is Celebrity’s parent company, I was able to designate the crew person (waitress) to receive the balance of my onboard credit. The ship gave me the form to fill out. I had to list her name, our dining time, our table number and the amount. I had to sign the form. The last night I told her what we did and the amount we gave her. I didn’t tell her it was the balance of our onboard credit just that her extra gratuity was charged to our account. 

[Oxo]

3 minutes ago, sunonfire said:

The last time I cruised on Royal Carribean which is Celebrity’s parent company, I was able to designate the crew person (waitress) to receive the balance of my onboard credit. The ship gave me the form to fill out. I had to list her name, our dining time, our table number and the amount. I had to sign the form. The last night I told her what we did and the amount we gave her. I didn’t tell her it was the balance of our onboard credit just that her extra gratuity was charged to our account. 

Guest Relations on-board Edge today showed me a form. However, I could not Name an individual(s) and a specific amount/individual.

 

Is it that complicated in today's day and age? LOL

[Jim_Iain]

I asked this question to the HR Director pre-covid and she told me that If you WRITE the persons name on the form they get it individually.    She said she knew because she was the person entering it on their pay slip.   The key was you just handwrite the person's name.    It is possible that this may have changed but will try to verify with the Hotel Director when I see her next.

 

If you click the category it is generally shared.

 

We were in Murano's a couple days ago.   We are in a RS with free dining.   I asked for a slip so I could leave a tip.   The  waiter asked if we wanted to leave a tip  for the entire restaurants staff (not just Murano).    He explained it wasn't necessary as the tip was included but if we left cash it was shared with Murano's staff only but if we left on a charge slip it went to the  complete restaurants waitstaff pool 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

2 hours ago, Oxo said:

That is my point. Tips are pooled. I don't want to pool the extra I want to give to an individual. I want that individual to get the extra money. 

I will use cash.

 

 

Not all tips are pooled.  Did you read my post and the posts of others?

[Oxo]

13 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Not all tips are pooled.  Did you read my post and the posts of others?

FYI - just rechecked with Guest Relations Manager and told NO.

MUST BE WAIT STAFF, CABIN STEWART, etc. Not individuals like I want to do. So,  I gave cash.

Thanks anyway. 

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Your cabin steward is a specific individual.  Your butler is a specific individual.  The tips are pooled in Luminae and Blu anyhow, so that doesn't matter.  The only person you couldn't tip specifically would be your waiter in the MDR.  I have done this before on B2Bs and know that the individuals received their extra tips.  Others have reported the same experience.

[goofysmom99]

The last time I tried to use OBC for cabin steward specifically, guest relations said no, it would be pooled.  I have an upcoming B2B with a lot of OBC.  I'll try writing in names at the end of the 1st leg, and if that doesn't work, I'll know about it and can rectify it with cash on the 2nd leg.  And can speak with HD on 2nd leg, if necessary.  

[Oxo]

On 9/10/2021 at 9:45 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Your cabin steward is a specific individual.  Your butler is a specific individual.  The tips are pooled in Luminae and Blu anyhow, so that doesn't matter.  The only person you couldn't tip specifically would be your waiter in the MDR.  I have done this before on B2Bs and know that the individuals received their extra tips.  Others have reported the same experience.

That is what I said.  I wanted to provide extra to my wine Stewart, waitress, asst., Waiter and was told No.

 

[Jim_Iain]

I have left tips to individuals and as I said yesterday the Concierge from retreat verified it and told me she could even look up the individuals' ID number to make sure it got to them.   Last time I did it I got a personal thank you from our Butler, Waiter and Sommelier.

 

 

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have left tips to individuals and as I said yesterday the Concierge from retreat verified it and told me she could even look up the individuals' ID number to make sure it got to them.   Last time I did it I got a personal thank you from our Butler, Waiter and Sommelier.

 

 

Glad it worked for you. I was just trying to get Dollar Value vouchers that I could personally present to selected individuals. As I also said previously. What is so hard about coding an option to print vouchers from an OBC in a determine dollar amount? That was just a suggestion that some may like and others would never use it.  

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, Oxo said:

Glad it worked for you. I was just trying to get Dollar Value vouchers that I could personally present to selected individuals. As I also said previously. What is so hard about coding an option to print vouchers from an OBC in a determine dollar amount? That was just a suggestion that some may like and others would never use it.  

Photo shop, elite breakfast/happy hour, OBC vouchers…you should consider applying for a job with Celebrity.  lol 

[Oxo]

16 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Photo shop, elite breakfast/happy hour, OBC vouchers…you should consider applying for a job with Celebrity.  lol 

Thanks, but No Thanks. They work too hard and put up with too my POOP. I just try to make suggestions based on my experiences. Things that would make it easier. However, change is something that is hard for people to make.

Stay Safe!

 

[C-Dragons]

On 9/10/2021 at 2:36 PM, Oxo said:

To clarify crew members:

Wine Stewart 

Waiter/Waitress

Asst. Waiter/Waitress

Hostess

 

Hope this helps too understand my idea.

We understand completely.

On the Edge in July we had a boatload of NR OBC and wished to do the same. Guest Relations officer told us no as well. We ended up using envelopes for everyone.

[Oxo]

8 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We understand completely.

On the Edge in July we had a boatload of NR OBC and wished to do the same. Guest Relations officer told us no as well. We ended up using envelopes for everyone.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Many people will try to reason why it is not done, rather than look at it in a positive way. Wouldn't that have been  so simple for it to be done via a computer program? 

Stay Safe!

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Oxo said:

That is what I said.  I wanted to provide extra to my wine Stewart, waitress, asst., Waiter and was told No.

 

We just got off the Edge and were in a SS and had about $800 leftover in nonrefundable OBC and were feeling quite generous. With regards to the wine sommelier, their rules have changed. If you purchase a bottle of wine from them and add a tip, say $50, the sommelier gets that amount personally credited to their account and doesn't have to share it.

 

With regards to our cabin steward and butler, we used "the form", to include listing their names, to give them each an additional tip. As far as giving the Luminae servers the lion's portion of the extra OBC, we asked the Retreat Concierge how we should fill out the form under the Dining Staff option. She said it was at the ship purser's discretion how to implement the Fleet-wide policy, but she said the Edge had an understanding one and that we should specifically list the Luminae servers as the recipients. However, you could not break it out further by individual server, which makes sense as there were on average between 4-5 crew members as well as the maitre d' visiting out table every meal. 

 

OTOH the folks at Customer Service said it would simply go into the "Pool" and be divided up based on a predefined X algorithm which included, in part, the number of customers a particular restaurant serviced that cruise and how much additional revenue they brought in (think specialty restaurants) as well as the ratings from the end of cruise survey along with a few other factors. So my DW filled out the form, specifically noting our steward, butler and the Luminae and turned in the form on the last day. How it finally got disseminated, who knows. 😎

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Oxo]

Ken, that was my point and you fully understand my suggestion. I dealt with 3 people in one MDR on 5 nights. To me, the others already had their share. I wanted to give extra to these 3 people. 

Stay Safe!

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Ken, that was my point and you fully understand my suggestion. I dealt with 3 people in one MDR on 5 nights. To me, the others already had their share. I wanted to give extra to these 3 people. 

Stay Safe!

One additional reason we delved into this issue while on our B2B2B cruise was when we added a $25 tip to the Raw On 5 bill and were subsequently told by the maitre d' the servers would not share it but it would rather be put into the "Pool". We thought that was weird, but as with most things, we're seeing it from "our" side of the counter rather than from the company's side.

 

The key for us was to try to learn as much as we could about the "tipping game" and then use that knowledge when it came to the end of our cruise and it was time to share the wealth so to speak. I will say, though, we made a lot of friends in the Luminae being on a B2B2B and were able to ask more detailed questions than we would have if we were only on a 7 day cruise. 😎