Do room stewards know that you prepaid gratiuties?

[ALKID]

On 8/23/2022 at 5:07 PM, whyrlygig said:

Gratuities are part of the cruise culture and everyone knows it.  One doesn't have to like the way it works but taking it out on the hard working staff just makes you a really awful person.  

But your not taking it out on the hardworking staff if the company is keeping it.

[ALKID]

8 hours ago, soapbxking said:

sad thing (my opinion only), is that they all get equal grats.  It truly is the only way ot do it I know, but some are so much better than others.  So yes, we leave extra for them 🙂

So a socialist society then.

[LinRon3]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:50 AM, Scotico said:

So I have family coming here from S. America who are not accustomed  to leaving tips (if they did it's a few dollars for the waiter and that's it).  It is frowned upon where they are from.  It is 4 of them and they are looking at shelling out $500 in tips.  I informed them of this.  They let me know that they will only give what they think they deserve and that's it (Will be a lot less that $500).  Can they just remove all automatic gratuities at the beginning of the cruise or must they go every day to remove the daily gratuities?

Great for them!! the origin of tipping was for 'exceptional' service; beyond the 'normal'...which is really part of the job an employee is paid for.  We love our service people on cruise ships of course, and tip them generously since we realize that's how cruise lines pay such employees [for a large part of their wages].  But we also would like to see tipping reset to the original purpose...to recognize 'exceptional' service.  Not just ordinary, run of the mill, ordinary requirement of the job.

 

I say this, questioning my own judgement...since of course, these cruise employees are so 'exceptional' as an industry.  We love these guys and they make our cruises so...extraordinary.  I guess our only reservation is why do not the cruise lines pay these 'exceptional' people their 'value' anyway?  it just seems like some sort of extenuating game that has evolved...this 'gratuity' thing.  We will of course continue to play it, because we love these people who make our cruises so great.  But...also commend anyone who might be trying to bring this 'gratuity' game back to sanity [and it's original purpose].  

[DirtyDawg]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Why is it that people here who are so quick to call others cheap don't seem to have any issue with those who jump to lock in present gratuity rates when they hear there will be an increase?  It is only an extra $1.50 a day. Why deprive the hard working crew that little extra? I mean if you can't afford an extra $1.50 a day maybe you can't affort to cruise?

 

Lol, some of the judgemental comments, with their inconsistencies, around here are like reading the Sunday comics.

I just had to quote you because your observation about cruisers trying to avoid an increase in the daily  gratuity rates needed to be highlighted!   👍 

 

It always amazes me what lengths some people will go to to avoid spending an extra few bucks for a 7 day cruise = to less than the cost of one drink, when an increase is announced.  

[PolicromaSol]

2 hours ago, LinRon3 said:

Great for them!! the origin of tipping was for 'exceptional' service; beyond the 'normal'...which is really part of the job an employee is paid for.  We love our service people on cruise ships of course, and tip them generously since we realize that's how cruise lines pay such employees [for a large part of their wages].  But we also would like to see tipping reset to the original purpose...to recognize 'exceptional' service.  Not just ordinary, run of the mill, ordinary requirement of the job.

 

I say this, questioning my own judgement...since of course, these cruise employees are so 'exceptional' as an industry.  We love these guys and they make our cruises so...extraordinary.  I guess our only reservation is why do not the cruise lines pay these 'exceptional' people their 'value' anyway?  it just seems like some sort of extenuating game that has evolved...this 'gratuity' thing.  We will of course continue to play it, because we love these people who make our cruises so great.  But...also commend anyone who might be trying to bring this 'gratuity' game back to sanity [and it's original purpose].  

 

I feel like trying to fight it would just put us into a slippery slope, where the cruise just charges more, and yes, the employees are paid better for a while, but then people want to tip for "exceptional" service again, and people start feeling entitled to tips again, and then we start this "if you give a mouse a cookie" situation where it turns into a cycle, inevitably ending back where we started, just with a more expensive cruise with stewards still living off of tips, but the difference just gets pocketed by Wall Street.

 

Let's just skip all that and either leave it as is, or get rid of tip culture entirely. Both have their pros and cons. 

[yogimax]

4 hours ago, ALKID said:

But your not taking it out on the hardworking staff if the company is keeping it.

Wrong.

 

The company simply collects it then distributes it to the staff,

[Morecruisesplz]

8 hours ago, yogimax said:

I doubt you know why folks are on line at Guest Services.  While at the counter, I have never heard anyone next to me ask to remove tips.

I doubt you know what I know I heard while at the counter picking up tip envelopes. But weigh in anyways.

[Morecruisesplz]

8 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have no clue what the folks visiting guest services are doing and I couldn't care any less.

That's okay 👍 

[the penguins]

13 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I do however, have the right to tip in the manner I see fit. 

Again yes and no. You have the right but only within the conditions set when you book. Another poster used the example of his local store announcing it was going to add a 1 dollar tip for the check out girl.

In that case he would only have 2 choices:

1) pay the tip.

2) shop somewhere else.

He wouldn't have the third option;

Shop at the store and refuse to tip.

You simply cannot pick the booking conditions you like and ignore others. I seem to recall the same debates when smoking on balconies was banned, more recently on e cigarettes not being allowed. 

 

 

[the penguins]

On 8/24/2022 at 4:01 AM, fredmdcruisers said:

Then what happens when you remove tips but tip cash? Does the cabin steward still act upset or do they admit to mgmt that they received an envelope full of cash? And, does RCL follow up with guests who remove tips to see why or do they just go on disparaging and passing out the names of those guests who remove tips?

This misses the point. So far noone who removes auto grats has admitted they don't tip at all - they go quiet when asked that on any thread. So they tip the people they meet face to face and penalise all the other crew members who they don't see but who get a share of the auto grats. 

[livingonthebeach]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

This misses the point. So far noone who removes auto grats has admitted they don't tip at all - they go quiet when asked that on any thread. So they tip the people they meet face to face and penalise all the other crew members who they don't see but who get a share of the auto grats. 

 

What is wrong with paying the back end workers a decent salary? I don't feel I need to tip for services that are already included in my fare.  Do I tip the CEO and CFO of RCI as well? 

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

This misses the point. So far noone who removes auto grats has admitted they don't tip at all - they go quiet when asked that on any thread. So they tip the people they meet face to face and penalise all the other crew members who they don't see but who get a share of the auto grats. 

And everytime I ask how these "other" crew members were compensated prior to the invention of auto gratuities I get the same silence.

[ALKID]

9 hours ago, yogimax said:

Wrong.

 

The company simply collects it then distributes it to the staff,

Just using your donation to pay their crew instead of their own money.

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

What is wrong with paying the back end workers a decent salary? I don't feel I need to tip for services that are already included in my fare.  Do I tip the CEO and CFO of RCI as well? 

The behind the scenes folks are being paid a very good salary 

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Again yes and no. You have the right but only within the conditions set when you book. Another poster used the example of his local store announcing it was going to add a 1 dollar tip for the check out girl.

In that case he would only have 2 choices:

1) pay the tip.

2) shop somewhere else.

He wouldn't have the third option;

Shop at the store and refuse to tip.

You simply cannot pick the booking conditions you like and ignore others. I seem to recall the same debates when smoking on balconies was banned, more recently on e cigarettes not being allowed. 

 

 

You are completely discounting the fact that the cruise line allows for no questions asked removal of the automatic gratuity. This SCREAMS “optional policy”

[Gatordad1967]

Tip what you feel is right.  It is a personal preference.

 

[DirtyDawg]

4 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

I don't feel I need to tip for services that are already included in my fare.  Do I tip the CEO and CFO of RCI as well? 

Technically their tip - it;s called a bonus in executive circles, is already included in your base cruise fare. So, I'd  put it; "Do I tip the CEO and CFO of RCI extra, as well? "

 

I don't tip the CEO of RCI extra but I did tip Naftali Holtz, the CFO of RCL extra - great job keeping this leaky ship afloat over the past couple of years! 😉

 

[Gatordad1967]

48 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You are completely discounting the fact that the cruise line allows for no questions asked removal of the automatic gratuity. This SCREAMS “optional policy”

agreed.

 

[soapbxking]

16 hours ago, ALKID said:

So a socialist society then.

yeah pretty much, which sucks!!!

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, soapbxking said:

So a socialist society then.

yeah pretty much, which sucks!!!

Yep, I escaped from it in 1991; so, I know all that.  Just hoping (based on last 6 years direction) it will not occur here (cruise or no cruise).  "Hope dies last."

[cruisegus]

14 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

Let's just skip all that and either leave it as is, or get rid of tip culture entirely. Both have their pros and cons. 

 

Absolutly NO pros to keeping the TIP culture the USA.

 

But the only way to get it changed is to remove the archic and redicoulus USA Bureau of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules for tipped employees that allows for them to be paid as low as ($2.13/hour)  which is much much lower than minimum wage and then make the customer make up the rest.  Yes if Tips don't bring that up to minimum wage the employeer has to kick in, but it still put the onus on the customer.  USA only civilized country that does this!

Edited August 25, 2022 by cruisegus

[HBE4]

23 hours ago, the penguins said:

Possibly not. It depends on the terms of your ticket. When you book anything you accept the terms or you don't book. You can't pick and choose. Clearly in your example tipping wasn't part of the deal - so no you weren't.

With a cruise tipping is part of the deal. If you think otherwise I suggest you read Royals terms in full and not paraphrase them to what you want. The terms clearly state you can reduce the tips if the service falls below an acceptable standard ( I am paraphrasing). Clearly this means you can't just remove all the tips without waiting to see if the standard is met. I would suggest Royal doesn't question this on the ship because the vast majority do not remove or reduce the tips. However the fact remains that you nor anyone else has the automatic right to remove the tips.

You book Royal you are accepting their conditions.

 

I don’t disagree with anything you wrote with the exception that Royal allows people to change/remove their gratuities with no questions asked. Period. And if that is okay with Royal, then it’s okay with me. And it should be okay with you and everyone else as well.

 

For the record, I tip. Probably just an average tipper so nothing to brag about. I do auto-gratuities, will give the bartender a $1 cash when buying a drink whether he’s opening a beer can or making some time consuming, complicated frozen concoction. Maybe more if I have a good buzz. If the room attendant or waiter seems to be going out of their way to please me, extra money will go to them. That happens most of the time but if they seem to be doing just the basic, going thru the motions job, I probably will not give them extra on top of the auto-gratuities.

 

What they get paid, how & who pays them is no concern of mine. That's between them and their employer.

 

[HBE4]

9 hours ago, the penguins said:

Again yes and no. You have the right but only within the conditions set when you book. Another poster used the example of his local store announcing it was going to add a 1 dollar tip for the check out girl.

In that case he would only have 2 choices:

1) pay the tip.

2) shop somewhere else.

He wouldn't have the third option;

Shop at the store and refuse to tip.

You simply cannot pick the booking conditions you like and ignore others. I seem to recall the same debates when smoking on balconies was banned, more recently on e cigarettes not being allowed. 

 

 

 

Earlier, you replied to one of my post, a hockey game example,  that was really just tongue-in-cheek to prove a point. But let me give a more real world example.  When staying overnight at a hotel, a basic Courtyard or Days Inn on a road trip to somewhere else, I’ll leave a tip for the housekeeper but never once do wonder if they are going to share it with the person doing the laundry, or the person cleaning the pool or the landscaping crew.  I seriously doubt the “holier-than-thou” types preaching here care as well. But put them on a cruise ship & they are ready to give money at anyone that smiles at them, then come here onto CC acting like they are solving third world poverty and shame people for tipping differently. Which, BTW, Royal allows for different ways of tipping.

 

Maybe I’m just an old fashion “charity begins at home” type of guy. What I tip my server is my business. What someone else tips (or not tips) is their business.  So I’ll say it again, it’s your money so feel free to over-tip, under-tip or not tip at all, it will not affect my cruise experience.

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

What is wrong with paying the back end workers a decent salary? I don't feel I need to tip for services that are already included in my fare.  Do I tip the CEO and CFO of RCI as well? 

Nothing is the answer to your first point. The CEO and CFO are not listed in the people covered by auto tips so you needn't worry about that. 

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

And everytime I ask how these "other" crew members were compensated prior to the invention of auto gratuities I get the same silence.

Nor have I. Nor do I know how far back to you would  have to go to get to a time when there were no auto grats . We are relatively new to cruising our first being in 1994 and regularly since 2003 and these grats, in varies guises, have been on every cruise.