Retreat Tipping question

[mfs2k]

11 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

I never understand the US tipping - if tips are included why tip extra?

 

In the U.K. tips are done for meals out between 10% -12.5% usually but are not compulsory unless it says so at the time of booking.

 

You’d never really tip in a pub or bar unless you’d say ‘have one yourself’ & that’s code for a tip. If you had an event there then yes you’d tip most likely but you’d tip around 5%-10% & again it’s not expected. 

 

Hairdressers/nail technician/ beautician some tip but not everyone does.

 

I think people don’t realise that in the U.K. we have minimum wage (for most people) which is in line with inflation & counts as a living wage.
 

Cleaners for example- well mine charges way above the hour than the minimum wage so no I don’t tip. I buy her & her family a Christmas present as do her other customers.
 

So basically in the U.K. requirement to tip isn’t really there though some do. 

Understood

But Cruise service crew aren’t UK workers and aren’t paid a living wage without tips. They rely on tips as part of their compensation. 

[verizon]

28 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

I never understand the US tipping - if tips are included why tip extra?

 

In the U.K. tips are done for meals out between 10% -12.5% usually but are not compulsory unless it says so at the time of booking.

 

You’d never really tip in a pub or bar unless you’d say ‘have one yourself’ & that’s code for a tip. If you had an event there then yes you’d tip most likely but you’d tip around 5%-10% & again it’s not expected. 

 

Hairdressers/nail technician/ beautician some tip but not everyone does.

 

I think people don’t realise that in the U.K. we have minimum wage (for most people) which is in line with inflation & counts as a living wage.
 

Cleaners for example- well mine charges way above the hour than the minimum wage so no I don’t tip. I buy her & her family a Christmas present as do her other customers.
 

So basically in the U.K. requirement to tip isn’t really there though some do. 

Would you rather pay 10-15 % (compulsory) with NO services or like in America you would like to pay 18% or more(voluntary) for good service.

Edited September 15, 2022 by verizon

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

7 hours ago, JoieNsk said:

It's just once the Concierge on one of the Disney ships told me that they don't get any other pay more than guest tips (?!). I was amazed. But I don't see the reason why he would not tell the truth.

Highly doubtful this is true. I cannot imagine at least 20 people (3 per ship plus this on vacation) being stupid enough to take a job with no guarantee of any money.

[Gracie115]

7 hours ago, JoieNsk said:

 They gave me a copy of the receipt of those charges, I cut it by the lines and I stuck the copy for each person I tipped in the separate envelope with thank you etc. So they can claim the tip, if somehow they would not get it automatically.

 

 

I like this idea!!  Have been hesitant to add to our account because just wasn't sure how it worked but nice to know I would be able to give something to the person being tipped so that they know about it.

[wineoclock]

30 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Understood

But Cruise service crew aren’t UK workers and aren’t paid a living wage without tips. They rely on tips as part of their compensation. 

I was responding to the pp when they  tipped in a pub in the U.K. - I should have specified or quoted. I then explained tipping culture in U.K. carrying on from that.
 

I don’t understand US tipping culture as I’m not from there & I don’t understand if tips are included why tip more, if someone can explain please? 

[wineoclock]

19 minutes ago, verizon said:

Would you rather pay 10-15 % (compulsory) with NO services or like in America you would like to pay 18% or more(voluntary) for good service.

But in the U.K. you get the service whether you tip or not which is what I was responding to as to the pp who said about tipping in a pub above. It’s usually good service in the U.K. imo,  anyway whether you tip or not! Obviously there are exceptions to the rule. 

[Cruise a holic]

We tip for each drink and leave money tip in all of the restaurants after a meal- except the buffet.  We typically do not tip the luminae staff, except for the waiter.  We give an extra tip also to our cabin attendant, butler and Suite lounge people.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[wineoclock]

So we are meant to tip extra? We don’t want to get it wrong thank you. 

[Dthomas1]

3 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

So we are meant to tip extra? We don’t want to get it wrong thank you. 

The paid gratuities covers all of your tipping. Anything extra is your choice.

[mfs2k]

47 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

I was responding to the pp when they  tipped in a pub in the U.K. - I should have specified or quoted. I then explained tipping culture in U.K. carrying on from that.
 

I don’t understand US tipping culture as I’m not from there & I don’t understand if tips are included why tip more, if someone can explain please? 

Most foodservice workers (servers, bartenders, bussers, barbacks) in the US are paid a “tipped wage” which is below minimum wage. In some states that could be below $5 per hour because most compensation for them come from direct or indirect tips. ( bussers and barbacks are indirect because they are tipped from the bartender and server pools)

It is rare to go to a restaurant or bar where gratuities/service charges are included. 
Non food and beverage service staff (hosts, cooks, dishwashers, managers) generally don’t get any allocation of tips. 
Some restaurateurs (Danny Meyer for one) are trying to change this and paying higher wages and increased prices and saying gratuities aren’t expected. The idea was to be able to spread the wealth among back of house employees too. FYI. Many of his high earning servers have quit because they’re earning less. 
Many of us tip on cruise ships and in other situations because it’s an acceptable way to show appreciation to another who is “serving you.”  They likely earn far less than we do and tipping on top of included gratuities helps the service worker more than “thank you” does. And you can do both.  You can also write a comment card expressing thanks which I’m told helps them too in their job reviews. 
There are other subtexts about tipping because sometimes giving feels better than receiving. Don’t you feel good when you give someone a gift they appreciate ?  I do. Nothing wrong with that. 
I view included gratuities on a cruise ship as providing a base level of compensation to workers but because of tips these workers can earn more than a base level. It’s good for us too because if a good worker is earning more than they’d make elsewhere they’ll want to renew their contracts on the ship and continue to serve us. Win win. 

[wineoclock]

Thank you that is very helpful & comprehensive. It’s difficult when it’s not your culture & you don’t want to get it wrong. So we will tip extra - that’s cleared up now 😁

[CruiserDoc]

16 hours ago, DCPIV said:

You don't -need- to tip anyone.  Many folks (including us) typically do for exceptional service (or attempts to provide it), but it's really a personal standard.  Keep in mind that a double occupancy room already is contributing $38/day in gratuties.

 

Personally, the service is Luminae always has been of a quality I want to reward with an extra tip, but that's just been my experience.  I come ready to tip them extra, but I don't hand it out on the first day.  I also expect that there will be at least one bar where we will spend enough time that a tip feels appropriate (again, "feels appropriate). 

 

For the Sommelier, we try to get them a little something extra by arranging all the tastings we want to do them (and we typically do a couple, at least).  If they do a great job (and they always have), we'll add to that.

 

I almost always want to tip our Butler and Room Attendant extra, too.  We do as our butler to do things, and the ones we've had always seem to find a way to do those things better than we asked or could have imagined.  As for the Room Attendant, I often make him work around my tendency to sleep in while cruising, so I hope I make up for that in some part with a happy envelope at the end.

 

As for the best way, I'm not sure there is one.  For the Butler, Room Attendant, Luminae staff, and Sommeleir, I usually give them an envelope on the last night (although I have used OBC).  For bartenders and other bar staff, I typically do that as I go.  However, I'll often "bulk tip" a larger amount if it's a place I know I will be around often (or I just haven't tipped in a while).  I know that bartenders pool to some extent because they always have tossed the cash tips into a common container of some manner.

You mention that you have used OBC for tipping...how do you make that happen?

[Gordoncruickshank]

30 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

Thank you that is very helpful & comprehensive. It’s difficult when it’s not your culture & you don’t want to get it wrong. So we will tip extra - that’s cleared up now 😁

If you do a cruise from Southampton all the cruise companies wrap up the gratuity for drinks into the price and it is the same in Australia. It the drink is $10 plus 18% it is priced on the Southampton and Australian menus at $11.80 because it is easier than having to deal with the complaints about adding a tip. That is done purely because of the UK and Australian attitudes to tipping. Tipping is all part of the structure of the cruise companies as those companies are all American bases and owned. 

 

In the US you have a standard 18-20% plus tax usually so your $10 drink becomes $13 when you get the bill. If you are in a bar is the US the norm is to leave at least a $1 bill per drink, which will sit in front of you untouched until you leave. That is just the way it works. Where the Americans get an issue is if they join a cruise from Southampton and they don't twig that the prices are tip included and they add their normal tips. The drink package limits change as well from $15 a drink to $18 to include the tip.

 

I hope that helps.

[Gordoncruickshank]

2 minutes ago, CruiserDoc said:

You mention that you have used OBC for tipping...how do you make that happen?

You get a form from customer services and tell them to charge tips of $xx to your onboard account and allocate it to those staff members or locations i.e. Luminae or Blu, you want to tip and the amount gets to the individual staff members or in the case of the restaurants into their tip pool.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Gordoncruickshank

[DCPIV]

2 minutes ago, CruiserDoc said:

You mention that you have used OBC for tipping...how do you make that happen?

 

Go to Guest Services and ask for the form that allows you to do.  It's pretty easy after that.  The form breaks it down to categories like "butler," "room attendant," "dining staff," etc., so you don't need to have any names or other information.  You also can confirm your account balance.

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, wineoclock said:

I was responding to the pp when they  tipped in a pub in the U.K. - I should have specified or quoted. I then explained tipping culture in U.K. carrying on from that.
 

I don’t understand US tipping culture as I’m not from there & I don’t understand if tips are included why tip more, if someone can explain please? 

It’s simple, because we want to 

[thebutlerdidit]

1 hour ago, wineoclock said:

So we are meant to tip extra? We don’t want to get it wrong thank you. 

This is what Celebrity has to say on the subject. 
 

 

[wineoclock]

I’m so pleased our May cruise is from Southampton- no confusion 😂

 

And useful to know Celebrity’s actual policy thank you! 

[DCPIV]

2 hours ago, wineoclock said:

So we are meant to tip extra? We don’t want to get it wrong thank you. 

 

No, you aren't meant to.  Feel free to do so if you like, of course.  No one will turn it down.  However, you are not meant to, and you should feel no shame or other negative feelings if you do not.

 

A lot of this goes back to times before gratuities were included or added to one's on board account and before there were dining or beverage packages, even before specialty restaurants.  Back then, ALL tipping on board was done in cash.  The lines did give you a suggested amount for each position (room steward, waiter, assistant waiter, etc.)  They even put envelopes in your room with each position printed on the front.  We would sort out all our cash before leaving for the cruise, stuff the envelopes once on board, and then stick them in the safe.  On the last night, we'd assess whether we wanted to add anything extra for exceptional service. 

 

Bartenders and bar waiters were taken care of via an automatic gratuity added to every drink (and you paid for each drink as you went).  There were occasions when we wanted to add to that (again, for exceptional service), but it hardly was automatic.

 

A lot of folks still want to hand out those envelopes.

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by DCPIV

[wineoclock]

Yes thank you - we did this pre auto gratuities also. I suppose I was just confused as to tipping on top of auto gratuities. It wouldn’t happen in the U.K. you would just pay the recommended amount & no extra. Having said that Gary has told me we have always tipped more than recommended so that’s told me 😂

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, wineoclock said:

It wouldn’t happen in the U.K. you would just pay the recommended amount & no extra.

The difference for me is that I view Celebrity's auto-gratuities as the minimum amount, not the recommended amount. If a staff-member provides me with a minimum level of service then there's no need for me to tip extra. I find that the staff always goes above and beyond my minimum expectations and tip extra accordingly.

 

There is no right or wrong answer on tipping extra, it's a personal choice... except room service, ALWAYS tip for room service delivery... but I digress.

[wineoclock]

And that Rich is a cultural difference.
 

I assume you are from the US? It just wouldn’t occur to most Brits to tip more than the recommended amount; that you regarded it as a minimum, wouldn’t cross our minds to tip more as the staff in the U.K. are on a living/minimum wage. 
 

It’s good to ask questions as we wouldn’t know the differences in viewpoints and learn cultural differences. That can only be good thing. 

[hrhdhd]

I'll take Celebrity at its word, posted above. That reduces the need to analyze cultural habits.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, wineoclock said:

And that Rich is a cultural difference.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. I shared my personal viewpoint. It may not necessarily represent US culture.

[CNSfromHI]

2 hours ago, wineoclock said:

It’s good to ask questions as we wouldn’t know the differences in viewpoints and learn cultural differences. That can only be good thing. 

👍

 

cjr