How much of the included tips does the stateroom attendant get?

[jonthomas]

Does anyone know? They work so hard I wonder how much of the overall included tip is their portion.

[LindaS272]

No idea. We always tip our room stewards in addition to stated “gratuities.”

[duquephart]

They get none of it. What you call tip goes straight to the payroll.

[Clay Clayton]

19 minutes ago, duquephart said:

They get none of it. What you call tip goes straight to the payroll.

Can you provide the source of this information?

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

They get none of it. What you call tip goes straight to the payroll.

 

That was not what we were advised while taking the crew introductory course on the Viking Sun. At that time they advised the crew receive a better than normal industry wage, regardless of discretionary service charges.

 

Any money that is collected from the DSC is all contributed to the crew welfare and further education fund. We were provided a couple of examples of how it is used to help crew members in need.

 

Effective April 2020.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Heidi13

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Does anyone know? They work so hard I wonder how much of the overall included tip is their portion.

 

The distribution  and exactly who participates in the fund on any cruise line is a closely guarded secret. Our son attained Senior 2nd Officer with Princess before he quit and was not privy to this information.

[janetcbl]

I always take double the amount I think I will tip extra….and usually wish I had brought more. Your Cabin Attendant will amaze you and make your trip extra special!

[springtravel]

How bad would it appear, if we choose not to do the recommended gratuity and the end of the cruise, and just gave gratuities to those that have actually provided service to us directly?  I don't want to short anyone, but if they probably don't get it anyway, wouldn't the staff be happier?

 

[Hockeyump]

But what about those who provide a service you don't directly see? Examples are those who cook your food, laundry your bed linen and towels, keep the public areas clean and so on. 

[janetcbl]

2 minutes ago, springtravel said:

How bad would it appear, if we choose not to do the recommended gratuity and the end of the cruise, and just gave gratuities to those that have actually provided service to us directly?  I don't want to short anyone, but if they probably don't get it anyway, wouldn't the staff be happier?

 

People who you don’t see, such as in the kitchen, maintenance, etc. get part of the gratuities that you pay up front. If you did individual gratuities, these people would be missed.

[springtravel]

 

That is what I originally thought, we would like the gratuities go to everyone, but from what previous posters replied, it doesn't sound like any benefit from the gratuities.  If we give them out ourselves, at least we would know some received.

[jonthomas]

is the gratuity $16 pp per day, how much of that do you think is the stateroom attendant's....$5...considering how many people are part of it....as you said, kitchen, maintenance etc....

 

why is it such a guarded secret...someone must know....

 

with celebrity, they had a chart , with exact amounts that were given to 5 people, stateroom attendant and assistant, waiter in main dining room and assistant and maitre'd....we knew exactly how much the stateroom person got and main waiter and if they were exceptional we knew how much to add.....

 

how is it that on V kitchen staff, maintenance etc....even captain..hey why not captain, cruise director....lets take the whole staff of about 1000 and divide all the included grats among them...then no one would really get anything....

 

the more questions I ask about this topic, the less I understand....

 

 

[Heidi13]

7 minutes ago, springtravel said:

 

That is what I originally thought, we would like the gratuities go to everyone, but from what previous posters replied, it doesn't sound like any benefit from the gratuities.  If we give them out ourselves, at least we would know some received.

 

Based on the information we were given aboard Viking Sun, when we were 8 pax with 460 crew, all crew have access to the fund. Many crew have received funding for further education, which has enabled them to receive promotions and I recall an example of a crew member who was flown home early for what I believe was a family emergency.

[CCWineLover]

9 minutes ago, springtravel said:

 

That is what I originally thought, we would like the gratuities go to everyone, but from what previous posters replied, it doesn't sound like any benefit from the gratuities.  If we give them out ourselves, at least we would know some received.

Do you really believe that poster?   

Everything I understood was that the room stewards were NOT singled out to be neglected in the overall pool, as this poster stated with no evidence.

 

As for the room stewards working hard . .  yes they do!  But then so do many others who you don't see or interact with every day.  Not just the cooks - think about the tough job the Guest Services people have down on deck 1, having to listen every day to people complaining about this and that (I've stood in line and heard some of the complaints and demands), and having to be nice about it all the time.

[Heidi13]

5 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

is the gratuity $16 pp per day, how much of that do you think is the stateroom attendant's....$5...considering how many people are part of it....as you said, kitchen, maintenance etc....

 

why is it such a guarded secret...someone must know....

 

with celebrity, they had a chart , with exact amounts that were given to 5 people, stateroom attendant and assistant, waiter in main dining room and assistant and maitre'd....we knew exactly how much the stateroom person got and main waiter and if they were exceptional we knew how much to add.....

 

how is it that on V kitchen staff, maintenance etc....even captain..hey why not captain, cruise director....lets take the whole staff of about 1000 and divide all the included grats among them...then no one would really get anything....

 

the more questions I ask about this topic, the less I understand....

 

 

 

I can assure you the Captain and Deck/Engineering Officer are not included in the tip pools. Don't know what the Viking Masters make, but I doubt they are hurting.😀 

[jonthomas]

the stateroom attendant is someone who you come in contact with on a regular basis..face to face....in fact I would say they know you intimately....

 

what you are suggesting above is that you make a massive contribution to the welfare of all staff on the ship....for all kinds of reasons ...many of the reasons should be attended to by their employer not the client.....

 

a simple question...

 

what is the share for the stateroom attendant.....

 

since there are so many....if the pie has 16 pieces, do they get one piece of the pie?....

 

yes seems to me, then it is much better to give a personal thank you for someone who knows you intimately....

 

funding all employees of the vessel, seems ludicrous to me....

 

no wonder so many now cruise with gratuities included in price....

[jonthomas]

3 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I can assure you the Captain and Deck/Engineering Officer are not included in the tip pools. Don't know what the Viking Masters make, but I doubt they are hurting.😀 

 

so who decides who is hurting and who is not.....

 

how about the engineers....the chefs, etc.....is there a fund for them to get off early in family emergencies or is that too the responsibility of the passengers...

 

ridiculous....

[jonthomas]

I think I am becoming sorry I asked the question.

 

Will make my own decision based on some common sense.

[Busy Mum]

24 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

I think I am becoming sorry I asked the question.

 

Will make my own decision based on some common sense.

Great thinking! This subject of gratuities/tipping can be such a contentious subject, sadly! 🥺🥺  

[BigBee51]

Link to an interesting article about gratuities. Basically, the gratuities go to customer facing staff (i.e. room stewards, waiters etc.), not the entire ships complement

 

https://www.cruzely.com/full-guide-to-cruise-ship-gratuities-for-2019-amounts-etiquette-and-more/#:~:text=The staff works hard to,cabin and the dining staff.

[WNcruiser]

1 hour ago, springtravel said:

How bad would it appear, if we choose not to do the recommended gratuity and the end of the cruise, and just gave gratuities to those that have actually provided service to us directly?  I don't want to short anyone, but if they probably don't get it anyway, wouldn't the staff be happier?

 

Don't feel bad about doing that, there are many people who do the same. For years and years the only people that received tips were the waiters and room stewards. Now certain cruise lines expect the passengers to pay part of the salaries of the kitchen staff, maintenance, etc. 

 

 

[CCWineLover]

34 minutes ago, BigBee51 said:

Link to an interesting article about gratuities. Basically, the gratuities go to customer facing staff (i.e. room stewards, waiters etc.), not the entire ships complement

 

https://www.cruzely.com/full-guide-to-cruise-ship-gratuities-for-2019-amounts-etiquette-and-more/#:~:text=The staff works hard to,cabin and the dining staff.

From this article (although who knows which cruise lines it applies to?)

Who Gets the Gratuities?

From the passenger perspective, the gratuity amount is simple — pay a set amount per person, per day, and be done. So you might be charged $15 in tips for a day.

On the cruise line side, that money gets cut up to be distributed. The tips are spread out between the room steward, dining staff, and others.

For example, of a $15 charge, $7 per day may be distributed to your room steward, $5 to the dining staff, and the remaining $3 is spread among other customer-facing positions on the ship. Some lines also pool the tips altogether and then distribute them throughout the year.

The good thing for passengers about automatic gratuities is that this breakdown is done automatically by the cruise line instead of having to give tips to several different staff members at the end of your cruise.

[jonthomas]

I generally think that whenever something is a secret, there is something wrong with it. 

 

Thank you for some helpful information. 

[CILCIANRQTS]

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin??? 😎

[les37b]

4 hours ago, janetcbl said:

I always take double the amount I think I will tip extra….and usually wish I had brought more. Your Cabin Attendant will amaze you and make your trip extra special!

I daren’t ask what they did to make your trip extra special! 🤣