Why haven't daily gratuities gone down?

[PWP-001]

Give the service reduction to once a day room cleaning, why are we expected to tip the same?  

 

Previously I enjoyed having my bed made in the morning, fresh towels and a clean bathroom.  And then returning to my room in the evening to find fresh towels, a clean bathroom, my bed turned down, drapes drawn shut and a light bedside.

 

Royal isn't delivering all of those services anymore, so why should the gratuity not decrease?

[shof515]

the crew still needs to be paid and the gratuity you pay helps pay for the crew. if royal needs to pay more for a crew, royal will pass that extra cost to you

[rucruisn2]

I agree with the OP.  Why are we paying for half the service?  Did they lay off cabin stewards?  If so, why are we paying for people no longer employed?  I'll bet Royal isn't paying unemployment for these people.

[PWP-001]

6 minutes ago, shof515 said:

the crew still needs to be paid and the gratuity you pay helps pay for the crew. if royal needs to pay more for a crew, royal will pass that extra cost to you

Room stewards are responsible for cleaning MORE rooms, just once a day.  So shouldn't there be a per guest REDUCTION in the daily gratuity?  The rooms stewards would get the same in the end:  less per room but a greater number of rooms makes up the difference.

 

Said another way... there's LESS crew to be paid since once a day cleaning means they staff fewer crew.  It LESS COST, not EXTRA COST so there's less to pass on.  The gratuity per room should go down.

[smokeybandit]

9 minutes ago, rucruisn2 said:

Did they lay off cabin stewards? 

No, they're just not filling open positions as aggressively.

[scooter6251]

If you have a problem with gratuities to the people that work so hard to make your cruise so enjoyable, maybe you should consider camping instead of cruising. Most people tip beyond the required amounts.

[firefly333]

24 minutes ago, PWP-001 said:

Give the service reduction to once a day room cleaning, why are we expected to tip the same?  

 

Previously I enjoyed having my bed made in the morning, fresh towels and a clean bathroom.  And then returning to my room in the evening to find fresh towels, a clean bathroom, my bed turned down, drapes drawn shut and a light bedside.

 

Royal isn't delivering all of those services anymore, so why should the gratuity not decrease?

Why not say to yourself how happy you are gratuities havent gone up. Wages are increasing so it costs more to hire help.

 

once a day is plenty for me. 

[sabrefan15]

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Why not say to yourself how happy you are gratuities havent gone up. Wages are increasing so it costs more to hire help.

 

once a day is plenty for me. 

Gratuities did go up, from 14.50 per day to 16.00.

[maggieq]

Regardless, these people work extremely hard IMO.  Cutbacks are everywhere since Covid.  I appreciate the once a day servicing.  

[not-enough-cruising]

36 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Why not say to yourself how happy you are gratuities havent gone up. Wages are increasing so it costs more to hire help.

 

once a day is plenty for me. 

Gratuities just went up 

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, sabrefan15 said:

Gratuities did go up, from 14.50 per day to 16.00.

Carnival raised theirs too and went to once a day housekeeping.

 

Are you over there telling them too it's unfair. Get over it. Prices are increasing. I'd rather they cut housekeeping than food. Each has something important to them. I was already telling them just do me once a day but I didnt cut tips. I personally dont like someone in my cabin twice a day, so your whining is lost on me. I was already asking for once a day, leave me alone. I dont like to be fussed over.

[shof515]

17 minutes ago, sabrefan15 said:

Gratuities did go up, from 14.50 per day to 16.00.

Norwegian went up too, they are now about 20 dollars and they too have one day housekeeping and so far they are the only cruise line with the higher pricing

[MD_Dan]

57 minutes ago, PWP-001 said:

Room stewards are responsible for cleaning MORE rooms, just once a day.  So shouldn't there be a per guest REDUCTION in the daily gratuity?  The rooms stewards would get the same in the end:  less per room but a greater number of rooms makes up the difference.

 

Said another way... there's LESS crew to be paid since once a day cleaning means they staff fewer crew.  It LESS COST, not EXTRA COST so there's less to pass on.  The gratuity per room should go down.

 

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Gratuities just went up 

And you think this is news? Lol

 

If YOU want to cut tips dont let me stop you. I keep my cabin clean and already asked stewards for once a day .. and  never considered cutting my tips. Lots of cheap pax .. sorry. Any excuse for some to cut tips. 

[MD_Dan]

Do you actually think the room stewards are making double the money?  Really? 

 

The way to fight this is not to punish the worker.  I remember being a gas station attendant (ask your parents) and hearing an earful every time the price of gas went up.  The worker is not the problem and they shouldn't suffer.

 

[BennyandBo]

Automatic gratuities can be removed for any reason, at anytime, by going to guests services or calling guest services from your cabin. No reason is needed. Anyone can remove them. 

[maggieq]

1 minute ago, BennyandBo said:

Automatic gratuities can be removed for any reason, at anytime, by going to guests services or calling guest services from your cabin. No reason is needed. Anyone can remove them. 

Why would anyone want to remove them?  

[BennyandBo]

3 minutes ago, maggieq said:

Why would anyone want to remove them?  

Bad service, to tip in cash directly to those who provided them a service (AKA Old school), or just because they feel like it and that's their choice, not yours. Enough reasons? 

Edited May 7, 2023 by BennyandBo

[Wanna Be Retired]

It may also have to do with staffing issues, Visas, etc.  I don’t know that for certain but that could be part of the problem.  People are waiting for four months to get a passport renewed.  I don’t know how hard it might be to get a work Visa.

[BennyandBo]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

Because the daily service charge is going up. If you haven't noticed, the US is driving worldwide inflation. 

The US is not solely responsible for inflation worldwide. That's laughable.

[BennyandBo]

1 minute ago, Wanna Be Retired said:

It may also have to do with staffing issues, Visas, etc.  I don’t know that for certain but that could be part of the problem.  People are waiting for four months to get a passport renewed.  I don’t know how hard it might be to get a work Visa.

Royal is cheap and wants it's customers to make up there employees salaries so they don't have to.

[Wanna Be Retired]

4 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

Royal is cheap and wants it's customers to make up there employees salaries so they don't have to.

That could be it too.  I have no knowledge of that either!  Either way there is a reason I suppose and they for sure didn’t ask me! 

[BirdTravels]

19 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

The US is not solely responsible for inflation worldwide. That's laughable.

Pretty much. 

[Scoobydobe7]

48 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

Automatic gratuities can be removed for any reason, at anytime, by going to guests services or calling guest services from your cabin. No reason is needed. Anyone can remove them. 

And that is why they should be included on the fare price...charge more upfront, everyone gets paid...simple...

[smokeybandit]

People are booking in record numbers. There's no motivation to drop gratuities.