Why haven't daily gratuities gone down?

[UNCFanatik]

8 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 
It’s not a problem because the overwhelming majority of cruisers are not cheap like you and don’t remove gratuities. If everyone was cheap like you, the cruise industry would likely collapse because people wouldn’t sign up to work on ships if they knew everyone removed gratuities, which makes up a significant portion of their compensation. 

 

Not a matter of being cheap. The cruise industry wouldnt collapse. They could move to a no gratuity based fare pricing any time they see fit and not skip a beat. Virgin cruise lines seems to be doing ok without the auto gratuities. How are they not collapsing?

 

Its not up to consumers to ensure that the cruise lines engage in fair labor practices. The cruise lines publish a fare. I pay said fare which these days is not "cheap". I can remove auto-gratuities as I see fit. 

 

Its laughable to call people cheap who spend 1000s of dollars on taking a cruise in the first place

[BennyandBo]

58 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

There are people behind the scenes that depend on tips to make a decent wage. When you remove gratuities, you are directly impacting these crew members because you can’t tip people you never see.  

Who cares about the "behind the scenes" people. Not my problem. I can't afford to pay everyone. Just those I deal with directly.

[BND]

The OP apparently isn't happy with RCI at all.  I will say this, why post about something that is truly optional?  While the majority of us do not remove gratuities and even tip more, the added daily gratuities are not mandatory so why complain about something that is within your control?  If you want to be cheap, be cheap, but quit complaining about it on here.

[CruisingWalter]

13 hours ago, PWP-001 said:

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

 

I'm not sure why anyone would advocate for taking money away from the room stewards who work incredibly long hours to keep our cabins clean. Switching from two to one cleanings per day doesn't detract from the amount of work these people do. 

[PWP-001]

9 minutes ago, BND said:

The OP apparently isn't happy with RCI at all.  I will say this, why post about something that is truly optional?  While the majority of us do not remove gratuities and even tip more, the added daily gratuities are not mandatory so why complain about something that is within your control?  If you want to be cheap, be cheap, but quit complaining about it on here.

Hopefully whatever you do for a living doesn’t involve interpreting people’s feelings and emotions because your perception of me are poor and way off base!

 

I have 17 cruises booked over the next 11 months with Royal.

 

Generally I’m treated exceptionally well, with perks and benefits that are extended to usually < 1% of my fellow passengers.  (Don’t ask:  if your entitled to the same you’ll receive.)

 

Characterizing me as cheap is laughable and since you don’t know my tipping habits … we’ll your comments come from a position of ignorance of the facts and circumstances… would be the polite way to put it.

[BND]

6 minutes ago, PWP-001 said:

Hopefully whatever you do for a living doesn’t involve interpreting people’s feelings and emotions because your perception of me are poor and way off base!

 

I have 17 cruises booked over the next 11 months with Royal.

 

Generally I’m treated exceptionally well, with perks and benefits that are extended to usually < 1% of my fellow passengers.  (Don’t ask:  if your entitled to the same you’ll receive.)

 

Characterizing me as cheap is laughable and since you don’t know my tipping habits … we’ll your comments come from a position of ignorance of the facts and circumstances… would be the polite way to put it.

Awful defensive about a simple topic which tells me a lot.   You didn't even address the fact you can remove the gratuities if you want to. 

 

Are you going to go after anyone else who disagrees with you or did I just hit a sore spot?

Edited May 8, 2023 by BND

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I think the solution is VERY easy, but no one will do it.

 

If you don't like the increased gratuities OR if you don't like the cutback to a single "cabin service/cleaning" a day, DON'T CRUISE.  Hit Royal (and other cruise lines) where it hurts.   

 

If you take away or cutback your tips, Royal will know, but will they care?  You're still cruising.  They're still getting your money from the cruise, your money from the specialty restaurants, your money from the drink packages, your money from cruise excursions. 

 

Who doesn't get your money?  The people servicing you.  Those people who had absolutely no say in the increase in gratuity.  Those people who had no say in the cutback of cabin services.  

[UNCFanatik]

1 minute ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I think the solution is VERY easy, but no one will do it.

 

If you don't like the increased gratuities OR if you don't like the cutback to a single "cabin service/cleaning" a day, DON'T CRUISE.  Hit Royal (and other cruise lines) where it hurts.   

 

If you take away or cutback your tips, Royal will know, but will they care?  You're still cruising.  They're still getting your money from the cruise, your money from the specialty restaurants, your money from the drink packages, your money from cruise excursions. 

 

Who doesn't get your money?  The people servicing you.  Those people who had absolutely no say in the increase in gratuity.  Those people who had no say in the cutback of cabin services.  

 

No, the crew still gets my money by me paying the published fare. Abd IF I buy a drink package that charges a gratuity BEFORE service is ever provided(foreign concept) the crew still gets my money. IF i buy a drink on board..same thing. SO, IF Royal is going to charge a mandatory gratuity for some services then ask yourself, why dont they do it for everything and do away with the daily gratuity charge?

 

And by your logic, if people dont cruise then it hurts the cruise lines which in turn hurts the crew when the logical crew reductions that would follow the amount of people who are advocating to stop cruising

 

I am thinking that you really dont care about the crew

[Submariner]

The amount of people brainwashed into accepting the over-tipping process on American cruiselines always astonishes me. Corporate America sure have won here.

[BennyandBo]

For me I don't like anyone telling what to tip, when to tip, etc. I don't need Royal Caribbean to do it for me. I tip in person those that provide me a service. After they provide that service. Based on how well they did it. As for behind the scenes people, not my problem. 

[PWP-001]

22 minutes ago, BND said:

Awful defensive about a simple topic which tells me a lot.   You didn't even address the fact you can remove the gratuities if you want to. 

 

Are you going to go after anyone else who disagrees with you or did I just hit a sore spot?

Actually my defensiveness is aimed at your personal attack of my character which, again can only come from a place of ignorance.

 

I have read all the posts that are the result of me asking a question that began with the word WHY.  In the English language it implies that I’m seeking responses that may offer an explanation.

 

I will admit that the true intent and motivation behind introducing this topic really had NOTHING TO DO with seeking a refund of a few dollars a day.

 

if you re-read each of my posts you’d be hard pressed to quote even one where I have “gone after” someone whose opinion is contrary to mine.  
 

In fact my FAVORITE post so far is what some may see as a veiled attack:

 

”How dirty are you?”

 

I laughed out loud (literally) when I read that at the dinner table.

 

Each time I think about it I smile because in my head I hear those words asking the question with the accent of a middle aged lady of means from The South.

 

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

32 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

No, the crew still gets my money by me paying the published fare. Abd IF I buy a drink package that charges a gratuity BEFORE service is ever provided(foreign concept) the crew still gets my money. IF i buy a drink on board..same thing. SO, IF Royal is going to charge a mandatory gratuity for some services then ask yourself, why dont they do it for everything and do away with the daily gratuity charge?

 

And by your logic, if people dont cruise then it hurts the cruise lines which in turn hurts the crew when the logical crew reductions that would follow the amount of people who are advocating to stop cruising

 

I am thinking that you really dont care about the crew

That 'whoosh' you heard?  That was my point flying by you.  If you (general) go on a cruise and withhold tips (whether reducing or eliminating), that hurts the crew.  Royal still gets their money.  If you don't like a policy a business holds (whether cruise, airline, restaurant, store, whatever), don't do business with them.  Seems pretty simple. 

[PWP-001]

4 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

That 'whoosh' you heard?  That was my point flying by you.  If you (general) go on a cruise and withhold tips (whether reducing or eliminating), that hurts the crew.  Royal still gets their money.  If you don't like a policy a business holds (whether cruise, airline, restaurant, store, whatever), don't do business with them.  Seems pretty simple. 

It really doesn’t hurt the crew as much as you think.  
The numbers quoted in this thread with pictures of Royal’s Gratuity Breakdown points to over 43% of that daily gratuity being allocated to “Other Hotel Services” which is a deceptive way of presenting a labor surcharge RCI in all likelihood uses to reduce their labor cost and enhance profitability.

 

There were over 4,100 guests on Freedom this weekend for a 3-day cruise, translating into well over $200,000 of DSC collected.  If a handful of guests requested a refund, it remains insignificant.

 

And the attitude:  don’t like it, go elsewhere?

That’s not how a brand builds loyalty.  

 

[The_Big_M]

14 hours ago, MD_Dan said:

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.

 

 

People aren't complaining to room attendants that the cruise cost has gone up.

 

In your case, it's more like they're tipping when the petrol station has become partly self-service.

[The_Big_M]

14 hours ago, firefly333 said:

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. 

 

In the same judgemental tone, it could be said "lots of people who don't know the value of money. And just waste it."

[UNCFanatik]

30 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

That 'whoosh' you heard?  That was my point flying by you.  If you (general) go on a cruise and withhold tips (whether reducing or eliminating), that hurts the crew.  Royal still gets their money.  If you don't like a policy a business holds (whether cruise, airline, restaurant, store, whatever), don't do business with them.  Seems pretty simple. 

 

It also seems pretty simple that if you are worried about the crew, you wouldnt be advocating for people that remove gratuities to just stop sailing when those people generate income to a cruise industry that is still trying to recover from the shutdown. What you are suggesting hurts crew members who would be let go if we followed your suggestion. 

 

Where is your concern for the crew? 

[The_Big_M]

13 hours ago, birdofsong said:

Does anyone really need their cabin cleaned more than once a day?  How dirty are you? 

 

Has anyone in this thread said they want the cabin cleaned more?

 

More like they're just acting rationally like the cruise line. Does the cruise line pay people for work that isn't done?

[Mr. Green]

So punish the worker and not the corporation making the decision? You don't want to tip the service worker, but you are paying more than ever to the mother ship for the cruise?

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, Submariner said:

The amount of people brainwashed into accepting the over-tipping process on American cruiselines always astonishes me. Corporate America sure have won here.

It really is amazing.  I'm still trying to understand the logic of having auto-gratuities and then tipping with each drink.  And some with $2 bills.  

I don't tip gas station attendants, restaurants when I pick up my order, fast food places...etc... I just had an experience for my youngest 21st b day where the venue charged the tips upfront.  Our server was pretty bad and was vaping outside with some of our guests where I was getting the drinks and food.  At the end of the 2.5 hrs, the manager actually asked how we wanted to tip.  I said the tip was given already and actually I wanted to know where my cut is seeing that I served and cleaned up.  She too tried the behind the scenes people excuse and my reply was well I already paid prior and if more was needed then you charge more or pay your employees more.  I did try more than once to be the mom and not the waitress but gave up.  

 

[UNCFanatik]

8 minutes ago, Mr. Green said:

So punish the worker and not the corporation making the decision? You don't want to tip the service worker, but you are paying more than ever to the mother ship for the cruise?

Its not "punishing" the crew by supporting an industry with 1000s of my dollars which in turn enables the cruise lines to hire crew in the first place. 

 

Why should I get punished by paying a mandatory gratuity to someone that just hands me a beer?

 

If the cruise lines want to increase the amount of the fare and do away with mandatory and auto-gratuity and thus pay their crew more, I am here for it. But this isnt the model that Royal, in particular is doing at the moment. And you have to ask why and I think we know the reasons. 

 

And again, the logic is escaping you and others, that by supporting the cruise industry, we enable more jobs for more crew members and keep the current crew from losing their jobs

 

Doesnt sound like punishment to me. 

 

Just curious, when you buy your goods in other areas of your life, are you concerned about the conditions of the workers of these companies that make said goods?

[The_Big_M]

13 minutes ago, Mr. Green said:

So punish the worker and not the corporation making the decision? You don't want to tip the service worker, but you are paying more than ever to the mother ship for the cruise?

 

How is it punishment? If they're doing the same rooms, they're doing less work. How many jobs does your work get less but your pay doesn't? Alternatively, if they're doing more rooms to make up the same time, they're getting paid more for doing the same. So either way, they're not punished.

[PWP-001]

2 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

How is it punishment? If they're doing the same rooms, they're doing less work. How many jobs does your work get less but your pay doesn't? Alternatively, if they're doing more rooms to make up the same time, they're getting paid more for doing the same. So either way, they're not punished.

Don’t be so sure the room stewards are getting paid more to clean more rooms.  I believe their hours remain the same.  Same hours, less time (one daily visit) in each room means they can cover more rooms in the same time, so same pay.  I’d guess that’s about how the presentation to staff went

[The_Big_M]

Just now, PWP-001 said:

Don’t be so sure the room stewards are getting paid more to clean more rooms.  I believe their hours remain the same.  Same hours, less time (one daily visit) in each room means they can cover more rooms in the same time, so same pay.  I’d guess that’s about how the presentation to staff went

 

Tips aren't paid per "time/hour". Tips are paid per cabin/person. So more rooms necessarily means more tips.

[Vibe]

2 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

Not a matter of being cheap. The cruise industry wouldnt collapse. They could move to a no gratuity based fare pricing any time they see fit and not skip a beat. Virgin cruise lines seems to be doing ok without the auto gratuities. How are they not collapsing?

 

Its not up to consumers to ensure that the cruise lines engage in fair labor practices. The cruise lines publish a fare. I pay said fare which these days is not "cheap". I can remove auto-gratuities as I see fit. 

 

Its laughable to call people cheap who spend 1000s of dollars on taking a cruise in the first place

Virgin has gratuities that are paid for by the passenger, that amount is built into the price of the cruise. This may be a better method because they pay their crew the amount that is agreed when a crew member accepts a position.  If you book a cruise with Virgin and pay the cruise fare, you don’t have to concern yourself with any of the debates going on in this discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Vibe

[topnole]

12 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

Why wouldn't be $699 plus the $240 for the automatic gratuities for a party of 2? Your figure is very dramatic.

This is true and what it would be using that other persons logic (that they grossly exaggerated).  But the point remains, the customer would still be paying for it.  So if tips weren’t part of they deal, the cruise lines would simple raise cruise fares to recoup the labor cost.  Either way, the customer is going to pay for it.  There are pros and cons to each system.  At least with tips the workers are incentivized.  One downside is the final cost often isn’t clear to all.  
 

But the argument that Royal is just making us pay their labor costs and that is somehow wrong is laughable.  Every business has the customers pay the labor cost (via the price charged for the product or service).  If they don’t, they will be out of business.  In the service industry this is often done via tips.  But either way the customer is paying it.