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Are you still adding cash gratuity on top of the automatic gratuities?

NightOne

By NightOne,
in Royal Caribbean International

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sailor05

sailor05

Posted
Posted

Raising gratuities and doing once-a-day cabin cleanings is the point that I stop doing extra tipping. And also with doing specialty dining a couple nights is the extra from my wait staff as I pay for those days anyway. When I had young kids that took extra from these people I always gave extra. Not anymore.

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Slidell_Cruiser

Slidell_Cruiser

Posted
Posted

Tipping a personal choice no right answer here..

The ship staff that serves, cooks, and cleans works very very hard…

I’m all in for raising the level and extra cash for extra service….

BUT

After posting a BILLION dollar profit, they then do this to the guests who are already paying much higher fares  other purchases 

Covid debt or not…

TOTAL Corporate  CREED..

WHAT IS YOUR Bonus THIS YEAR Mr Liberty

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LobsterStalker

LobsterStalker

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, sailor05 said:

Raising gratuities and doing once-a-day cabin cleanings is the point that I stop doing extra tipping. And also with doing specialty dining a couple nights is the extra from my wait staff as I pay for those days anyway. When I had young kids that took extra from these people I always gave extra. Not anymore.

Sad thing is , by raising grats again , upfront customer facing staff , (who I believe deserve the tip) , 

Are actually going to get way less by my estimation . With the amount of the increase ,we could estimate that the steward gets maybe an extra .50c-.60c per day .So a buck a day per cabin .

If this leads more people to stop tipping them extra , they could be hauling in maybe an avg. of $5 a day from that loss. Haven't decided to do either yet , still auto gratting and tipping extra , but Makes me feel , removing autograts , and tipping accordingly may be the better option , rather than leaving them on and not tipping extra.

...Good job RCI

 

Cheers

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Ret MP

Ret MP

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 10/31/2023 at 5:13 PM, NightOne said:

 

Right, but as the amount Royal charges goes up and up it seems hard to justify more on top of that.

 

Example: $18pp x 2 for a 7 day cruise is $252

 

$252 in tips for a week 

 

That is quit a bit

 

Now let's say I am am cash tipping my 2 MDR waiters $50 each for the week, my room steward $50 for the week, and one other person $50 for the week then we are talking $500 in tips for the week.

 

What number do we get to where we say the auto-tips are enough? 🙂

 

Are we there yet? I'm wondering.

The benefit of cash-only tips is that, hopefully, the underperformers aren't being rewarded.  The current system does exactly that, rewards those that do or don't provide at least minimal performance. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I do pre-pay gratuities because it is the system AND I do extra cash tips (with $2.00 dollar bills, if I have them) for meeting and exceeding my expectations.  But, if they do away with the pre-pay/mandatory, which isn't (except for bar tabs), tip system, it wouldn't break my heart, at all.  I'd much rather tip cash of 15 - 20% or higher to folks who provide face-to-face services for/to me if deserved.  Right now, those who don't meet my expectations get what they get but not from me directly.

 

EDITED IN:  As an afterthought,  Keep in mind that every drink you purchase on an RCCL ship has an 18% gratuity tacked on, without choice.  So, not only are you/me paying the prepaid or onboard gratuity system but we are paying that 18% on the inflated prices of beverages.  That must be factored in as well.

Edited by Ret MP
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Husky1987

Husky1987

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

Sad thing is , by raising grats again , upfront customer facing staff , (who I believe deserve the tip) , 

Are actually going to get way less by my estimation . With the amount of the increase ,we could estimate that the steward gets maybe an extra .50c-.60c per day .So a buck a day per cabin .

If this leads more people to stop tipping them extra , they could be hauling in maybe an avg. of $5 a day from that loss. Haven't decided to do either yet , still auto gratting and tipping extra , but Makes me feel , removing autograts , and tipping accordingly may be the better option , rather than leaving them on and not tipping extra.

...Good job RCI

 

Cheers

Pretty much where I'm at as well.

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The Fun Researcher

The Fun Researcher

Posted
Posted

OP, was just thinking about that yesterday.  
We always prepay gratuities and add cash on top of that unless we have bad service (which is yet to happen).
 

With the increased gratuities and the downgrade to once a day room service I’m sad to say I may not tip additional cash to the room steward like we used to.  
 

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NightOne

NightOne

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Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, boscobeans said:

Fact is everything that makes a cruise or cruise line from the telephone representatives to the President and board of directors is PAID WITH THE FARES COLLECTED FROM THE PASSENGERS.

And just like any other service I pay for I understand that even those flipping the burgers, who I actually and indirectly pay, are to a degree my employees and deserve a living wage that most probably should rise with inflation.

I don't wish to debate who is and isn't an employer, in my opinion it is a person who pays someone or a group of people to provide that person with goods or services. So, YES, the passenger is the ultimate employer of a series of employees.

 

Tipping in the American culture IS PART OF LIFE and is and has been for decades considered a part of an EMPLOYEE'S salary (EVEN BY THE IRS.).

I don't really care who tips or doesn't, but I worked in the service industry and did rely on tips just as the employees on cruise ships do. I also UNDERSTAND that there is such a thing as inflation as is easily seen by the increase in cruise fares over the years. 

 

Everyone seems to be straying off the point here. The auto gratuities are what they are. No one is saying not to pay those.

 

Technically they are presented by the cruise lines in a manner that suggest you don't need to tip additionally.

 

If you go to a restaurant and they add a 30% mandatory gratuity to your check are you adding another 20%? or do you feel that you are good?

Edited by NightOne
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Joseph2018Baltic

Joseph2018Baltic

Posted
Posted

The auto tips are the customary amount to tip on an international cruise ship.  I do not tip extra, just like I don't tip anything extra than the customary amount in a restaurant which might be 18% in the USA, or much less intenationally.  I always know the customary amount, and try very hard never to go over it.  

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Airbear232

Airbear232

Posted
Posted
On 10/31/2023 at 4:06 PM, NightOne said:

We have always prepaid gratuities. We have also gave additional cash gratuities to our room steward and MDR waiters. We also added additional gratuities at special dining.

 

However, with the automatic daily gratuities going higher and higher it is getting hard to justify the "tips on top of the tips".

 

Anyone else feeling this way?

 

Are you still going to tip more?

DW and I have been discussing this.  IMHO, the “gratuities” should be in the fare and you can tip extra who you like. We’ve generally done the recommended tips and then added more for special recognition.  We’re considering now going forward to remove all daily gratuities and put our money to tip those who provided service directly to us.  Some may agree or disagree with us, but we want the control back. 

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cruisin from florida

cruisin from florida

Posted
Posted

With the service going down (once per day cabin service) and autogratuities going up, we may not tip as much additionally as before, unless the service is really outstanding. Unfortunately,  that's less likely than ever before because the staffing levels have been reduced. We'll probably still add a cash tip for our d+ drinks.

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LobsterStalker

LobsterStalker

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

Sad thing is , by raising grats again , upfront customer facing staff , (who I believe deserve the tip) , 

Are actually going to get way less by my estimation . With the amount of the increase ,we could estimate that the steward gets maybe an extra .50c-.60c per day .So a buck a day per cabin .

If this leads more people to stop tipping them extra , they could be hauling in maybe an avg. of $5 a day from that loss. Haven't decided to do either yet , still auto gratting and tipping extra , but Makes me feel , removing autograts , and tipping accordingly may be the better option , rather than leaving them on and not tipping extra.

...Good job RCI

 

Cheers

 

5 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

Pretty much where I'm at as well.

So thinking a bit more about this , There are many who are adamant about leaving the auto grats in place (merely because it is the RIGHT thing to do) . Seems from what I've been reading lately there are gonna be quite a %age of those same cruisers who are going to hit a breaking point with the continual increases and stop tipping Extra.  I wonder if any could be open minded enough to see the possible other side to the argument at that point ? Or will all still just be beating the drum ?

Just thinking out loud...

 

Cheers

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Ret MP

Ret MP

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, LobsterStalker said:

 

So thinking a bit more about this , There are many who are adamant about leaving the auto grats in place (merely because it is the RIGHT thing to do) . Seems from what I've been reading lately there are gonna be quite a %age of those same cruisers who are going to hit a breaking point with the continual increases and stop tipping Extra.  I wonder if any could be open minded enough to see the possible other side to the argument at that point ? Or will all still just be beating the drum ?

Just thinking out loud...

 

Cheer

I have one RCCL cruise booked and have the gratuity included in my Star Class fare.  But, I'm thinking of, in future non-Star Class bookings, not pre-paying or paying per day on the ship.  I used to hate that idea but I'm reaching the point that enough is enough of the increase upon increase (not just gratuities, either) in costs and decrease after decrease of services.  So, I'll just tip my face-to-face service providers as they earn it.  I feel sorry for the crew being caught in the middle but something has to be done.  It's too bad that the newbies don't know the history of cruise fares and services.  They book and don't realize what is happening.  

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bretts173

bretts173

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

OP, was just thinking about that yesterday.  
We always prepay gratuities and add cash on top of that unless we have bad service (which is yet to happen).
 

With the increased gratuities and the downgrade to once a day room service I’m sad to say I may not tip additional cash to the room steward like we used to.  
 

So your saying you tipped your steward $2 a day previously?

 

 

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RD64

RD64

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I have one RCCL cruise booked and have the gratuity included in my Star Class fare.  But, I'm thinking of, in future non-Star Class bookings, not pre-paying or paying per day on the ship.  I used to hate that idea but I'm reaching the point that enough is enough of the increase upon increase (not just gratuities, either) in costs and decrease after decrease of services.  So, I'll just tip my face-to-face service providers as they earn it.  I feel sorry for the crew being caught in the middle but something has to be done.  It's too bad that the newbies don't know the history of cruise fares and services.  They book and don't realize what is happening.  

Agreed - I think with this new increase (and the boastful billion dollar profit announcement) that a tipping point has been reached.

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bretts173

bretts173

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I have one RCCL cruise booked and have the gratuity included in my Star Class fare.  But, I'm thinking of, in future non-Star Class bookings, not pre-paying or paying per day on the ship.  I used to hate that idea but I'm reaching the point that enough is enough of the increase upon increase (not just gratuities, either) in costs and decrease after decrease of services.  So, I'll just tip my face-to-face service providers as they earn it.  I feel sorry for the crew being caught in the middle but something has to be done.  It's too bad that the newbies don't know the history of cruise fares and services.  They book and don't realize what is happening.  

Booking star class and not happy about paying $2 extra in grats to the bottom feeders of the cruise industry in the same post. 🤷

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