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

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The “other hotel services” category is a major problem for me, and is why I quit participating years ago 

Yeah , years ago when there were recommended gratuity guidelines , there was not a line for.... "öther hotel services"

...On the fence , but leaning in a new direction

[not-enough-cruising]

10 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

Yeah , years ago when there were recommended gratuity guidelines , there was not a line for.... "öther hotel services"

...On the fence , but leaning in a new direction

“Just Do It”

[mek]

2 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The “other hotel services” category is a major problem for me, and is why I quit participating years ago 

Years ago, before auto tips, we cash tipped to only those who directly provided a service to us. I agree with you, the distribution for other hotel services is a problem for me. 

Unfortunately my husband's health has prevented us from cruising since last October and he will never cruise again.  If and when I decide to return to cruising I might just go back to cash tips.

[Ret MP]

3 hours ago, bretts173 said:

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

Apparently, you didn't read:  "But, I'm thinking of, in future non-Star Class bookings".  And the fact that cruising in Star Class is a year or two-long effort for us, counting pennies and saving a few bucks a month from military retirement and social security.  You are showing just how judgmental you can be when you have no idea what I go through to afford a Star Class cruise every other year or so.   AND, like @LobsterStalker said, "It has to do with principals".

 

And in post #81:  

"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 11 hours ago by Ret MP

[Ret MP]

10 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

 

IIRC, 18% gratuity is added to Bionic Bar purchases.

 

10 hours ago, soremekun said:

Correct.

For lack of a better term, I've "studied" the Bionic Bar and its maintenance/service.  I watched for an extended period of time and there was one crew member who came out from behind the scenes to clean up the place (the Bionic system spills a lot) and do general maintenance.  It seemed like that person kept busy the whole time doing something to the Bionic headache.  Not just performing general maintenance but assisting folks who couldn't seem to make the tablet work for them.  She was as busy as a one-armed paperhanger.  The bad part was I didn't see anyone hand the very happy and professional young lady a tip, not a penny.  So, I hope she is getting all or the majority of that 18%.  

[scorpluvsdolphins]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:17 PM, njdealguy said:

Hi going on our first cruise ever on allure next week for 4 days in sky class crown loft suite and contemplating whether to remove the auto gratuities (which would total about $225 for the 3 of us) as will not at all step foot in the MDR.  Thinking if this is sufficient tipping for a 2 adults and a child:

 

Room steward: $15/day so $60 total

Coastal kitchen waiter: $10 per meal so $30 per day for 3 meals

Luggage porter: $5 per bag during embarkation and disembarkation

Suite lounge or other bartender: $1 per wine glass or beer, $2 per cocktail 

Those amounts are low for a CLS. The cabin steward should be getting a minimum of $7 pppd, $21 per day. 
In CK: breakfast is $8- $10 for 3 people; lunch is $10-$15 for 3 people and dinner is $15 for three people. 
Don’t forget to tip the concierges. 
Bar service amount is fine. 

[njdealguy]

1 hour ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

Those amounts are low for a CLS. The cabin steward should be getting a minimum of $7 pppd, $21 per day. 
In CK: breakfast is $8- $10 for 3 people; lunch is $10-$15 for 3 people and dinner is $15 for three people. 
Don’t forget to tip the concierges. 
Bar service amount is fine. 

With the figures you gave think will stick to the auto gratuities, yours exceeded what the auto one would be!

[scorpluvsdolphins]

1 minute ago, njdealguy said:

With the figures you gave think will stick to the auto gratuities, yours exceeded what the auto one would be!

Correct. When you cruise in a suite, people usually tip more. 
it may be more, but it’s going to all that serve you. 
You do know that suites get cabin service twice a day. The cabin stewards get a little over $6 pppd in the auto gratuities. 

If you keep on the auto, CK waiters, host and maître d’ will get nothing. 

Most people in a suite aren’t on such a tight budget, that they can’t give a tip to all the people in CK. 

[njdealguy]

56 minutes ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

Correct. When you cruise in a suite, people usually tip more. 
it may be more, but it’s going to all that serve you. 
You do know that suites get cabin service twice a day. The cabin stewards get a little over $6 pppd in the auto gratuities. 

If you keep on the auto, CK waiters, host and maître d’ will get nothing. 

Most people in a suite aren’t on such a tight budget, that they can’t give a tip to all the people in CK. 

 

The photo from post #99 says 5.95 of auto gratuity goes to "dining room".  For suite guests why wouldn't that be shared with the CK staff....

[Pinballs83]

I usually tip the room attendant, MDR waiter and assistant up to $50 each for a week cruise when service is good.  If they do something special for me I will give them half the tip half the way through and give them the rest at the end.  

 

I don't drink alcohol but I really enjoyed the Bionic Bar mocktails and creating drinks.  I got more drinks from there then anywhere else.  Now that I think about it, I should have tipped the people taking care of it as they really did seem to keep busy. 

 

I pick up water bottles and red bulls from random bars and I don't tip extra for those.  I get the refreshment package.  Not sure how tips work with that.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Pinballs83

[Tulsacoker]

It's defiantly making me re-evaluate the extra gratuities (tip tip hooray) we give at the end. My wife and I are very easy and do not ask for much and always leave the auto grats on.  But now we are at least discussing what constitutes (for us) an additional tip on top? 

[Ret MP]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:41 AM, colmenares3 said:

Asking with trepidation, and not to hijack, but is there a good thread on tipping? Coco Cay cabana staff, drinks, additional cash tips, any and all times that tipping could be appropriate?

Well, I think they are all good.  They create discussion, which a social media site/forum is all about, and in some cases they provide education/information to some folks that didn't/don't know the "whole story" or are newbies.  And yes, these topics and others do create dissension/debate/arguing, but that USUALLY happens because some folks can't resist making things personal and some carry the anger onto other threads.  

 

If you have a specific question, ask it.  Take to heart the answers that you think are valid, ignore the obfuscation, and then do your best to verify the information you take away as good info.  Remember, this is the Internet!

[kirtihk]

On 10/31/2023 at 5:32 PM, marci22 said:

Same. I ask for as little as possible because I know they are stretched. 

and if we ask any department on ship (that interacts with us in one way or another) for as little as possible, because all of them because are stretched lately, then it will be very difficult to justify ourselves to cruise at all?  What's the point to consider something for a holiday out of ordinary if in the end it becomes simply blunt and dull?

[Another_Critic]

9 hours ago, Pinballs83 said:

I pick up water bottles and red bulls from random bars and I don't tip extra for those.  I get the refreshment package.  Not sure how tips work with that.

You paid 18% gratuity on the price of the refreshment package.

[Morecruisesplz]

On 10/31/2023 at 9:06 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?

Did you only tip $2/day extra? That's what they are going up. Stiff a few bartenders and you are even again!

[Morecruisesplz]

9 hours ago, Pinballs83 said:

Now that I think about it, I should have tipped the people taking care of it as they really did seem to keep busy. 

☺️ 

[kirtihk]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:19 PM, boscobeans said:

So, YES, the passenger is the ultimate employer of a series of employees.

It's good to know I'm the employer of the Earth.

[dunrobbin]

On 11/1/2023 at 6:10 PM, PompeySailor said:

I just tipped my mailman for delivering my daily post 

Now I know in the future my mail will be delivered as usual, with a ribbon on it 😜

 

Forgot to add - I love tipping threads 🍿 

Awwww  and we only get an elastic band around ours!

[Morecruisesplz]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:02 AM, LobsterStalker said:

I don't spend time here with the intent to stir the pot . That said ,  this response ( for my own humor, and a little clarification) ,I acknowledge I am stirring the pot . I have read a lot of posts regarding the vouchers and the tip they should get , and my observation has been that a lot of posters disparage those who do not tip on the voucher drinks as they are "stiffing" the crew . Also , in most cases those same posters generally claim to tip $1-$2 per drink for vouchers. However if you go with the standard 18% as the accepted minimum on your standard drinks $1 does not come close , and $2 is still light on the avg. $14 cocktail. 

.....And go.

Tipping threads never get old !

 

Cheers

So you suggest tipping how much on a voucher drink?

[Another_Critic]

13 hours ago, Ret MP said:

 

For lack of a better term, I've "studied" the Bionic Bar and its maintenance/service.  I watched for an extended period of time and there was one crew member who came out from behind the scenes to clean up the place (the Bionic system spills a lot) and do general maintenance.  It seemed like that person kept busy the whole time doing something to the Bionic headache.  Not just performing general maintenance but assisting folks who couldn't seem to make the tablet work for them.  She was as busy as a one-armed paperhanger.  The bad part was I didn't see anyone hand the very happy and professional young lady a tip, not a penny.  So, I hope she is getting all or the majority of that 18%.  

I was on the very first revenue cruise that introduced the Bionic Bar (Quantum Nov. 2014 TA).  It was very entertaining to watch all the mishaps and continuous programming adjustments.  The robots screwed up / spilled more drinks than they successfully made.  RCI should have charged for the entertainment.  😄

[The Fun Researcher]

Just doing the math for our family of 5 the base gratuities will now be $630 per cruise. (7 night cruise), up from the current $560.  That's can easily be a persons base cruise fare in a number of cases.

 

The $2 per person per day is "only" another $70, however when taken as a whole, $630 in tips is a big number.

 

Like others, we always prepay.  We typically tip the waiter and assistant around $50 each on top of that and the room steward another $50-$100.

 

So currently that's around $740 per cruise in tips total and going up to $810. (I'm ignoring the additional ~$1 cash per drink as well)

 

It's been a while since I've calculated the real impact of gratuities, but it's really feeling excessive.  The problem is calling them gratuities when in reality it's really just a part of their total compensation package depending on their position on the ship. 

 

Is the staff really going so far and above that they need that much additional as a thank you?

 

This is really all the cruise lines fault by not wanting the base fares to appear to increase.  For the bazzillionth time I wish they were in the base cruise fare.

 

[NightOne]

18 hours 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...

 

Cheers

 

That is exactly what this thread is about.

 

I would never remove the auto grats but I am thinking about cutting back (or eliminating) the extra tipping on top of it.

 

I am also in the camp that gratuities should be built in the cruise fare

[NightOne]

17 hours ago, RD64 said:

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

 

I see what you did there LOLOLOL

[marci22]

47 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

and if we ask any department on ship (that interacts with us in one way or another) for as little as possible, because all of them because are stretched lately, then it will be very difficult to justify ourselves to cruise at all?  What's the point to consider something for a holiday out of ordinary if in the end it becomes simply blunt and dull?

I've also given up complaining in the dining room. I just go to the WJ if MDR was unsuccessful. I don't know how worthwhile it is anyway. The only thing they acknowledge is if you stop spending your $$$.

Edited November 3, 2023 by marci22

[CruisingSince1982]

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?

 

We no longer add additional funds. I'm having a hard time justifying what is automatically added. Subpar service, reduced service, etc. I would rather remove them and tip the people providing service directly to me. After decades of cruising, this may end up being a first for me.