Gratuities on board

[PTC DAWG]

4 minutes ago, zitsky said:

If I pay $7,000 for a cruise for two in a veranda, how much more should I pay to satisfy you that I’m compensating the employees enough?  You asked the question.

 

Celebrity has my credit card number.  Why can’t they just charge me whatever the CFO wants me to pay for tips?

Not responding.  🙂

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Just curious,,,,if nobody on the ship paid tips would the crew get nothing.

Surely they are on a contracted guaranteed’minimum wage’.

When recruiting cruise lines like X will state the basic wage, the deductible items and costs e.g. laundry, Wi-Fi etc and an estimate of the tips. 
Cruise lines that include tips will state a higher wage.

All businesses have their own pay structures and benefits for example Virgin gives its crew free Wi-Fi.

If the tips estimate given by X proved to be dramatically less than estimated they would have great difficulty recruiting and retaining staff.

The rights and wrongs of tipping are or should be a separate issue.

All the major cruise in the Celebrity sector (Royal, Princess, Cunard, MSC, NCL, HAL etc) have very similar costing and tipping systems.

My view is very simple: if any one who chooses to book with any of the above lines or any that have a similar tipping  system chooses to remove or reduce those tips then they do so in the knowledge that some crew members will be working for less than the take home pay they expected.

 

[zitsky]

53 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said:

 

I confirm that cruises booked from New Zealand have gratuities baked into the fare we pay.  Gratuities are added on to the cost of drink and dining packages.  I don't mind paying these and I like to have everything pre-paid before I cruise.  Once on board I do no further tipping.

I’m waiting for someone to come along and say that it is still not good enough.   That you should still pay MORE in gratuities to show that you care about the poorly paid staff.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, dylan400d said:

Wow - I didn't expect this to generate so much discussion.

 

Just catching up on everything here. One of the primary reasons why I decided to ask this question was due to the inclusion of tips on top of the price. I noticed someone commented earlier and said in the UK we tip, but that's simply not universally true. While some restaurants may request a tip for larger groups, many do not.

 

During our last Celebrity cruise, everything was included, including tips. This seems preferable. There's a clear divide in the forum responses, with some suggesting it's right to leave the auto tips on, while others advise removing them. It's important to remember that this is a discussion board, and taking a stance like 'that's stingy' or 'shame on you' is simply your opinion about a situation you may not agree with. On the other hand, some are mentioning that they prefer to leave the auto tips on and then give extra to those they feel deserve it; again, it comes down to personal preference.

 

I also think one other clear difference in the UK is our taxation system. In the US, tax varies from state to state, while in the UK, we are subject to a standard 20% tax rate .It's worth considering these factors when determining what feels fair in terms of tipping practices. Ultimately, it's about finding a balance that works for both the guest and the cruise line and respecting individual preferences in this matter. 

 

Oh, I think you knew exactly what you were doing.  😂

[PTC DAWG]

16 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Oh, I think you knew exactly what you were doing.  😂

I chuckled too..happy cruising..

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

I chuckled too..happy cruising..

No comment.

[dylan400d]

21 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Oh, I think you knew exactly what you were doing.  😂

 

Nope, honest question. 

[zitsky]

29 minutes ago, dylan400d said:

 

Nope, honest question. 

Oh.  I see you’ve never been on the internet before.  That explains it.  😂

[dylan400d]

3 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Oh.  I see you’ve never been on the internet before.  That explains it.  😂

 

Only now and again 😅

[PTC DAWG]

56 minutes ago, zitsky said:

No comment.

👍

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Just curious,,,,if nobody on the ship paid tips would the crew get nothing.

Surely they are on a contracted guaranteed’minimum wage’.

 

Clearly they would not get as much.  Maybe even not enough, but I honestly don't know the base pay.   

[JeanieC,Aston]

8 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Clearly they would not get as much.  Maybe even not enough, but I honestly don't know the base pay.   

Hi don’t think many people do….that’s why I asked the question.

Many are saying that crew get less money when tips are reduced or not paid,,,,but the question is ‘do they’ get less than basic salary.,I would be happy if tips are in addition to basic pay if performance warranted it.

 

What happened post COVID when ships where running at 50% capacity with some X ships only having ~400 passengers,,,did the crews have to live on 50% pay?

 

[villauk]

13 hours ago, the penguins said:

When recruiting cruise lines like X will state the basic wage, the deductible items and costs e.g. laundry, Wi-Fi etc and an estimate of the tips. 
Cruise lines that include tips will state a higher wage.

All businesses have their own pay structures and benefits for example Virgin gives its crew free Wi-Fi.

If the tips estimate given by X proved to be dramatically less than estimated they would have great difficulty recruiting and retaining staff.

The rights and wrongs of tipping are or should be a separate issue.

All the major cruise in the Celebrity sector (Royal, Princess, Cunard, MSC, NCL, HAL etc) have very similar costing and tipping systems.

My view is very simple: if any one who chooses to book with any of the above lines or any that have a similar tipping  system chooses to remove or reduce those tips then they do so in the knowledge that some crew members will be working for less than the take home pay they expected.

 

 

According to some posts on the Princess board, staff are paid a basic salary and then the CA goes into a general pot throughout the fleet (not just on your particular sailing) and the company decides who gets a percentage through incentives, bonuses, pax reviews etc. If this is indeed the case, and I personally don’t know either way, your personal servers, room attendants, waiters etc. may not actually get anything from you if they aren’t lucky enough to ‘win’. We always have a package so the grats are part of that and then give our personal staff something extra, so ours would be getting something off us either way. If you look below, which is from the FAQ on the Princess site, it does state that even the entertainment dept. is included throughout the fleet (see the following):

 

What is “Crew Appreciation”?
A crew appreciation is a daily amount added to your onboard account, which is shared among the many members of our crew in hotel, dining and entertainment throughout the fleet who help make your cruise experience special. The daily amount of the Crew Appreciation is based on stateroom category.
 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by villauk

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi don’t think many people do….that’s why I asked the question.

Many are saying that crew get less money when tips are reduced or not paid,,,,but the question is ‘do they’ get less than basic salary.,I would be happy if tips are in addition to basic pay if performance warranted it.

 

What happened post COVID when ships where running at 50% capacity with some X ships only having ~400 passengers,,,did the crews have to live on 50% pay?

 

Crew numbers were way down too..

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

 

According to some posts on the Princess board, staff are paid a basic salary and then the CA goes into a general pot throughout the fleet (not just on your particular sailing) and the company decides who gets a percentage through incentives, bonuses, pax reviews etc. If this is indeed the case, and I personally don’t know either way, your personal servers, room attendants, waiters etc. may not actually get anything from you if they aren’t lucky enough to ‘win’. We always have a package so the grats are part of that and then give our personal staff something extra, so ours would be getting something off us either way. If you look below, which is from the FAQ on the Princess site, it does state that even the entertainment dept. is included throughout the fleet (see the following):

 

What is “Crew Appreciation”?
A crew appreciation is a daily amount added to your onboard account, which is shared among the many members of our crew in hotel, dining and entertainment throughout the fleet who help make your cruise experience special. The daily amount of the Crew Appreciation is based on stateroom category.
 

 

I knew Princess shared fleetwide but wasn’t aware it included entertainment staff. X divdes it as I posted earlier on a ship by ship and cruise by cruise basis. If you have Select/Any time dining as you check in the person at the deck issues a slip of paper. That slip is used partly so you can be shown to your table and partly for waiter as it’s his/her record to enable them to check they have received the correct tips (crew are paid on alternate Fridays). If you arrive at the table without the slip you will see the waiter immediately goes to the desk to collect it. 

[the penguins]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Crew numbers were way down too..

 

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi don’t think many people do….that’s why I asked the question.

Many are saying that crew get less money when tips are reduced or not paid,,,,but the question is ‘do they’ get less than basic salary.,I would be happy if tips are in addition to basic pay if performance warranted it.

 

What happened post COVID when ships where running at 50% capacity with some X ships only having ~400 passengers,,,did the crews have to live on 50% pay?

 

This was discussed at an open

meeting in the theatre on Silhouette where the passenger load on three successive cruises was 2000/800/2800.

The Hotel Director explained as follows:

1) All ships are fully staffed - they have to be as contracts are for many months and there is no way a ship can increase/decrease staff to match changing loads. Crew visas and health certificates mean they must remain on the ship.

2) staff are all paid a basic wage and have accepted, that in these very unusual circumstances, tips will be lower than pre pandemic. Most of the staff have been out of    work for 2 years.

3) most staff had to have a minimum  of 6 weeks quarantine from the time they left home until the time they could work on a ship - the basic wage was paid for all that period.

4) When passenger levels were very low Waiters/Assistant waiters/ Cabin Stewards were all given whole days off. This is something that had never happened before and was greatly appreciated by the staff,

5) tips were distributed using normal system. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

6 minutes ago, the penguins said:

 

This was discussed at an open

meeting in the theatre on Silhouette where the passenger load on three successive cruises was 2000/800/2800.

The Hotel Director explained as follows:

1) All ships are fully staffed - they have to be as contracts are for many months and there is no way a ship can increase/decrease staff to match changing loads. Crew visas and health certificates mean they must remain on the ship.

2) staff are all paid a basic wage and have accepted, that in these very unusual circumstances, tips will be lower than pre pandemic. Most of the staff have been out of    work for 2 years.

3) most staff had to have a minimum  of 6 weeks quarantine from the time they left home until the time they could work on a ship - the basic wage was paid for all that period.

4) When passenger levels were very low Waiters/Assistant waiters/ Cabin Stewards were all given whole days off. This is something that had never happened before and was greatly appreciated by the staff,

5) tips were distributed using normal system. 

Hi

Well that goes some way to answer my question,,,the crew get a basic wage whatever tips are or aren’t given,,,tips look like what I imagine they should be,a bonus on top of the basic pay.

Im happy seeing it that way.

[the penguins]

2 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Well that goes some way to answer my question,,,the crew get a basic wage whatever tips are or aren’t given,,,tips look like what I imagine they should be,a bonus on top of the basic pay.

Im happy seeing it that way.

Glad to have helped.

On the waiter’s side it’s pretty much like any land based restaurant except the tips are not based on the cost of the meal but are a fixed amount. 
Leave auto grats in place, tip extra if you want relax and enjoy your cruise.

 

[hcat]

7 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Well that goes some way to answer my question,,,the crew get a basic wage whatever tips are or aren’t given,,,tips look like what I imagine they should be,a bonus on top of the basic pay.

Im happy seeing it that way.

 wages are low on premise that grats will supplement..( just like US Restaurant servers,)

 

Crew/ staff also have nice places to eat and socialize on board, laundry  med  etc.  so there is some offset there. but not sure if they must pay??

 

.Not sure who pays fare for vacations home ..guessing crew!

 

Trips to WALMART on days off are popular  where available

 

  They get extra time off and phone calls as bonus for being complimented by guests!

[the penguins]

15 minutes ago, hcat said:

 wages are low on premise that grats will supplement..( just like US Restaurant servers,)

 

Crew/ staff also have nice places to eat and socialize on board, laundry  med  etc.  so there is some offset there. but not sure if they must pay??

 

.Not sure who pays fare for vacations home ..guessing crew!

 

Trips to WALMART on days off are popular  where available

 

  They get extra time off and phone calls as bonus for being complimented by guests!

Laundry is free for “uniforms” they pay for everything else (most do their own). They pay for Internet and calls but at a lower rate than passengers - still high which is why the crew head for free Wi-Fi at every port. Drinks have to be paid for and the number of alcoholic drinks per day is restricted- being drunk on duty means instant dismissal. Crew regularly tested for drugs.

Csptain and Senior Officers (I.e people responsible for operating the ship) no alcohol

for the duration of their contracts.

Airfares - crew pay from home to ship (I believe the ship pays and the cost is deducted over the length of the contract). Crew pay to get home. There are all sorts of incentives and raffles with prizes given at big crew parties ( we have been honoured to attend one). Prizes include free air tickets, iPads etc.

One big incentive for the crew is recycling - the ship recycles paper, glass , plastic  etc and all of the money received goes  into the crew welfare fund. The fund is run by the Crew on a ship by ship basis not centrally controlled.

In some ports (mainly in the US) some big supermarkets (for example Walmart) provide free busses for the crew. 
Health: I believe treatment is free. However staff that are told they must not work lose their tips for that day as their work has to be done by a colleague (think cabin steward who gets an extra room to clean). Crew who are regularly sick will not have their contracts renewed.

If you want to know more about these issues never miss the opportunity to attend talks by the Hotel Director, Guest Relations Director or better still the Environmental Officer who’s job covers the whole ship - on our TransPacific on Solstice he held informal “coffee break” discussions on many sea days.

[zitsky]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

 

If you want to know more about these issues never miss the opportunity to attend talks by the Hotel Director, Guest Relations Director or better still the Environmental Officer who’s job covers the whole ship - on our TransPacific on Solstice he held informal “coffee break” discussions on many sea days.

I’ve been on several Celebrity cruises but I don’t know how to find these talks?  Are they listed in the Daily Planner or the phone app?

[hcat]

6 hours ago, the penguins said:

Laundry is free for “uniforms” they pay for everything else (most do their own). They pay for Internet and calls but at a lower rate than passengers - still high which is why the crew head for free Wi-Fi at every port. Drinks have to be paid for and the number of alcoholic drinks per day is restricted- being drunk on duty means instant dismissal. Crew regularly tested for drugs.

Csptain and Senior Officers (I.e people responsible for operating the ship) no alcohol

for the duration of their contracts.

Airfares - crew pay from home to ship (I believe the ship pays and the cost is deducted over the length of the contract). Crew pay to get home. There are all sorts of incentives and raffles with prizes given at big crew parties ( we have been honoured to attend one). Prizes include free air tickets, iPads etc.

One big incentive for the crew is recycling - the ship recycles paper, glass , plastic  etc and all of the money received goes  into the crew welfare fund. The fund is run by the Crew on a ship by ship basis not centrally controlled.

In some ports (mainly in the US) some big supermarkets (for example Walmart) provide free busses for the crew. 
Health: I believe treatment is free. However staff that are told they must not work lose their tips for that day as their work has to be done by a colleague (think cabin steward who gets an extra room to clean). Crew who are regularly sick will not have their contracts renewed.

If you want to know more about these issues never miss the opportunity to attend talks by the Hotel Director, Guest Relations Director or better still the Environmental Officer who’s job covers the whole ship - on our TransPacific on Solstice he held informal “coffee break” discussions on many sea days.

great update .. We had the ship tour excursion on EDGE, and alot  of this was  discussed.  The recycling  effort was awesome!  I think they called the main crew corridor  I 95 ??

 

That excursion and the Art Tour are well worth the price!

Edited November 7, 2023 by hcat

[dylan400d]

I love these types of tours. We did one on the Celebrity Century years back and it was just nice to see behind the scenes. 

 

We did have a meet and greet with one of the P&O captains too, which was excellent. 

[tartantiara]

This is not true about NCL I just came off a NCL ship on Sunday and I overheard people talking about removing gratuities. I did not do this but know it can be done 

[PTC DAWG]

8 hours ago, the penguins said:

 

This was discussed at an open

meeting in the theatre on Silhouette where the passenger load on three successive cruises was 2000/800/2800.

The Hotel Director explained as follows:

1) All ships are fully staffed - they have to be as contracts are for many months and there is no way a ship can increase/decrease staff to match changing loads. Crew visas and health certificates mean they must remain on the ship.

2) staff are all paid a basic wage and have accepted, that in these very unusual circumstances, tips will be lower than pre pandemic. Most of the staff have been out of    work for 2 years.

3) most staff had to have a minimum  of 6 weeks quarantine from the time they left home until the time they could work on a ship - the basic wage was paid for all that period.

4) When passenger levels were very low Waiters/Assistant waiters/ Cabin Stewards were all given whole days off. This is something that had never happened before and was greatly appreciated by the staff,

5) tips were distributed using normal system. 

Good info,  not what I heard second hand on Equinox..it was a tough time for crew for sure.