Breakdown of Gratuities since latest increase

[Jetdriver787]

Perhaps I should come clean!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

My wife thinks I am far too generous when tipping. I think she is far too mean! After about 6 hours of arguing we usually come to a compromise whereby I simply agree with her and seal the envelopes when she isn’t looking!

 

She would rather spend whatever “left over cash” we have (🤣🤣🤣) in somewhere called “Victoria’s Secrets! I haven’t the heart to tell her that Vickies biggest secret is that they don’t seem to do anything in her size!!! I say that having quickly perused their catalogue, although item 3 on page 174 (in taupe) does look quite comfortable!
 

[Billy Baltic]

1 hour ago, Jetdriver787 said:

Perhaps I should come clean!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

My wife thinks I am far too generous when tipping. I think she is far too mean! After about 6 hours of arguing we usually come to a compromise whereby I simply agree with her and seal the envelopes when she isn’t looking!

 

She would rather spend whatever “left over cash” we have (🤣🤣🤣) in somewhere called “Victoria’s Secrets! I haven’t the heart to tell her that Vickies biggest secret is that they don’t seem to do anything in her size!!! I say that having quickly perused their catalogue, although item 3 on page 174 (in taupe) does look quite comfortable!
 

You have me baffled sir. I can’t decide if you’re brave or foolish. 

[ReneeFLL]

6 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

When you buy a couch the furniture store does not ask if you would like to add on a preset arbitrary amount of money to the transaction.

Not yet they don't. I wouldn't be surprised if they start like so many others do.

[The Fun Researcher]

What bothers me is the "Other Hotel Services" category.  Why am I tipping someone that doesn't directly interact with me?

 

 

[SoloAlaska]

1 hour ago, Jetdriver787 said:

Perhaps I should come clean!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

My wife thinks I am far too generous when tipping. I think she is far too mean! After about 6 hours of arguing we usually come to a compromise whereby I simply agree with her and seal the envelopes when she isn’t looking!

 

She would rather spend whatever “left over cash” we have (🤣🤣🤣) in somewhere called “Victoria’s Secrets! I haven’t the heart to tell her that Vickies biggest secret is that they don’t seem to do anything in her size!!! I say that having quickly perused their catalogue, although item 3 on page 174 (in taupe) does look quite comfortable!
 

Did she even say she was buying it for herself 😂 maybe she’s cheap because she’s hiding her second family with a wife of her own to buy something from page 72 in red for.

[SoloAlaska]

2 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

What bothers me is the "Other Hotel Services" category.  Why am I tipping someone that doesn't directly interact with me?

 

 

Why does the chef get part of the tip at a restaurant or the dishwasher etc.  

[Jetdriver787]

10 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Did she even say she was buying it for herself 😂 maybe she’s cheap because she’s hiding her second family with a wife of her own to buy something from page 72 in red for.

🙏🏻 

[ReneeFLL]

6 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

And I consider it part of the cruise fare.  

 

You still don't explain why knowing the breakdown makes an ounce of difference.  So you find out the guy folding laundry get a dime (for example) each day out of the $18.  That means what exactly?  He doesn't deserve it?  

 

Does knowing the breakdown change whether you're going to pay it?  "If that guy wiping tables gets ANY of my money, I'll throw a fit!"

Why does it make an ounce of difference to you why they want to know? Also, I don't see why they need to explain their reason to you.

[not-enough-cruising]

5 hours ago, fla33023 said:

I opt out. Got off Indy this morning. Room attendant got $100. We ate in MDR twice. Each waiter got $25. Had deluxe drink pkg of which grats are already included - left additional $10 at Skybar and $40 at Boleros where we were most of the week. The bartenders were beyond great. Gave $10 each to the guys doing the jetski tour at Labadee. They were great and patient with my daughter and I. Doesn't matter to me what people think about our tipping. I will always tip those that I feel made a difference. 

Sounds very similar to a normal uneventful cruise for us as well

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

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

Why does it make an ounce of difference to you why they want to know? Also, I don't see why they need to explain their reason to you.

IMO, if you're going to come on to a public message board and say "Where does the money go?", you should all but expect someone to say "What difference does it make?"  Obviously, I can't make them answer.

[bonsai3s]

On 11/25/2023 at 4:00 PM, lovesthebeach2 said:

I’m just curious if anyone has the breakdown since the increase to the gratuity was changed to 18.00. 

Currently onboard the Symphony... Gratuity Breakdown provided by Guest Services...before and after.

 

 

[lovesthebeach2]

5 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Currently onboard the Symphony... Gratuity Breakdown provided by Guest Services...before and after.

 

 

Thank you! Thats what I was looking for! 

[A&L_Ont]

 

On 11/25/2023 at 5:13 PM, bucfan2 said:

Best way to reincarnate the never ending useless discussion.

 

Best post of the thread. 😂
 

The word tips/gratuities is a “dog whistle” for both sides of the discussion, once it is read they come running. 

[robmtx]

12 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Why does the chef get part of the tip at a restaurant or the dishwasher etc.  

 

We have four restaurants and none of our wait staff tipout to a chef or dishwasher. Chefs are salaried employees.  The only people our wait staff would tip out are bartenders, busboys (not dishwashers, and only used on busy nights), and floaters (more helpers on busy nights who don't have an assigned section so they run food, refill drinks ,etc.).  The floaters and busboys get a flat rate tipout based on overall sales, while bartenders get a percentage tipout just on the alcohol sold by the waiter.

 

Maybe it's different on a cruise ship because of shady practices of using pooled tips to award 'bonuses' to employees. That's probably where "Other hotel services" comes into play. that bucket of money could go for anything really.

[SoloAlaska]

1 hour ago, robmtx said:

 

We have four restaurants and none of our wait staff tipout to a chef or dishwasher. Chefs are salaried employees.  The only people our wait staff would tip out are bartenders, busboys (not dishwashers, and only used on busy nights), and floaters (more helpers on busy nights who don't have an assigned section so they run food, refill drinks ,etc.).  The floaters and busboys get a flat rate tipout based on overall sales, while bartenders get a percentage tipout just on the alcohol sold by the waiter.

 

Maybe it's different on a cruise ship because of shady practices of using pooled tips to award 'bonuses' to employees. That's probably where "Other hotel services" comes into play. that bucket of money could go for anything really.

Different regions do things differently and labour laws vary greatly. Honestly I’d be happy to just see tipping calm down a lot and staff be paid better. I’m Canadian and am quite surprised when traveling in the US menu prices are commonly 20-40% more but wait staff make less money and I’m expected to tip more. I’m very glad at least to hear your restaurants the tip is mostly to the wait staff.

[crazyfrazee]

I once was a sheep and believed anything cruiselines told me. When I pay for the cruise and pay gratuities every bit of that money goes into the same stingy greedy bank account. I don't believe for a second someone actually pulls the gratuity money out after the cruise and splits it with the staff. I'm sure the room stewards check, including "gratuities" is the same every month. 

[Bocker3]

12 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

IMO, if you're going to come on to a public message board and say "Where does the money go?", you should all but expect someone to say "What difference does it make?"  Obviously, I can't make them answer.

What difference does it make why they want to know this information. 

 

[Jaynay]

On 11/26/2023 at 9:52 AM, nu_cruzer1 said:

There should be more transparency in the gratuity process and that would shut down future threads on this topic.  Royal can put an end to these gratuities threads very easily.

Exactly

[deliver42]

None of the cruise lines break down the gratuities.

[HappyTexan44]

15 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Why does the chef get part of the tip at a restaurant or the dishwasher etc.  

 

 

The chef doesn't and neither does the dishwasher.   The bartender gets a certain fraction of each waiter's alcohol sales and the busboys get a certain fraction of each waiter's (total or food) sales.  


 

[The Fun Researcher]

16 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Why does the chef get part of the tip at a restaurant or the dishwasher etc.  

Yes, but at a restaurant those tips first go to the waiter/waitress.  It then gets divvied up according the protocol of that restaurant.

 

In the same way, I would expect the "Dining Room" category would take care of dining staff, those that bus tables, etc... if that's what Royal chooses to do.

 

Having some "other" category doesn't sit well with me.  I personally would like the tips to go to those that I directly interact with, but that's just me.

 

I am reconsidering the whole auto gratuity thing.

Edited November 27, 2023 by The Fun Researcher

[SoloAlaska]

2 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Yes, but at a restaurant those tips first go to the waiter/waitress.  It then gets divvied up according the protocol of that restaurant.

 

In the same way, I would expect the "Dining Room" category would take care of chefs, those that bus tables, etc... of that's what Royal chooses to do.

 

Having some "other" category doesn't sit well with me.  I personally would like the tips to go to those that I directly interact with, but that's just me.

 

I am reconsidering the whole auto gratuity thing.

So the example of other could be compared to the restaurant. You won’t see the dishwasher when tipping your waiter who may or may not tip out to that position depending on the restaurant. You won’t ever have contact with the person washing and folding your towels which would probably fall under other hotel services. 
 

Personally I consider the gratuity just part of the fare and still tip some above and beyond depending on the service. I don’t want the people behind the scenes to get forgotten but that’s just me. More transparency would be nice for people to feel comfortable with the auto gratuities on all lines.

[The Fun Researcher]

10 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

So the example of other could be compared to the restaurant. You won’t see the dishwasher when tipping your waiter who may or may not tip out to that position depending on the restaurant. You won’t ever have contact with the person washing and folding your towels which would probably fall under other hotel services. 
 

Personally I consider the gratuity just part of the fare and still tip some above and beyond depending on the service. I don’t want the people behind the scenes to get forgotten but that’s just me. More transparency would be nice for people to feel comfortable with the auto gratuities on all lines.

I have never heard of those jobs being tipped positions in any industry. (dishwasher, folding laundry)  If Royal is in fact doing that, it's on them.

 

I agree, and also don't want to stiff anyone on the ship, but I also feel that it's Royal's fault if they are making these tipped positions when they really shouldn't be.

 

I would rather get rid of the auto gratuities altogether and just roll that into the cruise fare...  but that's been discussed ad nauseam already too.

 

 

[sealeggs]

On 11/26/2023 at 10:36 AM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

When you buy a couch, do you know how much of your money goes to the sales staff?  Delivery drivers?  

 

As I understand it, if you want to give money directly to an RCI employee, no one is stopping you.  And you can opt out of the automatic gratuity.  So, problem solved.

That right there is the best answer you can get. Opt out of the automati tip unless you do my time dining and tip the people you want to tip in cash.

[cruiseboy89130]

20 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

What bothers me is the "Other Hotel Services" category.  Why am I tipping someone that doesn't directly interact with me?

 

 

Just stop it!🤘