Yet another tipping question

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Which cruise lines advertise their pricing this way?  What percentage of the CLIA member cruise industry do these lines represent?

I have seen cruises advertised as “gratuities included”. That of course means a higher price and can drive many away if the are only shopping by looking at prices. I can do the Mather to add cruise fare, port fees and gratuities together and figure out my final price

[Tranquility Base]

2 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Which cruise lines advertise their pricing this way? 

Princess, in certain countries.

Celebrity, in certain countries.

Oceania, in certain countries.

Seaborne, in certain counties.

[d9704011]

Just now, memoak said:

I have seen cruises advertised as “gratuities included”. That of course means a higher price and can drive many away if the are only shopping by looking at prices. I can do the Mather to add cruise fare, port fees and gratuities together and figure out my final price

Yeah, I'm fully capable of adding up the numbers too.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Princess, in certain countries.

Celebrity, in certain countries.

Oceania, in certain countries.

Seaborne, in certain counties.

How many do this on cruises from the US or Canada ?

Edited February 5 by memoak

[Tranquility Base]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

I have seen cruises advertised as “gratuities included”.

And the advantage is, no more people removing them once onboard.

IE: no more threads such as this one.

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Tranquility Base said:

Princess, in certain countries.

Celebrity, in certain countries.

Oceania, in certain countries.

Seaborne, in certain counties.

You haven't answered the bigger question about how these lines (in certain countries) compare to the overall industry practices.

[Tranquility Base]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

How many do this on cruises from the US ?

Three on a regular basis.

The forth very occasionally.

 

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

And the advantage is, no more people removing them once onboard.

IE: no more threads such as this one.

Funny.  Then the discussion will move on to lack of transparency on how cruise lines allocate overall fare payments, how do you know whether the stewards are being fairly paid, etc.... Exactly the same stuff as this and countless other threads go on about.

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Three on a regular basis.

The forth very occasionally.

 

I don't know about Oceania and Seaborne but I have never seen Princess or Celebrity advertise fares with gratuities included.  Packages don't count.

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

I don't know about Oceania and Seaborne but I have never seen Princess or Celebrity advertise fares with gratuities included.  Packages don't count.

And Oceania and Seaborne are beyond my pay grade for what I want in a cruise

[BlerkOne]

39 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I agree about the behind the scenes folks being recognized.   Just for the sake of discussion, gratuities as an incentive pay for passenger facing staff makes a lot of sense.   Those with the best customer service and/or happiest customers will be rewarded.  The gratuities have  moved away from that to a way to make salary for all staff.  The incentive is still there but perhaps has been diluted.  

It is always a team effort. The staff that deal directly with the customer would fall on their faces if not being propped up by those behind the scenes. Gratuities are part of the compensation for some staff, including the people you never see.

[Bgwest]

When anyone says something (anything) is part of being a responsible cruiser, one has to wonder who is being appointed to determine who is being responsible and who is not. One would not want a supercilious appointee to be the result. 

[Lady Arwen]

56 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Princess, in certain countries.

Celebrity, in certain countries.

Oceania, in certain countries.

Seaborne, in certain counties.

Long time cruising with Celebrity and I’ve never seen grats included.  However, on Azamara grats have always been included, regardless of itinerary.  Also quite pricey.

[memoak]

57 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

When anyone says something (anything) is part of being a responsible cruiser, one has to wonder who is being appointed to determine who is being responsible and who is not. One would not want a supercilious appointee to be the result. 

Anything ?  According to that the no rules or decorum exist. Whether it be giving drinks to young girls, sending all your friends laundry with your free elite laundry etc. 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Princess, in certain countries.

Celebrity, in certain countries.

Oceania, in certain countries.

Seaborne, in certain counties.

Just to add y'all forgot Virgin Voyages includes gratuities in their fare. 🙂

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

It is always a team effort. The staff that deal directly with the customer would fall on their faces if not being propped up by those behind the scenes. Gratuities are part of the compensation for some staff, including the people you never see.

 

I tried hard to acknowledge that in my comment.  Certainly all staff should do well when the institution does well.  The point I was attempting was instead of an incentive for individual excellence, the gratuity has become part of across the board compensation.  

[Bgwest]

Hyperbole alert!!

[rbtan]

12 hours ago, d9704011 said:

This is a Princess site; you're not allowed to fabricate Cunard stories here.

Fabricating?

[trvlwrld]

When did gratuities become part of a salary, instead of an “extra” compensation based upon a service that has been rendered?

[rbtan]

8 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

At my age, most family and friends have passed. So to me, those few left are a treasure beyond money. To eshew your family over a small amount of money extended to a stranger, "years ago," disrupted their vacation and still unable to let things go, "to this day," is sad to read. I'm not criticising you, but I'd like to encourage you to find it in yourself to reconcile if possible, because time marches on.

They were not my family. They were relatives of some great friends who introduced us to cruising(first cruise was on Cunard) Personally we couldn't stand this couple(mother & son)When they bragged at what they did, they were booted out of our table. There were 50 of us. Called the "Cruisin' Cousins". The 2 I mentioned were pariahs to the extended family long before this incident.

[rbtan]

1 hour ago, rideev said:

I'm still waiting to hear from the folks that leave the auto crew appreciation on, then reward the people that went above and beyond.  But yet they only mention their cabin steward or a waiter or bar tender.  How about that cook, or the person in the laundry, or the one cleaning the pool and pool deck in the middle of the night?  How about that one guy that helps you get on and off the tender?

 

How do you give those people a high rating on the survey?  How much do you tip them?

 

Yet, you complain that I am going to dish out over a grand in cash on my next cruise to a handful of people.  Get off your high horse.

 

You do you, I'll do me.

Yes we reward extra to those who directly interact with us. We leave on the gratuity. There are those who pocket it at the end of the cruise. You'll see loads of them skipping the last night(presumably to pack) Though for some reason they are crowding the guest services desk.hmmm.

[rbtan]

I guess if pax want to include the gratuities as part of the cruise. That's fine. Just be aware the price will go up to (now) $20/day or more. Either way we'll still tip extra to those who go over & above. If you're in the hospitality fields like us, we like to take care of our own.

[Bgwest]

18 hours ago, d9704011 said:

You haven't answered the bigger question about how these lines (in certain countries) compare to the overall industry practices.

And this is important, why?

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

When did gratuities become part of a salary, instead of an “extra” compensation based upon a service that has been rendered?

 

All gratuities are certainly part of wages.  Wages and base salaries are not, or should not, be the same thing when gratuities are involved.