Solo Gratuities

[EagleRockers]

I'm thinking about taking a cruise by myself on the Panorama. I was wondering, when the gratuities are added in, does Carnival charge for 2 people in a cabin rather than one? I need to factor that into my budget. I'm thinking the cabin steward is kind of cheated out of another person's gratuities since there's only one in the cabin.

Thanks!

[CookieShip]

Just charged once for gratuities if solo. 

[Elaine5715]

Solos pays grats for one

[Roscoe13]

42 minutes ago, EagleRockers said:

I'm thinking about taking a cruise by myself on the Panorama. I was wondering, when the gratuities are added in, does Carnival charge for 2 people in a cabin rather than one? I need to factor that into my budget. I'm thinking the cabin steward is kind of cheated out of another person's gratuities since there's only one in the cabin.

Thanks!

I guess I always thought of gratuities as based on a service provided.

Edited March 26 by Roscoe13

[Saint Greg]

50 minutes ago, EagleRockers said:

I'm thinking about taking a cruise by myself on the Panorama. I was wondering, when the gratuities are added in, does Carnival charge for 2 people in a cabin rather than one? I need to factor that into my budget. I'm thinking the cabin steward is kind of cheated out of another person's gratuities since there's only one in the cabin.

Thanks!

You’re welcome to give them as much additional as you want.

[Megan_Strick]

One grat and one port charge

[salty dingo]

I cruise solo and I appreciate the convenience of the auto-gratuity. If the steward does something above and beyond I'll leave them some cash too.

 

I do try and keep a tidy cabin, and I'm sure the steward appreciates that also!

[dlphn501]

On 3/25/2024 at 9:15 PM, Roscoe13 said:

I guess I always thought of gratuities as based on a service provided.

True.  But I think the cruise lines factor in a cost for the service and divide it by the amount of people the ship can hold.  So if a room steward has a cabin for 2 and only person shows up, they do sort of get cheated on the other person's $16.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, dlphn501 said:

True.  But I think the cruise lines factor in a cost for the service and divide it by the amount of people the ship can hold.  So if a room steward has a cabin for 2 and only person shows up, they do sort of get cheated on the other person's $16.

Considering they don't get $16 per person, they get a contracted amount and that $16 pp goes into the housekeeping pool and then split to cover people who are assigned to the common areas.  They are also part of "Your Housekeeping Team" .  

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, dlphn501 said:

True.  But I think the cruise lines factor in a cost for the service and divide it by the amount of people the ship can hold.  So if a room steward has a cabin for 2 and only person shows up, they do sort of get cheated on the other person's $16.

I know what you mean.  When my mom and I go out to lunch and we split an entrée (sometimes we split dessert too😉) I tip extra since we are two people but our bill is basically for one person.

[mz-s]

everyone is a big tipper on the internet...

[salty dingo]

While the cruiser in the solo cabin is only paying gratuities for one, we're often paying for the entire cabin for two!

 

Carnival does not have too many discounts for solo cruisers, but if you look hard enough there's a deal to be found every now and then.

[Roscoe13]

8 hours ago, dlphn501 said:

True.  But I think the cruise lines factor in a cost for the service and divide it by the amount of people the ship can hold.  So if a room steward has a cabin for 2 and only person shows up, they do sort of get cheated on the other person's $16.

I don't get this analogy of someone is being cheated out of anything.  Daily gratuities are per person and that's based off of the amount of work the service team has to do. 

 

Solo cruisers will have fewer towels needed and I know of many solo's that specifically the attendants to NOT clean the cabin everyday.

[dlphn501]

7 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Considering they don't get $16 per person, they get a contracted amount and that $16 pp goes into the housekeeping pool and then split to cover people who are assigned to the common areas.  They are also part of "Your Housekeeping Team" .  

You are right.  Their share of the $16.  But I was specifically talking about cabins that hold more than 1 person.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Roscoe13 said:

I don't get this analogy of someone is being cheated out of anything.  Daily gratuities are per person and that's based off of the amount of work the service team has to do. 

 

Solo cruisers will have fewer towels needed and I know of many solo's that specifically the attendants to NOT clean the cabin everyday.

And I know doubles and triples that ask for it to not be cleaned everyday.  And a lot of people keep their space clean.  Not all solos use less towels.  In fact, not everyone takes a shower everyday.  But whether there is one person or cabin in one cabin, the shower is still as dirty.  I don't know specifically what they clean on a daily basis.  I have a cleaning lady that comes to my house and her rates are based on the size of what she is cleaning, not how many people are using the space.  I think the only "less work" they may do for a solo cruiser in a multi-person cabin is have less beds to make.  Which is something, esp considering the upper pullmans, but they are losing money on that no matter how you want to look at it.  I'm sure they would rather have that extra bed to make for that extra $4-5 per day.

[Roscoe13]

2 hours ago, dlphn501 said:

You are right.  Their share of the $16.  But I was specifically talking about cabins that hold more than 1 person.

 

 

And I know doubles and triples that ask for it to not be cleaned everyday.  And a lot of people keep their space clean.  Not all solos use less towels.  In fact, not everyone takes a shower everyday.  But whether there is one person or cabin in one cabin, the shower is still as dirty.  I don't know specifically what they clean on a daily basis.  I have a cleaning lady that comes to my house and her rates are based on the size of what she is cleaning, not how many people are using the space.  I think the only "less work" they may do for a solo cruiser in a multi-person cabin is have less beds to make.  Which is something, esp considering the upper pullmans, but they are losing money on that no matter how you want to look at it.  I'm sure they would rather have that extra bed to make for that extra $4-5 per day.

As has already been suggested, grats are per person but everyone is free to tip more or less.

[Saint Greg]

12 hours ago, dlphn501 said:

True.  But I think the cruise lines factor in a cost for the service and divide it by the amount of people the ship can hold.  So if a room steward has a cabin for 2 and only person shows up, they do sort of get cheated on the other person's $16.

How do you feel about rooms that hold 3-5 people but only have two booked in it? 

[salty dingo]

10 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

How do you feel about rooms that hold 3-5 people but only have two booked in it? 

If you're talking about the cabins with upper berths that fold down, those would not be used if there were only two people booked, so no extra work for the steward.

[Saint Greg]

44 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

If you're talking about the cabins with upper berths that fold down, those would not be used if there were only two people booked, so no extra work for the steward.

That’s not what my post was about. I was talking to the person who said the steward is getting cheated out of gratuity with a solo in a two person cabin. I’m wondering if they also feel the same way about two people in cabins that hold 3-5 people.

[mz-s]

everyone is a big tipper on the internet...

[dlphn501]

17 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

How do you feel about rooms that hold 3-5 people but only have two booked in it? 

LOL, none of this bothers me at all.  Why would I care how many people are in a room?  But my logic and original response would be the same if that's what you're asking.

[dlphn501]

5 hours ago, mz-s said:

everyone is a big tipper on the internet...

You said that twice.  Meanwhile, I don't recall anyone stating how much they tip

[Saint Greg]

6 minutes ago, dlphn501 said:

LOL, none of this bothers me at all.  Why would I care how many people are in a room?  But my logic and original response would be the same if that's what you're asking.

 

That's all I'm asking. Anytime the ship isn't at full capacity you think the Stewards are getting cheated.

[taglovestocruise]

And then your 16 dollar grat is pooled amongst 1000 crew.. wow,,,they get about 2 cents,

[mz-s]

11 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

And then your 16 dollar grat is pooled amongst 1000 crew.. wow,,,they get about 2 cents,

 

That's the entire point of pooled gratuities. Yes their share of your gratuity is quite small, but they get the same 2 cents or whatever from everyone else on board.