Entertainment tipping

[cusematt4]

Hi all,

 

We always enjoying listening to live music onboard.  On Royal Caribbean, the guitar player at the pub and piano player at the piano bar have tip jars out.  
 

We are on our first princes cruise in awhile and the guitar soloist and piano bar player do not have tip jars out.  People have said hey have never seen tip jars out for any entertainers aboard Princess or Celebrity.
 

Are tips not expected on some cruise lines but are on others for the piano bar player and color pub guitar player?  Also on rcl we notice that it is only the piano bar and pub player - none of the duos or bands have tip jars out.

 

Just curious if there’s a difference in expectations and suggestions among cruise lines for entertainment tipping.

 

Thank you.

[Charles4515]

23 minutes ago, cusematt4 said:

 

Hi all,

 

We always enjoying listening to live music onboard.  On Royal Caribbean, the guitar player at the pub and piano player at the piano bar have tip jars out.  
 

We are on our first princes cruise in awhile and the guitar soloist and piano bar player do not have tip jars out.  People have said hey have never seen tip jars out for any entertainers aboard Princess or Celebrity.
 

Are tips not expected on some cruise lines but are on others for the piano bar player and color pub guitar player?  Also on rcl we notice that it is only the piano bar and pub player - none of the duos or bands have tip jars out.

 

Just curious if there’s a difference in expectations and suggestions among cruise lines for entertainment tipping.

 

Thank you.

Probably there are different expectations. I did a few Carnival cruise and the piano player had a tip jar out, a very large one. The expectation was that if we made a request and the piano player was able to play that tune then they deserved a tip. I have seen that with guitar players and piano players on Royal Caribbean but their tip jars were more discreet. Piano players in Michael’s club on Celebrity after they turned it into a piano bar used to have small tip jars years ago. I recall making a request and the piano player made up something which was not remotely good or clever so I didn’t tip him. There was a player on Zenith who was charismatic and pretty good. He had a lot of tips. It seemed like he could play any thing and played well. 

Edited June 17 by Charles4515

[cruisegus]

Depends on the contract they have, some also sell merchandise as allowed by their contract.  I'm sure some contracts exclude an allowance for tip jars.

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, cruisegus said:

Depends on the contract they have, some also sell merchandise as allowed by their contract.  I'm sure some contracts exclude an allowance for tip jars.

Yes, I have see several musicians and singers onboard selling CDs but usually not the house bands, musicians or performers. 

[neverbeenhere]

Yup, I’ve bought many cds and a few books of performers as a way to compensate the good ones. Some cds were good, others not so much. 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Probably there are different expectations. I did a few Carnival cruise and the piano player had a tip jar out, a very large one.

I haven’t sailed on Carnival in over 5 years, but your comment reminded me of a few really good piano players on Carnival who would not play any requests unless the request included a “tip”. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

OMG a another TIP for more people doing their jobs. Maybe it would be easier to just list people not to TIP. 

 

The worlds going crazy with Tipping. 😜

 

 

[JJK2008]

4 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

OMG a another TIP for more people doing their jobs. Maybe it would be easier to just list people not to TIP. 

 

The worlds going crazy with Tipping. 😜

 

 

Unfortunately, most Americans don't know that tipping is an American custom that is NOT practiced in most of the world. Tipping in some cultures is rude, insulting or not practiced but Americans don't care they do it anyway because they "know it's the right thing to do" It has gotten so bad in the US that tipping is now almost "required" for ANY service a person receives. Good service, bad service or even just doing the job they are paid to do. People in the US have been conditioned and feel Obligated to tip. It's Insane.  

Edited June 17 by JJK2008
wrong word

[retired dude]

8 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I haven’t sailed on Carnival in over 5 years, but your comment reminded me of a few really good piano players on Carnival who would not play any requests unless the request included a “tip”. 

just another of the hundred reasons to avoid carnival at all costs....lol

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

OMG a another TIP for more people doing their jobs. Maybe it would be easier to just list people not to TIP. 

 

The worlds going crazy with Tipping. 😜

 

 

I don’t think tipping a performer is the same thing as tipping for service. Busking is traditional in the US. This is not new.  No one demands a tip. (expect maybe on Carnival) I will show appreciation if they play well. It would be weird here if they didn’t have a tip cup. Most people don’t put anything in. I don’t show appreciation just because they have a tip jar or sell CDs which if I buy I can’t listen to as I never replaced my CD player. It is a way of providing feedback. 

Edited June 17 by Charles4515

[dramamommao]

The Pub guitarist and the Schooner Bar piano player do have a different contract type then the house band or orchestra players.  Most of them have to participate in the safety and lifeboat drills as regular crew does and hold certain health clearances.  Room type and days off are all worked into their contracts as independent contractors.

Tipping....I have always approached this specific style of entertainment as I would a shoreside bar or pub.  If you go to any piano bar/pub stateside, tip jars are out. In my opinion, if you request a certain song, or sit at the piano all night and have your requests taken, it is just good manners to tip  (remember...RCI is considered an American company and pays its employees in US $).

To each his own obviously.

No hate to anyone with different viewpoint 🙂

[Charles4515]

9 minutes ago, dramamommao said:

 

Tipping....I have always approached this specific style of entertainment as I would a shoreside bar or pub.  If you go to any piano bar/pub stateside, tip jars are out. In my opinion, if you request a certain song, or sit at the piano all night and have your requests taken, it is just good manners to tip  (remember...RCI is considered an American company

Exactly. It is traditional and good manners. It is in no way comparable to the tip screens that have gone wild asking for a tip before receiving service or at self service counters. 

[Billy Baltic]

15 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Exactly. It is traditional

traditional? Where?

[George C]

We almost always tip the piano player in schooner and guitar player in pub if we like the music , most people don’t tip , totally up to the cruiser . We listen to music once or twice a week at an upscale restaurant and tip 20 while requesting a song , again most people don’t tip. Although last night there tio jar was full.

[crazyank]

23 minutes ago, George C said:

We listen to music once or twice a week at an upscale restaurant and tip 20 while requesting a song

$20 for a song request??? 

[BND]

8 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

OMG a another TIP for more people doing their jobs. Maybe it would be easier to just list people not to TIP. 

 

The worlds going crazy with Tipping. 😜

 

 

Tipping piano bar players and other musicians that play in some venues is normal and not new.  It's been done for years and is how many musicians make a living.   Just because you're from the UK and don't tip doesn't mean a lot.  You don't have to tip them, but be aware others do.

Edited June 17 by BND

[Billy Baltic]

7 minutes ago, BND said:

Just because you're from the UK and don't tip doesn't mean you get to sit in judgment of those that do.

100% agreed and it works both ways. 

[BND]

4 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

100% agreed and it works both ways. 

You grabbed that before I edited my post.  I removed it because I rethought it.  So, thanks for that.

[George C]

1 hour ago, crazyank said:

$20 for a song request??? 

When we listen to music at this place , like last night , the jazz trio and singer played for 3 to 4 hours we are tipping because we like the music getting a favorite song is just a bonus , we tip even when we don’t request a song .

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Billy Baltic said:

traditional? Where?

I mentioned in one of my posts in the US. But no one at a pub or bar in the US is going to pay attention to or remember whether you leave a tip for the piano or guitar player. On the other hand if you don’t tip the bartender in the US I suggest not returning to that bar. You might get a ***** drink.  

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, George C said:

When we listen to music at this place , like last night , the jazz trio and singer played for 3 to 4 hours we are tipping because we like the music getting a favorite song is just a bonus , we tip even when we don’t request a song .

I am sure they appreciate it. Those musicians are not bringing in big bucks. I know a lot of musicians doing gigs in the DFW area. 

[George C]

5 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I am sure they appreciate it. Those musicians are not bringing in big bucks. I know a lot of musicians doing gigs in the DFW area. 

We are friendly with lots of musicians, many are sit in our booth during their break , I also have a cousin who plays drums professionally in New York City. 

[Bead Pirate]

Just off ICON, if you want to hear a song from the dueling pianos you better have at least a $20 with the request (a couple of requests had a $50 on them).

 

The performers will tell the audience straight up the requests with the "Jackson" attached will get first attention...

 

Short sets and a lot of talking limit the actual number of songs you will get to hear so there is competition to hear a song.

[SoloAlaska]

Wow I am shocked at tip jars on cruise ships. Haven’t seen one yet but I’ve cruised Celebrity and NCL. If you want to tip you can easily just go give a special handshake after a set. Having a tip jar out in my opinion is like wearing a sign saying “tip me now”. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

19 minutes ago, Bead Pirate said:

Just off ICON, if you want to hear a song from the dueling pianos you better have at least a $20 with the request (a couple of requests had a $50 on them).

 

The performers will tell the audience straight up the requests with the "Jackson" attached will get first attention...

 

Short sets and a lot of talking limit the actual number of songs you will get to hear so there is competition to hear a song.

Crazy.

They are paid to entertain people. Its not morally correct to only play songs that people have bribed them to play. Should be majority rules,  offer different song names and biggest cheers gets the song played. Not the minority with fists of cash deciding. But thats my opinion 🤷