Lost Job But Trip Already Pid For.few Questions

[sirarthur]

[quote name='kakalina']This is thread is starting to get just a wee bit out of control and personal. Some of you are not being very nice. We have a wonderful outlet here to express our views and opinions. That is what they are personal opinions and as such should be treated with a modicom of respect.
Tipping is a "hot" topic here, it always has been. It is a personal decision and no one should be made to feel "cheap,bad or indifferant" to the problems that the crew may have with their families and finances. Truthfully, that is not our problem, not to say we should not care but that it isn't our requirement to do so.
We should all be aware that if HAL values its crew and staff so highly then perhaps it would be best if they paid wages accordingly. They do not but it is not the passengers duty to remedy this. It is a choice and people should not be condemned because of that very personal choice.
Sorry, but one of the previous posts made me get on my soapbox, luckily a rare occurance.[/quote]

I am sorry but I have to disagree. This has been a GOOD thread. People have expressed their opinions which you may or may not agree BUT the discussion is good. Calm down, enjoy.

[wander]

Not really much different. In both cases base wages are low and they are dependent on tips for most of their income. I too would prefer to just have prices raised to cover the expected tips, and then have no tipping. But, that is not the way it is on LAND either. (In a previous post I noted I was a waitress in my youger years. I might also say that during my career years I did not get "tips", but I did get performance bonuses and periodic preformance raises.)

Many, if not most, restaurants in some states (maybe all, I don't know about all states) work the same way cruise lines do in relation to tips.

In at least SOME STATES, restaurants are exempt from minimum wage rules for their food servers. They can pay significantly less than minimum wage on the presumption that the servers will make enough in tips to at least reach the State's minimun wage. If enough folks don't tip, the server earns below minimum wage.

Now granted, the servers in such a State and restaurant may still earn more in base pay than onboard ships, the expectation is that they will make enough in tips to make at least minimum wage.

Why do I bring this up? Just as reminder that such is the way of life for many restaurant servers as well as shipboard folks. It is NOT something unique to HAL or even cruising.

[mommybunny21]

No wonder HAL cruisers have a reputation for being anti-children. I cannot believe some of the comments made here---i.e."I don't have children thank god" as so on. My husband and I have traveled all over the world with our son, first class, and have never encountered such animosity.

[tprime76]

mommybunny21 - I am one of the first people to get excited when I hear that the number of children on one of our cruises is unusually low. Why? Less children on the cruise means less chance of having to deal with some kid running through the pool deck screaming while mommy and daddy just tune it out or a temper tantrum during dinner or a bunch of kids taking over an elevator as a game. It is the few bad ones (and bad parents) that create this animosity.

All most people are looking for is to enjoy their vacation without having to strain to hear the crashing of the waves over screaming.

But, the whole children thing on cruises is another thread altogether.

[kryos]

[quote name='wander']In at least SOME STATES, restaurants are exempt from minimum wage rules for their food servers. They can pay significantly less than minimum wage on the presumption that the servers will make enough in tips to at least reach the State's minimun wage. If enough folks don't tip, the server earns below minimum wage.
[/QUOTE]
But I would assume then that if the employee can show he has been paid under the minimum wage (including his tips) that the employer would have to make that up. Minimum wages are MINIMUM wages, and the person working at a "dive" who maybe didn't reach his minimum for the number of hours he worked that particular week (maybe the restaurant was very slow, etc.) should be able to go back to his employer, paperwork in hand, and get the difference made up to him.

Of course, this rarely happens I am sure. These restaurant corporations know how to make sure each employee gets enough hours to make their minimum wage requirements. And, yes, Pennsylvania (where I live) and New Jersey do pay restaurant servers well under the minimum wage, figuring that their tips will bring them up to the desired level. I remember when I was a server ... in a pancake house for one summer in the resort town of Wildwood. I believe my actual pay from the restuarant was about $1.00 an hour. We were paid in cash ... in a pay envelope each week. Then with my tips (usually about $10 to $15 a shift net) ... remember, this was back in '74 ... I probably just about cleared the minimum wage threshold. Believe me, restaurant servers, unless they are working at a really swanky place, don't make much more than that cashier at the Wal-Mart ... and the pay levels of both are an absolute disgrace.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[KAYEF]

I just scanned these pages after seeing them pointed out on another thread.............but..............

I always take THANK YOU NOTECARDS along, write a note, and we enclose extra tip money and hand them to people the last day.

We were TOLD on Veendam that we needed to put our Cabin Number on the outside. They would then "check to make sure we had left the auto-tip in place" and if so, the cash would be returned to the intended person.

PLEASE don't drop your auto-tip and give cash to good workers; they won't get to keep it. And, if it's found that they have kept it and not reported it, they lose their job..............we've been told that on several HAL ships.

I'm sure our cabin was cleaned, checked on, serviced more than twice a day...............I'll never forget that first night/first cruise when my DH left a shirt on a chair. We returned and it was folded beautifully and placed on an end table.

After that, we always laughed as we tidied up before leaving!:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

IWe were TOLD on Veendam that we needed to put our Cabin Number on the outside. They would then "check to make sure we had left the auto-tip in place" and if so, the cash would be returned to the intended person.

 

I actually had never thought of this or been told but it makes sense. We have always just handed out cash the last night or day. I wonder if say for a cabin steward if everyone in his section kept the auto tip on would he then have to worry about pooling it? Same with your Dining Room steward? Although I am sure that would be harder to figure out and control where with the cabin steward it's pretty simple. Thanks for the information:)

[hammybee]

Back to the OP. Go. Enjoy. HAL allows you to bring onboard your own Coke. And if possible, adhere to the recommended topping policy, to ensure good KARMA going forward.