I won't Auto-tip!! Some crew may or may not get screwed

[CaptainEdwardJohnSmith]

....................If you want to help out:D ,these are the biggies...

 

Tipping

Jeans in the dining room

Diapers in the pool

Smoking on board

 

Steve........................................................

 

Captain will bite on this one, ALWAYS glad to help out, come post your views..............:D

[pholter]

Ok, my bad......... I guess it wasn't the maitre'd - the guy I gave the $35 was the guy who slid in our chairs when we sat, took our orders, answered questions about the menu, said "Big Moo" everytime I ordered a medium rare steak and generally pampered the living daylights out of us - is that maybe the headwaiter?

 

Brad

 

Yes, you'd be correct.... It was your Head Waiter :)

[TNtraveler]

...We did not adjust the "auto-tip", which was $10 per person, per day for my wife & I ($100 total for a five day cruise).

 

On our last night of the cruise, I gave our maitre'd $35 cash, our drinks waitress in the dining room $20 cash, and our steward $25 cash.

 

So here is my question - are those amounts OK?...

 

I'd say you were more generous than necessary -- substituting your table staff for the maitre 'd, remember, these are the folks that split at least some of your 'auto-tip', too.

Traveling alone for a 5-nighter on Celebration last year, I split a $20 between the dining-room wait staff (who each have to share cash tips with the other, anyway; I skipped a dinner), and left an extra $10 for my room steward (who shares with assistant, if he/she has one). Bar/drink tips were made as service was provided (being solo, I never used room service), and I didn't receive direct service from maitre 'd, so didn't tip him (he's salaried ship staff).

Simply put, while I don't begrudge at all the $10 pppd in 'assigned' tips, I don't feel cheap if I don't add any extra for mediocre service, but will appreciate and reward being made comfortable.

[jessemon]

I changed it.....everytime a post states something strong with no proof, it is a flame toward that person or company so I got the facts out of the thread....1, The OP said he "won't" autotip... 2, maybe there are some crew getting shorted - maybe they're not....It "could" happen.....but then maybe it "hasn't".......With no proof, it's speculation and not fair to the cruiseline to be flamed in a title without real proof.

Very good......

[grampasgrumpy]

I changed it.....everytime a post states something strong with no proof, it is a flame toward that person or company so I got the facts out of the thread....1, The OP said he "won't" autotip... 2, maybe there are some crew getting shorted - maybe they're not....It "could" happen.....but then maybe it "hasn't".......With no proof, it's speculation and not fair to the cruiseline to be flamed in a title without real proof.

Keeping people honest is often a thankless job, but somebody has to do it. And you do great at it.;)

[Caribbreeze]

...everytime a post states something strong with no proof, it is a flame toward that person or company so I got the facts

That couldn't have been easy.

[CruiseNaked]

Holla, I disagree.....people who "care" about where their money goes are "smart", not "cheap". Just a suggestion......:)

 

And actually, what people do with their money is their business. We choose to leave the tip on the bill and then add a couple of bucks to those who we dealt with one-on-one, but we respect the fact that people should deal with their money THEIR way.

[Muster Station]

Holla, I disagree.....people who "care" about where their money goes are "smart", not "cheap". Just a suggestion......:)

 

And actually, what people do with their money is their business. We choose to leave the tip on the bill and then add a couple of bucks to those who we dealt with one-on-one, but we respect the fact that people should deal with their money THEIR way.

 

Et tu brute!

[cuyahoga11]

Wow, thank you for the advice. Kind of sad that Carnival treats their employees that way. You'd think that since they keep them in cooped up quarters for so long they would treat them better. Will definately pay with cash tips. Thanks again!

Keri

 

This is not just Carnival related. All cruise lines

[Kace]

We paid our auto-tips, and also tipped our headwaiter/staff and room steward/staff for their excellent service. But what's up with the pressure to tip the maitre d'? This is a salaried employee whom we barely saw, but the importance of tipping him/her was emphasized in the debarkation lecture.

 

Also, the message of the debarkation lecture was that any score less than "5" (exceeds expectations, or something like that) on the cruise evaluation was a uge black mark. I'm sorry, but giving a perfect score of "5" doesn't help anyone if there is indeed room for improvement. I gave 5's to our wonderful wait staff and room staff. Our cruise director team left a great deal to be desired, and my ratings reflected that.

[Cruising89143]

Wow, thank you for the advice. Kind of sad that Carnival treats their employees that way. You'd think that since they keep them in cooped up quarters for so long they would treat them better. Will definately pay with cash tips. Thanks again!

Keri

 

 

Don't believe everything that you read. Do you really think that crew members would stick with a cruise line that was not being fair with their pay? This goes for any cruise line.

 

Some folks on this board have a reputation for being cheap. They try and divert the attention to something or someone else. Not pointing any fingers but stick around long enough and those folks soon out themselves.:rolleyes:

[colette5479]

Don't believe everything that you read. Do you really think that crew members would stick with a cruise line that was not being fair with their pay? This goes for any cruise line.

 

Some folks on this board have a reputation for being cheap. They try and divert the attention to something or someone else. Not pointing any fingers but stick around long enough and those folks soon out themselves.:rolleyes:

 

I agree....don't rely on the facts from the OP. For those of us who have been around awhile, we know he just loves to STP with this subject. The OP is so cheap that he once asked if he just ate from room service would he still have to tip.:rolleyes:

[popcorngal]

 

Also, the message of the debarkation lecture was that any score less than "5" (exceeds expectations, or something like that) on the cruise evaluation was a uge black mark. I'm sorry, but giving a perfect score of "5" doesn't help anyone if there is indeed room for improvement. I gave 5's to our wonderful wait staff and room staff. Our cruise director team left a great deal to be desired, and my ratings reflected that.

 

Yep, that part always got to me too. I give the ratings that I feel are deserved. As one of my old bosses once said at evaluation time, "Not even God gets all 5's!"

[PDAZ]

I agree....don't rely on the facts from the OP. For those of us who have been around awhile, we know he just loves to STP with this subject. The OP is so cheap that he once asked if he just ate from room service would he still have to tip.:rolleyes:

Colette5479 -- your avatar rules :D

[imnance]

My steward, Marian, got 50.00. He deserved every penny. His helpers, Sudiarta and Witaya, each got 25.00. Also well earned.

 

Lidia, our head server and her helper Alina, each got 25.00. We only ate in the dining room 4 times.

 

Angela, the sweetie who brought us drinks on the Lido every day, got a few bucks every day.

 

Room service got 5.00 as did the poor guy who brought us our clean laundry. I thought he was going to faint. LOL I don't think I ever even saw the Maitre'D although I did hear him on the PA.

 

I suspect I may have tipped more than some folks, but I'm a server IRL. I appreciate good service and I firmly believe what goes around comes around.

 

Those folks on the ship work approx 10-12 hour shift,

 

Our dining room servers worked from 6am till 10pm. I know, because they served me breakfast as well as dinner. My steward worked from 8am till 10pm. Each and every one of these folks had a polite greeting and a smile every time I saw them. If I had to work those hours, I'd be slapping people by the 8th hour.

 

Anyone who quibbles about the 10.00 auto tip is a cheap piece of crap. IMHO of course.:rolleyes:

[Givemestuff]

If all these people who claim to tip "above and beyond" the minimum (by the way it's the recommended amount) $10 p/p per day these workers would be making well over $1,000/week.

I read somewhere that the stewarts spend about 3 1/2 hours per cabin on a 7 night cruise. If you have a family of four at $3.50 p/p per day thats $96 dollars for the week or over $27. an hour. Think about that when you whine about how little they make!!!

[Mikel1733]

If all these people who claim to tip "above and beyond" the minimum (by the way it's the recommended amount) $10 p/p per day these workers would be making well over $1,000/week.

I read somewhere that the stewarts spend about 3 1/2 hours per cabin on a 7 night cruise. If you have a family of four at $3.50 p/p per day thats $96 dollars for the week or over $27. an hour. Think about that when you whine about how little they make!!!

 

I don't want to scrub someones toilet or clean the showers for even $27 hour. (especially after the massive amounts of food and booze consumed..can't be pretty)

[picklebongo]

I'm truly surprised by the number of people who quiz folks on the ship about their tips and such. Just think, if you multiply this times the number of folks who cruise on a weekly basis, they must get sick and tired of these questions which are intrusive. I say if your service is great, leave the tip, if you are unhappy talk with the hotel director so it can be rectified. If the problem continues and no effort is made to correct it, adjust the tip accordingly.

[southbayer]

I totally agree with you!

We paid our auto-tips, and also tipped our headwaiter/staff and room steward/staff for their excellent service. But what's up with the pressure to tip the maitre d'? This is a salaried employee whom we barely saw, but the importance of tipping him/her was emphasized in the debarkation lecture.

 

Also, the message of the debarkation lecture was that any score less than "5" (exceeds expectations, or something like that) on the cruise evaluation was a uge black mark. I'm sorry, but giving a perfect score of "5" doesn't help anyone if there is indeed room for improvement. I gave 5's to our wonderful wait staff and room staff. Our cruise director team left a great deal to be desired, and my ratings reflected that.

[PINEVIEW01]

I don't want to scrub someones toilet or clean the showers for even $27 hour. (especially after the massive amounts of food and booze consumed..can't be pretty)

I have three kids that would love to.

[MrPete]

I'm truly surprised by the number of people who quiz folks on the ship about their tips and such.

 

Right?

 

I can't imagine if for some strange reason I wanted to be a waiter on a ship, and I was asked constantly about my "pay" from strangers.

[marty30907]

Just my two cents in this matter. Since Carnival has offered prepay tips, we have always accepted it for the following reasons:

 

1. When we board the ship, we owe no one anything.

2. We don't have to worry about keeping the cash on-hand to the last day of the cruise.

3. We don't forget to tip anyone.

 

We also take 4 thank you cards, two for our room stewards and two for our dinning room waiters. We always add a little extra in the cards to express how we feel about their work.

 

As we understand it, if the tips are prepaid, then the extra we give to the staff's is theirs to keep for themselves. And they seem to enjoy the card and the little extra cash.

[Mikel1733]

I have three kids that would love to.

 

My dear mother worked as a maid in a hotel for years. The stories she would tell of things she had to deal with would make your head spin. I have one story in particular I'd love to relate........but it would get the thread pulled immediately. Suffice to say you wouldn't wish that job on your kids.

[peterv]

We paid our auto-tips, and also tipped our headwaiter/staff and room steward/staff for their excellent service. But what's up with the pressure to tip the maitre d'? This is a salaried employee whom we barely saw, but the importance of tipping him/her was emphasized in the debarkation lecture.

 

Also, the message of the debarkation lecture was that any score less than "5" (exceeds expectations, or something like that) on the cruise evaluation was a uge black mark. I'm sorry, but giving a perfect score of "5" doesn't help anyone if there is indeed room for improvement. I gave 5's to our wonderful wait staff and room staff. Our cruise director team left a great deal to be desired, and my ratings reflected that.

 

Any time I hear this on a ship the immediate action is to give a "1" or POOR rating to whatever department has suggested we do this. I refuse to be coerced into ranking items higher just because not doing it is a "black mark" on some departments record. :mad:

 

Requesting this sort of action is ridiculous and completely subverts the entire rating system!

 

Though I am sure most go along with this.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[mtchg]

..That's exactly how I handle it,,,,take "thank you" cards to make it personal,

use the auto tip, and give a little extra, mentioning in my note that in addition to "auto-tip" in recognition of their service, etc etc.

 

It's so handy not have to deal with a bunch of cash at the end of the cruise like the past. i appreciate the "auto-tip" option, but that's just me.

 

Mitch (sorry, I mean marty 30907)