What tips do they get to keep?

[house7]

I am wondering if anyone knows for sure what tips the staff get to keep for themselves? We usually prepay ours and add cash to the envelopes if the service is extra special. My DH asked if the staff (for example the waiter) gets to keep the cash and the prepaid goes to the "pool" for everyone? Main reason for asking is it would be a shame if the person who went the extra mile didn't get to keep the cash. DH wondered if because we are putting it in the envelope it goes to the "pool". If this is the case maybe we should give the cash out of the envelope. Anyone who knows for sure please let me know. Thanks:D

[cb at sea]

We do the cash route--that way, if they do have to "pool" their tips, they can put in as much as they want to claim! (There's no way to "track" cash, but they do track the "pre-paid" tips!) The envelope has nothing to do with it, if you HAND the envelope to your server!

[CMurph]

I don't know the answer concerning all the staff. But, this is what I was told by a bartender on the Empress. He said that if I order a drink at the bar and added extra, the tips would be shared among the bartenders that work that bar. If I order from a waiter that comes to me, takes my order & brings me my drink....any extra tip would go to that waiter. I took that to mean any server...around the pool, in the casino, during shows, bingo, etc.

[hoop4321]

my hubby asked our asst waiter which way did he prefer to be tipped, and he said in cash as there was a head waiter that would skim the tips if prepaid. We really liked our asst waiter, he was everywhere and was always plesant and would get us anything. Seemed like a really nice guy.

[MarinerBride]

I don't know the answer concerning all the staff. But, this is what I was told by a bartender on the Empress. He said that if I order a drink at the bar and added extra, the tips would be shared among the bartenders that work that bar. If I order from a waiter that comes to me, takes my order & brings me my drink....any extra tip would go to that waiter. I took that to mean any server...around the pool, in the casino, during shows, bingo, etc.

We were told this also - for our favorite bartender we usually added some cash to the tip charged on the SeaPass.

[cruisePRN]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions. :eek:

[iheartbda]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions. :eek:

 

No one is being nosey to find out how much they make.

 

People are asking the workers these questions to make sure the extra money they decide to give goes to the person who gave them exceptional service.

[Ladyvdr]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions. :eek:

 

Wow :mad: These questions are not about trying to figure out how much someone makes or about being nosey. I like to give extra cash for service that I feel has enhanced my trip. I would like to know that the person I am tipping actually gets to keep the tip.

[rubrrick]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions. :eek:

 

 

cruisePRN.........not sure where you came up with this answer. It is our business to know that the people that serve us so well and that we tip are getting what we feel that they deserve.

 

I have asked the same questions that several poster here have asked, and I know who gets to keep all of the tip.........and who has to share.

 

What's the matter with that???????/:confused:

 

Rick

[Crosboro]

One interesting fact we learned was that everyone eligible for tips is guaranteed a "minimum" salary, consisting of base pay plus tips. If the tips don't add enough to meet the minimum pay, RCCL makes up the difference. So, tip enough and they make more than minimum.

[kingsgirl]

I honestly don't believe anything I hear on here regarding tips. It's so controversial and so many "I heard" comments.

 

It's not my responsibility to know or find out how staff are paid. That is RCI's business. I tip as I see fit and leave it at that. Otherwise it's too complicated, and why should it be?

JMO.

[ehfl]

When you pre-pay, you get a voucher to put in th envelope. The person you give it too gets the full amount on the voucher.

[LivetoCruise412]

We always do the prepaid tips but if we feel that any other people who serve us be it a bartender, steward, wait staff deserve more because of outstanding service we always do extra tipping in cash, so when going around the ship we always have a little cash on us even though we don't need to. With our waiters and room stewards we don't put any extra in the envelope in case they do pool in fact we give our room steward extra a few times during the week that is if he/she does a great job so I feel if they do than they deserve more for going above and beyond just like I do at home with servers.;)

[house7]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions. :eek:

 

I think these are exactly the types of questions we should be asking. I want to know that if my assistant waiter has stood out with exceptional service and I choose to tip more (like I would at a restaurant) he is going to get it not share it with 100 other people.

 

We should ask these questions to see if RCCL deserves our business by being a good employer. When investing in something you investigate to ensure it is worth it. When buying anything your compare to make the right choice. Where I vacation should live up to a standard both in its treatment of customers and staff.

[kingsgirl]

I think these are exactly the types of questions we should be asking. I want to know that if my assistant waiter has stood out with exceptional service and I choose to tip more (like I would at a restaurant) he is going to get it not share it with 100 other people.

 

We should ask these questions to see if RCCL deserves our business by being a good employer. When investing in something you investigate to ensure it is worth it. When buying anything your compare to make the right choice. Where I vacation should live up to a standard both in its treatment of customers and staff.

 

But do you ask your waiters at your local restaurants? Do you ask your hotel cleaning lady? I find it really rude to ask myself. I understand why people want to know, but ...I could never do it. It seems very wrong :(

[digger864]

We do the prepaid and we also give extra cash tips to the people that do a little extra for us.

[critterchick]

But do you ask your waiters at your local restaurants? Do you ask your hotel cleaning lady? I find it really rude to ask myself. I understand why people want to know, but ...I could never do it. It seems very wrong :(

 

I'm from New England, where discussing money is generally considered taboo. I've never asked about it, but I've had several crewmembers volunteer information for whatever reason (often after the tip - we sail on Monarch a lot so have gotten to know a few people who must be comfortable telling us their stories).

 

So I "know" what I'm told by a couple of them, which is that the waiters in the dining room and your cabin steward keep their tips. Bar servers share in the basic 15%, but if you put an extra tip on the charge slip or give them cash the individual server gets to keep it.

 

By the way, I don't think there's any way for a headwaiter to skim tips off the voucher system. According to one of my acquaintances onboard, each person gets a record of the prepaid or charged tips. They can check that against the slips that we give them. The HW doesn't get involved in payroll. I think that was just the AW's story to get a cash tip.

[El Mono]

But do you ask your waiters at your local restaurants? Do you ask your hotel cleaning lady? I find it really rude to ask myself. I understand why people want to know, but ...I could never do it. It seems very wrong :(

 

 

Personally I don't ask either, but usually pay tips in cash, regardless if its to a waiter, room service or cleaning staff. It doesn't matter if I pay by credit card wich I usually do, I DONT pay the tips with the card, but in cash. It may look cheap on paper not to pay tips on the bill, but I always point out that I wan't to pay tips in cash and have never gotten any bad looks because of that.

I belive that the reciever of the tips prefer it that way since his or hers superior then have no controll over how much if any tips their employers get. It not their business even if I am sure they would like to know.

The only downside of this is that it could be possible that some waitors or bartenders stiff their help, but I can't controll everything.

[michigan tim]

Many:eek: people claim to know everything but it's not any of your business and nobody should be asking staff these types of questions.

 

 

Looks like one of those skimming head waiters is weighing in :D

 

My understanding is the cabin attendant and wait staff work solely for tips. Our cabin attendant was responsible for 12 cabins... one was a suite for 8...so doing the math:

 

(11x2)+8

=30pax

x $3.50

=$105 per day

x7

=$735per week

(a bit more if 3 or 4 per room... a bit less if singles or if he gets stiffed). That is for 10+ hours per day (2 5hr shifts).

 

On our last cruise one attendant on our floor had fallen ill and gone home to recover. 2 of the attendants had taken over his 12 rooms and were sending the extra dough home to the sick crewmate.

[BobBeaSea]

We prepay the tips when we are onboard. How the ship deals with it is their and the crew's business. One thing I do know, while the traditional staff who are the tip pool (cabin attendant, waiter, asst. waiter and head waiter) actually receive the tips, there is some payola going on. The tip pool is a little bigger, offically or otherwise, than a lot of folks realise.

 

Critterchick, the head waiter is the most stiffed member of the official tip pool. He/she isn't going to work for free, the money has to come from somewhere. The reasons given for stiffing the head waiter are many....and usually unfounded as most cruisers have no idea of what the duties of a head waiter are. This is why those who give extra to the waiter/asst. waiter in lieu of giving anything to the head waiter (.75 cents/day) aren't really accomplishing what they set out to do.

 

A post above has the bar staff situation nailed down pretty good....and is the precise reason why the bartenders change bars from sailing to sailing. Some bars are busier than others and consequently produce more tips (15% service charge and anything extra) than others. This balances the workload AND the money.

[michigan tim]

I'm curious as to how many customers the head waiter is responsible for? It sounds like it could be very lucrative to me at $.75pp per day times several hundred.

[jerseygirl226]

I've always paid for my tips in cash. How do I prepay? Do I authorize my TA to process the payment for me? Can I do it online if I used a TA?

 

Thanks for the help!

[BobBeaSea]

I'm curious as to how many customers the head waiter is responsible for? It sounds like it could be very lucrative to me at $.75pp per day times several hundred.

 

A typical Voyager class ship will have about 11 head waiters, 112 waiters and 105 or so asst. waiters.

[TEXASMUNK]

True Story!

 

Several years ago, met a couple , both Diamond Plus. Their were proud of the fact that they NEVER spent a penny while onboard...Including no tips!

 

Beverages consisted of water for her and coffee for him all week.

 

No tips? Yup!!! His logic had it this way; Since the tips get pooled, RCI was stealing his money and giving it to people he did not get service from during his cruise, therefore he would not permit RCI to do this so he did not tip.

 

Often times a thread like this had the ulterior motive of someone convincing themselves that the system is evil and thus being cheap and not tipping is justified!!!!

 

Our one "must do" is to hit the pool bar immediately upon boarding and making instant best friends with one of the bartenders (in most cases the bet friend is a $20.00 bill). That way when the bar is busy, it seems that he always thinks I am ahead of that guy at the other end of the bar.

 

Yes, it is not fair, but life is not fair....But the bartenders tend to think it is more than fair.

[esbie11]

Does anyone know what the duties of the head waiter are? We do tip him, but to be honest, I could never figure out what we are tipping him for? I am sure he does a lot of behind the scenes work, but we only ever see him walkinhg around the dining room and greeting pax from time to time. Does anyone know what his duties are?