Had poor service?? do you still tip, if so... WHY

[kimba_99]

Having read some quite negative Princess reviews in the past couple of days I was wondering if these people still leave a tip.

 

I can understand still leaving the tips if the problem is with Princess, weather etc and not the staff but some of these reviews are saying they had problems with staff. So do you still leave the tips and if so.... WHY..????

 

My understanding is the tips are for the waiters and stewards etc. and if you've had problems with these people why would you still leave them a tip?? I know if I had major problems with them I would not want to leave any tips.

 

Help me understand...

 

Kim

[PescadoAmarillo]

Well, I was not on the cruises which are being most frequently negatively commented on, but I can say with total certainty that I cannot imagine NOT tipping. First, you only tip the waitstaff and your cabin steward. Even if I had an awful waiter on one occasion, with Anytime dining I would just make sure I didn't get that waiter again. And even if I ended up with an awful waiter every night (which would never happen), everyone on the waitstaff, including the crew that bus the tables in the buffet benefit from tips, so I would certainly have gleaned $6.50 a day (or whatever that figure is) in service over the course of the cruise. As for my cabin steward...they are paid so little for all that they do, I think that the steward would have to be a thief or not show up at all for me not to tip at least the standard amount. And I would hope that no one would take frustrations with the purser's desk or cruise staff out by reducing their tips to the waitstaff and steward.

[Casey12]

I have taken 1 Celebrity cruise and on that cruise, I had the worst room steward and waiter of any of my cruises. I will not return to Celebrity because I thought service stunk. This is the only cruise in which I lowered the tip. All of my other cruises, I have given above and beyond and consider myself a generous tipper. IMHO - the crew on the Celebrity ship didn't even earn the limited tip I gave them.

[kimba_99]

IMHO - the crew on the Celebrity ship didn't even earn the limited tip I gave them.

 

This is exactly what I am trying to accertain... WHY tip at all if the service is that bad?

Regardless of other staff getting the benefit... you didn't have other staff serve you so why give anything at all...??

 

I just don't understand this mentality of worrying about all the other staff who didn't serve you. If you don't leave a tip because of the bad service surely the rest of the team is going to find out and push that particular staff member to lift their game... or is this just too much to ask for...

 

 

Kim

[CruiseFever]

Good question.

 

I would not hessitate for a minute to adjust automatic tips to more accurately reflect my personal experience on board.

 

On all but one cruise I left or gave the recommended amount of tips plus more for those who had gone out of their way to be of additional service. On that one cruise we'd had lousy service in the dining room. They just didn't try and I took off the tips that would have gone to the dining room staff and gave them to a bewildered omelete chef who took good care of us on the breakfast buffet every morning.

 

It was on the Carnival Legend and we ended up dining in the ship's specialty restaurant, at additional cost to us, for the last three nights of the cruise. I tried to work it out with the Maitre d' in the main dining room but he was a buffoon and just really did not care to be helpful (..and we are REALLY easy to please) It didn't keep us from having a fabulous cruise and we even booked that ship another time later in the year.

 

What I DO wonder about though is the crabby people who find something to complain about so they can justify stiffing the crew and leaving no tips.

 

I think that's disgusting

 

"My blah blah blah is not quite what I wanted" or "I am outraged that yada yada yada happened"...so NO TIPS!

[cruznliz]

I cannot imagine not leaving the minimum tip. The tips are pooled and stiffing a particular waiter or room steward does effect the entire group. True, they may not deserve a tip, but that should be taken up with their supervisor immediately. If the situation is not remedied, then I would inform the supervisor or head waiter you plan to remove the tip and why. Don't just complain to the Purser's Desk when you are removing the tip. The right supervisor needs to know why. I agree with Chris that too many yoyo's seem to look for an excuse not to tip. Also, one incident should not effect the tipping for the entire cruise. IMHO. :D

[NitaBcruising]

Last year on another line, we had a very mediocre cabin steward. He forgot a bath mat, forgot to give us pool towels we needed for the next day's excursions, and other such things, even when we left him notes! He wasn't even friendly! Anyway, after about 5 days, and several little instances, I went to the purser's desk to lower his tip. I ended up leaving it on, as it would come off the total for all of them. But, he must've gotten a reprimand, as the last 2 days he went out of his way to please us! He cleaned our aqua socks, totally went out of his way!

I will probably always leave the tips as they are, as I felt bad he may have gotten in trouble. He told us, anything you want, tell him! It's beside the point, I had before! :rolleyes:

[kkorman]

For me, $10/day/person is still pretty good for bad service. I can't think of a situation where I would leve more than the minimum. I tip in restaurants back home more for not as good of service.

[kimba_99]

For me, $10/day/person is still pretty good for bad service.

 

Wow... that is bazaar.... isn't a tip for good service?

 

My limited experience with tipping obviously does not give me enough insight to accept this as yet. :o

 

But if I ever get service that is bad enough for me to complain I will take the advice of others and talk to that person's supervisor first!

 

Kim

[isujim]

I don't think I would hesitate to lower my tip IF service was poor........I say I don't think because I have never done it..........I have been on 7 RC cruises and all of our service has been great...........(I;m sure others haven't had the same experience).......this is our first Princess cruise........I am concerned with the automatic tips ONLY because as I said the other way has worked so well for us in the past.........I'm willing to give it a try and see if there is any difference in service level..........

[JanetMarie]

I really see no difference in tipping onboard vs. restaurant stateside. I have always had service that earned the recommended amount. Well, there may have been the occasion or two, and I DID adjust our tip to that person - down.

[spongerob]

I typically view the $10/PP/day auto-tip as something that is shared among the entire crew, and the extras we give to our steward and waitstaff as their "real" tip. I have adjusted the discretionary amount in the envelopes based on the quality of service I received, both up and down. Things would have to get pretty bad overall for me to adjust the auto-tip amounts.

[sue d. miller]

Maybe this is just me, but it isn't just the service, it is also the attitude. My cruise, once a year, is for me to feel pampered and feel special. I am the caregiver for the rest of the year!! that pampering comes from the staff!! the $10 pp per day is a given and always paid. But we tip over and above for great service, which we have found on every cruise , but one. :)

[cruise182]

Here is my philosophy on tipping on a ship or in a restaurant:

No service- 0%.....Never really had to do this on land or on sea

Poor service- 10%....Hate to take away all their pay after all I did get some service

Good service- 20%.....I expect good service so I tip what is expected

Superb service 25% and up......I like to reward those who reward me with great service

20%= the suggested tip per day...and I always tip crew as I go along.

[KAJOKG]

We always tip over and above what Princess charges to our account for tips. We once had a cabin steward that didn't quite do the job, so we did not tip more. Even those who are not particularly good still work for a pittance, so we never would not tip at all. Also, the best thing to do while reading these boards is take into consideration the averages. You will find maybe one negative to many more positives. And while at it, also take into consideration that some people just complain for the sake of complaining. Most people are satisfied. I'm not saying that a few complaints are not valid, but that is not the norm. For the most part service is pretty good.

[heatmiser]

Only three times (over 15+ cruises on four different lines) when I did not tip more than the suggested amount:

 

mediocre cabin steward, no major screwups just little things missing = standard tip

 

overly fawning waiter who spent more time schmoozing than getting orders = standard tip (and he was surly :mad: after receiving same)

 

lewd wine steward :eek: in dining room, made suggestive remarks under his breath on several occasions = no tip and writeup on comment card (but next time I was on the same ship he had been promoted to head steward - go figure!) :confused:

 

Jo

[karen2cruz]

We always tip in person. So, we will be asking to have the auto tip removed from our cruise in January. We feel we want to look in the eyes those that have served us and thank them verbally and with the tip. We have no hesistation in loowering or raising tips. If the service was truly bad then a word to the supervisor shoud do it.

 

Sometimes we need to watch and pay close attention to what is happening around us. Sometimes we find out that a room steward or waiter has to do more rooms/tables because someone else got sick. This happened on our first cruise. Our asst waiter got a ruptured appendix and was airlifted off the ship the first sea day. Some poor soul had to step in and do a double load. We made sure to be encouraging to this person because they looked like they were gonna collapse! Yes, service was slower, but we were grateful it got done at all. This also where the maitre'd stepped it up and earned his tip - he helped out alot.

 

BTW - the asst waiter was reported to have recovered completely.

[starsjohn]

After almost 50 cruises, never had to cut a tip to anyone. Have rewarded hard workers with extra on a regular basis.

 

Even on my worst cruise on Carnival, the crew was fine, the problem being with the passengers.

 

I cannot say the same for a couple of land-based tours where the tour leaders were just horrid.

 

The level of service and attention we get on cruises really exceeds by far that of the typical land resort, at least the ones I have gone to.

 

John

[bjboothman]

Even those who are not particularly good still work for a pittance, so we never would not tip at all. QUOTE]

 

First, I've never had poor service. I only had one cabin steward who was mediocre (the only woman steward I've ever had, coincidentally) - the rest really busted their butts to accommodate us and always with a smile and a "good morning Mr. Boothman, good morning Mrs. Boothman" for us. Remembering your name from the first day is a sign of someone who intends to pamper you. I've had waiters in the dining room who were too chatty and even one guy (in anytime dining) who actually sat down and talked with us while we were eating. He was from the Phillipines and my husband had commented to him that he had served in the USAF in the Phillipines years ago and the waiter (it was late and he wasn't busy), chatted our ears off about "home". While he interrupted "the dining experience", he was a wonderful person and we could understand his need to talk about "home". Even on vacation, I can sacrifice one dinnertime to lend an interested ear to someone who hasn't seen his wife, kids, or home in months. Waitstaff are people too, even when we are paying their salaries.

 

I'm thinking this --- my husband is retired from the military and then retired from teaching high school, I work as an executive assistant (secretary). We are both used to serving others in our jobs. Maybe that is why we can appreciate the efforts of those who serve us better than some travelers who demand the waitstaff behave like slaves.

 

I don't think I would undertip in any but the most extreme circumstances. I would prefer to write up a specific critique of a truly non-performing employee and make sure it got to his/her supervisor, or speak to the supervisor while still onboard. That's a better way of managing people than to remove a tip without ever giving the employee the benefit of knowing in what way their behavior is not up to standard.

 

My two cents.

[Cruisin'40]

I have a tipping question. My girls often order cookies or fries from room service either late in afternoon or before bed (okay I usually share), I usually give them a couple dollars cash, is that enough? Also we give it to them when they bring the tray, is that right or should we leave it on the empty tray?:confused:

[tirakotchi]

Here is my philosophy on tipping on a ship or in a restaurant:

No service- 0%.....Never really had to do this on land or on sea

Poor service- 10%....Hate to take away all their pay after all I did get some service

Good service- 20%.....I expect good service so I tip what is expected

Superb service 25% and up......I like to reward those who reward me with great service

20%= the suggested tip per day...and I always tip crew as I go along.

 

No service....no Tip! works just fine...telling mom or dad(supervisors) about it can result in change......ussually just for this occasion and without motivation. No Tip is bulls-eye! Especially when you confront the one concerned. :eek:

 

Motivated Superb service limitless in tip-awards.

 

 

Done it before on land, never on a cruise, and will do it again if situation calls for it.

 

Cruisin' is living life to the limit......... Happy sailings....

[geoherb]

So far on Princess cruises, we have always left the autotip on and given more to the waiters and cabin stewards who we felt deserved more than the minimum. On our first Princess cruise, we gave more to everyone. On the second, when we had PC dining and different waiters each time, we only tipped our cabin steward extra. On our third Princess cruise, we had an exceptional assistant waiter. We tipped him and our senior waiter extra--but gave him more. We ended up seeing him again on our last Princess cruise and he remembered us and got to be our assistant waiter on the last night when our regular assistant waiter got sick. On that cruise, neither of our waiters was exceptional, but our cabin steward was. He got extra and they did not.

 

On one Royal Caribbean cruise, we had a horrible waiter the first night. One of the guys at our table spoke to the maitre d'. We had a terrific waiter who replaced the bad one for the rest of the cruise.

 

If there are problems, speak up--first to the person and then to the supervisor if things don't get better.

[catdancers]

Our last cabin steward was mediocre at best. We left the auto tip on, but this is the first time on a Princess ship that we didn't give an additional tip. It wasn't just our opinion because on the last morning, our neighbor confided she thought he was so lousy, she gave serious consideration to removing his tip altogether. After we got back, I read someone else's review here on CC and they had the cabin next to ours the week before and mentioned how poor the room steward was.

 

We asked twice for ice everyday and he couldn't even do that. We just ended up calling room service who delivered with a smile.

[CariBlue]

Kimba,

Remember, tipping is disrectionary. If you don't feel that you rec'd adequate service, and you're not comfortable tipping, then don't. If you feel that the service was beyond reproach, then report it. But as far as people tipping even when they receive sub-standard service--well, these are just very generous and forgiving people, and frankly, they make the world a nicer place.

 

I've never been on a cruise, but on my upcoming cruise I am am expecting a mix of acceptable, sub-standard, and exceptional service. I am not worried about tipping at all. It would have to be horrible service for me to decrease the standard amount that's attached to my bill. If someone goes out his/her way for me or someone in my party then I will personally tip them on-the-spot.

 

Don't worry!:)

[hstrybuf]

We have never had truly bad service, just some more friendly and attentive to our needs than others. It would have to really be bad for us to adjust our tips downward from what is recommended. Usually we tip extra! If we ever encounter a problem with our steward or waitstaff, I think the next step would be to try to resolve the problem first with the appropriate person before adjusting the tips.