Interesting info on Tips for servers/bar tenders

[critterchick]

There was a time when I would have been thrilled with $600 a week.

 

Me, too, but it was 1978.:rolleyes: :D

[cruisePRN]

it's none of our business what anyone earns. If the employee is not happy with their salary they would find another job but most people on the cruise ship seem to like their jobs.

[Alexis]

I work at the Orlando Airport and the other day I found an envelope sitting on the table where I was eating my lunch. I looked around and of course my interest hit me. I opened it up and it was pay stub from RCCL to a crew member who was obviousely flying out. The pay check covered two weeks of pay, as it was clearly stated on the pay stub. It also clearly stated he was bar staff:

 

It said

 

Gratuities 15% Total Pay: $1,221.89

 

 

I was shocked when I saw this, also he had a dry cleaning deduction of like $20.00. BUT I admit those servers/bar tenders deserve every penny.

 

Sorry, but I think it is bad enough that after you read it, that you felt you had to post it on here.

And your purpose for that is?

To stir another pot?

[stanford's girl]

I've been in the restaurant business for 30 years and how other places do things interests me. I usually ask the servers and bartenders on my cruises about their working conditions and I have found these are the answers I have gotten on most ships:

 

1. All 15 % bar tips are pooled and split evenly among the bar help.

2. They all change stations or bars every cruise to keep it fair. That way no one gets stuck with the worst ones all the time. Better stations and busier bars = more tips.

3. As long as you leave the auto tip on, any extra cash tips you give to them, they get to personally keep.

4. Most of them work a 10-12 hour day.

5. They have to sign at least a 6 month contract.

6. Most of them send their money back home.

 

And here is another thing that they have ALL told me:

 

DO NOT bring them gifts or phone cards!!! They much prefer cash and can use that anywhere. Also, they only have so much space in their small cabins. If only 10 people a cruise gave them gifts or t-shirts, they would run out of room in about 2-3 cruises.

 

 

 

[BoLTMaNv2]

I've been in the restaurant business for 30 years and how other places do things interests me. I usually ask the servers and bartenders on my cruises about their working conditions and I have found these are the answers I have gotten on most ships:

 

1. All 15 % bar tips are pooled and split evenly among the bar help.

2. They all change stations or bars every cruise to keep it fair. That way no one gets stuck with the worst ones all the time. Better stations and busier bars = more tips.

3. As long as you leave the auto tip on' date=' any extra cash tips you give to them, they get to personally keep.

4. Most of them work a 10-12 hour day.

5. They have to sign at least a 6 month contract.

6. Most of them send their money back home.

 

And here is another thing that they have ALL told me:

 

DO NOT bring them gifts or phone cards!!! They much prefer cash and can use that anywhere. Also, they only have so much space in their small cabins. If only 10 people a cruise gave them gifts or t-shirts, they would run out of room in about 2-3 cruises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tips on tips!

 

I didn't consider the lack of cabin space at all!

 

Question if you don't autotip and instead pay cash (in full) at the end do extra tips throughout a cruise get handled/split differently?

[stanford's girl]

Thanks for the tips on tips!

 

I didn't consider the lack of cabin space at all!

 

Question if you don't autotip and instead pay cash (in full) at the end do extra tips throughout a cruise get handled/split differently?

My pleasure. :D

 

If you don't do the auto tip, all cash given to anyone is supposed to be turned in and will be split evenly among them. They are under an honor system to turn it in and they can/will be fired for theft if they are caught not doing so. This includes the server, asst server and your room steward.

 

This doesn't apply to the bartenders or cocktailers because their 15% gratuity cannot be taken off without a REALLY good reason , though some passengers have tried.

[LeeLee]

I'm not sure how it works for the bartenders, but my husband was a

server for Royal Caribbean, and he never had to hand his tips in to

anyone. Whatever he received was his. It is still the same for his friends

that are still there. What they receive is theirs.

[funfamilyfun]

Just 2 comments.

Making over 2000 a month without paying room and board is pretty good!

The workers choose their jobs. If they felt their pay was unfair, I'm sure they would look for something else. It looks like it's pretty profitable considering how many people are working for the cruise lines.

[wolfcathorse]

That $1221.89 was not earned on an 80 hour pay period! Also, they must buy their own uniforms, RCI only flys them one way (to the ship/home), they have to pay for the other ticket (to the ship/home), then there's the tipping they do to their support below decks. I think it was Princess that charged them $10 a week to pay the crew galley workers etc. That bar person made half what my husband makes in a week, and we're just making ends meet!

[curley23]

Just 2 comments.

Making over 2000 a month without paying room and board is pretty good!

The workers choose their jobs. If they felt their pay was unfair, I'm sure they would look for something else. It looks like it's pretty profitable considering how many people are working for the cruise lines.

 

Considering the job market in the countries from where most of them come from, if they did not do this, most would starve. I have had conversations with them, and it is not the glamour life we may think of. Most of them are like us, parents who do it so their kids can have a better life, otherwise most would never get off of the islands. At least they aren't going somewhere illegally to try and have a better life.

Do you see any american workers on these ships. Ask NCL how it worked out with their all US workers on the Hawaii ships that are now no longer.

[CROOZFREAK]

I was shocked when I saw this, also he had a dry cleaning deduction of like $20.00. BUT I admit those servers/bar tenders deserve every penny.

 

So did you return it?

[hmsdos]

Hi we'll be on the Rhapsody of the sea 7-25

I'm sorry but I've never been on a cruise. Please tell me, Isn't there a total at the end of the cruise or day telling you what you spent. Shouldn't the tips be added at the end of the day or week 15% of the total?i know we can prepay our gratuities before the trip. (is this worth it, and will the crew get their worth):confused:

susie

 

Would like to get in touch with others on this trip that have a teen. Ours is 15

 

Good Morning.... why not check out the "meet and mingle" thread... trying to give the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=683068 if it doesn't work...try copy and paste.... These threads are for your specific cruise... and you can talk to fellow cruise passengers.... good luck. Have a wonderful cruise..... what a great place to be in July:D

[MNfamilycruiser]

So did you return it?

 

:confused: I don't see how you could. If the bar tender was flying out - they were on their 2 months off right? If you sent it to the ship - it would be months before the person was back. They might not even come back to the same ship right?

What country would you mail it to? What address? I guess that info might be on the pay stub - :confused: I was assuming not - but maybe it is.

 

The pay they get while working has to cover the time off the ship too - so they get a higher amount for 6 months - then nothing for 2 months.

[spongerob]

That bar person made half what my husband makes in a week, and we're just making ends meet!

Being able to go on 5 cruises this year is doing a little better than "making ends meet". I'm not picking on you, I'm just pointing out that people who are taking offense to the amount stated on the pay stub, which might not even be representative of a typical check, are using a different set of standards to define low pay. $600 per week doesn't sound like a lot, but to a person who doesn't consider a 3,000 square foot house, two foreign cars, and luxury vacations part of "making ends meet", it's probably a lot of money.

 

My first job as a graduate engineer was for less than $600 per week. And I had to pay taxes!

[alwayshappytocruise]

Do they work hard, and long hours? You betcha. Golly, so do some of our soldiers, for not much more.

 

Actually, some of our young troups deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan don't even make that much. Let's keep all this talk about opening envelopes, what people earn, tipping cruise ship employees and the poverty level in realistic perspective.

[lysolqn]

It is not as nice as one would believe. They work 7 days a week, and except for a few port days, depending on the shifts, or station they work, they are working 10-12 hrs or more per day. They sign 6 mo contracts at a time, with 2 months off in between. Would you do that for about say 25K per yr, less what ever their country taxes them on their income? It really is close to poverty level, although most come from very poor countries to start with, where there really is no employment. The free room and board really means nothing. A lot of them have families back home, and their money goes back to support them.

 

I'll be the first to admit that cruise ship employees work long and hard for their pay which, to those of us who are fortunate enough to cruise, often seems miniscule. However, let's bear in mind that we're talking about employment at will and not indentured servitude. Employees are not forced to work on cruise ships; they choose to do so and most are greatful for the opportunity. If they don't know what to expect before they sign on (and that's unlikely), they certainly know at the end of their first contract and yet they sign on again and again and again... They wouldn't do it if it didn't serve them well - in accordance with their standards and values, not ours!

[Micknmin]

If you don't do the auto tip' date=' all cash given to anyone is supposed to be turned in and will be split evenly among them. They are under an honor system to turn it in and they can/will be fired for theft if they are caught not doing so. This includes the server, asst server and your room steward.

 

[/font']

 

I want to make sure that I am understanding this correctly. Last week I was on the Liberty of the Seas, my tips were prepaid by my TA, however all of my servers were excellent, so I added cash to the envelope with the prepaid tips voucher. Does this mean that they all had to turn that extra money in and it was split between the other room stewards and waiters? I will be so disappointed if this is true. Would I have been better off to have gone to guest relations and added the extra amount onto the vouchers that they were already getting?

[MNfamilycruiser]

I want to make sure that I am understanding this correctly. Last week I was on the Liberty of the Seas, my tips were prepaid by my TA, however all of my servers were excellent, so I added cash to the envelope with the prepaid tips voucher. Does this mean that they all had to turn that extra money in and it was split between the other room stewards and waiters? I will be so disappointed if this is true. Would I have been better off to have gone to guest relations and added the extra amount onto the vouchers that they were already getting?

NO! You did it exactly right - you kept the auto-tip (in this case paid by your TA) and then ADDED CASH. They get to keep the added cash for themselves. If you added it to the auto-tip - they would have split it all.

If you only pay in cash (no prepaid tip) - then they are supposed to turn in the entire cash amount to split. On the honor system - with penalties for being caught.

[Wilba]

I'm not sure how it works for the bartenders, but my husband was a

server for Royal Caribbean, and he never had to hand his tips in to

anyone. Whatever he received was his. It is still the same for his friends

that are still there. What they receive is theirs.

 

No one responded to this post probably because some of you prefer 'Urban Myth' to the real world. There’s so much garbage written on these sites about who earns what. Most of the words come from the He said She said brigade & not from reliable sources. I was on Navigator last week on a B2B. During the changeover period between 0930 &1100 hrs all the bars except one, the Promenade Café, were closed, & 3 of us sat down for a drink. As we were the only passengers on the Royal Promenade the barperson was glad of someone to talk to. We asked him how many hours he worked a week & were surprised, even shocked at his response. He works a 40 hour week & occasionally 45hrs when asked. This, he said, is far less than I’m expected to work in my homeland (Poland). He then went on to tell us about his shift pattern & how it’s the best job he has ever had.

As for the so called ‘Tip Pool’ I suggest some of you ardent believers have a read of this link. Pay particular attention to the Direct Tipping section.

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/consumer/tipping06.cfm

[jakenashleysmom]

First of all, how is it rude to feel that what a bartender makes on a ship is not a huge amount of money?

 

I've been in the restaurant business all of my life, and I know how much bartenders make. I was not meaning to insult anyone on how much or how little money you make. Yes $600 is a nice sum of money for workers that come from poor countries, but I can't help but feel how sad that really is. Yes, most of us have had to make due at one point in our lives, but most people that cruise live better than a cruise ship employee lives. They deserve much more imo, and deserve better than someone posting their personal information on the internet.

 

If somehow that makes ME rude, so be it.

[kc320]

I'm still trying to figure out how $600 a week is bad... I bring home less than that here in the good ole USA... course I don't work 10hrs a day 7 days a week either...

[jakenashleysmom]

I never meant to infer that $600 a week was BAD. I only meant to say that it wasn't the extravagant amount the OP suggested it was, ( I think he said he was "shocked").

 

I guess my big thing is that I think the cruiseship employees work damn hard for their money, and to infer that the amount of money they make is "shocking", IMO, isn't quite fair.

[Micknmin]

NO! You did it exactly right - you kept the auto-tip (in this case paid by your TA) and then ADDED CASH. They get to keep the added cash for themselves. If you added it to the auto-tip - they would have split it all.

 

Oh good! I would hate to think that they had to share the extra with the others. I loved our servers and stateroom attendant...they were wonderful! Thanks for the info!

[gbcruise]

Come on, the OP found a UNMARKED envelope and looked inside, who wouldn't? He is educating future passengers as to the payscale of bartenders for this particular 2 week pay period. It's very subjective on if this is alot, or not alot of pay for a particular person. If the OP sends the envelope back it's logical to send it to RC home office where the employees file is held and they will know where to forward it.

[RetireeWannabee]

I never meant to infer that $600 a week was BAD. I only meant to say that it wasn't the extravagant amount the OP suggested it was, ( I think he said he was "shocked").

 

I guess my big thing is that I think the cruiseship employees work damn hard for their money, and to infer that the amount of money they make is "shocking", IMO, isn't quite fair.

I would go with "Surprisingly good". "Better than expected", even.

 

We don't know if this was a typical pay or higher/lower than norm.

 

For those who think it's a pittance (even for 1978), well, you must make a lot more than many of the rest of us. That's great for you but doesn't make the rest of us fools or slaves. Many people do what they do because they love it, not because it's lucrative.

 

Hard work should be rewarded with high pay but that is not reality for everyone. Making enuf away from home to be able to provide for your family better than had you stayed put is a great opportunity. The staff always seem happy so I would assume most are happy with their compensation.

 

While it's really none of my business, there have been a lot of interesting remarks in this thread.