NEW TIP POLICY - Automatic Charge & "Alternate Service" tip

[LV2KruzCats]

We have had a couple waiters, and a couple busboys that we tipped, but not the entire recommended amount. We have almost always had great service in MDR and from our cabin stewards, and most often adjust the tip upwards to reflect the service we have gotten.

 

We really don't like the idea that we have to tip exactly the same amount if our service is great or shabby !

[floridacruisers]

Just off the Solstice. I like the arraingment. Easy without envelopes. Besides, you can ask for envelopes and add to the tip if you want. You can always adjust it down if you're not happy. You are not locked in.

[SusieV]

I am in the middle of a cruise on the Millenium that started on January 18th and ends February 1st. We received a letter after boarding, with the identical verbage noted earlier. I talked to the front office, asking the they refund the charges added to my account, todate, because I chose to handle my tips, personally. I want to make sure the people serving my needs, infact, get the tips. They indicated it was a new policy and that it was impossible to stop the daily charge. I then asked what was the "adjustment" that they referred to? The desk indicated that I could adjust the amounts up, but I could not reduce them, and pay the tips in person. I said, then it is no longer a gratuity, it is a fee, to help them pay their personnel, and all fees that can be calculated before the trip, should be included in the listed price of the cruise. They agreed it was more like a fee.

 

I have always taken care of my tips in person, and did not see this change in policy in my contract. It almost appears that they credited the fuel surcharge, due to popular demand, and replaced that revenue with this fee.

 

I trust they will allow this to become a gratuity again, a "non-obligatory payment for exceptional service".

 

We have had one truly awful cabin steward in the past.

 

I'm not liking the response a previous poster got when she tried to have the gratuity charge removed so she could tip in cash. Now it's no longer even an option?

 

I really don't like companies changing something "for my convenience" when I'd prefer to do it the old fashioned way. At the very least, this should just be the new "default" setting but people should still be able to adjust downwards if merited as well as upwards, not to mention being able to tip cash if they so desire.

[Lois R]

We have had one truly awful cabin steward in the past.

 

I'm not liking the response a previous poster got when she tried to have the gratuity charge removed so she could tip in cash. Now it's no longer even an option?

 

I really don't like companies changing something "for my convenience" when I'd prefer to do it the old fashioned way. At the very least, this should just be the new "default" setting but people should still be able to adjust downwards if merited as well as upwards, not to mention being able to tip cash if they so desire.

 

Hi Susie:) I will be on CENTURY in April so will find out

first hand.

After reading all the replies on here, I agree with you.

I know there are people on here who think we who like to tip

in cash are the odd balls.

And they prefer to use auto tipping and thats fine...they can

tip that way. Nobody is saying not to......

 

But I agree with you, I certainly hope they give those of

us who want to hand money to our servers, attendants, etc

that option without being told no, you can't.....

For me, I don't even use the envelopes. I bring Thank You

Cards from home and have done so since I started cruising.

Its not inconvienent for me. I take a few minutes out of my

morning and write a note and seal the cash in the card.

What is inconvienent for many passengers is a positive

ritual for me.

One I like doing......so I guess I am one of those odd balls.

 

From all the replies one can plainly see many people like

the auto-tipping. They can continue to use it. I will find

out in April if I have the other option.

[FinelyCruising]

I think the thank you notes are a nice option. They can be combined with auto tips and extra tips as well. We have usually pre-paid while on board and use the envelopes for extra amounts with a note of thanks. I don't recall reading anything on this thread that was chastising of anyone or persecuting of any personal preference on this tipping method.

 

This new roll out doesn't have to be so polarizing or daunting, it can be easily customized for personal preference, again the overall idea is that the suggested gratuity is the correct amount, at a minimum, and is a matter of convenience. I myself do not need to be so in control, I do like to know 'who I am tipping', but I don't need to glad hand money envelopes when I can sincerely say thanks all the same at the end of the cruise to the people who have provided their time, effort and service to make my cruise an enjoyable one.

[willysgrandma]

I can say with confidence that I have NEVER had awful service on any cruise ship I've ever been on. . .

 

Cathy

 

I can tell you on the Celebrity Horizon I had the worst Asst. Waiter ever. He refused to speak to any of the women - if I asked him for a glass of iced tea, I was ignored but if my husband asked,he got it. Went on for the entire cruise for everything. He did it to every woman at our table. Unfortunately for him, I was the one that did the tipping . He got $5.00 in his envelope with a note on why he was not getting the full tip. I gave out the remainder of his tip to the head waiter with a note to him too on why.

 

If that happened on another ship and I couldn't remove the auto tip for the Asst. Waiter, I'd raise heck.

[FinelyCruising]

I can tell you on the Celebrity Horizon I had the worst Asst. Waiter ever. He refused to speak to any of the women - if I asked him for a glass of iced tea, I was ignored but if my husband asked,he got it. Went on for the entire cruise for everything. He did it to every woman at our table. Unfortunately for him, I was the one that did the tipping . He got $5.00 in his envelope with a note on why he was not getting the full tip. I gave out the remainder of his tip to the head waiter with a note to him too on why.

 

If that happened on another ship and I couldn't remove the auto tip for the Asst. Waiter, I'd raise heck.

 

I wonder if he was unable to cross a culture barrier. :confused: I imagine he did not last long....

[bobnjeff]

The unfortunate Dumbing Down of Celebrity Cruise Line.

 

I was turned on to the line a year ago and loved it. But the recent changes are turning me off. Two of the reason for choosing the line were being able to tip at my choosing and traditional dress codes. Both are being done away with. No more informal nights. Now no choice in tipping. Well this will be my last cruise on Celebrity. I convinced friends to join us on The Galaxy March 2nd. I for one will be very careful in what I sign upon boarding. I will be looking for the mandatory tipping. If they try to make me sign something to that effect I will fight it and if they do not have it anywhere in writing I will refuse to pay. If necessary I will take a dispute to my credit card company.

 

Good Bye Celebrity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wine-O]

The unfortunate Dumbing Down of Celebrity Cruise Line.

 

I was turned on to the line a year ago and loved it. But the recent changes are turning me off. Two of the reason for choosing the line were being able to tip at my choosing and traditional dress codes. Both are being done away with. No more informal nights. Now no choice in tipping. Well this will be my last cruise on Celebrity. I convinced friends to join us on The Galaxy March 2nd. I for one will be very careful in what I sign upon boarding. I will be looking for the mandatory tipping. If they try to make me sign something to that effect I will fight it and if they do not have it anywhere in writing I will refuse to pay. If necessary I will take a dispute to my credit card company.

 

Good Bye Celebrity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You have the choice with regard to tipping -- you just go down to guest relations and have them take the automatic tips off your account and tip as you see fit. I thought that was pretty clear throughout this thread.

 

Good Bye!!!

[CathyCruises]

You have the choice with regard to tipping -- you just go down to guest relations and have them take the automatic tips off your account and tip as you see fit. I thought that was pretty clear throughout this thread.

 

Good Bye!!!

 

Apparently not, according to this post:

 

I am in the middle of a cruise on the Millenium that started on January 18th and ends February 1st. We received a letter after boarding, with the identical verbage noted earlier. I talked to the front office, asking the they refund the charges added to my account, todate, because I chose to handle my tips, personally. I want to make sure the people serving my needs, infact, get the tips. They indicated it was a new policy and that it was impossible to stop the daily charge. I then asked what was the "adjustment" that they referred to? The desk indicated that I could adjust the amounts up, but I could not reduce them, and pay the tips in person. I said, then it is no longer a gratuity, it is a fee, to help them pay their personnel, and all fees that can be calculated before the trip, should be included in the listed price of the cruise. They agreed it was more like a fee.

 

I have always taken care of my tips in person, and did not see this change in policy in my contract. It almost appears that they credited the fuel surcharge, due to popular demand, and replaced that revenue with this fee.

 

I trust they will allow this to become a gratuity again, a "non-obligatory payment for exceptional service".

[Lsimon]

I can tell you on the Celebrity Horizon I had the worst Asst. Waiter ever. He refused to speak to any of the women - if I asked him for a glass of iced tea, I was ignored but if my husband asked,he got it. Went on for the entire cruise for everything. He did it to every woman at our table. Unfortunately for him, I was the one that did the tipping . He got $5.00 in his envelope with a note on why he was not getting the full tip. I gave out the remainder of his tip to the head waiter with a note to him too on why.

 

If that happened on another ship and I couldn't remove the auto tip for the Asst. Waiter, I'd raise heck.

 

I agree with your position. The only person we've ever "not" tipped has been when we've had Asst. Maitre d' who never even stopped by the table let alone ask if everything was OK or if we needed anything special. (And the Asst. Chief Housekeepers we've never even met) I left notes for these on the last night sitting on the table since we didn't even see them that night. I think the whole concept of tipping is meaningless unless you can both reward great service with extra and stiff those that provide horrible or no service.

 

With that said I won't let the change in policy effect my cruising enjoyment. I'll continue to leave notes of thanks, or criticism, as appropriate. I'll also leave comments of praise (and criticism) in the suggestion box both on the official form and in personal notes. I think these, like the note you gave the head waiter in your case, do have quite an effect on rewards, training and discipline of the particular staff.

[Rick-cruiser]

I am in the middle of a cruise on the Millenium that started on January 18th and ends February 1st. We received a letter after boarding, with the identical verbage noted earlier. I talked to the front office, asking the they refund the charges added to my account, todate, because I chose to handle my tips, personally. I want to make sure the people serving my needs, infact, get the tips. They indicated it was a new policy and that it was impossible to stop the daily charge. I then asked what was the "adjustment" that they referred to? The desk indicated that I could adjust the amounts up, but I could not reduce them, and pay the tips in person. I said, then it is no longer a gratuity, it is a fee, to help them pay their personnel, and all fees that can be calculated before the trip, should be included in the listed price of the cruise. They agreed it was more like a fee.

 

I have always taken care of my tips in person, and did not see this change in policy in my contract. It almost appears that they credited the fuel surcharge, due to popular demand, and replaced that revenue with this fee.

 

 

As I had mentioned earlier in this thread, this new "Autotip Policy" implemented by Celebrity has nothing to do with it being done "for our convenience". That's what they are trying to "sell" to (ie, convince) the passengers. If you buy into it and you do indeed prefer that method... I say great...It works out perfect for everybody and that's just what they want.

 

But, let's just honest, this is not being done purely "for our convenience"...where we should all be ecstatic for their kindheartedness. This automatic, additional autocharge is being done for THEIR convenience... simply to ensure that their waitstaff/attendants don't get stiffed by any of the passengers... which has been an increasing occurrence over the years.

 

What happened was that, when Celebrity decided a couple of years ago to change their image and target mainstream usa - reducing their prices so that nearly everybody could afford to cruise with them - even those barely able to afford the base cruisefare itself... they noticed a discernible increase in passengers not tipping at all (avoiding the last night in the dining room, etc). So by implementing this policy, it virtually eliminates that from happening.

 

I'm not against this policy, by any means... I think it's great for those that prefer this method. I'm just disheartened at Celebrity for completely changing their target audience, so now they felt it was necessary to implement such a policy.

 

And I just wish they would call it what it really is: "An across-the-board, fixed, additional charge - which you can adjust upwards - so that the staff is guaranteed to get their expected gratuities."

 

- Rick

[amanda blake]

if you cant have this dropped from your automatic charges, then it is a fee, NOT a gratuity...

 

my understanding was that you could have it dropped as you arrive and go to guest relations....

 

please let me know if I am not correct in my understanding....

[kelmac]

The unfortunate Dumbing Down of Celebrity Cruise Line.

 

I was turned on to the line a year ago and loved it. But the recent changes are turning me off. Two of the reason for choosing the line were being able to tip at my choosing and traditional dress codes. Both are being done away with. No more informal nights. Now no choice in tipping. Well this will be my last cruise on Celebrity. I convinced friends to join us on The Galaxy March 2nd. I for one will be very careful in what I sign upon boarding. I will be looking for the mandatory tipping. If they try to make me sign something to that effect I will fight it and if they do not have it anywhere in writing I will refuse to pay. If necessary I will take a dispute to my credit card company.

 

Good Bye Celebrity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Where are you going to go -- all of the other cruise lines have auto tipping already in place.

[dutchess43]

Where are you going to go -- all of the other cruise lines have auto tipping already in place.

 

RCI has it only if you choose to add it to your sea pass, it is not mandatory unless you have my dining instead of traditional.

[kelmac]

RCI has it only if you choose to add it to your sea pass, it is not mandatory unless you have my dining instead of traditional.

 

 

RCI owns Celebrity -- same company.

[woodofpine]

As I had mentioned earlier in this thread, this new "Autotip Policy" implemented by Celebrity has nothing to do with it being done "for our convenience".

 

Well the fact is... if you intended to tip the suggested amount [or more] it's considerably more convenient that cashing and enveloping.

 

But, let's just honest, this is not being done purely "for our convenience"... where we should all be ecstatic for their kindheartedness. This automatic, additional autocharge is being done for THEIR convenience... simply to ensure that their waitstaff/attendants don't get stiffed by any of the passengers... which has been an increasing occurrence over the years.

 

Well, I've never really seen cruiselines or other businesses EVER do ANYTHING purely out of kindheartedness... But now that you mention it, the livelihood, morale, and support of staff is at least equally important as pleasing customers... so...

 

What happened was that, when Celebrity decided a couple of years ago to change their image and target mainstream usa - reducing their prices so that nearly everybody could afford to cruise with them - even those barely able to afford the base cruisefare itself... they noticed a discernible increase in passengers not tipping at all (avoiding the last night in the dining room, etc). So by implementing this policy, it virtually eliminates that from happening.

 

A couple years ago? In my experience, X pricing has been fairly comparable to its primary competitors (HAL, Princess) throughout this millenium and probably farther back than that...

 

I'm pretty confident X auto tipping remains removable (for those that insist on stiffing and others) otherwise this would be a 'radical' change and and X hasn't shown itself to be that 'radical'...

 

I'm not against this policy, by any means... I think it's great for those that prefer this method. I'm just disheartened at Celebrity for completely changing their target audience, so now they felt it was necessary to implement such a policy.

 

I like it too as a methology. Happy crew - happy pax. As for changing their target audience, X has been working toward a fleet of 90,000-120,000GT ships for a decade. Get used to it, there's always Regent...

 

And I just wish they would call it what it really is: "An across-the-board, fixed, additional charge - which you can adjust upwards - so that the staff is guaranteed to get their expected gratuities."

 

- Rick

 

It doesn't bother me what they call it (semantics); I remain unconvinced that its not removable... (one poster's comment) but if it isn't, doesn't bother me either. If it isn't removable they might jeopardize 1/3 or more of there 'target' but then that would remove the riff raff right? :D

[amanda blake]

RCI,welll then why not celebrity?

 

I have just emailed celebrity..will see what kind of answer I get...

[FinelyCruising]

Apparently not, according to this post:

 

I am in the middle of a cruise on the Millenium that started on January 18th and ends February 1st. We received a letter after boarding, with the identical verbage noted earlier. I talked to the front office, asking the they refund the charges added to my account, todate, because I chose to handle my tips, personally. I want to make sure the people serving my needs, infact, get the tips. They indicated it was a new policy and that it was impossible to stop the daily charge. I then asked what was the "adjustment" that they referred to? The desk indicated that I could adjust the amounts up, but I could not reduce them, and pay the tips in person. I said, then it is no longer a gratuity, it is a fee, to help them pay their personnel, and all fees that can be calculated before the trip, should be included in the listed price of the cruise. They agreed it was more like a fee.

 

I have always taken care of my tips in person, and did not see this change in policy in my contract. It almost appears that they credited the fuel surcharge, due to popular demand, and replaced that revenue with this fee.

 

I trust they will allow this to become a gratuity again, a "non-obligatory payment for exceptional service".

 

I don't discount what Cathy Cruises was told but I am not convinced that what she was told was 100% accurate. Again, its time to check in with Celebrity.

[amanda blake]

in our documents...the trip tick booklet....the gratuities are laid out as always....that is our binding contract with celebrity....there is no mention in our documents about any other policies....

[woodofpine]

It amazes me how titanically important it is to some cruisers to be able to remove those gratuities...

 

Personally, I'm convinced that >95% of the claims of "exemplary service" or "extraordinary service" or "terrible service" or "awful service" have virtually NOTHING to do with crew performance. It simply reflects the ever vascillating emotional, spiritual, physic condition of individual passengers. If you're in a good mood and receptive to your blessings ('service was terrific') if you're resentful of the trials and tribulations of life ('service was terrible')... But the crew has to live with those results regardless... Naturally, we are immovably perfect in our perceptions and reactions - because we're THE PASSENGER...

 

Of course, many cruisers feel that "exemplary service" by definition does NOT warrant a tip; after all, it is simply a perfect example of what performance SHOULD be received, hence it is not "extraordinary service" as in above the ordinary example of service. I don't know what iextraordinary' crew service would be ('loofa my back, lower, harder'!)

 

(holy! moly! 10% or less of fare, a couple bucks a meal and maybe as much for cabin service)

[tompeter]

Woodofpine- My thoughts exactly. Thank You for expressing it so well...

[dutchess43]

In order to keep good service on these ships some lines are instituting this tipping policy so the staff does not get stifffed. It is amazing on the last night you see a lot of the tables or chairs empty. I almost got knocked down after dinner on a last night because some passengers were trying to get out of the MDR while the waiters back was turn. They thought it was funny & joked that they pulled one over on the dining room staff! That was disgusting! We have had our gratuities always added so this is no difference for us. I find it easier then to get money changed & if we want to give extra we just slip it in an envelope. We always tip our wine steward even though he received 15% on every bottle of wine we order with dinner. We have heard numerous times from the staff they are happy when the tips have been added to your account so they know they will be receiving them.

[Sky Sweet]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is auto tips charged for babies.

 

Our granddaughter took her first cruise when she was seven months old and her second one when she was sixteen months old on cruise lines that had auto tipping.

 

On her first cruise we thought it was ridiculous that cruise line charged us the same "third person in the room" rate for a seven month old baby, who didn't eat any of their food, as they would for an adult who eats as much as any other passenger. We also felt the same way about her tips but that was such a small part of our cost for two adjacent suites that it didn't really bother us that much.

 

However, we felt very differently during her second cruise, even though she didn't eat as much as most people. That is because our wonderful waiter kept bringing our granddaughter food and asking her if she would like anything else. The baby responded so well to this waiter that her behavior was excellent during our long two hour dinners every night. As far as I am concerned that waiter was one of the best we ever had. Therefore, on that cruise we felt the waiter deserved even more than his auto tip for the baby.

[CathyCruises]

I don't discount what Cathy Cruises was told but I am not convinced that what she was told was 100% accurate. Again, its time to check in with Celebrity.

 

Just to clarify, I wasn't actually TOLD anything--I just reposted an earlier post where someone on board said he tried and was unable to have the auto-tip removed OR lowered.

 

Personally I get my TA to give me pre-paid gratuities, and that allows me the freedom to give extra to those who have earned it. Last time I just redistributed the money I won at blackjack!

 

I don't have a dog in THIS hunt.

 

Cathy