REMOVING GRATUITIES FROM YOUR CRUISE
Вставка
- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- REMOVING GRATUITIES FROM YOUR CRUISE.
Most cruise lines charge a daily gratuity per passenger per day. We however all have the right to go to guest services and have those gratuities removed. One cruiser has told carnival cruise lines if they remove that option then they would lose customers buy the thousands. I think we might just loose that customer.
If it’s Mandatory, then it’s NOT A GRATUITY! Call it what it is or just add it into the price!!!
Include it in the cruise price so much easier you can then compare prices. Simple
The cruise lines should simply pay their employees properly, even if it's a minimum wage, and let the passengers tip as they please. Tipping culture is atrocious, for both the customer and the worker.
@@HeatherGemmenExactly they are not paying them well and looking for us to make up the difference.The cruiselines are building elaborate ships and not paying the workers.I prefer the old days paying gratuities to each person via envelopes.
I wish the cruise lines would just build the tips into the base fare.
I wish too.
I think you, me, Don, and all of his channel watching regulars would agree. But let's be real... the Carnival branded ships price their itineraries to be the most attractive. There are plenty of great lines that include gratuities in the fare, but are well above Carnival cruise fares.
Royal Caribbean does, you do it when you book the cruise
Agreed
I wish they would jus pay them and increase the price they charge to cover. Then say no tipping.
A gratuity is not obligatory by definition.
Don, I’m playing devils advocate bc I ve never removed my gratuities. If the gratuities are spread among the staff that we don’t see, why is it that some hotels don’t have that as well. We have resort fees in larger properties, but if you say they are for the laundry workers kitchen staff, we don’t technically tip them out. Mind you, I’m saying this as I have worked the front desk/reservations at a hotel as well as been a waitress. The cooking staff never got tipped out by the servers, and the laundry staff did not get tipped out from the housekeepers.
Again, playing devils advocate. I understand the point that person is trying to make. It should not be the guest’s responsibility to ensure the workers get a reasonable wage. I just believe that the cruise line should have not said they are making gratuities mandatory, just that they will be included in the cruise fare.
Those things you mentioned (drink package, internet, etc.) are CHOICES! You can CHOOSE to have them or skip them. And that should be the same for gratuities! Tipping is a personal CHOOSE, just like the rest of those things you choose to pay for!
Pay your crew for God's sake! I pay more when needed. I don't care to pay people who do not help me personally. I never remove them, either. Our stateroom people come only every day they are required to clean so as not to get in trouble. We want them to only come then. I don't make my bed every day at home...they don't need to either. We make friends with the people who help us. They need to just pay properly!! I like to pay more to the people I see! The behind the scenes folks should just be paid properly!!!
If the cruise lines wanted to solicit gratuities, then they should sail under the American flag which is really the only nation that embraces it.
I have been cruising since the '80s. We used to put gratuity cash in separate envelopes.
I like the online option to prepay instead of being charged during the trip.
But these days, I think the crew salaries should just be included in the total price.
no issue tipping. I feel the cruise lines making billions in profit should give all the employees raises. Instead the big boys at the cruise line get bonuses and the staff gets the shaft
Well in Australia 🇦🇺 and New Zealand 🇳🇿 everything is included no matter where you go shopping restaurants bills even on a cruise and hotel or tickets
I have to disagree with you on this one Don. Gratuities have been proven to be large companies keep their profits margins. Remember a couple of years ago cruise companies was asked to be more transparent about who received this money. I don’t recall any of they willingly showing that workers actually got that money. I’m not one who doesn’t pay gratuities but I would like to have the choice of paying it. I was in a cruise and an outbreak occurred within crew. My cabin never got clean but gratuities were still added. Short staffing all over the ship. So why do I have to pay for that. Not their fault getting sick but not my fault for sleeping in the bed and being on vacation. IJS
The cruise line needs to pay there employees more money .
To
Insure
Promptness
DO NOT force me to pay any amount. I tip nicely. If the service isn't up to par, the tip will be less or sometimes none.
Don I’m one that carry cash to tip around, one time I asked a staff at a bar in the adult only area a glass of water, btw I’m 70, his answer was there is water fountain in the other bar outside pool go and get it there, I could not believe it and when I asked for his name as he covered his tag when he saw me checking it he refused to tell me, I asked his colleague that was working at the bar too, he was scared looking at him to ask permission, I brought it to the attention of the manager, and I’m sure they took care of it, since then I carry cash just for tipping according to the service and as I visit mostly buffets I give not only the ones that serve me but if I notice staff that are going above and beyond to help passengers. When it is mandate the service will not be as great as they know they have the tip anyway. And btw I always tip the cabin attendant depending on the service minimum $30 a week, and again one time arriving my cabin closet was so dirty underwear and pads etc. In every job u do ur job well any extra u get bonus and raise same here. I always end up paying around 150$ a week but people that deserve it. BON VOYAGE EVERYONE
The cruise line can always pay more.
Agree, but what I'm not a fan of is them adding 20% to drinks and expecting a tip on top of a tip.
Hi Don, This is a great topic. I have never sailed Carnival... and here is my 10 cents.
I am from Manhattan / NY, NY. I'm a TIPPER! I carry cash on the cruise ship and I tip bar tenders, waiters, room service delivery, Starbucks, and stateroom attendants (I typically have two on Cunard, NCL, and Virgin Voyages). I pay and participate on the behind the sceens tour on every ship I sail on -- so that is another contribution!
Not to mention I always get the top tier of service such as FAS+ so my gratuites are included. However, I have a yardstick to measure service if I encounter more than 5 rude or unfriendly staff members around the ship who are just in a mood. Yes, I would remove all prepaid gratuities and I will tip big the personnel who aided in making my experience enjoyable directly.
If a gratuity becomes mandatory. It is no longer a gratuity it becomes a free. In the states fees have different laws.
We always do the gratuities ahead of time and tip our stateroom attendant and dining room servers extra if we enjoy their service.
I completely agree with the person that sent that letter to the cruise line. I find gratuities quite disgusting, they clearly indicate that the employer is paying the employee the very minimal amount of income and it is up to the customer to make up the difference. If people want to perpetuate that situation that is up to them.
And that's fine, just do not engage in any activity or vacation in which people rely on tips. Eat your potted meat and saltine crackers home!
This is a simplistic and dare I say North American centric perspective Don. I pay the usual gratuities but am yet to see any real evidence that the cruise line actually distributes it all amongst the crew. I would like to see some serious research in to this issue but am yet to see a cruise blogger undertake that research.
I prepay gratuities when cruising internationally but i prefer that when cruising in Australia and New Zealand we pay higher fares instead because we dont have a tipping culture. I really think the tipping culture in general is really unfair. Much better that everyone is paid a fair wage for a fair days work and we pay more in the first place, rather than being at the mercy of people who may or may not pay staff. In Australia, we do this.
Tips should always be optional, period, fin, end of. What the cruise lines should do is do away with the tip setup they have, raise prices to accommodate the money that would have been gotten through tips, and raise employee pay accordingly. I love the tipping culture in Europe; do it that way.
Do share your position in this regard...
There has only been one time where I wanted to remove gratuities, and didn't. It was on the Caribbean Princess about 8 years ago. The wait staff were down right rude, dirty dishes on the tables, slow service etc. And my cabin was dirty and poorly maintained. When I brough the issues with the cabin to my room attendant, he accused me of working for the cruise line? WTF? Most of the entertainment on the ship was terrible, with unfunny comedians(I know what one person finds funny another may not, but I was not alone in this assessment), and singers who could not sing on key. I should have removed the gratuities, because frankly it was not a good experience. I travelled on the Regal Princess last year and the staff were excellent, and I paid extra gratuities to our table waiter and my room attendant! They deserved it.
If it was right after the pandemic many things were a mess. Unfortunately, that's what happened.
@@notinterested6343 It was before the pandemic.
Restaurants should pay a living wage, and let tipping be a reward for excellent service. Will I pay more for my meal? Of course1 But right now I'm adding 20% on to my bill anyway. The restaurant industry is criminal in their pay practices.
I'm also not fond of tipping everyone on the ship from my booking, whether I had any service from them or not. Why not pay them a decent wage and take away the mandatory tipping - we pay either way, but we get to direct our tips.
Yes, it’s fine if restaurants and cruise lines raise their prices and pay their employees more instead of shifting payment of employees to customers. Many countries work this way and tips are not expected in restaurants.
Most people would rather see a bottom line price up front and not deal with everyone expecting tips.
Same with hotels and their resort fees. Time to remove disingenuous, mandatory resort fees and just include all costs up front.
It’s time to stop the serf economy that prevails on cruise ships. The workers need to have a livable salary not dependent on the horrible nature of cruisers…who have inflated views of their own status, and keep their hands in their pockets when it is top time.
BUT, will tipping continue to ensure good service on top of the built in?
Hi Don. I think companies should include it in the price. We just did a 9 day Mediterranean Cruise with NCL on an inside cabin and the gratuities were $360 (2pax $20/day). That’s about 12% extra of the cost of the cruise. Maybe an international regulation entity should rule that Cruise companies put the actual price on the listings.
I'm totally against the North American tipping culture, but I know how hard the staff work in the cruise industry, 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week, month after month, at shamelessly low wages, so I would never fail to pay, I pay always up front if possible, then I'll tip a few dollars extra when I think I'm getting exceptional service.
Well said buddy!
I always pre pay my gratuities, I’ve never removed them. What bugs me is I’m expected to tip on top of my gratuities. My last cruise the pre paid gratuities were almost $400 then I had to hand out another $400 on top of that because if I don’t tip anyone I interact with I’m a terrible person. I’ve stopped cruising because of this. If I could pay my gratuities and be done then I’d be fine but that’s never enough for most people so I’m out.
I do NOT remove gratuities, however I do agree to be able to adjust them up or down. I have had two experiences one being a cabin steward picked up an expensive garment with the towels and it was never found. This was DECADES ago when it was cash tips in envelopes (not added automatically). I also had tremendous service when we had some medical issues and our steward bent over backwards to give extra care to our needs. Both scenarios deemed an adjustment to the tips. And rightfully so. So again I say, I NEVER removed tips but feel we have the right to adjust them for good or not so good service. Tips are for service.
Also I want to say, NOT everyone at guest care on the final day of the cruise is there to remove tips!! And I hate to be talked about while I'm asking guest services asking about an emergency situation and debarkation request, and hear people walking by talking commenting on "what they assume" I'm doing!! Not everyone is removing tips at guest services!!! Rudeness always surfaces at the end of the cruise, and people become mean again. Sad!!!
Good service= good tips, it should be service dependent. I like the prepaid tips to cover the behind the scenes staff.
If you can afford tattoos, nail treatments, spa treatments etc then you can afford to pay gratuities.
We never removed gratuities and still tip the room stewart, bar tender and in the main dining room to the 2 people that look after us
I like Regents policy. Eveything is included. We still give extra to those going above and beyond.
Like the high end cruise lines it should be in the base fare and tip only the people who really make your cruise special.
It is a touchy subject, I would never remove gratuities. I do believe our tipping culture has gotten crazy.
I wouldn't think about emoving gratuities. I also tip extra for drinks, stateroom attendant, and wait staff.
Include it in the fares
They should be added on to the price of cruise.
After talking to our last room Steward, people need to know their schedule. Hopefully this would have guests think twice before removing tips. We ask our steward about his days off. They don't get days off, I ask about rotating duties & rooms. They don't rotate. They get blocks of time off at certain ports where there is a longer port time. They can get off. They clean the room you are in 7 days a week until their contract is up. His contract was 7 months @ 7 days a week or roughly 210 days and no days off just blocks of hours.. People need to think about their continuous schedule. Please don't remove the tips, no matter what.
I always leave room steward extra tip. I see how hard they work . I do miss having the towel animals in our rooms . 🦢
I've always considered the practice of taking off gratuity as a little scummy. The crew works hard they deserve support 😊
Crews everywhere in the cruise industry work hard yet they don't all enjoy this added benefit...how do we fix this? The check-in in process here in North America should give the cruiser the opportunity to opt out of auto grats same as it gives the cruiser the opportunity to opt in. The multi billion $ industry, constantly building bigger multi-million$ ships and private islands where everything cost more, also increasing the cost of cruising has the responsibility of paying decent wages to their employees...do they even get raises? I wonder how gratuities collected and disbursed are shown on the ship's P&L statements, probably some scummy arithmetic benefiting the ship.
I always tip if I get good service.
My only concern is that the Cruise company is giving 100% of my gratuities to the actual workers on that ship. I also do not want my tips to replace their regular pay. For example, if the position should pay $20 per hour and the cruise lines reduce the hourly rate to $5 and tell them (oh, tips will make up the difference) that is wrong. I tip on every cruise buy am suspicious the way the system works.
I reduce my tips by half. Excuse me. Forced tips all around. It's way too much. I also give cash to room attendants. That's my choice. Tipping is a choice. Main dining is rude in my opinion. I don't feel welcome at all. That doesn't make me cheap or a horrible person. It's my private business. So there!
That does make you cheap. Didn’t you listen to Don, it goes to everyone you don’t see as well behind the scenes
I didn't know that you could remove the gratuities. But with that said, we wouldn't have them removed. Having worked in the food service industry when younger I understand the process. We are grateful that everyone is being covered behind the scenes and is being tipped for the services that we truly appreciate and enjoy. We are also the ones who tip to separate individuals who we feel went above and beyond to make our vacation that much easier and more enjoyable with less worry, regardless of wherever the service came from. And not just the typical dining, cabin attendant, and bar.
I prefer all inclusive cruise.
Are we paying wages aka gratuities? What happened to tips based on service? Maybe separate crew we see from crew we don't. I tip my steward and dining and more. Wages raise to back crew...tip for service. If we're paying wages to the crew, do we file tax forms? I didn't realize crew was working for tips. We don't pay restaurants a huge amount of money just to be there as in cruising .
I have never removed gratuities!! I have never cruised with Norwegian....i was just looking...they advertise free drinks, free specialty...but you have to pay service..wich for a 9-10 days for 2 cruise, it adds up to about $650-680 .Than you add gratuities it is another $500 !! That about 1200$ !! I understand that people want to remove some....i don't think i would! but...🤔🤔
My first cruise, I was given envelopes and a guide of how much to tip each person on the last night of the cruise
Just call it something else like a service fee and INCLUDE IT so Bob and Sue will hush and have no choice!!!!😊
My wife and I always carry a bunch of five dollar bills to tip the cocktail waitress or waiter. We find we get better and quicker service. these people get paid thru a bean blower.
Thanks for explaining gratuities
You being a world traveler know how the world works. In Europe servers get paid a living wage. In North America servers are now being paid a living wage. In California they get $20US an hour = 28CDN this is $56K CDN a year why do serviers now need a tip? A cruise ship worker based on what you show seem to come from 3rd world countries and get paid very little. The cruise line adds a tip so they do not have to pay them a living wage. It will not change unless pasengers demand workes are paid a living wage.
I never tip a bartender, simply because I never buy anything there. Besides, the bill would be plus 18% anyway.
We have Diamond plus tier, get 5 drinks per day free and therefore never want anything extra.
We tip our Stateroom Attendant (and the helper, if there is one) and the waiters at the MDR, when the service was very good.
We are Europeans and adapt there to our mainly used American cruise lines.
We could also book TUI cruises or Aida, there the gratuities are in the price -, but we to not like those companies.
So, there we are with Gratuities plus what we give in cash.
But, to be honest, we have cancelled the gratuities ONCE on our almost 70 cruises since 2005. (I assume a lot of people here have too, but would not say) I stand to it. The service was sub standard, the food awful, the whole ship dirty. Awful vacation.
We are not responsible for the cruise line paying their people proper wages. No.
It used to bug me. I was not happy that I was told and automatically charged the "gratuity". Several cruises ago I experimented. What if I get a package, or if I pay it ahead of time. Would I still do the cruise if the price was an extra $15 per night, or like $100 for the trip? Answer was YES. Once I had it taken ahead of time, I never thought of it again.
My honest opinion, increase the price by 70% of the "suggested gratuity" and that should be the same as the cost now. There are many people who do not like being told what a gratuity should be, and that employee cost, should be included in the price you pay up front.
If you have a family of 4-5 with 2-3 kids, the daily gratuities rack up FAST! In the past, I decreased the gratuities for my 2 kids if on a 7 day cruise.
I love your channel Don. But I disagree with you on this one. My dad was a professional waiter back in the 60’s latter joined the Marines and fought in Vietnam ( God bless all those that serve 🇺🇸🇨🇦) he taught me how to tip. A tip is a gift and not be expected. Those working behind the scenes usually get paid more than the wait staff and the room steward . The cruise lines are using tips to cover salaries and that is wrong. I just returned from harmony in July and after adding up everything we spent over 700 bucks in tips alone ( 4 people two rooms). That includes the extra I leave for the above. If they want to give the employees more money then add it to the fair . I do not have a problem paying 45 a person for a meal. I am getting something for my hard earned money. We are paying more for less. We use to get are beds made and turned down every night. Now once a day and they are cutting staffing. So tips should be going down not up. This crap needs to stop.
These ships AREN’T SAILING in the US or under the US FLAG!!!
Some people remove gratuities to tip directly. I believe customer service provides envelopes for tipping. Unfortunately it is all or nothing, you can't just remove tips for MDR or Cabin and tip them directly with cash.
I think removing the gratuities is just plain WRONG! It really gets my goat when I see people lined up to do that. 😡 Doing that is basically lowering people’s wages! I come from Australia, which is a largely non-tipping culture, but I understand that cruising involves tipping in order for staff to get paid properly and therefore I ALWAYS ensure that I prepay my gratuities AND sometimes I will tip a little extra as well to people who have gone “above and beyond” to make my cruise extra special. I pass that tip on as cash directly to that crew member. I reckon if they are going to stop the ability to remove gratuities then they should just increase the price of the cruise to include a decent wage in the first place and be done with it. ie. include the gratuities in the cruise fare but don’t call it a gratuity 😂
You are right Don, it is a North American way of life. In Europe the cruise lines eg P&O and MSc include gratuities in the fare. We were on MSC Seashore out of Miami a couple of years ago and the American passengers we spoke to couldn’t believe it and said tipping in US was out of control. The service on aboard was just as exceptional as any other cruise. Maybe cruise lines from North America could start a trend over there, I am not aware of any great price difference between MSC etc and Carnival etc. thanks
I agree with paying gratuities on my cruises. The staff are amazing and helpful. There are so many people behind the scenes that we don't see. I don't like traveling with people like that. They can pay 1000.00 for drink package but refuse to pay gratuities.
I pay tips, so I'm just getting that in to start off with. Now I'm playing devil's advocate.
So it's a North American system, a way of life that everyone pays tips. So what happens when you are cruising on P&O or Aida or one of the other numerous ships that are not N American, do you still tip those staff, when you get off the ship and visit somewhere do you tip the staff you encounter along the way ? (Questions for everyone, I'm not directing them at you Don)
I know tipping is one of those playing with fire topics, but I would like to assume that if you tip someone in point A for doing a job then surely you tip someone in point B for doing exactly the same job although they are on a different continent ? And I know that does not happen not just because of a country's aversion to tips, but because it is not always expected. Many readers will happily pay everywhere, good on you, many will not.
If you don’t want to pay gratuities, don’t book a cruise on any cruise line. Enjoying your cruise for 3-7 days and requesting on the day before you disembark to remove gratuities is selfish.
I think we keep overlooking the bigger question, why do we need to tip for service?
People should be paid fairly and if not the company should be made to do so,period.
If someone is going above and beyond then their reason should not be to get more money, if so, it’s just another transaction.
This really only seems to be an American topic 🤷🏾♀️. When we travel to other countries tipping is not customary and in some cases consider an insult.
Actually, at Burger King, with a coupon, you can order 2 meals ( hamburger, fries and soda) for $8 each.
I have asked crew members about gratuities. They do NOT receive any more money than what is called out in their contract with the cruise line, which means crew member do NOT receive any portion of the gratuities. The gratuities are kept by the cruise lines to increase their profitability.
Always remove auto gratuities. It's ridiculous. Plenty of low paid industries across the world where teams deliver high quality services and a tipping culture doesn't exist. It's totally the cruise lines ethical responsibility to pay their teams fairly. The cruise lines won't reform the practice unless customers actually decline to pay them.
I think it goes back from tips are supposed to be optional in the US. They just need to add it into the cruise price and then optional, additional for extra help. Why be efficient if everyone pays the same tip included? You don’t go to most places and tip is included except large parties. Really doesn’t make sense!! The cruise line pays salary and it should be it! I’m a nurse and don’t get tips?
Don you are wrong.I bet some of your gratuities go for Salaries .Raise the prices and let people make up their mind if they want to go on the cruise or not.The cruise lines set up this system for THEIR BENEFIT not their customers.
Those types of Sue's and Bob's do not leave anything to anyone! Complete worthless folks!
I think it's high time that gratuities are included in the price of the cruise from the outset. And if you want to pay further tips for those who give exceptional service, then do that separately by cash in an envelope. I also believe that something should be done about the exorbitant prices of the WIFI. For a 14 day cruise, I can pay more for WIFI than I do at home for a month!!! Give us a break!!!
I don’t have an issue with gratuity, however the issue is that I’m giving gratuities to people I’ve never got in contact with, and basically I’m supplementing their income when the cruise line should be doing this. I provide gratuity to those who provide me direct service. Cruise lines are making millions of dollars so you can’t tell me they can’t pay their employees better! How do I know where these gratuities go?
I never would tip my Maitre’D he would show up at put tan
E on the last night. Stopped that years ago, however I don’t think cruises do this any longer! Anyone know?
Hey Don in New Zealand we build our tipping into our prices .There is not a tipping culture here so tipping is strange. So I wonder if the tipping should be part of the total pricing structure . Hey I could be completely of the mark
I think Royal should enforce the deposit eff Sept 5 on all cruisers with comp cruises. Emergencies happen people get covid day before a cruise. Should not punish someone for getting covid and not being able to cancel a comp cruise. If I were to get a letter I would just cancel the cruises and give my business to some other cruiselines. The Casinos are packed when I go each month.
Modt restaurants now have a service charge. They just don't call it gratuities. Resorts have resort fees, which would be different from gratuities you give to service personnel. I agree the tipping culture has gone out of control. In Mexico, everyone expects a tip.
Include it in the fare and take it off the daily charges. Stop calling it gratuities it’s the salary of the workers on the ship. Like you stated all the people behind the scenes- maintenance workers, cooks, etc…
Leave well enough alone! Too much hassle to entertain changing status.
Normally, I do not leave additional monies, but what the ship recommends.
I always have cash on me for tipping. My husband and I asked about when they get their gratuities paid to them, which is once a month. So we decided to pay a cash tip, especially to the workers who don’t get a cut of the gratuities (those that deliver your drinks ).
If gratuities are mandatory… they aren’t gratuities.
If your cruise line wants to subsidize their employees with more fees… just call them cruise fees. Like resort fees.
Don’t try and put a sad story on workers. Cruise lines are trying to ensure they don’t have to report the true price. Stop protecting the cruise lines.
I called carnival and they said gratuities are just recommended, not mandatory. Did Don say when this was going to start? I looked all over the carnival website and the Internet and no place is saying gratuities are or will be mandatory. Don, are you lying to us? If not, please show where you are getting this info from.
I do not believe they will lose very many cruisers if they make you pay gratuities!!!!
I just figure gratuities are part of thr cost f cruising, just like when I go to a restaurant, etc.. yes I think cruiselines should just add into the cost of the cruise. That would end the a)discussion re: tipping or not.. and b) also ensure that the crew get them..
With respect to all, if you don't want to pay gratuities, then don't cruise.. same as with a restaurant... don't cheap out on the people who work really hard to create a great vacation for you...
Americans have a fixation on tipping. I love when we travel internationally cause people don’t look for tips or advertise for them.
I just factor it into my cruise price.I think of it like a restaurant. If I can't afford to tip I will stay home.These people work hard to give us a great vacation.
IIRC, cruise lines have been using suggested and pre-paid gratuities for over 50 years.
Always make sure my gratuities are in with cruise price, I take money for tipping on board as well, would never remove gratuities 😮
Those that quit cruising because of mandatory tips are the types of problematic people we don't need on cruises.
I have never removed gratuity but I don’t tip any extra except for drinks, I figure if the cruise line sets a standard gratuity then they must know what is fair so that’s what I tip. I usually get free drinks so that is why I tip on drinks.
Perhaps people who are so strongly against tipping that they refuse to do it should consider going on cruise lines that include gratuities in their fare, not only so people who are working for tips aren't shafted for no fault of theirs, but also they can make a statement with their consumer choices and show the cruise lines who do expect gratuities for their staff that this way of doing business is objectionable? 🤔 (If you are in a position to spend a 4-digit amount or more on a vacation, surely you're also in a position where you can be selective with how you spend your disposable income?)
As someone who is only familiar with leaving a tip on a restaurant table or tip tray, or in the hotel room with a note, upon check-out, HOW do you go about presenting a face-to-face tip to someone?
The system works for us. We know the cost for the service we are getting on our cruise. I prefer to see the charge being separate. Then we know the cruise cost and the cruise. I was concerned at first as I thought service might decline since the service charge was already paid. I suspect the people who want to tip on their own...won't tip very well... The system works fine for us...
Short sighted folks. The amount they collect is very reasonable and covers so many. It is ridiculous to argue about, do these same people cheat the servers when they go to a land sit down restaurant? That is 20% give or take. We always pay the gratuities and hand out extra as needed.
Simple. Make gratuities part of the base price. Those customers who _itch about it, just go cruise somewhere else. At least it will thin out those whom we rather not be around anyway.
It all goes to your point of view. look at the mandatory gratuity as how they build in the crews wages to the fees. Maybe they should just change what they call it. Gratuities can then be recognized at time of service.
They should put the gratuity into the cruise prices. Its a small amount and it takes care of the crew. We always tip more. But we include the tips when we book every time.
I guess nobody wants to admit howxamerica all fell for the mcdonalds workers as if they are the only workers now you complaining on high prices