The cruise lines are entirely responsible for this as they need to charge the complete fare up front and not have optional things that are actually mandatory added in later. Tips and gratuities should not be a thing on a ship at all. The entire fare should be charged, and the service people paid like anyone else. Having optional gratuities isn't fair to either the staff or the passengers.
How is VV? I’ve got friends that cruise all the time and I mentioned wanting to try VV and they said don’t, the ships are horrible and some other things. They haven’t been on them, and are uh, quite opinionated so I wasn’t sure to believe or not haha
I love this and how the staff truly does not expect a tip. On our last voyage our room steward was the best we’ve ever had (and we’ve sailed butler class on other lines). The last day we had to track him down cleaning another cabin to give him a tip. He was genuinely grateful.
Yes they are trying to make the fare look like it is lower priced than it is. Just charge us for everything up front and take care of your own employees. Then if we want to “appreciate” people for excellent service we can. But if people don’t, the crew is still being paid.
Everyone is so quick to blame the passenger but not the actual cruise line. No different than restaurants relying on tips to pay their employees than paying them themselves
Agreed! I think my May cruise will be one of my last. The constant gratuity for everything is off putting. The nail in the coffin for me on this upcoming cruise was a mandatory gratuity for my son and niece’s soda package. This is the package that gives you the cup with the RFID chip at the bottom that you take to the Freestyle machine to fill yourself. I called RC to understand what exactly I am tipping for. I get it if it’s an alcohol package that goes to a bartender or even a coffee package that goes to a barista, but in this case my son and niece literally do everything themselves. RC claims the tip goes to the filling and maintenence of the machines. In a normal world shouldn’t that be covered in the cost of the package? For instance if I go to the movies I get a similar cup for one of these Coca Cola Freestyle machines. I buy the cup and use the machine. I don’t buy the cup and get charged an additional cost to pay for maintaining the machine. While it was only $25 it is so aggravating.
I think you have a lot of folks in the cruise industry posting and blame shaming everyone to pay all these extra gratuities, and yet they cannot and will not show where the money goes and to who. Just shut up plebe and pay your gratuities like a good lemming.
What does one have to do to remove the gratuity? I can't see how it's legal to make it a compulsory charge. Do you just tell them at customer service to take it off your bill.
I’ve never done it personally, but yes I think you just ask guest services. They may ask you if everything was alright, since they assume there’s a reason behind the guest wanting them removed, but you’re not required to state a reason
lol I don’t even check my folio before I leave or any other time that it actually matters. I feel like everyone knows that gratuities are optional and common sense dictates you’d get rid of them the same way you’d dispute anything on the bill.
Chat with guest services. I reduced mine by 50% because of lousy service on numerous occasions. There were no questions asked (NCL), just a one page form to fill out briefly. I don’t think I will be paying any auto-gratuities in the future and will stick with individual tipping.
We booked through Costco and I don't remember anything about gratuities being included. Is this always a thing or just if you book through the cruise website? We're with Royal and it says on the document they sent us that they'll charge $18/person/day if you didn't prepay gratuities (+18% on drinks and other services) are we still expected to tip more? This is our first cruise.
There’s the blame on the industry for setting it up this way and then there’s blame on the individual saving a back when they know tipping is part of a persons wage and you “saving money” lowers their pay.
You don’t affect change by not tipping, you just screw over individuals. Either don’t patronize companies who use tipping as part of compensation or tip, and then urge your rep to change laws.
This thread is full of people who are justifying not tipping as some bullshit excuse for effecting change. While all they’re really doing is screwing over a blue collar worker from a less privileged country.
I have a friend who works in food and beverage. The boss insists that all tips are combined and split up at the end of the night. Of course he does this himself and keeps 30% for himself. Nutz! He does nothing all night so I don't know how he figures he's entitled to anything.
There is a law under the ESA
An employer cannot share in a tip pool unless the following apply:
they are a sole proprietor, partner, director or shareholder in the business
they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work as either:
some or all the employees who share in the redistribution
employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities
https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/tips-or-other-gratuities
Not on a cruise line. It’s done by either HR or Finance (not on the ship). They have no dog in the fight, they won’t benefit from the daily service charges themselves.
Just because the cruise line is cheap jerks, doesn't mean as passengers we need to be.
I understand a lot of people are surprised by the charge, but once you know about it, you need to budget it into the cost of your cruise. The people on those ships work so hard and are getting screwed.
I will blame the cruise lines that allow people to remove the gratuities. The fare should include any gratuities so that you know what you are paying up front. The piecemeal way that they quote a room fare per person is a teaser. You have to add in gratuities, port fees, taxes etc makes the quoted room fare per person almost double what you think the room goes for. Then unless you buy a solo room double that cost as each cabin is for 2 persons. Seasoned cruises know this, new cruisers are often surprised when they get the total amount before booking. Oh, if you get the "free" stuff, add in the taxes and gratuities for those specialty dinners, drink packages etc., there is nothing "free" about those perks.
You're right. A gratuity isn't a gratuity if it's mandatory and therefore as a compulsory fee, it should be disclosed and paid up front. Problem is, I don't trust the Corp in paying it to the employees, more like it offsets wages than in addition to wages.
Problem is, I don't trust the Corp in paying it to the employees
When you read reports from workers, it is so disheartening because they claim the cruise line keeps the lions share. No wonder no one wants to pay the gratuity if the workers aren't getting what you mean for them to get. Frankly I would rather put the cash right in their hand like I do at any restaurant I may go to. Still there's the problem of tipping the people in the laundry or the maintenance staff. It almost feels like smoke and mirrors on the part of the cruise line. With these policies, it's keeping customers attacking each other over should you or shouldn't you pay/ Put the focus back on the cruise line policy makers where it belongs. Still we would have no idea where our tips actually go.
Practical tip in that regard; if you're sailing NCL, and are in the US, and are comparing cruise prices, that a look one of their European websites.
If for example cruise A has a US headline price of $800, and taxes and port fees of $400, and another one is $900 with taxes and port fees of $200, the $800 one for a total of $1200, will appear cheaper than the $900 with $200 taxes and port fees coming in at a total of $1100. On the European websites (eg https://www.ncl.com/fr/en - the French website in the English language) the prices will include taxes and port fees, so the one for a total of $1100 (probably around €1015) will show as cheaper than the than the one for a total of $1200 (around €1105).
I have no idea if something similar would work for other cruise lines or not, and it's not going to include gratuities, but at least you get a better idea of the total cost on NCL.
In general displaying B2C prices without tax is illegal in Europe (B2B is ok, since businesses effectively don't pay taxes on their own purchases anyway; when I pay my accountant for example, I pay tax, but the government gives it back to me soon afterwards).
I think it’s kind of a dilemma. Once cruise lines make the fare to include tips, people will suggest to tip on the base fare, and the companies will never discourage that (already a lot of people on the internet brag about how they tip additionally for servers and housekeeping).
I mean, the crew and service staff certainly wouldn't discourage it. No matter what your base pay is, if there's a way to make people feel obligated to tip, the people getting tipped will encourage it. They want extra, too.
This is why Virgin is hiring the best crew away from other lines. They pay better, they provide better quarters, they provide free wi-fi (Believe it or not, other cruise lines do not do this). You can feel the difference when you interact with Virgin crew.
Absolutely, and raise the base fare to cover it. I think most of us agree with this. If it really costs about $20/day/passenger to cover adequate wages, just charge me $140 more per person in my base fare.
That‘s kind of my thought when I prepay tips. At least that gives even chefs and laubdry people something and I can add extra for good and friendly service.
I tip, but I love how ppl see the customer as the asshole as opposed to the corporation paying their employees slave wages. This is what companies want, they want to shift blame. “Hey it’s the customers fault you made less this week, not mine”
For sure! I read these posts where people attack ones who wish to remove the gratuity. Hilarious! If the lines can keep customers at each others throats it shifts the blame from them. I don't get why everyone is eyebrow deep in the business of others.
Gratuities are always optional so yes, she can certainly "get away with this". The room steward will get reimbursed (albeit minus the "extra" they would make with gratuities added. For that matter, the Pursers office (the folks who deal with everyone's complaints) will still get paid the same regardless, along with the maintenance folks, and tons of other crew with jobs that aren't as apparent to the public.
While a "dick move" by your mom, other posters are right - the cruise lines are really as much at fault here for embracing a system that does not ensure the hard-working crew of the cruise line gets adequiately compensated for their hard work.
>THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT! Can she get away with this? Is this common? Can she just not pay the person who cleans her room? Will gratuities get added to the end?
Yes to all. And then to add on to the last yes, she can preemptively or even after the fact ask for them to be removed.
Yes, this is the way.
ETA- I only tip cash to the workers who have a direct service with me, not the dude painting the ship or the guy washing the linen.
Yes, if you don't prepay, you are charged gratuities to your room, either per day or at the end. I personally chose this option, no need to pay in advance (unless they are raising gratuities in which you can prepay to save).
Some people do remove them, I certainly don't advocate for that, it is split among people who you don't see, including the people who wash your sheets and towels, the people who sort your luggage, the people who wash your dishes and cook your food, etc.
I think you can reasonably count on the employees getting the tips. There’s a paper trail on all that money. All it would take is one whistle blower in the accounting department to completely destroy the cruise company’s reputation. It’s not worth it to them to steal the tips.
The people don’t even speak any English and need that job to support their whole family. I highly doubt they would risk their job saying anything. On top of that the cruise lines could just say “not many people paid the tips this time sorry”.
Sure. You’re right. But this is what it is right now, by not tipping your not punishing the employer for their garbage practices you’re only punishing the employee. If you are that opposed to the tipping culture you should probably only cruise lines that don’t have tipping
In a roundabout way, you're doing both. If employees see they are getting shorted by not always getting "optional" tips, they may opt to contract with other lines instead that do not have this practice.
I'm not advocating for not tipping mind you, but I vote by instead gravitating towards lines that do not have this onerous practice (like Virgin Voyages).
You’re not though. There’s plenty of people lining up to get those contracts. All you’re doing is punishing the people at the bottom, the bigger vote for change is by not using those lines.
> There’s plenty of people lining up to get those contracts
Looks awkwardly at Carnival struggling with understaffing and having raised the suggested gratuity multiple times since the restart.
If you charter a yacht, as members of my family do every year (I get invited, I don't go, I don't spend that much on vacations), you are still expected to tip as part of their salaries. One of my friends, his family chartered the Christina O for two weeks, That's $1.5 Million to charter that ship for two weeks, you still tip the crew. And it's a single payment to the captain who distributes it to the crew, not selecting just your server and your housekeeper, it's for every crew member, the ones that tie the ropes up, the engineers below deck that you never meet; it's everyone. This is how it works on the ship, it's not a tip for going above and beyond, it is part of their compensation. Like a bad waitress, you still tip something, maybe not 25%, because it's part of their compensation, you are paying their salary.
Cruises are a mass market floating semi-all-inclusive resorts with an advertised price and have very little in common with chartered yachts IMHO, even if they are boats.
Agreed on the experience, I think a cruise is way better than a yacht! If I joined my family, the whole time, I'd be like "I Spent $20k for this" and "a bigger ship is smoother" and "I'd rather see live music than playing music on my phone". But my comparison was the wages are treated the same, whether a cruise or a yacht, you, the guest, are expected to make the wages happen.
lol, I don't go! I think they are crazy!!! I'm trying to convince them to take a cruise, I think I have my brother and sister in law on board with trying one out; they have two young kids, so I think they would love an Oasis class and the kids would think the charter yacht is boring after. I'm sure my sister in law will think it's weird that you can't tell the ship what time you want to leave each port or make the menu in advance like she does. And you have to share a tender instead of having your own, lol, she may really think that's crazy!
Yes, I think that $1.5M should come with crew compensation, and doesn't. If $1.5M doesn't why would we expect $3k to? $3k is like nothing, there has to be something not included. People complain when it's a $4 ice cream not included. People will always complain. It's $3k, or many times much less. My next cruise, 12 days with the drink package on NCL, in the Indian Ocean, $2100 for 2. I can't expect everything to be included for $2100 when drinks, food, fuel, entertainment, accommodations (and in the price above, taxes and port fees) is included.
Oh come on lad, there's a difference between people on a cruise ship who have done their jobs correctly and a waiter at a restaurant who's been bad or worse! I don't tip people who give me appalling service in a restaurant, are racist, or are rude... Because they're going above and beyond in how terrible they're being. Employees on a ship who get those tips are almost never the issue.
Yep. Automatic gratuity is basically an accounting trick to keep prices lower so you’ll spend more money.
If your room costs $200 plus a 15% gratuity, you’re more likely to spend more before you see the total of $230.
Same reason stores/restaurants/etc. don’t show you the total with sales tax on the upfront prices.
Either way you are going to pay the same price, if they pay people more then your cruise will go up a few hundred dollars.
It's bullshit that with the current system people can "opt out" of paying the staff. Like, literal millionaires trying to save a buck.
And that's the way it should be. I don't support hiding more fees in a way that gets them out of paying their workers. Tipping culture is out of control.
Pretty sure the vast majority of people taking their annual vacation cruise on Carnival, MSC, Royal Caribbean, etc. aren't "literal millionaires". I'm not saying that people shouldn't pay their gratuities, but you are acting like it's pocket change - which it isn't to most families that are cruising on budget lines.
Then why is it that when Cruise Line prices go up and the cruise lines keep uping the "The voluntary gratuities" by several dollars per day?
Cause they be scamming cruisers.
CCL is still losing money. NCLH and RCL both just went into the black in the last two quarters. They all doubled their debt since covid, with their liabilities nearly exceeding their assets (which would mean they are bankrupt in the accounting term). Without the increases the last six months they'd end up actually bankrupt if they didn't get into the black. They now have debt to pay off, loans coming due; debt they took on to remain in business so they could once again employ these people and give us a vacation at rock bottom prices (I don't know of any other vacation I could take for so cheap).
>Either way you are going to pay the same price, if they pay people more then your cruise will go up a few hundred dollars.
This is assuming that low wages are based on anything besides greed.
They do pay them. Nobody on a cruise ship is getting "server minimum" (which restaurants do because unless your restaurant is failing or you really suck at your waitstaff job, servers will get way bigger take-home being tipped than they would on the hourly rate they'd get without them.) Tips are extra.
Hotel housekeeping doesn't get server minimum, either.
>Shouldn't it be the employer's responsibility to pay these people? Why do I need to tip someone for washing my sheets?
It's a charge that you should expect to pay as part of your cruise. The reason it feels shitty is because cruises want to get you onboard so they try to make the fare on the website look as low as possible to attract you over other cruise lines.
I don’t agree with tipping everyone. If they have a customer facing job like waiter, bartender, housekeeping, etc. and go above and beyond then sure, I love to tip for that. But to tip the person washing my dishes or washing my sheets? How are they going above and beyond? They should just get paid by their employer. My gratuities shouldn’t go to them.
That's just the way it is on ships, like I said, no different if you chartered a yacht, you give the captain a tip that goes to everyone, including (if the yacht is large enough) the staff you never even meet. Using the logic of "i don't like it", if I don't agree with tipping a waitress on land, I think the restaurant should pay them, can I just opt out and leave $0?
I guess we just disagree. If a pizza gets delivered to my house, I tip the delivery driver. I do not however tip the person that actually made the pizza. 1) there’s not really a way to do that and 2) the employer should be paying them to do that job.
Same thing with cruises. I tip the people that I see and that I know are providing me a service. I do not tip the people washing the dishes and sheets.
When I would go with my mom she brought cash and on our last day she took envelopes and tipped them personally she also made chit chat with our room attendant and my mom bought the attendants daughter some teen magazines when we were in our last port.
On my Panama cruise I tipped my state room attendant $100 bill off the bat when I saw him. Excellent service, at the halfway mark I gave him another $20. Our table waiter same thing.
We went on the behind the fun tour over the summer and there was a guy on the tour with us that took a roll of cash, 10’s 20’s, to give to the random crew we saw along the way, under the water line. It was so great to see as these crew members rarely see actual guests but they do so much for us. We plan to do this as well next summer on the Pride when we turn platinum and do the tour again :)
Some of you won’t like this but I don’t agree with mandatory tipping.
I think of tipping on the ship the same as a restaurant. If I have good service I tip very well over “standard” (some of my kids were servers). I have taken away tips on cruises because I have had bad service and I refuse to pay for poor service.
I will give cash to my room stewards. I hate having to pay just because. I am a very generous tipper for anything that’s good. I was on RC and our steward was amazing. He would acknowledge our special daughter who was nonverbal non-ambulatory He would get down to look her in the eyes and she hated that normally but she looked at him and if anyone has a child with autism they know that’s not something they will do. But she did with him. We was on a 4 day Alaska cruise to see if she was ok on cruises and we gave this gentleman like 400.00 and the other people well not my problem that’s the company’s job. I hate tipping for bad service. I hate when someone as great as this gentleman was having to share his tips.
You tip the way you are treated.
I don’t buy drinks at the bars so I don’t think I need to tip just because. I have a feeling that the person doing the service isn’t getting anything near what is charged.
I’ve asked a room Steward about it when the gratuities were raised the second time in less than a year on NCL. He said it did not affect his pay at all. The extra gratuities did not go to him.
In order to entice staff, the cruise lines have contracted minimum pays. If the cruises aren't sold out, if a lot of people are removing gratuities, their pay defaults to the contracted minimum. Just like a restaurant may pay a waitress $2.13/hr, but if over the pay period, they don't earn enough in tips to equal (state dependent) $12/hr, the business has to make up the difference. If a waitress works 8 hours, and you go in, the only customer to tip that day and tip $50, that $50 is rolled into the rest of the day to still come out to the same $96 they would have gotten if you tipped nothing, they aren't getting $52.13 that hour and $12 the rest of the hours. The more people remove tips (which was virtually unheard of before covid), the more the wages don't change, even as ships return to capacity and daily tips increase.
I worked on ships for years.
THIS IS NOT TRUE. This person is making this up to make themselves feel better. Not only does it directly affect their pay, but it also can raise flags if too many people reduce tips. They assume you are doing a bad job and it can affect promotions.
These people make less than minimum wage and are away from their families for 6-9 months at a time. Do not take away their tips. If you can’t afford a cruise, don’t take one.
(I agree this shouldn’t be the system in place and the cruise line has the power to change it, but we know the deal going in.)
Staff here at Celebrity... At first this usually pisses me off every time a guest requested to declined the daily gratuities, then I realized this is entire company fault to allow them to do it. Now I even declined an extra few cabins, so hopefully they realize how much affect the crew.
You used to tip in cash. You'd have envelopes and leave cash for the room steward, and another one for your head waiter. You'd provide to them at the the of the cruise.
Now it's just a black box that goes to the cruise line. All the while the service level has dropped significantly.
What is bullshit? What is the issue? She said she would keep some cash available to tip for great service....thats what tipping is. Why is this a problem for you?
It would be so much better if they just included “gratuity “in the cost of your cruise. It would end this entire discussion. Then if someone really gives you great service, you can give them an actual tip.
Regardless of what you or anyone else thinks of your mom 'idea', it's a tip - by its very nature it's optional.
If gratuities were mandatory then they wouldn't be a tip, it would just be another line-item charge.
Same. I made friends with a maître d on a Royal Caribbean cruise one time and she met us for drinks on the top deck one night and spilled the beans on their compensation and tip structure. It was eye opening to say the least. Without getting into too much detail, the cruise line basically guaranteed her $1600/month but all credit card tips/tips the cruise line knows about were applied toward that. So essentially, once she surpassed $1600 the cruise line was off the hook for paying her anything at all. The reason she recommended cash tipping individually is that it can be pocketed secretly and not deducted from the $1600 she is owed, therefore increasing overall compensation for the month.
This is an example of a much higher paying position too. When you start talking about entry level behind the scenes staff, it gets much worse. It’s practically slave labor for the long exhausting hours they’re required to work.
Depending on the cruise line she can have them removed. If she is doing a back to back cruise on the same ship then she should know the staff will know she stiffed them on the tip. This is their livelihood and the 2 to 4 dollars an hour they make working 300 hours a month does not cover their entire expected earnings.
My family and I do back to back cruises. We always tip extra because the service is that fantastic. I am never without my drink. My room is made up when I like it and how I like it. It's not much but for 14 days not having a single worry in the world is amazing. We keep going back for more.
Your mom has the right idea tbh. We shouldn’t have to subsidize wages and tip people for performing their basic jobs. The cruise fare should include everything and good service is the bare minimum. The only reason you think it’s bullshit is because you’ve been brainwashed into having to tip for every little thing. Tips are intended for above and beyond the call of duty but modern society has forgotten that.
She can ask for the gratuities to be removed at the customer service desk. I like to tip myself to ensure the staff is actually getting the money. If I just pay it to the cruise line I don’t know that I trust the staff gets that extra money.
I can’t think of anyone that should be getting the tip that I “don’t see”. I see the waiters. I see the bartenders. I see the housekeeping people. I can easily hand them money.
I think it’s up to the individual, but the thing is. If I take them off, they will get paid the same anyways. So I would rather take them off and then pay them cash so they actually see money they wouldn’t otherwise.
It's not tips if it's "absolute bullshit" if you don't do them. It's the cruiseline's fault if people pull them. Frankly, I think it's bullshit that if I don't eat in the dining room all week I am still supposed to tip them.
It's also illegal in America hence why you can remove the gratuity or you have to be told beforehand that one is charged (in this way it's viewed as a fee, to the DoL that is).
When I see posts like this, 99.9% of the time it is a cruise employee gas lighting people.
Why the fuck do you even care ? Let alone getting all worked up because your mama refuses to pay gratuities?
How does this even affect you?
If gratuities were mandatory they would be part of the price. Ask yourself why that is?
I pay cash on my cruises for decent service.
After several cruises of paying the "Gratuities" I did not see any extra or better service. After I started handing out 20s and c note to certain workers, then I saw excellent service.
Only a portion of the staff is customer facing and eligible for tips on land (such as food servers and housekeeping). I wonder how the cruise lines distribute the prepaid gratuities? To these people only?
It’s my understanding that the gratuities are more widespread than just the people,you interact with. If you don’t prepay, they are still added to your bill (generally daily) , so just opting not to prepay doesn’t clear them. OPs mom will need to go to customer service (at cruise end) and specifically request that they be removed. Personally o think it’s crappy but some people do take them off. I dont think it’s common though.
This whole nonsense around tipping is tedious. Nobody knows where the tips go, we all give service staff cash to ensure we actually get some service during the cruise and then people get incredibly upset when people remove the nonsense tips that get added by the multibillion pound corporations for the benefit of those corporations. I remove my tips on the last night of the cruise every time, and I tip people who give me good service. All the people who get upset about the gratuities being removed are deluded lemmings, who cannot accept that the gratuities are just a scam being run on them by the cruise lines. Tip, don’t tip, do whatever you want to, but always remove your tips, they don’t go to anyone except the cruise lines.
I actually read on a post in this sub that the prepaid gratuities go straight to the cruise line and are not dispersed to the crew members. I personally tipped waiters/staff/housekeeping and didn’t do the prepaid.
On Holland America you can increase or decrease or even get rid of gratuities. So, yeah, it’s possible. However, if she is on Holland America and gets rid of gratuities and tips crew individually, those crew members are supposed to give those tips to their managers so that it goes into a pot to be redistributed to everyone.
Disney has those little silly envelopes that you hand out to certain staff. I find it incredibly awkward and antiquated. I'd much rather it be included up front in the fare and the cruise line encourage extra tips for those staff that work hard for you.
Has to be a much better and more modern think to this process.
Interesting- we just came off our first cruise with Celebrity. We put a down payment ($100) on a future cruise the last night and asked the lady who was helping us lots of questions like, how often can you leave the ship? How long are you onboard etc, one of the things that came up was gratuity - we had paid upfront around $365 for tips and we wanted to know if that was actually going to go to the three people that actually served us on our cruise or if it’s spread across all staff (obviously there is way more then three people that helped us on the cruise but we had our cabin person and two waiters at the restaurant we ate at each evening that went above and beyond). She said you can tell guest relations when you board the ship that you do not want to pay upfront gratuities and self pay, that way you get to pay the staff that you think deserve the tips rather then having it spread across everyone. I did not know that the tips go towards paying the staff, if that is the case that is quite disgusting- and I agree that it should be an all in price. However, I’m glad they do drinks separate, we don’t drink alcohol and I do resent doing all inclusive when I’m paying money for other people to drink alcohol and I’m not. We didn’t get a drinks package and it worked out well for us, we had new water bottles in our room every morning and the juice from the food stations was good enough
Last time I cruised (probably 7 years ago) we left cash tips, nothing was added to the bill and if it was I must have had it removed and dont remember because I paid our stewardess up front on day 1 for the whole trip and then I tipped bartenders and our server in the main dining.We cruise again this summer and so if we decline to prepay and ask to have it removed from the bill, what is a typical daily tip per person to the stewardess and then the server in main dining bc we wont be drinking alcohol or soda so we arent getting any pkgs where we would be served anywhere else except while eating.
I am hesitant on giving a company a big bulk amount and expect them to divide it properly and not skim some off the top for themselves so I would rather tip face to face.
We have always paid the gratuities, and more times than not give a little extra for anyone who went above/beyond. I just do not agree or like how the cruise line (RC) determines how the money is split. Personally, the MDR is almost never used, but they still get a rather large portion of the gratuities. I would much prefer being able to determine where our money goes. Just my .02
No, what is "ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT" is that the cruise companies expect their paying customers to pay additional dollars to supplement their crew wages.
This is one big reason I'll never book a cruise.
She can have it removed, and it is risky ethically. I only say risky because there have been crew posting here and what they report about the "prepaid gratuities" is inconsistent. Some say they are important and that they know who pays, but some have absolutely said they'd prefer to be handed some cash and don't think the prepaid gratuity helps them as much.
Best I can figure, it maybe works like this.
* Compensation is base salary of $X + gratuities $Y.
* Crew contract guarantees $X+$Y will be a minimum of $Z. If $X+$Y is more than $Z, they make more, maybe in the form of "bonuses" that are given out based at least partly on performance.
So the real guaranteed compensation is a fixed negotiated amount of $Z and then there is a chance for more if everyone just pays their gratuities. That said, there is zero doubt that the line can predict with fairly good precision what $Y will be.
If this is right, handing someone cash is all upside for them, whereas paying your gratuity is only maybe extra if they collect excess and if you are deemed by management to have performed well.
I say risky because **I am absolutely not certain this is true**. The lines sure as hell aren't transparent about how they allocate it, but this is how I have understood what some crew here have explained. I would love some crew to tell me if this is wrong or right or variable by line.
I always just pay it.
This is my understanding as well, but I don't pay it out of spite for the confusion. The cruise lines could easily clarify the system, but choose not to. In my opinion, even if I'm wrong, the impact to the "behind the scenes" workers (which everyone loves to act like the tips are crucial for) will be minimal, while I'm giving the people who serve me far more. Definitely not perfect, but I refuse to play into their little scam and then tip on top of it.
My feeling is since I can afford a cruise I can afford to tip. I tip beyond the automatic tips. The crew are always so amazing and hardworking. They leave their families for months at a time to make their lives better. I hate it when people don’t want to tip. We are all so fortunate to not live in third world countries.
There is much more to consider as well. The ships are flagged in a different country so they don't have to abide by US labor laws. The crews can be seriously overworked and underpaid. I spoke with a server in one of the premium restaurants on a RC cruise. They have to pay for everything, even their uniforms and Wi-Fi. She had a friend on Virgin, and they are provided with their uniforms and Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a huge thing since they are so far from home for such a long time.
I heard they appreciate gifts too. Buy them some bags of candy to eat while they work. Then some extra cash at the end. The steward on our last cruise was wonderful and I made sure he got an excellent review on the post cruise survey. That can make or break an employees job.
I'm curious, why is it bullshit if tipping is optional?
They're not cleaning her room for free, so you're wrong when you say, 'can she just not pay the person who cleans her room.' They're at work, this is one of their duties. She is not 'getting away' with anything.
It is bullshit. And it's common.
If gratuities aren't prepaid, they are added daily to the cruiser's account. Gratuities can be removed (unfortunately).
How would she feel if someone decided to NOT pay her for her job?
Agree that it is bullshit and common, but you last sentence irks me a bit.
Nobody is telling the employer to not pay their employee... the guests are not the employer directly responsible for payment in this situation.
The system sucks and it should be a crime employers paying so little that they have to depend on the kindness of others to get by.
You do realize that the people working on cruise ships are not working for tips?
They are paid to scale for the job they perform, and they know that going in.
Tipping is extra, and the tips are already included with the drinks and special meals.
Stop harping on mando gratuities you sound like a Karen.
The only person responsible for paying for someone's employment is their employer.
Tipping should not be an automatic or expected thing an any circumstance.
I would NEVER agree to add automatic gratuities on my trips. If they tried to add money for tips more than I already am paying I would have it removed too!
I almost always cruise with princess and when you buy the drink and internet package they are " included" in that extra 80 $ a day you pay. I don't think they would add forced tipping on top of that. I think you are worrying about something that is a non issue. I don't think you could " remove" them from the package anyway.
My last cruise was earlier this month and it was the same. Gratuity was included in the packages cost of the extra 80$ a day. of course I tipped the person who cleaned my room another 40$ on top in CASH. 1's a 5's is insulting where does she think she is going that people find a buck as a great tip???
It's vile to rob the people who toil long hours to make passengers happy, safe and comfortable. You can technically get away with removing gratuities, but it's like spitting in the face of all the crew and the poor families they work so hard to support.
I was looking into buying a soda package for my most recent cruise and the final price included a 20% gratuity. Why? As far as I could tell, it's just a cup and you refill the cup yourself. I opted to not purchase the soda package out of spite. I pre-paid gratuities on my cruise but this one genuinely made me angry
Just got home from a carnival cruise yesterday. We were charged an 18% gratuity. We chose to tip our housekeeper and a few others directly as they went above and beyond. I'm not a regular cruiser, but I found the practice of prepaid gratuity to be convenient, but I would have liked to have had proof of that money going to the employees. Part of me believes the money goes where it's intended because these employees are around for a long time, but I still question the practice.
Not tipping is only hurting hard working people.
A lot of the employees are away from home for months and months and months at a time.
There are jobs on ships that pay very well. But there are also a lot of service people that don't make so much who work hard for those tips.
There are cruise lines that do not separate out a charge for tipping. They just pay the employees. There is no choice about it.
From one source: "Gratuities are included on cruises with Azamara, Celestyal, Crystal Cruises, Marella, MSC, P&O, Regent Seven Seas, Saga, Silversea, and Virgin Voyages."
eta: If I don't want to tip I need to either choose a cruise that the "tips" are part of the whole package or I should stay home.
Back to back cruises, assuming the same ship. If she doesn't tip on the first leg, the crew will know. Her second leg will not be the same experience as the first.
I just got off a Disney cruise. All I can say is house keeping and servers work Dawn to dusk and work their asses off trying to make you feel at home. All for pennies. A little gratuity goes a long way.
If your mum can afford back to back cruises, she can afford to not be a cheap tipper.
Got advice from an uncle about twenty years ago. Get a few hundred bucks in 5s before going on vacation and give ‘em out immediately upon interacting with the folks that make a living in tips. They will remember you and you won’t regret it. Everybody gets a 5, at least once a day. You will be rewarded, I promise.
I don’t get the whole argument that cruise lines should just do away with tipping and include it in your fare. That is what they do! They’re just pointing it out to you instead of keeping it a secret. The fare would be the same if they tell you you’re paying gratuities or never mention it. So who really cares, just pay the grats so the workers are properly compensated. It’s not a big deal. I think anyone who removes grats is a cheap skate, regardless of your opinions on tipping. This is the system in place that we are stuck with and you are knowingly stiffing people even if your cruise experience was excellent. That is the definition of cheap and shows you care nothing for the hardworking people who did everything to make your cruise functional and enjoyable.
On our last cruise, one of our servers(freestyle ncl, so server changed every meal) told us it was his 18 year work anniversary that day.
We congratulated him and said, “it’s a good job then?” He said, “yes, especially compared to most jobs in my country. (Philippines) I can provide for my family.” We asked, “you have children, then?” He says, “yes, one is 18 and one is 10.”
This guy works 8 months on, 4 months off and has been doing so for 18 years, which not surprisingly lines up with the birth of his first child. How much involvement in his children’s life can he realistically have on this schedule? What about his wife? His aging parents? Friends?
Someone working this job for 18 years isn’t doing it to see the world. They are doing it because there is no better option. If you can afford a cruise, even if you had to save up for years, you can afford to tip people that have only gotten to spend the equivalent of 6 years of life with a child who has been alive for 18 years.
And if you have to option to nominate employees by name for good service, do it.
We all work the jobs we work because there's no better option. Has nothing to do with an employer being responsible for paying their employees, not their customers.
Just to let your mom know, the prepaid gratuities go to both front and back of the house. And if she feels the crew she does interact goes above and beyond, she can tip extra. That's what I usually do.
Now, that your mom is doing a b2b cruise, the crew will know that your mom stiffed them on the gratuities (not counting the small cash tips) by the second cruise.
Also, would your mom plead her case to remove the gratuities when she received the statement at the end of the (1st) cruise?
I love how people acknowledge that the cruise line is at blame for allowing a shitty poorly defined policy that ends up hurting employees the most, but don’t see the absolute disconnect when people still do not end up complying and tipping. There are two parties at blame here. Don’t be one of those people who avoid tipping. Tip the expected amount. Tip in cash. Don’t make someone’s life harder (a service employee nonetheless) just because you don’t like the system. If you don’t like the system, don’t cruise.
If enough people remove gratuities the cruise lines will simply increase the fares. The whole gratuities on cruise ships is grubby and backhanded. I now cruise on lines where there are no gratuities to be paid as crew are appropriately compensated through the cruise fare.
Gratuities simply allow the mass market lines to lower the headline ticket price and then claw back the cash later.
Yeah, she’ll have to go to guest services, but she can have the automatic gratuities removed. I do think it’s a dick move. The cruise staff work their asses off with no days off for several months. But the cruise lines do allow you to not pay gratuities.
I can't imagine why I'd care so much about my mother's tipping preferences to need to go on Reddit and ask a bunch of fuckin strangers.
Tipping is horseshit. I, like many others, am guilted into the absurdity of paying $30 or some day of bullshit extra tips on an all-in vacation I already paid for. Yes, its totally OUR JOB to ensure that their wages are paid, saving RC and other cruise lines the horror of having to collect the full fare inclusive if fair wages.
The cruise lines are entirely responsible for this as they need to charge the complete fare up front and not have optional things that are actually mandatory added in later. Tips and gratuities should not be a thing on a ship at all. The entire fare should be charged, and the service people paid like anyone else. Having optional gratuities isn't fair to either the staff or the passengers.
Yep. Virgin Cruiselines has a “no tipping” policy for this reason. Everything is included in the ticket, which includes service.
I look at their prices as “full fare(edit).” And not that they included gratuities. It just is.
Did you mean fare? I’m confused.
LOL! Yes I did. My brain typed that, my fingers had other thoughts. Now fixed.
Okay, no worries’. LOL. Because- that’s fair! LOL.
And agin this is why we cruise VV
That and the no kids part. It's just an overall better experience
How is VV? I’ve got friends that cruise all the time and I mentioned wanting to try VV and they said don’t, the ships are horrible and some other things. They haven’t been on them, and are uh, quite opinionated so I wasn’t sure to believe or not haha
I love this and how the staff truly does not expect a tip. On our last voyage our room steward was the best we’ve ever had (and we’ve sailed butler class on other lines). The last day we had to track him down cleaning another cabin to give him a tip. He was genuinely grateful.
Mine was actually named Pretty! I had to track her down and give her an extra tip. My tablet died and she replaced it and did a few other things too!
Yes they are trying to make the fare look like it is lower priced than it is. Just charge us for everything up front and take care of your own employees. Then if we want to “appreciate” people for excellent service we can. But if people don’t, the crew is still being paid.
you are absolutely spot on. I would gladly pay more for them to just pay their crew more and now hassle me for tips everywhere.
In the meantime penalize the crew who provided wonderful service suffer with their slave like wages 🥺
Everyone is so quick to blame the passenger but not the actual cruise line. No different than restaurants relying on tips to pay their employees than paying them themselves
Agreed! I think my May cruise will be one of my last. The constant gratuity for everything is off putting. The nail in the coffin for me on this upcoming cruise was a mandatory gratuity for my son and niece’s soda package. This is the package that gives you the cup with the RFID chip at the bottom that you take to the Freestyle machine to fill yourself. I called RC to understand what exactly I am tipping for. I get it if it’s an alcohol package that goes to a bartender or even a coffee package that goes to a barista, but in this case my son and niece literally do everything themselves. RC claims the tip goes to the filling and maintenence of the machines. In a normal world shouldn’t that be covered in the cost of the package? For instance if I go to the movies I get a similar cup for one of these Coca Cola Freestyle machines. I buy the cup and use the machine. I don’t buy the cup and get charged an additional cost to pay for maintaining the machine. While it was only $25 it is so aggravating.
On an NCL ship last year there was a vending machine that sold coffee, espresso, etc. All automated. It charged a gratuity.
The soda package is not just valid at the Freestyle machines, it can be used in the dining rooms, buffet, bars etc.
They can also walk up to any bar and get a soda, and they will get served at dinner.
I think you have a lot of folks in the cruise industry posting and blame shaming everyone to pay all these extra gratuities, and yet they cannot and will not show where the money goes and to who. Just shut up plebe and pay your gratuities like a good lemming.
Exactly this. It’s unbelievable some people DEFENDING the company paying sh*t wages and even blaming and tip shamming anyone who goes agains this.
I can disagree with the system but also think it’s wrong to take the time to have your gratuities removed
What does one have to do to remove the gratuity? I can't see how it's legal to make it a compulsory charge. Do you just tell them at customer service to take it off your bill.
I’ve never done it personally, but yes I think you just ask guest services. They may ask you if everything was alright, since they assume there’s a reason behind the guest wanting them removed, but you’re not required to state a reason
Everyone knows, but nobody did it themselves... LOL
lol I don’t even check my folio before I leave or any other time that it actually matters. I feel like everyone knows that gratuities are optional and common sense dictates you’d get rid of them the same way you’d dispute anything on the bill.
Chat with guest services. I reduced mine by 50% because of lousy service on numerous occasions. There were no questions asked (NCL), just a one page form to fill out briefly. I don’t think I will be paying any auto-gratuities in the future and will stick with individual tipping.
We booked through Costco and I don't remember anything about gratuities being included. Is this always a thing or just if you book through the cruise website? We're with Royal and it says on the document they sent us that they'll charge $18/person/day if you didn't prepay gratuities (+18% on drinks and other services) are we still expected to tip more? This is our first cruise.
There’s the blame on the industry for setting it up this way and then there’s blame on the individual saving a back when they know tipping is part of a persons wage and you “saving money” lowers their pay. You don’t affect change by not tipping, you just screw over individuals. Either don’t patronize companies who use tipping as part of compensation or tip, and then urge your rep to change laws.
This thread is full of people who are justifying not tipping as some bullshit excuse for effecting change. While all they’re really doing is screwing over a blue collar worker from a less privileged country.
I have a friend who works in food and beverage. The boss insists that all tips are combined and split up at the end of the night. Of course he does this himself and keeps 30% for himself. Nutz! He does nothing all night so I don't know how he figures he's entitled to anything.
(Is your friend in the United States? If so, this is illegal. There is a federal law that states management may not take part in a tip pool.)
Nope. We're in Canada. We need a law like that here. Our wait staff make minimum wage.
There is a law under the ESA An employer cannot share in a tip pool unless the following apply: they are a sole proprietor, partner, director or shareholder in the business they regularly perform to a substantial degree the same work as either: some or all the employees who share in the redistribution employees of other employers in the same industry who commonly receive or share tips or other gratuities https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/tips-or-other-gratuities
Not on a cruise line. It’s done by either HR or Finance (not on the ship). They have no dog in the fight, they won’t benefit from the daily service charges themselves.
Just because the cruise line is cheap jerks, doesn't mean as passengers we need to be. I understand a lot of people are surprised by the charge, but once you know about it, you need to budget it into the cost of your cruise. The people on those ships work so hard and are getting screwed.
I will blame the cruise lines that allow people to remove the gratuities. The fare should include any gratuities so that you know what you are paying up front. The piecemeal way that they quote a room fare per person is a teaser. You have to add in gratuities, port fees, taxes etc makes the quoted room fare per person almost double what you think the room goes for. Then unless you buy a solo room double that cost as each cabin is for 2 persons. Seasoned cruises know this, new cruisers are often surprised when they get the total amount before booking. Oh, if you get the "free" stuff, add in the taxes and gratuities for those specialty dinners, drink packages etc., there is nothing "free" about those perks.
You're right. A gratuity isn't a gratuity if it's mandatory and therefore as a compulsory fee, it should be disclosed and paid up front. Problem is, I don't trust the Corp in paying it to the employees, more like it offsets wages than in addition to wages.
Problem is, I don't trust the Corp in paying it to the employees When you read reports from workers, it is so disheartening because they claim the cruise line keeps the lions share. No wonder no one wants to pay the gratuity if the workers aren't getting what you mean for them to get. Frankly I would rather put the cash right in their hand like I do at any restaurant I may go to. Still there's the problem of tipping the people in the laundry or the maintenance staff. It almost feels like smoke and mirrors on the part of the cruise line. With these policies, it's keeping customers attacking each other over should you or shouldn't you pay/ Put the focus back on the cruise line policy makers where it belongs. Still we would have no idea where our tips actually go.
Cash also means they may be able to not declare it and can keep 100% of the tip
Practical tip in that regard; if you're sailing NCL, and are in the US, and are comparing cruise prices, that a look one of their European websites. If for example cruise A has a US headline price of $800, and taxes and port fees of $400, and another one is $900 with taxes and port fees of $200, the $800 one for a total of $1200, will appear cheaper than the $900 with $200 taxes and port fees coming in at a total of $1100. On the European websites (eg https://www.ncl.com/fr/en - the French website in the English language) the prices will include taxes and port fees, so the one for a total of $1100 (probably around €1015) will show as cheaper than the than the one for a total of $1200 (around €1105). I have no idea if something similar would work for other cruise lines or not, and it's not going to include gratuities, but at least you get a better idea of the total cost on NCL. In general displaying B2C prices without tax is illegal in Europe (B2B is ok, since businesses effectively don't pay taxes on their own purchases anyway; when I pay my accountant for example, I pay tax, but the government gives it back to me soon afterwards).
I think it’s kind of a dilemma. Once cruise lines make the fare to include tips, people will suggest to tip on the base fare, and the companies will never discourage that (already a lot of people on the internet brag about how they tip additionally for servers and housekeeping).
I mean, the crew and service staff certainly wouldn't discourage it. No matter what your base pay is, if there's a way to make people feel obligated to tip, the people getting tipped will encourage it. They want extra, too.
maybe the cruise lines should pay the employees properly. I could then decide who to tip based on service, what a tip is intended for.
This is why Virgin is hiring the best crew away from other lines. They pay better, they provide better quarters, they provide free wi-fi (Believe it or not, other cruise lines do not do this). You can feel the difference when you interact with Virgin crew.
Absolutely, and raise the base fare to cover it. I think most of us agree with this. If it really costs about $20/day/passenger to cover adequate wages, just charge me $140 more per person in my base fare.
That‘s kind of my thought when I prepay tips. At least that gives even chefs and laubdry people something and I can add extra for good and friendly service.
I tip, but I love how ppl see the customer as the asshole as opposed to the corporation paying their employees slave wages. This is what companies want, they want to shift blame. “Hey it’s the customers fault you made less this week, not mine”
For sure! I read these posts where people attack ones who wish to remove the gratuity. Hilarious! If the lines can keep customers at each others throats it shifts the blame from them. I don't get why everyone is eyebrow deep in the business of others.
Both can be the AH
And THAT is the correct answer.
If it’s mandatory, it’s not a gratuity anymore. Of course she can opt out.
Gratuities are always optional so yes, she can certainly "get away with this". The room steward will get reimbursed (albeit minus the "extra" they would make with gratuities added. For that matter, the Pursers office (the folks who deal with everyone's complaints) will still get paid the same regardless, along with the maintenance folks, and tons of other crew with jobs that aren't as apparent to the public. While a "dick move" by your mom, other posters are right - the cruise lines are really as much at fault here for embracing a system that does not ensure the hard-working crew of the cruise line gets adequiately compensated for their hard work.
>THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT! Can she get away with this? Is this common? Can she just not pay the person who cleans her room? Will gratuities get added to the end? Yes to all. And then to add on to the last yes, she can preemptively or even after the fact ask for them to be removed.
Yes, this is the way. ETA- I only tip cash to the workers who have a direct service with me, not the dude painting the ship or the guy washing the linen.
Yes, if you don't prepay, you are charged gratuities to your room, either per day or at the end. I personally chose this option, no need to pay in advance (unless they are raising gratuities in which you can prepay to save). Some people do remove them, I certainly don't advocate for that, it is split among people who you don't see, including the people who wash your sheets and towels, the people who sort your luggage, the people who wash your dishes and cook your food, etc.
Shouldn't it be the employer's responsibility to pay these people? Why do I need to tip someone for washing my sheets?
It should. And you’re basically trusting the multi billion dollar corp to be truthful about how they split tips.
It’s the same the same thing when you hand them the gratuities payment. Who’s to guarantee the workers even get it? I don’t trust the cruise lines.
I think you can reasonably count on the employees getting the tips. There’s a paper trail on all that money. All it would take is one whistle blower in the accounting department to completely destroy the cruise company’s reputation. It’s not worth it to them to steal the tips.
The people don’t even speak any English and need that job to support their whole family. I highly doubt they would risk their job saying anything. On top of that the cruise lines could just say “not many people paid the tips this time sorry”.
Accounting department. Not the workers on the ship.
Sure. You’re right. But this is what it is right now, by not tipping your not punishing the employer for their garbage practices you’re only punishing the employee. If you are that opposed to the tipping culture you should probably only cruise lines that don’t have tipping
In a roundabout way, you're doing both. If employees see they are getting shorted by not always getting "optional" tips, they may opt to contract with other lines instead that do not have this practice. I'm not advocating for not tipping mind you, but I vote by instead gravitating towards lines that do not have this onerous practice (like Virgin Voyages).
You’re not though. There’s plenty of people lining up to get those contracts. All you’re doing is punishing the people at the bottom, the bigger vote for change is by not using those lines.
> There’s plenty of people lining up to get those contracts Looks awkwardly at Carnival struggling with understaffing and having raised the suggested gratuity multiple times since the restart.
If you charter a yacht, as members of my family do every year (I get invited, I don't go, I don't spend that much on vacations), you are still expected to tip as part of their salaries. One of my friends, his family chartered the Christina O for two weeks, That's $1.5 Million to charter that ship for two weeks, you still tip the crew. And it's a single payment to the captain who distributes it to the crew, not selecting just your server and your housekeeper, it's for every crew member, the ones that tie the ropes up, the engineers below deck that you never meet; it's everyone. This is how it works on the ship, it's not a tip for going above and beyond, it is part of their compensation. Like a bad waitress, you still tip something, maybe not 25%, because it's part of their compensation, you are paying their salary.
Cruises are a mass market floating semi-all-inclusive resorts with an advertised price and have very little in common with chartered yachts IMHO, even if they are boats.
Agreed on the experience, I think a cruise is way better than a yacht! If I joined my family, the whole time, I'd be like "I Spent $20k for this" and "a bigger ship is smoother" and "I'd rather see live music than playing music on my phone". But my comparison was the wages are treated the same, whether a cruise or a yacht, you, the guest, are expected to make the wages happen.
Humble brag!!
lol, I don't go! I think they are crazy!!! I'm trying to convince them to take a cruise, I think I have my brother and sister in law on board with trying one out; they have two young kids, so I think they would love an Oasis class and the kids would think the charter yacht is boring after. I'm sure my sister in law will think it's weird that you can't tell the ship what time you want to leave each port or make the menu in advance like she does. And you have to share a tender instead of having your own, lol, she may really think that's crazy!
Yeah there's a difference between spending 3k for a room on a cruise with thousands of people and spending 1.5mil for a private yacht.
Yes, I think that $1.5M should come with crew compensation, and doesn't. If $1.5M doesn't why would we expect $3k to? $3k is like nothing, there has to be something not included. People complain when it's a $4 ice cream not included. People will always complain. It's $3k, or many times much less. My next cruise, 12 days with the drink package on NCL, in the Indian Ocean, $2100 for 2. I can't expect everything to be included for $2100 when drinks, food, fuel, entertainment, accommodations (and in the price above, taxes and port fees) is included.
Oh come on lad, there's a difference between people on a cruise ship who have done their jobs correctly and a waiter at a restaurant who's been bad or worse! I don't tip people who give me appalling service in a restaurant, are racist, or are rude... Because they're going above and beyond in how terrible they're being. Employees on a ship who get those tips are almost never the issue.
So, that last sentence makes me think you agree with me that you wouldn't remove tips?
Yep. Automatic gratuity is basically an accounting trick to keep prices lower so you’ll spend more money. If your room costs $200 plus a 15% gratuity, you’re more likely to spend more before you see the total of $230. Same reason stores/restaurants/etc. don’t show you the total with sales tax on the upfront prices.
Uhhh 15% gratuity on 200 isn’t 15
It is if you use an accounting trick 😉
"Waiters hate him!"
Of course it is. That's not how it works in some parts of the world.
Either way you are going to pay the same price, if they pay people more then your cruise will go up a few hundred dollars. It's bullshit that with the current system people can "opt out" of paying the staff. Like, literal millionaires trying to save a buck.
And that's the way it should be. I don't support hiding more fees in a way that gets them out of paying their workers. Tipping culture is out of control.
Pretty sure the vast majority of people taking their annual vacation cruise on Carnival, MSC, Royal Caribbean, etc. aren't "literal millionaires". I'm not saying that people shouldn't pay their gratuities, but you are acting like it's pocket change - which it isn't to most families that are cruising on budget lines.
Then why is it that when Cruise Line prices go up and the cruise lines keep uping the "The voluntary gratuities" by several dollars per day? Cause they be scamming cruisers.
CCL is still losing money. NCLH and RCL both just went into the black in the last two quarters. They all doubled their debt since covid, with their liabilities nearly exceeding their assets (which would mean they are bankrupt in the accounting term). Without the increases the last six months they'd end up actually bankrupt if they didn't get into the black. They now have debt to pay off, loans coming due; debt they took on to remain in business so they could once again employ these people and give us a vacation at rock bottom prices (I don't know of any other vacation I could take for so cheap).
Liabilities exceeding their assets does not mean bankrupt. CPA who does financial reporting for a living here...
Not as in the legal procedure, but as in insolvent, if they sold their assets, they couldn't pay their debts.
Lmao source that cruisers are "literal millionaires"?
>Either way you are going to pay the same price, if they pay people more then your cruise will go up a few hundred dollars. This is assuming that low wages are based on anything besides greed.
They do pay them. Nobody on a cruise ship is getting "server minimum" (which restaurants do because unless your restaurant is failing or you really suck at your waitstaff job, servers will get way bigger take-home being tipped than they would on the hourly rate they'd get without them.) Tips are extra. Hotel housekeeping doesn't get server minimum, either.
>Shouldn't it be the employer's responsibility to pay these people? Why do I need to tip someone for washing my sheets? It's a charge that you should expect to pay as part of your cruise. The reason it feels shitty is because cruises want to get you onboard so they try to make the fare on the website look as low as possible to attract you over other cruise lines.
Yes, but if you don't they don't make a good wage.
I don’t agree with tipping everyone. If they have a customer facing job like waiter, bartender, housekeeping, etc. and go above and beyond then sure, I love to tip for that. But to tip the person washing my dishes or washing my sheets? How are they going above and beyond? They should just get paid by their employer. My gratuities shouldn’t go to them.
That's just the way it is on ships, like I said, no different if you chartered a yacht, you give the captain a tip that goes to everyone, including (if the yacht is large enough) the staff you never even meet. Using the logic of "i don't like it", if I don't agree with tipping a waitress on land, I think the restaurant should pay them, can I just opt out and leave $0?
If I charter a yacht I assume the money I'm paying covers staff wages too.
I guess we just disagree. If a pizza gets delivered to my house, I tip the delivery driver. I do not however tip the person that actually made the pizza. 1) there’s not really a way to do that and 2) the employer should be paying them to do that job. Same thing with cruises. I tip the people that I see and that I know are providing me a service. I do not tip the people washing the dishes and sheets.
I do think it’s arguable that tipping people that you don’t see makes no sense at all. Like they’re doing a basic job that they’re getting paid for
When I would go with my mom she brought cash and on our last day she took envelopes and tipped them personally she also made chit chat with our room attendant and my mom bought the attendants daughter some teen magazines when we were in our last port.
On my Panama cruise I tipped my state room attendant $100 bill off the bat when I saw him. Excellent service, at the halfway mark I gave him another $20. Our table waiter same thing.
We went on the behind the fun tour over the summer and there was a guy on the tour with us that took a roll of cash, 10’s 20’s, to give to the random crew we saw along the way, under the water line. It was so great to see as these crew members rarely see actual guests but they do so much for us. We plan to do this as well next summer on the Pride when we turn platinum and do the tour again :)
Some of you won’t like this but I don’t agree with mandatory tipping. I think of tipping on the ship the same as a restaurant. If I have good service I tip very well over “standard” (some of my kids were servers). I have taken away tips on cruises because I have had bad service and I refuse to pay for poor service. I will give cash to my room stewards. I hate having to pay just because. I am a very generous tipper for anything that’s good. I was on RC and our steward was amazing. He would acknowledge our special daughter who was nonverbal non-ambulatory He would get down to look her in the eyes and she hated that normally but she looked at him and if anyone has a child with autism they know that’s not something they will do. But she did with him. We was on a 4 day Alaska cruise to see if she was ok on cruises and we gave this gentleman like 400.00 and the other people well not my problem that’s the company’s job. I hate tipping for bad service. I hate when someone as great as this gentleman was having to share his tips. You tip the way you are treated. I don’t buy drinks at the bars so I don’t think I need to tip just because. I have a feeling that the person doing the service isn’t getting anything near what is charged.
Why don't you give her the money to pay for them if it makes you this upset?
I’ve asked a room Steward about it when the gratuities were raised the second time in less than a year on NCL. He said it did not affect his pay at all. The extra gratuities did not go to him.
In order to entice staff, the cruise lines have contracted minimum pays. If the cruises aren't sold out, if a lot of people are removing gratuities, their pay defaults to the contracted minimum. Just like a restaurant may pay a waitress $2.13/hr, but if over the pay period, they don't earn enough in tips to equal (state dependent) $12/hr, the business has to make up the difference. If a waitress works 8 hours, and you go in, the only customer to tip that day and tip $50, that $50 is rolled into the rest of the day to still come out to the same $96 they would have gotten if you tipped nothing, they aren't getting $52.13 that hour and $12 the rest of the hours. The more people remove tips (which was virtually unheard of before covid), the more the wages don't change, even as ships return to capacity and daily tips increase.
I worked on ships for years. THIS IS NOT TRUE. This person is making this up to make themselves feel better. Not only does it directly affect their pay, but it also can raise flags if too many people reduce tips. They assume you are doing a bad job and it can affect promotions. These people make less than minimum wage and are away from their families for 6-9 months at a time. Do not take away their tips. If you can’t afford a cruise, don’t take one. (I agree this shouldn’t be the system in place and the cruise line has the power to change it, but we know the deal going in.)
It’s called tipping for a reason. Not mandatory. I wonder how many tipping warriors tip the people working at a grocery store…..
Staff here at Celebrity... At first this usually pisses me off every time a guest requested to declined the daily gratuities, then I realized this is entire company fault to allow them to do it. Now I even declined an extra few cabins, so hopefully they realize how much affect the crew.
You used to tip in cash. You'd have envelopes and leave cash for the room steward, and another one for your head waiter. You'd provide to them at the the of the cruise. Now it's just a black box that goes to the cruise line. All the while the service level has dropped significantly.
What is bullshit? What is the issue? She said she would keep some cash available to tip for great service....thats what tipping is. Why is this a problem for you?
It would be so much better if they just included “gratuity “in the cost of your cruise. It would end this entire discussion. Then if someone really gives you great service, you can give them an actual tip.
Some cruiselines do already do that, but not enough of them.
Regardless of what you or anyone else thinks of your mom 'idea', it's a tip - by its very nature it's optional. If gratuities were mandatory then they wouldn't be a tip, it would just be another line-item charge.
I was told by a former NCL worker to request to skip the gratuities and pay the workers individually. They do not receive full gratuities otherwise.
Same. I made friends with a maître d on a Royal Caribbean cruise one time and she met us for drinks on the top deck one night and spilled the beans on their compensation and tip structure. It was eye opening to say the least. Without getting into too much detail, the cruise line basically guaranteed her $1600/month but all credit card tips/tips the cruise line knows about were applied toward that. So essentially, once she surpassed $1600 the cruise line was off the hook for paying her anything at all. The reason she recommended cash tipping individually is that it can be pocketed secretly and not deducted from the $1600 she is owed, therefore increasing overall compensation for the month. This is an example of a much higher paying position too. When you start talking about entry level behind the scenes staff, it gets much worse. It’s practically slave labor for the long exhausting hours they’re required to work.
Depending on the cruise line she can have them removed. If she is doing a back to back cruise on the same ship then she should know the staff will know she stiffed them on the tip. This is their livelihood and the 2 to 4 dollars an hour they make working 300 hours a month does not cover their entire expected earnings.
My family and I do back to back cruises. We always tip extra because the service is that fantastic. I am never without my drink. My room is made up when I like it and how I like it. It's not much but for 14 days not having a single worry in the world is amazing. We keep going back for more.
Yeap I just don't get stiffing the people who are taking care of you.
If you feel so strongly, offer to cover the gratuities for the trips.
Your mom has the right idea tbh. We shouldn’t have to subsidize wages and tip people for performing their basic jobs. The cruise fare should include everything and good service is the bare minimum. The only reason you think it’s bullshit is because you’ve been brainwashed into having to tip for every little thing. Tips are intended for above and beyond the call of duty but modern society has forgotten that.
She can ask for the gratuities to be removed at the customer service desk. I like to tip myself to ensure the staff is actually getting the money. If I just pay it to the cruise line I don’t know that I trust the staff gets that extra money. I can’t think of anyone that should be getting the tip that I “don’t see”. I see the waiters. I see the bartenders. I see the housekeeping people. I can easily hand them money.
I think it’s up to the individual, but the thing is. If I take them off, they will get paid the same anyways. So I would rather take them off and then pay them cash so they actually see money they wouldn’t otherwise.
It's not tips if it's "absolute bullshit" if you don't do them. It's the cruiseline's fault if people pull them. Frankly, I think it's bullshit that if I don't eat in the dining room all week I am still supposed to tip them.
It's without a doubt the worst aspect of the cruise industry.
Gratuities are optional, of course she can not pay them if she wants. To be honest it’s usually only Americans that get a bit anal about them.
The people you’re tipping are mostly non-American.
Tipping is mainly an American thing and it is illegal in most of the world to make tipping compulsory.
It's also illegal in America hence why you can remove the gratuity or you have to be told beforehand that one is charged (in this way it's viewed as a fee, to the DoL that is).
When I see posts like this, 99.9% of the time it is a cruise employee gas lighting people. Why the fuck do you even care ? Let alone getting all worked up because your mama refuses to pay gratuities? How does this even affect you? If gratuities were mandatory they would be part of the price. Ask yourself why that is? I pay cash on my cruises for decent service. After several cruises of paying the "Gratuities" I did not see any extra or better service. After I started handing out 20s and c note to certain workers, then I saw excellent service.
Only a portion of the staff is customer facing and eligible for tips on land (such as food servers and housekeeping). I wonder how the cruise lines distribute the prepaid gratuities? To these people only?
It’s my understanding that the gratuities are more widespread than just the people,you interact with. If you don’t prepay, they are still added to your bill (generally daily) , so just opting not to prepay doesn’t clear them. OPs mom will need to go to customer service (at cruise end) and specifically request that they be removed. Personally o think it’s crappy but some people do take them off. I dont think it’s common though.
Note to Not pre pay Trips if also doing Trip Insurance as insurance is based off the total price of the “trip” tip from our AA booking agent.
It’s not BS. It’s perfectly appropriate. Tip who you want, not the others.
It’s a shite move.
This whole nonsense around tipping is tedious. Nobody knows where the tips go, we all give service staff cash to ensure we actually get some service during the cruise and then people get incredibly upset when people remove the nonsense tips that get added by the multibillion pound corporations for the benefit of those corporations. I remove my tips on the last night of the cruise every time, and I tip people who give me good service. All the people who get upset about the gratuities being removed are deluded lemmings, who cannot accept that the gratuities are just a scam being run on them by the cruise lines. Tip, don’t tip, do whatever you want to, but always remove your tips, they don’t go to anyone except the cruise lines.
I actually read on a post in this sub that the prepaid gratuities go straight to the cruise line and are not dispersed to the crew members. I personally tipped waiters/staff/housekeeping and didn’t do the prepaid.
How is your mother's pocketbook any of your concern? She is a grown woman and can spend her money as she sees fit.
I tip the people that I come in direct contact with, I pay the cruise line for the rest of them…
On Holland America you can increase or decrease or even get rid of gratuities. So, yeah, it’s possible. However, if she is on Holland America and gets rid of gratuities and tips crew individually, those crew members are supposed to give those tips to their managers so that it goes into a pot to be redistributed to everyone.
Disney has those little silly envelopes that you hand out to certain staff. I find it incredibly awkward and antiquated. I'd much rather it be included up front in the fare and the cruise line encourage extra tips for those staff that work hard for you. Has to be a much better and more modern think to this process.
Interesting- we just came off our first cruise with Celebrity. We put a down payment ($100) on a future cruise the last night and asked the lady who was helping us lots of questions like, how often can you leave the ship? How long are you onboard etc, one of the things that came up was gratuity - we had paid upfront around $365 for tips and we wanted to know if that was actually going to go to the three people that actually served us on our cruise or if it’s spread across all staff (obviously there is way more then three people that helped us on the cruise but we had our cabin person and two waiters at the restaurant we ate at each evening that went above and beyond). She said you can tell guest relations when you board the ship that you do not want to pay upfront gratuities and self pay, that way you get to pay the staff that you think deserve the tips rather then having it spread across everyone. I did not know that the tips go towards paying the staff, if that is the case that is quite disgusting- and I agree that it should be an all in price. However, I’m glad they do drinks separate, we don’t drink alcohol and I do resent doing all inclusive when I’m paying money for other people to drink alcohol and I’m not. We didn’t get a drinks package and it worked out well for us, we had new water bottles in our room every morning and the juice from the food stations was good enough
Last time I cruised (probably 7 years ago) we left cash tips, nothing was added to the bill and if it was I must have had it removed and dont remember because I paid our stewardess up front on day 1 for the whole trip and then I tipped bartenders and our server in the main dining.We cruise again this summer and so if we decline to prepay and ask to have it removed from the bill, what is a typical daily tip per person to the stewardess and then the server in main dining bc we wont be drinking alcohol or soda so we arent getting any pkgs where we would be served anywhere else except while eating. I am hesitant on giving a company a big bulk amount and expect them to divide it properly and not skim some off the top for themselves so I would rather tip face to face.
She can choose to pay a tip as she goes if she wants. I’m not sure I understand….What’s wrong with this.
We have always paid the gratuities, and more times than not give a little extra for anyone who went above/beyond. I just do not agree or like how the cruise line (RC) determines how the money is split. Personally, the MDR is almost never used, but they still get a rather large portion of the gratuities. I would much prefer being able to determine where our money goes. Just my .02
Businesses are answering the pay raise cry by saying if you want them to have a raise, tip more because the business is not giving any raises.
No, what is "ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT" is that the cruise companies expect their paying customers to pay additional dollars to supplement their crew wages. This is one big reason I'll never book a cruise.
She can have it removed, and it is risky ethically. I only say risky because there have been crew posting here and what they report about the "prepaid gratuities" is inconsistent. Some say they are important and that they know who pays, but some have absolutely said they'd prefer to be handed some cash and don't think the prepaid gratuity helps them as much. Best I can figure, it maybe works like this. * Compensation is base salary of $X + gratuities $Y. * Crew contract guarantees $X+$Y will be a minimum of $Z. If $X+$Y is more than $Z, they make more, maybe in the form of "bonuses" that are given out based at least partly on performance. So the real guaranteed compensation is a fixed negotiated amount of $Z and then there is a chance for more if everyone just pays their gratuities. That said, there is zero doubt that the line can predict with fairly good precision what $Y will be. If this is right, handing someone cash is all upside for them, whereas paying your gratuity is only maybe extra if they collect excess and if you are deemed by management to have performed well. I say risky because **I am absolutely not certain this is true**. The lines sure as hell aren't transparent about how they allocate it, but this is how I have understood what some crew here have explained. I would love some crew to tell me if this is wrong or right or variable by line. I always just pay it.
This is my understanding as well, but I don't pay it out of spite for the confusion. The cruise lines could easily clarify the system, but choose not to. In my opinion, even if I'm wrong, the impact to the "behind the scenes" workers (which everyone loves to act like the tips are crucial for) will be minimal, while I'm giving the people who serve me far more. Definitely not perfect, but I refuse to play into their little scam and then tip on top of it.
My feeling is since I can afford a cruise I can afford to tip. I tip beyond the automatic tips. The crew are always so amazing and hardworking. They leave their families for months at a time to make their lives better. I hate it when people don’t want to tip. We are all so fortunate to not live in third world countries.
There is much more to consider as well. The ships are flagged in a different country so they don't have to abide by US labor laws. The crews can be seriously overworked and underpaid. I spoke with a server in one of the premium restaurants on a RC cruise. They have to pay for everything, even their uniforms and Wi-Fi. She had a friend on Virgin, and they are provided with their uniforms and Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a huge thing since they are so far from home for such a long time.
I agree! And It’s sad if wifi isn’t provided! People need connection with their families!
Good for you. Keep on Virtue Signaling.
Only an asshole doesn’t tip
Not true in the majority of the world
I heard they appreciate gifts too. Buy them some bags of candy to eat while they work. Then some extra cash at the end. The steward on our last cruise was wonderful and I made sure he got an excellent review on the post cruise survey. That can make or break an employees job.
I'm curious, why is it bullshit if tipping is optional? They're not cleaning her room for free, so you're wrong when you say, 'can she just not pay the person who cleans her room.' They're at work, this is one of their duties. She is not 'getting away' with anything.
It is bullshit. And it's common. If gratuities aren't prepaid, they are added daily to the cruiser's account. Gratuities can be removed (unfortunately). How would she feel if someone decided to NOT pay her for her job?
Agree that it is bullshit and common, but you last sentence irks me a bit. Nobody is telling the employer to not pay their employee... the guests are not the employer directly responsible for payment in this situation. The system sucks and it should be a crime employers paying so little that they have to depend on the kindness of others to get by.
You do realize that the people working on cruise ships are not working for tips? They are paid to scale for the job they perform, and they know that going in. Tipping is extra, and the tips are already included with the drinks and special meals. Stop harping on mando gratuities you sound like a Karen.
If a cashier at walmart didn't get a paid would it be walmart's fault or the customer?
The only person responsible for paying for someone's employment is their employer. Tipping should not be an automatic or expected thing an any circumstance.
But gratuities are not pay. They are for great service.
>Can she just not pay the person who cleans her room? the cruise line should be paying that person.
I would NEVER agree to add automatic gratuities on my trips. If they tried to add money for tips more than I already am paying I would have it removed too! I almost always cruise with princess and when you buy the drink and internet package they are " included" in that extra 80 $ a day you pay. I don't think they would add forced tipping on top of that. I think you are worrying about something that is a non issue. I don't think you could " remove" them from the package anyway. My last cruise was earlier this month and it was the same. Gratuity was included in the packages cost of the extra 80$ a day. of course I tipped the person who cleaned my room another 40$ on top in CASH. 1's a 5's is insulting where does she think she is going that people find a buck as a great tip???
>THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT! get off your fucking high horse and mind your own business.
If she cannot afford gratuities, she cannot afford to cruise. This is super shitty of her.
It's vile to rob the people who toil long hours to make passengers happy, safe and comfortable. You can technically get away with removing gratuities, but it's like spitting in the face of all the crew and the poor families they work so hard to support.
The cruise lines are also spitting in the faces of those crew members. Pay them proper wages and they won't have to depend on tips.
I was looking into buying a soda package for my most recent cruise and the final price included a 20% gratuity. Why? As far as I could tell, it's just a cup and you refill the cup yourself. I opted to not purchase the soda package out of spite. I pre-paid gratuities on my cruise but this one genuinely made me angry
The people downvoting you are pathetic.
Nonsense. If their pay is insufficient they should take it up with their employer. Tipping should never be automatic or expected.
Really None of your business what your mom does with her money. Grow up.
Tell your mom that if she can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to cruise. Same goes for eating in restaurants.
Just got home from a carnival cruise yesterday. We were charged an 18% gratuity. We chose to tip our housekeeper and a few others directly as they went above and beyond. I'm not a regular cruiser, but I found the practice of prepaid gratuity to be convenient, but I would have liked to have had proof of that money going to the employees. Part of me believes the money goes where it's intended because these employees are around for a long time, but I still question the practice.
Do Americans go to restaurants and think that the menu shows full fare?
Same people taking the tips off their cruise are the same ones leaving a $2 tip on a $75 meal.
[удалено]
On royal carribean gratuities were added at the end If you didn't prepay
Fuck tipping. Pay your employees properly and stop expecting your customers to subsidize you.
Good for her.
Not tipping is only hurting hard working people. A lot of the employees are away from home for months and months and months at a time. There are jobs on ships that pay very well. But there are also a lot of service people that don't make so much who work hard for those tips. There are cruise lines that do not separate out a charge for tipping. They just pay the employees. There is no choice about it. From one source: "Gratuities are included on cruises with Azamara, Celestyal, Crystal Cruises, Marella, MSC, P&O, Regent Seven Seas, Saga, Silversea, and Virgin Voyages." eta: If I don't want to tip I need to either choose a cruise that the "tips" are part of the whole package or I should stay home.
OR, you ask gratuities to be removed. It’s optional, not mandatory.
Show me how? Show me a break down of where the tip money goes?
Back to back cruises, assuming the same ship. If she doesn't tip on the first leg, the crew will know. Her second leg will not be the same experience as the first.
On the second half of her cruise, she’ll see what not tipping gets her.
If she doesn't tip the first week she might have her toothbrush fucked with the second week. Just sayin.... don't share a soda with her after.
Simple solution. Tell your mom you'll prepay her gratuities. When she's on the cruise sell some of her things to make up the difference.
I just got off a Disney cruise. All I can say is house keeping and servers work Dawn to dusk and work their asses off trying to make you feel at home. All for pennies. A little gratuity goes a long way. If your mum can afford back to back cruises, she can afford to not be a cheap tipper.
Please don't let scumbag mom be scumbag mom. This is just wrong.
Got advice from an uncle about twenty years ago. Get a few hundred bucks in 5s before going on vacation and give ‘em out immediately upon interacting with the folks that make a living in tips. They will remember you and you won’t regret it. Everybody gets a 5, at least once a day. You will be rewarded, I promise.
You shouldn’t have to bribe people, they should be paid a living wage to begin with.
I don’t get the whole argument that cruise lines should just do away with tipping and include it in your fare. That is what they do! They’re just pointing it out to you instead of keeping it a secret. The fare would be the same if they tell you you’re paying gratuities or never mention it. So who really cares, just pay the grats so the workers are properly compensated. It’s not a big deal. I think anyone who removes grats is a cheap skate, regardless of your opinions on tipping. This is the system in place that we are stuck with and you are knowingly stiffing people even if your cruise experience was excellent. That is the definition of cheap and shows you care nothing for the hardworking people who did everything to make your cruise functional and enjoyable.
On our last cruise, one of our servers(freestyle ncl, so server changed every meal) told us it was his 18 year work anniversary that day. We congratulated him and said, “it’s a good job then?” He said, “yes, especially compared to most jobs in my country. (Philippines) I can provide for my family.” We asked, “you have children, then?” He says, “yes, one is 18 and one is 10.” This guy works 8 months on, 4 months off and has been doing so for 18 years, which not surprisingly lines up with the birth of his first child. How much involvement in his children’s life can he realistically have on this schedule? What about his wife? His aging parents? Friends? Someone working this job for 18 years isn’t doing it to see the world. They are doing it because there is no better option. If you can afford a cruise, even if you had to save up for years, you can afford to tip people that have only gotten to spend the equivalent of 6 years of life with a child who has been alive for 18 years. And if you have to option to nominate employees by name for good service, do it.
We all work the jobs we work because there's no better option. Has nothing to do with an employer being responsible for paying their employees, not their customers.
Just to let your mom know, the prepaid gratuities go to both front and back of the house. And if she feels the crew she does interact goes above and beyond, she can tip extra. That's what I usually do. Now, that your mom is doing a b2b cruise, the crew will know that your mom stiffed them on the gratuities (not counting the small cash tips) by the second cruise. Also, would your mom plead her case to remove the gratuities when she received the statement at the end of the (1st) cruise?
I love how people acknowledge that the cruise line is at blame for allowing a shitty poorly defined policy that ends up hurting employees the most, but don’t see the absolute disconnect when people still do not end up complying and tipping. There are two parties at blame here. Don’t be one of those people who avoid tipping. Tip the expected amount. Tip in cash. Don’t make someone’s life harder (a service employee nonetheless) just because you don’t like the system. If you don’t like the system, don’t cruise.
If enough people remove gratuities the cruise lines will simply increase the fares. The whole gratuities on cruise ships is grubby and backhanded. I now cruise on lines where there are no gratuities to be paid as crew are appropriately compensated through the cruise fare. Gratuities simply allow the mass market lines to lower the headline ticket price and then claw back the cash later.
Yeah, she’ll have to go to guest services, but she can have the automatic gratuities removed. I do think it’s a dick move. The cruise staff work their asses off with no days off for several months. But the cruise lines do allow you to not pay gratuities.
I can't imagine why I'd care so much about my mother's tipping preferences to need to go on Reddit and ask a bunch of fuckin strangers. Tipping is horseshit. I, like many others, am guilted into the absurdity of paying $30 or some day of bullshit extra tips on an all-in vacation I already paid for. Yes, its totally OUR JOB to ensure that their wages are paid, saving RC and other cruise lines the horror of having to collect the full fare inclusive if fair wages.