Royal Caribbean Increasing Gratuities May 1st

[annie, Glasgow]

Hi all

A 55 cent increase in the daily gratuity rate.

Suites now $16.50

Other cabins $13.50

If you prepay gratuities before April 14th, the old rate applies.

Annie

[Neil Down, Southampton]

The whole of this problem stems from the American way of dealing with "Serving/waiting" staff. In the States they consider that in order to get their employees to work to the best of their ability there has to be incentives offered. The waiting staff have since year dot be paid a very minimal amount and they are expected to earn their keep by enticing customers to tip heavily.

It is a pathetic system where incentives are actually necessary. Good staff and good management should solve all these problems and staff doing their best because they have a pride in what they do and what they are paid. The American system allows staff to be exploited just to make the menu prices to look lower than they really should do. That is why I say their system is pathetic and bullying. ......Neil

[Neil Down, Southampton]

It all depends on how many of the crew get a share ,plenty of those staff are salaried ,the singers and dancers musicians ect are not in the tipping pool.
The cruise lines use to tell us where these tip went too and how much each person got.
On our last P&O cruise we paid £5 pp per day as far as P&O say they divide it between waiter ,asst waiter and head waiter, plus your cabin steward (There seems to be no asst stewards) If your cabin steward does 18 cabins and they all pay up they are on a good wage
Say £2 pppd so £4 x7x18 =£504 per week .
Just looked at a junior chefs job they get around £1250 per month plus keep and if they are UK based they get the tax refunded as they earn the money out of the country....Taffy

Taffy, on many cruise lines there are assistant cabin stewards, the actual cabin steward will often give a back-hander to other members of staff to help them, particularly on busy days.

I would be willing to bet that only the cream of the waiting staff make the amount you suggest and these are the guys and gals who spend up to nine months away from their families so that they can enjoy a better life style. There are no end of problems that come along with a long contract and I would say that they earn every penny of it. Our, and to a large degree, their main problem is this ridiculous gratuity system which allows such a variation of income and that is what we must try to change. ......Neil

[Neil Down, Southampton]

I am on of those poor pensioners,but I tip fairly and as i see fit and i will not have my arm twisted by the cruise lines by being told I must pre pay.
If tips/grats are added to the price of the cruise,then I will decide on what cruises I will go on ,or decide against further cruises,
jim

I have to say Jim, that the "Poorly paid pensioner" angle hold no water as far as I am concerned. If you are going to underpay a person serving you on the basis that you are too poor to pay the suggested rate then I have only one thing to say.....Stop Cruising and spend what money you have on other things....Neil

[Neil Down, Southampton]

Hi Neil

I wish I could believe you.

'...... Should and would......' ? Evidence please.

I believe the cruise lines would pocket the additional revenue - cynic that I am.

Annie

PS For the record I either prepay or auto-grat whichever is cheapest.

Sorry, Annie but there is no way I could produce any evidence and your cynicism is expected, I say that in a respectful way BTW.

Marketing is a strange game but it is played by every business worth its salt. With cruising the main plan is to make that initial price look as low as possible to tempt the punters in. This is why gratuities exist because they can be looked on as a realistic extra but not mentioned up front.

If the cruise lines, or to be more straightforward the Bean-counters, need to make a price look attractive then so long as they don't suffer too much they "would and should" tighten the headline price to attract passengers. The very fact that no one skips payment this way and no one reduces the tipping rate means that the amount coming in would be considerably enhanced therefore there is leeway for that "fee" to be lessened.

The fact that cruise lines are biting the bullet and saying the charge is now official and we will call it a "Service Charge" is the sign of a real seed change. Our cruises have to be paid for and the costs have to be covered so to be viable a certain amount of money has to be found to cover the costs. Cruise lines currently prevaricate and use all sorts of methods to make sure the cost of running a cruise happens.

Marketing is a convoluted area with so many side angles and let outs but I seriously believe that what I said, "The Should and Would" factor is a viable one. ......Neil

[Little Red Rouster, Lancaster]

It must be me but I have never had any conversation with any of the crew re salaries. However I don't have such conversations with hotel staff either

Annie

Hi Annie, Perhaps my post was worded wrong. Our intentions when conversing with ships staff is to get to know them better which does help when their hard work is recognised. We have never asked about staff salaries. This subject seems to raise it's head by the staff when asking how long they have worked for the cruise lines and what attracts them to do this type of work. One example was on the Celebrity Eclipse. Our head waiter was excellent and when asked did he enjoy working on the cruise lines he replied ' yes very much and the pay is good'. The conversation was about him not his salary. sorry

[A Vast Behind, THATCHAM-SUR-MER]

This will be another nail in the tips coffin. Why should we be told what the service is worth? Why should you have to tip anyway? Is it "tradition" or custom and practice, or tight bottomed cruise lines making us pay the wages via the back door? I always take my tips off when i board, and pay according to the value received at the end. And for the record some have had nothing because that's exactly what they deserved. Others on the other hand have done well.

[Wilba]

I agree I have never found out the amount they earn ,none of my business .

The auto and pre paid tips were my concern and I did ask if the al went to the staff ,and the answer was always yes they do and the crew prefer that method to getting large amounts of cash ,the money get transferred into there back accounts.
Lots of the crew members I have spoken with have worked for years some for the same cruise line ,others move around the cruise lines...Taffy

This is where an All In heads up price wins every time. Does anyone question who gets what on Thomson?

Does anyone care how the Thomson staff wage and built in grats gets administered? What is the problem with an All In heads up price?...........Wilba

[Taffy, Wales]

Hi Taffy, We have had many conversations with the ships staff regarding their pay levels. The question we ask is how long have you worked on the cruise lines. A number of the staff had served many years on the ships. On asking why do you stay the answer being "Good Wages". Enough said.

I agree I have never found out the amount they earn ,none of my business .

The auto and pre paid tips were my concern and I did ask if the al went to the staff ,and the answer was always yes they do and the crew prefer that method to getting large amounts of cash ,the money get transferred into there back accounts.
Lots of the crew members I have spoken with have worked for years some for the same cruise line ,others move around the cruise lines...Taffy

[annie, Glasgow]

Hi Taffy, We have had many conversations with the ships staff regarding their pay levels. The question we ask is how long have you worked on the cruise lines. A number of the staff had served many years on the ships. On asking why do you stay the answer being "Good Wages". Enough said.

It must be me but I have never had any conversation with any of the crew re salaries. However I don't have such conversations with hotel staff either

Annie

[Little Red Rouster, Lancaster]

It all depends on how many of the crew get a share ,plenty of those staff are salaried ,the singers and dancers musicians ect are not in the tipping pool.
The cruise lines use to tell us where these tip went too and how much each person got.
On our last P&O cruise we paid £5 pp per day as far as P&O say they divide it between waiter ,asst waiter and head waiter, plus your cabin steward (There seems to be no asst stewards) If your cabin steward does 18 cabins and they all pay up they are on a good wage
Say £2 pppd so £4 x7x18 =£504 per week .
Just looked at a junior chefs job they get around £1250 per month plus keep and if they are UK based they get the tax refunded as they earn the money out of the country....Taffy

Hi Taffy, We have had many conversations with the ships staff regarding their pay levels. The question we ask is how long have you worked on the cruise lines. A number of the staff had served many years on the ships. On asking why do you stay the answer being "Good Wages". Enough said.

[annie, Glasgow]

Well if that's the case, and NCL recently changed their wording to Daily Service Charge also, it is only a question of time before they add the word "Mandatory".

If Costa can get away with it for all those years, so can RCI and NCL.

............and just to add to Neil's comment. Thomson have included grats for many years and people love it.

Why? Because the people believe that Thomson are 'Grats Free'.............It works...........Wilba

On my January NCL cruise Wilba, it was still possible to remove the DSC. Something to do with European legislation as I understand it.

Annie

[cruiser, Larne]

We pay our grats in advance and then tip extra to waiter, assistant waiter and room steward. This year we have free grats in our cruise package and I have to say it is nice to have these included in the deal, then after we booked we saw the drinks packages being added as a freebie instead of the grats. Suits us as we do not drink and I can see the cruise company were having bother selling the cruise as it is for the Greek islands. With the situation with migrants it would appear a lot of people have shied away from this area. I will take my dollars for room service tips and our room steward etc as I normally do.

[Taffy, Wales]

And why not Wilba. Still not compulsory. As one would say 'they are starting to push the boat out' on gratuities. It does not seem much 50 cents but times that by say 3500 passengers for a 7 day cruise is $12250 increase. Based on $13.50 per day is now $330750 for a 7 day cruise. If , for example, you work out how much say 1500 crew would get per week that equates to $220 each. That is if passengers paid their dues. Not bad.

It all depends on how many of the crew get a share ,plenty of those staff are salaried ,the singers and dancers musicians ect are not in the tipping pool.
The cruise lines use to tell us where these tip went too and how much each person got.
On our last P&O cruise we paid £5 pp per day as far as P&O say they divide it between waiter ,asst waiter and head waiter, plus your cabin steward (There seems to be no asst stewards) If your cabin steward does 18 cabins and they all pay up they are on a good wage
Say £2 pppd so £4 x7x18 =£504 per week .
Just looked at a junior chefs job they get around £1250 per month plus keep and if they are UK based they get the tax refunded as they earn the money out of the country....Taffy

[Wilba]

Apparently in the letter they have sent out, they refer to Daily Service Charge.

Annie

Well if that's the case, and NCL recently changed their wording to Daily Service Charge also, it is only a question of time before they add the word "Mandatory".

If Costa can get away with it for all those years, so can RCI and NCL.

............and just to add to Neil's comment. Thomson have included grats for many years and people love it.

Why? Because the people believe that Thomson are 'Grats Free'.............It works...........Wilba