Judy, yes they still get the prepaid tips! Its a computer thing, ya know?
Thanks hanna. I thought they would, I guess people who don't hand them the vouchers just leave them in their cabin or something?
I've never not been in the dining room on the last night, I'd feel bad if the staff didn't think that I was giving them a tip
Makes me wonder now if some of the people not in the dining room on the last night did tip, but didn't attend dinner in the dining room since it was packing night or some other reason?
I was told that the staff still needed the vouchers. There was a place next to Guest relations where you could put the tip envelopes. It would be best to check on the ship.
I give out the vouchers so the employee has proof we gave them a tip, that way if RCI forgets to tell them they can question it
For the cruise lines that don't give vouchers for autopay, I take little thank you notes and let them know we gave a tip (besides what else might be in the envelope
I have no problem tipping. I can give a $20 tip. But! How is it that tipping is mandatory? I mean, afterall, tipping is gatuitous. I.e. '... for extraordinary service within ones service position, one may be shown appreciation in the form of a monetary tipp...' So how is it that we must tipp the staff BEFORE they have shown themselves to be 'above and beyond'? Kinda like: 'We are better than you can imagine so we require that you pay us a tipp BEFORE we administer ANY service'. Just like in America: - 'for guests of 8 or more there is a 20% gratuity applied'. How is it that we can be forced to tipp before we can evaluate the service as being worth it? If these additional fees are needed for some reason, then call it a surcharge. Because it is not tipping if it is a forced charge.
I can only speak for HAL -- in recent years HAL changed their policies for what they pay for for the crew. The crew now has to pay for their own clothes -- all those special outfits they wear on the ships. The crew now have to pay their own way home when their contract ends or they go home for vacation. The are not covered by any kind of insurance when their contract is up or even when they go home for vocation.
The amount of money that they earn is way below the minimum wage that people earn in this country. They depend on tips to make up the difference in these wages.
Years ago people would hand out envelopes to the dining room staff, bar help, cabin stewards, etc. -- but as the years went by we observed that less and less people were giving out these envelopes. One time we watched nearly everyone in our section leave the dining room while the staff was on the stairs signing their farewell song. To see those sad faces when their returned to their areas only to discover that people had left without even saying Goodby and/or Thank you was really sad.
So the union agreed to these new auto tips. And then came along AYWD on HAL. Some of the dining staff aren't too happy about it as they know when they work the AYWD their chances of getting extra tips at the end of the cruise is slim.
We have no problems with these auto tips. And in the years that it has been on HAL there were only a couple of occassions when we did not tip someone extra at the end of the cruise. I would say that 99.9% of HAL's crew still work as hard as they did before the auto tips came into play.
Also keep in mind that the crew is tipped in American money --not the currency of their homeland. And today's dollar isn;t what it used to be.
When we are talking of 'some extra' on top of the auto tips..... how much are we talking about? obviously, it will be a personal thing, but are we talking $20 or $50, more? I certainly do not want to insult anyone.
We left 20 for our servers and steward on our Disney trip.
Our neighbors actually left a $20 international phone card for their extra tip. They had been told by staff that it was one of the most appreciated things to receive.
When we are talking of 'some extra' on top of the auto tips..... how much are we talking about? obviously, it will be a personal thing, but are we talking $20 or $50, more? I certainly do not want to insult anyone.
We left 20 for our servers and steward on our Disney trip.
Our neighbors actually left a $20 international phone card for their extra tip. They had been told by staff that it was one of the most appreciated things to receive.
I feel the extra tip is any amount. They were already tipped so the extra depends on the extra effort they do to serve you.
When we are talking of 'some extra' on top of the auto tips..... how much are we talking about? obviously, it will be a personal thing, but are we talking $20 or $50, more? I certainly do not want to insult anyone.
We left 20 for our servers and steward on our Disney trip.
Our neighbors actually left a $20 international phone card for their extra tip. They had been told by staff that it was one of the most appreciated things to receive.
Strange that they were told that the International phone card was one the most appreciated things tp receive.
On HAL -- the majority of the crew have international cell phones -- and we were told by some crew members -- they really don't like the cards as many times they can't use them.
As for personal tips -- the amount that we give individual people at the end of the cruise depends on how well the service was that we got -- AND the length of the cruise.
We have had a couple of crew who could have cared less about their job -- service was bad -- and you can bet they didn;t get anything extra from us.
I think that paying staff fairly is the responsibility of the employer and that a tip is the monetary expression of appreciaton for service 'above and beyond'.
It may be semantics but automatic tipping for service not yet and maybe never received facilitates maintaining low wages and robs me of the opportunity to be generous and the recipient to enjoy the satisfaction of earning special recognition.
Paying an automatic tip for what should be basic job fulfillment does seem to me to be a surcharge, not a tip.If the cruise line called it that I would sign off without comment.I can imagine that it must be a nice bonus at the end of a cruise and I wouldn't begrudge anyone that.But I don't think a 'tip' should be expected.
Furthermore, I know I will feel obligated to tip individual service and so will pay twice!
And since I'm venting, how is it that the quality of service in restaurants doesn't improve but the rate can be raised from 15 to 20% by some invisible authority? And why is the 'reward for service' better if I have lobster than it is if I choose chicken?
It seems to me that in many situations including this one, we prefer to be polite and not to remark upon the Emperor's clothes or lack thereof!
Unless we are prepared to admit that money is everything this is not a good thing.
I feel the extra tip is any amount. They were already tipped so the extra depends on the extra effort they do to serve you.
On my first cruise, I found this tipping thing quite confusing. Now, after a few cruises, I just consider the auto tips as part of everyone's pay. Considering their long hours, and no day offs, I feel I want to provide an extra tip even if my room steward was just average, as long as he gives me a daily hello with a smile each day. I'll give $2/day for average service up to $4/days for good service, and more if the wife is demanding. Although we use Any Time Dining, we try to seek out the better waiters/waitresses, ask for them each night, and also tip similarly. We haven't had to go below $3/day yet because service has been always good so far. Even if we have excellent service just for one evening, we will seek them out that last evening to give them a tip; we know where they are and can't hide from us. We have done well financially and we are going to share it. It would be a sin to die with a lot of money in the bank.
The purpose of a tip is to pay some extra for outstanding service, and it is a way to make a compliment and not to pay some ones salary or try to get better service then others. Show some respect and be polite is also a big part of a tip.
The auto tip on cruise ships is for all crew members and is basically a good system because yes there are more people who serve, you just never see or meet but also deserve to get some piece of the cake. There are some people who recall the auto tip and pretend to pay tips at they own but in fact never do so. On the other hands, if you pay the auto tip and still pay many tips everywhere then soon or later the system of auto tip will be destroyed because then it will get in the pocket of the cruise line company (thinking they get enough tips).
If you have a choice booking a cruise and there are 2 the same cruises but one sale for lets say $ 1500 and another $ 2000 but the cruise of $ 2000 give you a guarantee they pay crew members a higher salary, which one you make a choice ?
This is what we do on our cruise, we pay the auto tip and next to we pay a little tip for dinner. Our cabin steward we pay depend on service but keep it just reasonably.
We have always a good relation with crew members and get a good service without spending high tips. Show respect be polite and friendly, keep in mind someone can make a mistake and don’t blow it up.
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