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Old 5 Jul 19, 05:20 PM  
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#31
Omega1
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Originally Posted by JoS View Post
Great post. We became quite friendly with our lead waiter and he would come over to chat while we were on the Lido deck for breakfast. I dont remember the exact figure but he got a ridiculously low wage to send home to his wife and kids and worked at least 12 hours a day. He said if it wasnt for tips he wouldnt be able to live. He didnt volunteer this information I asked him, so it wasnt a sob story and he said he was just grateful to be able to feed his family. He was such an angel and coped with my very picky husband and vegetarian daughter and couldnt do enough for us. So well deserved his tip and more.
That’s why cruise lines employ crew from countries that are low waged. Over the years we have spoken to many crew members about their lives at home and on board ship - they have mostly been from the Philippines, Indonesia and India. The most interesting was a driver/guide we had in Indonesia who had worked as a waiter for Holland America for over ten years. Cruise line jobs are very sought after and relative to wages at home, are very well paid - but very low in comparison to U.K. wages. Our driver, in his time at sea, had bought a house, car and put his three children through private education. He was regarded as being ‘rich’ in his local community. The down side was, with nine month contracts, he had missed being with his children whilst they grew up. The other thing he said, which I found sad, was about how cruise lines use agencies to recruit crew. These agencies interview, test English language competency and undertake basic training - all of which applicants have to pay for. Some applicants save for years to afford this and they aren’t guaranteed success. So cruise lines recruit staff who only require a small amount of ship specific role and safety related training. I still believe crew should be remunerated adequately without relying on gratuities- tips should be the bonus crew deserve for doing a job well, not to supplement the basic wage cruise lines pay. Our cabin stewards and waiters always ask that we give them the top rating on the post cruise questionnaire because these, along with on going evaluation by line managers, determine whether they are offered another contract.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 05:22 PM  
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#32
Omega1
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Originally Posted by JoS View Post
You might find this interesting OP:

cruisemapper/wiki/79...tipping-policy

Average wage of $100 per month.
Your link is to a 2015 article. This is dated June 2019 cruisecritic/articles.cfm?ID=261
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Old 5 Jul 19, 06:45 PM  
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#33
Andrea1
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This has nothing to do with being British. My wife and I visit Florida almost every year. We always tip far more than is expected for good service. (We have American friends who have told us that they would never consider tipping the amount that we do) I have not advocated that people should remove their prepaid gratuities. That is their choice.

I only asked what I thought was a fairly simple question. I did'nt expect to end up in a heated discussion about it. But I may as well say what I think.

We have only ever been on 3 cruises. The first one in 2001 with Carnival. On that cruise we prepaid the gratuities and were given a book of vouchers to give to the different crew members. I do seem to recall that the highest amount went to the Maitre D, while the waiters and cabin stewards got the lower amounts.

The last cruise as I have already said was on RC out of England. Again we prepaid the gratuities. The service we received from our waiter and cabin steward were excellent. The reason I mentioned the Head waiter was because he did not do anything to make our cruise special. But for the whole of the cruise was at the beck and call of the 2 ladies next to us.

I did speak to guest services about it because I felt really sorry for the way they were treating the waiter and his assistant. It was explained to me that some of the VIP cruiser knew how to get the best out of everything, and that there was nothing they could do to stop them.

Now I know that there are many loyal cruisers who quite rightly should be entitled to some extra benefits. But I'm sorry, I don't believe that should give them the right to monopolise the crew for their benefit. (Every passenger has paid their fare and should be entitled to a good service)

My thoughts on Cruise lines adding $13 per person per day seems IMO unfair. As others have said, you are prepaying for a service that you haven’t had yet. I'm sure no-one would go into a restaurant and give a tip to the staff before even ordering a meal.

I remember about 20 years ago, there was a TV program about Carnival. They spoke to the owner who said he paid his cabin stewards $1 a day per person, because in his opinion, that made them work harder for the passengers who would then tip them more. There was a lot of trouble over what he said, and I believe he had to start paying them a better wage.

Just to finish. I do not have any problem tipping a decent amount, IF THE SERVICE RECEIVED WARRANTS IT. I will always tip for good service. But I don't believe that Cruise Lines should rely on passengers tips to subsidise paying their crew a decent salary.
This is only my opinion.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 06:59 PM  
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#34
Omega1
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It’s a discussion certainly, but I don’t sense it’s heated - people may have different opinions, which is fine.
For heated discussions on this topic, look at Cruisecritic.😱
My opinion is that it is cruise line remuneration policies that take advantage of crew, not passengers.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 07:29 PM  
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#35
bonnies mum
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Originally Posted by Andrea1 View Post
This has nothing to do with being British. My wife and I visit Florida almost every year. We always tip far more than is expected for good service. (We have American friends who have told us that they would never consider tipping the amount that we do) I have not advocated that people should remove their prepaid gratuities. That is their choice.

I only asked what I thought was a fairly simple question. I did'nt expect to end up in a heated discussion about it. But I may as well say what I think.

We have only ever been on 3 cruises. The first one in 2001 with Carnival. On that cruise we prepaid the gratuities and were given a book of vouchers to give to the different crew members. I do seem to recall that the highest amount went to the Maitre D, while the waiters and cabin stewards got the lower amounts.

The last cruise as I have already said was on RC out of England. Again we prepaid the gratuities. The service we received from our waiter and cabin steward were excellent. The reason I mentioned the Head waiter was because he did not do anything to make our cruise special. But for the whole of the cruise was at the beck and call of the 2 ladies next to us.

I did speak to guest services about it because I felt really sorry for the way they were treating the waiter and his assistant. It was explained to me that some of the VIP cruiser knew how to get the best out of everything, and that there was nothing they could do to stop them.

Now I know that there are many loyal cruisers who quite rightly should be entitled to some extra benefits. But I'm sorry, I don't believe that should give them the right to monopolise the crew for their benefit. (Every passenger has paid their fare and should be entitled to a good service)

My thoughts on Cruise lines adding $13 per person per day seems IMO unfair. As others have said, you are prepaying for a service that you haven’t had yet. I'm sure no-one would go into a restaurant and give a tip to the staff before even ordering a meal.

I remember about 20 years ago, there was a TV program about Carnival. They spoke to the owner who said he paid his cabin stewards $1 a day per person, because in his opinion, that made them work harder for the passengers who would then tip them more. There was a lot of trouble over what he said, and I believe he had to start paying them a better wage.

Just to finish. I do not have any problem tipping a decent amount, IF THE SERVICE RECEIVED WARRANTS IT. I will always tip for good service. But I don't believe that Cruise Lines should rely on passengers tips to subsidise paying their crew a decent salary.
This is only my opinion.
We shared. Breakfast table with 2 American ladies. They were both on reduced cost/higher cabin category than we were and boasted about their shareholder perks (they were not travelling together but had joined up). Their behaviour was appalling. They complained about everything on their plates, were served before us and demanded replacement breakfasts which came before ours arrived.
They told the waiters they would be reporting the poor quality and service they received.
No level of gratuity could ever be enough to have to take that type of attitude.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 07:46 PM  
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#36
JoS
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Join Date: Sep 06
Originally Posted by Andrea1 View Post
This has nothing to do with being British. My wife and I visit Florida almost every year. We always tip far more than is expected for good service. (We have American friends who have told us that they would never consider tipping the amount that we do) I have not advocated that people should remove their prepaid gratuities. That is their choice.

I only asked what I thought was a fairly simple question. I did'nt expect to end up in a heated discussion about it. But I may as well say what I think.

We have only ever been on 3 cruises. The first one in 2001 with Carnival. On that cruise we prepaid the gratuities and were given a book of vouchers to give to the different crew members. I do seem to recall that the highest amount went to the Maitre D, while the waiters and cabin stewards got the lower amounts.

The last cruise as I have already said was on RC out of England. Again we prepaid the gratuities. The service we received from our waiter and cabin steward were excellent. The reason I mentioned the Head waiter was because he did not do anything to make our cruise special. But for the whole of the cruise was at the beck and call of the 2 ladies next to us.

I did speak to guest services about it because I felt really sorry for the way they were treating the waiter and his assistant. It was explained to me that some of the VIP cruiser knew how to get the best out of everything, and that there was nothing they could do to stop them.

Now I know that there are many loyal cruisers who quite rightly should be entitled to some extra benefits. But I'm sorry, I don't believe that should give them the right to monopolise the crew for their benefit. (Every passenger has paid their fare and should be entitled to a good service)

My thoughts on Cruise lines adding $13 per person per day seems IMO unfair. As others have said, you are prepaying for a service that you haven’t had yet. I'm sure no-one would go into a restaurant and give a tip to the staff before even ordering a meal.

I remember about 20 years ago, there was a TV program about Carnival. They spoke to the owner who said he paid his cabin stewards $1 a day per person, because in his opinion, that made them work harder for the passengers who would then tip them more. There was a lot of trouble over what he said, and I believe he had to start paying them a better wage.

Just to finish. I do not have any problem tipping a decent amount, IF THE SERVICE RECEIVED WARRANTS IT. I will always tip for good service. But I don't believe that Cruise Lines should rely on passengers tips to subsidise paying their crew a decent salary.
This is only my opinion.
Can you please show me any post or comment where the "discussion is heated"? I believe that on every post on here people have given there opinion in a polite and articulate manner. I was trying to be helpful actually in posting the link so you knew what happened to your gratuity if you chose to pay.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 07:58 PM  
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#37
JoS
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Originally Posted by Omega1 View Post
It’s a discussion certainly, but I don’t sense it’s heated - people may have different opinions, which is fine.
For heated discussions on this topic, look at Cruisecritic.😱
My opinion is that it is cruise line remuneration policies that take advantage of crew, not passengers.
I am a member of cruise critic and know what you mean lol. I take your point about paying crew a decent wage so as not to have to rely on tips. Back to the same old, same old, discussion about wait staff in the US and paying them a decent wage for the same reason. How many people would want tips added to there account/bill? Would service then decline. The prices we pay in tips for a decent meal in Disney make my eyes water lol but as you say when in Rome Now when I book anything I just add the gratuities/tip on automatically so I know exactly what it costs. I am a regular visitor to Vegas and nearly all hotels charge a "resort fee". This can be $35 plus tax a day. You cant opt out of paying. Now if the room is $100 a night I just work on $135 a night. Its customary to tip in the US and I just accept that ... or dont go lol
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Old 5 Jul 19, 08:00 PM  
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#38
Andrea1
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Join Date: Jun 16
Originally Posted by JoS View Post
Can you please show me any post or comment where the "discussion is heated"? I believe that on every post on here people have given there opinion in a polite and articulate manner. I was trying to be helpful actually in posting the link so you knew what happened to your gratuity if you chose to pay.
Hi JoS. Please forgive me. My comments were not directed at you. You have always been very helpful to us. The link was very helpful, thank you for that.

In hindsight, "Heated" may have been a poor choice. Its just that the original question, to me, anyway, seemed fairly simple and straightforward, but it seemed to have escalated. That was not my intention.

I will think very carefully in future about asking anything such as this.
Sorry if I have upset anyone. But a straightforward question was all it was.
Thanks again
James
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Old 5 Jul 19, 08:00 PM  
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#39
duchy
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I go on a cruise with the expectation the service will be good. If it's not then I can adjust with the purser if a quiet complaint doesn't resolve.
Maybe I'm just a glass half full person rather than always expecting the worst.
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Old 5 Jul 19, 08:04 PM  
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#40
Andrea1
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Originally Posted by bonnies mum View Post
We shared. Breakfast table with 2 American ladies. They were both on reduced cost/higher cabin category than we were and boasted about their shareholder perks (they were not travelling together but had joined up). Their behaviour was appalling. They complained about everything on their plates, were served before us and demanded replacement breakfasts which came before ours arrived.
They told the waiters they would be reporting the poor quality and service they received.
No level of gratuity could ever be enough to have to take that type of attitude.
Hi Thanks for your reply. If it was'nt for the fact that your "2" ladies were American, I would think they were the same couple on our ship. lol
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