Cruise Gratuity Question??

[minnie56]

I sell cruises..I had a call tonight from a Client that also happens to be a friend. She is leaving this coming Sunday for a 7 day Caribbean cruise and taking along her 2 sisters to celebrate their 40th B'days. Kind..they are paying nothing.

She called to ask me 'if she could and where' she would tell them that her 2 sisters don't want to pay the full gratuities recommended, perhaps reducing it by $3.50 per day each as the sisters are not of financial means. I told her to talk to Guest Services and they will take care of that, but I am kind of disgusted and don't know if it is my place to say anything?? She is a friend as mentioned, but I wouldn't pass a comment on a Client that wasn't??

I think these poor folks on Cruise ships work so hard for such a pittance base pay and for these '2' to be having such generosity extended to them and the behaving so badaly..well..do I speak or shut up?

 

[MagicalMom]

So who are they going to tip the 3.50 too? The housekeeper? That's usually 3.50 per day per person. The waiter? That's 3.50 too. The assistant waiter? I would suggest that they do not go to the dining room to eat at all, instead eat counter service & still tip the housekeeper the full amount. It's amazing how people can afford the cruise, the flight, the formal wear & not the tips.

 

[minnie56]

I think what they want to do is instead of paying the recommended daily amount ($13.50 pp per day for example) they want to reduce that daily amount by $3.50 pp per day. Make sense?

They didn't pay for this cruise, the sister, my friend, did...but she thinks it's funny that the sisters want to cut back on the daily amount???

 

[DisneyBlonde]

Your friend is paying the cruise fare for herself and both her sisters...and the sisters won't even pay the less than $100 gratuity each for the week? Wow.

Well, if you tell your friend that you think the entire minimum gratuity should be paid (some people add more, we usually do!), odds are she'll end up paying it herself, I have a feeling. If you tell her you think the least her sisters could do is pay the freaking gratuity, she may get offended. I guess it depends on what your relationship is with her, and how you think she'll take it. It would be difficult for me not to say something.

 

[minnie56]

Your friend is paying the cruise fare for herself and both her sisters...and the sisters won't even pay the less than $100 gratuity each for the week? Wow.

Well, if you tell your friend that you think the entire minimum gratuity should be paid (some people add more, we usually do!), odds are she'll end up paying it herself, I have a feeling. If you tell her you think the least her sisters could do is pay the freaking gratuity, she may get offended. I guess it depends on what your relationship is with her, and how you think she'll take it. It would be difficult for me not to say something.

It is very tough, I am biting my tongue. I wish I hadn't mulled it over and just responded "You're kidding, that is all they have to pay and they are complaining"?? But now it seems almost like I have been stewing about it (which I have) and it's now a pre-conceived response. I am not sure how my friend might take it...

 

[minnie56]

My friend just popped up online on MSN...I told her after thinking it over, I think her sisters should be grateful that such a great trip is only costing them the small gratuities..as of yet, she has said nothing

 

[DisneyBlonde]

My friend just popped up online on MSN...I told her after thinking it over, I think her sisters should be grateful that such a great trip is only costing them the small gratuities..as of yet, she has said nothing

I bet their bar tab won't be a problem

 

[minnie56]

I bet their bar tab won't be a problem

I suspect you are 100% right about that!!!!

 

[MagicalMom]

My friend just popped up online on MSN...I told her after thinking it over, I think her sisters should be grateful that such a great trip is only costing them the small gratuities..as of yet, she has said nothing

I know it must of been hard to tell her. Did she ever respond? I know some people pre-tip, I don't know exactly how it works but maybe it is discounted a bit.

 

[bicker]

I believe it is inappropriate to engage a service for which gratuities are expected and then deciding in advance that even if the service is good that you won't provide the standard gratuity. In such situations, gratuities are discretionary not optional -- discretion being applied with regard to how much the gratuity should be, based on the service quality received, not anything else.

I don't know who's supposed to school people about that... the travel agent, maybe, but I'm not sure how to do so without losing any chance of ever getting another sale from that customer.

 

[barkley]

if they're trying to arrange it ahead of time i'm guessing they're going on one of the lines that automaticly posts the tips to your guest folio. if that's the case you generaly can't opt to lower the daily amount because the ship's computers are set to auto charge it each night at the 'standard rate' for each person in your stateroom (they do post at a lower rate for kids/infants on some lines but you can't exclude x number of people residing in the same cabin as others that will be doing the auto tipping). you can opt to not have any of the tips charged (the idea being it will be done via cash the final night) but depending on the line 'guest services' can make it shall we say 'inconvenient' initialy and less than plesant for the remainder of the cruise . i say because we cruised on holland america right after they initiated 'mandatory tipping' (you did'nt choose to post the tips automaticly-it was done until you opted out)-to 'opt out' you had to wait until you got on board (could'nt do it ahead of time or at the port) and had to wait until after a certain time the day of embarkation. you then could not call guest services, you had to go personaly and make the request. we observed a couple of people 'trying' to do this the first evening and overheard them having to talk to at least 3 different levels of guest services personnel each of whom realy pushed to 'hold off' on the decision until 'you've experienced our service for a couple of days'. we then overheard people complaining that once they opted out EVERYONE of their 'assigned staff members' (their stateroom attendant, housekeeper, waiter, asst. waiter, head waiter) were notified of the decision and personaly approached them to ask why they had opted out, what could they do to change their minds...some folks complained that they noticed a drop in the level of service (or downright sullen/lacking treatment) from those staff members once they (cruisers) did'nt 'cave' and go back and reestablish the auto pay. now i should add, the general level of service on the cruise we were on was realy below standard-and there seemed to be allot of customers who were paying visits to guest services by the 3rd day to opt out for the remainder of the days-but some folks we talked to said it realy bottomed out once they went to guest services

not all lines are like this-celebrity was great about being flexible on their auto tips, and you actualy make a choice to participate in the service (so if you don't tell them you want to it's not posted)-and they were great about letting you go to guest services (or call) and tell them any amount you wanted for tips for each particular person. i also liked the fact (though some might not) that their spa prices INCLUDED the standard gratuity (so if you did a $150 massage that was it-you did'nt have to figure on another 15 or 20 percent on top for a tip )

i have to wonder how these cruisers are going to react when they find out that any of the drinks (alcohol, specialty coffees, sodas) they buy on board (either at the bars, from the passing waitstaff, from room service or in the dining rooms) have tips automaticly posted that they CAN'T choose not to pay. if they are concerned about being able to come up with $3.50 each per day, they better limit their intake of these beverages to less than $25 per day or stick with water (tap-the bottled stuff costs with an auto tip too ).

with the exception of bad service on our hal cruise we've always found that the staff on cruises deserved much higher than the minimal reccommended tips (though we tipped the standard on hal-our impression was part of the problem was gross understaffing), and realy have a difficult time understanding the 'mind set' of folks who pay a good chunk to cruise and then try to figure out how to 'nickle and dime' their way out of tips, paying for alcohol (read smuggling on board those lines that prohibit byob), sodas and bottled water (read smuggle on board flats of water and soda to those lines that prohibit bringing on outside beverages). just seems so 'cheap' and petty.

since you're the ta on this (and generaly most ta's gift a bottle of wine or champagne to their clients one night at dinner)-is there any way instead of 'gifting' that wine/champs (if you do that) you can get that money to their assigned service staff instead?

 

[princesspumpkin]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I do know that i have a sister who, if I paid for her entire cruise, STILL could not afford to pay $100 for tips. (Come to think of it, my mother too.) They have extremely limited incomes and can hardly afford to pay their rent. I give my mom $$$ all the time for her bills. That being said, since I know their financial situation, if I decided to take them on a cruise with me to celebrate their birthdays, I would pay for their gratuities (and give them a certain amount of $$ for any extras that they would want ie: drinks, souvenirs, etc.) Since I am not rich like that, I have never offered

If the financial situation of the sisters was know ahead of time, then I would think that the sister offering the trip could have said "I would love to pay for all of us to cruise together. Can you afford to pay about $100 for the tips if I pay for the cruise?" If not, she should have said "I'll pay for the cruise and other necessary expenses (tips). If you want extras (drinks, excursions), that's on you."

I know it may be hard to believe, but there are people out there who can't afford to take $100 our of their budget. I hope that they knew about this expense before they said that they would go. If not, it's kind of like someone sending you a letter saying "You have won a 7 day cruise - free! Call to confirm." Then you call, confirm, and when you are ready to leave, you find out that you need to pay $100. For a lot of Disers, that might not be a lot of money. For some, it is.

 

[barkley]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I do know that i have a sister who, if I paid for her entire cruise, STILL could not afford to pay $100 for tips. (Come to think of it, my mother too.) They have extremely limited incomes and can hardly afford to pay their rent. I give my mom $$$ all the time for her bills. That being said, since I know their financial situation, if I decided to take them on a cruise with me to celebrate their birthdays, I would pay for their gratuities (and give them a certain amount of $$ for any extras that they would want ie: drinks, souvenirs, etc.) Since I am not rich like that, I have never offered

If the financial situation of the sisters was know ahead of time, then I would think that the sister offering the trip could have said "I would love to pay for all of us to cruise together. Can you afford to pay about $100 for the tips if I pay for the cruise?" If not, she should have said "I'll pay for the cruise and other necessary expenses (tips). If you want extras (drinks, excursions), that's on you."

I know it may be hard to believe, but there are people out there who can't afford to take $100 our of their budget. I hope that they knew about this expense before they said that they would go. If not, it's kind of like someone sending you a letter saying "You have won a 7 day cruise - free! Call to confirm." Then you call, confirm, and when you are ready to leave, you find out that you need to pay $100. For a lot of Disers, that might not be a lot of money. For some, it is.

i see your point and agree with it-but we're not even talking $100 per person-each sister wants to decrease it by $3.50 per day which would be $24.50 total for the entire cruise (for each of the sisters). my opinion is-if $24.50 is going to be too much of a financial burden for someone over the course of an entire weeks vacation, perhaps they (the sisters) should have said 'thanks but no thanks' for the gift. i tend to think that when they got the cruise docs that detail out the tips, and who gets how much they decided that they did'nt feel that a particular 'job' was'nt going to be utilized by them or did'nt 'deserve' to be tipped (if they've hit some cruise boards they may have adopted this sentiment by some who question why they should tip the head waiter or housekeeping manager 'when i never actualy see them/they don't work-they just tell everyone else to' ) and this is a way they figure they can get out of it.

 

[minnie56]

I know it must of been hard to tell her. Did she ever respond? I know some people pre-tip, I don't know exactly how it works but maybe it is discounted a bit.

I did finally hear from her, took ages, figured I was in the Dog House bigtime!
One sister is turning 40 ..for her, the sister that is my friend is paying all. The other sister turned 40 a few years back and had her free cruise at that time. She wanted however to come on this one as well soooo....my friend paid the cruise/air portion and she apparantly paid her own port charges and travel insurance, so under $300. This sister is of humble means...it is mostly for her that my friend was suggesting the reduction but included both as the other sister that is getting it all gratis is not much better off! Complicated....
I think then that for the little $$ it is, if money is so tight, that my friend should pay up the $50 shortage, but I cannot say anymore to her. She knows my views and that's that!

ANd yes Barkley, as I am the TA I have already done the gift, Champagne and Choc covered Strawberries, so helping out with the gratuities is not an option. I could have done a shipbaord credit but that could have been spent on anything.

Thanks everyone for your opnions...I needed them!