Do you ever remove the standard tips and add them later?

[squirk]

It's not really being a Disney super-fan that is the issue.

If I was taking a cruise, an all-inclusive, or an international trip I purchased with a package, there is no way I'm going to send my money to anyone without understanding all of the nuances of the trip.

You're right. But look at how many people do zero research for WDW. They just show up at Magic Kingdom and stare cluelessly at the map in the middle of Main Street.

 

[Dug720]

As long as you are prepared to be approached by your cabin steward and/or deck manager AND your dining room service team to find out what they are doing wrong and how they can improve... Because when autograts are removed, the management gets a list and the assumption is you are not happy with the service.

 

[Vijoge]

If you feel that strongly about it, you should spend some of your cruise time doing exactly what you described. That will teach them!

MUN

 

[squirk]

As long as you are prepared to be approached by your cabin steward and/or deck manager AND your dining room service team to find out what they are doing wrong and how they can improve... Because when autograts are removed, the management gets a list and the assumption is you are not happy with the service.

That presumption is fallacious, though. Tipping for exceptional service that has yet to occur is bass-ackward.

But your point is well-taken. I don't feel strongly enough about this to cause problems for my serving team or stateroom attendant. @Flossbolna has the better idea, for sure.

 

[wombat_5606]

You're right. But look at how many people do zero research for WDW. They just show up at Magic Kingdom and stare cluelessly at the map in the middle of Main Street.

Yes, I realize this. But I don't think embarking on the cruise ship and making a fuss about the prepaid tips is very nice, when it's only because you weren't sufficiently prepared and should have known before you ever booked the cruise, that this was standard procedure. If you didn't know, then that mistake is on you, not them.

These prepaid tips should be considered as part of the base fare, unless a CM is doing something egregious. Then, by all means, go to GS and get the amount reduced, after giving the CM a chance to improve. All cruise lines are of the opinion that their employees are going to take very good care of your needs. Therefore, the tip is justified.

 

[squirk]

Yes, I realize this. But I don't think embarking on the cruise ship and making a fuss about the prepaid tips is very nice, when it's only because you weren't sufficiently prepared and should have known before you ever booked the cruise, that this was standard procedure. If you didn't know, then that mistake on you, not them.

These prepaid tips should be considered as part of the base fare, unless a CM is doing something egregious. Then, by all means, go to GS and get the amount reduced, after giving the CM a chance to improve. All cruise lines are of the opinion that their employees are going to take very good care of your needs. Therefore, the tip is justified.

Well, it's not a matter of not being nice. Again, I wasn't looking to make a "fuss" per se. Those servers, generally, deserve every penny of those tips, and I board fully intending to pay the recommended amount, at the minimum.

It's the policy, not any specific person, that I take (marginal) issue with. I sure as heck wouldn't make a CM's life miserable about something they have no control over.

I guess the issue with including the tips as part of the base fare and just paying the servers a straight salary is that if a guest (for whatever reason) feels the service is lacking, it's a whole lot easier to just reduce or eliminate a tip than to discount the base fare. Maybe?

 

[wombat_5606]

I guess the issue with including the tips as part of the base fare and just paying the servers a straight salary is that if a guest (for whatever reason) feels the service is lacking, it's a whole lot easier to just reduce or eliminate a tip than to discount the base fare. Maybe?

Now, @squirk, I think you've hit the nail on the head. My first cruise was in 1981 and I think I remember that tipping was included in your cruise fare then. People took issue with that and so we have what we have today.

 

[Dug720]

Now, @squirk, I think you've hit the nail on the head. My first cruise was in 1981 and I think I remember that tipping was included in your cruise fare then. People took issue with that and so we have what we have today.

I remember our first cruise in the early-mid 80s and I distinctly remember my mom taking care to make up envelopes with cash at at least the suggested level and marking them carefully and setting them aside so they didn't get mixed up with anything. They were not added on, but it was made clear that at minimum you should give whatever the amounts were per person.

 

[Vijoge]

Once they started automatically adding the gratuity to my on-board account it became a charge and not a tip. I just think they should call it that and not try to pretend it's something different. The could bill it as Supplemental Staff Wages, or simply Service Charge. Frankly, I used to tip quite a bit more than the "suggested" (now mandatory) amount, but now i just leave it as is. I realize I can have it taken off/adjusted, etc but I'm not putting that much effort into it. My guess is the crew no longer gets stiffed as often as they used to so it probably all evens out.

 

[wombat_5606]

Once they started automatically adding the gratuity to my on-board account it became a charge and not a tip. I just think they should call it that and not try to pretend it's something different. The could bill it as Supplemental Staff Wages, or simply Service Charge. Frankly, I used to tip quite a bit more than the "suggested" (now mandatory) amount, but now i just leave it as is. I realize I can have it taken off/adjusted, etc but I'm not putting that much effort into it. My guess is the crew no longer gets stiffed as often as they used to so it probably all evens out.

They are called Pre-paid Gratuities

 

[Vijoge]

They are called Pre-paid Gratuities

I know that's what they're called. But I still see it as a charge and not a gratuity. It's part of the bill, like cruise fare, taxes, and port charges.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I have never stiffed a CM on a cruise. I have always tipped at least the recommended amount, and I usually give our server and assistant server something extra on top.

However, I always bristle at DCL adding the recommended tip amount to my folio "for my convenience". It feels presumptuous, and puts the onus on the guest to take away something from the CM for poor service vs. giving something to the CM for exceptional service. It makes the process a punitive one instead of a rewarding one.

I have a cruise coming up soon, and I have been contemplating going straight to GS as soon as I board and removing the auto-gratuity - not because I won't tip, but more of a "protest vote" on this policy - and then adding the tips back at the end of the cruise, after I've concluded that the service merits tipping.

Anyone ever do this? Just curious.

No, I've never removed them. It's just easier to have that all taken care of. We've always gone with the expectation that the service will warrant AT LEAST the suggested gratuity (on all cruises, not just DCL).

Most of the time we've just let the standard gratuity stand. Several times we've added additional cash at the end. Never once have we had to remove any gratuity.

The auto gratuity is pretty much the "standard" way of doing things on all other cruiselines. Although they tend to call it a Hotel Service Charge on some other lines. And it covers behind the scenes people, also, not just the room steward/dining team.

Most other cruiselines you cannot remove the auto gratuity.

 

[wombat_5606]

I know that's what they're called. But I still see it as a charge and not a gratuity. It's part of the bill, like cruise fare, taxes, and port charges.

Disney can't help what you see it as.

It is a gratuity (definition: a tip given to a waiter, taxicab driver, etc. synonyms: tip, gift, present, donation, reward, handout ) for the people that are taking care of you on the cruise. The word gratuity, by definition, means a tip, not a charge.

 

[squirk]

Disney can't help what you see it as.

It is a gratuity (definition: a tip given to a waiter, taxicab driver, etc. synonyms: tip, gift, present, donation, reward, handout ) for the people that are taking care of you on the cruise. The word gratuity, by definition, means a tip, not a charge.

But on the flip-side, just because DCL calls it a "tip" or "gratuity" doesn't necessarily make it so, right?

The general concept of a "tip" or a "reward" is something that you decide to give. It is not something that is charged to you by default (even if you still have the option of taking it back).

Just as restaurants usually assess an 18%-20% service charge on parties above a certain size, you can always complain to a manager about having that charge reduced or removed if you feel the service was sub-par.

I understand why they have those service charges; it's the same reason DCL does the auto-gratuity. Nonetheless, I don't consider that a "tip".

 

[wombat_5606]

But on the flip-side, juI because DCL calls it a "tip" or "gratuity" doesn't necessarily make it so, right?

The general concept of a "tip" or a "reward" is something that you decide to give. It is not something that is charged to you by default (even if you still have the option of taking it back).

Just as restaurants usually assess an 18%-20% service charge on parties above a certain size, you can always complain to a manager about having that charge reduced or removed if you feel the service was sub-par.

I understand why they have those service charges; it's the same reason DCL does the auto-gratuity. Nonetheless, I don't consider that a "tip".

Well, I think when you booked the cruise you did decide to give the tip. It is listed in the FAQ as a customary charge. You have the option of paying it up to 3 days before your cruise or added to you onboard account prior to the end of the cruise.

Do you object to the 15% added to the bar, beverage and wine? I have a bigger issue with that.

I really don't understand why people have an issue with this. Is it because you are including the pre-paid gratuities in the cruise fare and paying it before you even get on the ship?

Would it really make you feel better about paying it if they called it something else?

 

[squirk]

Do you object to the 15% added to the bar, beverage and wine? I have a bigger issue with that.

I do! But we are not huge drinkers, so we aren't faced with that issue very often on the ships.

I really don't understand why people have an issue with this. Is it because you are including the pre-paid gratuities in the cruise fare and paying it before you even get on the ship?

Would it really make you feel better about paying it if they called it something else?

Well, I'm not lying awake at night gnashing my teeth over this, but why not cut the pretense, y'know? If you are going to charge me by default, and pre-empt my discretion and power to decide if/when/how to grant the reward, just call it a "service charge", as @Vijoge said.

 

[wombat_5606]

I do! But we are not huge drinkers, so we aren't faced with that issue very often on the ships.



Well, I'm not lying awake at night gnashing my teeth over this, but why not cut the pretense, y'know? If you are going to charge me by default, and pre-empt my discretion and power to decide if/when/how to grant the reward, just call it a "service charge", as @Vijoge said.

Well, the semantics don't bother me. I think if it was a service charge, people might be more confused. You don't usually have a service charge for people that are waiting on you.

 

[wombat_5606]

Hey, @squirk, I found this on a law website. Seems to explain why it can't be called a service charge.

What Is a 'Service Charge'?

Service charges will usually be clearly indicated as such. If any of the above listed traits for a tip are missing, however, then it is usually a service charge. In other words, a service charge is, when:

1. The payment is mandatory;
2. The customer does not possess the unrestricted right to determine the amount;
3. The payment is the subject of negotiation or dictated by employer policy; and
4. Generally, the customer does not hold the right to determine who receives the payment.

The IRS provides an example of a service charge occurring when a banquet hall charges at a pre-determined rate not negotiable by the customer. In most cases, that money is then distributed to employees who rendered the services that the hall required at that event -- for example, bartenders, waiters, and janitors.

Service charges are also common if you dine out in larger parties. They are set for the staff and facilities to be able to accommodate you and exert the additional service needed when there are more bodies.

- See more at: http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_li...e-a-tip-ask-the-irs.html#sthash.P4AiUGPu.dpuf

So, in my opinion, I would rather stay with the tip designation.

 

[gotomu212]

They are called Pre-paid Gratuities

I think you are confusing 2 issues. Pre-paid gratuities are ones you elect to pay before you cruise and you add it to your cruise fare.

The OP is talking about the practice of DCL automatically adding the suggested gratuities onto your onboard account that you pay being disembarking in lieu of the old system where you filled out a sheet and left it at GS near the end of the cruise.

 

[mkh531]

I hate the whole concept of tipping in general, where tipping is now essentially mandatory, thereby making it less of a tip. I'd rather they just pay the employees appropriately, and if I'm really bonkers wowed by service, then give them an extra amount. I think tipping as it is done in the US these days demeans the relationship between customer and server. I much prefer the European way.