Ct_TiggerFan said:
While it may be the standard practice to tip because everyone else is doing it,
I still find it a sad state of afairs that all these people expect to be tipped.
I am not against tipping for great service, but just because someone is doing the job they were hired for. I find problems with that.
Sorry but I quess I am old fashioned in my thinking.
Yes, "all these people expect to be tipped" -- just as you and I expect to be paid by our employers. On a cruise ship, we -- the passengers -- are effectively the employers of the people who serve food to us and who take care of our staterooms.
Keep in mind that the people who serve you on most cruise ships are being paid around $50 per month to work 7 days a week, from early in the morning until late at night (with a few hours off here and there during times when not many people are eating). These cruise line employees are often supporting families back home, who require food, shelter, clothing, and education.
Your cruise fare does not include the services of the people who serve food to you and who take care of your stateroom. That's not how the cruise lines put it, but that's really how it is. For those services, you pay "suggested" gratuities. For the "great service," you tip above the suggested amounts.
Sure, the cruise lines could raise their rates by about $11 per passenger per day and institute a "no tipping required" policy. But chances are service would suffer because the incentive to provide outstanding service would be reduced.
The current system works -- for the cruise lines (who don't have to include these labor-intensive services in their cost structure) and for the passengers (who usually get outstanding service). And it works for the tipped crew members, as long as guests understand the system.
