Not using stateroom service

[Mango7100]

If you speak with Guest Services they will remove the tips from your account for any reason.

On our last cruise Disney changed one of the stops after we booked (but around 6 months before sailing) forcing us to spend a few hundered dollars on a shore excursion to the first city. Then a few weeks before sailing they moved the final stop on the cruise to a new town which went from a quiet village to an industrial port on the coast. Then on the cruise they cancelled all shore excursions at one port and just my excursion (with a few other problems caused by Disney) at another. by the 3rd port day and everything crumbling I was beyond angry and demanded that Disney refund the gratuities I had prepaid. They did remind me that the servers etc who got the tips not the company and that my problems were with the company, so I told them the company can pay the gratuities.

I did eventually calm down and left cash for all, but to Disney's credit they did repay me the gratuities which I had prepaid before departing.

Wow. This is the most illogical response. “Disney cancelled my excursion and port so I’m going to punish the room attendant who has zero involvement and who been cleaning up after me twice a day for the entire cruise” You say you left cash after, but the fact that your response after they even reminded you the servers had nothing to do with your issues was basically “I don’t care” is not something I would broadcast.

 

[it398]

Not exactly what I said, and I’m not going to defend my opinion to fellow guests. As it’s none of their business.

I was merely trying to answer the original question by stating that from my experience guest services will remove the automatic gratuities if you ask them for any reason even if you prepaid them before the cruise.

 

[RedHead0186]

Not exactly what I said, and I’m not going to defend my opinion to fellow guests. As it’s none of their business.

I was merely trying to answer the original question by stating that from my experience guest services will remove the automatic gratuities if you ask them for any reason even if you prepaid them before the cruise.

Well, you kind of made it our business when you shared your story here. All you needed to say was that you had personal experience in removing automatic gratuities at guest services. That would've gotten your point across.

 

[MWW]

I want to preface by saying that I agree American tipping culture has gotten entirely out of hand. I tip for actual service, but do not tip for things like counter service coffee and the like. Basically, if a person gets paid an actual wage, they don't get a tip unless they're providing some sort of actual additional service outside of the general scope of the job they were presumably hired and paid for. If they work in a tip subsidized job, they get a tip. Usually 20 percent, potentially more if they're excellent.

But one thing about cruises that I like to distinguish even if the terms can be interchangeable- I liken "gratuity" to "showing gratitude" or "thanking" the person doing the job. It's not a tip in the traditional sense that we know it (the making up for your poor wage kind, even though that is in play here). It's a monetary thank you for the service they provide. Stateroom attendants in particular work so hard. Even if you don't want the service- you're assigned to their block of rooms. They can't just replace you with a guest that will appreciate their time and efforts properly with monetary gratitude. They do a lot of things you may not even notice. And if you don't provide them the bare minimum gratuity, a true drop in the bucket, that's honestly depriving them of their livelihood. It's just wrong. There are lots of things in the world I disagree with on principal, but to not do them would be unkind. We have to think of other people sometimes.

On my first DCL cruise (my first ever cruise) in 2022, my husband and I were not as financially prepared as we should have been. Our friends booked the trip and we paid them, and they didn't opt for the pre paid gratuities. When we realized we'd owe an extra whatever it was at the end that we didn't set anything aside for (pay periods didn't align with the trip, we were stupid and unprepared), you know what we did? We cancelled something we had booked. It never occurred to us to not pay the gratuities vs dropping something extra.

Tl;dr: pay the gratuities.

 

[RedHead0186]

I want to preface by saying that I agree American tipping culture has gotten entirely out of hand. I tip for actual service, but do not tip for things like counter service coffee and the like. Basically, if a person gets paid an actual wage, they don't get a tip unless they're providing some sort of actual additional service outside of the general scope of the job they were presumably hired and paid for. If they work in a tip subsidized job, they get a tip. Usually 20 percent, potentially more if they're excellent.

Tl;dr: pay the gratuities.

Do you always know which people get paid actual wages and which work in a tip subsidized job? I don't disagree with your logic, and I agree with your post. I'm just not sure that I would always know how any specific person gets paid.

 

[MWW]

Only jobs in which the person makes their primary earnings via tips can qualify for being paid at the tipped wage- lower than minimum wage. Obviously it wouldn't necessarily be possible to know every time, 100 percent of the time- but for example Starbucks Baristas are paid an hourly wage. I place a mobile order, your job you get paid for is to make the drink- no tip for doing your job. Most jobs that are not direct restaurant serving, bartending, etc. make an upfront hourly wage. It's extremely uncommon in the US for anything other than that to be a tipped wage because employers do have to make up for it if the person's tips don't get them to at least minimum wage. I think the fair labor standards say a job cannot be a tipped job if less than 30 percent of the wage is made via tips. It's confusing.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Do you always know which people get paid actual wages and which work in a tip subsidized job? I don't disagree with your logic, and I agree with your post. I'm just not sure that I would always know how any specific person gets paid.

Yes in Europe. Tip subsidized jobs are illegal. Everyone has to by law get paid the minimum wage, which is a livable wage. Positions which people tip, like servers do not depend on tips to pay their rent. In Ireland the minimum wage is €12.70 per hour. People in minimum wage jobs can apply for various benefits if their income is not enough to cover rent and bills.

 

[RedHead0186]

Yes in Europe. Tip subsidized jobs are illegal. Everyone has to by law get paid the minimum wage, which is a livable wage. Positions which people tip, like servers do not depend on tips to pay their rent. In Ireland the minimum wage is €12.70 per hour. People in minimum wage jobs can apply for various benefits if their income is not enough to cover rent and bills.

Ok thanks. I should have added I was speaking from a US perspective. Good to know that in Europe it's a lot clearer.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I really detest how tipping culture has gotten so crazy in North America. It has never made sense to me why I am expected to tip more than my friend because my plate of food cost $50 while hers cost $20, for example. Same service, same effort by the server, etc. And tipping 20% or more? So painful. I've adjusted how much and where we dine out for this reason.

But: I fully recognize that cruising is different. As a person who likes cruising I am obviously supporting the strange and maybe unjust wage model that the cruise companies have chosen and have gotten away with as the ships fly with foreign flags. As such I view the gratuities as mandatory. I know they aren't strictly so, and I dislike that the cruise company puts it on customers to decide how much the staff is paid, but because this is the way things are, I would never seek to remove gratuities. We have increased tips where we think it's warranted but don't see that as mandatory - rather, for excellent service.

 

[Sleepyluke]

Only jobs in which the person makes their primary earnings via tips can qualify for being paid at the tipped wage- lower than minimum wage. Obviously it wouldn't necessarily be possible to know every time, 100 percent of the time- but for example Starbucks Baristas are paid an hourly wage. I place a mobile order, your job you get paid for is to make the drink- no tip for doing your job. Most jobs that are not direct restaurant serving, bartending, etc. make an upfront hourly wage. It's extremely uncommon in the US for anything other than that to be a tipped wage because employers do have to make up for it if the person's tips don't get them to at least minimum wage. I think the fair labor standards say a job cannot be a tipped job if less than 30 percent of the wage is made via tips. It's confusing.

Except, even with mobile orders, people expect you to tip them for doing their job. We had this conversation at work the other day and most people said they tip on that order. If you were to walk in and order that same coffee, do you tip?

I should not have to tip for someone to hand me something as I am standing in front of them.

Sorry for taking the thread off course, but I think we got out of hand during COVID tipping everybody and it has not come back to any form of common sense.

 

[MWW]

Except, even with mobile orders, people expect you to tip them for doing their job. We had this conversation at work the other day and most people said they tip on that order. If you were to walk in and order that same coffee, do you tip?

I should not have to tip for someone to hand me something as I am standing in front of them.

Sorry for taking the thread off course, but I think we got out of hand during COVID tipping everybody and it has not come back to any form of common sense.

We are in agreement, I do not tip for counter service especially mobile orders. I got a look the other day at a bakery I went to- I picked my own pastries out of the case and brought them up to check out. What is the tip for? No tip.

I don't think it's off course, I think it shows the distinction between the general feeling of oversaturation when it comes to ridiculous requests for tips vs a monetary gesture of thanks for someone that works tirelessly day in and day out for months at a time to provide you with a nice experience. Tip fatigue is real. But gratuity for your Stateroom Host can hardly be called a tip in the general sense we know it, it is so different.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would suggest the OP go to a tipped included cruise line. You're usually free to tip of you want but there's no overt tipped charge included in your fare for you to reduce due not wanting a specific service. It's baked into the cost. These lines do exist and there's really no reason to tell someone just don't cruise.

FWIW, to the OP's exact situation I don't agree in this instance that reducing or removing a tip for housekeeping is appropriate.

 

[scroogie]

I really detest how tipping culture has gotten so crazy in North America. It has never made sense to me why I am expected to tip more than my friend because my plate of food cost $50 while hers cost $20, for example. Same service, same effort by the server, etc. And tipping 20% or more? So painful. I've adjusted how much and where we dine out for this reason.

I agree. I'm from Australia and have visited the US and sailed the ships many times over the years, I know how tipping works and have always tried to tip based on the service I receive. What's not lost on me is how the recommended gratuity has crept up. I remember back when 18% was the auto-included tip for large parties. Now a regular table for two is "recommended" 20%+.

I'm about to sail on the Wonder during her Australian season, and the subject of tips came up in a social media group. Granted, this includes a lot of people that have little to no actual experience and base their answer off of what other people have told them, but someone tried to say that a tip of anything less than 20% is indicative of receiving bad service. I'm sorry, but absolutely not! If their service is terrible they shouldn't be getting anything near 20%, and that is absolutely not the threshold to determine whether service was good or not!