Is true about seeing people ducking out on the last night. The kids and the complainer demanding types. I just didn't like the concept of tipping before the service was rendered.
But it is set up so you can adjust it without hassle.
I have always done the prepaid tips when I book the cruise directly through carnival. I always tip the wait staff if they are good since majority of the nights we eat there. The last time we gave our wait staff of Chris and Chon (Glory, golden room, late seating, table 171) $40 so $20 a peace and I also wrote a letter to Carnival to tell them how great they were. I didnot see the room steward that much so I can not rate them. I normally give out the tips the last night of the cruise this way we do not forget. The cool thing is both Chris and Chon will be on the Freedom which is my next ship to try (340 days to go) ones' contract is going to end before then but the other one is staying on until December. CAN NOT WAIT!!
It is amazing how thousands of guests later they still remember you!
Had a deck waiter on Sensation, 2 years later we were talking about how good He was on Fascination..He showed up! It was so funny, and he remembered my name! True Story.
Well I have a feeling you are on your Triumph cruise. I hope you find it as wonderful as we did earler in the spring. We had never been on a Carnival ship, and went on Triumph. What a wonderful time we had.
When you get back I hope you let us know what you though of your trip?
we went on triumph in sept....compared to rccl service was slack...i think pre paid tips lead to crappy service...and the attitude of the world owes me....thats why europeans dont tip and when tips arent expected the service is crap.( go to a resturaunt in italy).. when it is expected it should increase the service level, but there is also the attitude of well my tip is guarunteed, so why do more than i have to.
I will allways have it removed from my bill and tip according to service....
case in point the maitre de' on carnival triumph (mr. chow for now) never did anything for me personally but make the waiters sing to thier embarrassment and my dismay...waiters dancing on top of the serving stations might work for hooters but for a classy resturaunt...bah. I will stiff him till the end of time, he never introduced himself to our table during the cruise so i never interacted with him so why should he get a dime? senority?...screw his worthless, greedy prepaid tip...I pay whoever does more than thier paid job for me. the bartender who remembers my drinks, the waiter who remembers my name and preferences, or the cabin stewards who clean up my mess...otherwise its the cruise lines job to pay them a decent wage for doing thier job... only americans have this conflict about tipping...even at "no tipping" resorts
...if the job pays so crappy that they cant make a living without tips than they should find other work and force the cruise lines to pay a fair wage for a job...most cruise lines are foriegn owned with no minimum wage rules...they sign a contract for a meager wage plus room and board for a set period of time...its not my responsibility to make thier wages profitable, its like the cruise line is too cheap to pay them a decent wage for a decent job and they have to excell in service to earn tips...now they just have to show up to get thier cut of the predetermined tip pie. I say everyone should refuse prepaid tips!! unless you are too lazy or cheap to tip for service rendered, or have a drinking or gambling problems and might not have tip at the end...use envelopes and insure better service.
when you take off the tip it shows the predetermined amounts that each staff gets...i say adjust this to your personal experience and use envelopes....
otherwise the room stewards, waiters, maitre de' , bartenders, will expect to be tipped after the deck hands and people at embarkation...the porters will expect a tip after the cab driver, the captain will expect a tip for driving, the ports will want a tip for letting you off and on, the tender drivers will be tipped and the cruise will cost $5000 after tips..if they dont like the money the cruise line pays without tips than they should get a job in thier own country...it should not be americans or other cruisers forced responsibility to subsidize thier wages and raise thier service levels...
i object to the fact that they word it as "required prepaid tips" in so many places...tipping is never required, it is also not a city in china (my favorite tip jar sign)...it is always appreciated, but should not be expected.
Cruise more, pay less, our dream for the future.
sorry for the rambling....peace to all, and Happy Thanksgiving to all us Americans.
We always pre-pay our tips. The staff does not know who has, and who hasn't. So the theory of you will get worse service if you pre-tip is bunk at best. Does it really make a huge difference if its $10 per day per person? If you went to eat 2 times a day while home, I bet you would tip out the 10-20 bucks, and all they did was bring your food and drink. What about the guy or gal that cleans your toilet everyday sometimes twice a day. Picks up stuff in your room. Check the breakdown and you will see how little you actually give to them. I for one belive in over tipping. Unless the service stinks,then I will still give a tip, just not as big and explain why I didnt tip the suggested amount.
I say, everyone should have to work for tips for at least 6 months, and work fast food for 6 months. Just to see how the general public treats those workers.
wise2u, I agree completely with you. We, as you stated used the envelopes on the Triumph to tip. We did not give to the maitre de', as you said, we only heard his "voice", but never really seen him in person. He just "floated" around the dining room, looking like a "pretty boy."
I leave the prepaid tip on. However some deserve more, my daughter dances for Carnival, and she says the staff really appreciat it when an extra tip comes in cash. I am also serious about tipping, I saw another post that said the Matre d' did nothing and he wouldn't tip. I agree in this case, and I wouldn't tip either. But balance that with a extra for those that deserve it. I have experienced 4 Carnival ships and 1 Holland America. Service was always good, a few times exceptional. For example my wife orders expresso after dinner,after day 2 she never needed to order again: it just appeared. Worth extra I'd say
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