Gratuities...a question?!?!

[rescue911chick]

I've been on many cruises, but this is my first with all 4 of my children. All 5 of us are staying in the same stateroom, and I'm curious about gratuities. NCL recommends $10 per person per day for ages 13 & older and 12 & under $5 per person per day. Does anyone know what Carnival expects??

Also, does anyone know if the cruise lines do the prepaid so they can keep tabs on what their employees make?? I'd rather give someone cash than see the cruise line try to take taxes or something from what they make. Just curious. Thanks for any feedback!!

[PC GUY]

Canival automatically adds $10.00 per person per day onto your "sail and sign account" (no charge for children under 2), but you are free to go to the purser's desk to get that adjusted if you like (and would rather pay cash)

I personally keep them as is, but give them a little extra cash at the end of the cruise

Here is the link to Carnival's tipping policy:
http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Gratuities_Tips.aspx

[Deege2424]

Rescue911 thats a good question about Carnival wanting to know how much the employees make, I never really thought of that. Carnival may lower their earnings based on their gratuities and thats not fair( if that is the reason why they now have the auto gratuities). I believe in the future I will convert back to giving money to staff myself.
Have a safe and fun cruise all!!!

Deege

[tncruiseman]

As long as you make sure that everyone that was there at your disposal gets a tip, all will be fine. Remember, even if you never go to the dining room for dinner, the wait staff is still assigned to your table each night whether you are there or not, and their livelihood depends on tip income as well. People NOT remembering these staff members was one reason for the automatic surcharge.

[gdjoslin]

Are they paid a wages also? Does Carnival(or other cruise lines) take a cut out of what we tip or does it all go to the service persons?
I am probably one of the better tippers.. My mom waited tables for a living, Dad was a cook, so we lived on tips.

[CruiseDad]

PC man has it right. Carnival will charge $10/day/person and you can change it. Leave it as is, however and add some in Cash if you really had someone good. I added extra to the sign and sail once but I have some inside information that says changes to the std charges through the Pursers sometimes don't get distributed correctly. So make extra tips in cash. Pay does not get reduced by tipping, but be aware that tips for some is the biggest part of the pay. If you really want to make someone shine, write their name on the comment card. Everyone gets formal reviews and if a guest takes the time to actually name someone it counts a lot to the evaluation. Name entertainers too, the dancers and hosts need to be recognized also write their names down from the name tags if they do something great.

Have a great sail.

[Dave]

The employee contract usually has a base wage - but it is really very little, maybe a couple hundred dollars per month or less. The cruise line isn't going to mess with the base wage just because employee X got a lot of tips.

I do as CruiseDad does - I leave the autotip in place and simply hand out extra cash to those who made the cruise better for us. And I also agree about the comment cards. They really do read them and they keep track of who gets kudos from the passengers. These comments are used when they select the employee of the week/month/year, and of course this results in promotion opportunities and higher base pay for them.

[Cruisehappy]

The waiters, assistant waiters, and cabin stedwards do not get a salary from CCL. Their livelyhood depends on your tips alone. (I know because I married my waiter )

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cruisehappy:
The waiters, assistant waiters, and cabin stedwards do not get a salary from CCL. Their livelyhood depends on your tips alone. (I know because I married my waiter )

Thanks for clearing that up for us!

[Cruisehappy]

You're welcome!