Carnivals new tipping policy - What are your thoughts?
 

Just got back from a 7 day cruise on the Paradise. Carnival announced numerous changes that started with this ship and will be introduced to the entire fleet over the next few months. <BR> <BR>Here are the changes: <BR> <BR>Change #1 - Tipping is no-longer (really) at your discrection. All tips will be charged to each passenger in your cabin (at Carnivals recommended rate) upon activation of your sign and sail card. Your only option is to go to the pursers desk, request a change form (you must do this for each person in your cabin), and then explain to Carnival why you want to increase or decrease your tips for each of the people they have deducted tips for. (By the way, Carnival says they are doing this "For your convenience") <BR> <BR>Change #2 - Carnival has now added another catagory of worker that they expect you to tip, it's the workers in the casual dining area (self serve buffet). They deduct 75 cents per person in your cabin, per day for this new tip. <BR> <BR>When you add up all tips they total about $70.00 per person in your cabin on a 7 day cruise. <BR> <BR>Change 3 - Since Carnival is now collecting all the tips on the ship, they also will be keeping a portion of these tips as their charge for collecting them and then destributing them to the staff. <BR> <BR>Change 4 - Carnival has reduced the number of people working in main seating dining. Our waiter told us that prior to this change he and one assistant waiter would serve about 16-20 guests at a meal. They now must serve 32 and have been told that it is possible to do if they don't take time to talk about anything that is not related to the food. <BR> <BR>The staff and passengers on the ship were not pleased with these changes. What are your thoughts?

Hi, Tom. We must have been on the same cruise. I was not pleased that the tips are charged to the Sign & Sail cards either. My husband and I wanted to tip in cash so we filled out the forms (for all 4 of us- kids included) to remove the charges from our account. We then tipped the amounts we wanted and made sure that the appropriate individuals received the money. The whole process was irritating to say the least.

Typical Carnival!

Okay, I've experienced this pre-payfor tipping on NCL and at the end gave extra $$ to our waiter and room steward.. Now, let's play devil's advocate...$70.00 per person for the week is pretty cheap..$10.00 per day for tips...three meals anyhow per day...included are the people who work the buffets who according to Carnival don't get tipped.. I believe that some of these same people are working in the dining rooms but get changed around in their schedule... Think of what it would cost if you were going out to eat at a fine restaurant..breakfast, lunch and supper..and the include the steward/stewardess who is cleaning up after you at least twice a day.. that I think at $70.00 per week per person is a bargain..kids or not.. What I do object to.. is Carnival taking their cut... My objection is usually to the Maitre d's.. who don't work the tables.. If you really feel that's too much change the situation..but the way the waiters cater to kids and bend over backwards I notice.. If you can't afford that much $$ don't cruise or go on another line... They will all be changing policies...including open seating..

Hi, Parrot Mom- I didn't say tht I didn't want to tip the $70/day. What you failed to mention is that the cruise is already thousands of dollars before you even set sail. It's not a cheap vacation! I simply wanted to express that I wanted control over how much each person got tipped and didn't like Carnival doing that on my behalf.

I am a fan of Carnival cruises and I am real sorry to hear this. IMHO they ought to just stop pretending it's a tip then and just add the $70 per person to the stated price of the cruise and have a "no tipping required" policy. That would be more upfront and honest. I remember in the early 80s a few restuarants in my home town tried this (adding 15% automatically to the bill unless you protested) and it went over like a lead balloon because the service declined a bit. Oh well, hope Carnival changes its mind about this.

Think of it this way... why would anyone working on the ship be motivated any longer? They get the same tip if they do a good job, or a lousy one, unless, like Liz, people go out of their way to make Carnival adjust the tip! Boo on you Carnival! I too don't think $70.00 in tips is too much, it's Carnivals usual greed that bothers me.

Next they'll ask you to tip the Captain.

Hi..talked to my TA who does alot with Carnival and she was very unhappy about this too. What she will do if she goes on one is to tip herself.. As for "cheap" vacation...many years ago when I went on my first cruise I was amazed at what a great bargain they were..cabin, entertainment, ports not to mention the warm weather all for one price.. and my opinion went from anti cruising to pro-cruising..it was such a positive experience.. Then again we went on budget cruises although our first by accident was the NCL Sea..I think on the whole they are bargain vacations..seriously.. Don't stop cruising, but insist you not have to pay in advance even if it means protesting by filling out the forms...

It's not just CCL. NCL's been doing this for awhile now. It's only a matter of time before the other's follow suit.

NCL does not charge for people working the buffet or a service charge for them handling this which I think is outrageous.. I've been on two NCL ships in less than a year where this policy has been instituted..On the first which was a repositioning cruise we handled the tips...on the second we allowed them to be charged and gave an extra envelope to our waiter and steward. On the first ship we had a waiter from hell and a Maitre d who did nothing when we complained about this for TWO weeks..

I am going on a cruise in May, so I sent a message to carnival regarding the new tipping policy, and this was the reply.... <BR>"You will have the discretion to adjust these gratuities based upon the level of service received during the cruise. This includes the option to adjust gratuities (up or down) for any individual on the Dining or Housekeeping staff. In order to do so, the guest will need to contact the Information Desk in person." <BR>More time we will have to spend at the information desk in lines. Not a good idea Carnival. <BR>

I'm not happy. My family has been on many cruises and we rarely eat in the main seating dining room. With this change I'll be forced to either pay tips to servers I never used or, stand in line to take these tips off. Bad idea Carnival. <BR>An no offense to Parrot Mom, but $70 is not cheap considering I pay $2000-$3000 to take my family of four on a cruise, then pay another $400-500 for "excursions", then more "$" for pictures, services on board, drinks, etc., and then have to pay another $280 in "tips". The more that people rationalize that this type of "tipping" is OK the more we all end up paying in extras.

I just returned from 2 weeks on the QE2 and now that they're owned by Carnival, they've changed their tipping policy also. $10-13 per person/day (depending on your cabin) is charged automatically to your account and can be changed only by visiting the pursers desk. I overheard someone who wanted to reduce the amount of tips getting the third degree, plus the lines on the last 2 days were HUGE! I agree with the poster who said that this policy removes all incentive for personnel since I suspect very few people give additional tips now that it's "automatic". QE2 doesn't describe how the tips are divvied up, so I don't know if the buffet staff, maitre d', etc. are getting anything from there - I hope not!

An additional comment to this tipping policy. 1st, does anyone know what the cut is to Carnival. We are taking the Destiny next week on the 21st and when I called Carnival, they told my that the new tipping policy is going into effect on that cruise. Will comment about this when I get back

We just got off the "Victory" Jan-14th. <BR>Have been on many cruises, including 10 <BR>with Carnival. Their new tipping policy was not in effect on Victory and good thing!! I will never go on another Carnival cruise, even if they "tipped" me!I never saw a more crowded, louder, noiser,ruder conglomeration of people in my life!---SO LONG CARNIVAL!!!

We just returned from a very disappointing 5-day cruise on Carnival's Jubilee, where, thank goodness, the new tipping policy is not yet in effect (although there was an automatic 15% gratuity included in each and every drink purchase, which definitely annoyed me - no one I know has ever tipped a bar tender for each and every drink consumed). All disatisfaction with Carnival aside, I think this policy defeats the purpose of what a gratuity is supposed to constitute - a tip should be a voluntary monetary 'reward' for good service rendered. But I guess this new 'forced tipping' policy is directly in keeping with the rest of Carnival's hurculean efforts to separate each of its passengers from as much cash as possible while they're trapped on the ship. In fact, the disembarkation briefing our Cruise Director gave us was yet one more pushy and pointed effort to encourage tipping - in fact, she made it sound mandatory. Perhaps Carnival doesn't pay its employees enough so that they're forced to squeeze tips out of its guests to compensate - which would explain why we encountered so many disgruntled employees on our cruise. Personally, they'll never get another cent out of me.

<BR>I will attempt to explain the new Carnival tipping policy which will be initiated on all ships by the end of this year. <BR> <BR>Granted there will be quite a few irate passengers and I am sure Carnival understands this but they have no alternative. <BR> <BR>The main reason for this new policy is that most of the crew were getting stiffed. <BR> <BR>The last night of the cruise when the tips were to be handed out the dining rooms were almost half empty. <BR>This is not right, the crew works extremely hard for their tips and do deserve at least the amount that is pre-determined by the cruise line. <BR> <BR>Carnival has now closed the alternative restaurant on the last night of the cruise. They will now re-open it. <BR> <BR>One could always state (has been stated here on this forum) the line should pay the crew more. Do you all know what this results in ..... yes, higher prices for the cruise. And a higher amount than the $9.50/day since they would have to pay us travel agents more. <BR> <BR>You must prepay tips on the following ships at this time: Paradise, Imagination, Spirit, Destiny and Triumph on the 10th of February. <BR> <BR>Granted this standard should be industry wide and it soon will be. <BR> <BR>Sure the upscale cruise lines have a "no tipping" policy but do not forget you are paying much more to sail on these lines. <BR> <BR>The pre-pay amount is $9.50 per day. This includes $3.50 for the cabin steward, $3.50 for the waiter, $2.00 for the busboy (a mere pittance) and 50 cents for the head waiter/maitre'd. <BR> <BR>I hear from this forum "hey, the head waiter/maitre'd do nothing." You must realize these people must train the new employees and keep them in line, listen to all the complaints and supervise up to 16 hours per day seven days a week. <BR> <BR>Think about how many meals a passenger eats each day and compare it to the 15% tip that one should leave (I say "should" since I doubt that those who complain leave little or nothing) in the restaurants at home. <BR> <BR>Robi complained about the 15% added to the drink tab. Think about this. Who carries money in their bathing-suit? No money, no tip? Is this right? <BR> <BR>If this works for Carnival it will be intiated on all cruise lines. You'll see. <BR> <BR>I hear passengers that do not leave a tip for the entire week if they <BR>are missing a fork or their water glass is not filled. Go figure. I wonder if they ever make mistakes. <BR> <BR>Paul <BR>

I have read your comments which are interesting. I agree that this policy is no good because it defeats the essence of tipping, which is the personal recognition of a service received. Tipping by definition is always an option, not an obligation. Of course, if the the service is good, you can give more, if it is lousy you can give less, maybe minimal. But, if the owners are going to charge you the so-called tip, then it is actually part of the boat fare and, in a restaurant, it would be part of the salary. If the people at Carnival decide to continue this policy, then they must assume the quality of the service and be responsible for it. Eventually, if the whole program does not work, the customers, ourselves, will go someplace else and Carnival will have to file under Chapter 11.

Nobody tips me for a job well-done in my job, and I haven't had a raise in years. NOw, I wish to reply that I'm a very fair tipper where ever I go, as I appreciate a job well-done. However, do not MAKE me do something that I do not want to do, i.e., tipping for poor service, et cet, and I think that this will contribute to a pompous attitue among certain personnel on the ship, as if something is automatic, then there's no incentive to be nice, and as for the maitre d? I've heard for years that they make a whopping salary? Does anyone have input as to what a maitre d's true salary is, sans the tips? Because just like a hairdresser who owns their own shop, you're not supposed to tip them, well, now, if the "waiter d" is getting a huge chunk of the salary, then they do not deserve a tip UNLESS they do that extra special thing, such as birthday cake, anniversary and the like, then i believe in a tip for them. But just to tip because, well, that's ridiculous, and <BR>my husband and I are contemplating going on a cruise this calendar year, and no way will we go Carnival as long as this policy is instituted. <BR>I 'd feel better if they just "added" 70 per person to the price of the cruise and had a "no tipping" policy. <BR>I guess it's a psychological thing.

Thanks for your comments Paul, but the part about people not tipping on the last day does'nt match what our waiter was saying on the cruise. He said under the old policy of tipping directly, he made "good money". Now that the change is occuring he said he cannot make a living and will be leaving Carnival after being with them for the last 10 years.

I personally do not like the policy. On my last cruise I had a really bad waiter. ( Not just a dropped fork....he forgot things we ordered, was rude, etc.) I did not tip him well at all. at the same time I more than doubled what the assistant waiter should have recieved as she was worked VERY hard to make up for him. In the new policy that is inconvenient to remedy. However, I do know that a lot of people do not tip. Also, we are forced to tip many times on land also. When you have a party larger than 8 or 10 in most restaurants the tip is usually added. Some times even smaller parties in nice restaurants. I agree with paul that a lot of cruise lines are headed this way. I would suggest that if you find an itinerary and ship that you like just go for it. I doubt that you would skip a ship over a price difference of $70 so just go on and enjoy!

In response to Paul's comments: <BR>I disagree - Carnival certainly does have alternatives: <BR>1) If they feel so strongly that their employees deserve this additional money, then they should include it in said employees paychecks upfront and leave tipping as the voluntary extra it SHOULD be; <BR>-or- <BR>2) Include the 'enforced tipping' factor in the initial price of the cruise, also upfront. This way passengers won't have the rude awakening that, although they thought they'd paid in-full for their cruise, they're still expected to shell out a few extra hundred dollars. Either way, a passenger ends up paying more for their crusie, so they might at least be honest about it. <BR> <BR>And finally, of course hardly anyone carries cash around in their bathing suit to tip the waiters; and, in fact, cash is not accepted on board the ship with the exception of the casino. This is why we were provided with those 'Ship & Sail' onboard charge cards. We can just as easily write a tip onto that tab at our discretion, rather than have it automatically extorted each and every time we purchase a beverage. So there are no excuses there, either. <BR> <BR> <BR>

I DEFINITELY AGREE, TIPPING SHOULD BE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE TIPPER BASED ON THE SERVICE RECEIVED. IF IT IS A MANDATORY CHARGE INCREASE THE COST OF THE CRUISE AND LET THE CUSTOMERS TIP EXTRA IF THEY WISH. WE MAY THINK TWICE ABOUT BOOKING ANOTHER CARNIVAL CRUISE NCL NEVER USED THESE STRONG ARMED TACTICS. JUST MY THOUGHTS!

OK - Like everything, there are Pros & Cons. But those of us who want this new system to stop, let's go to the purser's desk as soon as possible (usually no lines at 2:00 AM) and take off the tips from our Sail & Sing, fill out that form and explain we don't like to tip in advance and let's tip in cash according to services rendered. Then enjoy the cruise. <BR> <BR>Those of us who do like the new system, enjoy it. Let's keep our tips on the Sail & Sign Card. Make adjustments as needed and enjoy. <BR> <BR>I personally haven't decided. I don't like the new system, but the old system was terrible when some of my tablemates stiffed the dinning room staff. Of course, what's stopping those people from removing the charges from the Sail & Sign Card and stiffing the staff again. <BR> <BR>Hard decision. I can't decide. Perhap's a compromise. I leave the tip for Alternative Dinning, Leave 50% of tip for Cabins Steward & Dinning Room Staff, then tip the rest in cash according to services rendered. <BR> <BR>I always felt I should tip the Alternative Dinning Staff. I even called Carnival about it and they told me that the Alternative Staff was on a different type of Salary and not to worry about tipping them. That was several years ago. Perhaps that has changed.

Paul did touch on one point that is valid. I had a friend cruise Carnival. He reported that he and his wife were the only ones to show for dinner on the last night. The others skipped the meal to save the tip. <BR> <BR>Says something about the people who sail Carnival.

Have to say it pains me to have anything mandatory...I mean if you can't afford to tip you shouldn't be on the boat..and the guidelines are ridiculously low..it is just they should not be mandatory...I have never tipped the low minimums (even on Carnival) they recommend i always tip more...i guess I will have to continue to prime the pump by slipping the room steward a twenty at the beginning and indicate there is more coming at the end to insure good service

<BR>I agree that tips should be given for services rendered. I personally do not care for the new system. <BR> <BR>I have been on so many cruises I find out quite a bit about cruise passengers. Not only on Carnival but on all other mass-market ships. They are not nice when it comes to shell out their hard-earned dollar. <BR> <BR>Example: I was on a Carnival ship and next to my suite was a couple of young gentlemen from Britain. They received a complimentary suite since they were rated as "high rollers." (Carnival has a player's club program). Not only did these fellows spend very little time in the casino, their cabin was a complete disaster. I would not even walk into the cabin due to the garbage. I was astounded that they did not tip the steward since they stated he did a terrible job. <BR> <BR>Another note .... I tried the "tip in advance" thing on a half dozen cruises and found that the steward does the same job. If he is experienced and efficient he is as good as can be but with no added extras (seems like they are programmed). If he was inefficient he remained the same. <BR> <BR>Another positive is that you can visit the purser anytime during the cruise (preferably at a late hour) and remove the pre-pay from your card. <BR> <BR>It is sad that the cruise lines have to resort to this new policy. The crew has no life and make little money. I have made friends with quite a few waiters and busboys and correspond. Most mail all their money back to their families in their native land. Ask them to show you pictures of their children. This is the main reason they do this type of work. They are proud people and could never live in the USA with the money they earn on a ship. <BR> <BR>Paul <BR> <BR>

Here is the BEST solution. Have all cruise lines increase their fares by the amount they "suggest" you tip their staff...and pay their staff that much more. Then, drop all suggested "tipping" and let us tip in the true sense of tipping.... that is, we get to reward staff for their extra efforts without the cruise line telling us what to do. I too was on a recent Carnival Cruise and the staff said they are thinking of leaving because Carnival is keeping so much of your tip and increasing the amount of work they have to do because they have actually reduced staff. Our head waiter said that they have him working so many hours now that he has to pay someone else to do his laundry or go without sleep. LETS CLEAN UP THIS MESS CRUISE LINES and as cruisers lets all stop helping them by rationalizing it's OK.

Let me state at the outset that I have virtually no cruise experience. At the same time, I have toured Europe, where gratuities are typically included in the bill. I found both the service and the arrangement very satisfying. <BR> <BR>If the prepaid tip is too great, there's cause for complaint. If the service is too poor, there's cause for complaint. Otherwise ... <BR>

I cannot believe how many of the responses to this post rationalize that this type of tipping is OK. These are probably the same people who pay extra to buy clothing with advertising on it...and, pay extra to get it! <BR>Like lambs to the slaughter....Wow! And the cruise lines are loving it, all the way to the bank.

I can honestly say that of the 4 cruise lines I've sailed, Carnival was the absolute worst. <BR> <BR>Of the other 3, one was ok, the other two great. <BR> <BR>I'd rate Princess a 3 on a scale of 1-10. Absolute apathy on the part of the crew. I've only experienced attitudes that bad at the post office.

<BR>I agree with Parrot Mom, Paul and XX, $70 is nothing compared to what I spend when I travel on land eating the same type of meals I am served on a ship. I like not having to deal with cash and have always added to my account when allowed. Carnival is so inexpensive compared to say: Seaborne, Windstar, Crystal, Radison, etc that how can anyone call this absurd. If you disagree with this practice there are numerous cruise lines available. I can't imagine anyone not going to dinner the last nite in order to avoid tipping but feel sure this is a situation only Carnival passengers encounter.

This is one cruiser that will be removing tips from sail & sign. Will be tipping to whom and how much; based on their guidelines of course, according to services rendered. As it says in their Carnival Cruise Brochures "tipping is at your discretion". I suppose the administration fee charged for tips on the sail & sign is to help off set the wages of the clerical staff. Good Grief!

I meant to say that I'd give CARNIVAL <BR>a 3 out of 10 not Princess. <BR> <BR>We've had good luck with Princess, but Carnival blows.

We just got our reservations for two weeks of a land based vacation in the Bahamas. One at Atlantis and another elsewhere. GUESS WHAT?!:! There your tip for your room staff is added on and there is NO opportunity to dispute if you have lousy service. It is $6.50 per person per day so a week just for the maid is $50. ( $150. ) for us with a small child. That doesn't include the waiters, etc. when you eat. Guess those tips you are yelling about aren't so bad after all! agree with the person that said if you are that distraught about it you probably shouldn't be there. At least not at my table.

Cindy, that is the most lame argument I have ever heard. <BR> <BR>When I get bad service, I don't think, "Well, it was only $50." I think, do I just leave 50 cents, or do I call the manager over? <BR> <BR>There is no reason why anyone should spend thousands of dollars on a cruise and then have some PUNK from CARNIVAL tell you, "Oh well, that's life," when you complain that your waiter has failed to bring your ordered drink until the desert was served for 5 nites in a row! <BR> <BR>People who waffle over when they get bad service encourage the bad service to continue. <BR> <BR>You have it backwards, I'm glad you aren't at MY table.

I agree with Scott. Some people on this post are missing the point. Its not the amount of the tip....ITS HOW THEY ARE TAKING IT. Tipping is up to you, NOT THE CRUISE LINE!!!

Personally, I don't agree with the automatic tip, but why beat up on Carnival only and when you say you will never sail again on Carnival because of this new policy, will you hold the other mass markets lines to the fire too? <BR> <BR>NCL started this first. Carnival joined in. Now, Princess is in. Won't be long before Celebrity and Royal Caribbean follow like sheep. The only line I believe that will never have the auto tip is HAL. <BR> <BR>So the question is, who will never sail Princess because they have now instituted the automatic tip?

Scott, I didn't say I like the tipping policy, I was trying to make the point that in many places you don't even get a chance to dispute it. Where we are staying and also where we stayed in Hawaii we either pay up front or DO NOT stay. Just trying to make say that the cruise lines ( and make that LINES..not just Carnival ) are not being quite as hard as most resorts.