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.