Gratuities

[pandha]

I disagree 100% where Carnival Cruise Lines automatically charge a $116 gratuity fee on the last day or second last day of the cruise on our sail & sign card. It should be up to the guests to give gratuity as they please. If traveling with a family of 5, these fees add up quick & we should be given the option to have it removed. If this continues, Carnival will lose me as a customer. 

[euroguy]

I do wish the gratuity discussion had more informative depth.  For example the "mandatory" gratuity, is it being split up between cabin steward and others or is theirs 100% the cabin stewards? I believe some time ago I heard it gets split by cabin steward and their assistant by some %.

With all that said, I do have a bit of an issue with a mandatory gratuity.

#1 I do feel that CCL and probably all cruise lines offer lower pay scales and tell the prospective employee how they will make much more due to the gratuity system.

#2 if i go and stay at a nice hotel for a week i would receive daily house keeping similar to what happens in our cabins and hotel doesnt have a mandatory gratuity for doing the job thwy are paid to do.

#3. If I stay some place or eat somewhere and get bare bones or crappy service I'm less inclined to tip. again you are already getting paid a wage for the work you do. I can't even go to a drive thru food or coffee without being hit up for tip....really all you did was hand me my food or drink Tipping has become a pre set expectation vs. Earned. On my last cruise a few months ago I saw my steward a couple of times... only made towel animals 3 out of 7 nights and did minimal housekeeping duties, not even a turn down at night. And the 2 times I saw him he said hello, not even how are you doing g, having fun... nothing.

#4 to make it clear I have no problem tipping and can be very generous but go out of your way just a little..make a little effort to show you give a s**t. An example was the dinner wait staff in the MDR my main table waiter made sure I had my regular drink every night after the 1st night, welcomed me personally by name every night. If I wasn't happy with the dish I ordered, I wouldn't complain i simply wouldnt eat it and just let it sit there, he promptly would ask if everything was okay and then took care of it by offering a different suggestion or getting the original dish done properly. He also became personable as well by asking what I did for the day and showing an interest.  That is doing extras that is the kind of stuff that earns a tip in my book.  Ultimately he received a $100 tip on the last night. The look of.appreciation from him was amazing and I thanked him for great service and making  me feel welcomed.

Conclusion.. NO I don't think mandatory gratuities should exist. 

 

[kefthecruiser]

@pandha You do have the option to 'adjust' the amount (up or down, even to zero) by going to Guest Services. Before you 'abandon the Carnival ship', just note that all the mainline cruise lines have similar policies.