Gratuities are now $13.50/day

[NaturalNine]

I am also glad this has gone up, if you can afford 10K for a cruise then you can afford the tips.

IMO - this is precisely the reason that “tipping” for a service that I’ve already paid a lot of money to receive, is the most archaic concept I’ve ever seen. Disney should be paying the staff a fair wage, And it shouldn’t be up to passengers to subsidise.

Conversely, if the staff are unhappy with the wage (excluding “tips), they should find a different job.

Tipping may be an American thing, but Disney is an international cruiseline, majority of the world has moved on from this archaic tipping concept and it should be to the individual guest to decide whether they want to tip or not - personally, I don’t believe I should be tipping when I’ve already paid so much.

The mere fact that Disney puts this on your folio to begin with is very presumptuous and back handed

 

[jiminyC_fan]

IMO - this is precisely the reason that “tipping” for a service that I’ve already paid a lot of money to receive, is the most archaic concept I’ve ever seen. Disney should be paying the staff a fair wage, And it shouldn’t be up to passengers to subsidise.

Conversely, if the staff are unhappy with the wage (excluding “tips), they should find a different job.

Tipping may be an American thing, but Disney is an international cruiseline, majority of the world has moved on from this archaic tipping concept and it should be to the individual guest to decide whether they want to tip or not - personally, I don’t believe I should be tipping when I’ve already paid so much.

The mere fact that Disney puts this on your folio to begin with is very presumptuous and back handed

It isn't just Disney. It is other cruise lines as well. We just got off Viking and you tip there as well. They are a Norwegian company. Bottom line is that we all know going in that tipping is the norm. If a person doesn't agree with it then they shouldn't book.

 

[starvenger]

IMO - this is precisely the reason that “tipping” for a service that I’ve already paid a lot of money to receive, is the most archaic concept I’ve ever seen. Disney should be paying the staff a fair wage, And it shouldn’t be up to passengers to subsidise.

Conversely, if the staff are unhappy with the wage (excluding “tips), they should find a different job.

Tipping may be an American thing, but Disney is an international cruiseline, majority of the world has moved on from this archaic tipping concept and it should be to the individual guest to decide whether they want to tip or not - personally, I don’t believe I should be tipping when I’ve already paid so much.

The mere fact that Disney puts this on your folio to begin with is very presumptuous and back handed

Maybe they should just add the gratuities into the original cost of sailing so that you never see it. Consider it akin to a VAT, as it were.

But the system doesn't currently work that way, and unless it changes, we are where we are right now. And as such, you can do whatever you feel like you should - that's your business and your right.

It isn't just Disney. It is other cruise lines as well. We just got off Viking and you tip there as well. They are a Norwegian company. Bottom line is that we all know going in that tipping is the norm. If a person doesn't agree with it then they shouldn't book.

There's probably an industry standard that the cruise lines are sticking to. And maybe having gratuities instead of a documented salary works better for them, tax-wise. I really don't know.

 

[soundnew]

I am perfectly fine withe the tipping system as such. You know before you book that the cost of tipping adds up to the cruise fare. I sailed a few other cruise lines which have already includes the tipps into the fare, eg AIDA Cruises, who are German but owned by Carnival.

 

[NaturalNine]

Interestingly, a lot of the cruise lines which frequent Australia, do just that... they increase the fare and do not require tipping (as they know Australians in general just don’t ‘get’ tipping)

It’s a lot more transparent although the cruises seem more expensive on face value as a consequence, perhaps this is why they stick with the tipping (to compete on price and put the risk of carrying a lower fare onto the crew)

 

[lorimay]

I don’t mind them increasing the default amount, as we have had, and continue to have, the ability to increase/decrease as we see fit.

I do dislike the fact that they add it to your folio automatically, and the onus is on you to go down to GS to remove or change it if desired. However, I can appreciate that there are probably a fair number of servers/hosts who got stiffed in the past because people simply forgot to submit the gratuity slips.

The tips are automatically placed on your account if you don't prepay, the slip they leave you on the bed is for your records.
Unless someone goes to GS and changes it, the employees are given their tips.

 

[Numtini]

What is the benefit of prepaying?

I think the only real advantage is you can stagger when these charges hit your credit card.

On tipping, whether people like it or not, this is how the system works in the US and if someone goes back and removes the gratuities, you're not changing the system or making a protest because it's not hitting DCL's bottom line, you're just stiffing the staff.

 

[squirk]

The tips are automatically placed on your account if you don't prepay, the slip they leave you on the bed is for your records.
Unless someone goes to GS and changes it, the employees are given their tips.

Automatically adding tips to your portfolio wasn’t always the case, though, was it? I thought that was something that only came about in the last few years?

 

[hcox31]

Conversely, if the staff are unhappy with the wage (excluding “tips), they should find a different job.

As someone who has worked a tipped position in the past to make ends meet, its not that simple just to "find a different job". US culture/society tips. DCL is part of that even if they are "international".

 

[lorimay]

Automatically adding tips to your portfolio wasn’t always the case, though, was it? I thought that was something that only came about in the last few years?

Our first cruise was in 2002 and that's how they did back then, so I can only speak from then.

 

[squirk]

Our first cruise was in 2002 and that's how they did back then, so I can only speak from then.

Or maybe it’s adding them at the beginning of the cruise vs. near the end is what’s new......?

 

[lorimay]

Or maybe it’s adding them at the beginning of the cruise vs. near the end is what’s new......?

Hmmm..... Didn't know they did that now.
We have been prepaying for a few years, so I didn't know they did this.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

What wording does the other cruise lines use that make you think they siphon some off?

Ncl for example states that pretty much anyone can receive money from your gratuities in the following statement:

"Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports."

This is in their FAQ section. I have also read other language by NCL that states that your gratuities do not even stay with your ship but go company wide, meaning (among other things) that certain geographical areas of the world are subsidizing other geographical areas. This entire system rubs me the wrong way and I love, love, love how dcl specifies the exact individuals who receive your daily gratuities.

 

[squirk]

Hmmm..... Didn't know they did that now.
We have been prepaying for a few years, so I didn't know they did this.

Maybe someone else can correct me, but I am almost certain there was some kind of change along those lines a few years ago.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I thought prepaying tips was really just adding some money to your account, but that it wouldn't be actually assigned to tips, just a credit. Has this changed?

 

[hcox31]

I thought prepaying tips was really just adding some money to your account, but that it wouldn't be actually assigned to tips, just a credit. Has this changed?

You are correct. You're adding the amount for tips to your onboard account. So it still shows as being added to your stateroom, but then there is a payment of the same amount applied.

 

[lorimay]

Prepaid Gratuity:

2 Guests$120.00
^^^^^ This is how its listed on your price summary when you prepay your tips

I thought prepaying tips was really just adding some money to your account, but that it wouldn't be actually assigned to tips, just a credit. Has this changed?

 

[Pens Fan]

Maybe someone else can correct me, but I am almost certain there was some kind of change along those lines a few years ago.

I'm pretty sure you are correct. I seem to recall that when we first started cruising with DCL that the tips were not automatically charged to your account. You could go to guest services and have them applied to your account if you wanted or you could just bring cash and put that into the envelopes.

I have a distinct memory of being pleasantly surprised on one of our later cruises when they just automatically added them to our account. It was so much simpler.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Our first cruise was in 2000. It was not automatic then. I seem to remember that it was quite a few years past that when they started adding the automatic tips to your account.

 

[kiford]

Tipping may be an American thing, but Disney is an international cruiseline, majority of the world has moved on from this archaic tipping concept and it should be to the individual guest to decide whether they want to tip or not - personally, I don’t believe I should be tipping when I’ve already paid so much.

This isn't an American thing, this is a cruise industry thing. I simply consider the gratuity to be part of the cost of my cruise and pay accordingly. If I think they deserve more, I'll tip them more. In reality, what you are giving them isn't actually a gratuity at all, it's the primary part of their wages. Some cruise lines don't call it a gratuity (service fee, hotel fee, cleaning fee, etc.) and some don't allow you to remove it so it is not, in my mind, a tip. It's just a standard cost of the cruise. If the industry was to change how they paid their staff, they'd simply increase your fees by at least the same amount and let you decide whether to tip over and above that so that's how I view it regardless of what they call it or how they levy the costs. Fair or not, like it or not, it's not likely to change any time soon.