Originally posted by:
Wheelwinner
We were told on two recent cruises, one Carnival and one Holland America that if you designate the cash you give them as a "gift" it doesn't go into the pool, otherwise it does. We wrote on the envelopes that the cash was a gift to that person. Hope they got to keep it.
I'm sure they did...If it was to go into the pool, that means literally thousands of employees who work across many different brands on hundreds of ships would have to "turn it in"...in whole or in part....think about that. It just doesn't happen. Second...there would be no mechanism to track it, in any event...or keep it "secret"...not on that scale....The numbers you might add to the signed chits in restaurants or bars, for example, have to be entered, manually, so it all gets charged to your shipboard account. Eyeballing that number, on your device or cabin TV, will show you just how efficient they are when it comes to "your" money...or should I say, "their" money....
With all due respect, I don't understand who, or why, anyone would tell you that. If it was a Guest Services person, most of them are basically clueless when it comes to the inner workings of the tipping system. They're not involved. Besides, they work regular shifts at what is essentially a desk job....And if it WAS a service person who actually is in line to receive tips as part of their job, they might have been in a "CYA mode", or had greedy supervisors, who take part of their tips in order to let the poor steward or bartender keep his/her job...these aren't union people, the vast, overwhelming majority aren't American, and are trying to ship every $$ home...losing a plum cruise job because they didn't "KB" isn't in their DNA...fear is...I bet it happens all the time, almost every ship...its a very fertile ground for that kind of abuse..in a way, I'd also bet mgmt knows about it and looks the other way...keeps folks in line and working eh??
Either way, I started tipping on our first one, way back when, and refined it over the years. I have a "system" for lack of a better description, as I have learned lots of folks in here do too...I'd be interested to learn if any of the other "old hands" have heard about any of this.
(BTW, no envelopes for me..greasy ol greenbacks...right in their hands...or occassionally slid across the bar...the way it should be...)