Do you have to put the "mandatory tipping" on your ship board account or can I still give cash the last night of the cruise? I feel that many service people should get the cash..
The "Hotel Service Charge" is added to your shipboard account daily. You may adjust it up or down, as you wish, at the END of the cruise.
But considering how busy the Guest Services desk is at the end of a cruise, I would suggest letting the automatic gratuities stand, assuming the service warrants it, and give extra cash to those that gave you outstanding service.
Posts: 3051 | Location: Costa Mesa, California | Registered: November 16, 2006
If you remove the mandatory service charge, anything you give to the service people, will have to be pooled by them. Now if you left it on your account, then anything extra you give them they would be able to keep.
If you do decide to remove it, you will be asked to fill out a form or speak to one of the Officers at the front desk and explain why you are doing this.
Don't forget - there is a 15% service charge added to all bar bills, whether it's liquor, pop, beer, wine, etc. If it comes from the bar, then there is a charge.
I may be wrong but I understood that the Hotel service charge had to be adjusted at the BEGINNING of the cruise - too late to do it at the end when you have already received your final bill. I'll check this out in a couple of weeks when I am on one of the ships.
I was quoting from a 2008 HAL publication. It says you can adjust at the end of the cruise, but of course it would have to be the day before debarkation; the accounts are finalized the last night. You would not know at the beginning of the cruise how the service was going to be. No, let me restate that: you know at the beginning of the cruise that the service is going to be outstanding.
Rick
Posts: 3051 | Location: Costa Mesa, California | Registered: November 16, 2006
I was told by HAL front desk personnel that even if we gave a personal tip, on top of that already on the bill, that it would still have to go into the pool to be shared by all. This was in 2006 - don't know if the information is still current or not.
Originally posted by susanmaz: I was told by HAL front desk personnel that even if we gave a personal tip, on top of that already on the bill, that it would still have to go into the pool to be shared by all. This was in 2006 - don't know if the information is still current or not.
Somebody at the front desk gave you the wrong information. It's always been the way I stated ever since the program began and that's been for a couple of years. I was on the ships Noordam twice last year and the Zuiderdam once and any tip we gave the stewards they were able to keep for themselves - we never opt out of the program. It's so much easier now than trying to decide how much to give and who to give it to.
Posted March 27, 2008 05:13 AM Hide Post If you remove the mandatory service charge, anything you give to the service people, will have to be pooled by them. Now if you left it on your account, then anything extra you give them they would be able to keep.
We were on the Zaandam in June of 2007. We were told the tips were not pooled. It does not make sense to me to pool when a person opts out, and not when they are in. How do they know who gave the tip? It would have to be all one way or the other I would think.
When I've received great service, I always add to the service charge the line adds to my account...and I do so in cash, to the employee, encouraging him/her not to pool the tip, as I have already taken care of the others
LovinCruisin 2006 Royal Clipper 2005 Westerdaam 2004 Oosterdam 2003 Millennium 2002 Zandaam 2000 Grand Princess
On a recent 30 day HAL cruise we gave our cabin steward a generous tip in the third week assuring him we'd also do the regular 'assigned' tipping on the last day.
We were window steerage. I wonder if it's considered a promotion to serve on the higher decks where the more expensive cabins are. Are bigger tips received from wealthier clients? Our steward appeared tired and discouraged when caught off guard, but then always put on a cheery face when he noticed us.
HAL's "tips" have been changed to read "hotel service charge" on the bills. One has a few options re: tipping. a) leave the auto tip "hotel service charge" alone and know everyone gets a piece of it. b) remove the "tip" and pay out individually whereupon those that get them must pool them. (A list is sent to the head of housekeeping and distributed to the seperate decks of who has removed the "tip") c) change the amount of the "tip" at the front desk and then tip extra accordingly. Again, these will have to be pooled.
