Gratuities are always a hot topic among cruise travelers and can be quite controversial. From pre-payment, adjustments, removals, and extra cash, to how much to offer to whom and when – every discussion can create strong opinions among both new and experienced passengers.
Cruise lines can also be very closed about how gratuities are handled with respect to crew members’ salaries and other compensation. Because it is a financial topic, it makes sense that cruise lines do not reveal extensive details on gratuities, other than the amounts that are suggested as automatic gratuities for guests’ convenience.
Carnival Cruise Line, however, has offered an interesting insight that clears up some questions guests have about how information regarding gratuities is handled.
John Heald is Carnival’s official Brand Ambassador and answers several hundred questions most days of the week through his popular Facebook page. These questions cover all types of topics, from dining reservations and onboard policies to menu selections, drink packages, holiday activities, and yes, gratuities.
A recent commenter asked Heald one popular question about automatic gratuities and received an insightful answer.
“When you pre-pay gratuities, how do the people know that you have pre-paid?” the guest asked. “We will still give them more at the end of the cruise but not as much since we’ve already given them something. I don’t want them to think we didn’t appreciate all they did for us!”
Many travelers do offer additional gratuities over and above the suggested amounts, especially if the crew members they interact with the most – typically cabin attendants or dining room staff – offer exceptional service or fulfill extra requests.
“They actually don’t know until the end of the cruise,” Heald confirmed. “When they receive their gratuities, usually on the Tuesday or Wednesday after the cruise is finished, they will see that you have prepaid them and that you were very, very kind.”
This clarifies that some popular rumors are simply not true. For example, it is a common misconception that cruise line crew members are aware if passengers remove automatic gratuities.
First of all, automatic gratuities are not generally applied until close to the end of each sailing, and there would not be time for such lists to be distributed for crew members to read before the cruise concludes.
Read Also: Carnival Cruise Gratuities – How Much and Why?
This is especially true as individual guests might adjust or remove automatic gratuities at different times, and any such list could be outdated as soon as it might be printed.
Furthermore, just because a guest may adjust automatic gratuities does not mean they are skimping on the financial appreciation they show to crew members.
Some guests prefer to pay cash and not have large sums of gratuities added to an end-of-cruise bill, while others enjoy the personal interaction of thanking crew members themselves as they offer an envelope of cash.
Other Gratuity Questions
Carnival has frequently addressed questions related to crew gratuities. One of the most recent topics to generate some controversy was whether or not it was a fun practice or just more work to arrange extra cash in “cute” ways for crew members to collect.
The cruise line has also regularly responded to the idea of whether or not the option for guests to adjust gratuities will be removed. For this topic, Heald has been firm that this will remain at guests’ discretion.
Another popular rumor is the idea that Carnival, as well as other cruise lines, use gratuities to “pay the crew” and adjust crew members’ salaries according to the tips they receive.
“This is nonsense, totally 100% false and 100% inaccurate,” said Heald. “We do not use the gratuities you so graciously give to ‘pay the crew.’ It is utter fabrication and untrue.”
Who should receive gratuities and who should not, how much to tip, when to offer gratuities, and many other topics are also popular with cruise travelers, and it seems every guest has different experiences and tips about tips.
