Paying for Tips *** DCL Makes a Change ***

[shaycamp21]

The whole tippiing thing is an artifice. Cruise lines need most people to tip the recommended amount to properly compensate their employees. It isn't and really never has been based on the level of service provided. That is just something the cruise line says because they don't want to take the marketing hit of raising prices.

The reason these threads get out of hand is because the vast majority of us know it's a game. We also know there is a small segment of the cruise population who will regularly pay less than recommended tips to control their costs while blaming service. And this actually increases our cost of cruising. So anything the lines do to make it harder to pay less is ok with us, because it never really has been tied to service anyway. Service is a training, experience, and luck of the draw issue.

This is a step closer to no tip cruising, and I am all for it. If they did away with the tipping artifice, the cost increase would actually be much less than $12 per person per day. Between getting rid of the non-tippers and avoiding the administrative burdens of a tipping regime, I bet the actual increase would be closer to $8 or $9 to get employees compensated as they are now. So if one wonders why these threads get out of hand, it's because the chronic non-tipper is costing a family of four about $100 on a 7-day cruise.

 

[erocrobro]

How does this work exactly?
Do all purchases with a Target card qualify for 5% off?
Is there an annual fee?
Can they be bought online?

We usually buy our gift cards from our local grocery store or online from Disney. I'd like a 5% discount!!

When you pay with your Target card, you automatically get 5% off of your total purchase. It is just a regular credit card, no fees. They don't sell the Disney cards online, only in the stores, and here the only amounts they have are $25 and $50. I just stock up on the $50s everytime I go. I'm using them right now to pay for our trip to DL this summer, but after that, I will start stockpiling them to pay for our cruise in 2013.

Some people have reported also getting a coupon with their receipt for future purchases of the cards, but I have never gotten one of those.

 

[luvslikepi]

Here's the plain and simple fact, cast members are not paid that much and many of them go above and beyond in providing service. Anything I can do to help them make a few extra bucks, I will do. I was once a cast member and though I don't remember the exact amount I made in the College Program it was not a great deal, close to minimum wage with long hours, worth every second of working but still it was hard to make ends meet making such a low wage.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

When you pay with your Target card, you automatically get 5% off of your total purchase. It is just a regular credit card, no fees. They don't sell the Disney cards online, only in the stores, and here the only amounts they have are $25 and $50. I just stock up on the $50s everytime I go. I'm using them right now to pay for our trip to DL this summer, but after that, I will start stockpiling them to pay for our cruise in 2013.

Some people have reported also getting a coupon with their receipt for future purchases of the cards, but I have never gotten one of those.

Thanks! I'll have to see if they sell them at our Target.

 

[mrsmarilyn]

I would be happier with no tip cruising. Call it what it is, a service charge. But if you are going to call it a gratuity, don't cram it down my throat.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

To me it's no different than tipping in a restaurant. So many automatically add it when it's a group of 6 or more and waitresses earn less than minimum wage since tips are factored into their salary.

 

[TaylorsDad]

I really have mixed feelings about this change. On the one hand I am pleased I do not have to go to GS this cruise to have the tips added like I did the end of our last cruise. On the other hand I have 3 linked reservations and both the other cabins I will be with do not like the idea of paying in advance gratuities. I will likely need to go with them or take care of removing said "convenience" for them myself on the first day. Not to say they will tip less than requested amt in fact it will likely be more, just that they feel it is more proper to have the decision of how much gratitude should be expressed to the waitstaff themselves.
Personally, I remember the old gratuities included Disney Dining plan at the parks. I was actually happy to see this changed because I noticed often in the dining rooms other patrons mentioning they were not on the plan recieving better service and more attentive servers. I hope this does not effect the high quality of service I recieved on my last cruise. I dont think it will though, because although I have never heard them say anything to try and recieve a bigger tip they all mentioned how important the comment cards were to them. I actually thought they felt this even more important than the tip. So I think they will strive to maintain the standards anyway.
By the way since it seems almost required to say so "I always leave more than the standard tip amt"

 

[ilovetexas]

I do not have a problem with the tips being preassessed. I do have a problem with DCL assuming that everyone in a stateroom is related and will be paying tips on the same account, as I want to pay my tips directly to DCL and not owe it to my roommate for a 15 night cruise. We're assuming that Guest Services can work that out for us.

I was on the Carnival Legend with my best friend last May and was concerned about the same thing. No problem. When we checked in, they took a credit card from each of us and "attached" it to our individual Sail & Sign accounts. That way, tips for each of us (they've been automatically billing tips for years), bar bills, souvenirs, etc. were paid for individually. Worked the same way when we sailed with my mom on Carnival last June.

All Disney has to do is assign your KTTW card to one credit card and your roommate's KTTW card to his/her credit card. I'm sure if Carnival figured it out, DCL can too.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

I was on the Carnival Legend with my best friend last May and was concerned about the same thing. No problem. When we checked in, they took a credit card from each of us and "attached" it to our individual Sail & Sign accounts. That way, tips for each of us (they've been automatically billing tips for years), bar bills, souvenirs, etc. were paid for individually. Worked the same way when we sailed with my mom on Carnival last June.

All Disney has to do is assign your KTTW card to one credit card and your roommate's KTTW card to his/her credit card. I'm sure if Carnival figured it out, DCL can too.

I'm sure they already have it all worked out since the Magic has had this policy since it was Europe last summer.

I honestly think this is a storm in a teacup and for those apposed to change it is what it is unfortunately. If speaking to GS to remove the auto grat and use cash instead is really that big of a deal for you, then it is unfortunate, but the 75 days will soon be over and afterwards it will just be the policy and clearly stated on the website at least.

BTW for anyone not wanting to participate in the auto grat policy, is it possible to call GS from your stateroom and choose to pay in cash, rather than go to the desk?

Ex Techie

 

[Anal Annie]

I only read like the first 5 pages of posts...I was on one of the Med cruises last summer right after they had started doing the auto gratuity thing on the Magic. I am sure that a lot of it had to do with the tipping customs being different in Europe than in the US so the CMs were getting stiffed on those cruises. I went down to GS to add some additional money to ours and witnessed a man (who was NOT a gentleman) from Spain who was loudly ranting about it because tipping was not a custom he was used to. He just didn't "get it". While I was there to ADD to my auto-gratuity amounts I'm sure he was there to remove his simply because he didn't understand it's customary here. I was sad for his servers & stateroom host, just because it's not a custom he's used to that his staff on that cruise were going to be stiffed. I'm sure that overall the feedback from the crew was positive to the change and that in return for steadier tips they'd be more than willing to give it their best.

I learned after our first cruise that to avoid the longer lines at GS you just don't wait for the last day. I mean, you have a pretty good idea by your 3rd or 4th day if you're getting above average or stellar service. Also, don't go in the afternoons right when all the excursions are getting back. Everybody goes then (on their way back to their cabin). GS is open 24/7. Go at 10:00 at night a day or 2 before the end of your cruise. Nobody there.

I always go check our acct. balance a few days into the cruise to see how much of our OBC has been used by then so I just apply whatever gift cards we've brought then so that nothing hits our credit card until everything else has been used up. None of this is a big enough of a deal to get your panties twisted over. It takes all of 5 or 10 minutes to stop by GS if you go at a non-prime time.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I really have mixed feelings about this change. On the one hand I am pleased I do not have to go to GS this cruise to have the tips added like I did the end of our last cruise. On the other hand I have 3 linked reservations and both the other cabins I will be with do not like the idea of paying in advance gratuities. I will likely need to go with them or take care of removing said "convenience" for them myself on the first day. Not to say they will tip less than requested amt in fact it will likely be more, just that they feel it is more proper to have the decision of how much gratitude should be expressed to the waitstaff themselves.
Personally, I remember the old gratuities included Disney Dining plan at the parks. I was actually happy to see this changed because I noticed often in the dining rooms other patrons mentioning they were not on the plan recieving better service and more attentive servers. I hope this does not effect the high quality of service I recieved on my last cruise. I dont think it will though, because although I have never heard them say anything to try and recieve a bigger tip they all mentioned how important the comment cards were to them. I actually thought they felt this even more important than the tip. So I think they will strive to maintain the standards anyway.
By the way since it seems almost required to say so "I always leave more than the standard tip amt"

Why should this be your responsibility? My dad is 70 and can handle going to GS all by himself. He's a big boy now and wouldn't need me to hold his hand there.
jmho but anyone adult-enough to pay for a cruise can decide if they want to prepay or not and if not have them drop it from their acct. Easy peasy.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Why should this be your responsibility? My dad is 70 and can handle going to GS all by himself. He's a big boy now and wouldn't need me to hold his hand there.
jmho but anyone adult-enough to pay for a cruise can decide if they want to prepay or not and if not have them drop it from their acct. Easy peasy.

Good for you and your dad. There are valid reasons for this but I do not feel the need to mention them or justify my situation. I am just stating that it will be an inconvenience for me this cruise. Without the change I could have just paid in advance myself and let them leave the cash themselves for their part. I havent decided for sure how I will handle mine now. I do believe for many this modification will be a good thing though. The truth is no policy on tipping will be idea for everyone and what is best for one set of cruisers may not be the best for everyone on every sailing. In my previous post I even mentioned this new policy would have been appreciated on my previous cruise.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Good for you and your dad. There are valid reasons for this but I do not feel the need to mention them or justify my situation. I am just stating that it will be an inconvenience for me this cruise. Without the change I could have just paid in advance myself and let them leave the cash themselves for their part. I havent decided for sure how I will handle mine now. I do believe for many this modification will be a good thing though. The truth is no policy on tipping will be idea for everyone and what is best for one set of cruisers may not be the best for everyone on every sailing. In my previous post I even mentioned this new policy would have been appreciated on my previous cruise.

Are you going to prepay your gratuities online?
I only ask that as if you were going to call DCL to pre pay them, maybe they can note on your Fathers and others account that they will be paying their gratuities in cash?

Ex Techie

 

[over50visits]

I believe this is an excellent idea, for the sole reason that I hear of too many passengers not tipping their excellent waiters. I ache for the servers who work so hard and are stiffed by passengers. I hope this mostly solves that problem.

That said, I believe that once again DCL is not being truthful with us. This is NOT done for our convenience. It is being done to correct an inequity. This is once again a case of Disney changing a policy and not being truthful about why. Sigh. Cheers for the servers who will now earn closer to what they deserve. Onions to DCL for the way they informed us.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Are you going to prepay your gratuities online?
I only ask that as if you were going to call DCL to pre pay them, maybe they can note on your Fathers and others account that they will be paying their gratuities in cash?

Ex Techie

Excellent idea, thanks

 

[kcashner]

I was on the Carnival Legend with my best friend last May and was concerned about the same thing. No problem. When we checked in, they took a credit card from each of us and "attached" it to our individual Sail & Sign accounts. That way, tips for each of us (they've been automatically billing tips for years), bar bills, souvenirs, etc. were paid for individually. Worked the same way when we sailed with my mom on Carnival last June.

All Disney has to do is assign your KTTW card to one credit card and your roommate's KTTW card to his/her credit card. I'm sure if Carnival figured it out, DCL can too.

DCL had it all figured out when they started the tips deal on the Med. Even though my credit card was listed for our cabin, my tips showed up under my name and DD's tips showed up under her name. I increased our tips...and they just split the total evenly on the two accounts.

You can easily tie a different credit/debit/cash source to each KTTW card at the time of the on line check in or at the cruise terminal when you check in.

And we cruised on the "automatic" tip system on the Med and again in December on the Magic--excellent service, no obvious difference from any previous cruises.

 

[ilovetexas]

DCL had it all figured out when they started the tips deal on the Med. Even though my credit card was listed for our cabin, my tips showed up under my name and DD's tips showed up under her name. I increased our tips...and they just split the total evenly on the two accounts.

You can easily tie a different credit/debit/cash source to each KTTW card at the time of the on line check in or at the cruise terminal when you check in.

I know, I was telling another poster about the process I've encountered and was teasing a little with the Carnival comment. There's a lot of angst on this thread about the auto tips but I think that once people get used to the idea, they'll like it better. I really prefer it when it's handled this way on other cruise lines. It just seems like one more thing I don't have to worry about and that's what I love about cruising...not worrying about anything!

I really do consider it in my cruise fare (did with this one, too, and that was before DCL instituted the policy) when I figure the cost of the vacation. It's just done for me so I don't have to worry about it. Then, since it's kind of "invisible", I usually tip extra for good service. I really do hope that everyone likes it after a while.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

I know, I was telling another poster about the process I've encountered and was teasing a little with the Carnival comment. There's a lot of angst on this thread about the auto tips but I think that once people get used to the idea, they'll like it better. I really prefer it when it's handled this way on other cruise lines. It just seems like one more thing I don't have to worry about and that's what I love about cruising...not worrying about anything!

I really do consider it in my cruise fare (did with this one, too, and that was before DCL instituted the policy) when I figure the cost of the vacation. It's just done for me so I don't have to worry about it. Then, since it's kind of "invisible", I usually tip extra for good service. I really do hope that everyone likes it after a while.

Not an imposition at all and not any sort of issue than you make of it!

Ex Techie

 

[missjudit]

On DCL the MDR servers get the whole amount of money they are given, via pre-payed gratuities, gratuities the Guest assigns to each CM or cash given over to a specific CM.

Ex Techie

That has been our understanding.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

That has been our understanding.

And you are right.
DCL do not remove any money for passing your gratuity/tip on to the Server/Stateroom Host/ess

Ex Techie