8 cruise ship tips from a former employee

The crew on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship see a lot of things in their time onboard, including guests making mistakes along the way. Here are eight things to do, avoid, or simply be aware of, for your cruise vacation.

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[rmonogue]

We are already paying $32 a day in gratuities for two of us, and an 18 percent surcharge on drinks purchased either separately or as a part of a drinks package. Outside of some unusual circumstance handled by a crewmember, we should not be expected to tip more than we already are. I know they work hard, and want them to be compensated, but we are already paying quite a lot for that purpose.

[Devildogbaran]

Pay your employees a livable wage so you don't have to guilt trip passengers into covering your cheap ass.

[lucasmoura]

I found the video focusing too much on tipping. Yes, we should tip, but pre-tips are already a bit high and then you have to tip more inside. It goes almost half of the price of fare only in tipping. They should be like club med, where the packages for the resorts include the tip already on the price.

[blackwarrior]

8 tips from former employees! At least 2 of them were telling you to tip more more and more. After I prepaid the gratuities, should I think about paying this guy a few bucks to make him happy, another gal a few bucks to make her happy...? This list can go on and on.
I do the cruise to relax and make myself happy, not to rain more money to make their employees happy.
The cruise ship company can charge us more gratuities to make their employees happy. If I can afford to buy their happiness, I will take the cruise. If no, I stay at home without tipping anyone.

[neil]

This seems like more of a "Rules/Tips for making the crew's life better" list.

[kincaid]

"Be nice to us, tip us more, remember our names to tell our boss that were good, fill out the form to tell corporate were good, don't bother us on busy days, don't lie to us, Tip us (again)"

[jeffwheeler]

Just got back from a cruise on the Oasis of the Seas and we had the prepaid gratuities included in the price. We gave our waiter a $50 cash tip and our housekeeping guy $20 cash at the end of the week. Not a ton of cash but these guys went above and beyond and work their butts off nonstop

[michellesilver]

It is a rare pleasure for me to vacation. I don’t have unending supply of money. I tip when it’s deserved. Hells bells even three meals a day. Cabin cleaning. Drinks. Getting towels. Special events. It’s insane.

[georgeleong]

I highly agree with #1: be kind to the crew. Wife and I are always thanking them for everything they do for us even when clearing dinner plates off of our table. We even ask how they are, chat with them. It got to the point of us receiving alcohol drinks for free at the dining room. Be a negative to the crew will work opposite. You will receive lousy service or no service. They don't care about you, they know you will be gone in a couple of days.

[grownassmandog]

I would like to ask Pipa, so the cruise companies want us to prepay the gratuities and tip each server everyday? I just want to be clear on this bc if that's the case, are the cruise companies paying their employees or is it the guest job to do so. Also when i go to a restaurant, i pay the wait staff after my meal, not b4 and after.

[pititebondieu]

Why we have to tip the crew because we already pay for it on the package

[jamess]

Wow! Dude you really should rename this vid to be “8 tips from an employee, to increase employees cruising experience” - tips include be nice to employees, tip employees, especially tip casino dealers and don’t lie to employees. Really insightful stuff to increase the passenger experience

[danielvecera]

I pay my gratuities but I do think that they should be done away with and just increase the price of the fare. It's a hidden fee and it only upsets people because they're not up front about it.

[GlockAtlanta]

That’s great info about the survey! I will definitely take pictures of the name tag this cruise.

We have had some absolutely amazing cruise staff, especially how they went above and beyond in the dining rooms when we had our children. They made our kids laugh and feel so special. These cruise employees are truly angels. We have never had a bad employee experience on RC or Carnival. It’s one of the reasons we love to cruise so much.

[michaeli]

All servers and staff on these cruise ships should be paid a living wage. Why are the majority of the crew members from poorer low pay countries? Obviously to maximise profit for the cruise line and offload their responsibility to their guests to supplement their staffing costs. The price of the cruise should include all the salaries / gratuities for the crew.

[janebeville]

When I've wanted my granddaughters to be in the same group in Ocean Adventure, all I've had to do was ask. They are 3 years apart. It's never been a problem

[MrJeffMaloney]

These are great tips. I will remember & use them for sure...

[truthalways]

Nothing really wrong with it but a lot of this video from Pippa should have been called things you can do on your cruise to help the employees

[tonydiaz]

The take a picture of a crew members name tag is a great idea. I wish I had knew that on my first cruise. There was one crew member that was outstanding with us and our situation with my daughter. But I never got his name.

[billeger]

Speaking of sunscreen (item #3), I’ve been to HonoluluWaikiki many times and every time, especially on the 2nd day, I’ve witnessed how many first timers resemble cooked lobsters.
Sunscreen is cheaper and less painful than melanoma treatment.