Friday, 13 December 2024
by BD Banks
Bring up the subject of cruise ship tipping, and it seems like every passenger has a different opinion.
The biggest arguments, of course, are around the daily gratuities. Most people leave those in place, while others take them off “and give money directly to the workers they feel deserve it.”
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Many passengers consider that wildly unfair to tipped workers that passengers don’t see. You can tip your waiters, favorite bartender, and room steward by hand, but you never actually see the people who wash your seats or bus your tables,
Most people do a combination of the two. They leave the daily gratuities in place and they hand out some extra cash as they go.
Even then, there are some questions. It’s not fully known whether bartenders at some bars pool tips or whether a tip given in cash works the same as one added to a paper check.
There is, however, one group on cruise ships that cannot be tipped. That’s something Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald addresses in a response to a recent post on his Facebook page.
Image source: Carnival Corp.
Tips on cruise ships are reserved for certain workers. An officer, for example, might be allowed to take certain gifts, but cash tips would be politely declined.
There’s another group that also has to decline tips. One Carnival passenger had questions about tipping a class of cruise ship workers that had helped them greatly.
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“I have one big question. Why aren’t we allowed to tip the medical staff?” Vanessa Hunt wrote.
She shared her story with the Brand Ambassador:
“I was recently on the Carnival Venezia Nov 24 12-day sailing. I got sick on the last four days of my cruise. I mean really sick. You see I suffer with sickle cell/thalassemia and I went into a crisis. For those of you who suffer with this debilitating disease know it can be quite painful,” she posted.
Hunt was grateful for how much the medical team did for her.
“Your medical staff went above and beyond to help me in my time of need. I’m so grateful that I had these individuals to care for me when I most needed them.. At the end of the cruise I went back to the infirmary to give each of the something to show my gratitude and was told they are not allowed to accept anything monetary. John, I don’t understand if we’re able to give waiters,, stewards, etc. Why can’t we give to the medical staff? Hope to hear from you on this one,” she wrote.
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Heald explained why the medical staff can’t take tips.
“Thank you. They signed a medical ethical code that does not permit them to take this. Please don’t let that worry you; just saying thank you and trying to do this would’ve meant so much to them. I wish you nothing but happy days. I wish you nothing but healthy days, and I will always be here if you need anything,” he posted.
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