Tipping has long been controversial in fields where tips comprise a portion of a worker's wage.
Waiters, for example, can often be paid well below a state's minimum wage because tips are expected to make that up.
That, however, does not account for slow nights or customers who opt not to tip even though it's customary. In some cases, restaurants will mandate tips when a group exceeds a certain size while others have raised prices in order to pay workers a higher wage.
DON'T MISS: Disney World rival makes customers a deal Disney doesn't offer
On Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) and Carnival Cruise Line ships, passengers pay a daily "mandatory" gratuity. For every person in a cabin the cruise lines charge a set daily fee that is distributed to service workers. That broadly means that the tips go to your room steward, waiters in the main dining room, and other service personnel you may not see but whose work makes your cruise better.
Suite passengers pay a slightly higher rate and these mandatory tips can be paid in advance or applied to your onboard account each day. Technically, both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -) allow you to adjust these tips (or eliminate them) by going to guest services, but that's not encouraged or widely promoted,
These aren't tips that passengers hand out for a specific instance of good service. You might separately tip a favored bartender $1, even $20, for taking care of you. The included gratuities supplement the salaries paid to onboard service workers, but they do not pay the workers' salaries.
That's an important distinction that Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald recently addressed.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival exec explains how mandatory tips work
Heald answers hundreds of questions each day and often takes the time to clarify incorrect voices on his page, In many cases, he's answering rumors or literal fake news that makes the rounds on social-media pages devoted to Carnival and cruising.
He recently posted a question sent to him about where the "mandatory" tips go.
Message: I'm reading that Carnival is not giving these tips to the crew in addition to their salary but instead they are using this money to pay their salary and then paying them the difference to make up their agreed salary. If this is true I will have to reconsider paying the gratuities.
Heald noted that the Facebook page that was the source of this material was a frequent source of misinformation.
He definitively set the record straight.
Normally I would never comment on this but let me say categorically that this is nonsense, totally 100% false and 100% inaccurate. Despite what she writes please do not believe this. We do not use the gratuities you so graciously give to “pay the crew.” It is utter fabrication and untrue.
The mandatory gratuities on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean are distributed to workers in the tip pool on top of their contracted salaries. All cruise line workers have contracts that stipulate their base pay. Tips are a bonus that supplements their wages.
Should cruise passengers tip more?
Cruise passengers pay mandatory tips, not just on their basic cruise but also if they choose to buy a drink package or dine in a specialty restaurant. No one is obligated to tip above and beyond that, but many people do.
Giving a bartender a dollar here or there, or even $20 if you're a regular, in any bar will be appreciated -- and it will get you noticed. You don't have to tip, but tipping often means faster service during crowded times and, perhaps, more generous pours if you're looking for that.
Many people also give extra tips to any crew members who take special care of them. That might mean your room steward, your main dining room waiters, or anyone else onboard who goes out of their way to provide excellent service.
