Bring up the subject of cruise ship tipping, and every passenger seems to have a different opinion.
The biggest arguments, of course, are around the daily gratuities. Most people leave those in place, while some take them off and, as they put it, give directly to the workers they feel deserve it.
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Many passengers consider that unfair to tip-dependent workers whom passengers don't see. You can tip your waiters, favorite bartender, and room steward by hand, but you never 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, cruisers have questions. They don't immediately know whether bartenders at some bars pool tips or whether a tip given in cash works the same as one added to a paper check.
But one group on cruise ships cannot be tipped, and Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald addressed the matter in response to a recent post on his Facebook page.
Image source: Carnival Corp.
You can't tip these Carnival workers
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," she posted. "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."
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," she wrote. "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 [them] 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."
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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," he posted. "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."
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