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Deluxe Beverage Package deal-want to be fair to bar staff


Fairlynew

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I was lucky enough to snag the $18 DBP for my March cruise.  My concern is compensating the bar staff adequately and fairly.  I have been pondering this for some time.  I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong, that the gratuities included in the purchase price are split evenly among the bar staff, in which case just giving the staff a tip, either on the bill or in cash, will reward whichever "lucky" bar tender I happen to patronize on any given occasion.   There may be bars I only go to once or twice (or not at all-unlikely).  The best solution I have come up with is to add gratuities for the amount that I would ordinarily have paid for the package.  I generally find the package worthwhile at a $52 or lower price point.  Thus, since I paid $18 (with gratuities added), I "owe" the staff gratuities on the remaining $34 pp/pd that I would have paid for the package but for the price glitch.  My thought is to add $85 to my account and ask that it be treated as additional gratuity for the bar staff.  

I will do this in addition to tipping with cash as I order drinks, which I generally do.  

If anyone has a better method for making sure that the bar staff does not suffer due to the glitch, please let me know.  

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I often throw an extra buck even with the DX.  Not always for a glass of wine or bottle of beer since that takes them 10 seconds.  For cocktails and frozen drinks I often throw a buck down and they remember me and my drinks.  

If you've scored the $18 DX then an extra $5 or $6 in tips per day is still a great deal.

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I'm probably a jerk (well, I know I am), but in my mind you don't owe them anything. Now, if you want to throw more their way, go for it...but it's not your fault if there is a glitch or you get a particularly good deal. It's not theirs either, but to me that's between them and their employer. That being said, a few extra bucks a day is still a very good deal, and in that case if you don't mind carrying cash, an extra dollar here or there might be the best way to do it. 

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2 minutes ago, twangster said:

I often throw an extra buck even with the DX.  Not always for a glass of wine or bottle of beer since that takes them 10 seconds.  For cocktails and frozen drinks i often throw a buck down and they remember me and my drinks.  

If you've scored the $18 DX then an extra $5 or $6 in tips per day is still a great deal.

This is what I did on my last cruise.  I find that pouring or opening a beer is not that labor intensive so I did not worry about the extra tip.  But, when I was getting some wonderful cocktails from the bartenders (especially when I said to surprise me) I left extra tips for them.  At the end of the day I am not going to miss an extra $20-$30 over a week long voyage. 

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10 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

I was lucky enough to snag the $18 DBP for my March cruise.  My concern is compensating the bar staff adequately and fairly.  I have been pondering this for some time.  I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong, that the gratuities included in the purchase price are split evenly among the bar staff, in which case just giving the staff a tip, either on the bill or in cash, will reward whichever "lucky" bar tender I happen to patronize on any given occasion.   There may be bars I only go to once or twice (or not at all-unlikely).  The best solution I have come up with is to add gratuities for the amount that I would ordinarily have paid for the package.  I generally find the package worthwhile at a $52 or lower price point.  Thus, since I paid $18 (with gratuities added), I "owe" the staff gratuities on the remaining $34 pp/pd that I would have paid for the package but for the price glitch.  My thought is to add $85 to my account and ask that it be treated as additional gratuity for the bar staff.  

I will do this in addition to tipping with cash as I order drinks, which I generally do.  

If anyone has a better method for making sure that the bar staff does not suffer due to the glitch, please let me know.  

I do not think that you need to make up the difference per day.   Dropping a larger tip that you would normally at the end of the night a few times during the sailing would do the trick in my opinion.  Thats if you really feel you drop extra to make up for the gratuities that were not collected due to the glitch.

I also see where @Zacharius is coming from.  The company made a mistake and should compensate the staff accordingly to make up for it.  

I do not feel the staff need to get stiff in the process.  They work just as hard as I do to make a living and I would not want to see that taken away from them.  

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I have no idea how this situation works, but I would guess that the error would impact the companies bottom line, not the actual staff on the ship.  Just like when a Grocery or retail store makes a mistake and has to honor an old sales price it doesn't come out of the cashier or stock worker's pay. 

Having said that, I do also recommend tipping an extra dollar or two for excellent service.   As others have mentioned if you tip a little extra on the pool deck or in the theater or lounge my experience is that the staff will be sure to be more attentive to you.   

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2 hours ago, spursfreak21 said:

I have no idea how this situation works, but I would guess that the error would impact the companies bottom line, not the actual staff on the ship.  Just like when a Grocery or retail store makes a mistake and has to honor an old sales price it doesn't come out of the cashier or stock worker's pay. 

Having said that, I do also recommend tipping an extra dollar or two for excellent service.   As others have mentioned if you tip a little extra on the pool deck or in the theater or lounge my experience is that the staff will be sure to be more attentive to you.   

RC is certainly taking the hit on the difference between the $18 and whatever the price should have been, but the question is whether they’ll also cover the difference in gratuities collected which is unlikely in my opinion. When someone gets BOGO 50% off for example, does the company cover the lost gratuity? Very unlikely. Now those fortunate enough to get the $18 package are not all on the same cruise, so hopefully the difference isn’t that dramatic to begin with. 

With all that said, I would also simply tip more on the drinks you get. It’s not perfect but it will help to even it out. 

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5 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

I was lucky enough to snag the $18 DBP for my March cruise.  My concern is compensating the bar staff adequately and fairly.  I have been pondering this for some time.  I am assuming, please correct me if I am wrong, that the gratuities included in the purchase price are split evenly among the bar staff, in which case just giving the staff a tip, either on the bill or in cash, will reward whichever "lucky" bar tender I happen to patronize on any given occasion.   There may be bars I only go to once or twice (or not at all-unlikely).  The best solution I have come up with is to add gratuities for the amount that I would ordinarily have paid for the package.  I generally find the package worthwhile at a $52 or lower price point.  Thus, since I paid $18 (with gratuities added), I "owe" the staff gratuities on the remaining $34 pp/pd that I would have paid for the package but for the price glitch.  My thought is to add $85 to my account and ask that it be treated as additional gratuity for the bar staff.  

I will do this in addition to tipping with cash as I order drinks, which I generally do.  

If anyone has a better method for making sure that the bar staff does not suffer due to the glitch, please let me know.  

We were also fortunate to grab that intern special. I have been wondering the same, that is, if the 18% gratuity is based on the $18/day "deal', it really is no deal for the bartenders and staff. Am I going to cancel and re-book at the prevailing rate, heck no! But, I will tip as I normally would (and not based on the "special").

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The thing to note about this is that not everyone on the cruise has the $18 beverage package, so the staff are not getting completely stitched up.

I would think most people on the cruise have either purchased the package at a "normal" price (whatever that is ?), or are paying for their drinks as they go. These people are contributing a "normal" amount to the tips pool for the staff.

Let's just try an example with some ball park figures:

A seven night cruise on a ship that carries 3000 passengers. Let's say even 10% of them got the $18 bargain.
Say they would normally have paid $50 for the package, so they saved $32.  This means that instead of $63 in gratuities, they only paid $23, or $40 less they normally would.

For 10% of passengers (300), this equates to $12,000 less in the tipping pool. 

Now let's say there are 1000 crew in the pool. They each get $12 less for that cruise.

So... nobody like to lose money, but $12 for the cruise isn't going to send them broke. My figures are VERY ball park, but should give some idea of the impact on the crew.

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

Just out of curiosity, what and when was the glitch?  Guess I haven’t been paying attention & just wondering.  Nice score

Deluxe drink package was incorrectly priced at $18/day for about a 5-6 hour period of time.  Royal ultimately decided to honor the price.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/07/03/royal-caribbean-will-honor-drink-package-price-glitch

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Here is what I found on a recent Oasis sailing....I never had the opportunity to tip extra.  You used to either sign a slip or use the card pad to have the option to leave a tip.  On this cruise...I just gave them my SeaPass, they scanned it, and gave me my drink.  I didn't even see a tip jar anywhere.  The only place I was able to leave a little extra was at the Cafe Promenade when I got coffees as they used the card pad that you had to sign when getting a drink.

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31 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

We noticed that on our Anthem cruise last week.  No more signatures or paper receipts required.

You still have the opportunity to slip someone a cash tip.

I had that on my last Anthem cruise. My guess is that's  due to the complains that it is an additional pressure tactic to get more tips, or waste of paper (maybe both).

If you don't have cash on you, nothing stops you to ask for a receipt and add additional tip for an exceptional service. Did that several times and it was always greatly appreciated.

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On Allure last week I asked the Solarium barkeep if the tips were pooled or went directly to her(Ariana)? She said"I get to keep all of it". I usually tipped a buck a bev. but when I didn't the service was consistently good. Complex drinks like the Margs at Sabor were slow but so good and worth the wait.  

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