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Wow Envelopes


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When the WOW envelopes were first introduced (maybe 4 years ago ??) you could only leave them at Guest Services in special receptacles made for that purpose.  I recall that once, we had forgotten to drop ours off and we tried to hand them to a staff member as we were leaving the ship and they held up their hands and backed away, shaking their heads, as if it the envelope might contain a nerve agent or something !  They said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  We cannot even touch those !".  What ??  Whatever.  We just kept walking.  No WOW for those crew member that day !

I don't think the WOW envelopes are quite that sensitive these days.  As a matter of fact, I didn't even know they were still using them.  I would say,  try and find the drop-off containers near Guest Services, first.  If you cannot find one then ask at GS where to deposit them.

The WOW envelopes are not (or at least, did not USED to be) for tips/gratuities. They are to "write up" any crew member that deserves special praise for good service or attitude.  I guess you COULD use them for tips, but that was not their original purpose.

On the issue of tips...we always just give cash to anyone we want to reward.  I don't bother with envelopes of any kind.  Just hand them some dough and be done with it.

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The WOW envelopes are not (or at least, did not USED to be) for tips/gratuities. They are to "write up" any crew member that deserves special praise for good service or attitude.  I guess you COULD use them for tips, but that was not their original purpose.

Since these envelopes say they are for gratuities I should hand them out? There are only two of them.

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After years of cruising with Royal, I am a convinced that anytime you you tip and that receipt, envelope, or anything else that says "gratuity" and also has a Royal Caribbean logo on it--those funds are going into that ships general tip pool for all employees. That includes leaving a buck or two tip on a receipt for drinks. That bartender/server/room attendant does not individually receive those funds. That is true for the above pictured envelope. Cash to that guy or gal you want to thank? That goes entirely to that person you want to acknowledge.

Case in point: want to know why that employee Waaaytoo described was afraid to touch that little blue envelope??? Because management is afraid an employee would stick it in their pocket and not put it into the collective fund and probably has given extreme warning to any employee thinking of not sharing that money.

 

You don't need no stink'in envelope, there is nothing to hide. Be proud of your acknowledgment and carry some small bills in your pocket when you are onboard. Enjoy the smile you get in return for your couple bucks.

 

 

 

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16 hours ago, bobroo said:

After years of cruising with Royal, I am a convinced that anytime you you tip and that receipt, envelope, or anything else that says "gratuity" and also has a Royal Caribbean logo on it--those funds are going into that ships general tip pool for all employees. That includes leaving a buck or two tip on a receipt for drinks. That bartender/server/room attendant does not individually receive those funds. That is true for the above pictured envelope. Cash to that guy or gal you want to thank? That goes entirely to that person you want to acknowledge.

Case in point: want to know why that employee Waaaytoo described was afraid to touch that little blue envelope??? Because management is afraid an employee would stick it in their pocket and not put it into the collective fund and probably has given extreme warning to any employee thinking of not sharing that money.

 

You don't need no stink'in envelope, there is nothing to hide. Be proud of your acknowledgment and carry some small bills in your pocket when you are onboard. Enjoy the smile you get in return for your couple bucks.

Exactly this^^^^   Cash Mano a Mano is best..........for you and the recipient! They love it and you'll feel good. 

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We have left envelopes with tips for our waiter and assistant waiter with someone else in the MDR before (since they were both busy) and by the time we were at the door they had come running to thank us.  Since this has happened twice I believe any cash that is in those WOW gratuity envelopes goes directly to the person that they are addressed to.

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23 hours ago, bobroo said:

You don't need no stink'in envelope, there is nothing to hide. Be proud of your acknowledgment and carry some small bills in your pocket when you are onboard. Enjoy the smile you get in return for your couple bucks.

 

 

 

We always take some plain envelopes along for our cabin steward and dining room staff (pre-filled with the minimum extra we will give) and some extras in case we want to tip others on the ship above and beyond the pooled money.

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On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 6:53 PM, bobroo said:

After years of cruising with Royal, I am a convinced that anytime you you tip and that receipt, envelope, or anything else that says "gratuity" and also has a Royal Caribbean logo on it--those funds are going into that ships general tip pool for all employees. That includes leaving a buck or two tip on a receipt for drinks. That bartender/server/room attendant does not individually receive those funds. That is true for the above pictured envelope. Cash to that guy or gal you want to thank? That goes entirely to that person you want to acknowledge.

Case in point: want to know why that employee Waaaytoo described was afraid to touch that little blue envelope??? Because management is afraid an employee would stick it in their pocket and not put it into the collective fund and probably has given extreme warning to any employee thinking of not sharing that money.

 

You don't need no stink'in envelope, there is nothing to hide. Be proud of your acknowledgment and carry some small bills in your pocket when you are onboard. Enjoy the smile you get in return for your couple bucks.

 

 

 

bob I  totally agree I believe what royal calls gratuities is in fact all about the bottom line and is used to pay a large portion of the crews salaries not in addition to there salaries sorry I'm asuch a pessimist please forgive the spelling and yes I agree the general fund is most likely where it goes

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I ended up leaving an envelope in our stateroom the last night of our cruise for our attendant. She left us a thank you note. I handed envelopes to the main dining staff. I saw another guest stop by during dinner. His family was not eating in the main dining room that night but he stopped by with envelopes.

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