Carnival Cruise Line clarifies where tips go amid outcry
The cruise line’s brand ambassador is shedding light on a controversial tipping topic.
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald is once again combating the cruise rumor mill.
In a recent Facebook video for his more than 600,000 followers, the beloved brand ambassador explained that over the last few weeks he’s received hundreds of questions and complaints related to a social media post from an alleged crew member who worked for another cruise line.
Related: Celebrity Cruises passengers sound alarm on industry-wide issue
What the crew member shared online led to an outcry among cruisers about cruise lines’ tip distribution policies.
Heald did not want to reveal which cruise line the crew member worked for, but he detailed what the crew member posted.
According to Heald, the crew member stated that “the cruise line that he or she works for will take a large percentage of the gratuities that are automatically left for the crew members to use to pay other crew members, or for whatever the cruise line decides to do with it.”
Heald pointed out that he didn’t know if that statement was true and he didn’t want to judge, comment on, or speculate about it.
He did, however, want to clarify how Carnival Cruise Line’s automatic gratuities are distributed after many disgruntled passengers wrote to him angrily assuming that Carnival follows a similar tip distribution procedure.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise. Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival brand ambassador explains how prepaid tips are distributed
“The gratuity that you give our crew stays with them,” Heald emphasized.
To provide transparency, Heald went on to explain just how Carnival Cruise Line divvies up the automatic gratuities that most passengers choose to prepay for their cruise.
“The majority of your gratuity of the suggested daily amount is shared equally between the lady or gentleman who cleans your cabin and the lady or gentleman who serves you in the dining room,” Heald explained.
He also noted that stateroom attendants and dining room servers may share those tips with their assistants. Additionally, a smaller portion of passengers’ prepaid gratuities goes to crew who serve, clean, and work behind the scenes on the Lido deck.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line rep clarifies crew tip, gift rules
The brand ambassador also explained that if passengers choose "Your Time" dining, which means they aren’t served by the same dining room service team each night of their cruise like they are with traditional dining, their prepaid gratuities are shared between all Your Time dining servers.
“If you give a waiter in Your Time dining cash, it is kept completely by that waiter; otherwise it is pooled, as they say,” Heald noted.
“It's the same with the bartenders,” he added. “If you write a gratuity on the receipt, or if, for example, you've got the Cheers program, that gratuity is shared equally between all the bartenders on the ship. If you hand a bartender a cash gratuity it is kept completely 100% by he or she that has served you.”
What happens if you pay Carnival cruise gratuities in cash?
“If you give a crew member a gratuity in cash — if you give them the same amount as the suggested amount in cash or any extra in cash — then that is kept 100% by that crew member,” Heald explained. “Again, he or she may give a portion of that to their direct assistant or the assistants in the dining room.”
Heald assured passengers that Carnival Cruise Line does not require its crew members to turn in cash gratuities they are given; 100% of those cash gratuities are kept by the crew.
More Carnival cruise news:
- Carnival cruisers overwhelmingly want this booking process change
- Carnival Cruise Line plans to bring back popular app feature
- Carnival Cruise Line shares strict bathroom warning
The brand ambassador also made a point to thank Carnival cruisers for how well they take care of Carnival crew members with their tips, and reminded them of one very important thing.
“Please don't believe everything you read on the internet — it is so important — and before you come racing across to accuse us of something, just ask me civilly and I will give you the honest and a civil answer back,” Heald promised.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
