Carnival Cruise Line rep addresses a troubling tipping rumor
Does how you choose to tip on a Carnival cruise impact the level of service you receive? Here's what to know before you sail.
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald is used to putting out fires on his popular Facebook page that’s followed by more than 600,000 cruisers.
Often this means extinguishing rampant cruise rumors spread by other popular Facebook pages dedicated to cruising.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line warns against another bad cruise behavior
Recent rumors Heald has snuffed out include false claims that the cruise line is retiring a beloved cruise ship and removing fan-favorite dining venue Guy’s Burger Joint fleetwide, along with a number of other untrue assertions.
Now, the brand ambassador is tackling a blaze that heated up around onboard tipping.
Cruisers basically have two choices for how to handle tipping on a cruise. Carnival and other cruise lines will automatically add the suggested daily gratuity amounts to your onboard account, so you can accept that or choose to remove the automatic gratuities in favor of tipping in cash.
Some passengers choose to prepay gratuities at the suggested daily rate and provide additional tips in cash, too.
Although tipping the wonderful crew members who work hard to make your vacation special is something the majority of cruise passengers are happy to do, the proper way to tip and how much to tip is a matter that’s often debated.
And while tipping is already a complicated cruise topic, false rumors occasionally add fuel to the fire.
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Carnival Cruise Line brand ambassador refutes tipping rumor
The latest tipping controversy Heald battled involved an alleged negative consequence of removing automatic cruise gratuities to instead pay the same amount or more in cash during your cruise.
According to a widely circulated social media post, if you do remove automatic gratuities, crew members will find out that you did this by the middle of your cruise and will reduce the level of service they provide to you as a result.
In a recent video update for his followers, Heald stressed that this rumor is completely false, and backed it up by providing details on when crew members receive their crew payment guidelines for each sailing.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line rep sounds alarm on growing YouTube problem
“This happens after the cruise,” Heald explained. “So, you finish your cruise, whether it's a three- or an eight- or a 10-day cruise, and the gratuities from that cruise are always paid to the crew the following cruise.”
As Heald emphasized, the claim “that you're going to get diminished service is absolutely nonsense.” He hoped that providing clarification on this would help passengers avoid worrying.
Choosing to remove cruise gratuities and not tip at all is discouraged
Although how you choose to tip on a cruise is a matter of personal preference and either way is acceptable, removing automatic gratuities and not tipping at all is discouraged. Heald made a point to address cruisers who choose not to tip in his video, too, even though the cruise line reports that a very small percentage of cruisers actually do this.
“For those who remove their gratuities and give nothing, well, that's your personal choice, but I think most people that do that…have never been in a service-oriented [position],” Heald added. “They’ve never been a waiter or a cabin attendant or in housekeeping or a waitress or anything like that.”
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Heald also stressed that the tips that passengers give to Carnival crew members are sincerely appreciated, but regardless of the way you choose to tip, the crew will provide the same high level of service.
“Thank you for all your gratuities that you give the crew,” he said. “We appreciate it, they appreciate it, their families at home appreciate it, and they will, regardless [of how you tip], give you the best service because they are, as Tina Turner once said, ‘simply the best ooh better than all the rest ooh better than anyone, better than I've ever met.’”
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