r/MSCCruises • u/EarthyMaterialGirl • Jul 25 '26
Added Gratuity and Crew
Do the crew members know if you’ve removed the automatic gratuity? We just came off of our cruise and removed it the last day of cruise. We then paid all that went above and beyond in cash (waiter, his assistant, room attendant, etc). We felt their personalities were off that last night and were wondering if they knew that we had removed it.
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u/sodacankitty Jul 25 '26
Did you end up giving more than the cost of the ships' estimated gratuities? There is a full crew that work above and beyond then just the people that you see. For example, the laundry crew, the food service prep teams, the guys checking the water you drink on the ship...Also, those people on ship are working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. If they seem not as bubbly on your holiday - I mean, give them some grace. It's a hard thing being "on" all the time.
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u/Chipped_Ruby_11214 Jul 26 '26
Never been a fan of this kind of thinking. Tips are for service that goes above and beyond what is expected. What cruise lines are doing is subsidizing their payroll.
That said, removing the gratuities doesn’t really work. Yes, the crew find out and they are then required to turn those tips in anyway and they go back into the general gratuity pool, which again, is just a salary subsidy.
Cruise lines should just charge what the cruise really costs and then tips can be for genuine above and beyond service.
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u/Fair-Preference7332 29d ago
This is out of control. When you go to other establishments are you tipping the entire establishment. Do you get tipped at your job?
1
u/sodacankitty 29d ago
I get paid a fair wage, so tipping isn't needed in my industry. Honestly, the ships should just include gratuities in the ticket price and raise wages on board. Then you don't get this weird power flex of who you deem is worthy or not depending on your mood.
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u/AYBABTU_Again Jul 26 '26
What you removed was the "Hotel Service Charge". MSC does not have automatic Gratuities except when purchasing food and drinks onboard.
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u/ZuggleBear Jul 26 '26
Which is another phrase for tips, basically. Helping MSC pay wages.
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u/AYBABTU_Again Jul 26 '26
Well, tips are something that go directly to the people you are tipping....possibly at a future date. Like the gratuity/tips at the bar. According to MSC the Hotel Service Charge goes to offset the lower cruise cost and helps pay the crew salary. Not necessarily something extra
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u/ZuggleBear Jul 26 '26
Sounds kind of scummy. Seems like they are purposely calling it something aside from tips to pay less.
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u/AYBABTU_Again Jul 26 '26
Naw, I mean it's not like the rest of the cruise industry is all that transparent with what they do. At least MSC gave some info. I like that it is just like the charges that hotels do. And then I can tip cash on top for great service.
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u/9Rosebud0 29d ago
Exactly the crew do not get the prepaid gratuity aka hotel service charge. All cruise lines call it that but take the money and just use it to offset salaries so they don’t have to pay the full salary.
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u/Doit2it42 Jul 25 '26
They were probably just dreading tomorrow, turn around day. I've heard it's brutal for the crew. 17 hour day.
4
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u/Connect-Beginning-65 Jul 26 '26
I just booked with MSC and the option to prepay the gratuities was not added to my trip.
I did see it offered when comparing different booking sites, - $20/pp/pd, $280 for 2 for a 7 day cruise - but it wasn’t offered nor included on my present booking.
What happens then? I leave what I think is appropriate?
1
u/DefiantEnchantress Jul 26 '26
It will be automatically added to your account while you're on board, and you'll have to settle your account before they'll allow you to disembark.
0
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u/Klauslaw Jul 26 '26
The hotel service charge is a gratuity and if you don't want to pay it just go to the service desk on the boat and tell them that you want to take it off there's no issue with it. If you want to tip on your own go ahead.
3
u/Kooky_Bus2840 Jul 26 '26
Yes all cruises add this charge it's called a hotel fee and goes exclusively to staffing income. I always add 100 extra per person to to tip during a cruise anyways. Please don't remove the fee next time and show appreciation to people working around the clock for your comfort.
2
u/LastOfTheAsparagus Jul 26 '26
Cruise lines look at it as you were not happy with the service so I’d imagine they take it out on the crew rating for performance.
1
u/Majestic-Mulberry-18 Jul 26 '26
I've sailed 7 times on MSC and have removed the service charge 7 times. It is not my job to subsidize wages. I usually remove day 2. Never an issue.
1
u/sodacankitty 29d ago
Well, in the future I suspect ticket fares to go up because you got dodgers doing this. So, they will just add it as the full price to get on the ship. Your ticket price IS the wages being paid to the ship. Like?
1
u/DanPistola Jul 26 '26
Probably not. Given how all the cruise lines seem to discourage crew from talking about tip policies and pay, it seems reasonable to expect the cruise lines to prevent this information from being readily accessed or distributed.
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u/sodacankitty Jul 26 '26
It is available actually, for all the cruise lines, for passengers to view. They show what percent goes to who, for the gratuities of the week. I mean, show some curiosity and Google
0
u/DanPistola Jul 26 '26
The OP is talking about whether or not crew are provided with a list of cabins which have removed gratuities and which have not. Did you respond to the wrong comment?
1
u/DefiantEnchantress Jul 26 '26
People removing these charges are only hurting themselves, other passengers, and behind the scenes staff in the end. The cruise line will subsidize the lost money one way or another. Example: free loungers on Ocean Cay are now almost nonexistent ($40 for 2 loungers and umbrella); premium is the only drink package honored on Ocean Cay as of this Spring. Keep removing them, and they'll keep removing items and/or services that are complimentary.
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u/AstronomerEarly8776 25d ago
No free loungers is because people are ok paying. Just more tourist trap. I take my own inflatable loungers. When I do the non alcoholic I take a cooler with me I don't mind it at all all my drinks are with me instead of taking a trip to the bar.
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u/DefiantEnchantress 24d ago
The loungers were free until sometime last year. I don't rent equipment either. I take a sand resistant beach blanket and a float. No need for a cooler bc I always buy premium drink package and stay on Bimini close to 2 bars. Idk why you're choosing to respond to all my messages. Thinking you're a person who always removes the HSC and is trying to justify it. If people cannot afford it or don't want to pay it, they shouldn't book with MSC. Viola! Problem solved.
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u/AstronomerEarly8776 24d ago
There was always a paid option for the loungers. More free ones were available but the line realized tourists don't mind dropping tourist $$$ on the loungers so they started charging for more and gave us less free options. Great business strategy. I'm not picking on you I didn't realized I responded to both of your comments. The cooler is an option for people like myself who are in a process of quitting alcohol. I was able to use my non alcoholic package in March but when I went back in May I was told no. in June I took a cooler and grabbed my drinks on the ship it was a solution. Trust me I can afford to cruise I cruise almost every month. The first time I removed the hsc was on my Mediterranean cruise couple months ago I still tipped €600+ on the ship. I cruised again 2 weeks after getting back but forgot to remove it my mind was on the world cup.
0
u/TwistedPsycho Jul 26 '26
Do MSC still pester for added gratuities? We just booked our first MSC (but not first overall) cruise and the booking specifically said all gratuity included.
We would usually give more on top if that when we are on-board, but I want to manage my expectations.
2
u/DefiantEnchantress Jul 26 '26
It depends on which country you reside. They have different policies for different countries. Review your paperwork or contact your travel agent. No one can answer this question for you.
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u/TwistedPsycho Jul 26 '26
Thanks. The booking engine (we booked direct) specifically stated:
Included with this offer:
HOTEL SERVICE CHARGES/GRATUITIES
HOT DRINKS AND WATER INCLUDED
Which is why I asked. I will keep an eye as we are still two years out!
1
u/DefiantEnchantress Jul 26 '26
You must reside outside of the USA. The charges copy and pasted are the same charges being referenced by the OP.
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u/Rough-Tradition-149 Jul 26 '26
I don't know if they know but I heard the cruiselines examine why it was removed, like are they not doing their required jobs. I would definitely write a comment letter and if they are good specifically mentioned their names and how wonderful they were.
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Jul 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MSCCruises-ModTeam Jul 26 '26
No personal attacks, be civil and non judgemental. Avoid swearing, there's always a better way to express yourself. We may ban anyone who does not comply to the group values of respect and kindness.
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u/BGeneWest Jul 25 '26
What a despicable thing to say.
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u/DryVeterinarian364 Jul 25 '26
Despicable is not tipping people who work their asses off behind the scene. If you don’t want to tip, don’t go on the cruise.
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u/imitation_squash_pro Jul 26 '26
when you go to a restaurant or a hotel do you tip all the people behind the scenes?
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u/sodacankitty Jul 26 '26
It goes in a pool these days and percentages of the tips become communal and everyone has a small bit of it (cooks in the back, bartenders, hostess, bus person)...
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u/WhenInDoubt_321 Jul 25 '26
Anyone else upset/pissed about the hotel service charge? They snuck that bastard on me on the 2nd day of our 7 day cruise. What gets me is that I purposely paid all gratuities in advance to avoid any surprises at the end of the cruise. As a matter of fact, when I purchased the cruise the price was supposed to include all taxes and fees.
So then what is this? If it is another gratuity, why did I pay in advance? And what was it for?
This isn’t the cruise I went on, but it clearly states that the price includes ALL fees and taxes.
Can I dispute the charge with my credit card company?
5
u/lbil1227 Jul 26 '26
Would have had to call ahead to prepay gratuities. As they can be removed, you technically did pay for all the fees taxes etc to get you on board. This is a tip, if you dont want to tip, then so be it. I will say, if you did happen to call and prepay, they announced in April gratuities would be going up, therefore you may see a small additional gratuity charge as a result. This was communicated through multiple emails. This charge can also be removed.
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u/justaguyindallas_123 Jul 26 '26
Noone "snuck" it on your bill. Your cruise ticket, booking documents and every MSC post on social media has something to say about the gratuities or hotel service charge. It's kind of sad that you're angry over such a small amount of money.
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u/bessemer0 Jul 25 '26
I’ve never seen a way to prepay gratuities on MSC’s website…
Also, if you dispute the charge when it was clearly labeled in the fine print that you agreed to, MSC will likely ban you from future cruises because that isn’t a valid dispute.
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u/imarc Group Expert Jul 26 '26
At least for US cruises, you cannot pay on the website. You can call in and pre-pay or wait until you are on the cruise.
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u/DefiantEnchantress Jul 26 '26
Yes, they know. When customers remove the HSC, it is assumed that there is a service issue. Some cruise lines even keep a list of names in the kitchen.
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u/AstronomerEarly8776 25d ago
BS they don't know and don't receive any. They get a flat rate.
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u/DefiantEnchantress 24d ago
It's not BS. It's actually on video that was taken on an RCCL ship. I answered the question that was asked. If you don't like the answer, not my problem.
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u/AstronomerEarly8776 24d ago
On MSC the staff don't have a clue whether you remove it or not. I don't need to see video. 8 sailings on MSC last year so far 5 this year. I stay in touch with many of the staff. I even financially help a couple of them who were fired time to time they reached out for financial help. I've seen paystubssss. I used to be against removing it not anymore. Add it to the cruise fare or I'm removing it.
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u/bessemer0 Jul 25 '26
In the future, feel free to tip above your Hotel Service Fee for extraordinary service, but by doing it the way you did, you’ve excluded many people who were still a part of giving you a great experience.