Tipping The Crew

 

Tips were not guaranteed. 

Not all crew members received tips.  Only the crew members who came into direct contact with passengers on Titanic received tips. 

On all cruise ships, it was natural to expect tips, but the crew actually depended on them to supplement their income because the cruise lines paid lower level crew members very poorly.   They still do.

White Star Line went out of their way to print in their brochures that tipping was voluntary. This as much as told guests that they didn't have to tip if they didn't want to.  

Third-class passengers were not expected to tip, but if they did, it was appreciated.  Most passengers in First and Second class were affluent and used to tipping.  Their tips handsomely supplemented salaries.

Some crew had to share, some did not, so here is how it all breaks down:

Cabin Stewards

It was optional for stewards to give over a portion of their tips to the other crew members they interacted with during a voyage. (bus boys, dishwashers, etc.). No doubt, this was a good time for the crew to be friends with the cabin stewards. They knew it was best that they did their job exceedingly well, because extra money just might come their way.

Bedroom Steward - Salary £9-£11/month

Certain First-class passengers tipped their chief steward when they boarded the ship to ensure they received excellent service.

Third Class.  If they tipped at all, the suggested tip was 10 shillings for tickets priced at £20 to £25.  

Second Class. Suggested tip for tickets priced at £70 was 14 shillings.

Second Class. Suggested tip for tickets priced at £50 was 12 shillings.

First Class.  Suggested tip for tickets priced at £80 was 16 shillings.

First Class.  Suggested tip for tickets priced at £100 was £1 (one pound).

- Stewardess - salary was slightly less than £3/month

She received two-thirds of the tip amount that was suggested for the male bedroom steward. 

If there was a private bath required, the tip was an extra 4 shillings.

- Saloon Steward (bartender)

All classes.  The suggested tip was 10 shillings per person, per voyage.

- Bath Steward

All classes.  The suggested tip was 4 shillings which usually covered several baths per voyage.

- Cleaning Steward

All classes.  The suggested tip was 2 shillings per passenger, per voyage.

- Deck Steward

All classes.  The suggested tip was only if assistance was required, or if assisting a lady, was 4 shillings.

- Smoke Room Steward

All classes. If the saloon was used frequently, the suggested tip was 2 shillings. For a one-time use, a tip was appreciated but not expected.  

- Dining Room Stewards

All classes. A tip was suggested (and expected) at 5 shillings per passenger. The tip was pooled so all 100 stewards got something. Since these stewards usually doubled as cabin stewards, one could say they were tipped twice.

- Gymnasium Steward

All classes. The suggested tip was 2 shillings, but only if they had interaction - i.e. gave assistance.

- Musicians

The musicians were paid less than £1 per month by White Star Line. On other shipping lines, it could be as much as £4 each per month. 

 

Musicians performing on White Star Line ships absolutely relied on tips.  A collection toward the end of the voyage was usually organized by someone in First-class which was presented to the musicians on the last night of the trip.  On this voyage, it is safe to assume they were not paid since all the musicians went down with the ship.

So how much money could the crew make from tipping?  Well, on Titanic, I'd hazard a guess that they didn't collect very much before that last night or if they did, it was lost before they were rescued.  But for the heck of it, let's tally it up the numbers using the 1912 economy.

- Assume that Third-class didn't tip at all. 

- Assume that tips came only from First-and Second-Class which was a total of 580 passengers in those two classes. 

- Of the 580, there were 325 First Class passengers. Of them, 319 were adults. Assuming two-thirds of 325 were tippers, that leaves 213 as tippers.

- Of the 580, there were 284 Second-Class passengers. Of them, 261 were adults. Assuming two-thirds of 261 were tippers, that leaves 173 as tippers.

- In total, there were 386 tipping adults. Since most couples tip once to make due for both passengers, that cuts the 386 in half. That leaves 193 tippers.

Cabin Stewards

For First-Class, the tip was supposed to be between 10 shillings and one pound per cabin. If a steward had ten cabins, that would be about £12 total.  If he made 4-seven day voyages per month that would be £48 per month added to his salary - which was half of the Captain's £105 salary.

For Second-Class, the tip was supposed to be 14 shillings per cabin. If a cabin steward had ten cabins, that would be 140 shillings or £7 total. If he made 4-seven day voyages per month, that would be £28 per month added to his salary.

Stewardess

For all classes, she was tipped two-thirds of the suggested amount of £12 for a cabin steward. So for 10-First Class cabins, two thirds of £12 would be slightly less than £8 total for those 10 cabins for one voyage. If she made 4-seven day voyages per month, that would be £32 per month added to her salary for First Class tips. 

For 10-Second Class cabins, two-thirds of £7 would be about £4 for 10 cabins. If she made 4-seven day voyages per month, tha would be £16 per month added to her salary. Plus, she was also tipped an extra 4 shillings for each private bath.

Bartender

The suggested tip was 10 shillings per person. This is the guy who probably made out the best. For 386 tipping adults, the most he could look forward to was 3860 shillings or £28.  For couples, cut the 386 in half and that would be 193 tipping adults which comes to 1930 shillings or £14.  Times four trips per month, it comes to £56.

Currency conversion used for calculation was accurate as of the date of this post - September 10, 2018.

Dining Room Stewards

These stewards worked in groups of two and expected 5 shillings per passenger. These tips were pooled, then split among 100 stewards. So the pooled amount wasn't very much per steward. Generally 2 stewards were assigned to 10 tables and there were 50 tables in the dining room, for a total of 100 stewards. 

The  most likely tippers were mostly First-and Second-class diners (386).  At 5 shillings per passenger x 386, the pooled tip was £14 was split over 100 stewards.  About 14 shillings.

Since most of the passengers were couples, that cut the number of tippers in half to 193.  The pooled tip of £7 was split between 100 stewards.  It came to about 7 shillings.

If the ship were booked to capacity, cabin stewards and select crew members could easily triple their monthly wage (or more) on one voyage.  However, there was no guaranteebecause tipping was at the discretion of the passenger.

On all shipping lines (White Star, Bibby, American, Cunard, etc.) if passengers  under-tipped, the steward's behavior might not be as . . . nice as it was before.    

For example, for first-class passengers whose ticket cost £100, if they tipped only 10 shillings instead of the suggested £1, the steward might not answer a call as promptly or be as available as previously.  When the expected tip was paid, all of a sudden, their behavior miraculously changed.

 

Today, cruise lines no longer turn a blind eye. Crew members, especially cabin stewards, leave envelopes in every stateroom, pre-printed with the cabin number and the "suggested tip amount."  

I think it is probably safe to say that tips and salary were the last things on the minds of the crew as Titanic descended into the depths of the sea.