Tipping

I am sure this has already been asked but do people still tip even though it is discouraged. If so, what is normal?

Thanks in advance.

Many give something to the crew fund but that's up to you!

Contribute to the Crew Fund at the reception desk. Everyone benefits that way, even those you never see. It helps provide emergency funds if a crew member needs to get home quickly, and it also provides parties for them....we always do that at the end of the cruise.

Please contribute to the Crew Fund. Some people tip and it seems to lead to an expectation amongst the crew. IMO, the Crew Fund is the best way to handle it.

Thanks for the info.

What about your butler? We always feel we should tip the butler (and do) because they are so attentive and go out of their way trying to please.

Agree forevertravel, others, however, don't. We tip the butler and contribute to the crew fund.

Depending upon the butler, the level of service and what requests we have made, we have tipped the butler. However, because of this practice, we had a butler standing there.... obviously waiting for a tip. His service was poor. It was upsetting to have this experience. If people only tipped for extraordinary service, it would avoid this type of situation.

I have seen too many passengers openly handing envelopes to servers on the last night...... just like mainstream cruise lines. :rolleyes:

I don't get it. Where does it say "Tipping discouraged?"

I tip extra. Just like when I am on other cruise lines that adds the tip to the bill, I give extra. Usually my stewardess, the helper, my waiter and head waiter and some of the bartenders. (I tend to always sit in the same section in the CR so I get the same waiter every night.)

I have never felt that anyone of the crew on Regent ever expected a tip and I do not think that my tipping has ever created any expectations either.

j

35/491

Agree forevertravel, others, however, don't. We tip the butler and contribute to the crew fund.

And the cabin stewardess, just as we are walking out of the door for the last time.

Regent does not use the negative word "discouraged". It is fairly straight forward when they that state that tips are included. With the number of foreign speakers I'm seeing on this cruise, it could be a good idea to print that policy (and other major ones) in multiple languages as some people do not seem to understand.

There are people with various opinions on this topic. Rather than confusing the issue, IMO, it is better to simply state the policy. Having said that, I probably should not have mentioned that we have occasionally tipped our butler. Will try to stick to the facts in the future.

So why tip only the staff you see regularly? What about the unseen staff who may go out of their way?

Surely the idea of pre paid tips is so every staff member is included?

Actually that's what the crew fund is for.

So why tip only the staff you see regularly? What about the unseen staff who may go out of their way?

Surely the idea of pre paid tips is so every staff member is included?

IMO, that is the point. Agree about crew fund but strongly disagree about servers. We sit in the same area every night. The head waiter, the server that serves us, the assistant server, the kitchen crew that take care special requests all deserve something. Regent pays them more money because tips are included. Giving individual tips on a luxury cruise line creates an environment that does not meet the model that luxury lines set up.

So why tip only the staff you see regularly? What about the unseen staff who may go out of their way?

Surely the idea of pre paid tips is so every staff member is included?

Yes.

Actually that's what the crew fund is for.

Yes.

Tips are included on Regent cruises. Period, end of story (at least for us, most of the time.) Contribute to the crew fund if you wish. Don't tip individuals, unless they do something really extraordinary for you.

Thanks again for sharing your personal experiences.

It appears that Regent passengers are no different than the other lines - everyone makes their own decisions. This thread was not to judge anyone for making theirs - we were just looking to see if the included gratuities were the norm or not. Extra dollars going to the crew is not a deciding factor for us, just a question we wanted clarification on.

We have tried many of the mass market lines over the past twenty years and became loyal to Princess due to their service. Lately we have seen a decline in some areas and are exploring Regent due to reviews. We just want to know what we are going to experience. As we investigate further I am sure I will post new questions for the experienced Regent passengers.

Again - thanks for the information.

Thanks again for sharing your personal experiences.

 

It appears that Regent passengers are no different than the other lines - everyone makes their own decisions. This thread was not to judge anyone for making theirs - we were just looking to see if the included gratuities were the norm or not. Extra dollars going to the crew is not a deciding factor for us, just a question we wanted clarification on.

 

We have tried many of the mass market lines over the past twenty years and became loyal to Princess due to their service. Lately we have seen a decline in some areas and are exploring Regent due to reviews. We just want to know what we are going to experience. As we investigate further I am sure I will post new questions for the experienced Regent passengers.

 

Again - thanks for the information.

We just booked our first Regent cruise for April 2016. I read this thread with interest. I will look for your new questions and will possibly be posting some of my own.

What's the problem...gratuities are included..end of story.

Some context may be important as folks decide what they are going to do about tipping. On Regent, and some other lines, the staff are paid a decent wage and are expected to provide good service. In general they meet or exceed the expectation. So tipping is not expected or required. Donate to the crew fund if you wish, and I urge you to do so.

For some mass-market lines, tips are an important part of the staff's income. In that context, if one receives acceptable service a tip is appropriate. Good service means a larger tip is called for.

Personally, I much prefer Regent / Paul Gauguin etc. where the great folks serving me like their work and are paid decently for it, so I never feel that they are trying to "butter me up" for tips. You may feel differently about what you prefer.

An analogy is bars in various parts of the world. In the UK, tipping the bartender is not expected, although offering to buy him or her a pint can be appropriate. In Canada, the relatively decent minimum wage means that good service should get a 10 - 15% tip. In Florida, the minimum wage for servers is under $3 / hour (outrageous but true!), and a 20% tip is appropriate if the service is good. On some of the out-islands of French Polynesia, any tip is considered to be an insult.

Summarising: tipping on Regent is not expected or particularly appropriate. Donate to the crew fund if you are happy with the way you've been treated by the staff.

I think we have the information required on this.

We just didn't want to be the ones who didn't tip extra, yet it was expected by the staff because everyone else does secretly. If there is a crew fund that is great.

Thanks.

Expect more questions in the future - we want to make sure that this is the line for us.

I understand that the idea of giving extra tips on a cruise line where service and tips are officially all included is controversial, and is not good if it leads to crew standing with hands out on departure day ( or worse, expecting pre-tips for pax to get the already expected and paid for proper service). Many people encourage giving to the crew fund, just naming crew who did a good job. But do those crew you know did a spectacular job and whom you name then get proportionately more of the money than every other crew member whose performance you know nothing about, or whose performance may have been terrible? Probably not. I like the idea of being able to directly reward the person who went above and beyond what his expected performance would be for a higher-salary luxury cruise line, say, as a butler. I am not interested in having that reward equally shared by the waiter who repeatedly did a bad job ( and not because of understaffing), or the rude front desk receptionist, or the guy I saw pick up garnish that fell to the ground with his bare hands and put it back on a serving platter, etc.

As for the unknown behind the scenes people, like laundry guys, if you think their salaries and compensation package are too low on the contracts they signed, then you can donate to the fund, all for one and one for all, without individual distinctions, good or bad, or lobby the cruiseline to pay them more (indirectly indicating you are willing to have your fares increased).

I wonder how much service would drop off on an all-inclusive luxury line if crew were explicity forbidden from accepting extra money, individually targeted, for fantastic performance.

Related: one thing I am puzzled by on group luxury cruise shore excursions is that almost no pax tip, even if the guide was fantastic, and even if there is an excursion where the written description specifically states tips of guides are not included ( and obviously there is no crew fund). Why not give good shore guides a tip, to encourage ongoing great service?

I understand that the idea of giving extra tips on a cruise line where service and tips are officially all included is controversial, and is not good if it leads to crew standing with hands out on departure day ( or worse, expecting pre-tips for pax to get the already expected and paid for proper service). Many people encourage giving to the crew fund, just naming crew who did a good job. But do those crew you know did a spectacular job and whom you name then get proportionately more of the money than every other crew member whose performance you know nothing about, or whose performance may have been terrible? Probably not. I like the idea of being able to directly reward the person who went above and beyond what his expected performance would be for a higher-salary luxury cruise line, say, as a butler. I am not interested in having that reward equally shared by the waiter who repeatedly did a bad job ( and not because of understaffing), or the rude front desk receptionist, or the guy I saw pick up garnish that fell to the ground with his bare hands and put it back on a serving platter, etc.

As for the unknown behind the scenes people, like laundry guys, if you think their salaries and compensation package are too low on the contracts they signed, then you can donate to the fund, all for one and one for all, without individual distinctions, good or bad, or lobby the cruiseline to pay them more (indirectly indicating you are willing to have your fares increased).

I wonder how much service would drop off on an all-inclusive luxury line if crew were explicity forbidden from accepting extra money, individually targeted, for fantastic performance.

 

Related: one thing I am puzzled by on group luxury cruise shore excursions is that almost no pax tip, even if the guide was fantastic, and even if there is an excursion where the written description specifically states tips of guides are not included ( and obviously there is no crew fund). Why not give good shore guides a tip, to encourage ongoing great service?

catlover54,

Your understanding of how the crew fund works is not correct. It is not a tip pool that is divided among the members of the crew. For the most part it is used for crew activities, on or off the ship, or to purchase equipment for those activities. I've also heard that the crew fund has been used to purchase airfare home for crew members when there has been a family emergency. I'm sure there are other uses for the fund.

On a side note, every tipping thread seems to include a comment about tipping a crew member for "above and beyond" service. What is "above and beyond" service on Regent? Excellent service on Regent is the norm. What beyond excellent service does a crew member have to perform to be considered above and beyond?

On tips for excursion guides, I agree completely. They are not members of the crew and should be tipped if they perform their jobs adequately. The bus driver also if the guide is not the driver.

catlover54,

 

Your understanding of how the crew fund works is not correct. It is not a tip pool that is divided among the members of the crew. For the most part it is used for crew activities, on or off the ship, or to purchase equipment for those activities. I've also heard that the crew fund has been used to purchase airfare home for crew members when there has been a family emergency. I'm sure there are other uses for the fund.

 

On a side note, every tipping thread seems to include a comment about tipping a crew member for "above and beyond" service. What is "above and beyond" service on Regent? Excellent service on Regent is the norm. What beyond excellent service does a crew member have to perform to be considered above and beyond? . . . .

 

1. The point is that crew fund money goes to the Group, be it for a new sofa or a fun outing, everyone shares equally in potential benefits. I prefer extra funds, or benefits, if any, go to the individual I may want to target ( e.g., if a crew member did a great job and I happen to have heard he is working on a ship in order to help pay for his father's transplant meds at home in his country where there is no Medicare or NHS). Crew members like cash best, I believe, more than communal benefits ( though latter are better than nothing extra beyond salary)

 

2. "Above and beyond" is subjective, your ideas may differ from mine.Suite attendants are required generally by Regent and other luxury inclusive lines like SS, inter alia, to clean and deliver basic high standard room and dining service ( details NOS). But if you are bugging them every day to do things like serve frequent ( as opposed to occasional) meals in the suite, or mix unusual drinks or prepare "my special Indian food meal", and they do so cheerfully, that deserves targeted rewards, I think. It is also great if crew are proactive and take extra time even if they are busy on a full cruise to anticipate or secure and direct resolution to problems (like a slightly broken veranda door), without pax having to verbally push and fight or feel like they are inconveniencing desk staff or waiters or bartenders when they interrupt private chit chat conversations to make requests. Perhaps as a frequent ( as opposed to newbie) coveted Regent cruiser you have never encountered any negative experiences with crew, which is nice for you, and all crew you deal with are equally wonderful, in which case crew fund (or nothing extra for anyone) makes more sense than individual targeting.

It's said Regent pays its onboard staff sufficiently that gratuities are not necessary or expected. Is there documentation anywhere that supports this?

Thanks.

It's said Regent pays its onboard staff sufficiently that gratuities are not necessary or expected. Is there documentation anywhere that supports this?

Thanks.

Here's what the Regent website FAQ says about tipping:

Should I tip onboard?

Gratuities are included in the cruise fare for all Regent employees. If guests feel strongly about expressing their gratitude to the crew, they should be encouraged to make a donation to the Crew Welfare Fund at the Purser Office. This money is utilized for crew parties and events.

(http://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/onboard/)

Hope this helps.