Tips/charges

I like the idea of grads included in the price but how would it be before envelopes started to reappear if we went this way..?

 

 

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Jason, have a look at a very similar thread from a couple of weeks ago..."Service reward scheme" ....i thought this would happen too....at least I am not alone in those thoughts!

So if cabin stewards on ships deserve tips why don't cabin stewards on planes get them?

 

On a 15 hour flight I seen aircraft stewards work really hard in cramped conditions with often unhappy tired passengers and all they get is a cursory nod from the passengers as they leave the plane.

I assume your question is a little tongue in cheek.

If you frequent these boards you must be aware that stewards and waiters on cruise ships are paid a very small basic wage because they, and the cruise lines, expect to receive the major part of their wages in "tips", and I doubt they worry whether it comes in an envelope or from the auto tip pool.

Flight attendants are paid significantly more and do not need "tips" to achieve a reasonable wage.

Jason, of course envelopes would reappear! That is how it always used to be. People freely gave tips to their cabin staff and their waiters. It was normal. Now they have put the autotips on, people like me don't like it and prefer to do it the old way. this does not mean we don't tip or tip the correct amount. We do! We just prefer to do it by envelope and not on the account.

Re cabin stewards, of course they are paid well and do not need tips. when I was flying, we were not allowed to accept tips. So guess what passengers would buy a perfume or something else and give it to us as a present.

Jason, of course envelopes would reappear! That is how it always used to be. People freely gave tips to their cabin staff and their waiters. It was normal. Now they have put the autotips on, people like me don't like it and prefer to do it the old way. this does not mean we don't tip or tip the correct amount. We do! We just prefer to do it by envelope and not on the account.

 

Re cabin stewards, of course they are paid well and do not need tips. when I was flying, we were not allowed to accept tips. So guess what passengers would buy a perfume or something else and give it to us as a present.

Not sure why you aimed this at me?

If grads were added to the cruise fare why would envelopes be needed?

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Because if the cruise fare included the grats, people would still tip! Tips are a way of life. Even on the occasions when we have left the auto tip on, we have still felt we needed to give an envelope and I noticed on our table that others did too.

As a newbie to this can I ask if someone has removed their auto tips, why would they not go into the MDR on the last night? What happens on the last night??

As a newbie to this can I ask if someone has removed their auto tips, why would they not go into the MDR on the last night? What happens on the last night??

Time was before auto grats that the idea was on the last night you handed over your envelope stuffed full of tips to your waiters.

If you did not go for a meal in the MDR on the last night, then you did not hand over the envelope..so no tips paid to the waiters.

What would be a good way of going forward would be like a couple of the 6* lines. No tips are expected, and are refused if you still try and hand something over.

I agree even if it says tips included in the fare some people would still feel the need to give something on top. However if it were made clear tips would not be accepted.....

I guess as tips have always been on cruise ships for yonks it will be a long process , whichever path they go down, for people not to think they HAVE to tip on top...

Yes, our friend has sailed on Seabourn and no tips were expected, nor given. I am happy to tip, as I said above, but prefer to do it my way. Strangely, now that autograts have come in, the last night scenario doesn't come into it. If you have left tips on, then you can sit in the MDR because you don't need to give an envelope. If you have taken them off, then nobody else knows you have taken them off, so you can still go to the MDR can't you?

One of the theories or urban myths, whichever way you look at them is that the waiters are informed of all the "removers", so if you have craftily had them deleted on the last day of the cruise it's a good idea to give the MD rm a miss.

No one has ever explained how this info is transmitted to the waiters: I have a vision of an errand boy sprinting from the pursers to the waiters with the latest up to date list.

One thing I have learned about cruise ships over the years is that there is indeed "nowt so queer as folk"

Davis.

This discussion about tipping is very interesting. I personally like the auto tipping, it is one less thing I have to worry about and I don't need to faff about with cash to the restaurants every meal. The P&O auto tip is a lot less than other lines recommended tipping guidelines, so I like to top up any above and beyond expected levels of service with extra cash. Our room steward on Oceana last week was excellent, always smiling, and seemingly always working. I often asked her if she was getting off in the port we were visiting, and mostly she wasn't able to due to training, drills, visa restrictions. Yet she constantly was smiling, upbeat and friendly. She deserved more than the auto tip amount.

We encountered disappointing service in the main dining room. We only went twice as had been allocated first seating which wasn't convenient, but we weren't able to change to freedom, so we ate mainly in Cafe Jardin and Beach House, but on the twice we went to Adriatic, the waiters made no effort to interact more than ask your menu choice, and were very keen to rush us out if the restaurant to set up for the next seating. When tablemate jokingly said, "are you trying to rush us out ? ", the assistant said in quite a surly tone " yes ... we have to set up in 5 minutes" - there was no smiling, no friendliness, nothing. Yet we chose to leave the auto tip on for these guys, as they still served us food, took away the plates and were efficient at doing it. But they didn't get or deserve any extra.

Incidentally I worked for Princess Cruises on the late 1980s, both in bars and as a cabin steward. When I worked as a cabin steward, I was on the highest weekly income - salary and tips ( all tax-free ) I have ever received. I now work in NHS ( Nursing ) and my weekly salary is less than it was in 1989 working for Princess Cruises as a cabin steward. I'm sure it has changed now, but it was good while it lasted.

I would hide your toothbrushes when you leave the cabin !!

Indeed ... have actually known stewards who would take revenge on non-tippers in this way when I worked for Princess Cruises :eek:

One thing the waiters used to do to non-tippers was laxatives in the coffee on the morning of disembarkation.

If guests had been particularly demanding non-tippers, cabin stewards have been known to swap over luggage tags after collecting suitcases so that they ended up at a different airport. I knew of one incident when a steward was so fed up after a particular cruise with some horrible guests, that one of their cases took a running jump off the aft end.

I am sure that this is no longer the case - we were a bit more rebellious back in the 1980s when most of the crew were British.

Hi all,

How are auto tips calculated? Is it per night? Or total days?

We have booked two cruises back to back next year and would like to keep the auto tips on. We are doing a 7 nighter to Norway then staying on for a 13 night cruise to the med. So will we be charged 7+13 x £5.50 or will it be charged as 8 days plus 14 days x £5.50?

Thanks in advance

V

The charge is per night.

Brian

My last 2 Cabin Stewards have told me that if you leave the auto tips on and give a little extra for good service they are allowed to keep it. (Both after I had done so as they were both stars.)

However, they said that if you are on the list of passengers who have removed tips and you give them an envelope, they must hand over their tip. Failure to do so can cost them their jobs.

So I prefer to pay the auto tips, then I know everyone who has served me gets something, and give a bit extra for extra-special service.

My last 2 Cabin Stewards have told me that if you leave the auto tips on and give a little extra for good service they are allowed to keep it. (Both after I had done so as they were both stars.)

However, they said that if you are on the list of passengers who have removed tips and you give them an envelope, they must hand over their tip. Failure to do so can cost them their jobs.

So I prefer to pay the auto tips, then I know everyone who has served me gets something, and give a bit extra for extra-special service.

Just back off Oceana and I specifically asked our cabin steward if I was to reduce the amount of auto tipping and give him cash instead did he have to hand it over and he said no, he keeps it

Just back off Oceana yesterday, I am going to reply more fully with a review, just to say I left my autotips on and then on the last night our cabin steward let an envelope by his name tag in our room!!, I thought that was out of order, my wife was going to give him extra but after this decided not too. Just too say we received adequate efficient service from him but nothing that I would class as "above and beyond". Will post a full review later.

Just too say we received adequate efficient service from him but nothing that I would class as "above and beyond".

An adequate efficient service was what I found on my recent Ventura cruise.

The steward took around 10 minutes to make up the cabin in the morning, and 5 minutes in the evening.

Nothing exceptional, just the sort of thing you would expect in any hotel.

An adequate efficient service was what I found on my recent Ventura cruise.

 

The steward took around 10 minutes to make up the cabin in the morning, and 5 minutes in the evening.

 

Nothing exceptional, just the sort of thing you would expect in any hotel.

Agree with this post. On our last 3 or 4 cruises, the cabin stewards have been satisfactory but nothing more as we used to get. Don't know the reasons behind this, but it's just something I've noticed. Our early 5 or 6 cruises seemed to have the "best" stewards for some reason.

Some stewards have also been a bit "hit and miss" with what they did in the cabin -eg. we'd get tea bags restocked but the bin wasn't emptied; or the bin was emptied but we had no towels (he admitted he's "forgotten" to them). These things we've experienced on one cruise.

Maybe they have more and more cabins to service now and maybe the "state" some passengers leave them in would take more than 10 minutes to clean.

Our cabin stewardess (not sure if you an still all them that!) on Oceana last month was amongst the best, if not the best that we've ever had. She found our cases for us and brought them into the cabin on our arrival and thereafter she was fantastic. Anything we asked for she sorted it extremely quickly. All this was done with a smile and we felt she was genuinely pleased that we were having a good cruise. We always leave the auto tips on and this time we gave her extra the morning we left. I didn't ask her if she had to hand it in or not, that's her business. I did tell her we'd left the auto tips on, whether she knew that already or not I don't know.

We didn't have a problem with the steward, cabin was kept immaculately clean (twice a day) and he was very efficient, my objection was to his presumption that we would give him tips over and above the auto tips we left on. I had a major problem when I arrived on the boat, it was our 25th wedding anniversary on day of boarding and I paid for a welcome on board pack of champagne, chocolates and flowers as a surprise for my wife. I expected to open out cabin door to these but there was actually a warm bottle of champagne in the fridge (no ice , ice bucket or glasses), 6 small truffles on a side plate with cling film over (box of chocs in picture on little luxuries page) and the flowers arrived about an hour later, the effect was completely ruined. I went straight to reception and complained and received a half hearted apology, I would have thought the cabin steward would have been aware but received no apology or comments from him. I will be speaking to P & O later to ask for a refund as the surprise was completely ruined. We didn't let this effect out cruise and had a great time for there onwards.

Maybe they have more and more cabins to service now and maybe the "state" some passengers leave them in would take more than 10 minutes to clean.

That must be the case, as otherwise I have no idea how they fill their days.