Tipping and hints on river cruises

Always the question, who to tip and how much is appropriate. I don't pretend to know exactly how the cruise industry compensates their employees nor do I feel the need to know the details.

What I think I know is that there are tipped and non-tipped positions. I accept that the amount suggested as a tip is for good service. If the tip is to an individual, I will adjust the tip if the person delivered great service or if something was lacking/problematic. If it is a pooled tip I am much less likely to adjust the tip down because a crew member or two aren't performing up to snuff. That affects the entire crew, which to me is unfair. Better to take an issue like that to a appropriate supervisor/manager . . .

After reading through this thread I have to say I'm glad we travelled with Scenic. There was NO tipping expected at all...not even on the tours. Their staff is one of the best paid in the industry and Scenic makes sure the bus drivers and tour guides are also well paid. Scenic gives them their tip...not us. The only thing we paid for the entire trip was souvenirs. IF you decided that your butler went above and beyond and you wanted to give him a little something extra at the end of the cruise...you did it discreetly as it wasn't expected and he did not have to share with other crew members.

The Viking Europe river cruises we were on about 10 years ago had CDs as Viking employees. There were no tip envelopes for them. In fact on our first the CD told us that as a Viking employee he took part in the general shipwide tip. Good luck. Pat

I concur with Trillion, there is no tipping on Scenic cruises in fact we tried to extra tip a tour guide and our cabin steward and were politely declined in both cases. Scenic Cruise Directors I understand are employees of Scenic the rest of the crew both hotel and maritime are contracted but are paid at a better rate than othe cruise companies and it works we have never come across any crew member on Scenic who less than excellent. The only time we have seen any kind of dissent, if you can call it that was a girl member of the bar staff having a slight hissy fit because one of the guys had upset her arrangement of bottles needless to say the lady passengers sympathised with her and the men didn't say la vie.

CA

Tauck is the other truly all-inclusive company. All our tips were taken care of and we even were given 50cent coins for the Loo's.

We use Avalon. Tipping is suggested, but nobody knows if you tip or not. We choose to add the tips for the Avalon crew onto our final bill, this way no need to deal with Euros, it was just easier. But, on the second to last day there is a box in the lobby, you put your envelope in the box. The crew works very hard, and everyone except the CD shares in the tips (kitchen staff included). If you sail a nonexclusive line you know that the reason why your fare is less than an exclusive line is that the tips are not included. The custom is to give at the end. We did not think the service given by the CD warranted the suggested amount so we did not give it. But our favorite waitress who always went out of her way to greet us and nothing was a problem, deserved extra.

The point is, it is not like an ocean cruise where they stand around waiting for the tip. It's the honor system. Its up to you to decide what is right dependent on the custom.

Thank you all for your comments. We usually tip the suggested amount and if someone goes out of their way for us, a little extra.

Can anyone give us hints on any special things on Viking river cruises to be sure to not miss? Usually, when we get to our cabin, we ask for extra pillows and hangers. Any suggestions or hints will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

The problem with tipping from the standpoint of most people is that we don't know if or how an employee is compensated. These things I know: in the US wait staff are generally paid half of the minimum wage; my beautician is an independent operator who pays rent for her chair; and the bellman pauses a long time after showing off the hotel room. But on a cruise who gets paid what and what are their daily expenses? How do you compensate a hard worker doing the assigned job for no pay as opposed to the hard worker with a salary that pays very well? What does the bus driver get from a company where tips are included and what salary does that same driver get when driving for a company that does not have include tips? So how is the Viking program director (CD) compensated? :confused:

I find it annoying to decide on tipping. I had direct-report employees for a while and I didn't like evaluating them and deciding on their monetary fate. Why should I have to do that when I'm on vacation?

In the US, what if you went to a restaurant in the forced minimum wage part of a city, then you went to the same chain one block outside the forced minimum wage area? Would you tip the same? If yes, that's not fair now, is it? Like I said, annoying for me to have to deal with. But I shall rant no more.

Here's a link that shows the rank and file make about $15/hr in the US.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Viking-River-Cruises-Salaries-E247518.htm

Tauck is the other truly all-inclusive company. All our tips were taken care of and we even were given 50cent coins for the Loo's.

APT is another truly all-inclusive company where all the tips were taken care of, we were also given coins so we could use the loo. The only extra we paid for on the cruise was laundry charges, which were reasonably priced.

I find it annoying to decide on tipping. I had direct-report employees for a while and I didn't like evaluating them and deciding on their monetary fate. Why should I have to do that when I'm on vacation?

 

In the US, what if you went to a restaurant in the forced minimum wage part of a city, then you went to the same chain one block outside the forced minimum wage area? Would you tip the same? If yes, that's not fair now, is it? Like I said, annoying for me to have to deal with. But I shall rant no more.

 

Here's a link that shows the rank and file make about $15/hr in the US.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Viking-River-Cruises-Salaries-E247518.htm

Your link only shows what Office Staff in the U.S. Makes and has nothing to do with the Eastern European Crew members who staff the ships and work for a very low wage and mostly tips.

No rocket science involved here. If you've booked an all inclusive river cruise you're good to go. On a cruise where on board tips are included as part of your fare if an employee bends over backwards to make your day even more special than they normally do 99% of the time give that employee a little bonus at the end of the cruise. Don't make a 'movie production' out of it - just discreetly fold a bit of cash in your hand, smile and shake his hand goodbye and move along.

On river cruises where tips are not part of your cruise fare and you're given a menu and envelops (suggested daily tip schedule goodbye wave ;)) consider that amount to be part of your cruise fare and pay it. Like above, for service up and above the call of duty, discretely tip that individual on the last night of the cruise. It will be appreciated ;). Should you feel an employee hasn't measured up to the standards maintained by the rest of the crew tell reception. Be tactful. If you think ranting at a reception desk employee will get better results in voicing your displeasure over an issue, please, as a courtesy to your fellow passenger as well as any crew members in the area, kindly take your rant outside and yell at the water.

The louder ones anger the lower the recipients interest becomes ;)

On recent Viking river cruise, we found the gratuity issue to be a negative.

As some of my fellow cruise critics have pointed out in this thread, it is a gray area as to what role the tipping plays in the employee's compensation. For example, on this cruise it was the first time we ever saw a separate envelope for the PD. This person, as good as he was, is an officer of the ship! Does he really need to be tipped??

We asked one of the staff members for some clarity: We were told that there's a point system in place "similar to European hotels" that is basically set as a hierarchy of position. At the top are the Captain and officers, on down to staff directors, servers, kitchen staff, etc. Frankly, I find it odd to say the least that we're tipping the Captain of the vessel. Isn't - or shouldn't - he be paid enough? So too the PD and other staff heads. We were told that a little less than half of the pool goes to the serving and support staff.

I suggest being prepared for this by setting aside Euros or whatever currency specific to the cruise to properly tip the regular staff that you engage with (room steward, possibly waiters, bartenders, etc) and then contributing an amount of your own choosing to the general pool (which includes at the bottom the dishwashers, prep staff, laundry, etc) that are all supporting your in-person staff. Unfortunately, it appears that those at the top of the hierarchy will be collecting form that pool first.

I much prefer paying more to avoid the whole bloody mess and let the passengers just tip those that they directly interact with on discretion.

On our last Viking Cruise in 2013 we were part of a group from Canada. The group leader wanted us to give him the money so that he could decide who would be the recipients. My husband felt that was unfair since the only thing we did as a group was go on the buses. We sat at the same table for most of our meals' not necessarily with our group, and had wonderful service. We gave most of our tip money to the servers and others who we had contact with. Our cruise director stated that tip money was shared by everyone...why should we have to subsidize the people in the engine room? They should be paid a decent wage.

Going on Avalon next summer...I just prepaid my gratuities so I don't have to worry about it. Will probably leave an extra "Thank you" for our cabin steward as long as the service is good. Hate paying so much for something and then facing the expectation for additional tips.

Going on Avalon next summer...I just prepaid my gratuities so I don't have to worry about it. Will probably leave an extra "Thank you" for our cabin steward as long as the service is good. Hate paying so much for something and then facing the expectation for additional tips.

We never felt the expectation of extra tips on Avalon. We paid the gratuities at the end, just added it to our bill.

On recent Viking river cruise, we found the gratuity issue to be a negative.

As some of my fellow cruise critics have pointed out in this thread, it is a gray area as to what role the tipping plays in the employee's compensation. For example, on this cruise it was the first time we ever saw a separate envelope for the PD. This person, as good as he was, is an officer of the ship! Does he really need to be tipped??

We asked one of the staff members for some clarity: We were told that there's a point system in place "similar to European hotels" that is basically set as a hierarchy of position. At the top are the Captain and officers, on down to staff directors, servers, kitchen staff, etc. Frankly, I find it odd to say the least that we're tipping the Captain of the vessel. Isn't - or shouldn't - he be paid enough? So too the PD and other staff heads. We were told that a little less than half of the pool goes to the serving and support staff.

I suggest being prepared for this by setting aside Euros or whatever currency specific to the cruise to properly tip the regular staff that you engage with (room steward, possibly waiters, bartenders, etc) and then contributing an amount of your own choosing to the general pool (which includes at the bottom the dishwashers, prep staff, laundry, etc) that are all supporting your in-person staff. Unfortunately, it appears that those at the top of the hierarchy will be collecting form that pool first.

I much prefer paying more to avoid the whole bloody mess and let the passengers just tip those that they directly interact with on discretion.

Gray area? Or a matter that we just aren't privy to the ship's compensation plan and tip pooling system? What's the big deal with knowing all the details and proposing ways to deal with alternative ways to deal with gratuities/service charge So? Why not just go along with the "suggested" rande? Go on the high side if you were extra pleased and on the low if there were some misses.

Most crew communicate very well in English. But, the nuances of a conversation about this subject can be very easily be rife with misunderstandings compounded at each step of the discussion. I think it's most likely that those in the pool each get a fractional share based on their position; perhaps with some discretion for adding or subtracting based on performance. If the bridge officers, engineering staff and seamen are in the tip pool, which I doubt, it's hard to believe that they are taking their share first at the expense of the others.

I have never heard a PD/CD referred to as a river ship's officer. Where did you get that? A seagoing cruise ship where there are numerous people in that department is another story. I have heard time after time that they are independent contractors and from what I have experienced, they have no supervisory role with anyone else on the ship.

I have heard from multiple sources (frequent River Cruisers) that the CD/PD ARE independent contractors and their sole income is their share of the tip pool. Captain and a ships officers are not. Office/desk people are not either. Just the crew....

We never felt the expectation of extra tips on Avalon. We paid the gratuities at the end, just added it to our bill.

That's good to know. Pre-paying means I don't have to worry about it :). I just want to go already!

We gave most of our tip money to the servers and others who we had contact with. Our cruise director stated that tip money was shared by everyone...why should we have to subsidize the people in the engine room? They should be paid a decent wage.

You might just as well ask why only those you had contact with are deserving of a tip when they could not function without the help of those you never see...

On GCT ships the PDs are not included in the tip pool. They are tipped separately by the travelers in their group. There are 3-4 PDs on each ship. The tipping pool for the ship crew is divided equally among all members from the Captain to the dishwashers. I occasionally give extra to a waiter or bartender for exceptional service.

That's good to know. Pre-paying means I don't have to worry about it :). I just want to go already!

That's what we did with our Avalon cruise - prepaid the tips. I wanted to be charged in US dollars vs. being charged, or having to get, Euros while there. It's just one more thing I don't have to think about now. ;)

We gave most of our tip money to the servers and others who we had contact with. Our cruise director stated that tip money was shared by everyone...why should we have to subsidize the people in the engine room? They should be paid a decent wage.

So, you didn't tip the person who worked the desk at night - who made the rounds, and ensured that "all was well" when you were asleep.

Or, the sailors (which are the people, for the most part who work in the engine room) although they are the people who ensure that the boat is moored securely, the decks and windows are kept clean, and the gangplank securely fastened when you exit (and re-enter) the ship. These are often the people who help with on and off load of luggage - so you don't have to schlep your suitcases about.

Or, the people in the kitchen - who worked hard - in very tight spaces - to produce the food you enjoyed.

I have yet to be on a river cruise where the crew only provide one function. They work as a tight-knit unit - and to recognize some, and ignore others - based on personal interaction only - seems a bit petty.

Fran

Fran - This Aussie is glad that I've never had to make any decisions regarding tipping on our river cruises. I am so happy that as a part of an all-inclusive price that someone else has to decide and distribute the tips. There's no doubt that I'd get it wrong.

Fran - This Aussie is glad that I've never had to make any decisions regarding tipping on our river cruises. I am so happy that as a part of an all-inclusive price that someone else has to decide and distribute the tips. There's no doubt that I'd get it wrong.

Somehow doubt you would.... :D

One way around this whole tipping issue is to book all inclusive - but many people book lines that aren't - because they appear to be a "better" price - and then don't book the suggested amount. Sure, you can save some money that way - but I like to think that I am a more respectful traveler.

When we travel, I make sure I look at what the "suggested" amount is for restaurants etc --> and tip accordingly. Why would I do anything different on a river cruise?? The suggested amounts are right there in black and white - although tipping always seems to elicit ++++ discussion.

Fran

So, you didn't tip the person who worked the desk at night - who made the rounds, and ensured that "all was well" when you were asleep.

 

Or, the sailors (which are the people, for the most part who work in the engine room) although they are the people who ensure that the boat is moored securely, the decks and windows are kept clean, and the gangplank securely fastened when you exit (and re-enter) the ship. These are often the people who help with on and off load of luggage - so you don't have to schlep your suitcases about.

 

Or, the people in the kitchen - who worked hard - in very tight spaces - to produce the food you enjoyed.

 

I have yet to be on a river cruise where the crew only provide one function. They work as a tight-knit unit - and to recognize some, and ignore others - based on personal interaction only - seems a bit petty.

 

Fran

Really unbelievable that people will spend $1000's and then stiff the crew a few $100.

Hard to understand, thanks Fran!