Auto tip Britainnia

We are on Britainnia next week, how much do they automatically charge to you board account Daily for tips? I totally disagree with it, you usually tip good service, not before you've experienced it.,

I have to agree. I tip when I want to and how much I want to, but this seems to be the norm on cruises. If you want, remove the tips and then tip yourself in an envelope. Personally I would always tip my room steward and waiters.

We are on Britainnia next week, how much do they automatically charge to you board account Daily for tips? I totally disagree with it, you usually tip good service, not before you've experienced it.,

It's £5 per person per night

I have to agree. I tip when I want to and how much I want to, but this seems to be the norm on cruises. If you want, remove the tips and then tip yourself in an envelope. Personally I would always tip my room steward and waiters.

Who are the exact people who get the auto tips so you are wasting your time.

Those that remove auto gratuities and then say they are going to tip at the end of the cruise are either doing so for one of 2 reasons either not giving tips at all or lower than auto gratuity if any difference what is the point. I agree with daiB you are wasting your time and if you say you are giving more leave auto gratuity on and pay extra in envelopes at the end. Personally I think those that remove auto gratuities do it for one reason only and that is to pay nothing at all.

Those that remove auto gratuities and then say they are going to tip at the end of the cruise are either doing so for one of 2 reasons either not giving tips at all or lower than auto gratuity if any difference what is the point. I agree with daiB you are wasting your time and if you say you are giving more leave auto gratuity on and pay extra in envelopes at the end. Personally I think those that remove auto gratuities do it for one reason only and that is to pay nothing at all.

I do agree. Obviously though it is a matter of choice. To me you book a cruise and you pay the auto gratuities as a matter of course. You tip extra if you have exceptional service and if you want to.

Those that remove auto gratuities and then say they are going to tip at the end of the cruise are either doing so for one of 2 reasons either not giving tips at all or lower than auto gratuity if any difference what is the point. I agree with daiB you are wasting your time and if you say you are giving more leave auto gratuity on and pay extra in envelopes at the end. Personally I think those that remove auto gratuities do it for one reason only and that is to pay nothing at all.

Spot on [emoji35] it's part and parcel of cruising so just pay it.

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I also don't understand why you would have the auto tip removed and then tip the stewards and waiters. Five pounds per person per day is £140 for a couple on a 14 night cruise. So you tip the steward and waiters £70 each. You might as well leave the auto tip on and if you want to tip more hand them some cash :rolleyes:

I can only think of three reasons for removing the auto tip. Either you are going to tip less, not at all or you like the 'master servant' feeling as the lowly peasant thanks you profusely for the cash you hand them, whilst cursing that they will have to hand the money into the pool anyway so why didn't the idiot passengers just leave the auto tip on.

tipping topics are always controversial and 'interesting' ;)

I flatly refuse to pay tips - full stop.

Whether you leave them on or take them off its entirely up too you and whether or not you choose to tip is up to you too.

Have a great time - Britannia is a BIG beautiful ship

Those that remove auto gratuities and then say they are going to tip at the end of the cruise are either doing so for one of 2 reasons either not giving tips at all or lower than auto gratuity if any difference what is the point. I agree with daiB you are wasting your time and if you say you are giving more leave auto gratuity on and pay extra in envelopes at the end. Personally I think those that remove auto gratuities do it for one reason only and that is to pay nothing at all.

I can think of the following reasons why people may choose to remove tips and pay them directly: 1-people enjoy the personal touch and demonstrating thanks by giving an envelope, especially if they have been cruising for years and have become used to this method and enjoy doing so. 2-people may not trust P&O to reward the service according to each individual's feedback. 3-they just don't like the fact that their discretion is being removed. I did remove tips once and gave them directly in full, this was before I worked out how P&O manage tips (I came to the conclusion that the more people who withhold then the more the charge will go up for others but that's another discussion). I think sometimes it's easy to make assumptions, for example we have never eaten in the MDR on the final night of a cruise but have always made sure we tipped our waiters - then I read comments from people making the assumption that those who don't use MDR on the last night don't tip... Now, I'm not saying that some behaviours don't have ulterior motives but it certainly doesn't apply to everyone.

I just think it is very mean not to pay the auto gratuities.

We have our first P and P cruise next year, we have cruised in the past on mostly American lines. In the beginning I used to take dollars and tip individuals but to be honest now I just prepay, forget about them and enjoy the cruise. P and O tips at £5 per per per day are very reasonable compared to the U.S. Lines who are over £7 pp per day and they also charge for a child whereas P and O don't . We did a Thomson cruise last year where tips just included in the price and have another one planned next year.

These threads are always very volatile.....

Personally we do the auto tips and haven't yet tipped on top.

If you totally disagree with tipping then you have the option of sailing on the 6* lines where all grats are included, and to try and tip on top, means they are refused.

Or Thompson, where again tips are included in the price.

I would prefer it if they did that on P and O.

However like a lot of mainstream lines they still keep them in place. It does help bolster the crews pay..do I agree with that, well not really , but by refusing to tip the only people you are hurting are those that make your holiday special.

As we always try and get a table for 2 I don't really notice if people miss the last meal, as I am not dining with them.

I factor in the cost of the auto tips into the cost of the cruise. They are taken on the 2nd days-normally-and I think nothing more about that side of things and just enjoy my holiday.

We all have different ideas about what is right/wrong etc.

I hope everyone completes the questionnaire as they has a very strong bearing on their bonuses.

As 2 out of 3 people on Britannia will be eating in a Freedom dining restaurant with different waiters each night then those wishing to tip manually would need to do so every evening to ensure those who have served them receive a tip.

Much easier to keep auto tips in place and no reasonable reason to remove them.

I flatly refuse to pay tips - full stop.

 

Whether you leave them on or take them off its entirely up too you and whether or not you choose to tip is up to you too.

 

Have a great time - Britannia is a BIG beautiful ship

When I first started cruising I thought the same, until our S African assistant waiter told me that his wage from Princess was $50/month and the "tips/auto gratuities" made up over 90% of his wage, and without them it would not be worth him working.

So if you want to rob your service staff of their livlihood then go ahead, but don't hide behind the "I never tip" attitude because cruise gratuities are definitely not your normal type of tips.

At £5 per head the auto tip is cheap compared to Princess and Celebrity.

Your cabin steward will also see if you have removed the auto tip. Even if you try to be crafty and leave it on until the last night!

As most people get OBC these days surely it makes sense to regard it as the auto tip money. Easy come, easy go!

 

I hope everyone completes the questionnaire as they has a very strong bearing on their bonuses.

We usually try to get a table for two and often succeed, we have a 24 night next year and were thinking of going for an 8 as it's so many nights, so many gambles when you cruise [emoji6]

We always leave the auto tip in as its easier and I totally agree that if you really care about your waiter and steward you will always complete the questionnaire. Those feedback forms equate to ratings and the proportion of what they receive depends on their rating. Those who get a higher rating get more tips, those with a lower rating get less. This all seems fair, in fact it mirrors the reward system in many organisations, the only problem is that perception of quality of service is subjective. Unless something has been particularly unsatisfactory I will rate them with the highest rating, whereas there are many who wouldn't rate them the highest rating unless they have provided a service which is deemed to be excellent or 'above and beyond'. I don't have time to worry about this so just go for the easy option [emoji106]🏼

As 2 out of 3 people on Britannia will be eating in a Freedom dining restaurant with different waiters each night then those wishing to tip manually would need to do so every evening to ensure those who have served them receive a tip.

 

 

 

Much easier to keep auto tips in place and no reasonable reason to remove them.

Another reason the current system was introduced - otherwise how would the waiters get paid? So strategically looking at the changing demographic and requirements of the next generation of cruisers P&O have set up a good system. The problem is that if we withdraw tips there isn't enough in the pot to meet the cost of rewarding the staff so that's when we see increases in the tipping rate - please don't think I'm moaning about the rate I'm not, just thinking about cause and effect ...

These threads are always very volatile.....

Personally we do the auto tips and haven't yet tipped on top.

If you totally disagree with tipping then you have the option of sailing on the 6* lines where all grats are included, and to try and tip on top, means they are refused.

Or Thompson, where again tips are included in the price.

I would prefer it if they did that on P and O.

However like a lot of mainstream lines they still keep them in place. It does help bolster the crews pay..do I agree with that, well not really , but by refusing to tip the only people you are hurting are those that make your holiday special.

As we always try and get a table for 2 I don't really notice if people miss the last meal, as I am not dining with them.

I factor in the cost of the auto tips into the cost of the cruise. They are taken on the 2nd days-normally-and I think nothing more about that side of things and just enjoy my holiday.

We all have different ideas about what is right/wrong etc.

I hope everyone completes the questionnaire as they has a very strong bearing on their bonuses.

As you say a very volatile subject and opinions are very dependant on which area of the world you live and the tipping culture there. Like you, do I agree with tipping making up most of the crews wage "well not really" but would I not pay then out of principle, of course I wouldn't not pay them. If anyone thinks by not paying them you will be making some sort of point to the cruise line and things will change, I personally don't think it every will and the only people to suffer by doing this will be the crew.

I have spoken to several crew member over the years and they all concurred that they do receive the necessary amounts from the autogratuities and were more than happy to receive them in this way.

I don't think it is an option with P&O but on all the U.S. Lines we have traveled will we actually prepay gratuities with the final cruise balance. We just then enjoy the cruise and don't think about the subject again.

Whether you like it or not, the auto gratuities are part of the staff wages. They are not extra money on top. Anyone not paying them and not tipping at all is depriving the staff of income.

They should definitely be included in the base cost.

Tipping on top is a completely different matter.

at £5 per head the auto tip is cheap compared to princess and celebrity.

 

Your cabin steward will also see if you have removed the auto tip. Even if you try to be crafty and leave it on until the last night!

 

As most people get obc these days surely it makes sense to regard it as the auto tip money. Easy come, easy go!

exactly

When I first started cruising I thought the same, until our S African assistant waiter told me that his wage from Princess was $50/month and the "tips/auto gratuities" made up over 90% of his wage, and without them it would not be worth him working.

So if you want to rob your service staff of their livlihood then go ahead, but don't hide behind the "I never tip" attitude because cruise gratuities are definitely not your normal type of tips.

I agree. Most people who say they remove the auto tips and tip themselves don't tip at all. So some of us may be a bit short of money but nothing like the crew that are waiting on us. Plus those that normally say they could only just afford the cruise but not the tips somehow seem to manage to afford loads of alcohol on board. I would rather tip the crew than have an extra drink. £5 a day is cheap compared to most lines and well worth it for the service you get.

Those that remove auto gratuities and then say they are going to tip at the end of the cruise are either doing so for one of 2 reasons either not giving tips at all or lower than auto gratuity if any difference what is the point. I agree with daiB you are wasting your time and if you say you are giving more leave auto gratuity on and pay extra in envelopes at the end. Personally I think those that remove auto gratuities do it for one reason only and that is to pay nothing at all.

and I think you actually have no idea. Depending on our OBC, we either leave them on, or take them off and pay the correct amount ourselves. Don't tar everyone with the same brush.

and I think you actually have no idea. Depending on our OBC, we either leave them on, or take them off and pay the correct amount ourselves. Don't tar everyone with the same brush.

What is the point of taking of auto gratuities and then paying the "correct", whatever that is,amount in cash seems a pointless excecise unless it makes you feel important giving waiter/steward the same amount in cash perhaps gives you a feel of grandeur.

Whether you like it or not, the auto gratuities are part of the staff wages. They are not extra money on top. Anyone not paying them and not tipping at all is depriving the staff of income.

They should definitely be included in the base cost.

Tipping on top is a completely different matter.

You are not depriving them of their income because it is written in t5heir contract a minimum amount of pay guaranteed and if this isnt met by gratuities then P&O make up the short fall.