Bubbeh

I recently used my card to purchase a green chilli at Woolies - a whole 65 cents worth!

Best course of action? Just ignore it. With regards to your query about using credit cards exclusively, I can't remember the last time I used cash other than in a caravan park for the washing machine and even some of these now are for CCs. Seriously, if I came upon a business that refused to take a card, I'd just move on to the next one.

A brilliant post and surely an acceptable compromise.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a wind up. How much clearer can the responses be? Do not tip, it is not necessary and should not be encouraged. However, if you absolutely must then 'be kind to your mother' and 'look both ways before crossing the street' are perfectly acceptable tips.

Nothing, not a penny. It's their job and they are already paid to do it.

Why would you want to? You have every right to expect great service all the time, it shouldn't be related to whether you're going to tip or not. Please don't do it, this only serves to undermine our industrial relations system. I don't mean to be rude, but I honestly can't understand this need to impose your societal norms on other cultures.

Some people are just no better than they need to be and some people are in the wrong jobs. Tipping them isn't going to change anything.

Equally our employers do not need any excuse to downgrade an employees rights to a fare living wage.

Thank you, this is exactly right. Please don't tip! We pay people a living wage and do not want to change that by expecting clients/customers to subsidise an employee's wage.

Oh no, you mean I will have to experience this on next year’s Australia/New Zealand cruise too? If you're lucky. 😉

I think you'll find that we're pretty casual down here. A pair of black pants and a blouse is fine for evenings even on formal nights - if in doubt chuck a string of pearls round your neck and a pair of pearl drop earrings on and you'll be fine. Some people really frock up for a formal night and they like to do that, so good luck to them.

Known here as 'budgie smugglers', for obvious reasons.

I think this may be a cultural thing. 14 or so years ago on our first cruise out of Sydney on an Royal Caribbean ship (Radiance of the Seas) with a very high proportion of Australian guests, the general consensus amongst the people we spoke with at breakfast (buffet mainly) was that the bacon was cremated and inedible. We've since discovered that this is the way Americans prefer it. There were so many complaints that they started serving it both ways to suit all tastes. I'm a vegetarian but my husband is not. Furthermore, he thinks bacon was invented by God for his own personal glutinous enjoyment.

Ditto.

Just brought tears to my eyes too. Thanks very much for sharing. Dee x