Tipping Question

We are on Freedom dining and me and dh have £60 onboard credit each so i assume the tips will be automaticly taken off our account , however my brother is sharing our cabin and he doesnt get the onboard credit ( being the 3rd guest )so what happens in this situation ? will he have to put some cash onto his account as soon as he boards , can you do that as you check in ?

The tips will be added to his on board account and settled at the end of the cruise by the CC registered at check-in, as with all on board expenditure.

Just don't bother to tip:p;):D

**Puts a tin hat on**

BnBx

The tips will be added to his on board account and settled at the end of the cruise by the CC registered at check-in, as with all on board expenditure.

Will he be able to use cash instead of a credit card ?

I'm not sure where I heard this, but I don't think that OBC can be used for tips???

However if you spend over the £120 on drinks, tours, gifts etc. this will not be an issue, as the OBC will cover these first.

If you aren't intending to spend £120 then I suggest you check this out beforehand with P&O.

When you check in, you can give them a CC, which an spends over your OBC will be debited from.

Will he be able to use cash instead of a credit card ?

It used to be possible at one time - I'm not sure nowadays. Best call P&O and check.

The tips will be added to his on board account and settled at the end of the cruise by the CC registered at check-in, as with all on board expenditure.

You can ask for the gratuity charge to be taken off your on-board account as soon as you board the ship if you go to Reception. That way you can choose how, when, where and who you prefer to tip for good service.

You can ask for the gratuity charge to be taken off your on-board account as soon as you board the ship if you go to Reception. That way you can choose how, when, where and who you prefer to tip for good service.

Dont see why you would be wanting to do that if you are on Freedom dining. You would be hunting for loose change every day to tip your waiters as you may have different waiters every night.

On club dining, you have the same waiters each night so tipping in cash at the end of the cruise is the norm

Brian

Good point Brian, as usual.

I've just tried freedom dining on a 2n cruise on Ventura, and I can't imagine wanting to tip every night - find the waiters, who are busy serving give them a tip, keeping sterling cash back for each night, what a palava.

My daughter and I had the £3.20 each deducted from the onboard account for the 2 day cruise (£1.60pp pn.) Then you also have a tip envelope left for your cabin steward at the end of the cruise to fill.

We are on Freedom dining and me and dh have £60 onboard credit each so i assume the tips will be automaticly taken off our account , however my brother is sharing our cabin and he doesnt get the onboard credit ( being the 3rd guest )so what happens in this situation ? will he have to put some cash onto his account as soon as he boards , can you do that as you check in ?

When your brother checks in, he will have to show his credit card, then he gets his ships card...all purchases he makes onboard are deuducted from his card , including tips daily. A bill at the end of the cruise will be left outside cabin and the final total deducted from his credit card. I presume?

Otherwise you will be paying for all his drinks, photos, trips, purchases from shop, etc etc?

Just to add to Libralass's post.

When you check in you can register all your party on one credit card if you want, or individual credit cards for each person. The choice is yours as to how you want your bill paid.

If you want to pay by cash, you have to deposit a large sum of money when you check in, about £100 I think but may be more, and then keep topping it up as you spend it. Rather complicated so credit card is the best way to go.

Brian

I hope the op doesn't mind me asking a tipping question on her thread - here goes.

If you are lying by the pool and a waiter/ress gets you a drink, will you be expected to give an individual tip each time?

I ask as I wasn't intending to have much cash, just use a CC and the OBC - but didn't know whether to give a $1 tip for each drink if it is brought to us.

Catherine,

On P&O the bar waiters receive a commission on the drinks they sell so a tip is not expected, nor is one normally given. All you do is sign the chit. However, if you have a favorite barman/ bar woman, there is nothing to stop you giving a tip at the end of the cruise.

If you need any cash you can withdraw cash at reception charged to your account

Brian

Now I didn't know that ! Are you able to add a tip to the check they ask you to sign for drinks ?

Now I didn't know that ! Are you able to add a tip to the check they ask you to sign for drinks ?

There is no space to do that so dont think so.

Further about withdrawing cash. It just appears on your account like any other on board spend so at the end of the day just gets included in your total bill, so no cash advance or interest charges added.

You can also draw Euros or US dollars depending where you are but the ship exchange rate is never very good.

Brian

no, the system, is only geared up to charge your account, whatever you just purchased , drinks, or items in the shops.

Catherine,

On P&O the bar waiters receive a commission on the drinks they sell so a tip is not expected, nor is one normally given. All you do is sign the chit. However, if you have a favorite barman/ bar woman, there is nothing to stop you giving a tip at the end of the cruise.

If you need any cash you can withdraw cash at reception charged to your account

Brian

Thanks Brian, sorry for the delayed response I'd 'lost' the thread.

I'm just familiarising myself with how the tipping system works for the whole cruise.

Hi Catherine

Quite often on a cruise we take a liking to one or 2 of the bar staff and on the last night we give them a £5 note - depending on how good they were. :)

£5 might sound a bit mean, but as a previous poster said - they get commision (not a lot i don't suppose)

Caryl

Hi Catherine

Quite often on a cruise we take a liking to one or 2 of the bar staff and on the last night we give them a £5 note - depending on how good they were. :)

£5 might sound a bit mean, but as a previous poster said - they get commision (not a lot i don't suppose)

Caryl

Thanks Caryl - I'm going to make sure I have a few £5 notes for individual tips over and above the recommended ones.

Right got your attention , and i have booked my first ever cruise to the med in Sept on Ventura...

This tips saga must be the most talked about subject along with the dining arrangements that must put surely thousands of people off cruising, i know as friends would never go as they have looked into it and have been put off so much they would never cruise...

But im going for it and have booked freedom dining , now all i would like to ask is this ... if we are charged for tips to be prepaid to our waiting staff and cabin steward why cant we say no dont take the tips off we will pay at the end if we feel theyve been worth it ???

If we pay when we board the ship and they take off £1.60 and £1.50 per day for me and my wife thats around £72 straight off my cc when we board is that correct...If thats correct how do the waiting staff know youve actually paid them tips upfront if you go to the reception on the 2nd day and cancel the tips and see how good the service is at the end of the cruise and then tip if theyve deserved it , is it not right if youve had shocking miserable waiters and cabin crew that you wouldnt want to tip them but its already been taken off as you are on freedom dining !!!

What is all that about...can someone explain as i know you can cancel your tips and pay at the end so why take them off in the first place?

I know its a topic thats got strong opinion and thats why a lot of my friends will never go cruising as its a minefield along with the dining situation and all that palav , many of my friends go to Greece / Turkey / Portugal ton relax on holiday and wouldnt mind trying a cruise but again surely cruise companys can do better than this it seems so confusing and they must e losing millions of business on this subject of dining and tipping ?

As someone said earlier what a palava and it certainly is , but ive booked and decided to go for it anyway but it certainly has been an eye opener that cruise lines need to sort out...

Dano

I am on my first P&O cruise on Ventura in September and as I opted for club dining I am going to tip in exactly the same way I do on my Thomson cruises. Cabin Steward, Waiters, Favorite bar staff etc. If the cabin steward is really good I will probably tip the amount for two even though there is only one of me!.

I have read elswhere that if you opt out of auto tipping the crew find out somehow!. What the concequences are if this happens I hate to think :eek::D

I certainly won't let the tipping matter cause me any stress.

I am more than happy to follow the guidelines with a little more if I feel it's deserved.

Obviously I would complain if I felt that the service was lacking in any way.

I can afford to go on the cruise and hopefully enjoy some luxury for 14 nights being waited upon, therefore I won't even consider scrimping on my tips.

Regarding tipping for drinks - as I understand it, the tip has already been added to the drink price (15% ?)

Club Dining - Just tip at the end of the cruise in envelope supplied - recommended is about 1.60pppn - Cabin Steward is about 1.50pppn - same again use the envelope. Unless we are unhappy £50 in each envelope for 2 week cruise for 2 of us.

Freedom Dining - The Waiter portion is taken from your on-board account, unless you ask for it not to be - Cabin Steward the same as Club Dining, money in the Envelope.

Simples

Right got your attention , and i have booked my first ever cruise to the med in Sept on Ventura...

 

This tips saga must be the most talked about subject along with the dining arrangements that must put surely thousands of people off cruising, i know as friends would never go as they have looked into it and have been put off so much they would never cruise...

 

But im going for it and have booked freedom dining , now all i would like to ask is this ... if we are charged for tips to be prepaid to our waiting staff and cabin steward why cant we say no dont take the tips off we will pay at the end if we feel theyve been worth it ???

 

If we pay when we board the ship and they take off £1.60 and £1.50 per day for me and my wife thats around £72 straight off my cc when we board is that correct...If thats correct how do the waiting staff know youve actually paid them tips upfront if you go to the reception on the 2nd day and cancel the tips and see how good the service is at the end of the cruise and then tip if theyve deserved it , is it not right if youve had shocking miserable waiters and cabin crew that you wouldnt want to tip them but its already been taken off as you are on freedom dining !!!

 

What is all that about...can someone explain as i know you can cancel your tips and pay at the end so why take them off in the first place?

 

I know its a topic thats got strong opinion and thats why a lot of my friends will never go cruising as its a minefield along with the dining situation and all that palav , many of my friends go to Greece / Turkey / Portugal ton relax on holiday and wouldnt mind trying a cruise but again surely cruise companys can do better than this it seems so confusing and they must e losing millions of business on this subject of dining and tipping ?

 

As someone said earlier what a palava and it certainly is , but ive booked and decided to go for it anyway but it certainly has been an eye opener that cruise lines need to sort out...

 

Dano

The reason you can't pay at the end on Freedom is because you have different waiters each night

So the drink automatic gratuity on P&O UK, is 15% per sale ?