Reducing tip percentage.

[grand isle joe]

Actually, I think it is more a shame that Americans (and yes I am an American) feel that our way is the only right way and cannot understand different cultures have different ways of doing things that are just as "right." I don't see it as a shame that Brits and Europeans do not find it necessary to tip....that is not their culture....

 

 

Ever hear the expression..."when in Rome do as the Romans do".....In Europe should a "Yank" ask to remove the auto tip off the check in the European dining venues?:rolleyes:

[jocap]

There are many, many first time cruisers now in Europe. Not many will know that the crew is paid by tips. It's not at all that they're trying to be un-American....it's just all so new to them....and they probably don't even know that the ship is American.

I've heard that cruel jibe about "when in America" so many times on these pages.....On an NCL cruise, most Europeans thought they were on a Norwegian ship, and were puzzled about paying in dollars. You have to be a member of sites such as these to begin to understand.

I've also read the quote about removing the P&O £1.60 on here before....P&O suggest tipping, so the tiny auto tip for the waiter was a new venture for this line, and caused some puzzlement for frequent P&O travellers, who were unsure how to do this.

There's also the fact that any person from the UK joining these pages will find each page headed "Cruise Critic.Co.UK"; there is nothing on the site anywhere to suggest that this is not a wholly British site, with even a different home page. So some of the things said in these answers will be misunderstood.

Jo.

[kitty9]

Well, at least in the US, when they put items on the table in restaurants, such a bread, crackers, butter or relishes, you're not charged extra like in Europe. I know that on my first trip to the UK, I was warned by locals not to eat those items unless I want to pay extra for them. Plus, the tipping culture has gone across the pond to the mother country.

[M&A]

No, it is more of a shame that North American restaurants would rather list their food for a lower price and offload the service charge to the arbitrary payment from the customer. European restaurants usually pay their staff a reasonable wage, unlike North American ones. So when you get used to living in culture like that, this silly way that North Americans do it makes no sense (as a Canadian, I far prefer the European way...)

 

No I prefer our system. I am just back from a European trip and if you get bad service in Europe or the UK you can't go up and withhold say 10 or 15%. You are stuck with paying what's on the bill. And believe me we received a lot of bad service over there and no chance to withhold the tip!

 

In Europe or in North America it's the customer that pays no matter what, whether the service is hidden or not!!

That is one reason why eating in restaurants in the UK and Europe is considerably higer than here in North America. The VAT and the service charge is included in the bill.

 

I know Brits and Europeans refuse to believe it but yes the restaurant owner adds the VAT and the cost of service etc to the bill, but they don't display it. In some countries the rate of service is displayed on the bill (Germany for one).

 

So I follow the European and the UK customer and I don't tip, if the service is bad I'm stuck with it.

When Europeans and Brits come to North America they should do as the locals do to and tip. Or maybe us North Americans should start holding back 15% on UK or European bills!!..................see how far we would get

[tulsacubfan]

Because when someone travels internationally they can’t just walk around saying “that’s not how we do things where I come from so I‘m not going to do it” every time they run into something they don’t like.

 

No one culture is superior and people should respect the culture of the areas they visit.

 

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that if the Brits for example are in the US they should ignore what is customary (for the most part) in the US. All i was trying to say was that it seems a lot of people don't understand the British culture of not using a tip system there and think that is wrong. I do agree with "when in Rome' (again for the most part....there are obviously some culture things that I would find morally offensive, but then I probably would not be in those countries anyway). I don't agree with the thinking that because a culture is different from ours, it is wrong.

[stubbywillow]

Yes, I saw that but want clarification from the other horse's mouth.:p:D

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the proceedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

[paul929207]

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the proceedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

You go to the Purser's desk and they will handle any adjustment to the autotip.

[Cygneagile]

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the proceedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

 

It all depends. Have you booked with an Agent where the automatic tipping is included in your Cruise Cost? That is paid up front before you cruise. You will not be able to remove them. That is the key word. If, however, the TIPS are not included in your cruise package, just go to Guest Services and request they remove the automatic tipping. This can be done very easily. We have done that in the past and no questions were asked. In North America some Travel Agents and online cruise web sites will give you the bonus of paying your tips for you. Once again, under those conditions, you are unable to remove them.

 

I still wish the cruise line would give us the choice. By making it automatic, I truly believe that TO INSURE PROMPT SERVICE (TIPS) does not necessary follow that we get good to exceptional service.

I do understand the staff expect the tip as part of their salary so we tip gladly. Nevertheless I believe that 12.00 PP PD is too much. I understand very well why you are questioning the automatic tipping if you are going to frequent the Specialty Restaurants on the ship. The extra cost there is justified.

By the time you pay the tip on your drinks and room service it may well come up to 15 to 20 dollars a day very easily.

But the I choose to CRUISE PLEASE. Love it.

[stubbywillow]

You go to the Purser's desk and they will handle any adjustment to the autotip.

Thank you Paul.

[paul929207]

Thank you Paul.

You are welcome. I may not agree with it, but you deserve a straight answer. As mentioned above, you cannot reduce the autotip if the tips are pre-paid. Also, I believe RCL requires the autotips if you have Anytime Dining or whatever they call it.

[oncruisecontrol]

No, it is more of a shame that North American restaurants would rather list their food for a lower price and offload the service charge to the arbitrary payment from the customer. European restaurants usually pay their staff a reasonable wage, unlike North American ones. So when you get used to living in culture like that, this silly way that North Americans do it makes no sense (as a Canadian, I far prefer the European way...)

 

Are the listed food prices in a European restaurant's menu more [expensive] than a comparable North American restaurant's menu prices? I would think that they would be in order to "pay their staff a reasonable wage". If this is the case, then, paying the lower North American menu prices plus gratuity should about equal the menu prices paid in Europe......for comparable restaurants.

[luddite]

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the proceedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

 

12$ isn't excessive and whatever the procedure is, isn't difficult enough.

[buffi001]

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the procedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

 

Please don't assume that all Americans are represented by the "holier than

thou" attitude of some of these posters. In normal restaurants in the US some people tip 15% as a rule, while others tip 20% , and some tip 10%. some adjust the tip depending on service, but I would hazard a guess that most tip the same percentage regardless of service. Does it make sense? No ! I will tell you that it is very rare to not tip at all ......and it can be

embarrassing if the server finds out before you are out the door. As for

a cruise, I would say that the amount that is recommended is for good

service, and you can in good conscience adjust it up or down depending

on the quality of service you feel you received.

[iheartbda]

You go to the Purser's desk and they will handle any adjustment to the autotip.

Depending on the cruise line, it may not be just a matter of asking and it's done. On NCL for instance, they feel that an adjustment down indicates that there was some problem with the service and they ask to have the chance to make it right. If the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of the customer, then they will adjust the DSC.

 

This is the way it's supposed to be. Do they hold to this procedure all the time? Probably not.

[bplazo]

Having cruised with British cruise lines before where tipping is discretionary I just feel that $12 pp pd is excessive.I am not advocating no tip but maybe a reduced %? You may say you knew the score before booking, but we like freestyle dining and so our options were limited limited.

The original Question was What is the proceedure for reducing the service charge.

Thank you

 

I do not think that $12.00 a days is excessive. If you options are limited than just pay it or clean your own room.

[spookwife]

Stubbywillow, perhaps you are not aware of what exactly is done behind the scenes for you to justify $12/pp/pd?

 

For instance, your DR staff is ALSO serving in the buffets at lunch or in the MDR for breakfast. your room steward is is your cabin 2 or 3 times a day to fill your ice bucket and pass out the nightly chocolates on top of the daily cleaning. your bartender is also working the coffe bar. more than once we ran into our Waiters passing out Disinfecting wipes as you head into the Lunch buffet or dishing up my scrambled eggs. and our room steward spent as much time polishing brass in the atrium as he did fluffing my pillows.

[euro cruiser]

When I had bad service at the bar on NCL, I simply crossed out the auto tip on the check when I was asked to sign it, wrote in the revised amount, and signed it. No one ever followed up to find out why I did it, which would have been wise, but they didn't charge me.

[myra711]

It all depends. Have you booked with an Agent where the automatic tipping is included in your Cruise Cost? That is paid up front before you cruise. You will not be able to remove them. That is the key word. If' date=' however, the TIPS are not included in your cruise package, just go to Guest Services and request they remove the automatic tipping. This can be done very easily. We have done that in the past and no questions were asked. In North America some Travel Agents and online cruise web sites will give you the bonus of paying your tips for you. Once again, under those conditions, you are unable to remove them.[/size']

 

I still wish the cruise line would give us the choice. By making it automatic, I truly believe that TO INSURE PROMPT SERVICE (TIPS) does not necessary follow that we get good to exceptional service.

I do understand the staff expect the tip as part of their salary so we tip gladly. Nevertheless I believe that 12.00 PP PD is too much. I understand very well why you are questioning the automatic tipping if you are going to frequent the Specialty Restaurants on the ship. The extra cost there is justified.

By the time you pay the tip on your drinks and room service it may well come up to 15 to 20 dollars a day very easily.

 

But the I choose to CRUISE PLEASE. Love it.

 

Please remember that the tip is not only to cover wait staff; it also covers the stewards and other personnel. So there are three meals and your room care, minimum, covered by the $12, plus probably other service staff that we don't normally think of. I agree with those who call the DSC an anticipated cost of cruising; factor it in and forget about it.

[Cygneagile]

I only tip my Cabin Steward and the My waiter, his assitant and room service. On my last 3 cruises they did not have an Assistan Cabin Steward.

 

So that is 3 person. Aside from the drinks from the bar and or specialty dining that is it. As far as I believe they get the tips as salary. Other staff on the ship I do not know. I was under the impression that they are not part of the tips. The policy only quotes the amounts per day for the people I mentioned. One cannot be concerned with all other staff.

It is somewhat confusing.

[bplazo]

I tip at least the minimum amout that the cruiseline suggests and tip extra if I have it. I do not give it a second thought beyond that. It is not difficult.

[staygulf]

So, are you on the ship right now and getting bad service (see post above about contacting a supervisor) or are you planning to do this on a cruise you haven't even started yet?:eek:

 

 

 

If you are simply looking for a cost cutting plan for your next trip, perhaps a lower cabin category or a different vacation rather than cheating the hard-working crew members out of part of their wages as luddite said (differently) above.

 

Surely the WAGES should be paid by the ship. A tip should be discretionary upon good service and not something forced upon you.

[staygulf]

Not tipping is fundamentally stealing from the employees who served you. You are asking them to work for free.

 

I hope that you are completely embarrassed while removing your tips.

 

What absolute drivel. How on earth can not tipping be equated to stealing. Employees should be adequately rewarded by their employers under employment law. I don't believe you still have slave labour in the US do you ? Tipping is just a way of showing one's appreciation for good service and should be discretionary.

[staygulf]

It is such a shame that so many of the British and Wuropean people do not feel that it is necessary to tip -- especially when so many of the crew will go out of their way to make you have a wonderful and enjoyable cruise.

 

That is their job for which they are being paid. Do you get tipped in your job ? I don't

[staygulf]

Sometimes European TA’s have to charge the service charge as part of their cruise. When we were on a Mediterranean cruise this September' date=' the only people that could alter the automatic service charge were the American and Canadian (that’s me). We did review this with Guest Services. [/font']

So if they paid the Service charge as part of their package, they will not be able to remove it. They may give move at their discretion but cannot remove it.

It is sad to say that someone would not tip at all. But then again, I am from the old school; earn it before you get it. Remember, should you choose to take the automatic tipping off, the Cabin Steward and your Head Waiter will be advised. They will know.

 

And what will they do. Give you apple pie beds ? melt the chocolates on your pillow ? Get real, who cares what they think, they are paid to attend to your stateroom

[staygulf]

No I prefer our system. I am just back from a European trip and if you get bad service in Europe or the UK you can't go up and withhold say 10 or 15%. You are stuck with paying what's on the bill. And believe me we received a lot of bad service over there and no chance to withhold the tip!

 

In Europe or in North America it's the customer that pays no matter what, whether the service is hidden or not!!

That is one reason why eating in restaurants in the UK and Europe is considerably higer than here in North America. The VAT and the service charge is included in the bill.

 

I know Brits and Europeans refuse to believe it but yes the restaurant owner adds the VAT and the cost of service etc to the bill, but they don't display it. In some countries the rate of service is displayed on the bill (Germany for one).

 

So I follow the European and the UK customer and I don't tip, if the service is bad I'm stuck with it.

When Europeans and Brits come to North America they should do as the locals do to and tip. Or maybe us North Americans should start holding back 15% on UK or European bills!!..................see how far we would get

 

Restaurants are required by law to display prices including VAT. Servich charges are discretionary. You will often see "a discretionary service charge of 15% will be added to your bill". You do NOT have to pay this if you think the service is bad. More fool you if you did.