Do you think that this is misleading?

[Freecall]

Presumably in practise people tip about the same amount regardless of what cruise line they are sailing with (whether generous or mean).

 

Does the attached therefore give a false impression?

 

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Tipping.pdf

[annieuk]

We have always tipped according to the cruiseline's recommendation - unless we have had exceptionally good service and then we might tip more. We have never had bad service on a cru

[ROSEBASKETS]

I presume you think it is? Can you tell us what you think is misleading as I think, as a guide, especially for new cruisers, it's a reasonable and fair assessment.

[jodanuke]

A false impression in what way?

 

I have some idea before I book a cruise what gratuities I am likely to pay at the end.

 

I take all costs into consideration before I book - transport to the airport/port, parking charges, pre flight hotel, price of excursions, etc,etc,etc

 

I would think that most other peole do as well.

[Freecall]

I presume you think it is?

 

Well it was posed as a question although my point is that the table suggests a big difference (say $2 P&O to $15 Celebrity) but I would have thought that in general guests would tend to actually give about the same amount. If they did not then the P&O cabin stewards would not get very much!

 

 

 

 

NB: I have excluded the 'premium' lines such as Silversea from the above which discourage tipping.

[cruiseluvva]

P&O suggest over £3 per day, which equates to over $4.50.

 

Personally we always tip the suggested amount per cruiseline as a minimum, often more and occasionally considerably more, depending on service.

 

I don't find the table misleading, in fact I would say it's very useful.

[u2cruiser]

How do you mean misleading Freecall? That P&O isn't really cheapest or that people don't pay the suggested amounts?

 

I find it very useful to compare at a glance, so thanks for posting it. :)

We tip the suggested amount and extra for excellent service. On a 15 day P&O cruise, the cabin steward gets £45 per cabin with 2 people, if you just stick to the suggested amounts, which doesn't seem too bad to me. Do they look after around 10 cabins each?

[Freecall]

How do you mean misleading Freecall? That P&O isn't really cheapest or that people don't pay the suggested amounts?

 

I have no way of knowing what people actually pay but if tips are intended as a reward for service then logically unless we are saying that the staff on the higher per diem rates are several times better than those on the lower rates (which I very much doubt) then the rates are simply arbitrary.

 

The table is definitely interesting and that is why I posted it but I am not sure how really useful it is.

 

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[u2cruiser]

I have no way of knowing what people actually pay but if tips are intended as a reward for service then logically unless we are saying that the staff on the higher per diem rates are several times better than those on the lower rates (which I very much doubt) then the rates are simply arbitrary.

 

The table is definitely interesting and that is why I posted it but I am not sure how really useful it is.

 

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Useful to me as I can guage how much more the cruise is going to cost on top of the base price and I won't be offending anyone with the wrong tip amount.

 

I don't know about other lines, but Princess, according to the regular posters on the board, pool their tips (unless individual crew receive over and above the automatic tip) and they are spread amongst many of the crew, including those behind the scenes, so the stewards may well receive less than P&O for all we know.

[Freecall]

so the stewards may well receive less than P&O for all we know.

 

True, assuming you pay through the 'system'.

 

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[cruisebore]

IMHO

 

Tips on American lines are a revenue source for the cruise lines

 

3000 pax at $77 = over a quarter of a million dollars a week

 

Don't know about a tip but it must go a great way towards paying the wage bill.

 

Cb

[monas queen]

The problem with tips is that they are used by the cruise companies as a means of getting away with paying certain staff minimal wages.

 

Tips make up most of the pay on some ships, so if you "duck out" of paying them, the crew involved are not getting paid.

 

By far the better system is for the ship to pay their crews the rate for the job, so that they know what they are going to get. This will add a little to the base rate for the cruise, but if you are looking at it properly to start with, you will already have factored in all the added extras before working out whether or not the cruise fare is good value.

 

I really like cruises where the tips are included. You tend to get wonderful service, and you are not getting reminders every 5 minutes that people need to be tipped. Sometimes this amounts to over the top nagging.

 

If tips are included, and you have experienced exceptional service, there is nothing to stop you giving a little to reward that. That's how it should be.

 

Tips should not be compulsory additions. You have to pay enough added extras nowadays, and the fare for the journey should cover all of the costs of that journey.

[Freecall]

I really like cruises where the tips are included. You tend to get wonderful service, and you are not getting reminders every 5 minutes ............

 

Agreed, it is as the top end cruise lines do anyway. Unfortunately as long as the middle market brands are dominated by the '7 nights for just $xxx' headline rates we will have minimum up front costs with lots of hidden extras.

 

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[ROSEBASKETS]

Well it was posed as a question although my point is that the table suggests a big difference (say $2 P&O to $15 Celebrity) but I would have thought that in general guests would tend to actually give about the same amount. If they did not then the P&O cabin stewards would not get very much!

 

 

The difference between P&O and the American lines is that they pay a wage to their staff and don't have them work for tips alone. The staff are employed by a company in their own country and this company is paid by P&O to appoint and pay the staff.

 

I spoke to a drinks waiter on P&O in November at length about pay and she said that he worked on P&O ships because he was paid twice as much as a teacher and as much as a doctor in his own country. He worked a maximum of 10 hours per day 6 days per week and went home for 3 months a year. He also said there was a 3 year waiting list to get an interview at the company.

[cruiseluvva]

Certainly the waiters/bar waiters/stewards worked every single day of our 35 consecutive days on board last year. There were no days off at all.

 

They do get 3 months off - if they choose to take off so long - but they don't get paid then, nor are they guaranteed another contract.

[johnny tallentire]

On our recent cruise we tipped the amount we felt was right and to the people we thought deserved it,just as we do when eating out,doesnt matter to us what the guidelines are all that matters is what the service was like and how much you personally think is right.

[marylizcat]

Not misleading. We always tip according to the guidelines (with more if deserved). Thus we tip more on US ships than British. We certainly don't tip the same on every cruiseline. That would be silly. As has been said, the crew are paid at different levels on different lines. Just stick to the guidelines and everyone is happy. Don't inflict some arbitrary level which you have decided is correct, across the board.