smatsea Posted February 24, 2011 #1 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Good evening to all-My husband and I will be on this Saturday's Marina sailing for 18 days and we were wondering if the tipping policies have changed from previous Oceania sailings. Would anyone who has done the inaugural cruises on Marina be so kind as to advise and give their opinion on what would be fair. We would like to tip the conventional way to the personnel that serve us, but I understand now that your tip money gets shared throughout the ship. Please advise. Thank you and kind regards, Smatsea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted February 24, 2011 #2 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Oceania has collected a 'per diem' charge for gratuities for while now. The per person amount is more if your stateroom includes the services of a butler (PH and up). It will be charged to your on-board account. You can of course tip beyond that to those who service was special to you. Personal mention of exceptional service or attention on one of the survey/ comment cards is appreciated as well. Enjoy your cruise on Marina! This is from O's website (faqs) How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. For your convenience, gratuities of $16.50 per guest, per day are automatically added to your shipboard account if booked in an Owner's, Vista, Oceania or Penthouse Suite. Gratuities of $12.50 per guest, per day are automatically added to your shipboard account if booked in any other stateroom category. An additional $4.00 per guest, per day will be added for guests occupying Penthouse, Vista, Oceania or Owner's Suites where Butler Service is provided. Beginning with the 2011 European and Summer Collections, gratuities will increase to $18.50 per guest, per day for Owner's, Vista, Oceania and Penthouse Suites and $13.50 per guest, per day for all other stateroom categories. Naturally, guests may adjust gratuities while onboard the vessel at their sole discretion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 24, 2011 #3 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Good evening to all-My husband and I will be on this Saturday's Marina sailing for 18 days and we were wondering if the tipping policies have changed from previous Oceania sailings. Would anyone who has done the inaugural cruises on Marina be so kind as to advise and give their opinion on what would be fair. We would like to tip the conventional way to the personnel that serve us, but I understand now that your tip money gets shared throughout the ship. Please advise. Thank you and kind regards, Smatsea. For us, "fair" is to have our general gratuities prepaid by our TA in addition we tip our butler and housekeepers and anyone else who has gone the extra mile. Because of the open seating you may not have the same staff often enough to want to tip extra. Of course anyone will appreciate the extra thank you.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 24, 2011 #4 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Good evening to all-My husband and I will be on this Saturday's Marina sailing for 18 days and we were wondering if the tipping policies have changed from previous Oceania sailings. a little late but do come the roll call for our cruise http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1120247 as already stated tipping is the same as before ..added to your ship board account See you onboard Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 24, 2011 #5 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Ninety percent of my cruising is on Seabourn or Silversea where tipping is included and nothing extra is expected. I love Oceania and have two cruises booked with them in the next four months. But I must say what I don't understand is that in a PH you are charged $33 a day for tips for two people yet most tip extra on top of that. Why bother with the charge if you only have to tip on top of that? For instance, on our upcoming Marina cruise of 19 days we are being charged $152 as a tip for the butler yet will probably give him an extra $100. The same holds true for our stewardess. This is one of the main reasons I prefer an all inclusive line. By the way, even if a TA prepays the gratuities, imo, this is money he could give you for a different amenity like OBC so you are still paying for them in one way or another. JMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetocruise16 Posted February 24, 2011 #6 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I know this is not the specialty reservations post that you and I frequented earlier but wanted to let you know that we had absolutely NO problems getting many additional specialty restaurant reservations on the Inaugural Passage, Miami to San Francisco. In fact, we are in the port of San Pedro right now, and still have a last dinner planned for tomorrow night in Toscana. So, rest at ease, you will get your additional four...at least. Red Ginger was our favorite, but all were excellent. It will be interesting to return to Nautica's two choices after being spoiled like this. Incidentally, staff was marvelous as well. Hope to post a review in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 25, 2011 #7 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Ninety percent of my cruising is on Seabourn or Silversea where tipping is included and nothing extra is expected. I love Oceania and have two cruises booked with them in the next four months. But I must say what I don't understand is that in a PH you are charged $33 a day for tips for two people yet most tip extra on top of that. I wonder where you are paying $33 pd ? We do not have a butler but we pay $25.pd (for 2 of us) this is for ALL waitstaff, housekeeping staff Drinks there is the extra 18% I guess if you do not leave the cabin to eat then paying that amount to 2 persons is a lot e4xtra tips are not required but a personal thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammieK Posted February 25, 2011 #8 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I am pretty sure that tips are now calculated at $16.50 p/p p/d (OS, VS & PH) with an extra $4.00 p/p p/d for the butler. The O website states that the rates are going up with the summer 2011 itineraries (to $18.50 p/p p/d for OS, VS & PH). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 25, 2011 #9 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Lovetocruise16, Thanks for that assurance. I am really looking forward to this cruise. LHT28, I will have a butler so 2 x $16.50 comes to $33 per day. I know that extra tipping is optional but every cruise I have ever sailed on where they add tips to your onboard account I seem to tip extra. The worst incidence of this was QG on the QM2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 26, 2011 #10 Share Posted February 26, 2011 LHT28, I will have a butler so 2 x $16.50 comes to $33 per day. I know that extra tipping is optional but every cruise I have ever sailed on where they add tips to your onboard account I seem to tip extra. I understand that but I do not understand your complaint/statement Tipping extra is YOUR choice if you do not want to tip then have them adjusted. when you break it down by all the people that share the $33. pd per cabin It is really not much I figure you have a minimum wait staff per meal of 2 X 3 meals a day = 6 waitstaff then add the housekeeper their assistant you now have 8 people minimum sharing $33. pd I would probably tip more in a restaurant for a meal than they get:) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuNYC Posted February 26, 2011 #11 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I am just curious whether CC members give extra tip at the beginning of the cruise to hopefully "ensure" excellent service or after to express thanks for services performed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raffeer Posted February 26, 2011 #12 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I never felt that it was necessary to tip in advance to "insure" good service on the O ships. I have never had anything but good service. I do tip certain personnel, (extravagantly), at the end of the voyage to give thanks for extraordinary service. There always seem to be two or three people whose performance necessitates this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 26, 2011 #13 Share Posted February 26, 2011 LHT28, I am not at all complaining about tipping $33 per day. It's the culture here that seems to feel that one needs to tip above what Oceania is charging your account. I would much prefer if they charged $50 a day and be done with it so I don't have to worry about it. That's what I love about Seabourn or Silversea, the lack of concern about tipping. In fact, I wish O would follow Azamara's lead and include the tips in the fare upfront. JMO. Others may feel differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oceans&Rivers Posted February 26, 2011 #14 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I am pretty sure that tips are now calculated at $16.50 p/p p/d (OS, VS & PH) with an extra $4.00 p/p p/d for the butler. The O website states that the rates are going up with the summer 2011 itineraries (to $18.50 p/p p/d for OS, VS & PH). I was not aware that the gratuities are going up starting with this coming summer. If someone booked their cruise last year, will they still be charged the higher fees? Not all TA's "pay gratuities," but may instead offer a specific dollar amount of OBC that would have covered the gratuities before (with some left over, perhaps), and now might not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammieK Posted February 26, 2011 #15 Share Posted February 26, 2011 The info I got was from the O website under frequently asked questions. I am not sure how it will turn if you booked last year or when the cut off date was... I am pretty sure I noticed the increase in one of the brochures. I guess we will see.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 27, 2011 #16 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I don't think when you booked is the determining factor. There is a start date for the increase period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammieK Posted February 28, 2011 #17 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I understand what you are saying, but what if you booked before the increased amount was announced? Many of us booked our cruises before they were even in print or from the abbreviated brochure that only contained itineraries and a Cliff's notes description of the room categories. My T.A. has graciously offered to pay my gratuities, but I would hate to see her pay more than was expected. I'm just saying..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 28, 2011 #18 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I understand what you are saying, but what if you booked before the increased amount was announced? Many of us booked our cruises before they were even in print or from the abbreviated brochure that only contained itineraries and a Cliff's notes description of the room categories. My T.A. has graciously offered to pay my gratuities, but I would hate to see her pay more than was expected. I'm just saying..... Frequently the gratuities your TA says she is paying for you is actually paid by Oceania.This is called a Group Booking which many higher level agents seem to be able to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 28, 2011 #19 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I repeat that I don't think when you booked has any bearing on what you will pay as gratuities. Conversely, if you had booked before O announced that sodas and waters would be included would you have insisted on paying for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 28, 2011 #20 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I repeat that I don't think when you booked has any bearing on what you will pay as gratuities. Conversely, if you had booked before O announced that sodas and waters would be included would you have insisted on paying for them? He's right folks, the new tipping "guidelines" go into effect on a certain date and that is that. Personally, I think of this as a positive because more money in the tipping pool is a method of attracting (and keeping) better quality staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickey 88 Posted February 28, 2011 #21 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I repeat that I don't think when you booked has any bearing on what you will pay as gratuities. You are quite correct - the current rate of $16.50 per person per day booked in the Suites categories will increase to $18.50 p.p./p.d. beginning with those cruises listed in the 2011 European and Summer Collections. Gratuities in all other categories, presently at $12.50 p.p./p.d. will increase to $13.30. It does not matter "when" the booking is made or paid - the date of sailing is the determination. Whether or not anyone wishes to add more than the suggested amount is totally a matter of personal choice. Our past experiences have lead us to give more to certain persons who have gone out of their way to make our cruise more enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKS Posted February 28, 2011 #22 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I agree 100% with J&S. The staff/crew on O work very hard for long hours, nearly seven days a week, and they always greet you with a smile and a "good morning (afternoon, evening), madam." Their contracts keep them away from their families months at a time as well. There are around 800 crew on Marina, which means each each person (excluding butlers, who get an extra $4 per day) gets only about an additional $25 per day if the ship is filled to capacity, or just a little over $1 per hour in tips for what is often an 18 hour day, if the standard tip is all people leave. Therefore, the additional charge for tips is a tiny raise for these hard working folks. Well deserved, in my opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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