Tipping in addition to added gratuity

[lucky white heather]

When we've filled in "You're a Star "cards for staff as we have regularly done , especially for the staff drawing a less than popular work shift like working in the lido for example , pushing trolleys full of dirty dishes and cleaning cleaning cleaning very late every night...we've found they cannot accept the cards personally.

 

Cunard will not accept the cards unless guests hand them in or put them in the boxes provided .

It was explained to us this was supposedly because of the risk staff could be filling in the cards by themselves.

[Salacia]

When we've filled in "You're a Star "cards for staff as we have regularly done , especially for the staff drawing a less than popular work shift like working in the lido for example , pushing trolleys full of dirty dishes and cleaning cleaning cleaning very late every night...we've found they cannot accept the cards personally.

 

Cunard will not accept the cards unless guests hand them in or put them in the boxes provided .

It was explained to us this was supposedly because of the risk staff could be filling in the cards by themselves.

 

Hi lucky white heather. Is this a new policy? In the past, we've filled in those cards and given them to various staff members that we felt did their job very well. No staff member ever told us that they were unable to accept the cards directly from passengers.

 

Passengers complete the card with their name (signiture) and cabin number. It would cost a crew member their job to falsify that information - which would be a huge risk to take for such minor benefit.

 

I'm not sure my memory is correct on this, but I seem to remember reading on the card itself that completed cards may be given to the crew member being nominated.:confused:

 

Again, I'm wondering if things have changed since I was last on board in 2012, but that's the way it was on my previous QM2 voyages. Thanks, -S.

[lucky white heather]

Hi lucky white heather. Is this a new policy? In the past, we've filled in those cards and given them to various staff members that we felt did their job very well. No staff member ever told us that they were unable to accept the cards directly from passengers.

 

Passengers complete the card with their name (signiture) and cabin number. It would cost a crew member their job to falsify that information - which would be a huge risk to take for such minor benefit.

 

I'm not sure my memory is correct on this, but I seem to remember reading on the card itself that completed cards may be given to the crew member being nominated.:confused:

 

Again, I'm wondering if things have changed since I was last on board in 2012, but that's the way it was on my previous QM2 voyages. Thanks, -S.

 

 

Don't know is the answer to your question,

We don't offer the cards directly to the staff member involved since we were told by the recipient(s) several cruises ago that they cannot accept cards personally because of the reason I mentioned.

Since then we've assumed perhaps wrongly this was the required procedure.

 

We've just come off QE last week and followed that procedure by handing the cards in at guest relations...no one said this was wrong nor did they confirm this was right either.

[seasidegal]

Hi lucky white heather. Is this a new policy? In the past, we've filled in those cards and given them to various staff members that we felt did their job very well. No staff member ever told us that they were unable to accept the cards directly from passengers.

 

Passengers complete the card with their name (signiture) and cabin number. It would cost a crew member their job to falsify that information - which would be a huge risk to take for such minor benefit.

 

I'm not sure my memory is correct on this, but I seem to remember reading on the card itself that completed cards may be given to the crew member being nominated.:confused:

 

Again, I'm wondering if things have changed since I was last on board in 2012, but that's the way it was on my previous QM2 voyages. Thanks, -S.

 

Salacia:

 

That is what the cards said in March and April of this year when I was giving them out and I did hand them to the person that I nominated. The only one who seemed hestiate to take one was the night cleaner and he probably thought he shouldn't and, perhaps, like the staff that Heather was handing them to wasn't used to receiving them or had never received one before so wasn't sure of the rules.

 

Heather:

"pushing trolleys full of dirty dishes and cleaning cleaning cleaning very late every night...we've found they cannot accept the cards personally."

 

I do believe:confused: in the past that the survey at the end of the sailing they ask you to fill out we were told not to give to staff but to put in the box at the purser's desk as staff was not allowed to take them. Perhaps, these people were confusing that survey with the Star cards?

 

Heather's choice of staff to give the cards to is great!

 

 

best regards,

seasidegal.

 

 

 

 

:

[fantasy51]

We don't offer the cards directly to the staff member involved since we were told by the recipient(s) several cruises ago that they cannot accept cards personally because of the reason I mentioned.

Since then we've assumed perhaps wrongly this was the required procedure.

 

I suppose one could always fill in the card, show it to the person concerned so s/he knows how you feel, and then take it to Reception? It's a bit more effort but you obviously care about those who work hard and I'm sure you would be happy to take that extra step to show your appreciation.

[lucky white heather]

I suppose one could always fill in the card, show it to the person concerned so s/he knows how you feel, and then take it to Reception? It's a bit more effort but you obviously care about those who work hard and I'm sure you would be happy to take that extra step to show your appreciation.

 

I always tell them I have filled in a card for them to show I appreciated their efforts, because I felt if I handed it /them in at the desk the card(s) may not reach the proper destination, or might get lost altogether and the point of recommending the person(s) would be lost.

They can be on the way to promotion or have extra time off if they are in receipt of cards as far as I understand it

[lucky white heather]

Salacia:

 

That is what the cards said in March and April of this year when I was giving them out and I did hand them to the person that I nominated. The only one who seemed hestiate to take one was the night cleaner and he probably thought he shouldn't and, perhaps, like the staff that Heather was handing them to wasn't used to receiving them or had never received one before so wasn't sure of the rules.

 

Heather:

"pushing trolleys full of dirty dishes and cleaning cleaning cleaning very late every night...we've found they cannot accept the cards personally."

 

I do believe:confused: in the past that the survey at the end of the sailing they ask you to fill out we were told not to give to staff but to put in the box at the purser's desk as staff was not allowed to take them. Perhaps, these people were confusing that survey with the Star cards?

 

Heather's choice of staff to give the cards to is great!

 

 

best regards,

seasidegal.

 

 

 

 

:

 

I always try to find at least one person who goes almost unnoticed by everyone...doing a "bottom of the ladder " type job....to give them a good report since it is unlikely they will be given a good recommendation from lots of guests.

I go out of my way to get to know them a little...they like to have a chance to actually interact and I like meeting them too.

 

Cabin stewards do lots of cabins so have a lot of opportunity for that as do the waiters and bus boys.... these others don't get the same chances.

 

They never seem to be in a position to be getting any chance of having a card but their work contribution is pretty necessary.

[Ray66]

We've always taken the You've Been a Star cards from the pursers desk, filled them in there and then and posted it in the box provided. I've never heard or read about passing it to your steward, waiter or whoever.

[seasidegal]

We've always taken the You've Been a Star cards from the pursers desk, filled them in there and then and posted it in the box provided. I've never heard or read about passing it to your steward, waiter or whoever.

 

 

Good evening Ray66:

 

It was written on the part of the card that detaches from the part that you write the name of the person you are 'making a Star'.

 

It said something like: After writing the crew member's name, etc. detach and give to the crew member or deposit in the box at the Purser's desk.

 

That is not exact but the best I can do with this old memory :rolleyes: (thought I had one left over from the May crossing but can't locate it)

 

best regards:

 

seasidegal

[pmb1]

... It said something like: After writing the crew member's name, etc. detach and give to the crew member or deposit in the box at the Purser's desk.

 

That is not exact but the best I can do with this old memory :rolleyes: (thought I had one left over from the May crossing but can't locate it) ...

Nothing wrong with your memory, seasidegal; here is a "You Have Been A Star!" card from QM2 September, 2010: http://s102.photobucket.com/user/pb82/media/14%20-%202010%20QM2%20September/Miscellany/Miscellany5.jpg.html?sort=4&o=3

[keithm]

We've always taken the You've Been a Star cards from the pursers desk, filled them in there and then and posted it in the box provided. I've never heard or read about passing it to your steward, waiter or whoever.

We always did the same as you.

[Salacia]

Interesting discussion; hopefully now that we are all more alert to the importance and practice of the "You Have Been a Star" program, passengers will be more participant in the program.

 

Just an added note that crew members can also nominate other crew members for the award.

[seasidegal]

Nothing wrong with your memory, seasidegal; here is a "You Have Been A Star!" card from QM2 September, 2010: http://s102.photobucket.com/user/pb82/media/14%20-%202010%20QM2%20September/Miscellany/Miscellany5.jpg.html?sort=4&o=3

 

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to post that, pmb1! It is good to know that some things still stay in my memory bank :D

 

 

Whitemarsh.. It just goes to show how often it must happen. Quite sad really.

 

Yes, it is very sad :(, Whitemarsh. We would sit in the lobby after first seating most nights and watch the second seating arrive for dinner (free fashion show and the younger set was a joy to watch as they were so 'into' the whole dressing for the evening thing..they looked proud as punch with themselves). The last evening as we sat there my husband remarked how long the line was at the purser's desk. I told him I hoped it wasn't because people were removing their tips. He remarked, "People do that?!"

 

I truly hope the lines the last two nights of the sailing were not mostly to do that as they were quite long. :-(

 

best regards,

seasidegal

[pmb1]

Thank you very much for taking the time to post that, pmb1! It is good to know that some things still stay in my memory bank :D ...

best regards,

seasidegal

Lucky you, one of the reasons that I rely on such as photobucket is that my memory bank is so often in default.

[Salacia]

Thank you very much for taking the time to post that, pmb1! It is good to know that some things still stay in my memory bank :D

 

 

 

 

Yes, it is very sad :(, Whitemarsh. We would sit in the lobby after first seating most nights and watch the second seating arrive for dinner (free fashion show and the younger set was a joy to watch as they were so 'into' the whole dressing for the evening thing..they looked proud as punch with themselves). The last evening as we sat there my husband remarked how long the line was at the purser's desk. I told him I hoped it wasn't because people were removing their tips. He remarked, "People do that?!"

 

I truly hope the lines the last two nights of the sailing were not mostly to do that as they were quite long. :-(

 

best regards,

seasidegal

 

Regarding the line at the Pursar Office on the last days of any voyage - I suspect that there are passengers who do not request a copy of their folio statement until the bitter end. And then, after recieving their charges, questions ensue.

I can only encourage passengers to ask for a copy of thteir in-stateroom folio statement with two days of embarking, and again very few days during their voyage. Straighten out any accounting discrepancies -should they appear, promptly.

 

Those passengers who have objections to the automatic hotel and dining charges should state that as soon as possible after embarking rather than waiting until the last minute. Keep the Pursar Desk for more important passenger issues on eve/day of disembarkation, please.

 

Cheers,

Salacia

P.S. If, when walking by the Pursar Desk later in the evening and see no one in line, I drop by, say hello, and ask the nice person, after putting my key card on the counter, for a copy of my charges. Two seconds later, I have my copy and exchange a pleasant few words with the person behind the counter.

[Ray66]

Good evening Ray66:

 

It was written on the part of the card that detaches from the part that you write the name of the person you are 'making a Star'.

 

It said something like: After writing the crew member's name, etc. detach and give to the crew member or deposit in the box at the Purser's desk.

 

That is not exact but the best I can do with this old memory :rolleyes: (thought I had one left over from the May crossing but can't locate it)

 

best regards:

 

seasidegal

 

I don't think I've ever bothered reading that. :)

[Ray66]

Regarding the line at the Pursar Office on the last days of any voyage - I suspect that there are passengers who do not request a copy of their folio statement until the bitter end. And then, after recieving their charges, questions ensue.

I can only encourage passengers to ask for a copy of thteir in-stateroom folio statement with two days of embarking, and again very few days during their voyage. Straighten out any accounting discrepancies -should they appear, promptly.

 

Those passengers who have objections to the automatic hotel and dining charges should state that as soon as possible after embarking rather than waiting until the last minute. Keep the Pursar Desk for more important passenger issues on eve/day of disembarkation, please.

 

Cheers,

Salacia

 

P.S. If, when walking by the Pursar Desk later in the evening and see no one in line, I drop by, say hello, and ask the nice person, after putting my key card on the counter, for a copy of my charges. Two seconds later, I have my copy and exchange a pleasant few words with the person behind the counter.

 

Yes it’s a good idea to have your account printed off around three days into your cruise to make sure that any OBC has been added.

Towards the end of your cruise you should get a statement either pushed under your door or left in your mail rack and another one on the last evening sometime after midnight

[lucky white heather]

Regarding the line at the Pursar Office on the last days of any voyage - I suspect that there are passengers who do not request a copy of their folio statement until the bitter end. And then, after recieving their charges, questions ensue.

I can only encourage passengers to ask for a copy of thteir in-stateroom folio statement with two days of embarking, and again very few days during their voyage. Straighten out any accounting discrepancies -should they appear, promptly.

 

Those passengers who have objections to the automatic hotel and dining charges should state that as soon as possible after embarking rather than waiting until the last minute. Keep the Pursar Desk for more important passenger issues on eve/day of disembarkation, please.

 

Cheers,

Salacia

P.S. If, when walking by the Pursar Desk later in the evening and see no one in line, I drop by, say hello, and ask the nice person, after putting my key card on the counter, for a copy of my charges. Two seconds later, I have my copy and exchange a pleasant few words with the person behind the counter.

 

Yes I agree, but I have never thought that every queue at the desk means people are trying to either increase their OBC or take the auto tip off.

 

I would have been in the queue at the last minute the night before disembarking if I had known that after I would get home from the cruise with every confidence my a/c had been settled in full before disembarking...to find on my next credit card statement a further charge from Cunard that could not be recalled by ourselves or explained by Cunard in several weeks of to and fro discussions that followed our request for information on what that onboard expenditure had been for.

 

Since the cost had already been debited and no explanation could be given to me regarding why the charge had been added..Cunard could not track it but could debit the money.... it was refunded but I would have been forced to pay the change fee from dollars to pounds myself , receiving a refund of less than had been debited.

To give Cunard credit (although I did have to persist to achieve any outcome I thought fair ) they were forced into offering me a small OBC (to include the original unexplained charge) on our next cruise which happily was within a couple of weeks and I queued at the guest relations again to make sure it had been applied on boarding the ship.

 

So not all queues are for extra OBC requests or auto tip removal reasons.

[lucky white heather]

I didn't mean to give the impression in case it appears that way that Salacia was saying the last night queues were for those who were removing their tips!

 

Other people have suggested on other threads this is common place behaviour but I personally have never felt that to be true.

 

I was simply agreeing with Salacia that the main reason for queues on the last or second last night were more likely to be people with queries about their account since they get the non- requested interim account in their post box very near the end of the cruise with the final definitive copy pushed under the door during the last night aboard usually..in our experience anyway.

[glojo]

I have read on other forums how folks can view their accounts at anytimne plus book excursions or even pay any debts via a terminal in their cabin?

 

From what I gather this is not available on Cunard ships and I wonder whether it should be considered as an option to possibly avoid these queues?

[Ray66]

I have read on other forums how folks can view their accounts at anytimne plus book excursions or even pay any debts via a terminal in their cabin?

 

From what I gather this is not available on Cunard ships and I wonder whether it should be considered as an option to possibly avoid these queues?

 

They used to have that facility on the QM2 but not any more. Someone at the pursers desk told me it was because it was always giving problems.

[Norfolk Brit]

They used to have that facility on the QM2 but not any more. Someone at the pursers desk told me it was because it was always giving problems.

 

Or because it dawned upon us how much we were spending, so we stopped?:D

 

Mary

[lucky white heather]

I have read on other forums how folks can view their accounts at anytimne plus book excursions or even pay any debts via a terminal in their cabin?

 

From what I gather this is not available on Cunard ships and I wonder whether it should be considered as an option to possibly avoid these queues?

 

We did 3 cruises on QV last year and have just come off QE on 1 May...but no facility to check your ongoing a/c was available on your in-room tv choices on Cunard . We've had that option for quite a long time on our cruises on Celebrity ships though.

[fantasy51]

I would have been in the queue at the last minute the night before disembarking if I had known that after I would get home from the cruise with every confidence my a/c had been settled in full before disembarking...to find on my next credit card statement a further charge from Cunard that could not be recalled by ourselves or explained by Cunard in several weeks of to and fro discussions that followed our request for information on what that onboard expenditure had been for.

 

I remember before my last cruise reading of either your experience or a similar one by someone else. It prompted me to have a word with my steward on the last day, to make sure we both agreed that I had not used anything from the mini bar, and that the bottle of water I had taken out (to make space for the champagne I hadn't drunk!) was still sitting behind the TV set. It's a useful thing to know.

[lucky white heather]

I remember before my last cruise reading of either your experience or a similar one by someone else. It prompted me to have a word with my steward on the last day, to make sure we both agreed that I had not used anything from the mini bar, and that the bottle of water I had taken out (to make space for the champagne I hadn't drunk!) was still sitting behind the TV set. It's a useful thing to know.

 

Absolutely correct fantasy51. I learned a lot from that experience because it had never happened to us before.It took weeks to get resolved and cunard could offer no explanation as to how it occurred and only eventually agreed we had been charged in error.

We actually don't drink so we never even open the mini bar .The person who did open the mini bar cum fridge was the steward when he put the free welcome aboard bottle in the fridge because we didn't open the bottle at all.Nor did we open the "free" bottle of water in the cabin!

Last trip on QE April19th , we gave our bottle of ? wine away to another roll call member who would enjoy it ...saved a lot of hassle!

 

Btw..we've no axe to grind over comments made trying to resolve the other thread problem!