OBC to be used to tip employees

[SSCAF001]

Hello

For my next cruise aboard Queen Victoria, I will enjoy a certain amount of free OBC. I will have prepaid tip as well. Knowing that usually I ask the removal of the automatic tipping since I prefer tipping directly some of the employees, can I ask Cunard to cancel the free automatic tipping and give me the corresponding amount. Same question with the free OBC : can I ask it to be given in cash to tip some employees? Thank you for your help.

Christophe.

 

 

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[balf]

Hello

For my next cruise aboard Queen Victoria, I will enjoy a certain amount of free OBC. I will have prepaid tip as well. Knowing that usually I ask the removal of the automatic tipping since I prefer tipping directly some of the employees, can I ask Cunard to cancel the free automatic tipping and give me the corresponding amount. Same question with the free OBC : can I ask it to be given in cash to tip some employees? Thank you for your help.

Christophe.

 

 

/QUOTE]

 

 

Firstly, the OBC isn't free. It's part of the contract you have with Cunard. It has certain conditions that Cunard isn't going to change.

 

As to the tips, you haven't pre paid these, you can remove them if you wish.

 

Many of us wish that Cunard would stop the daily tips charge, that many get removed anyway and increase the cruise price accordingly. They say they want to move away from competition with other lines. This would be a good way to start.

 

Of course you can ask!!!

 

Thanks for raising this question. We were due another tipping discussion.

 

David.

[Ray66]

Hello

For my next cruise aboard Queen Victoria, I will enjoy a certain amount of free OBC. I will have prepaid tip as well. Knowing that usually I ask the removal of the automatic tipping since I prefer tipping directly some of the employees, can I ask Cunard to cancel the free automatic tipping and give me the corresponding amount. Same question with the free OBC : can I ask it to be given in cash to tip some employees? Thank you for your help.

Christophe.

 

No, you can't ask for your OBC to be given to you in cash.

 

The simplest thing to do is to leave the automatic gratuity charge in place and this can be paid for from your OBC. It is $11.50pp per day for Britannia passengers and $13.50pp per day for Grills passengers.

[fantasy51]

Use the OBC for tipping. Remind yourself that you have already paid tips and you expect the excellent service that you will get, and these prepaid tips are a way of saying thank you. It appears that your waiters and stewards will know that you have paid tips. If you wish, you can give them an extra $20 each at the end of the cruise if you think they have gone over and above what is expected, but you don't have to do this. Take along some thank you cards and leave those, so that you have something personal to give them.

[bananavan]

I am amazed.

People who disagree with the prepaid, or automatically charged tips asking to get the money back when Cunard has included that in the charge.

You get free fruit included with your cruise fare. Can you ask to have it removed and credited to your account if you cannot eat fruit?

If you want to give monetary gifts to someone who has given you outstanding service, by all means do so and keep telling everyone :rolleyes: that that is what you do because you are the one who will determine your standard of service.

I have NEVER removed the gratuity and also always tip cash to the steward and waiter at the end of the cruise.

[silver service]

Just worked out the tips for our Black Sea cruise. It is quite a lot!

[balf]

Just worked out the tips for our Black Sea cruise. It is quite a lot!

 

A lot for some is little for others.

 

Adding tips to the fare would be a win for all.

 

The hotel staff would get more in tips than now (assuming that Cunard pay to them the amount received) because everyone would pay, unlike now when many don't. Because of this the amount added to the fare would be less than paid now by the ones "doing the right thing"

 

Cunard would win because "no tips to worry about" would be a selling point for a more upmarket line. Saga thrives on this along with all the other nice extras you get with them.

 

Auto tips at the moment are grossly unfair and unpopular. It's time for Cunard to make the change.

 

David.

[bananavan]

When Cunard offers a sailing with "Gratuities included" they are already including them in the price. Many of the offerings now include that.

That being said, why on earth would one remove them in that case?

I originally booked my 28 day Norwegian trip with no credit for gratuities. When the offering changed in December, I changed my booking to the new campaign.

There must be an almost dead horse that needs whipping.

[SSCAF001]

Sorry maybe I was not clear enough. My question has nothing to do with the traditional tipping subject. I give you more details :

 

As a promotion given by my TA the tips are offered and prepaid for the entire cruise plus I have been given 1,500 USD FREE OBC.

 

My question is the following : knowing that the tips have been offered by my TA, can I ask Cunard once on board to remove this and allow me to use the amount to tip directly some employees of my choice? My concern is that since this amount has been offered I may not be able to ask Cunard to remove it from the automatic tipping otherwise it will be lost.

 

Anyone in the same situation?

 

Thanks.

 

 

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[BlueRiband]

No. Cunard is not going to remove your promotion-included tip from the crew "pool" and divert it only to the crew members of your choosing.

[Underwatr]

You really expect to be able to get your OBC in cash??

[bananavan]

Not only do I have my gratuities paid, (that comes to almost $800 for my upcoming trip) I have almost $3000 in OBC. AND I intend to use money from my own wallet to show my appreciation for the work that is done on my behalf by a crew member.

If you want to show appreciation for someone who goes above and beyond do that with your own cash. OBC is meant to be spent on services and purchases onboard.

Next time ask your Travel Agent for the equivalent in a cash discount on your cruise and you will have no problem deciding what to do.

[fantasy51]

SSCAF001, I am afraid you are being naive as to the ways of big business if you think they would give you the cash. OBC of any type (whether pre-paid gratuities from your agent or from Cunard) is not the same as cash. For example, if you don't spend all your OBC then you lose it; you don't get anything back. In the case of gratuities, you may have all the best intentions but how is Cunard to know that you will use all of that amount for tips?

 

Also, even if you use all that amount for tips, it's actually pointless. If you have not paid the gratuities through the ship's system, then the staff member is obligated to hand in all that money to the ship to be shared out in the same way as the gratuities should be. It's only tips on top of the gratuities that can be kept by the staff member.

 

Think of it this way: You did not pay anything for those gratuities so you have not lost anything by them going through the system. Now you can happily give a bit of money out of your own pocket to the special staff members. They will not expect as much because they will know that the gratuities have been paid.

[balf]

When Cunard offers a sailing with "Gratuities included" they are already including them in the price. Many of the offerings now include that.

That being said, why on earth would one remove them in that case?

.

 

I'm not sure whether the tips paid offer is given by Cunard. I haven't seen this offered by Cunard in UK so I assume it is via a TA.

 

Either way it is still down to the contract, whether with Cunard or the TA.

 

There is certainly no way to remove it.

 

I don't really see what the problem is with the OP. Accept he or she has this benefit and add individual extras as desired.

 

David.

[fantasy51]

I don't really see what the problem is with the OP.

 

It's not a problem but a mindset. The OP is looking at things logically and thinking OBC equates with cash. Those of us with more experience of the mindset of big business know that is not the case.

 

He asked us a polite question. He wasn't sure if we really understood the question so he repeated it. Now we give him time to come to terms with an answer that he really didn't want to hear. It's life.

[SSCAF001]

Thank you very much for all your answers! Very clear! Cheers from Montreux Switzerland!

 

 

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[fantasy51]

I hope you have a great cruise.

[ovccruiser]

The best, I think, you could achieve is for the pre paid tips to be added to you current onboard account. But, if there is any OBC left at the end of the cruise, you will loose it.

[electra2008]

SSCAF001, I am

If you have not paid the gratuities through the ship's system, then the staff member is obligated to hand in all that money to the ship to be shared out in the same way as the gratuities should be. It's only tips on top of the gratuities that can be kept by the staff member.

This is interesting as long as the gratuities are in the system my steward gets to keep an extra tip from me? Good

We rarely eat the evening meal in the main dining room so don't extra tip there. We don,t extra tip unless someone gives special service, like on QM2 last year one of the ladies in Kings always came and got us coffee, never once asked by us to do this, now that's service, but she was from the Philippines, they know how to give service.

Edited April 20, 2014 by electra2008

[fantasy51]

There was a young lady on the bar staff stationed in the Queen's Room who used to bring me glasses of water. That's not her job but she'd just turn up with a glass and put it on the table for me. After a few days I gave her a thank you tip (because I don't expect that) - and then the next day she was stationed in a different restaurant. :rolleyes: