Aussie based cruise tipping

[Wattle]

I have cruised Hawaii and out of Australia. Being Australian didn't know much about tipping. The staff on the Hawaiian cruise loved us because we tipped so well, hey we received great service so we just rounded the price up, that then meant we got even better service because it became known that we were good tippers. If fact we didn't really know what we were doing. When we sailed out of Brisbane tipping was not required. We still tipped our cabin steward as we received great service. The reason Princess changed their policy out of Australia is because tipping is not a normal custom here. And a lot of Australian cruisers just don't know what is the correct thing to do. So Princess changed their policy and added it to the overall price of the cruise. It is not because we are tight or nasty, that we don't tip in Australia, you could say it was opposite, we pay a good wage for a job well done, the worker doesn't have to rely on the customer to subside their wage. Depending on where you come from you thoughts may differ from this. I didn't like being called a lair, but from his other comments I don't think he is that smart anyway, and really his opinion don't matter to me, I know I have done the right thing in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

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Edited May 15, 2014 by Wattle

[NSWP]

Of course not.

 

If he's says he removed the auto tips we'll know he's a cheapskate, and if he says he left them on we'll know he's a liar as "Australians never tip". :D

I will drink to that..spot on.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

, but from his other comments I don't think he is that smart anyway, and really his opinion don't matter to me, I know I have done the right thing in my opinion.

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...and its full moon at the moment...thats when they all come out..:D:D

 

[Wattle]

Arrrr the full moon, I forgot, that explains the completely ridiculous comment ha ha ha

 

 

 

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[happysnapper]

But we all had a bit of fun, and in the end we will all do what we think is the right thing to do at the time:D

[dizzy1948]

But we all had a bit of fun, and in the end we will all do what we think is the right thing to do at the time:D

 

Hopefully the OP got the answer to their question - and others who wanted to know about tipping managed to get some positive feedback as well. Do what you feel comfortable with - you have nobody to please only yourself. :D

[Eaglemad]

Life is too short to have to put up with extreme negativity.

 

I appreciate all of the excellent positive advice. But I almost feel concerned for our fellow poster Karate Man who uses his negativity, through this forum, to satisfy his relentless desire to feel important.

 

I guess unfortunately, we fuel his inner desire to agitate us and satisfy his needs, by posting to respectful members among us who are genuinely interested in a subject which is passionate to their hearts.

 

As I haven't cruised yet, I can gather that Karate Man is obviously a minority of those who go cruising and look forward to meeting a majority of happy cruisers who enjoy the experience and are happy to share.

[dizzy1948]

Life is too short to have to put up with extreme negativity.

 

I appreciate all of the excellent positive advice. But I almost feel concerned for our fellow poster Karate Man who uses his negativity, through this forum, to satisfy his relentless desire to feel important.

 

I guess unfortunately, we fuel his inner desire to agitate us and satisfy his needs, by posting to respectful members among us who are genuinely interested in a subject which is passionate to their hearts.

 

As I haven't cruised yet, I can gather that Karate Man is obviously a minority of those who go cruising and look forward to meeting a majority of happy cruisers who enjoy the experience and are happy to share.

 

Absolutely spot on - don't worry about Karate Man - he's a legend in his own lunch box - an expert in nothing - and knows even less. As The Big M says; "He needs to get out more" Brace yourself - no doubt when he comes back on line he will lambast us with his "superior knowledge" but on a more positive note - enjoy your cruise and let us all know when you have booked your next one - cos you will :D

[OzKiwiJJ]

Have a great cruise, Eaglemad.

 

I've still got to wait another seven months for my first cruise :(

[KarateMan]

I cant understand why people keep dragging this on or get upset because of what had been said on here.

 

There are many people who have read this and have not replied who probably tip well and they would not dream of telling others or even writing on a public forum what they tip.

 

Tipping is a modest and personal thing that is done without being talked about.

 

I never believe the figures I see written on forums here about what people claim to tip. They are lying and it is more social climbing and ingratiating themselves to their peers to look unrealistically virtuous.

 

The people who really do tip well would never dream of writing what figures they tip on these forums. Anyone that did publish an amount is just attention seeking.

 

As I have said previously and will reiterate again Princess cruises had to adjust their policy because Australians refused to tip on their ships. It is now part of our fare because Australians are so poor at it and don't to it. If people paid what they claim they pay on here Princess would never have adjusted their policy.

 

AND I would bet money on that above statement if anyone dares to challenge it and has access to the minds at Princess head office.

[Thorpe]

I see you are trying to back down on your grand sweeping ill informed statements yet again. The problem is Eaglemad wanted to know approx how much to tip so needed $ amounts. So folks had to write how much. I sadly wasn't any help cause I didn't say how much I tip.

Which of course depends on the length of the trip or the cost of the spa treatment. But I think OP has the general idea now.

And agree with the others do come back and let us know how your cruise goes Eaglemad and don't forget to buy your future cruise deposits while on board :).

[tillydog]

I'll stand up and say that we prepay our gratuities, we dont feel any pressure to tip any more as we have already tipped.

 

Sutho, go crawl back under your rock.

[MadWoofter]

Tipping is a very personal thing in Aus. I'm just off a 10 days south pacific cruise with Carnival and as a solo traveller was seated at dinner at a table with 4 other people. 2 people tipped our waitress, the rest didn't. I also know that one of them tipped their room steward as well.

 

Maybe it's an Australian thing, maybe it's just my thing, but I would prefer to give great feedback on customer satisfaction survey type things (which Carnival sent out to all passengers and they asked us to fill it out) - all really positive feedback from those is posted in the staff rooms so they can all see who got named with great service.

[mr walker]

The ignore function on cc is great - the best thing is you can see they are yapping & yet nothing's coming out ::D

Now if only posters would not quote them, I would never see what drivel he is peddling.

 

For what it's worth, on our 5 RC cruises & our upcoming 3, we have always pre-paid T&G's. We now do MTD, so it's part of the deal. On each cruise we have tipped extra for the staff who looked after us so well.

[MISHELL1968]

Rather controversial issue here.

 

...However you can bet your dollars that Australians will come on here and boast about what they tip, how much and proclaim to tip even though the policy says not to. These statements are typically lies and fabrications...

 

I'm not a great tipper but do take $15/day in $5 notes to tip with. I start tipping the cabin staff every day, and if I find a good bar person I tip them (watch my drinks get tastier...true!). I cruise with my sister who is an old 'tight ar$e' and wouldn't tip if I loaned her the money! I must say the cabin staff do go the extra mile when they get tipped (if they don't I stop tipping LOL) and if they are particularly good I leave a tip each day from my sister also :D

 

You are right, Aussies don't tip - but it is part of cruising tradition. :p

[OzKiwiJJ]

The ignore function on cc is great - the best thing is you can see they are yapping & yet nothing's coming out ::D

Now if only posters would not quote them, I would never see what drivel he is peddling.

 

Where do I find the ignore function?

 

Mind you, his screwy logic is extremely funny :D although I don't approve of the way he insults people. :eek:

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Where do I find the ignore function?

 

 

Click on User CP and scroll down to Edit Ignore List.

[fifties chick]

I am not defending karateman in any way, only stating what occurred on our trip...We were on the Star Princess on a 30 day cruise from San Francisco to Sydney, when I visited the pursers deck to check our account...He assumed because we are aussies, that we were there to remove the gratuities...Apparently that was what the majority were doing...For the record, we did not...But our dining companions did, an English couple and Australian couple...The difference in the level of service we received, compared to what they got, had to be seen to be believed...The staff do know if you have removed the auto tips, believe me...unfortunately I believe that the standard of service on ships sailing in Australian waters is nowhere near the level that you get when cruising elsewhere, entirely due to the removal of gratuities...Of course this is only my opinion...

[OzKiwiJJ]

Click on User CP and scroll down to Edit Ignore List.

 

Thanks, that certainly could come in useful when certain forumites cease to be amusing ;)

[The_Big_M]

I see you are trying to back down on your grand sweeping ill informed statements yet again. .

 

It definitely comes across that way.

 

Sutho is right that Princess changed their tipping structure to fit in with the Australian market. However, that doesn't mean that people posting here aren't telling the truth.

 

There are about 2000 pax on every Princess sailing. And probably 10 people posted here about tips they made. Even if a 1000 people on each sailing paid tips - which is way more than the number posting here - it still causes the crew to be insufficiently remunerated, so they did it to fit local convention.

 

Some lines also change drinks prices when operating here to explicitly include tips, instead of charging them as a separate item. That's nothing to do with people lying, but that it suits the market better.

 

Same issue with the first point. The accusation about people lying is way off base.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Sutho is right that Princess changed their tipping structure to fit in with the Australian market.

 

but I seriously doubt that failure to pay tips was the reason for the change. They have made such a change to encourage Australians to cruise. The cruise lines are competing with land-based tours which do not require tips to be added to the tour cost. By including tips in a cruise fare they hope to make the cruises more attractive to prospective customers.

 

Also I've been on tours and train journeys overseas, other than cruises, where if the booking is made from Australia all tips are included in the price. Again, this is done to make those trips more attractive.

 

I think it is a sensible decision by the tour company / train company / cruise line as the norm for tipping in Australia is very very different to other parts of the world, particularly the US. Other than perhaps giving a modest tip at a restaurant or rounding up a taxi fare, we have no experience with tipping. In many cases it is not that Australians don't tip because they don't want to pay the extra money, it is because they truly don't understand a heavy tipping culture. They just don't recognise situations where tipping is appropriate and if they do they have no idea what is the correct amount to tip. So the cruise lines etc make it easy for us by including a base but decent amount as part of the price. For some people that is sufficient, but others do like to reward exemplary service.

[The_Big_M]

but I seriously doubt that failure to pay tips was the reason for the change. They have made such a change to encourage Australians to cruise. The cruise lines are competing with land-based tours which do not require tips to be added to the tour cost. By including tips in a cruise fare they hope to make the cruises more attractive to prospective customers.

 

Also I've been on tours and train journeys overseas, other than cruises, where if the booking is made from Australia all tips are included in the price. Again, this is done to make those trips more attractive.

 

I think it is a sensible decision by the tour company / train company / cruise line as the norm for tipping in Australia is very very different to other parts of the world, particularly the US. Other than perhaps giving a modest tip at a restaurant or rounding up a taxi fare, we have no experience with tipping. In many cases it is not that Australians don't tip because they don't want to pay the extra money, it is because they truly don't understand a heavy tipping culture. They just don't recognise situations where tipping is appropriate and if they do they have no idea what is the correct amount to tip. So the cruise lines etc make it easy for us by including a base but decent amount as part of the price. For some people that is sufficient, but others do like to reward exemplary service.

 

As said, I do agree it's sensible, but it's also true that insufficient tips were paid.

 

That doesn't mean that nobody paid. But it does mean that it causes problems with their operations and with crew satisfaction.

[MicCanberra]

I am not defending karateman in any way, only stating what occurred on our trip...We were on the Star Princess on a 30 day cruise from San Francisco to Sydney, when I visited the pursers deck to check our account...He assumed because we are aussies, that we were there to remove the gratuities...Apparently that was what the majority were doing...For the record, we did not...But our dining companions did, an English couple and Australian couple...The difference in the level of service we received, compared to what they got, had to be seen to be believed...The staff do know if you have removed the auto tips, believe me...unfortunately I believe that the standard of service on ships sailing in Australian waters is nowhere near the level that you get when cruising elsewhere, entirely due to the removal of gratuities...Of course this is only my opinion...

 

I see this as just another reason to dine select/anytime and have the tips prepaid.:D

[Aus Traveller]

I have been reading this thread with interest. :) I'm sure a lot of Aussies tip when it is appropriate and others feel awkward with tipping. It doesn't meana they are 'tightwads'. On cruises where tips are pre-paid, or like Princess Aust where they are included in the fare, I feel it is quite OK to go with the auto-tip unless someone gives exceptional service.

 

We usually cruise on the Australian-based ships, but have done 8 cruises out of USA on American based ships where auto-tipping or pre-paid gratuities were in place. I honestly cannot say that the level of service was any better in those instances compared with the Australian Princess ships where no tips are expected. When we have tipped extra, it is at the end (personally I don't like bribing people at the start of during a cruise). Staff wouldn't know if a tip was coming their way or not.:)

[MicCanberra]

I have been reading this thread with interest. :) I'm sure a lot of Aussies tip when it is appropriate and others feel awkward with tipping. It doesn't meana they are 'tightwads'. On cruises where tips are pre-paid, or like Princess Aust where they are included in the fare, I feel it is quite OK to go with the auto-tip unless someone gives exceptional service.

 

We usually cruise on the Australian-based ships, but have done 8 cruises out of USA on American based ships where auto-tipping or pre-paid gratuities were in place. I honestly cannot say that the level of service was any better in those instances compared with the Australian Princess ships where no tips are expected. When we have tipped extra, it is at the end (personally I don't like bribing people at the start of during a cruise). Staff wouldn't know if a tip was coming their way or not.:)

 

Similar case, where we tip the room steward and any other particular staff member, be they the waiter/waitress, bar staff, general cleaner, matre'de, activity staff, etc. at the end of the cruise. This is above the prepaid auto tips and is always due to exceptional service (above and beyond what is normally acceptable). This is for individuals to evaluate if, when and how much they think is required. Other factors would include the length of the cruise and the actual deed or service that they did that was exceptional.

I can say in my experience, that tips have ranged from $100 to $5 and in some cases just an Aussie souvenir for good company.