Gratuities on HAL

[sunshiners]

As the Aussie Dollar in dropping really fast it makes it extremely expensive to pay for gratuities in USD. I know on Princess you can organise to have them removed. Being Australian and tipping not in our culture I think that cruising for us will become a very expensive option for holidaying. Can you have this payment removed with Holland America??

Edited September 3, 2015 by sunshiners

[kazu]

As the Aussie Dollar in dropping really fast it makes it extremely expensive to pay for gratuities in USD. I know on Princess you can organise to have them removed. Being Australian and tipping not in our culture I think that cruising for us will become a very expensive option for holidaying. Can you do this with Holland America??

 

I wish I could say no. Cruising and paying in USD is expensive for us Canadians too, but the hsc (or tipping) is part of the cost of the cruise.

 

It's only fair to pay those that are taking care of you including those behind the scenes.

 

So, I won't lecture other than to say, it's more expensive for us than for you I think ad we will certainly not remove it. But yes, it can be done. Be prepared to tell them how the crew has let you down.

[sail7seas]

Makes me sad for people to decide they will cruise and because the gratuities add up to more because the value of their money has dropped, they will punish the crew.

 

The answer is yes. You can decide to not tip the crew. Go to the Front Office. Tell them you think they are too much money and they will remove the gratuities. :(

 

They also will have your stewards' supervisors speak with the cabin/dining stewards to see why you are unhappy enough with the service you don't wish to pay the gratuities about which you had knowledge when you booked the cruise. The stewards are on the spot to assure their supervisors it is not their fault.

 

Perhaps if you plan ahead and set aside a bit each week to cover the cost, you might be able to meet the obligation?

 

In any case, hope you have a great cruise.

[Lotsasmiles]

I'm from Oz too, and unfortunately the falling dollar is a fact of life - but it certainly isn't the fault of the crew. On our next cruise we will just factor it into the cost. I figure, if you can't afford it - don't go.

[sail7seas]

Kazu was kinder than me.

I guess I lectured but I feel so strongly about the subject I felt it appropriate. :o

 

[cruiseing marly]

I believe they may only be removed for bad service it doesn't look good on the staffs record ! I think it would be very rude to do it just to save money . Our dollar is also terrible I think you should just pay it as its a big part of there wages ! If you can't afford it keep your travelling domestic then will not have to tip ! When in Rome will you know what I mean . I think they can be included if booked that way the whole world is just trying to make a living .

[DaveOKC]

As the Aussie Dollar in dropping really fast it makes it extremely expensive to pay for gratuities in USD. I know on Princess you can organise to have them removed. Being Australian and tipping not in our culture I think that cruising for us will become a very expensive option for holidaying. Can you have this payment removed with Holland America??

 

On Holland America (HAL) and North America, tips are a crucial part of a service worker's pay and you would really doing them a major disservice by removing them. IMO, the fact that tipping is not part of your culture has nothing to do with whether or not you tip. Since you are cruising on a North American ship, you need to abide by the North American culture, not yours from back home.

 

The only acceptable time to remove the tip charge on HAL is if you receive such poor service that this is justified (which is generally not the case with HAL's excellent crew). If you do try to remove the service/tip charge onboard, I understand that they will ask you why you are doing this (but I have never tried this so I do not know for certain the exact procedure).

 

If you cannot afford to pay the service/tip charge, I respectfully suggest that you do not sail on Holland America (or any other North American line).

[sapper1]

I'm confused as to why the OP feels the crew should suffer because the Australian currency is falling. The Canadian Loonie is in the toilet right now but that does not translate to us stiffing the crew.

 

Would the OP be happy with reduced service if they were to remove the HSC? Somehow I seriously doubt it.

 

I feel a falling dollar is my problem and it means our upcoming cruise will cost more. I will not make the crew do without because of it. The HSC and onboard expenses are charged in US dollars and the total cost of those dollars to non US residents has always been a moving target.

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

That person that cleaned you room and brought your meals to you Could be fired. They have to go to thier supervisions and explain why you removed the tip. So if there are a few of you who don't tip you may see your waiter at the airport. He never get another job on a ship again.

You saved your money for this cruise save some more for the tip.

 

 

Mary

[jtl513]

Would you like to work hard for a week or two and not get paid? Neither does the crew. :eek: The Hotel Service Charge is not a gratuity, it is a charge for services rendered. Only if those services are not adequately rendered should you have a clear conscience when removing them.

.

Edited September 3, 2015 by jtl513

[The-Inside-Cabin]

You don't have to remove all the gratuities.....you could remove 30pct if you were determined to pay the AUS equivalent. But, we are talking about paying and extra $6 Australian per day per cabin at the current exchange rate....so a 14 day cruise is an extra $84 dollars compared to about $5000 for the cruise....don't think an extra $84 dollars Australian is going to break the bank.

 

When I travel to Australia I don't tip....I always try and follow the local custom of where I am....HAL ships follow North American tipping culture and people should respect the local customs.

Edited September 3, 2015 by The-Inside-Cabin

[Florida Lady]

Punish the hard working crew!!!

Remember they work 7 days a week for low wages and depend on the trips.

 

If you cannot afford to pay the gratuities STAY HOME!!!

 

I feel strongly about this subject.

[ithaca gal]

Makes me sad for people to decide they will cruise and because the gratuities add up to more because the value of their money has dropped, they will punish the crew.

 

The answer is yes. You can decide to not tip the crew. Go to the Front Office. Tell them you think they are too much money and they will remove the gratuities. :(

 

They also will have your stewards' supervisors speak with the cabin/dining stewards to see why you are unhappy enough with the service you don't wish to pay the gratuities about which you had knowledge when you booked the cruise. The stewards are on the spot to assure their supervisors it is not their fault.

 

Perhaps if you plan ahead and set aside a bit each week to cover the cost, you might be able to meet the obligation?

 

In any case, hope you have a great cruise.

 

Sail, you are kinder than I on this one. If they remove the gratuities, I can't wish them a great cruise. Save up or travel domestically only.

[YubaSutter]

Yes, the gratuities can be removed at the front desk.

[mudscraper]

Be kind enough to let your stewards know that you won't be tipping them for all the hard work they do for you. You will do that won't you ??

[sunshiners]

Yes, the gratuities can be removed at the front desk.

 

Thank you for being the only person to respond that has not been rude and does not realise the cost of cruising in Aus compared to the US. If I remove the gratuities (that as far as I am concerned the companies should be paying their staff appropriately anyway) I pay the good staff that have given me wonderful service directly and in a very quiet way. My last cruise on Diamond Princess, I wondered why the queues to get to reception where huge for the first 3 days. I was then told that they were passengers lining up to have the gratuites taken off. Given the service on that voyage I can't say I blame them. And just for the record all you Canandians complaining, I just looked up your dollar and it is .75 against the uUSD. Try the AUD under .70 and dropping fast.:D

[Tights]

Thank you for being the only person to respond that has not been rude and does not realise the cost of cruising in Aus compared to the US. If I remove the gratuities (that as far as I am concerned the companies should be paying their staff appropriately anyway) I pay the good staff that have given me wonderful service directly and in a very quiet way. My last cruise on Diamond Princess, I wondered why the queues to get to reception where huge for the first 3 days. I was then told that they were passengers lining up to have the gratuites taken off. Given the service on that voyage I can't say I blame them. And just for the record all you Canandians complaining, I just looked up your dollar and it is .75 against the uUSD. Try the AUD under .70 and dropping fast.:D

 

I have just returned from our first ever cruise on the Noordam and am a victim of the Aussie dollar but I knew about the gratuities and allowed for them, I didn't like it, but I paid them and as the cruise went on and I witnessed just how hard working everyone is ( and doing it with a smile) I would have felt a real lousy bugger if I had removed the gratuities.As other have said when in Rome, just suck it up or choose another destination.

[DocF]

Yes, you can remove your automatic tips from your account. Your stewards and waiters will know this has been done as they should receive a printout that will include this information. Their supervisors will also receive this information and will undoubtedly question them about this.

 

Now I know that Aussies do not believe in tipping. They live in a country where this is not done. I used to race automobiles with several guys from Australia and I know about your nation and its proclivities.

 

I am trying to be diplomatic, but it is very difficult to phrase this in anything except a blunt manner. If you are cruising on a ship where tipping is the norm, then if you cannot afford to tip, you should probably be doing something else with your holiday time.

[tassietravellers]

We are Australian, this will be our first big ship cruise, but we understand totally about tipping, in Australia yes its not done much at all, wages are a lot higher for people in hospitality and its not expected, even though we do for good service and its appreciated.

 

Yes the Aussie dollar is low, but so are the crews wages and they work long and hard for what they get.

 

We want to travel abroad and by doing so we are helping keep a lot of people employed, if we couldn't afford the tips we would take our holidays locally. Its just something that needs to be factored in when planning and booking trips.

 

We have taken 3 river cruises, same conditions and wages for the staff on them as well, we have always prepaid our tips and tipped on top of that personally for extra service.

 

We are prepaying again this time as well, its an option more readily advertised for cruises and tours out of Australia, makes it a lot easier for us as we don't have to worry about how much will be added to our account.

 

Deb

[Wastegirl]

I won't go into the rights or wrongs of paying the Service Charge on board, however I always have and factored it into my cruise. The dropping Australian dollar is making me consider the whole package price instead of just looking at the cruise price and then comparing it to a local cruise where I don't have to pay tips.

 

If the total comes in right, we will do it as we are in 2017, going on a Celebrity cruise, but if the HSC tips the price over the edge, we look elsewhere. I would love to do another HAL cruise but at the moment their cruises around Australia are just too high in cost.

 

One thing I can suggest is to check what HAL are giving as an exchange rate (Celebrity is currently 77c in the dollar) and put some OBC on your account to cover the HSC, if the exchange rate is favourable.

[pv girl]

My last cruise on Diamond Princess, I wondered why the queues to get to reception where huge for the first 3 days. I was then told that they were passengers lining up to have the gratuites taken off. Given the service on that voyage I can't say I blame them..:D

 

Did it ever occur to you that what you deemed poor service on that cruise was perhaps because the crew knew everyone was removing the service charges and did not feel motivated to go above and beyond routine service.

 

A few years ago the USD vs. Euro was horrible - about $1.45 USD per Euro. It was very costly for Americans to travel there. It is better now. There is always an ebb and flow to foreign exchange and one must factor that in when making vacation plans.

 

If you don't agree with tipping in principle, then I agree with others, you should stay home or only patronize Australian companies.

[kazu]

Thank you for being the only person to respond that has not been rude and does not realise the cost of cruising in Aus compared to the US. If I remove the gratuities (that as far as I am concerned the companies should be paying their staff appropriately anyway) I pay the good staff that have given me wonderful service directly and in a very quiet way. My last cruise on Diamond Princess, I wondered why the queues to get to reception where huge for the first 3 days. I was then told that they were passengers lining up to have the gratuites taken off. Given the service on that voyage I can't say I blame them. And just for the record all you Canandians complaining, I just looked up your dollar and it is .75 against the uUSD. Try the AUD under .70 and dropping fast.:D

 

 

paying the crew "in a quiet way" doesn't mean they get to keep the $. If you don't keep the HSC in place, the crew MUST turn any money they get from anyone who removes HSC into the pool. They only get a small portion and most likely, less than if the HSC had been kept in place.

 

If you tip over and above the HSC the money is theirs to keep.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- you can remove the Hotel Service Charge. You will be given a form to sign and asked why you wish to do so.

We would never think of removing the Hotel Service Charge. The majority of the crew work very hard to make everyone happy -- and they only get paid a small salary -- probably way, way smaller than you are paid.

Like Lotsasmiles said -- if you can't afford it -- don't go.

[take us away]

You have to understand that yes, the bulk of your hotel service charge goes to your cabin and dining stewards but it is also distributed among the bakers, the laundry people, the people who clean the public toilets, the cooks, the people who scoop your ice cream and wash your dishes, the people who chop your vegetables and prepare your desserts.

 

Do understand about ever changing currencies and a non-tipping culture but please do not penalize the hard working crew for these things and you chose HAL. So I take it you are planning on not buying anything from a bar or the Explorer's Cafe, going on tours, or basically not charging anything to your cabin because of your currency issues? There are cruise lines who do not charge the service charge but check their day rates - HAL rates are a good deal as other lines have very recently increased their service charge. In the grand scheme of things, you paid thousands for a cruise and you are now planning on slighting the fantastic crew for a few hundred dollars (US). Please reconsider having the service charge removed! One option is to buy OBC credit to cover your hotel charge now to prevent a continuation of your currency issues.

[Globaliser]

Thank you for being the only person to respond that has not been rude and does not realise the cost of cruising in Aus compared to the US. If I remove the gratuities (that as far as I am concerned the companies should be paying their staff appropriately anyway) I pay the good staff that have given me wonderful service directly and in a very quiet way.

You shouldn't be surprised if people are rude to you about this. The main reason why people ask "Can I remove the service charge?" is because they want to tip a total that is less than the service charge would be.

 

Can you assure all of us that you would cash tip at least as much as the hotel service charge would have been?

 

And if you would, then what's the point of tipping in cash, given that the people to whom you hand the cash will simply have to put it into the same pool that the service charge would have gone to?

 

The current level of AUD/USD exchange rate is, frankly, irrelevant. If you choose to cruise on a USD ship, expect to pay the USD rate. And if that's too much, don't go. It was the same for visitors (like me) to Australia when the AUD was so extraordinarily high for such a long time.