Have P&O finally lost the plot

[wowzz]

From memory, prior to our last cruise, Princess increased their auto tips, but if you pre-paid them there was no increase.

 

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[mandylennon]

How stupid is someone who hasn't checked that they put dollar sign in instead of £ !!. Surely important things like this have to be checked before being sent out.

 

We pay the auto tips, but I think it is a bit below the belt changing the charge after booking they must have known about this increase for a considerable time. Always seen the queue mid cruise of people waiting get the auto-tips removed. My gripe (small I know) is that they should be on your account from the first day, so is taken out of any OBC so you know what you are left with, not half way through.

[minikiss]

Having read all in this thread I am wondering if someone can confirm something to me.

Am I right in thinking the tips / Grats don't go on the account daily?

In December we are taking what I call our 1st "real" P&O cruise.

So far I have "not" had any email telling me the Grats are going up, I am booked direct with P&O in case anyone asks. Does it look like they are only for now sending emails to those sailings in the next few months..... as i'm wondering at what point I will find out!

We have sailed Princess, RCCL and Carnival. Rccl and Carnival we pre paid and I prefer to do so, so it's a bit disappointing to see P&O don't allow this. There website says I can pre purchase spending money but unless I know I can request any that is unspent at the end back I do not want to do so.

I pre paid last year on Carnival, they to put the price up of the grats but allowed you to pre pay at the old rates plus it was only for sailing 6-8 weeks after the letter. I mentioned getting my money back as if you put to much on and then don't spend it all they don't give it you back and donate it to charity. Didn't like that idea so I refused to do so.

Now on Princess if you pre load the account and don't spend it all you "can" request it back and I the one time I did I got a cheque for the amount left over. I think at least one of their cruises they put the price of the Grats up but again let you pre pay before a certain time at the old rates.

 

 

For RCCL we paid it when we booked so became apart of the holiday price which we were very happy with.

 

 

Anyway getting back to when they show on the account on Princess it goes on daily so you always know where you are each day and I "think" Carnival are the same, But as we prepaid on the Vista they did not show at all the same as Rccl.

 

 

so don't P&O do it the same ? do they whack it on as a lump sum in the middle or end of the cruise! Don't know as i'm that keen on that idea.

 

 

On another side it's good to know I can go and tell them to reduce it to the rate it was when I booked.

I heard you could reduce it on Carnival but not on Princess.

[insanemagnet]

on Princess it goes on daily.

 

It is the same on P&O.

[bee-ess]

My gripe (small I know) is that they should be on your account from the first day, so is taken out of any OBC so you know what you are left with, not half way through.

 

We have just got back from Britannia and were charged the whole 14 day amount amount on day 2.

[daiB]

We have just got back from Britannia and were charged the whole 14 day amount amount on day 2.

 

 

I did think it came off at the start of the cruise.

 

 

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[Florry]

It's always been taken from our account at the beginning of the cruise on one lump.

 

 

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[RICO72]

......and today comes the correction as predicted. 6GBP on a revised booking notification. No apology for mistake, just the correction !

[Tarquin]

Just to clarify. Can one opt out of paying the gratuity altogether?

[brian1]

We have just got back from Britannia and were charged the whole 14 day amount amount on day 2.

Hi,we had the same on the Aurora recently,cheers,Brian,

[brian1]

Because they don't need to.

 

You can pay the old rate, pay the new rate, pay nothing, pay ten times the amount. You can do whatever you want as the amount is a discretionary amount.

 

Anyway, if the argument is the staff will suffer if they are not paid, won't they suffer if existing bookings are kept at the old rate.

Hi,you can do the same with Princess as they are optional also,cheers,Brian.

[Cruise Puss]

I do wonder what state some people must leave their rooms if the cabin stewards are so hard worked.

 

As I mentioned before, on my last cruise the cabin steward was done inside 10 minutes in a morning, enough time for me to leave the cabin, grab a coffee and come back.

 

Evenings even less time.

 

Is it the existence of the tips that leads people to leave their cabin in a state that takes the stewards so much time to deal with.

 

Unfortunately not all passengers are as diligent as most of us.

 

We had a Suite a couple of years back on Arcadia. When our cabin steward David cleaned it after our first couple of days he actually thanked us for keeping it so neat. We were astonished and asked why he had said that; apparently the couple before us had left it in such a mess every day, clothes everywhere, crockery left everywhere, towels all over the place, etc, etc., that it had taken him a very long time to clear up.

 

Not everyone cares about the staff it seems.

[groovechick]

We had zero interaction with our waiters beyond ordering and saying thank you, normally we have a bit if a chat with them but this was not reciprocated at all and I would say they did a satisfactory job, thats all. Almost the same with the cabin steward, no real chat at all, just doing her job to a satisfactory standard.

I heard many people say that they were cancelling their tip as the service was lacking - all the staff seemed very sullen and just doing their jobs, nothing you could fault but no spark at all. We didn't feel that Britannia seemed a 'happy ship' from a staff perspective.

 

During our December 2015 Britannia cruise, our steward told us that a lot of the staff don't like Britannia and are looking to transfer to other ships. They find her too big, they have to cover more cabins with the same number of stewards as they would have on Azura, say. We found the waiters very unwilling to go back to the galleys for items they had forgotten, or requests for extra veg, for example, because they said it was a very long way and then they get behind on service to their other tables.

Our cabin steward was very chatty and friendly, but actually not that good on the cleaning. Our waiters were pleasant and reasonably efficient, but very little interaction even though we tried, and our sommelier was downright rude until near the end of the cruise.

[groovechick]

Unfortunately not all passengers are as diligent as most of us.

 

We had a Suite a couple of years back on Arcadia. When our cabin steward David cleaned it after our first couple of days he actually thanked us for keeping it so neat. We were astonished and asked why he had said that; apparently the couple before us had left it in such a mess every day, clothes everywhere, crockery left everywhere, towels all over the place, etc, etc., that it had taken him a very long time to clear up.

 

Not everyone cares about the staff it seems.

 

Agree Cruisepuss. I always try to leave the room reasonably tidy and insist the children do the same. I've peeked in some cabins when the door has been open while the steward has been cleaning and they look like a tornado has gone through them.

[miniyorkie]

Agree Cruisepuss. I always try to leave the room reasonably tidy and insist the children do the same. I've peeked in some cabins when the door has been open while the steward has been cleaning and they look like a tornado has gone through them.

 

So I am not the only one who makes the bed and tidies up the bathroom before I can leave the cabin every day ha ha. Just a habit that I cannot break, even on holiday - I do it in hotels as well.

[Florry]

So I am not the only one who makes the bed and tidies up the bathroom before I can leave the cabin every day ha ha. Just a habit that I cannot break, even on holiday - I do it in hotels as well.

 

 

Me too!

 

 

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[Josy1953]

So I am not the only one who makes the bed and tidies up the bathroom before I can leave the cabin every day ha ha. Just a habit that I cannot break, even on holiday - I do it in hotels as well.

I think that many of us do this because we have always tidied around after ourselves. I have never understood why anyone would leave their room in mess for someone else to sort out. I don't want the steward to have to start putting my belongings away before he/she can do the jobs that have to be done.

[groovechick]

I think that many of us do this because we have always tidied around after ourselves. I have never understood why anyone would leave their room in mess for someone else to sort out. I don't want the steward to have to start putting my belongings away before he/she can do the jobs that have to be done.

 

Very happy it's not just me!

[louthebowler]

. There website says I can pre purchase spending money but unless I know I can request any that is unspent at the end back I do not want to do so.

 

 

If you purchase spending money, P and O says any unspent is not returned to you, which is a very poor practice. I put money on my Royal Caribbean account before our last 2 cruises and was given my unused money back. I can understand if you are given OBC as a promotion, not getting any of that back, but why they think its okay to keep any money you yourself have put on the account is anybodys guess!

[amajaa]

So I am not the only one who makes the bed and tidies up the bathroom before I can leave the cabin every day ha ha. Just a habit that I cannot break, even on holiday - I do it in hotels as well.

 

We always tidy up before we leave the room as well.

 

On our very first cruise ( which was on Ventura) we were just arriving at our cabin and the lady next door to us was calling the steward to tidy her kids room because they had messed it up. It was only about 1.30 in the afternoon on the day we boarded. How lazy was that, if that was my kids they would be told to tidy it up themselves, but then my kids wouldn't have messed it up in the first place.

[bee-ess]

Just had a questionnaire request from P&O all about tipping asking how we would rather pay tips and how much do we consider a fair amount etc and a few other tipping related questions.

 

I said that we would rather have the tips included in the cruise fare.

[Floflegs]

Just had a questionnaire request from P&O all about tipping asking how we would rather pay tips and how much do we consider a fair amount etc and a few other tipping related questions.

 

I said that we would rather have the tips included in the cruise fare.

I would agree with you.

[eddie11]

Me too

Perhaps we'll all get the opportunity to return that questionnaire - did it appear randomly, or can you think of an action on your part which prompted it?

[bee-ess]

Me too

Perhaps we'll all get the opportunity to return that questionnaire - did it appear randomly, or can you think of an action on your part which prompted it?

 

No I didn't prompt it, it turned up as an email from P&O, although we have just returned from Britannia last week.

[Scriv]

As regards tidying the room, I always do that but I do not make the bed. My daughter used to work in a hotel and she said that they always have to 'un make' and 're make' the bed anyway, so it doesn't really help them. I always fold back the duvet to air the bed whilst it's waiting. As regards the tipping questionnaire, my OH has got the email - maybe because we have just returned but also because he has now gone up a tier.