Are Gratuities going up AGAIN next week ?

[daiB]

Noticed that the OP posted the question and then never came back. Interesting behaviour.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[NSWP]

I think the small increase in Daily auto tips is acceptable - inflation.:p

 

Although I still consider the Auto tip system as a wage subsidy. The cruise lines do not want to pay the full crew wage out of their coffers, thus 'user pay.':evilsmile:

[grapau27]

I think the small increase in Daily auto tips is acceptable - inflation.:p

 

Although I still consider the Auto tip system as a wage subsidy. The cruise lines do not want to pay the full crew wage out of their coffers, thus 'user pay.':evilsmile:

As long as they can get away with it they will.

It is hard to get cruise jobs so the crew probably keep quiet in fear of losing their jobs but i think most people have sympathy for them.

 

 

love sailing with RCCL

[insanemagnet]

I think the small increase in Daily auto tips is acceptable - inflation.

 

I don't think a 50% rise in the automatic gratuities, now optional service charge, in the last three years can be explained by inflation.

 

It seems more likely P&O have realised how little resistance there is to paying a voluntary fee, and are now seeing where the limit is.

 

From the discussion here, it would seem if they doubled it or more there would be a hard core of people who would continue to pay, so if you were P&O why wouldn't you keep increasing it.

 

I would wager by 2020 it will be at least £10.

[davecttr]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but for some reason it did not appear so here we go again

 

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson :D

 

We will not have any more of these circular discussions :D:D

[grapau27]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but for some reason it did not appear so here we go again

 

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson :D

 

We will not have any more of these circular discussions :D:D

Very interesting and spot on.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[daiB]

Exactly.

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app

[Port out]

There is no escaping it, whether we call them gratuities or tips, these need to be paid to the crew that serve us and give us a wonderful cruise.

Folk who remove the service reward and scuttle off the ship without paying a bean are just plain rotters. However, I do worry about leaving all of the service reward intact as my OH and I like to hand a generously filled white envelop across to those who have served us well. I think it was Dai that mentioned this, and it is certainly our experience as well, that our steward, butler, dining staff and indeed the folk who look after our drinks in the evening, remember those passengers who reward them directly with a gorgeous thank you, somewhat more that those who just leave the service reward intact and leave it like that. Of course there are exceptions.

So, what we do is visit the desk, remove 70% of the service reward, leaving 30% for the behind the scenes staff that influence our wonderful cruise but do not directly serve us. This way we feel free to tip directly, much as we did before the service reward was introduced, while at the same time consider we are giving!? (the big unknown) something for those behind the scenes.

Like many have commented, we do not like the idea that a few folk can mark down our steward, our butler and others for whatever reasons, and then they end up getting nothing.

I just worked out that if we were to leave the service reward intact it would cost £1680 this years cruises and frankly I’d rather the 70% (£1176), plus the same again went direct to those who looked after us.

For my money I’d rather the service reward was rolled into the cruise fare and we can get back to tipping as we did before.

Left out

Ships cruised on: Orontes, Himalaya, Sea Princess, ‘Old’ Oriana, Canberra, Pacific Princess, Island Princess, Star Princess, Regal Princess, Crown Princess, Royal Princess, Victoria, ‘Old’ Arcadia, Aurora, Oceana, ‘Old’ Adonia, Arcadia, Oriana, Adonia, Ventura, Azura.

Been on: RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth, QE11, Caronia, Mauretania, Andes, Begona, Montserrat, Fairsky, Fairsea, Fairstar, Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt, Orangie, Astor 11, Chusan, Iberia, New Amsterdam, Southern Cross, Northern Star, Orsova, Strathnaver, Reina del Mar, Rotterdam, Ryndam, Saxonia, Crystal Sympathy.

124P&O cruises, 20 in the pipeline.

[SadPanda]

Actually RCI gratuities are $13.50 for all cabins except suites where it is $16.50. For Celebrity it's from $13.50 - $17.00 depending on the category of stateroom. MSC is €9 per day. So all more expensive than P&O

Couldn't agree more, its sits badly with me the way it is done now. I remove auto tipping as soon as on board now. I prefer to tip what i can afford directly to the staff providing good service.

[daiB]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but for some reason it did not appear so here we go again

 

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson :D

 

We will not have any more of these circular discussions :D:D

Exactly Dave.

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Forums mobile app

[grapau27]

What bugs me is if it is true what people have posted saying if you stop the autogratuities and give your tips to the crew you want,that crew

member has to put that money back into the tip pool and they can only keep tips that are on top of autogratuities.

This is the only reason i leave autogratuities on P&O and pre- pay on Royal Caribbean as i prefer to tip well to the people i want to.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[SadPanda]

What bugs me is if it is true what people have posted saying if you stop the autogratuities and give your tips to the crew you want,that crew

member has to put that money back into the tip pool and they can only keep tips that are on top of autogratuities.

This is the only reason i leave autogratuities on P&O and pre- pay on Royal Caribbean as i prefer to tip well to the people i want to.

 

love sailing with RCCL

 

I really wonder if this putting into the tip pool is really just a myth. I tipped the cabin steward recently halfway through the cruise and his reaction/comments gave me the impression the tip was not going into any tip pool.

 

P&O should remove the auto tip and add it onto the cruise price. Its not up to passengers to subsidise staff wages. Its P&O's responsibility to pay their staff a fair salary.

 

Tipping is the personal choice of the customer to reward excellent service taking into account how much the customer can afford to tip.

If staff onboard are working in a service role and they give great service then some people may choose to tip them. If not in a service industry then they should rely on their salary.

[eddie11]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but for some reason it did not appear so here we go again

 

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson :D

 

We will not have any more of these circular discussions :D:D

 

Exactly

 

Is everyone writing (snail mail or email) to Carnival House to put that view? Do you think it might influence anything if we did?

[Selbourne]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but for some reason it did not appear so here we go again

 

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson :D

 

We will not have any more of these circular discussions :D:D

 

 

I agree with every point. Furthermore, I suggest that service levels would also improve. Many of us would still wish to directly reward individuals who go 'over and above' and this would create a real incentive for staff to excel.

[grapau27]

I really wonder if this putting into the tip pool is really just a myth. I tipped the cabin steward recently halfway through the cruise and his reaction/comments gave me the impression the tip was not going into any tip pool.

 

P&O should remove the auto tip and add it onto the cruise price. Its not up to passengers to subsidise staff wages. Its P&O's responsibility to pay their staff a fair salary.

 

Tipping is the personal choice of the customer to reward excellent service taking into account how much the customer can afford to tip.

If staff onboard are working in a service role and they give great service then some people may choose to tip them. If not in a service industry then they should rely on their salary.

I couldn't agree more.

If this point could be confirmed about going into the tip pool or not it would certainly clarify matters.

Please,anyone who can give the correct answer ideally crew themselves your input would be invaluable.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[grapau27]

I really wonder if this putting into the tip pool is really just a myth. I tipped the cabin steward recently halfway through the cruise and his reaction/comments gave me the impression the tip was not going into any tip pool.

 

P&O should remove the auto tip and add it onto the cruise price. Its not up to passengers to subsidise staff wages. Its P&O's responsibility to pay their staff a fair salary.

 

Tipping is the personal choice of the customer to reward excellent service taking into account how much the customer can afford to tip.

If staff onboard are working in a service role and they give great service then some people may choose to tip them. If not in a service industry then they should rely on their salary.

Did he know if you were prepaying or not?.

I don't like the idea my tips are not going to someone who has looked after us because a few people have given a poor review.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[SadPanda]

Did he know if you were prepaying or not?.

I don't like the idea my tips are not going to someone who has looked after us because a few people have given a poor review.

 

love sailing with RCCL

 

I have no idea if he knew or not for definite however i suspect staff did know that i had removed auto tipping. This is based on how friendly one of the dining waiters was when seen in the buffet nearer the end of the cruise when traditionally tipping takes place.

[grapau27]

I have no idea if he knew or not for definite however i suspect staff did know that i had removed auto tipping. This is based on how friendly one of the dining waiters was when seen in the buffet nearer the end of the cruise when traditionally tipping takes place.

It begs the question,Do crew give you a better service when the autogratuity is removed when they are working for your tip rather than just getting it automatically.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[SadPanda]

It begs the question,Do crew give you a better service when the autogratuity is removed when they are working for your tip rather than just getting it automatically.

 

love sailing with RCCL

 

i would be of the opinion that they try harder when auto gratuity is removed.

[terrierjohn]

I have no idea if he knew or not for definite however i suspect staff did know that i had removed auto tipping. This is based on how friendly one of the dining waiters was when seen in the buffet nearer the end of the cruise when traditionally tipping takes place.

I imagine he was more interested in a few extra pounds from everyone who had left the auto tip on, rather than the odd one that had removed it.

[SadPanda]

I imagine he was more interested in a few extra pounds from everyone who had left the auto tip on, rather than the odd one that had removed it.

 

maybe right, hard to know.

[insanemagnet]

The passengers pay the crews wages however it is bundled.

 

P&O have 'tips' because this results in a lower headline price.

 

The passengers should all pay their fair share of those crew wages, this does not happen.

 

Rolling the 'tips' into the headline price will ensure all passengers pay their fair share.

 

This will not result in a drop in bookings as the marketing advantage of 'no tips' will compensate.

 

The mass market UK consumer is happy with all inclusive holidays. P&O is a mass market cruise line.

 

Inclusive tips is not rocket science. Expensive cruise lines do it and so do Thomson.

 

Expensive cruise lines do it because they are expensive and I would bet many customers leave tips anyway.

 

Thomson are a mass market tour operator where almost all their customers would tell them where to go if they tried to automatically add on an optional service charge.

 

P&O on the other hand see themselves as a traditional cruise line and the majority of their customers have been indoctrinated into 'tips' being normal.

 

The issue is coming about because P&O is now marketing itself to a wider audience where optional service charges are not acceptable, and at the same time have massively increased the cost of those service charges.

 

Eventually the old P&O customer base will disappear, but in the interim, P&O can make a bigger profit by having the optional service charge and being able to advertise cheaper cruises. A few letters won't change that.

[jeanlyon]

Interestingly on the P&O website, it no longer says "optional". It doesn't say that you can increase or decrease the £6 per person like it used to?

 

"A discretionary daily amount of £6.00 is added to your on-board account for each guest aged 12 and over.

 

The Service Reward appears on your folio as a ‘service charge’ and is confirmed in your holiday information booklet, accessed through your Cruise Personaliser. Of course, if you want to personally reward a crew member in addition to this, feel free to do so.

[grapau27]

Interestingly on the P&O website, it no longer says "optional". It doesn't say that you can increase or decrease the £6 per person like it used to?

 

"A discretionary daily amount of £6.00 is added to your on-board account for each guest aged 12 and over.

 

The Service Reward appears on your folio as a ‘service charge’ and is confirmed in your holiday information booklet, accessed through your Cruise Personaliser. Of course, if you want to personally reward a crew member in addition to this, feel free to do so.

It is a service charge but still just over half most of the other major cruise lines and you don't have a 15-18% gratuity on every drink you buy like the others.

 

Love RCCL and P&O.

[jeanlyon]

Yes but we have more often than not preferred to tip with an envelope and it used to say that you could change the amount up or down. It doesn't now. The only other line I have sailed with is Fred Olsen and the tips are less than P&O