Rise in Gratuities

[Wiltonian]

So from £4 in 2013 to £7 in 2018.

 

Either a 75% pay rise for cabin staff and waiters or P&O are cutting their base salary and making it up with the increased service charge.

 

Hmm, I wonder which one it is.

 

Actually, there is a third, quite feasible option:

 

Staff have received the increase in gratuities, and P&O have increased salaries, but not by as much as they might have done without the gratuities increase.

 

Stuart

[grapau27]

Actually, there is a third, quite feasible option:

 

Staff have received the increase in gratuities, and P&O have increased salaries, but not by as much as they might have done without the gratuities increase.

 

Stuart

Nice thought but highly unlikely.

[ozzysdad]

Will be taking them off for my upcoming April cruise, it was bad enough having to pay £18 per day for two adults and a child of 12 but £21 for me is excessive, when I booked the holiday there wasn't a mention of the tips expected and in my opinion it should be paid when you book - particularly if P and O want to attract a new demographic of passenger.

[jeanlyon]

Yes have to agree that this should be pointed out when you book. I have not had an email yet about the increase and we sail in April.

[janny444]

Yes have to agree that this should be pointed out when you book. I have not had an email yet about the increase and we sail in April.

 

Hi...we sail in April and received the email notification from P&O this morning

[Florry]

Perhaps the end game is to have tips on par with other brands. They couldn’t do it in one go so a gradual year-on-year increase would be the way. Irrespective of the amount, it seems to me that anyone who pays tips is most likely subsidising others who do not. Nobody knows what staff actually get other than it’s determined by survey ratings as performance related pay.

 

 

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[bee-ess]

Perhaps the end game is to have tips on par with other brands. They couldn’t do it in one go so a gradual year-on-year increase would be the way. Irrespective of the amount, it seems to me that anyone who pays tips is most likely subsidising others who do not. Nobody knows what staff actually get other than it’s determined by survey ratings as performance related pay.

 

 

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I agree Florry. What happens to the money we pay up front if their grades are not up to par ?

[Eglesbrech]

Perhaps the end game is to have tips on par with other brands. They couldn’t do it in one go so a gradual year-on-year increase would be the way. Irrespective of the amount, it seems to me that anyone who pays tips is most likely subsidising others who do not. Nobody knows what staff actually get other than it’s determined by survey ratings as performance related pay.

 

 

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Yes I think you are absolutely correct, it is a drip feed change to bring everything on par with the US based ships. Tips going up sharply year on year, charges for room service, restrictions on bring on board alcohol.

[mrsgoggins]

........

Nobody tips the person who cleans a hotel room, so many will not consider that element deserves a tip.

........

 

What? I always tip housekeeping daily in a hotel .... even if it’s just a night at a Premier Inn.

 

Stunned :rolleyes:

[Eglesbrech]

Will be taking them off for my upcoming April cruise, it was bad enough having to pay £18 per day for two adults and a child of 12 but £21 for me is excessive, when I booked the holiday there wasn't a mention of the tips expected and in my opinion it should be paid when you book - particularly if P and O want to attract a new demographic of passenger.

 

If there are 2 adults and 2 children in a cabin then that's a lot of money for tips.

 

I can see why anyone new to cruising who was not fully aware of these costs might simply cancel the tips once they become aware of it. It is not fully clear during the actual booking process and travel agents conveniently don't seem to mention it.

 

 

I recently gave some information about cruising to an aquantance who was thinking of booking and she was scandalised at the prospect of having to pay predetermined tips before the service was even offered and regardless of the quality. She felt it was wrong that this was added and the passenger then has to do something to stop it, like the worst kind of inertia clause. Her reaction was surprising as she is a very generous individual so it was not down to meanness - she just thought it was wrong.

 

 

Other new cruisers may well have the same attitude, particulalry if faced by a bill they knew nothing about.

 

I suspect those of us who have cruised for years have been brainwashed into accepting the status quo. It was interesting to get a perspective from someone from the outside so to speak.

[bee-ess]

 

I suspect those of us who have cruised for years have been brainwashed into accepting the status quo. It was interesting to get a perspective from someone from the outside so to speak.

 

Yes, you are right there. It is an anachronism from when the very poor were serving the very rich. Can't see new cruisers paying it if they can avoid it and for a family of 4 it is £400 on a 2 week holiday. It is accepted in the US culture but not so in the UK.

[Strawberry field]

Yes, you are right there. It is an anachronism from when the very poor were serving the very rich. Can't see new cruisers paying it if they can avoid it and for a family of 4 it is £400 on a 2 week holiday. It is accepted in the US culture but not so in the UK.

 

I consider myself a 'new cruiser' only having done two with another one booked. I have always paid the gratuity and will continue doing it as I budget for this before I book. Yes £400 for a family of four is a lot I agree but in relation to the cruise prices of other lines it's reasonable for good service. However if I don't get good service or I find rudeness amongst those serving us I would remove the auto tips and tip accordingly but this has never happened up to now.

[Millers]

What? I always tip housekeeping daily in a hotel .... even if it’s just a night at a Premier Inn.

 

 

 

Stunned :rolleyes:

 

 

 

But £7 per day

 

 

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[wowzz]

But £7 per day

 

 

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But the £7 is shared amongst amongst numerous crew members, so not much per person.

 

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[john watson]

If there are 2 adults and 2 children in a cabin then that's a lot of money for tips.

 

Passengers who are 6 months old up to under 13 years old do not get charged tips on P&O. On US lines they would be charged the regular amount which is increased if they were in a suite.

 

This is a big positive for booking P&O as opposed to the US lines out of Southampton in particular.

 

Regards John

[jeanlyon]

What? I always tip housekeeping daily in a hotel .... even if it’s just a night at a Premier Inn.

 

Stunned :rolleyes:

 

Stunned as well, as I wouldn't even think of tipping in a hotel. I tip my hairdresser, I would tip in a restaurant if it wasn't included, but apart from that - no.

[majortom10]

My brother-in-law was thinking of booking his first cruise for 2019 to celebrate a significant wedding anniversary. Knowing that we have done many cruises he asked my advice on any info/tips I could give him about who to cruise with, best cabins and general info. When we got to tips/gratuities/service reward scheme or whatever you want to call it and told him the majority of mass market cruise lines automatically added a charge onto you onboad account and the costs he was amazed and asked lots of questions which to be honest I struggled to justify charges. He said he wasnt against giving tips but surely it should be at the end of the cruise and at his discretion on who and how much he gave. One final statement he said which said it all was " why is it his job to give in his opinion high amount of tips so that staff get a decent wage surely that was the cruise lines job. I could not really argue with him or justify it and he is now no longer looking at a cruise but other holidays.

[dgs1956]

But the £7 is shared amongst amongst numerous crew members, so not much per person.

 

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The £7 is shared between your cabin steward (or butler) and the dining room and buffet waiters. With a ship like Britannia it could potentially be as much as £25,000 a night so it is a lot of money.

[bee-ess]

He said he wasnt against giving tips but surely it should be at the end of the cruise and at his discretion on who and how much he gave. One final statement he said which said it all was " why is it his job to give in his opinion high amount of tips so that staff get a decent wage surely that was the cruise lines job.

 

These are my views exactly !!

Tip commensurate with the service you receive. With a service charge there is no need for the staff to 'do a bit extra'.

[Eglesbrech]

Passengers who are 6 months old up to under 13 years old do not get charged tips on P&O. On US lines they would be charged the regular amount which is increased if they were in a suite.

 

This is a big positive for booking P&O as opposed to the US lines out of Southampton in particular.

 

Regards John

 

Yes I get that John but it is still quite a bit if a new passenger has a 13 and 15 year old and was not aware that they had to pay it. (By the way I don't tavel with children so it does not affect me)

 

Just because the US is worse does not mean that we need to follow their lead, which is what we appear to be doing in many aspects of British life, cruising just being one of them

 

P&O sells the band as "Brirish" but that only goes as far as the marketing, it is following US trends for everything else it seems.

[simonpjd]

For those who get upset when the gratuities go up after booking, simply change the amount you want to pay on board back to the old rate.

However despite the rise it is still much cheaper than any American line or Cunard.

 

 

 

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[mrsgoggins]

But the £7 is shared amongst amongst numerous crew members, so not much per person.

 

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Exactly!

 

I’m only checking out this board because we will shortly take our first cruise with P&O. So far not impressed with the views of some, who wish to choose who to reward on an arbitrary basis - and yes I know it’s contentious on other boards too.

 

I’m another who wishes they would include the tips as part of the price to avoid this type of thread. Definitely not reading any more!

[Eglesbrech]

. One final statement he said which said it all was " why is it his job to give in his opinion high amount of tips so that staff get a decent wage surely that was the cruise lines job. I could not really argue with him or justify it and he is now no longer looking at a cruise but other holidays.

 

That how I am beginning to feel. I do actually always pay the auto tips but more and more people are clearly not and in some case I can see why: they don't have to so they simply choose not to.

 

If this money is needed for wages then put it on the price so that we all pay, not just a proportion of us who leave on the auto tips / pay in cash. People booking then all know up front what the holiday costs them and there are no nasty surprises for new pax once they get onboard.

 

If it is genuinely a "tip" then leave it to the discretion of pax based on the service they receive.

 

It's interesting that normally anyone decrying the system on one of these threads gets shot down very quickly. I get the impression that there are now many more of us getting annoyed about the constant price rises for what is supposed to be a voluntary expression of gratitutde for good service.

[Florry]

Yes, you are right there. It is an anachronism from when the very poor were serving the very rich. Can't see new cruisers paying it if they can avoid it and for a family of 4 it is £400 on a 2 week holiday. It is accepted in the US culture but not so in the UK.

 

 

I agree and now that P&O are appealing to the budget market and keeping base costs low, surely the likelihood is that a higher proportion of passengers will remove tips?

Many threads ago there was some evidence that P&O make up the shortfall in the tip pool, if so, it is in their interest to crunch the numbers and try to shift the burden on the passenger population who do pay.

Let’s remember that most people here are experienced P&O passengers, I’m not so sure all passengers are quite as interested in the moral implications or inner workings of the system, from what I saw on Britannia last year the majority just want cheap holidays, and I doubt they see tips as a necessary cost.

I’m not debating the rights and wrongs of that or the system, I just think P&O will retain it until there is a ‘tipping point’ (forgive the pun) where it is no longer viable because more passengers remove than contribute - at the moment they use OBC and goodwill to prop it up.

 

 

 

 

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[Eglesbrech]

Exactly!

 

I’m only checking out this board because we will shortly take our first cruise with P&O. So far not impressed with the views of some, who wish to choose who to reward on an arbitrary basis - and yes I know it’s contentious on other boards too.

 

I’m another who wishes they would include the tips as part of the price to avoid this type of thread. Definitely not reading any more!

 

But that is the point. It is a tip so people can choose who to reward on an arbitrary basis if that's what they want to do. Or to not tip at all which more and more pax seem to be opting for.

 

Absolutely, it should be part of the price.