Foreign currency for cruise to multiple countries

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

No tips needed in the UK And no US $ either

 

Not jonnn,

 

Not sure where you are getting this information.  You definitely tip in the U.S.  

[Joanandjoe]

4 hours ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

No tips needed in the UK And no US $ either

 

Not jonnn,

Interesting.  I started this post, and it convinced me to by small amounts of local currency:  for, e.g, 35 UK pounds.  If our guide in Kirkwall, Orkney (Scotland) doesn't want tips for a full day, small group tour, I could always use the money to buy a bottle of local single malt Scotch. LOL! (The end of the cruise is within 10 miles of our house, so no need to take the whiskey on a plane).  Joe

[Tucruisers]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I would say that you definitely should tip tour guides and bus drivers in the UK. Also taxi drivers, waiters etc. I doubt that anyone would say anything to you if you don't tip, generally people are too polite, but pay is very low in the hospitality industry and so a gratuity (in £ not $) is appreciated. We are fast approaching a time when our currency in the UK is worthless anyway!

[liptastic]

I would say it’s a personal decision/choice to tip your guides on excursions. We do and have no issues what anyone else does.

Have to disagree with GrJBerkshire to say no tips in the U.K.

I always give my hairdresser a tip and beauty salon a tip. When we have the chance to dine out we always leave a tip, and it is accepted most graciously.

Joe I don’t think your tour guide in Orkney will be at all offended at your kind tip. 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise.    Jean

 

[RJ2002]

Good to see some other CC members from the UK chime in, as I was also a little surprised byGrJ Berkshire's blanket statement about no tipping.  My recollection was that we'd tip in restaurants (if no service charge was already assessed).  We knew we didn't need to tip in pubs and bars.

[geospyder]

Pretty good guide to tipping   http://www.whototip.net/

[JMARINER]

11 hours ago, Tucruisers said:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I would say that you definitely should tip tour guides and bus drivers in the UK. Also taxi drivers, waiters etc. I doubt that anyone would say anything to you if you don't tip, generally people are too polite, but pay is very low in the hospitality industry and so a gratuity (in £ not $) is appreciated. We are fast approaching a time when our currency in the UK is worthless anyway!

I remember traveling to England in '85. The £ was under $1.10, I think as low as $1.08. Those were the days. 🙂

 

I come from the "always tip" camp. Maybe because I worked in the service industry as a young adult. I have never had anyone in a service industries job refuse my gratuity, nor have ever had any sense that they were insulted by the offer.

 

J 

[Travelcat2]

In my opinion, there would be very few people that would not be happy to receive extra money.  Having said that, the link to tipping is very good except that a large percentage of servers/bartenders in the U.S. do receive "minimum wage" and tips are above that.  So, in upscale restaurants, they are making a good wage.

 

The minimum wage in our state (Washington) is one of the highest in the country  http://www.workingwa.org/seattle-minimum-wage(http://www.workingwa.org/seattle-minimum-wage. So, if a server or bartender receives $15/hr plus whatever they receive in tips, it is a good living.

 

Sadly, in states where servers/bartenders are allowed to make less than minimum wage (plus tips), they really need those tips.  

 

Given how convoluted it is in the U.S., it is difficult to make a recommendation about tipping.

 

Getting back to Regent, the crew make more than on other cruise line (enough to put their children through college), so, additional tipping is not necessary.

[SWFLAOK]

We almost always give a tip to our tour guide and driver, and even if it's an included excursion, it's a tip based on what we thought that excursion was worth. We tip taxi drivers no matter where we are if they're polite. If they go for our luggage and load it, then they're tipped more.

Since we're from the US, we have the hardest time with tipping wait staff in restaurants in other countries. In the US, a 20 percent tip is expected for good service, and that's what we give for good service. We usually look it up online when traveling to other countries. If we find that it's not normal to tip, we normally don't, unless we're paying with local currency, and we leave the change. We recently tried to tip at a family owned restaurant in Florence that our Florence based tour guide suggested to us. The 6 of us who decided to eat there loved it, and the food and the wine was reasonably priced. When we tried to tip, the owner declined to accept it.

When it comes to the Regent crew, if we have refundable shipboard credit, as we did on our most recent cruise due to cancelled excursions, we donated part of that to the crew fund, and received a nice letter within a few hours after doing so. Hopefully that helps someone on the crew that has not yet made a lot of money, and encourages them to become long term crew members.

[SWFLAOK]

On 7/31/2019 at 5:32 PM, GrJ Berkshire said:

But not in UK please, it is of no real value here

Anyway the main advantage  is not needing  cash for tips, as they not needed in the UK.

Equally we are now in Norway,a no tipping country it's embarrassing to see American visitors trying to give tips to guides ,just doing their job and having money thrust at them.Many guides with qualifications will be on very good wages.

We haven't been to the UK yet, but are looking at a cruise in 2021. We already planned to not tip any waitstaff in the UK since tourists from the UK don't tip wait staff when they come to Florida where it is expected. We will still bring a few pounds with us to give to a tour guide or taxi driver that goes the extra step to make our vacation special.

[Travelcat2]

14 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

We haven't been to the UK yet, but are looking at a cruise in 2021. We already planned to not tip any waitstaff in the UK since tourists from the UK don't tip wait staff when they come to Florida where it is expected. We will still bring a few pounds with us to give to a tour guide or taxi driver that goes the extra step to make our vacation special.

 

You bring up such a good point!  I believe that Florida is one of the states that pays their waitstaff less than minimum wage.  So, if tourists do not leave a tip, I would not want to serve them.

 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention!

[JMARINER]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

In my opinion, there would be very few people that would not be happy to receive extra money.  Having said that, the link to tipping is very good except that a large percentage of servers/bartenders in the U.S. do receive "minimum wage" and tips are above that.  So, in upscale restaurants, they are making a good wage........

 

Getting back to Regent, the crew make more than on other cruise line (enough to put their children through college), so, additional tipping is not necessary.

You actually  think that the average  Regent housekeeper, waiter or unseen crew makes a living wage? Most have wives (or husbands) at home who still have to work and raise children. And just because they may make more than other in the cruise industry, still doesn't mean they are paid anything close to a living wage by any standards. Sure Regent tells you that it isn't necessary. But it also doesn't say it not prohibited.

[Travelcat2]

29 minutes ago, JMARINER said:

You actually  think that the average  Regent housekeeper, waiter or unseen crew makes a living wage? Most have wives (or husbands) at home who still have to work and raise children. And just because they may make more than other in the cruise industry, still doesn't mean they are paid anything close to a living wage by any standards. Sure Regent tells you that it isn't necessary. But it also doesn't say it not prohibited.

 

As I think that you know, we prefer speaking with the crew rather than other passengers.  It amazes me how much they make when you compare it to what they would earn in their home countries.  Butlers on Regent generally save up money to get married and start their own business in India.  Crew from the Philippines put their children through college (something that they could not do if they did not work for a company like Regent -- and this is without tips).  

 

Perhaps you have not looked into "living wages" in India, the Philippines and other third world countries.  You may find these two articles of interest:  https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AwrUipzslUNdexMAuRkPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?qid=20110107191735AAUkBnT

 

Here is one article regarding the Philippines:

 

For those people who have jobs, about $500 a month is a pretty good wage. Blue collar workers make about 150-250 pesos a day in the city. Less in the provincial areas. A housekeeper/domestic helper will make about 1,000 - 2,000 pesos a month. $1=P42 +/-

 

The average "server" annual salary in the Philippines is $6,900.  

 

There has to be a reason why so many crew members leave their families for months at a time and that reason is money!!!!!  This is one reason why tipping is included on luxury cruise lines.  

 

This reminds me of servers in my state (Washington) that earn one of the highest minimum wages in the country and also get tips.  It is not unusual for servers here to make double their salary in tips!

 

So, if Regent crew members are more than happy with what they are making, who are we to dispute that?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Mjflowers]

Time to close thread. Way off topic now.

economic majors taking over.

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

13 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

We haven't been to the UK yet, but are looking at a cruise in 2021. We already planned to not tip any waitstaff in the UK since tourists from the UK don't tip wait staff when they come to Florida where it is expected. We will still bring a few pounds with us to give to a tour guide or taxi driver that goes the extra step to make our vacation special.

 

As much as that may be true, I don't think you should punish servers in the U.K. for the behaviour of some tourists in Florida.  Servers everywhere either depend on tips, or they appreciate a bit extra, even if it's just rounding up the bill. 

 

When we're in Florida (almost 6 months a year), we always tip at least 20% now, since we know many of these servers and know how hard they struggle to make lives doing this type of work. 

 

Our son is a bartender/server/manager in Toronto and his income comes almost entirely from tips.

 

And to those who say that they make good money from tips, remember that most of this work is NOT full-time, and often involves gruelling hours--ask my son as he cleans up the bar at 3 a.m. then takes a taxi home.

[Travelcat2]

Agree about Florida and also feel that we should follow the guidelines for each country that we visit.  

 

We have a lot of Canadian's (many thousands per month as gasoline and food is quite a bit less money here and we are only 20 miles from the border).  Servers here complain that Canadian's do not tip well but that does not mean that when we go to Canada that we tip less.  

[1982CruzStart]

I am sure SOME Canadians might not tip well. That is not the case for all the people i know. Vancouver has a very large Asian population whose culture does not include tipping. It is unfortunate if they do not adapt to the culture where they are living or visiting.  I have heard complaints about some French Canadians from Quebec who tip poorly when they go to Florida. Again a culture that does not include tipping.  When we are in Quebec we tip as anywhere else (which is 20% in NA) and they seem to really like the tips they receive. I suspect that the lack of tipping culture is more in rural Quebec than in urban Quebec. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree that most remarks about which countries' people don't tip well are very anecdotal.  People in Toronto tip well, so when they go elsewhere they also tip well.  That is a gross generalization of course, since I don't know all my fellow Torontonians.  Quebecois used to have a terrible reputation in Florida for tipping badly or not at all.  That too I'm sure was a gross generalization.   There may be a rural/urban correlation but it's more likely to be a personal one. 

[Travelcat2]

25 minutes ago, 1982CruzStart said:

I am sure SOME Canadians might not tip well. That is not the case for all the people i know. Vancouver has a very large Asian population whose culture does not include tipping. It is unfortunate if they do not adapt to the culture where they are living or visiting.  I have heard complaints about some French Canadians from Quebec who tip poorly when they go to Florida. Again a culture that does not include tipping.  When we are in Quebec we tip as anywhere else (which is 20% in NA) and they seem to really like the tips they receive. I suspect that the lack of tipping culture is more in rural Quebec than in urban Quebec. 

 

Your right about "some" Canadians (I should have said that).  We are 50 miles from Vancouver and while we get plenty of Asian shoppers from Vancouver (our Costco parking lot sometimes has more Canadian than U.S. license plates), we do not see them much in restaurants.

 

We go to restaurants just about every day and know servers, bartenders, managers and owners quite well.  The discussion about how poorly "some" Canadian's tip is well known in Bellingham.  

 

It really bothers me when some countries get known for being poor tippers.  We have seen (in Fiji) some servers  that did not want to serve Australian's because of their tipping practices (or lack thereof).

 

Obviously these are generalizations (just like some restaurant workers in the U.S. that think that women tip less).  

 

P.S.  For the record, we do love our Canadian neighbors!

Edited August 2, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Maybe it's Vancouverites who are poor tippers, or lower-mainland residents.  All of these things are just generalizations.

[Segmentersfloattheboat]

Another viewpoint from the UK.

We do tip here as has been stated by liptastic - but I admit to it never being 20% of a restaurant bill!  That would be far too much because eating out here (in normal everyday cafe bistros, restaurants etc., not high end fancy places) is much more expensive than in the US and there is sometimes a service charge in place.  So for visitors watch out for that as tipping on top of the service charge (which is not VAT), we certainly would not do, so it pays to read the small print at the bottom of the menu.  Any service charge will be made clear there.  No service charge we would tip on how good the service and food has been but usually round money up, not a percentage.  We always find when giving a tip, and another tip (😉) for visitors to the UK, is to tip in cash directly to the server, not add it to the bill when you might be paying by credit card. We have heard tales of waiting staff not getting tips, or not getting all of them if the tip if it is added to the final bill and paying by card, when dubious owners have kept some of their tips as a "handling" charge! 

 

As for tipping guides and drivers, taxi drivers, bell hops etc etc., always and always in local currency.   

 

Let me tell you this wee story - I was sport fishing off the coast of Zanzibar a few years ago in a small, very basic fisher boat with just me and the two local fisherman.  Well let me tell you my Swahili is almost non existent and their English not much better but with much gesturing we managed.  When they found out I came not only from the UK but from Scotland, they were dancing around and hugging me and it was as though they had won the lottery!  Why?  Some idiot from Scotland about 5 years previously had thought it very smart to tip them in Scottish Pound Notes which not only could they not change (their local bank didn't recognise the Scottish notes as legal tender -well actually they are promissory notes) but they had been waiting for all this time for someone from Scotland to come along who would change the notes for them.  I did change them - at a very advantageous rate for them.  

 

In England, they don't really like our Scottish notes either, many refuse to take them, so we always take English notes with us heading south and take English notes with us as a back up if we think we might need to change currency overseas, but like many here we have a box with baggies full of different currencies!  It is not worth trading in small amounts and lets face it you never know when you might need it again!  Tip - you will find ATMs in airports in Scotland will either give you Scottish notes or a choice of Scottish notes, English notes or euros.  Or you can change your Scottish for English notes at the Travelex (or similar).   Shops in Scotland will happily give you English notes in change or exchange your notes if they have English notes in their till.  So options for getting rid of Scottish money before you leave.   Or you can just spend it! 

 

We have no problem taking the English notes here in Scotland - we are happy to take anyone's money! LOL! 

The older pound coins can now only be deposited into a bank account (I think someone said that before).  

 

WendyTheWanderer - we still have fond memories of that wonderful lunch in Tangiers in 2013 with you guys! 😁. 

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Segmentersfloattheboat:  Really loved your story.  Thank you for sharing!

[GrJ Berkshire]

I stand by what I said

US $ are not in use in London except in Harrods and Selfridges type stores, to most Brits they are useless, the loss on exchange is high. Equally most Brits now do not tip, service charge 12-5% is added in restaurants. It is not needed or expected. 99% of Brits do not tip, it is so last century master/ servant . This is almost exclusively an American import and 20% tip is ridiculous, a proper wage is paid here. Tipping should only be for above and beyond expected not just doing the job you are paid for.

I proudly do not tip ,just round up, pay the real cost and price accordingly.

[Heather White]

1 hour ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

I stand by what I said

US $ are not in use in London except in Harrods and Selfridges type stores, to most Brits they are useless, the loss on exchange is high. Equally most Brits now do not tip, service charge 12-5% is added in restaurants. It is not needed or expected. 99% of Brits do not tip, it is so last century master/ servant . This is almost exclusively an American import and 20% tip is ridiculous, a proper wage is paid here. Tipping should only be for above and beyond expected not just doing the job you are paid for.

I proudly do not tip ,just round up, pay the real cost and price accordingly.

 

Many restaurants especially high end ones  do add a service charge of 12 and a half percent, although the customer does have the right not to pay. I'm sorry to have to disagree with GRJ, but unless a service charge is added in a restaurant, a 10% tip is normal. In many restaurants the waiting staff are paid the minimum wage.

[Travelcat2]

No one is trying to use USD in the U.K.  The issue is what people in countries that do not typically tip (or tip little), needing to follow the culture of the country (or cruise line) that they are in.  To do otherwise is to put people from these countries at a disadvantage (some people not wanting to give excellent service, being disappointed if someone from a particular country enters their establishment as they could assume that they will not get a tip for their hard work.

 

Check out this site (Department of Labor in the U.S.) https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

 

You can clearly see which states pay tipped restaurant workers the full minimum wage plus tips and which do not (the majority do not).  Check out the minimum wage for tipped workers in states like Florida, Delaware, Arkansas, etc.

 

So, if you could live on less than $3.00/hour (2.46 GBP), by all means do not tip (and you are likely not sailing on Regent).  Otherwise, don't think about rules but rather that the people that are serving you in the U.S. likely do not make a living wage.

 

P.S.  Restaurant workers in Washington pay taxes on expected tips (based on total sales).  So, if you "stiff" the server, you are also making them pay income taxes on the amount you should have left).