Thoughts on Tipping

[Baynanno1]

4 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I don’t think I saw that option. Only the option to add to it

Over the course of 30 cruises with Azamara I too have never seen an option to remove the included 18% gratuity, only the option to add more.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Baynanno1

[NC&KY]

I observed a man paying for himself and his wife specifically ask to have the 18% removed, and Spa staff did so without hesitation.

[Peter Lanky]

I would never use the spa, so it's not something I would look into closely. However it seems odd to me why Azamara should exclude this from it's non-tipping culture. Really, it should be described as a 'Non-tipping except for the spa Cruise' 😁

 

On another note the spa is optional, so at least there is no tipping on all the standard activities, that is until 'double tipping' which is effectively what people are doing if they tip on an Azamara cruise, gets to a level that the staff start to expect it again.

 

 

[mrbluesea]

Whatever the cruise line, whether tips are included in the fare or not, I will always tip staff personally. My personal choice, particularly given the last few years staff have had to endure.

[Peter Lanky]

53 minutes ago, mrbluesea said:

Whatever the cruise line, whether tips are included in the fare or not, I will always tip staff personally. My personal choice, particularly given the last few years staff have had to endure.

Serious question. If you were in hospital, would you tip the healthcare assistant who cleaned you up after a misfortune in bed? They have to endure far more than anyone in the hospitality sector could ever imagine, and for little more than the minimum wage. Of course not, so what makes cruise staff, who are also doing their job, worthy of something extra? Especially when Azamara will be paying them adequately due to having a no tipping policy.

[wrtmlt]

Tipping is a personal thing. Rather you choose to do it or not is your business and to make comments about others choice to do so is ridiculous. 

 

Bill

 

[mj_holiday]

On our only Azamara cruise (others canceled) I understood the tipping included and also if you bought a drink that had a charge, that charge included the tip. But then saw that the tickets had a line for a tip. DH never leaves a line like that blank. As the days went by, the bar crew knew the night cap that DH would order, and they remembered our cabin number for the charge. Then they didn’t print out a ticket (with a tip line) for DH to sign. Seems they really weren’t being motivated by any tip they got from the ticket. 
OTOH. I make sure to note excellent service of crew (by name) on any cruise comment card and this will be used for employee reviews, salary review, promotions.