Norwegian Cruise Lines to increase gratuities again, any thoughts?

[fudgbug]

7 minutes ago, Robjame said:

Not wanting to start a new topic for my topic, I hope it is acceptable to ask a related question?

 

We will be onboard for Christmas. Do you do anything different for the crew with whom you relate directly on that day?

 

 

 

 

We do.  A card, money, candy....  Once our cabin attendant was talking about a dress in the shop that she liked so I took her to the shop and bought it for her for Christmas.

[jonthomas]

wow...that is very generous, knowing the prices of items in the shops...

 

then there are other days, not just christmas....for other faiths....where do you draw the line...but it is a personal choice, so no need to draw line...I guess, except that it really changes expectations...

[jonthomas]

21 minutes ago, osandomir said:

Did you mean when you reach the level of included gratuities you won’t worry about the gratuities increase for others anymore? So it’s all about your pocket and not the fairness of Oceania doing their business.

 

keeping it real...cant wait  to reach that level and not think about it anymore...

 

who worries about the "increase for others"?...let them work up their loyalty as we are...why would I worry? 

 

cant think of too many that dont think about their pocket ahead of fairness to  O...come on....unless they have unlimited funds....

[LHT28]

22 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Its those that I see in the hallways second last day with their envelopes, asking where the stateroom attendants are and if I have seen them. That bothers me. 

It bothers you that people ask you  or that they are giving the staff an envelope?

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

when your gratuities are included, you are no longer giving out of pocket...thats a world of difference.....

Our gratuities  are included via Oceania   but we still give  some crew  tips

We do tip the cabin attendants 

we tip the Barrista  & sometimes the wait staff that we enjoyed sitting in their section nightly

it is our personal choice 

[jonthomas]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

It bothers you that people ask you  or that they are giving the staff an envelope?

 

 

I think I said above that it bothers me. You are asking me to repeat it...yes again it bothers me that there are so many levels of tipping...it feels like it is never enough....it may be a system of breeding a culture of constant dissatisfaction....since there is no limit to it....

 

there are those who pre tip, have included grat, and tip again after...and some that buy clothes....or other gifts....and of course that is their right but I dont have to like it....it ruins the "fairness" field...as someone else may be working harder and not receiving that kind of recognition....someone here asked about fairness...there can be a huge response just on that issue....

 

my only hesitation here is that if the included grats are pooled, then all are treated the same and that is not the true meaning of gratuities...in that case I would be better off pulling them and rewarding all those involved individually.....in any way I see fit....but that is work...and who needs work on a holiday....

 

yes once our gratuities are included, I may feel I am not really tipping anyone , since it is not coming out of my pocket...but loyalty has to be earned and we are on our way.....

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

 

I think I said above that it bothers me. You are asking me to repeat it...yes again it bothers me that there are so many levels of tipping...it feels like it is never enough....it may be a system of breeding a culture of constant dissatisfaction....since there is no limit to it....

 

 

Since you did not comprehend my question   then no point in asking you anything further

Ciao

[jonthomas]

and you asked because you dont comprehend my position? oh I think you do, the asking is simply to try and put me in a defensive position....

 

I will repeat in clarification....we are looking forward to having our gratuities included..hopefully O does not raise them the way NCL just has, at least not for a little while......

 

no way will I be chasing staff with envelopes the day before....it is really quite comical the way some were looking everywhere all over the ship with their envelopes in their hands....one lady dropped them in the elevator and it had to be held up till all of them were picked up....yes eyes were rolling in agreement....

 

has to be a better way...

 

ciao

[LGW59]

36 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

and you asked because you dont comprehend my position? oh I think you do, the asking is simply to try and put me in a defensive position....

 

I will repeat in clarification....we are looking forward to having our gratuities included..hopefully O does not raise them the way NCL just has, at least not for a little while......

 

no way will I be chasing staff with envelopes the day before....it is really quite comical the way some were looking everywhere all over the ship with their envelopes in their hands....one lady dropped them in the elevator and it had to be held up till all of them were picked up....yes eyes were rolling in agreement....

 

has to be a better way...

 

ciao

It's called ignore, and not worry about what others do in this regard, you do you, they do them and live and let live

[jonthomas]

yes I hear you....and for the  most part that is what we do....

 

one more fact...we dont do room service...dont go to baristas and dont drink...so no bar services...

 

we take our wine that the agents give us and give it to those we play trivia with....our needs in the  stateroom are minimal....no ice...towels only when needed and same with sheets to try and save them the work....our stateroom attendants are always appreciative of us...we do all we can to save them time and work....that is also a way to show appreciation....

[osandomir]

7 hours ago, jonthomas said:

yes I hear you....and for the  most part that is what we do....

 

one more fact...we dont do room service...dont go to baristas and dont drink...so no bar services...

 

we take our wine that the agents give us and give it to those we play trivia with....our needs in the  stateroom are minimal....no ice...towels only when needed and same with sheets to try and save them the work....our stateroom attendants are always appreciative of us...we do all we can to save them time and work....that is also a way to show appreciation....

That’s kind of unusual way to enjoy your cruise. Obviously no need for you to tip anybody on top of Oceania required gratuities.

[LHT28]

9 minutes ago, osandomir said:

That’s kind of unusual way to enjoy your cruise. Obviously no need for you to tip anybody on top of Oceania required gratuities.

people can remove the  gratuities if they want  they are not mandatory

[MEFIowa]

Seems rather simple. Tip someone, anyone, if you want to. Do it because you find it of some value to you and the person you tip. Because they did something over and above your expectations. But NO ONE is being forced to tip. So if you don't want to, don't. Just don't harp if others choose to. To each their own. A simple case of MYOB?

[pinotlover]

I do feel it’s a personal decision, who I tip and how much. No one else’s business.

 

To jonthomas’s comments, I will pass along an interesting story. Several years ago we asked a highly acclaimed, recently retired, butler what we could do to most help the crew. His comments were:

 

1.  Pick up after yourself. Don’t leave computers on the bed with open software. Clean off bathroom sink, and don’t leave piles of clothes or merchandise piled on the floor or . furniture . (Obviously YWYW doesn’t include living like a pig which some do at home.)
 

2.  When they come to clean your cabin, leave. If you can’t leave right then ask them to come back in X minutes and be gone. Even if they say it’s OK to stay, you’re in their way, and they’d prefer you to be gone.

 

3.  While they enjoy you inquiring about them, about 30-45 seconds is adequate. Longer than that you’re slowing them down and they have lots of work to do, especially on a full ship. They actually hide from some of the lonely hearts that try to corner them and talk incessantly. Be careful about asking very personal questions. 
 

4. If they preform admirably, tip them personally. It’s appreciated.

 

A couple things in his list stood out.First, tipping was listed last. There are a number of things we can, and should, do to make their jobs easier that matters a lot to them on a daily basis. Some as important as the “ tip”.

[jonthomas]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

I do feel it’s a personal decision, who I tip and how much. No one else’s business.

 

To jonthomas’s comments, I will pass along an interesting story. Several years ago we asked a highly acclaimed, recently retired, butler what we could do to most help the crew. His comments were:

 

1.  Pick up after yourself. Don’t leave computers on the bed with open software. Clean off bathroom sink, and don’t leave piles of clothes or merchandise piled on the floor or . furniture . (Obviously YWYW doesn’t include living like a pig which some do at home.)
 

2.  When they come to clean your cabin, leave. If you can’t leave right then ask them to come back in X minutes and be gone. Even if they say it’s OK to stay, you’re in their way, and they’d prefer you to be gone.

 

3.  While they enjoy you inquiring about them, about 30-45 seconds is adequate. Longer than that you’re slowing them down and they have lots of work to do, especially on a full ship. They actually hide from some of the lonely hearts that try to corner them and talk incessantly. Be careful about asking very personal questions. 
 

4. If they preform admirably, tip them personally. It’s appreciated.

 

A couple things in his list stood out.First, tipping was listed last. There are a number of things we can, and should, do to make their jobs easier that matters a lot to them on a daily basis. Some as important as the “ tip”.

 

 

thank you for this.....

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

I do feel it’s a personal decision, who I tip and how much. No one else’s business.

 

To jonthomas’s comments, I will pass along an interesting story. Several years ago we asked a highly acclaimed, recently retired, butler what we could do to most help the crew. His comments were:

 

1.  Pick up after yourself. Don’t leave computers on the bed with open software. Clean off bathroom sink, and don’t leave piles of clothes or merchandise piled on the floor or . furniture . (Obviously YWYW doesn’t include living like a pig which some do at home.)
 

2.  When they come to clean your cabin, leave. If you can’t leave right then ask them to come back in X minutes and be gone. Even if they say it’s OK to stay, you’re in their way, and they’d prefer you to be gone.

 

3.  While they enjoy you inquiring about them, about 30-45 seconds is adequate. Longer than that you’re slowing them down and they have lots of work to do, especially on a full ship. They actually hide from some of the lonely hearts that try to corner them and talk incessantly. Be careful about asking very personal questions. 
 

4. If they preform admirably, tip them personally. It’s appreciated.

 

A couple things in his list stood out.First, tipping was listed last. There are a number of things we can, and should, do to make their jobs easier that matters a lot to them on a daily basis. Some as important as the “ tip”.

Good list

I was surprised  going by some cabins  to see the mess  in them  I thought the main stream cabins had people that did not know how to hang their clothes up  but  guess not 

Our cabin usually looks  like no one is there  LOL

I do not like  clutter  so everything is out of sight 

[Rosroz]

fYI Brits do not as a rule get their tips included unless there’s a special offer on, I think we’re being mixed up with the Australians who are strong believers in paying people the correct salary which I agree with.

I do tip if I think it’s merited but to tip just because “ it’s the done thing”  is a total no, no, why should someone be tipped because their employers don’t pay them enough and expect the customer to be lining their pockets , the larger the corporation the worse it seems and most cruise companies seem quite happy to pay rubbish especially when the staff come from poorer regions of the world , nothing winds me up more when I hear fellow passengers say , oh well they get paid more than they would at home,  that maybe the case but it doesn’t make it right. 

[PhD-iva]

On 12/17/2022 at 10:16 AM, Rosroz said:

fYI Brits do not as a rule get their tips included unless there’s a special offer on, I think we’re being mixed up with the Australians who are strong believers in paying people the correct salary which I agree with.

I do tip if I think it’s merited but to tip just because “ it’s the done thing”  is a total no, no, why should someone be tipped because their employers don’t pay them enough and expect the customer to be lining their pockets , the larger the corporation the worse it seems and most cruise companies seem quite happy to pay rubbish especially when the staff come from poorer regions of the world , nothing winds me up more when I hear fellow passengers say , oh well they get paid more than they would at home,  that maybe the case but it doesn’t make it right. 

See post #17.

[no fuss travel]

We tip extra for good service.  We keep our cabin clean and put things away.  There has been a couple of times where we left a messy cabin as our tour was super late getting back to the ship and we had a reservation for dinner that we would barely make, and no I had not made an early reservation, and our room stewards actually came into our room again and cleaned it as they had already done the nightly chocolates and turn down.  We were surprised and embarrassed but appreciated the extra effort the cabin crew  made and tipped extra.  to each their own.