Tipping

[Wookie01]

On 6/22/2023 at 7:38 AM, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

What is the appropriate action here, please?

To some extent this also depends on where your land tour is going.
If it is going to very remote locations then some cash may be wise for 'just in case' situations, but as others have said you can put virtually everything on card for the vast majority of situations. 🙂

[Worldtraveler 4727]

1 hour ago, Wookie01 said:

To some extent this also depends on where your land tour is going.
If it is going to very remote locations then some cash may be wise for 'just in case' situations, but as others have said you can put virtually everything on card for the vast majority of situations. 🙂

 

Wookie01, we are headed to Darwin, Cairns, and Uluru. So not really "remote," I don't think 🤔

[Wookie01]

37 minutes ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Wookie01, we are headed to Darwin, Cairns, and Uluru. So not really "remote," I don't think 🤔

You should be fine with credit cards etc in those locations.

Darwin and Cairns will be hot and humid, Uluru will be warm to hot and extremely dry.

If astronomy interests you then I believe there is a great tourist nightsky facility at Yulara. I was lucky enough to spend 6 weeks working as an amateur astronomer at Yulara during the Halley's Comet visit in 1985/86.

Enjoy the cruise and your land content 🙂 
 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

12 minutes ago, Wookie01 said:

You should be fine with credit cards etc in those locations.

Darwin and Cairns will be hot and humid, Uluru will be warm to hot and extremely dry.

If astronomy interests you then I believe there is a great tourist nightsky facility at Yulara. I was lucky enough to spend 6 weeks working as an amateur astronomer at Yulara during the Halley's Comet visit in 1985/86.

Enjoy the cruise and your land content 🙂 
 

 

Oo thanks for the heads up on the weather! I was thinking since it will be the last week of October, heading into your spring, it might not be hot/humid/dry.

And thank you for the suggestion on Yulara. That sounds like something we would love! I will research that. Much appreciated. 

[possum52]

12 hours ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

 

Oo thanks for the heads up on the weather! I was thinking since it will be the last week of October, heading into your spring, it might not be hot/humid/dry.

And thank you for the suggestion on Yulara. That sounds like something we would love! I will research that. Much appreciated. 

End of October means only another month of spring is left south of the tropics. It is really going into summer as the weather will becoming warmer in most localities and more humid in the tropics and sub tropic regions.

Australia is a vast country with  different climates.

 

This link may explain - Australian Climate

'Given the size of the country, the climate in Australia varies greatly from one region to the next. Generally speaking, there are four seasons across most of the country while the Top End (including Darwin, Katherine, Kakadu and Arnhem Land), Broome, the Kimberley and Tropical North Queensland (Cairns, the Whitsundays and the Daintree Rainforest) experience a ‘wet season’ (November to April) and a ‘dry season’ (May to October).'

 

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 6/23/2023 at 8:44 AM, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Well! There you have it! 
I consider this to be the definitive answer to both of my questions.
Thank you so much!
Our cultures are so different in this respect, and I appreciate you and others on this site being straightforward, helpful AND patient with us by answering the same question multiple times! (NOT always the case on Cruise Critic)

Thank you for taking the time to answer my particular concerns. 
 

My pleasure. 
I have lived & worked in the US in my late teens in the 80s and even then I found the tipping culture simply bizarre. It's like a slave/master power imbalance. 
 

I remember a few years ago telling a visiting US friend as they were trying to press a $20 note into the hands of someone who earned twice what they did, that perhaps they should think about how insulting that was and how it was perceived by the recipient who then had to embarrass themselves by refusing the money. They agreed it was ingrained into them to believe anyone performing any kind of function for them was "in need". 
 

I'm happy to continue answering the question if it means we keep our culture as our own !! 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

10 hours ago, possum52 said:

End of October means only another month of spring is left south of the tropics. It is really going into summer as the weather will becoming warmer in most localities and more humid in the tropics and sub tropic regions.

Australia is a vast country with  different climates.

 

This link may explain - Australian Climate

'Given the size of the country, the climate in Australia varies greatly from one region to the next. Generally speaking, there are four seasons across most of the country while the Top End (including Darwin, Katherine, Kakadu and Arnhem Land), Broome, the Kimberley and Tropical North Queensland (Cairns, the Whitsundays and the Daintree Rainforest) experience a ‘wet season’ (November to April) and a ‘dry season’ (May to October).'

 

 

 

Thank you. I will re-think my packing.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

4 hours ago, PerfectlyPerth said:

My pleasure. 
I have lived & worked in the US in my late teens in the 80s and even then I found the tipping culture simply bizarre. It's like a slave/master power imbalance. 
 

I remember a few years ago telling a visiting US friend as they were trying to press a $20 note into the hands of someone who earned twice what they did, that perhaps they should think about how insulting that was and how it was perceived by the recipient who then had to embarrass themselves by refusing the money. They agreed it was ingrained into them to believe anyone performing any kind of function for them was "in need". 
 

I'm happy to continue answering the question if it means we keep our culture as our own !! 

 

Enlightening! 👍🏻

[Wookie01]

Sadly in the U.S. the minimum wage for staff in the hospitality etc space is a pittance, virtually slave labour.
Their employment system forces customers to be 'secondary employers', subsidising a large part of the workers' wages.
All this so that the rich can get richer at the expense of the workers unfortunately. 😞

[GUT2407]

On 6/26/2023 at 4:57 PM, Wookie01 said:

Sadly in the U.S. the minimum wage for staff in the hospitality etc space is a pittance, virtually slave labour.
Their employment system forces customers to be 'secondary employers', subsidising a large part of the workers' wages.
All this so that the rich can get richer at the expense of the workers unfortunately. 😞

The other thing that amazes is me is unnecessary jobs that get tips.

 

Heard two Americans discussing how much to tip the fellow who shows you to your seat at a concert sporting event etc, it was about per person or per group.

 

give me a ticket, Area 4, Row x seat 5 and have decent signage and I’ll find it, even Bellboys (often old men) to carry my bag 10m

[Host Bonjour]

On 6/20/2023 at 8:51 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

Colleen surely you have noticed in every tipping thread that the actual consensus is "NO!

 

Thank you, I have, and I researched and complied with every local culture where I was a guest, which was liberating. (Including Australia and New Zealand 💕)

 

The reason I posted the request, which perhaps I may have worded better, was to ask locals to describe their own interactions as examples of transactions, IF EVER, where they may have felt that some experience warranted anything extra when the custom is otherwise, most definitely NO. 

 

I thought perhaps by highlighting what might be construed as extraordinary by someone who would otherwise do what is normal, feel compelled to break practice. Even I, when reading answers to the no tipping thread, see explanations that state "unless there has been exception service or something above and beyond" which lead me to the question: "what might this look like in a scenario that would otherwise be a non-tipping event?" 

 

On the Northern European port board, folks have been describing some experiences such as when getting into a car rental, as one might do if their car is being repaired, they offered a tip because the agent ended up setting up so much inside the car that they did not expect, but which was very helpful, that it warranted some kroner for an otherwise non-tipping situation in a non-tipping country. 

 

In no way had I intended to imply, suggest, or encourage that this would be any sort of common practice, quite the opposite. The goal was to help put visitors more at ease with adopting local practices and enjoying the culture. 

 

Pocketing extra cash for whatever isn't half bad either. 

 

Thanks for commenting so I could make my thoughts clearer on the age old Cruise Critic international tip chat. I think experiences are amplified the more we try to absorb local cultural traditions and practices, isn't it the point of traveling? We get to do all the usual things when we get back home.

 

And to be honest...the tip assault that happens here now (no counter is without a tip jar) is getting press and discouraging patronage (as is the option with certain payment terminals) so dodging certain businesses...yep, that's a thing now. To some extent, I think it's the equivalent of airline baggage fees, which straight up were never anything more than a cash grab (and was not even taxed, but that's a different story...) so yeah. Rant over.

 

Loved the post with the $2K "tip" from someone hearing about needing extra shifts to cover uni costs (can relate once upon a time) but that's not so much a tip as a random act of kindness, which I see pop up once in a while online. I don't think anyone objects to that kind of tip anywhere, do we?

 

Don't tip where it's not a tipping culture. Please. 

 

Hope everyone is doing well this week 🙂 

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 7/7/2023 at 9:21 AM, Host Bonjour said:

 

 

 

I thought perhaps by highlighting what might be construed as extraordinary by someone who would otherwise do what is normal, feel compelled to break practice. Even I, when reading answers to the no tipping thread, see explanations that state "unless there has been exception service or something above and beyond" which lead me to the question: "what might this look like in a scenario that would otherwise be a non-tipping event?" 

 

To some extent, I think it's the equivalent of airline baggage fees, which straight up were never anything more than a cash grab (and was not even taxed, but that's a different story...) so yeah. Rant over.

 

 

The problem with asking for "extraordinary" examples is it's purely based on what each individual's definition of extraordinary is. 
 

An American would think a taxi driver getting luggage out of the boot (trunk) is extraordinary.
An Australian would expect it as part of the normal role of the job. 

An American thinks a hairdresser cutting their hair in extraordinary and worthy of a tip. 
An Aussie knows the hairdresser is getting paid a salary and would not demean them by tipping them. 
 

There are also the tax consequences for those employees. If they receive what is deemed to be income that is not taxed at source, they need to declare that in their tax returns and may end up having to pay additional tax. 
 

I 100% re airline baggage (and reserved seat) fees being a giant cash grab! Remember the era when we just booked a flight and boarded it !!! 

[Host Bonjour]

On 7/8/2023 at 6:38 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

based on what each individual's definition of extraordinary is. 

 

Which again, why it seemed like a good idea to solicit examples peoples' (plural) experiences (not their thoughts), for whatever reason acted differently, not speculating whatsoever. 

 

I again direct you to our Northern Europe board, where folks living in Denmark, Norway or Sweden who posted examples of places or situations, with each scenario being completely different and otherwise a time (and they specifically write this in the post) when they would otherwise never tip, along with the reason why they did so in this instance. 

 

Again, it is not to convert or advocate for tipping in any WAY SHAPE OR FORM. Quite the opposite in fact, it is to highlight the limited, atypical circumstance wherein anyone local would go so far as to feel moved to do so, and why. 

 

Sometimes storytelling is a clever way to help bridge cultural gaps and create understanding, comfort, respect, and familiarity with practices that are outside the norm of what one lives by when experiencing new places. This is what the point of the request was about. 

 

As for tax consequences, it is beyond the scope of this forum and the point of the conversation, though the point is not unreasonable, for anyone who is required to report and pay tax on income, which is... most people.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Perth. 

[JJK2008]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:31 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

And again. Read all previous posts. Please. 
 

- nothing

- nothing 

- nothing

 

There are NO tipping expectations in Australia. For any occupation. 
None. Zip. Nada. 
 

They are all well paid jobs. Unlike the US there is no requirement for staff here to beg for a living from tourists. 

THANK YOU for posting the way you did. This topic comes up a good deal. As an American, it absolutely FROSTS me why some Americans can't just get it through their heads that Australia is a NO TIPPING POLICY country!!! Far too many Americans (some here in CC) will continue to push the issue even after asking the question and receiving the answer. I've read posts here where the American will ask about tipping and will be advised not to do so but the American will not accept this and openly say they will tip anyway because they "know it's the right thing to do" As an American I am embarrassed by these arrogant fellow countrymen. Thank You again for posting the advice on tipping.     

[cachouonacruise]

I want to respect the no tipping culture in Australia and New-Zealand, for two reasons: the first one is that it's clear instructions for tourists and the second one, I love and respect people and cultures on this planet and I want to make sure not to offend anyone by my behaviour, as a tourist! 

 

So people on this thread have mentioned not to tip shore excursions staff, guides, bus drivers etc. 
 

I just booked an excursion in Wellington New-Zealand, via the Viator group, and amongst not included elements, the web site mentions "gratuities".  Therefore, it is highly suggestive that, tips or gratuities are expected!!!

As a result, I am now confused again. Can someone help me better understand? 
 

 

[possum52]

2 hours ago, cachouonacruise said:

I want to respect the no tipping culture in Australia and New-Zealand, for two reasons: the first one is that it's clear instructions for tourists and the second one, I love and respect people and cultures on this planet and I want to make sure not to offend anyone by my behaviour, as a tourist! 

 

So people on this thread have mentioned not to tip shore excursions staff, guides, bus drivers etc. 
 

I just booked an excursion in Wellington New-Zealand, via the Viator group, and amongst not included elements, the web site mentions "gratuities".  Therefore, it is highly suggestive that, tips or gratuities are expected!!!

As a result, I am now confused again. Can someone help me better understand? 
 

 

You have to remember that Viator is a San Francisco based company owned by Tripadvisor. So all its advice is based on what happens in the US and what US citizens do and don't do. As tipping is required and adhered to in the US, that is what Viator advises. 

 

Tipping is not required at all here in Australia or NZ. On our cruise to NZ prior to Covid, we booked a few tours through Viator but did not tip the driver/tour guide nor did anyone else on the tours (that I'm aware of). Tour guides and bus drivers earn good money so there is no need for customers to tip/pay gratuities.

 

Enjoy your trip down under.

[cachouonacruise]

11 hours ago, possum52 said:

You have to remember that Viator is a San Francisco based company owned by Tripadvisor. So all its advice is based on what happens in the US and what US citizens do and don't do. As tipping is required and adhered to in the US, that is what Viator advises. 

 

Tipping is not required at all here in Australia or NZ. On our cruise to NZ prior to Covid, we booked a few tours through Viator but did not tip the driver/tour guide nor did anyone else on the tours (that I'm aware of). Tour guides and bus drivers earn good money so there is no need for customers to tip/pay gratuities.

 

Enjoy your trip down under.

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain this Viator perspective. I really appreciate! 

[c-boy]

are there "service charges" applied in Australia ?

[possum52]

4 hours ago, c-boy said:

are there "service charges" applied in Australia ?

What do you mean by 'service charges'?

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by possum52

[yarramar]

16 hours ago, c-boy said:

are there "service charges" applied in Australia ?

Generally, no. Restaurants and cafes may add an extra percentage charge on the total bill on a public holiday but it will be written on the window, the counter or in the menu if this is the case.

In Australia it is against the law to add costs to the advertised price of goods or services unless clearly stated and only for a valid reason.

In other words, the price you see is the price you pay, no added taxes, tips, service charges, resort fees or anything else.

[Yakov51]

How do Australian residents feel about automatic gratuities in accounts on board international ships sailing in Australia?

[possum52]

2 hours ago, Yakov51 said:

How do Australian residents feel about automatic gratuities in accounts on board international ships sailing in Australia?

Our fares on Australian based cruise lines include gratuities and taxes. If we want to cruise on international ships we accept that gratuities are added to the fare. We may not like it but we really don’t have a choice. We also tend to pay tips when travelling in the US. 

[JJK2008]

7 hours ago, Yakov51 said:

How do Australian residents feel about automatic gratuities in accounts on board international ships sailing in Australia?

You always have the option to refuse the automatic gratuities. Go to the purser's desk first day on-board and just tell them you don't want automatic gratuities. Your choice.

[cachouonacruise]

23 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

You always have the option to refuse the automatic gratuities. Go to the purser's desk first day on-board and just tell them you don't want automatic gratuities. Your choice.

I am not sure, this would correctly match the intent.

 

From what I understand, Australians and New-Zealanders' jobs are well paying. Therefore, they don't need any additional incentive to do a good job. 
 

I feel it is my job, as a visitor in Australia and New-Zealand to respect their curlture.

 

However, people from New-Zealand and Australia, like any other well intended traveller, need to adapt to other countries' cultures, when they are abroad.

 

For example, in America, and Canada, a number of jobs are paid lower wages, based on the existing tipping culture. 
 

And although our Celebrity cruise ship will be travelling only in Australia and New-Zealand, the pay structure aboard the ship is based on the American culture, taking into account that Celebrity is an American company. 
 

So, removing gratuities/not tipping on an American cruise ship, in my opinion, would not adequately match the culture aboard the ship. ( Unless, you booked a high end cruise, where tips are specifically unaccepted).

Edited October 15, 2023 by cachouonacruise
Typos.

[Yakov51]

Are you sure that this money goes to remunerate the crew? On ships, on average there are two passengers for each crew member. The passenger pays 20 US dollars per day. That is, each crew member should receive an average of $40 per day or $1,200 per month. Are they getting it? I've spoken to crew members more than once and they say they don't receive any tips. I agree, it is common in American and European tradition to pay for tips. I agree to pay. But I prefer to give cash to those who serve me - in the cabin, restaurant, children's room, theater, buffet... I know that this way my tips will really reach the crew members. It may be objected that the money will not go to the dishwashers. Do you tip the dishwashers in a city restaurant? You give it to the waiter, and you don’t care what he does with it.