What's the appropriate tipping on Viking?

[Peregrina651]

2 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

One poster keeps saying to tip in local currency.  We were in norway and Iceland.  If we tipped him in either currency he'd have a useless currency in his hands ...

 

That statement refers to tipping not onboard the ship -- guides, bus drivers and any other activities on land that might involve tipping. It does not refer to tipping on board the ship.

 

The Viking Oceans/Expeditions on board currency is $USD no matter where the ships are sailing, therefore if you are going tip in cash, $USD is the first choice.

 

 

[Steerpike58]

37 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

That statement refers to tipping not onboard the ship -- guides, bus drivers and any other activities on land that might involve tipping. It does not refer to tipping on board the ship.

 

The Viking Oceans/Expeditions on board currency is $USD no matter where the ships are sailing, therefore if you are going tip in cash, $USD is the first choice.

 

 

Actually I was referring to poster @cilcianrqts who said 'why on earth would you tip in US dollars when the cruise is in Europe?  I doubt many of the crew vacation in New York City!!'  

 

I agree with you that USD is quite reasonable especially when you consider that the crew is from all over the world.

 

We've so far cruised in montenegro, croatia, greece, turkey, then Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Czech, then Thailand,  Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and then norway, Iceland... almost a new currency every day.  Tipping the crew in these currencies would be next to useless.

 

Edited August 6 by Steerpike58

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

Actually I was referring to poster @cilcianrqts who said 'why on earth would you tip in US dollars when the cruise is in Europe?  I doubt many of the crew vacation in New York City!!'  

 

I agree with you that USD is quite reasonable especially when you consider that the crew is from all over the world.

 

We've so far cruised in montenegro, croatia, greece, turkey, then Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Czech, then Thailand,  Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and then norway, Iceland... almost a new currency every day.  Tipping the crew in these currencies would be next to useless.

 

 

A couple of additional points to consider when tipping crew members on a cruise ship.

 

If you take the time to actually get to know the crew, where they are from, how long their remaining contract is, where the ship is sailing and which ports they are not IPM, you can make an informed decision on the best currency to tip, based on the currencies you have on hand.

 

Surely, as a traveller, you carry more than US dollars. Personally, we carry some US $, but also carry all the major currencies for the ports we visit. On our last World Cruise, we provided an Indonesian crew member with all the Indonesian money we carried, plus an additional amount of either Sterling/Euros/US $. He was extremely happy to receive his local currency.

 

Aboard cruise ships, with multi-national crews, you will find an active currency exchange, where crew exchange currencies between themselves. Many attempt to get their local currency while onboard, as they have no exchange/bank fees. Unfortunately, since most Viking pax probably give US $ and few, if any, crew are from the US, they must exchange their tips at a bank/currency exchange.

 

Viking hires European crews, some even live in the Euro zones, so Euros can be traded onboard to the benefit of some crew. Of other currencies, Sterling, Euros, Aus $ and NZ $ are just as readily exchanged as US $.

 

BTW - since at least 4 of the countries you listed use the Euro, and Viking hires crew from Euro countries, I can't agree that tipping in that currency is next to useless, as on many Viking ships, Euros could easily be traded onboard.

[OneSixtyToOne]

We are currently on the Reykjavík extension. For anyone wondering about tipping in Iceland, this is what our Viking document says about tipping. So much for a “tip free culture.” 

[Steerpike58]

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

A couple of additional points to consider when tipping crew members on a cruise ship.

 

If you take the time to actually get to know the crew, where they are from, how long their remaining contract is, where the ship is sailing and which ports they are not IPM, you can make an informed decision on the best currency to tip, based on the currencies you have on hand.

 

Surely, as a traveller, you carry more than US dollars. Personally, we carry some US $, but also carry all the major currencies for the ports we visit. On our last World Cruise, we provided an Indonesian crew member with all the Indonesian money we carried, plus an additional amount of either Sterling/Euros/US $. He was extremely happy to receive his local currency.

 

Aboard cruise ships, with multi-national crews, you will find an active currency exchange, where crew exchange currencies between themselves. Many attempt to get their local currency while onboard, as they have no exchange/bank fees. Unfortunately, since most Viking pax probably give US $ and few, if any, crew are from the US, they must exchange their tips at a bank/currency exchange.

 

Viking hires European crews, some even live in the Euro zones, so Euros can be traded onboard to the benefit of some crew. Of other currencies, Sterling, Euros, Aus $ and NZ $ are just as readily exchanged as US $.

 

BTW - since at least 4 of the countries you listed use the Euro, and Viking hires crew from Euro countries, I can't agree that tipping in that currency is next to useless, as on many Viking ships, Euros could easily be traded onboard.

I view USD and Euro as roughly equal in terms of flexibility, for different reasons. 

 

We always carry every currency available for our itinerary but we never know how much we will use till the last day and at that point giving that currency to a crew member is a bit pointless unless they happen to be from that country. 

 

On river cruises we've encountered a few European staff but on Ocean cruises it seems to be 99.9% 'developing countries'.  

 

I guess my overriding observation is that I have yet to meet a crew member who is from a country on our itinerary! Your Indonesia experience is quite unique.  

 

Another anecdote is inflation-related ... My friend traveled to Argentina recently and US dollars were preferred by everyone ... Shops, hotels, tour guides, etc as the local currency was out of control.  

[KBs mum]

3 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We are currently on the Reykjavík extension. For anyone wondering about tipping in Iceland, this is what our Viking document says about tipping. So much for a “tip free culture.” 

Reading that, tipping is optional, the amounts given are just a suggestion. Viking allways give suggested amounts, regardless of local tipping customs

[duquephart]

7 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We are currently on the Reykjavík extension. For anyone wondering about tipping in Iceland, this is what our Viking document says about tipping. So much for a “tip free culture.” 

 

Those who insist on tipping (Americans) are quickly turning "tip free" cultures into "tipping expected" cultures. Viking is encouraging this transition.

[formernuke]

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

A couple of additional points to consider when tipping crew members on a cruise ship.

 

If you take the time to actually get to know the crew, where they are from, how long their remaining contract is, where the ship is sailing and which ports they are not IPM, you can make an informed decision on the best currency to tip, based on the currencies you have on hand.

 

Surely, as a traveller, you carry more than US dollars. Personally, we carry some US $, but also carry all the major currencies for the ports we visit. On our last World Cruise, we provided an Indonesian crew member with all the Indonesian money we carried, plus an additional amount of either Sterling/Euros/US $. He was extremely happy to receive his local currency.

 

Aboard cruise ships, with multi-national crews, you will find an active currency exchange, where crew exchange currencies between themselves. Many attempt to get their local currency while onboard, as they have no exchange/bank fees. Unfortunately, since most Viking pax probably give US $ and few, if any, crew are from the US, they must exchange their tips at a bank/currency exchange.

 

Viking hires European crews, some even live in the Euro zones, so Euros can be traded onboard to the benefit of some crew. Of other currencies, Sterling, Euros, Aus $ and NZ $ are just as readily exchanged as US $.

 

BTW - since at least 4 of the countries you listed use the Euro, and Viking hires crew from Euro countries, I can't agree that tipping in that currency is next to useless, as on many Viking ships, Euros could easily be traded onboard.

I would suspect (but clearly don't know) that the on board staff have shipboard accounts where they receive their pay and pay for whatever shipboard amenities they are required to pay for (I know for example on some lines crew pay for internet, etc.). If so, and since the on board currency is USD, can the crew "deposit" their USD tips in their onboard account for later use, or is that not a thing?

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, formernuke said:

I would suspect (but clearly don't know) that the on board staff have shipboard accounts where they receive their pay and pay for whatever shipboard amenities they are required to pay for (I know for example on some lines crew pay for internet, etc.). If so, and since the on board currency is USD, can the crew "deposit" their USD tips in their onboard account for later use, or is that not a thing?

 

Not one of the questions I asked when we were on the Sun, so not sure how Viking complete their payroll and cash advances.

 

Not aware that any cruise line still pays crew in cash onboard, so I suspect Viking submit direct payments into a bank account. The currency is per each nationality's contract, but usually in their home currency.

 

On board, the Pursers would provide cash advances, with crew either signing or providing a finger print, confirming receipt of the advance. All ships I worked on provided local currency in the port visited to the officers and crew.

 

I have never experienced an onboard account where we could contribute funds, as the credits were based on our salary or wage. Our accounts covered costs for cash advances, Wardroom account and purchases from the slops chest. It was settled monthly and we could provide the ship a cheque, or it was deducted from our salary.

[formernuke]

Thanks for the response.