Tipping on Fred

[safarigal]

Do you need to add a tip to the bar and specialty restaurant bills? If so, what would be the usual amount?

[twotravellersLondon]

Whereas in the US restaurant and bar staff tend to be on low pay and make their living by providing good service and earning tips, the staff on Fred are paid a decent wage under international maritime agreements. 

 

Unlike P&O and SAGA where gratuities are included in the cruise fare... FOCLs will also charge a supplement for each passenger per day... we have always found that can significantly push up the tab by the end of a cruise.

 

FOCLs also have a line on their till receipts that allow a passenger to add a bit more.

 

An interesting point is that in the last year that detailed figures are available FOCLs paid almost £38 million for the wages, salary, social security and pension costs for 1,906 staff.

 

So we think that the answer to a question from across the "pond", where we've always found that the culture of "gratuities" is very different from that in the UK, is you don't need to add anything and it would be unusual if you did... but it's your choice.

 

If we want to thank a member of staff we do it discretely and personally in cash rather that have it go through the FOCLs' accounts!

[tring]

4 hours ago, safarigal said:

Do you need to add a tip to the bar and specialty restaurant bills? If so, what would be the usual amount?

 

Fred's tips that are recommended are just for the restaurant waiters and cabin staff because, as once said to us by one of Fred's hotel managers, the bar and other staff are on a totally different renumeration system.  The restaurant and cabin staff rely on thier tips as part of their pay, but I understand that nowadays Fred does make up those tips to an extent if people have them removed from their accounts.

 

We do tend to give something in to any particular bar we have used a lot, but a far smaller amount and we just give it at the end of a cruise to show appreciation.  We did have especially good service in Colours and Tastes on a recent cruise, so did give them something when we signed the bills.  We added it to the bill in the appropriate slot, after having asked if they do get any money given in such a way.  We were assured the correct staff do get those tips and they were quite happy to have it given that way.  With any bar tips at the end of a cruise we give that in cash as we want them to share it with their colleagues in that bar.

 

All personal choice though.

 

Edited January 22 by tring

[twotravellersLondon]

FOCLs have always been very opaque about "gratuities." Even the concept of asking guests if they would like to pay "gratuities" in advance... because how can someone tell if they will be happy and grateful for the service before they have experienced it?

 

When FOCLs used to contribute to these pages yonks ago they stated, "All staff in positions where gratuities are involved (Bar staff, Dining Room staff, Cabin Stewardess etc) have a monthly amount paid to them by the Company and , as per the ITF approved Collective Bargaining Agreement, they have a monthly guaranteed wage."

 

The questions for FOCLs are... 

 

1, If every passenger were to pay the digressionary service charge we reckon that it would be an additional income of about £70k pro rata on an annual basis for a waiter or a stewardess. That's more than FOCLs will pay their manager of even perhaps their manager's manager! How does FOCLs manage a crew if there are such enormous disparity in levels of remuneration?

 

2, Once a waiter or stewardess "receives" "gratuities" in their "gratuities" account, do they have to pass on some of these "gratuities" to the assistant waiter, the kitchen staff, the restaurant management, the people who clean the restaurant... or indeed in the case of stewardesses the guys in, the laundry department and so on? And if so, how is this organised by FOCLs accounts?

 

3, Also are "gratuities" passed on any member of staff automatically or is there some sort of performance management criterion that the member of staff have to achieve first?

 

SAGA and P&O have now made "gratuities" part of the cruise fare. It would be interesting to know why FOCLs haven't followed suit.

 

[Leither]

8 hours ago, safarigal said:

Do you need to add a tip to the bar and specialty restaurant bills? If so, what would be the usual amount?

The details are here -

 

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/faqs/on-board/what-is-your-procedure-for-tipping-on-board

 

We normally just go along with this but give the stewardess and the two waiters a little bit extra, ie maybe £5 or £10 each. Fred Olsen provide envelopes for this.

 

Regards.

 

 

[twotravellersLondon]

This is FOCLs' Code of Conduct including gifts of money ("Tips") to onboard staff...

 

"FOCL’s ‘Code of Conduct’ emphasises a strict adherence towards anti-corruption or bribery relating to any parts of its business or FOCL staff, clearly underlining that any form of corruption or bribery is strictly prohibited."

 

Now that may sound a little over the top... FOCLs' waiters and stewerds aren't international gangsters but in these days of corporate management and responsibility it is a case that as far as FOCLs is concerned any gifts for any member of staff on board must be shared with their team or, in the case of more valuable gifts, handed over to their manager.

 

"Fred" says...

 

"...  customers ... may, from time to time, give FOCL ... staff gifts. Any item(s) under the value of £20.00 should be shared by the team for which it is intended.

 

"Any item over £20.00 in value must be passed ... to your immediate Line Manager for ship-based staff. The details of these gifts and the origin will be registered and periodically the items will be made available as donations for a charity raffle (or similar). ...

 

"Where appropriate, staff should advise their contacts politely that the Company has a strict policy on gifts and that individuals/departments can only retain small tokens of a low value. 

"Failure to observe these rules may be considered gross misconduct." by the member of staff.

 

Of course there are always going to be those canny people on FOCL ships that will refuse to pay the discretionary "gratuities" by taking these off their bills and will then substitute the £5 pppd for the waiter and the steward with something in a brown envelope... but the code of conduct for a member of staff about that is clear.

 

(Also note it's per (staff) person per day... that means that at both the beginning and the end of the cruise FOCLs is charging the discretionary "gratuities" twice over. 

 

We often give "Thank you" cards... they don't have to be declared by the member of staff, they don't need to be shared with their team and they won't be confiscated by their managers! When we've been on at Easter we've given big bags of mini-chocolate eggs... always went down exceptionally well... the ultimate gift for sharing!

[safarigal]

Thank you all for your helpful advice.

 

When we received the bill for our drinks in the bar we noticed that there was a space for gratuities. On other lines the gratuities have been automatically included, but even os, on some there is still the space to add a tip. We do want to show our appreciation, but weren't sure whether this was expected or not 🙂