Increase in Hotel and Dining Service Charge (aka Auto-Gratuities)

[worldtraveller99]

Ah!!! When I was a girl I worked in New York for a year after graduation and the rate was 2.4 dollars to each pound. We could go into any shop and buy anything. Those were the days, sob!

[D&N]

I'm afraid that was a very long time ago. Either early 1970s or briefly around 1980. That would make a trip on QM2 extremely good value for money!

[worldtraveller99]

It was 1980. Yes everything would all be much better value for money! 

[Red Ray]

We are on a 23 night back to back on QA in June and as I always do, I shall visit Reception on embarkation day to have the gratuities removed. I respect other people's views but I consider these gratuities to be exorbitant and will do as I always do and give generously to the cabin steward and waiters (providing of course that the generosity has been earned).

[BigMac1953]

Good luck getting into the galley to tip the chefs and KP's, or do you not bother about them and the other unseen workers?

[Red Ray]

It's not my responsibility to pay the 'unseen' workers. Nobody tips me in my job. As I said I respect other people's opinion but as you obviously don't respect mine I have nothing further to add. Have a good day.

[bazzaw]

In Australia, tipping is not customary - and any price advertised must include taxes, etc. BUT - other cultures are different - and we all need to understand that the final Cunard price is not what we pay when we book 🙂 So we need to include these gratuities into the the total price we pay. BUT - it does not mean that I then have to additionally tip staff for doing their jobs. I cant really think of anything that a waiter or cabin attendant could do for me to warrant any kind of tip. Nobody has ever tipped me for simply doing my job well  - except somebody did once advise me to be nice to my wife!! 

[Winifred 22]

17 hours ago, Red Ray said:

We are on a 23 night back to back on QA in June and as I always do, I shall visit Reception on embarkation day to have the gratuities removed. I respect other people's views but I consider these gratuities to be exorbitant and will do as I always do and give generously to the cabin steward and waiters (providing of course that the generosity has been earned).

What about the laundry workers and the others back stage workers who contribute to the value of my holiday in my opinion equally so.I leave the gratuities on and the tip extra to my waiters and cabin steward and to me that’s fair all round. 

[Victoria2]

This could turn out into the can of worms we've been over many many times, so I'll just say the sooner Cunard incorporate the 'service charge' into the ticket fare as a proper service charge, the better. 

 

 

[Red Ray]

2 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

What about the laundry workers and the others back stage workers who contribute to the value of my holiday in my opinion equally so.I leave the gratuities on and the tip extra to my waiters and cabin steward and to me that’s fair all round. 

As is your right. There seems to be little point carrying on this discussion as I won't change my mind and neither will people with an opposite view. 

[exlondoner]

59 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

This could turn out into the can of worms we've been over many many times, so I'll just say the sooner Cunard incorporate the 'service charge' into the ticket fare as a proper service charge, the better. 

 

 

It wouldn’t stop some people giving extra, sometimes in advance.

[exlondoner]

7 hours ago, bazzaw said:

In Australia, tipping is not customary - and any price advertised must include taxes, etc. BUT - other cultures are different - and we all need to understand that the final Cunard price is not what we pay when we book 🙂 So we need to include these gratuities into the the total price we pay. BUT - it does not mean that I then have to additionally tip staff for doing their jobs. I cant really think of anything that a waiter or cabin attendant could do for me to warrant any kind of tip. Nobody has ever tipped me for simply doing my job well  - except somebody did once advise me to be nice to my wife!! 

When I was confined to my cabin for six days with Covid, I suppose the butler and steward did benefit from not having to clean it. However, they had to serve my meals there for six days, and do a major clean when I was released. So I thought that warranted something extra.

[Victoria2]

13 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

It wouldn’t stop some people giving extra, sometimes in advance.

No. It won't and you know my thoughts on bribes, oops sorry, an advance on the tips, but it's their prerogative to do so and it will continue whatever is put in place.

 

At least the p&o system has everyone paying the service charge. What happens 'outside' that is totally personal to each passenger and has nothing to do with anyone else.

[exlondoner]

48 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

No. It won't and you know my thoughts on bribes, oops sorry, an advance on the tips, but it's their prerogative to do so and it will continue whatever is put in place.

 

At least the p&o system has everyone paying the service charge. What happens 'outside' that is totally personal to each passenger and has nothing to do with anyone else.

Up to a point. It affects other passengers if the bribes work, which they probably don’t.

[Windsurfboy]

19 hours ago, Red Ray said:

It's not my responsibility to pay the 'unseen' workers. Nobody tips me in my job.

 

That is a fair point, but it applies equally to the seen workers.

 

One either believes in tipping and auto gratuities should provide the bed rock from which you can tip extra if you want. 

 

Or you don't believe in tipping and tip no one

[worldtraveller99]

Personally I think if staff do not receive a living wage, then every penny of profit goes to the business owners. I know a lot of Americans are business owners, but much fewer people in the UK are, so we see those people as skimming our money.

 

I work in the gig economy - I have had about 4 tips in over 20 years, but my fee is fair, so I really was never expecting it. Just to say, it was mostly the poorest people I served who tipped me!

 

Anyway, we will pay the service charge, and only tip if someone does something extra for us.

[AntjeG]

I didn´t find info on the Cunard website, maybe anyone here knows:

If I have OBC will Cunard take the OBC for the service charge (or a part of it if the OBC is not enough)?

[Pear Carr]

Yes

[LittleFish1976]

7 hours ago, AntjeG said:

I didn´t find info on the Cunard website, maybe anyone here knows:

If I have OBC will Cunard take the OBC for the service charge (or a part of it if the OBC is not enough)?

Yes and in my experience they take the amount for the entire voyage on around the second day from your account.

[AntjeG]

Thanks.

[worldtraveller99]

We are aiming to use our OBC for our drinks - and not bother with a drinks package, so we can buy more expensive wines and cocktails, and not feel we need to drink quantity not quality, which drinks packages encourage I think?

[buchanan101]

3 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

We are aiming to use our OBC for our drinks - and not bother with a drinks package, so we can buy more expensive wines and cocktails, and not feel we need to drink quantity not quality, which drinks packages encourage I think?

Packages seem way too expensive as you'd have to get quite merry to break even on them. 

 

My OBC firstly covers tips - which was how this thread started; get given $300 by Cunard only to give most of it back...

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Packages seem way too expensive as you'd have to get quite merry to break even on them. 

 

My OBC firstly covers tips - which was how this thread started; get given $300 by Cunard only to give most of it back...

Yes, it always strikes me that they could stop giving obc, and just say gratuities included, probably saving a lot of anguish and fruitless discussion.

[TowandaUK]

32 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Packages seem way too expensive as you'd have to get quite merry to break even on them. 

 

My OBC firstly covers tips - which was how this thread started; get given $300 by Cunard only to give most of it back...

We have bought a package, but a big part of our usage will be barista coffees, sparkling water with meals and sodas (particularly if the weather is hot). We plan an occasional cocktail and will have a glass or two of wines with meals. We totted up the amount of these drinks we usually have onboard and it didn’t seem worth paying for the package. However once we add the extra 15% for buy as you go it then became worthwhile. 

[Victoria2]

I know I've mentioned this before but the only packages we buy are the bin end of six offers Cunard have occasionally and then it depends on the wines involved.

On one cruise, our table of eight did our best to demolish the whole offer, so good were the prices on excellent wines.