Tipping on Viking

[CDNPolar]

It is quite possible that tipping and gratuity discussions have been inside other topics, and I do read most posts about Viking and have been active since our initial cruise in 2017.  
 

[Kristelle]

I've been on these forums for about a year. I have not  gone into Viking threads more than other threads. 

 

But I have seen lots of discussion about tipping and gratuities paying in that time. 

[sharkster77]

I'm with @Host Jazzbeau on this one---though not illegal, expecting better service for prepaid tips is sort of like a bribe---there is a quid pro quo involved ("I pay ahead, you give me better service").

 

As somebody mentioned, no asterisk comes up next to your name for prepaid tips ("be VERY nice to these people!")

 

I'm picturing a 40's gangster movie:  "This is a real nice cruise---be a shame if you got crappy service cuz you didn't tip ahead!"

[PlatinumMan]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

It is quite possible that tipping and gratuity discussions have been inside other topics, and I do read most posts about Viking and have been active since our initial cruise in 2017.  
 

EXACTLY!!!

[PlatinumMan]

2 hours ago, Kristelle said:

I don't think anyone is objecting to your report of poor service.

 

Although it isn't the experience others have reported. 

 

the pushback was more to the expectation that you would receive preferential or superior service than other guests  because you pre paid gratuities. 

1) My experience was my experience,  and tye replies are mostly judgment and not providing solutions 

2) Why else would you ever prepay then? "Convienence" is not a suitable answer. If anyone would read the OP. my searches all saved I would be billed reregardless, so my only intent was to avoid a bill at thecend of the cruise that I was under the imprethat I had no control over.

3) I 100% agree that this was a newer crew that was yet fully trained. Many young and French, and that culture has a distinct cultural difference from the Viking's very short meal times.

[Nippy Sweetie]

I expect good service on Viking as, bottom line, we've paid a lot for it. I expect staff to be well paid according to EU and UK standards. I don't expect to have to pay more towards the staff. 

[Kristelle]

8 hours ago, PlatinumMan said:

1) My experience was my experience,  and tye replies are mostly judgment and not providing solutions 

2) Why else would you ever prepay then? "Convienence" is not a suitable answer. If anyone would read the OP. my searches all saved I would be billed reregardless, so my only intent was to avoid a bill at thecend of the cruise that I was under the imprethat I had no control over.

3) I 100% agree that this was a newer crew that was yet fully trained. Many young and French, and that culture has a distinct cultural difference from the Viking's very short meal times.

 

 

1) I dont dispute your experience.

Just pointed out it isnt the experience of others so doesnt seem typical of Viking.

 

2) so you pre paid gratuities thinking that gave you preferential or superior service to others.

No it doesnt work that way and that isnt why most people pre-pay them

Your sentence after that doesnt really make sense to me.

Yes  I would pre pay them purely for convenience - indeed that is what  I do, I go on gratuities included i n the price, for convenience, or pre pay them at beginning of a trip (eg Wendy Wu tours, you pay tips in local cash at beginning of trip)

 

3) yes, possibly was a newer crew, possibly needed more training.

But the level of service would be the same, whether poor service or excellent service, - pre paying tips does not get you any better service than anyone else.

 

 

[Canal archive]

PlatinumMan in some ways you are absolutely correct but we after pay tips for perceived good service not prepay. You can prepay on Viking and it’s rather obvious that some have not realised that by opting for an all inclusive cruise we are also pre-paying and as I’ve only ever cruised with Scenic that’s what I’ve done. As a U.K. national and really not used to tipping - it fry’s my brain, why should I bother! All inclusive is the way to go but it’s similar to pre-paying and there is absolutely no way would expect any different treatment. The expectation of the recipient is in the end result whoever supplies the cash input and before we answer that question has anyone discovered if those little brown envelopes are distributed amongst all of the crew? Interesting!

[CDNPolar]

19 hours ago, PlatinumMan said:

 

2) Why else would you ever prepay then? "Convienence" is not a suitable answer. 

 

 

This is just why some would prepay - in the USA or Canada

 

1) Because you can?

2) When you prepay, you are paying in your country currency (USD or CAD) and when you are on the ship you are paying in the ship's currency which could be USD or Euros.  (For Canadians prepaying in CAD $$ before embarkation saves the conversion to USD and then the foreign currency fee and currency conversion on our Credit Card.)

3) Some Viking guests pay the cruise fare, shore excursions, SSBP, and Gratuities by bank transfer or e-check so they save 3.3% on the total.

4) You will not have any bill to pay at disembarkation - the cruise is fully paid.

 

I have questions and sometimes issues with the gratuities on Viking.  That is another story.

 

We don't personally prepay as we want to decide at the end how much we want to pay.  Sometimes we pass cash to servers and other crew near the end of the cruise and we may choose to adjust the total we give in the general pool.

[PlatinumMan]

20 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

I expect good service on Viking as, bottom line, we've paid a lot for it. I expect staff to be well paid according to EU and UK standards. I don't expect to have to pay more towards the staff. 

Thank you for the best response yet!

[PlatinumMan]

14 hours ago, Kristelle said:

 

 

1) I dont dispute your experience.

Just pointed out it isnt the experience of others so doesnt seem typical of Viking.

 

2) so you pre paid gratuities thinking that gave you preferential or superior service to others.

No it doesnt work that way and that isnt why most people pre-pay them

Your sentence after that doesnt really make sense to me.

Yes  I would pre pay them purely for convenience - indeed that is what  I do, I go on gratuities included i n the price, for convenience, or pre pay them at beginning of a trip (eg Wendy Wu tours, you pay tips in local cash at beginning of trip)

 

3) yes, possibly was a newer crew, possibly needed more training.

But the level of service would be the same, whether poor service or excellent service, - pre paying tips does not get you any better service than anyone else.

 

 

Dead horse has been significantly beaten

[Kristelle]

 You asked me  a question and I answered. 

 

But yes indeed 

 

point has been made by several people now that pre paying gratuities is done for various reasons - but expecting preferential service is not one of them.

 

That applies to all lines, not just Viking. 

 

I hope you enjoy whichever trip you do next.