tipping on Amadeus

[winegirl]

The materials we received for our Tulip Time Cruise from Amsterdam to Amsterdam on the Amadeus Amadagio suggested PER PASSENGER: 12 Euros for crew, 3 Euro for cruise director and 1 Euro for tour guide (which also meant another Euro for the bus driver.) This was Euros, not dollars. When we went, the a Euro was about $ 1.40 US. So basic tips about $ 21 US per person per day,or for a couple on a 7 day cruise, a minimum of $ 294, not including tips to the tour guides/bus drivers. The person citing $ 700 for a 2 week cruise would be in the ball park.

 

I called Amadeus to ask if we could charge tips to the shipboard account and was told we could. At the end of the cruise, we were all given envelopes marked for the cruise director and for the ship's crew. These were anonymous envelopes and could be dropped into the box at the front desk if one wanted to tip in cash. If you put US dollars in the envelope, the dollars would have to be exchanged for euros by someone, other than yourself.

 

We left a cash tip in an envelope addressed to our housekeeper, who did an excellent job. The hotel management and food service on the ship was contracted out to an outfit called "Seachefs.com" The entire staff on board was from eastern Europe and most had only a marginal grasp of English. Consequently, there were communication difficulties, and the cuisine was only average (as compared to the excellent meals on Holland America, Windstar or the A&K barge cruise that we've taken.) Quantity was fine but you didn't want more than you were given since it was obvious that the hotel management was working within a strict budget that showed in the quality of the meals. Beef was particularly tough and low quality. Fish entrees were the best bet. Of the three choices every evening, there was a vegetarian entree, so the variety was very limited. Service was anywhere from earnest to surly. The waitstaff was not professionally trained, did not understand dining requests and were not particularly attentive. They seemed to be really, really stretched. Consequently, we were not satisfied at all with the service vis a vis what we paid for the cruise (about $ 5500 for the week for the cruise only.) We did not tip according to the "suggestion" since we, and the others we made friends with on the ship during the week, were very disappointed in that aspect of the cruise. We took to eating in town at the many fine restaurants, when possible, to avoid eating on the boat.

The cruise director was independently contracted and was a nice young girl. She did a decent job.

However, compared to the service experiences I've had on other cruises, although we haven't taken many, this was the worst and our tips reflected that.

[letsgo39]

Winegirl,

That is an interesting review. Perhaps you should move it to its own post so people will see it.