Tipping on the QM2

[Felice]

Does anyone have any suggestions on tipping on the QM2? :confused:

[bobnatt]

Does anyone have any suggestions on tipping on the QM2? :confused:

 

I don't know if you realize it but your simple question will set off a hornest's nest of responses.

 

First I am sure you know that you will be charged $11/day/person for tips which is to cover your cabin and dining room staff ($13 if you have Grill accomodations) Drinks and wine are automatically charged 15% of the bill when you place your order.

 

With that said we have always tipped extra for our cabin staff and dining room staff. On our last QM2 cruise this past February (a 13 day voyage) where we had Queens Grill accomodations we tipped the Butler $200; the cabin lady $150; the dining room Waiter $200, the first assistant waiter $150, the bus boy $100; the Sommelier; $100, and the Maitre D' $100.

 

I think most folks would say that this is way too much but having worked summers during college at a jobs that were dependent on tips we tend to overtip.

[curlyQ]

'atta boy Bob!

[bobnatt]

Bob, I too worked as wait staff in a family owned restaurant during high school and college. Your tipping would have been perceived by any of our wait staff as having come from a condescending and "I think I am superior to you" person. There is a reason that many of us have to fight the image of the ugly American.:mad:

 

Yeah I am sure you are right those thanks and smiles on the face of the staff, many of whom come from developing countries and are sending their tips and wages back to their families at home, were just phony.

 

Please tip as much or little as you want but don't criticize those of us who want to be generous with the staff who had worked so hard to make our vacation a success.

[cruisegal101]

Yeah I am sure you are right those thanks and smiles on the face of the staff, many of whom come from developing countries and are sending their tips and wages back to their families at home, were just phony.

 

Please tip as much or little as you want but don't criticize those of us who want to be generous with the staff who had worked so hard to make our vacation a success.

 

Do you not at least do the proper thing and put it in an envelope? And if you do, I would imagine that the thanks will be the same as for any other envelope that they receive.

[bobnatt]

Do you not at least do the proper thing and put it in an envelope? And if you do, I would imagine that the thanks will be the same as for any other envelope that they receive.

 

Yes I do and also put in an individual note for each service person. I also give the tip the day before the cruise ends to make sure that I don't miss someone who may not be available on the last day of the cruise. Any other questions?

[The Real PM]

Does anyone know how Cunard calculates a 15% tip? What does Cunard base the 15% on? When you go to dinner in a restaurant you tip according to the price of the meal, but on a ship the meals are not priced.

[bobnatt]

Does anyone know how Cunard calculates a 15% tip? What does Cunard base the 15% on? When you go to dinner in a restaurant you tip according to the price of the meal, but on a ship the meals are not priced.

 

 

 

The 15% tip is only for drinks and wine and is calculated at 15% of the purchase.. Tips for the cabin and dining room staff are included in the $11/day/person ($13 for Grill passengers) surcharge that is added to your on board account. In addition many passengers tip additional beyond the surcharge.

[The Real PM]

The 15% tip is only for drinks and wine and is calculated at 15% of the purchase.. Tips for the cabin and dining room staff are included in the $11/day/person ($13 for Grill passengers) surcharge that is added to your on board account. In addition many passengers tip additional beyond the surcharge.

 

Do you happen to know how the tip of $11.00 a day is broken up?

[shecat7]

When i was in my youth ( oh so many years ago ) , i trained in the hotel and catering industry.

Our tips ,was put into what was called the trunk system ,and the department head shared out the money on a senior basis. Which meant as a commi waiter you hardly got anything, but had to hand it all in.

When on the Queen Mary a few weeks, ago i believe that the money is still shared out amongst themselves and the money does not all go to the person you gave it to.

I had an exceptional meal in the lido " theamed night " and looked afterwards for the waitress who had seved us so well. When i gave her the tip ,as i was walking away, she was discussing the ammount and putting it into the kitty, with the rest of her workers for that night.

The trouble with tipping is the ammount of wages people are paid, are always smaller than the work deseves, and to make up the ammount cruise companies work this to there advantage.

On a princess cruise , i met and had long conversations with our cabin steward ,who had been a monk, of which he showed me pictures of himself, due to his parents not being able to support him, or bring him up in his youth.

He relied on his tips to send to his parents in his village back home.

I believed him and did not feel that his story was made up.He also indicated that he did not get all the money that i gave him .

I do believe that ,excess ammounts make it very hard for the people who either ,can not afford those ammounts ,or do not wish to, as staff come to expect an ever increasing ammount, and service does not always come up to the required standards.

Tipping i believe should be for exceptional service , and not the addition to wages.

This subject will never die or will ever be resolved

[The Real PM]

I guess I'm trying to figure out that what I have tipped a waiter per day on the QM2 is enough. At home we always tip 20% of the cost of the meal (no matter if the service is good, bad or indifferent). I realize that we are not tipping nearly that much on the QM2, but I want to think that the tip is somewhat fair to to the waiters and stewards. Our waiter and cabin steward worked very hard. I guess I have that very American generosity/guilt? thingy going on. It seems we're bred that way!:D

[NomDePlume]

A good rule of thumb is $5 a day for above-and-beyond service. YOU decide if more or less is appropriate, if any, bearing in mind that there is a percentage of your $11-a-day allocated to your cabin, dining room, etc. staff already. If you wish to tip bar staff, they're more likely to be able to keep the extra amount if it's cash...;)

[Transatlanticfan]

There does seem to be a myth that British don't tip, which I find baffling. It may be that in the UK the size of tips in % terms is less than in the USA but by and large I think tipping is quite usual. It also does not involve difficult calculations of whether you take the tax off before calculating the tip which has been suggested to me by an American aquaintance.

 

With regard to the QM2, patently $11/ $13 a day is not a realistic figure to reward people who have a tremendous effect on the enjoyment of your holiday and in our experience they deserve that to be topped up.

Chris and Pam

[bobnatt]

 

With regard to the QM2, patently $11/ $13 a day is not a realistic figure to reward people who have a tremendous effect on the enjoyment of your holiday and in our experience they deserve that to be topped up.

Chris and Pam

 

well said!!!

[mufi]

With regard to the QM2, patently $11/ $13 a day is not a realistic figure to reward people who have a tremendous effect on the enjoyment of your holiday

 

Cunard say it is.

 

David.

[The Real PM]

So it seems one cannot reward the individual........even if you tip in addition to the auto tip.

 

I have a question. When you talk of additional tipping, is it possible to pay in cash, then there would be no need for anyone else to know? Or are they told to report cash tips as well?

[SeaMatesNYC]

I have a question. When you talk of additional tipping, is it possible to pay in cash, then there would be no need for anyone else to know? Or are they told to report cash tips as well?

 

It is only when the auto-tip has been removed that the steward and waiter are presumed to have received a cash gratuity. I have no first-hand knowledge that these are "taken away" from the recipient and placed in the pool, but I have read it before with respect to other lines. One assumes that if the auto-tip is left intact, the staff receiving cash gratuities are keeping them. I have wondered how they "police" this and get the staff to turn in the tips received when the auto tip has been removed.

 

Guernseyguy, do you know? Is it just on the honor system?

[guernseyguy]

So it seems one cannot reward the individual........even if you tip in addition to the auto tip.

 

No, only when you remove the auto-tip. If you leave the auto-tip, you can reward individuals.

[The Real PM]

Okay, soooooo... what about if you just hand the cabin steward (for instance) cash , no one would be the wiser, right?

[mufi]

Okay, soooo... what about if you just hand the cabin steward (for instance) cash , no one would be the wiser, right?

 

Correct, and if this is indeed the way the system works it is wide open to abuse and arguments. The whole tipping thing is a shambles made worse by the very different attitudes of Americans v. Europeans. How a modest token given by a diner who had had good service from his waiter has now expanded to 20%?? expected and mandatory in US is beyond me.

 

David.

[shecat7]

Okay, soooooo... what about if you just hand the cabin steward (for instance) cash , no one would be the wiser, right?

 

I had heard ,that two cunard employees ,had not handed in the tips given, and they were dismissed.

This was when the auto -tips had been removed.

I tried to clarify this with our steward on the qm2 , on , what and were the tips i gave him would go to ,but either he did not understand or did not want to say.

On another fred olsen cruise ,our waiter wrote the cabin no down on the envelope.

Question would he have done that ,if i had slipped it in his hand.

Its a minefield of problems ,

and i wonder if the vey big tips that our american gentleman gave stayed were they were or were shared.

[Guineaman]

We just got back off the QM2 (TA), and we gave a nominal amount. $30 to cabin steward and $100 split among the various folks in the dining room. We also gave $1 in cash for each drink we got in addition to the fixed 15%.

 

We gave $3 to room service guy and $1 to our cabin steward every time we asked him to do something.

 

I don't feel what we did was extravagent or showy, but it did send a sincere signal of thanks for what we thought was GREAT service throughout the crossing.

 

I hope the tips were received in the same spirit in which they were proffered. After all, that's the idea.

 

Bill in NJ

[PvTraveler]

Okay lets give the lady an answer instead of an out and out war on the who tips the most contest. QM2 employees all share in the money billed to each person. But, if someone on the staff does something special for you then by all means give that person something extra. A note is nice too. My mother and I travel and have always been given exceptional service from the majority of the crew. We like to give them the extra tip when they go out of their way to help you. Even $25.00 with a note means a lot to them to know that their help has been appreciated.

[Fleetwood15]

Can anyone tell me where most of this thread has disappeared to?

[garigoun]

I, like most people on this board I expect, get emails from travel agents I have used and I've just received an unusual one.

It was ten tips for cruising cheaply. Guess what occupied the number one spot.

I reproduce it here as is:-

 

 

Your Top 10 Tips for cruising on a budget

 

"Last week you were asked - Is it possible to make your cruise more affordable? Lots of you had some really helpful tips, here is a selection...

 

1 - "Don't allow tips to be charged to your on board account"

Answer from Smedley, Norfolk on 20 Aug 08 at 11:58am

"A lot of people don't realise this if you go on a cruise where gratuities are automatically put on your account (which can mount up to a lot), you don't actually have to pay them. If you go to the pursers desk at the end of your cruise and tell them you don't want to pay, they'll give you a form to fill out then take the gratuities off your account. If you then want to reward somebody directly (say, your cabin steward), you can give them an envelope with some money in instead."

Some people don't agree with avoiding tips, what do you think?

 

 

Next!

 

Gari