Removing gratiuities - when to do it

Ok, I have at some stage asked a tip / gratuities question myself.

Nevertheless and henceforth, whenever anybody types "tips" or "gratuities ", their computer shall crash.

So, an A4 envelope, padded with the daily newsletter , and TIP written in big block letters is not acceptable?

Its outrageous, that you keep the "Service charge on" then the "Cunarders" on this forum expect you to re tip by envelopes.

Be very interesting to be a fly on the wall!

 

What people say here differs a huge amount to what they do on board.

 

We all know, that yes, the Gratuities do go to the staff. however removing the gratuities, then Cunard Pay the difference !

So remove the gratuities, tick all the Magnificent boxes regarding staff and pay them in $ cash in hand. Everybody including the staff, except Cunard and the Die hard Cunarders are happy.

Therefore the sticky on this this thread is misleading and should be removed. Because it really makes no sense, as access to the post it refers to does not appear in context .

 

It really bears nothing to the Gratuities thread.

 

Cunard appear at the present time since the refurbishment of QV to also be "Stifing" the customer even more.

Sorry, I am not sure I understand your concern about the sticky. I was asked to make the comments a sticky after a previous gratuities discussion where what happens on other cruiselines was being applied to Cunard.

Please contact me via email if you would like to discuss it further.

If the general consensus is that it's not helpful I will remove it.

So now we are comparing gratuities to crew members on Cunard ships with tips to a Colonel in the Red Army?

 

Frankly, I don't care what anyone does or doesn't do in regard to tipping crew members or anybody else at sea or on land. Keep you purse zippered. Remove the auto charge! See what happens when the crew isn't making the money they once made...will they transfer to another Carnival Corp ship where tipping is the norm? - That's what the casino workers do when the opportunity arises.

 

Red Army indeed.

 

Salacia

The fares charged by Regent, Seabourn, and Crystal reflect the "real" price of operating a ship and paying a crew. Though it's not a direct comparison to price a QM2 Caribbean out of New York vs. a Regent Caribbean out of Miami they are both 10 nights. At $14Kpp for the cheapest Regent cabin that's a good indication of what Cunard would have to charge.

 

So for a 7 night crossing it's a charge of $80.50pp ($94.50 if you are in the Grills). Anybody who finds this a budget-blowing hit on their finances really cannot afford international travel.

Your comment is a load of bunkum.

Sorry, I am not sure I understand your concern about the sticky. I was asked to make the comments a sticky after a previous gratuities discussion where what happens on other cruiselines was being applied to Cunard.

Please contact me via email if you would like to discuss it further.

If the general consensus is that it's not helpful I will remove it but this is the first complaint I have seen.

I am not sure of the issue either as the sticky seems to really cover two points. 1 that the staff aren't informed which passengers have removed the service charge and 2 that staff don't have to share cash tips from people who have turned off service charge.

Nothing I have seen indicates either of these things is inaccurate.

So the assumption is that no Cunard passenger can possibly earn a living working as hard as a Cunard worker and of course all passengers have their hands inspected at embarkation to detect evidence of manual work.

 

Shock horror, you could well be dining with a bricklayer.

 

David

Its common knowledge that all those peeps in the ghulags used to have a whip round every week for their guards,lol.

What size envelope is appropriate for tipping a ghulag guard? I imagine that isn't the sort of thing you want to get wrong.

Sorry, I am not sure I understand your concern about the sticky. I was asked to make the comments a sticky after a previous gratuities discussion where what happens on other cruiselines was being applied to Cunard.

Please contact me via email if you would like to discuss it further.

If the general consensus is that it's not helpful I will remove it.

Hattie, with apologies after re reading it, It discuses about extra tips and lists of non payers

Not the Actual Service charge, which when paid goes towards the staff wages, however remove the service charge and Presumably Cunard will then pay it, to meet the sum required to pay the crews wages.

It is strange that Cunard are not transparent about this. They word the answers so that it appears that the crew will receive extra on top of their wages if you leave the service charge on, when in reality I am sure they do not.

Hattie, with apologies after re reading it, It discuses about extra tips and lists of non payers

Not the Actual Service charge, which when paid goes towards the staff wages, however remove the service charge and Presumably Cunard will then pay it, to meet the sum required to pay the crews wages.

It is strange that Cunard are not transparent about this. They word the answers so that it appears that the crew will receive extra on top of their wages if you leave the service charge on, when in reality I am sure they do not.

No worries, thanks for clarifying.

what size envelope is appropriate for tipping a ghulag guard? I imagine that isn't the sort of thing you want to get wrong.

Ok, I have at some stage asked a tip / gratuities question myself.

Nevertheless and henceforth, whenever anybody types "tips" or "gratuities ", their computer shall crash. ��

Hallelujah ;p

Well,I'm a retired plumber and spent half my life on my knees.I will be sailing next year.Put me next to the bricklayer,lol.

Have a good one Brian.

David

 

 

 

 

I like what NCL in the US has done. It's now called a "service charge" and cannot be removed on board. One has to get a form from their purser and describe the specific service failure and how it was not addressed during the voyage. The form is then imaged and emailed to a shore side office for a reimbursement request. Brilliant. Shore side has a digitized record, in the passenger's own handwriting, on why they want to remove gratuities.

So? Why would that bother the passenger unless they were thinking of making it public, which really would not be a good idea at all. Maybe they would refuse to accept a future booking from the disenter. And pigs might fly.

David

So the assumption is that no Cunard passenger can possibly earn a living working as hard as a Cunard worker and of course all passengers have their hands inspected at embarkation to detect evidence of manual work

No, my assumption is that anyone whose money is hard-earned wouldn't be going around trying to find clever ways to screw other people out of their hard-earned money.

Your comment is a load of bunkum.

In what way? Unless you are using a different kind of math $80.50 is $11.50 x 7 nights.

If you are on the forum here you can certainly check the pricing of those "all inclusive" lines yourself. Another reason their pricing is so high is that much larger cabins will result fewer passengers fitting onto one of their ships, and thus a higher per person cost.

Cunard could have left its ships registered in the UK in 2011 and be required to increase crew pay, but then they would have had to raise fares considerably. And had they done so anybody who is now balking at paying $80.50 in gratuities would have gone to a competitor. Again, $1299 plus gratuities looks cheaper in print than does $1380 gratuities included.

And had they done so anybody who is now balking at paying $80.50 in gratuities would have gone to a competitor.

Excellent point.

Have a good one Brian.

 

David

Cheers, just to clarify,I wasn't on my knees begging for tips.

Or on your knees....you were on your knees doing plumber stuff.

Cunard should, to be the fairest possible, charge a price that includes tips, that way if you cant afford the fare, you dont go.

However, not including tips in your budget for a cruise when they aren't included automatically, because you are tight on funds yourself means you really should pick a cheaper cabin or cruise line, or not go at all.

Well,I'm a retired plumber and spent half my life on my knees.I will be sailing next year.Put me next to the bricklayer,lol.

I never met any "poor" plumbers, but will add that when pipes freeze/toilets are hopelessly blocked/the water heaters split open/ etc. the fees are worth it to restore life to normal.

No, my assumption is that anyone whose money is hard-earned wouldn't be going around trying to find clever ways to screw other people out of their hard-earned money.

Spot on!

I never met any "poor" plumbers, but will add that when pipes freeze/toilets are hopelessly blocked/the water heaters split open/ etc. the fees are worth it to restore life to normal.

I used to work for a lawyer whose plumber drove a nicer car than he did.

I never met any "poor" plumbers, but will add that when pipes freeze/toilets are hopelessly blocked/the water heaters split open/ etc. the fees are worth it to restore life to normal.

No, my assumption is that anyone whose money is hard-earned wouldn't be going around trying to find clever ways to screw other people out of their hard-earned money.

One of the best comments in this thread.(y)