All inclusive + tips

I seem to remember seeing something about all inclusive re tips on Fred's ships, but cannot find it now. I think it was that the bar staff do not get tips on all inclusive drinks, but they get a commission for drinks purchased onboard.

Am I dreaming something or was there something like that? If it was the case, does anyone know if it is still the case as Fred seem to be offering well priced all inclusive on all cruises now? We have normally given smallish amounts to bar staff at the end of a cruise, but are wondering what is the best now - perhaps something every couple of days. We are going in July and are all inclusive.

I seem to remember seeing something about all inclusive re tips on Fred's ships, but cannot find it now. I think it was that the bar staff do not get tips on all inclusive drinks, but they get a commission for drinks purchased onboard.

 

Am I dreaming something or was there something like that? If it was the case, does anyone know if it is still the case as Fred seem to be offering well priced all inclusive on all cruises now? We have normally given smallish amounts to bar staff at the end of a cruise, but are wondering what is the best now - perhaps something every couple of days. We are going in July and are all inclusive.

As far as I'm aware the 'All inclusive' drinks package at £10.00 p.p. per day, is merely that and it does not include gratuities. There is no 15% surcharge added to the overall cost of the drinks which you may have incurred on other cruise lines.

The payment of gratuties on board is purely optional, although a daily amount will automatically be added to your on board account. This can be removed or adjusted as you wish. The daily recommended amount for gratuities on Fred's ships is £2.00 p.p. per day for your room steward and £2.00 p.p. per day for your restaurant waiter.

All the staff on Fred's ships work incredibly hard and in my opinion fully deserve the recommended gratuities. On all the cruises I've sailed with Fred, I've never felt it necessary to remove or reduce the gratuities. In addition, if I've used particular bars most nights of the cruise , I will tip individual bar staff at the end of the cruise.

Have a great cruise!

In response to your recent post concerning gratuities on board we do give the following information on our website which I hope you will find useful:

Gratuities to crew, drivers, guides etc. ashore are not included in the cost of your cruise holiday. We’re confident however that you’ll wish to reward staff on board for their service, although tipping is entirely at your discretion. As a general rule £2.00 per adult Guest per day for your cabin stewardess and the same amount for your restaurant waiter is always very much appreciated. For your convenience this will automatically be added to your cruise end account. Please however contact Reception once on board should you wish to vary this amount.

Regards

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Thank you for the replies

We do understand the tipping situation and the need for it, and have never reduced our 'standard' tips which, as stated, are for the cabin and restaurant staff. We have been told previously by a member of staff onboard that the bar staff are paid more than the restaurant/cabin staff which is why the tips are specifically requested for them.

We too have always given bar staff something, but not in the order of an extra £2 per person per day, (which would make a total of £6). I just seem to remember seeing something, (probably on this site), which referred to the bar staff getting less relating to the service of all inclusive drinks - but perhaps I have been dreaming!!

We will certainly give the bar staff something and will take some extra cash with us to ensure that it is possible to give them a larger sum if it is in order. It is easy to find out the situation when onboard - just wanted to be prepared.

Thank you for the replies

 

We do understand the tipping situation and the need for it, and have never reduced our 'standard' tips which, as stated, are for the cabin and restaurant staff. We have been told previously by a member of staff onboard that the bar staff are paid more than the restaurant/cabin staff which is why the tips are specifically requested for them.

 

We too have always given bar staff something, but not in the order of an extra £2 per person per day, (which would make a total of £6). I just seem to remember seeing something, (probably on this site), which referred to the bar staff getting less relating to the service of all inclusive drinks - but perhaps I have been dreaming!!

 

We will certainly give the bar staff something and will take some extra cash with us to ensure that it is possible to give them a larger sum if it is in order. It is easy to find out the situation when onboard - just wanted to be prepared.

I wasn't suggesting you contribute £2.00 per person per day for the bar staff.

On the last cruise on Balmoral, a group of us spent many hours in the Observatory bar and disco. We often kept the staff busy until the early hours. At the end of the cruise we felt we wanted to thank them for keeping us suitably refreshed throughout the holiday. We had a whip round and gave the bar manager the pot of money to share between the staff.

I have no idea if the bar staff get a lesser amount if they are serving passengers all inclusive drinks. None of our party had the drinks package, as it was not available when we booked. If you were able to take advantage of the £10.00 per person per night, it sounds a real bargain!

Personally I just wish that all cruise lines would pay their staff a good wage - factored into the selling price - so that extra payment for exceptional service was just that rather than an auto tip for average service.

I don't like the idea of them taking the money from me and giving it out, I would rather do this myself.

If I opt out of auto tipping will I get dirty looks?

I don't like the idea of them taking the money from me and giving it out, I would rather do this myself.

If I opt out of auto tipping will I get dirty looks?

No, not at all.

Unless of course you then make a great show of handing over the envelope to your waiter on the final night as that just makes everyone else feel awkward as they are not giving him anything directly having paid via their account ...

Feel free to opt out, just be discreet and nobody is going to be giving you any dirty looks.

I know that on Holland America, if you opt out the Stewards are aware. Not sure about Fred.

Also on American Lines what we in the UK call tips is actually called service charge.

If you opt out and give money to the steward then he / she has to put it into a pot.

We always leave the fixed charge and factor it into the cost of the cruise.

If somebody goes over and above then may drop them extra at the end of holiday. All depends.

I often feel guilty about the hours the staff work and still give, on the whole, exceptional service with a smile.

I know they are working for the money, but one thing we always ensure on any cruise is to treat each and every one of the staff with respect.

Unlike what we see on mostly American Lines.

I don't like the idea of them taking the money from me and giving it out, I would rather do this myself.

If I opt out of auto tipping will I get dirty looks?

As we are all well aware, tipping is a sensitive subject.

On most cruise lines, staff are made aware of the passengers who have removed the automatic gratuities. I was told by a staff member, that if a passenger removes the automatic gratuity and then subsequently pays individual members of staff in cash, that money has to be handed in. Is this true? I don't know the answer and I doubt if anyone else does either.

I have never felt it necessary to remove the automatic gratuities, as I have always received good service. I feel that if you are going to tip anyway, why not just leave the automatic gratuities in place.

I prefer to travel with cruise lines that include gratuities in the cost of the cruise. In my opinion, if all cruise lines adopted that system and paid the gratuities directly to the staff, it would resolve many of the current problems.

It is all very difficult, and I do agree that better pay for the staff, rather than large expected payments for tips is much better from a customer point of view - then they can just give extra if they think fit.

We did see a member of restaurant staff, who we knew from another cruise line which does include tips in the cost of the cruise. He said that he actually did better on Fred with tips than he did on the other cruise line where tips were included in the price of the cruise. An interesting observation.

I just did not want to see staff loose out if we are on all inclusive, which was the reason for my initial post.

I also think that people, (especially new cruisers who can, understandably, be shocked by the level of expected tips), do not realise just how the staff contract's work. Adding up the cost and total income for the individual staff does not work out the same as in a hotel for instance.

The staff work extremely long hours every day that they are at sea then have an extended time off, so their weekly pay is nothing like that of a 'normal' job as we would see it. From talking to the staff, it seems that they need a college degree as well as training for their post and of course very good language skills. Hence we are looking at highly educated people, rather than what is needed as a minimum for the average member of staff in a restaurant in Britain. I do realise some British graduates work in such posts, but it is, (hopefully), on a temporary basis whilst trying to form their career.

The cruise staff also spend months on end away from their homes and family - last year we were speaking to a waiter who had only seen his 8 month old child on the internet, as the child was born just after his contact had started.

Certainly difficult.

In response to your recent post concerning gratuities on board we do give the following information on our website which I hope you will find useful:

 

Gratuities to crew, drivers, guides etc. ashore are not included in the cost of your cruise holiday. We’re confident however that you’ll wish to reward staff on board for their service, although tipping is entirely at your discretion. As a general rule £2.00 per adult Guest per day for your cabin stewardess and the same amount for your restaurant waiter is always very much appreciated. For your convenience this will automatically be added to your cruise end account. Please however contact Reception once on board should you wish to vary this amount.

 

Regards

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

Having just been on Boudicca, the above system worked great. However, does any of the £4 per passenger per day get to the bar staff, or should they have been tipped, or, as I heard some time ago, the gratuity is included in the drinks prices and what effect does the all inclusive package have on them if it is.

If you did prefer to opt out and tip individually do you have to decide at the start of the cruise of could you do it towards the end?

I do understand what you are all saying but we have been with Tompson where tipping is included and I do prefer that.

If you did prefer to opt out and tip individually do you have to decide at the start of the cruise of could you do it towards the end?

I seem to recall that you get notice of when the tips are going to be applied to your account (close to the end of the cruise) and you just have to opt out before then.

A friend of mine asked a member the dining staff whether they would prefer individual tips or adhere to the company policy and he said that they would prefer you go with the policy.

I have always done so and feel that is the best way for me. I certainly don't do it for the sweet or chocolate on my pillow.

I was the OP on this thread and my question was about bar staff, although I can see why other people have mentioned cabin stewards and restaurant waiters.

We do go with the company deductions for the cabin and restaurant staff and there would need to be an extremely good reason for us to remove that, (although sometimes we give a little extra to those staff). The deducted tips are purly for these staff as stated in Fred's brochure, although the main waiter/cabin staff do share with their helpers as I understand it. We notice that restaurant staff can work in different areas by day so rekon that the tips even out over the staff if each individual just gives to their main waiter in that way. We assume the secret garden evening staff probably got some of those deducted tips.

Regarding the bar staff, we have been told before that they are on better pay, (i.e. cabin and restaurant are paid extremely little as they are deemed to be in receipt of quite a lot in recomended tips). We have always given something to the bar staff, but not in the order of £2 each per day as it would not be appropriate.

It was the all inclusive package that confused us as I thought I had seen somewhere that the bar staff pay is dependent upon the drinks sold, (i.e. a type of commision), and that is not paid for AI passengers. We asked the bar staff about this when onboard recently, explaining that we could tip at the end or we go along. The reply was a bit unclear as I was told they do not get commision as such. However, the member of staff then explained that if tips are handed into a bar at the end of the cruise, then that has to be shared amongst all bar staff throughout the ship, but if given to an individual that is good (she had a big smile on her face at that stage).

Hence we gave 3 or four lots of money as we went along, sometimes when there were 2 or 3 members of staff around and told them it was just to be shared with the other staff in that bar who we had got to know by name and which was were we spent much of our time on the cruise. We also gave a couple of pounds to the staff in another bar where we had a few drinks over the course of the cruise. We did note that the tips given went into a pot on the bar, so it does seem that even as they go along, the staff do share tips with others in the same bar.

We have actually cancelled off our AI for a future cruise we have booked as there are a lot of port days on that cruise and we would not drink much alcohol. We thought we would use it for a lot of non alcoholic drinks as it is a hot venue cruise, but found that we were only given about 2/3 of a small glass of diet coke at a time and service could be slow at times - especially on outside decks. The package was worth it on the Greenland cruise as we had a lot of sea days, when we spent a lot of time in the observation lounge and it would have been very expensive to buy bottles of water in those ports anyway, so the 1/2 price bottles of water in the cabin were a benefit as well.

As far as I'm aware the 'All inclusive' drinks package at £10.00 p.p. per day, is merely that and it does not include gratuities. There is no 15% surcharge added to the overall cost of the drinks which you may have incurred on other cruise lines.

 

The payment of gratuties on board is purely optional, although a daily amount will automatically be added to your on board account. This can be removed or adjusted as you wish. The daily recommended amount for gratuities on Fred's ships is £2.00 p.p. per day for your room steward and £2.00 p.p. per day for your restaurant waiter.

 

All the staff on Fred's ships work incredibly hard and in my opinion fully deserve the recommended gratuities. On all the cruises I've sailed with Fred, I've never felt it necessary to remove or reduce the gratuities. In addition, if I've used particular bars most nights of the cruise , I will tip individual bar staff at the end of the cruise.

 

Have a great cruise!

Over the Xmas and new year cruises they charge £29.00 per person per day for the all inclusive. So NOT worth it.. almost £60.00 per couple! Last Xmas we watched people getting very drunk to try to get their value from this deal. We enjoy a drink but our total bar bill including wine, cocktails and other drinks worked out at £38.00 per day as a average. Nice way to make extra money from the clients!

Even at £29 per day, we would take that. It all depends how much and what you drink. When we are not on AI we budget for £60 per day for the two of us. That covers any type of drink from lunch time through to midnight. We have never been "drunk" on a cruise ship and to be fair on any Fred cruise we have not seen anybody "worse for wear" due to drink.

A bottle of wine shared between two at lunch and dinner and you have spent £40 already. So £29 per person does not seem bad, £10 is better and on the Breamar next January we have paid £7.

I agree that if you drink a lot of the house wines by the glass (Limited choice) and "own label" spirits and draft soft drinks and beers then it can be value for money. My main grumble is with the fact that for the rest of the year AI is £10.00 and jumps to £29.00 for the Xmas cruise! Sorry but I wont pay this for cheap wine and spirits. Happy to pay it at £10.00 because if you don't drink many of their cheap selection then it isn't such a waste of money.

If you are on the AI deal your whole party has to be on it, the staff have to check everyone's card to make sure, which gives them extra work!

We noticed last year that a group we met on AI did leave their regular barman a nice tip at the end of the cruise because he has worked so hard!

Maybe, as a trial, certain cruises should automatically be AI ( like many hotels) to see if this works? Just a thought.

Your right there allanann, when we are on AI it does take a couple of days to get used to the whisky...:-) the only wine we drink on the AI is the sparkling , at dinner we usually go with a decent red for half price.

The Stella and cider are ok on the AI.

Would seem sensible to put the whole ship on AI for a trial wouldn't it.

Would seem sensible to put the whole ship on AI for a trial wouldn't it.

They actually did that when they first introduced AI, it was included at no extra cost for a few cruises while they evaluated the scheme.

As I said we had all inclusive on the Greenland cruise and it was worth it for the nature of the cruise, but given the slow bar service at times - particularly so on the outside decks and the 2/3 of a very small glass of diet coke that was served on the AI, we have cancelled it for a hot climate cruise with a lot of sea days. It would only be worth it on a cruise like that if you do drink a lot of alcohol and it would seem to me that not many of Fred's passengers do. There did not seem to be many people on the Greenland cruise who wanted the AI and all our table companions were pleased they had not choosen to pay for it, (we were the only AI's on our table).

We would definately prefer a cheaper cruise where you can get larger servings of better quality drinks if you pay for them. Even £10pp a day is not that good an option for some people on some cruises.

I also shudder to think what bar service would be like if they made the entire fleet all inclusive for all cruises, I think I remember postings about service being restricted in some areas, (the show lounge I think), on some of the fully AI cruises because the staff could not cope.

That sounds like one of my comments regarding the show lounge.

They did indeed remove the staff who normally take orders and serve drinks on our first AI cruise.

We did complain about it during the cruise and wrote afterwards, the policy had changed by the time we cruised again a few months later.

If it was the comment I remember, it was for one of the cruises where everyone was on AI, and I think it was just for those cruises, (there were not many). That is the context in which I had written the comment and I do not remember anything for any other cruises so assume everthing had been OK since. My point was that if everyone was on AI, a lot more people would be wanting drinks, so the existing number of bar staff just could not cope regardless of how good we know they all are. I doubt it would even be possible for Fred to employ more bar staff as there is unlikely to be enough accomodation on the ships for them without using what is now passenger accomodation - unlikely I would have thought.

In my previous post I meant to say we had removed the AI from a hot weather cruise with a lot of port days, (not sea days as I had written). It would take a very high consumption of alcohol in the evenings to be worth taking the AI for port days, even at £10pp. You are given very small servings of soft drinks, and the bottled water in the cabin and waiter service coffees in the bars are still charged at 1/2 price so that would not account for much.

I just think it is far better that each individual is given a choice, which is what Fred currently offer and a move to all AI would leave us looking for another cruise company.