P&O and Tipping

I'm just about to head off on Aria for my first P&O cruise and I'm not clear about tipping on board. I had originally thought that gratuities were included in the fare, like with Princess. I did a few searches for answers, but it's still not clear to me.

Just to make sure I understand:

There are no pre-paid gratuities.

Gratuities are not included in the fare.

If you want to tip, you do it yourself the old fashioned way, with cash.

So I'm after some guide to appropriate tipping. What do most people do?

God I hate tipping, but I hate stiffing staff worse.

Automatic tipping (and the expectation of tips) was removed from Australian P&O cruises around 6 to 7 years ago. Crew are reasonably paid and their remuneration does not require tipping to make a reasonable wage.

If you wish to tip, you may do so in cash but do not feel obliged to do so.:) You will not be stiffing the staff if you do not tip.

After the tips were removed and fares increased to cover the higher payments to crew, I hate to see extra tipping creeping back in. (That is my personal opinion.)

Treat it as you would with Princess.

Yes just tip who and how you want. On our last cruise on the Aria we tipped our 2 room stewards $50 each and a box of chocolates.

On previous cruises we have tipped waiters in the Waterfront and Bar staff but this time although quite happy with the service didn't really form any real connection with any.

Automatic tipping (and the expectation of tips) was removed from Australian P&O cruises around 6 to 7 years ago. Crew are reasonably paid and their remuneration does not require tipping to make a reasonable wage.

 

If you wish to tip, you may do so in cash but do not feel obliged to do so.:) You will not be stiffing the staff if you do not tip.

 

After the tips were removed and fares increased to cover the higher payments to crew, I hate to see extra tipping creeping back in. (That is my personal opinion.)

Thanks. That's what I was trying to work out. I had a vague memory that it was the case that P&O put up their fares when they removed gratuities but I couldn't find confirmation.

So basically now the gratuities are part of the fare, tipping is entirely optional and none of the crew will starve if I don't tip.:cool:

Correct. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

I hope I don't offend when I say that I disagree about the crew being reasonably paid.

Those who are reasonably paid include those involved in entertainment and staff with higher responsibilities.

But room stewards, cleaners, waiters and the like receive very minimal wages. We learned on good authority that such ones may be paid somewhere in the vicinity of $3.00 per hour. Yes, they receive meals and accommodation for free. But it's still a very low wage. The only reason they accept such low wages is that it's higher than they'd have in their homeland!

Tipping is, of course, optional. But these ones truly benefit from our generosity. Impressive when, often, our "generosity" comes from little more than our left-overs!

My wife and I wait until a few days into our cruise before tipping. We can then give a tip with meaning – a genuine "Thankyou for your wonderful service".

Typically, we give our room steward at least $20 and $10-$15 to both our food waiter and drink waiter. If other staff are helpful, we may tip them, too.

I hope I don't offend when I say that I disagree about the crew being reasonably paid.

 

Those who are reasonably paid include those involved in entertainment and staff with higher responsibilities.

 

But room stewards, cleaners, waiters and the like receive very minimal wages. We learned on good authority that such ones may be paid somewhere in the vicinity of $3.00 per hour. Yes, they receive meals and accommodation for free. But it's still a very low wage. The only reason they accept such low wages is that it's higher than they'd have in their homeland!

 

Tipping is, of course, optional. But these ones truly benefit from our generosity. Impressive when, often, our "generosity" comes from little more than our left-overs!

 

My wife and I wait until a few days into our cruise before tipping. We can then give a tip with meaning – a genuine "Thankyou for your wonderful service".

 

Typically, we give our room steward at least $20 and $10-$15 to both our food waiter and drink waiter. If other staff are helpful, we may tip them, too.

Ummm my understanding is that when sailing on Australian based ships without auto tips, they are actually paid a much higher wage, I have been told this by people at Princess and crew on both Princess and P&O.

I hope I don't offend when I say that I disagree about the crew being reasonably paid.

 

Those who are reasonably paid include those involved in entertainment and staff with higher responsibilities.

 

But room stewards, cleaners, waiters and the like receive very minimal wages. We learned on good authority that such ones may be paid somewhere in the vicinity of $3.00 per hour. Yes, they receive meals and accommodation for free. But it's still a very low wage. The only reason they accept such low wages is that it's higher than they'd have in their homeland!

 

Tipping is, of course, optional. But these ones truly benefit from our generosity. Impressive when, often, our "generosity" comes from little more than our left-overs!

 

My wife and I wait until a few days into our cruise before tipping. We can then give a tip with meaning – a genuine "Thankyou for your wonderful service".

 

Typically, we give our room steward at least $20 and $10-$15 to both our food waiter and drink waiter. If other staff are helpful, we may tip them, too.

You signature shows you have sailed on two different cruise lines. Each of which have a totally different wage and tipping structure and expectation.

Do your statements above apply equally to both?

You signature shows you have sailed on two different cruise lines. Each of which have a totally different wage and tipping structure and expectation.

 

Do your statements above apply equally to both?

i agree that they are getting confused cruising with RCI where a lot of people remove the tips and stiff the staff

Removed double post

Thanks. That's what I was trying to work out. I had a vague memory that it was the case that P&O put up their fares when they removed gratuities but I couldn't find confirmation.

 

So basically now the gratuities are part of the fare, tipping is entirely optional and none of the crew will starve if I don't tip.:cool:

Nothing to worry about now, enjoy your cruise.:D

I hope I don't offend when I say that I disagree about the crew being reasonably paid.

 

Those who are reasonably paid include those involved in entertainment and staff with higher responsibilities.

 

But room stewards, cleaners, waiters and the like receive very minimal wages. We learned on good authority that such ones may be paid somewhere in the vicinity of $3.00 per hour. Yes, they receive meals and accommodation for free. But it's still a very low wage. The only reason they accept such low wages is that it's higher than they'd have in their homeland!

 

Tipping is, of course, optional. But these ones truly benefit from our generosity. Impressive when, often, our "generosity" comes from little more than our left-overs!

 

My wife and I wait until a few days into our cruise before tipping. We can then give a tip with meaning – a genuine "Thankyou for your wonderful service".

 

Typically, we give our room steward at least $20 and $10-$15 to both our food waiter and drink waiter. If other staff are helpful, we may tip them, too.

No offence taken, we often tip a bit extra to any staff that we feel warrant an extra thank you (above and beyond) but we certainly don't feel like we have to.

You signature shows you have sailed on two different cruise lines. Each of which have a totally different wage and tipping structure and expectation.

 

Do your statements above apply equally to both?

I suppose the cruise line would make a difference for some as to how they tip but for us it doesn't make a difference as we do the same (tip extra to certain individuals) on other lines even with the gratuities left on.:D

Yes, wages on different cruises may be a little different. However, I still understand their wages are not that great.

The question comes to my mind, If wages are that good, why do cruiselines in Australia (even ships that are permanently based here) employ Australians as the room stewards, cleaners, etc? I don't know the answer to this. All I can think is, 1. Australians wouldn't work for whatever the wages are; or 2. Australian law wouldn't allow the cruise companies to employ Australians at those rates.

Again, I emphasize that I don't know if this is right, so don't fry me! :-) I'm just saying what I mull over in my mind. However, at the end of the day, we like to tip good to excellent service. I guess each passenger can choose what they personally want to do.

Yes, wages on different cruises may be a little different. However, I still understand their wages are not that great.

 

The question comes to my mind, If wages are that good, why do cruiselines in Australia (even ships that are permanently based here) employ Australians as the room stewards, cleaners, etc? I don't know the answer to this. All I can think is, 1. Australians wouldn't work for whatever the wages are; or 2. Australian law wouldn't allow the cruise companies to employ Australians at those rates.

 

Again, I emphasize that I don't know if this is right, so don't fry me! :-) I'm just saying what I mull over in my mind. However, at the end of the day, we like to tip good to excellent service. I guess each passenger can choose what they personally want to do.

While the waiters/stewards are working on the ship their wage is quite reasonable, but they do not get holiday pay and long service leave etc. Princess has to follow the International Labour Organization rules on payments.

We have encountered Aussies working on a Princess ship out of the US. Maybe they don't report their income to the ATO as they should, thereby making their total remuneration (including tips in this case) quite comparable with what they could earn at home.

While I care if someone is being ripped off, most staff I have encountered have continued to sign up for further contracts, so it cannot be that bad a pay scale. That said, it may be bad for us but great for their home countries. That said, I don't worry about it as it is not my job to ensure the crew are paid well or not, I leave that up to the cruise line or contractor who employs them. I may tip extra to those that I feel warrant an extra reward due to great service above and beyond because I want to thank them for this and not because I may feel they are underpaid.

While I care if someone is being ripped off, most staff I have encountered have continued to sign up for further contracts, so it cannot be that bad a pay scale. That said, it may be bad for us but great for their home countries. That said, I don't worry about it as it is not my job to ensure the crew are paid well or not, I leave that up to the cruise line or contractor who employs them. I may tip extra to those that I feel warrant an extra reward due to great service above and beyond because I want to thank them for this and not because I may feel they are underpaid.

Good comment. :)

Yes, wages on different cruises may be a little different. However, I still understand their wages are not that great.

 

The question comes to my mind, If wages are that good, why do cruiselines in Australia (even ships that are permanently based here) employ Australians as the room stewards, cleaners, etc? I don't know the answer to this. All I can think is, 1. Australians wouldn't work for whatever the wages are; or 2. Australian law wouldn't allow the cruise companies to employ Australians at those rates.

 

Again, I emphasize that I don't know if this is right, so don't fry me! :-) I'm just saying what I mull over in my mind. However, at the end of the day, we like to tip good to excellent service. I guess each passenger can choose what they personally want to do.

My assumption is that cruise lines that do not include auto gratuities in the cruise cost (P&O, Carnival, Princess ?) have placed the average gratuity into the cruise price AND raised the staff wages (whatever they are to fall in line with what staff on cruise lines that do have auto gratuities (Celebrity, RCL, HAL ?).

So I would tip in a similar way on P&O and Carnival as I do on RCL and Celebrity after paying my auto grats.

Still interested in whether you tip the same on the two different lines. (presuming you leave auto grats on) because both your posts have been unclear about that.

While I care if someone is being ripped off, most staff I have encountered have continued to sign up for further contracts, so it cannot be that bad a pay scale. That said, it may be bad for us but great for their home countries.

It's pretty similar to most outsourcing. e.g. your call centre workers in the Philippines, IT support and development in India and so on.

They get a better wage than the traditional rates in that area e.g. hospitality, restaurant staff and so on. But by Western standards it's a lot lower than paid here.

So "bad" is relative. It's bad by our standards, but not by theirs.

The question comes to my mind, If wages are that good, why do cruiselines in Australia (even ships that are permanently based here) employ Australians as the room stewards, cleaners, etc? I don't know the answer to this. All I can think is, 1. Australians wouldn't work for whatever the wages are; or 2. Australian law wouldn't allow the cruise companies to employ Australians at those rates.

Number 1, not 2. Australian law isn't involved as it is an international vessel, and not Australian flagged (not that there are any of those left as they have left for cheaper countries).

By western standards, the wages aren't good, hence you won't see Americans or British in those roles either. Plus we'd actually want _more_ than normal due to the need to work ongoing 7 day shifts, plus away from home allowances and the like.

For clarification of those who asked: We remove automatic gratuities with RCI. But, with both RCI and P&O, we are quite liberal with our tips (the same with both companies).

For us, it's getting back to what most consider the point of tipping to be:

1. Encouraging good service; and

2. Showing appreciation for good service

There's definitely an argument for automatic gratuities. But we still prefer the old-fashioned face-to-face "Thankyou". I understand some will find fault with that, but it's the way we go about it.

It's pretty similar to most outsourcing. e.g. your call centre workers in the Philippines, IT support and development in India and so on.

 

They get a better wage than the traditional rates in that area e.g. hospitality, restaurant staff and so on. But by Western standards it's a lot lower than paid here.

 

So "bad" is relative. It's bad by our standards, but not by theirs.

Agreed, it is all relative to where you are from. My point was that they do repeat contracts as it does pay well for them despite the hard work, long hours and being away from home and families.

The last time we sailed with P&O we had a lovely young lass as our cabin attendant. By the time she had finished sharing her life story she had a large tip, all my new cosmetics, several packets of unopened lollies and all my Moccona coffee sachets for her sick father who loved coffee but couldn't afford to buy it. I felt terrible but I suppose she's one of the lucky ones employment wise. Even then I didn't feel as though I had been particularly helpful.