Rise in Gratuities

You are welcome, but I fear that you may have misunderstood my answer. So, to be clear, the crew DO miss out, because P&O does NOT make up the shortfall. Forget the ones who have some withheld due to poor scores, the rest get a proportion of what is in the pot. So, the more people that remove the service charge, the smaller the pot becomes and the smaller each persons share is.[/quote

 

Oops:o ...I did totally misunderstand your reply...thank you for your clarification.

 

I honestly thought that I had read on a previous post that the cruise company did make up the shortfall....but of course I could have misread that too! :D

Our first cruise was with Princess,some years ago,we reduced the autotip to £5 pppn which was an amount we were happy with,£6 is ok now I guess but such an increase to £7 so soon certainly isn't welcome.

When we took our first cruise we were told that the amount withdrawn by the cruise co. was to cover tips for people that the passengers wouldn't come into contact with,engine room,laundry,kitchens,etc which seemed to make some sense but dosen't seem to be mentioned these days or in this thread,has everybody given up that this is where the money goes?

As for the amount being incorporated in the cruise fare,I know that means everybody pays it but,as I have posted elsewhere,the cynical side of me can't understand why so many people are in favour of the cruise co. possibly adding an amount which would add up to more than £7 pppn,or even more,surely,especially on a long cruise a couple of hundred pounds would probably get lost.

I agree that if this was in the fare people would still tip individuals,we do.

For those who favour adding tips onto the fares - would there still be people who would feel the need to tip 'on top' do you think?

Yes of course there would. Up to now, I have left my automatic tips on but I have never wanted to walk off the ship without saying my own personal thank you to the wonderful young men and women who have always looked after us so well. I say up to now because for the first time I am seriously considering removing my tips.

I have no idea of the % age of passengers who remove tips but I have a feeling that it is quite high. Of those, I think there will be some who pay their tips but I also think that there are a lot who don't . I will pay my tips as I always did before automatic tipping and hope that if enough people stop paying their tips automatically then P&O might be persuaded to include them in the fare. I will still be using the little envelopes but I we be happier knowing that everybody will be paying what they should pay.

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Has everyone contributing here contacted P&O to let them know their feelings? Feels like it would be a good idea. It’s simple enough to send off an email. A couple of paragraphs should do it

Has everyone contributing here contacted P&O to let them know their feelings? Feels like it would be a good idea. It’s simple enough to send off an email. A couple of paragraphs should do it

Yes and added it as a comment to every questionnaire we get too. They just ignore customer feedback that they don't want to hear.

Hi....Can you please correct me if I am wrong but from I have understood if the gratuities/tips/service charge are removed the cruise company makes up the shortfall so actually none of the crew are ...as some describe it..."stiffed" so by that reasoning if everyone removed them the cruise company would make up the shortfall so how does the crew " suffer" ? I would think that the cruise company...in this case P&O ....would pretty soon start including them in the fare....everyone would know where they stood and could have a clear conscience and for those who want to give extra could go back to giving it in envelopes...but as I said if I have misunderstood please correct me...grapau27 your thoughts on this would be most welcome.

No that isn't correct. They do not make up the shortfall. The pooled funds are a variable amount (determined by how many passengers pay it) and are distributed to all qualifying staff. The exception is those staff (usually stewards) whose passenger scores fall below a certain level as their proportion is withheld in these circumstances. So, until this is absorbed into the fare (as it should be), staff lose out when people cancel the service charge.

Sorry Selbourne but you are mistaken janny444 is correct they sign a contract which has a minimum wage guarantee and if this is not reached by receiving gratuities then P&O make up the shortfall to that minimum guarantee wage.

If P&O listen to what people are saying they could make a PR coup by making tips included in the cruise fare and using that as an advertising slogan.

If necessary they could look at reducing the amount of obc given.We have booked a 2 night cruise on Oceana in a suite and without even asking we were given £100obc.

Am I correct in thinking that all those who receive OBC pay the select fare?

I would think that anyone booking the saver fare doesn't receive OBC,

I guess that the OBC is part of the extra paid on the select fare, hence the reason for receiving without asking.

Am I correct in thinking that all those who receive OBC pay the select fare?

I would think that anyone booking the saver fare doesn't receive OBC,

I guess that the OBC is part of the extra paid on the select fare, hence the reason for receiving without asking.

It is one of the benefits of select fair along with being able to pick your cabin and dining requirements.

With obc our loyalty bonus of 7.5% doesn't come into affect until the obc is used up.

Some on here have hit the nail on the head. The more pax that line up at the pursers desk and remove their 'service charge' then more chance that P&O will increase the daily service charge to make up for lost revenue. At the end of the day the 'service charge' is a wage subsidy.:evilsmile: I would love to know the percentage of pax on P&O Cruise who remove the service charge.:rolleyes:

Well, looking at the posts here and assuming that we are average and that we are not telling porkies, there is a large percentage who pay the full gratuities. And most give envelopes as well. So is there a problem?

DAVID,

On that basis everyone who books on day one would be in the same position. We often book 20+ months ahead so we have a right to only accept conditions in place at that time. On that basis the company would not be able to change anything.

 

I have always thought that this argument that a company cannot change anything after you have booked to be a bit daft. Especially when the lead in time for booking cruises is so long.

 

I will be booking in March April for late 19 and early 20. I have no doubt that some things will change between booking and the cruise. Including another rise in tips.

 

 

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Yes, but remember the gratuities are optional so they are not actually charging anything if passengers choose not to pay. Gratuities are not part of the contract.

David

Please point out where I said they could not change this. What I said was that I agreed an amount at time of booking and that I would pay, but as the change they have made is not mandatory, that would invalidate a U.K. Established contract, I shall chose not to pay the increase.

They are not in the contrast.

DAVID.

Yes, but remember the gratuities are optional so they are not actually charging anything if passengers choose not to pay. Gratuities are not part of the contract.

 

 

 

David

Well certainly that is my understanding.

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Sorry Selbourne but you are mistaken janny444 is correct they sign a contract which has a minimum wage guarantee and if this is not reached by receiving gratuities then P&O make up the shortfall to that minimum guarantee wage.

I always understood that the company added to the “pot”. How I am not sure. What was being said was that this was the incentive scheme for which we give grades on the final questionnaire.

Having said that I do believe no one on these boards knows the full story.

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Sorry Selbourne but you are mistaken janny444 is correct they sign a contract which has a minimum wage guarantee and if this is not reached by receiving gratuities then P&O make up the shortfall to that minimum guarantee wage.

I'm prepared to stand corrected if a minimum wage guarantee is in place, but I believe that is slightly different to an incorrect assumption that ALL service charges that are removed by passengers are made up by P&O, as I still do not believe that the latter is the case. I therefore stand by my answer to janny444's original question in trying to understand why there would be any adverse impact on staff if people remove the service charge, because there would be. A smaller pot equals less per person.

This is exactly why it is so difficult for passengers to decide whether to remain ‘obedient customers’ or to kick back and remove voluntary contributions.

I have written to ask P&O whether any staff who have served me during my holiday will lose remuneration if I remove gratuities. I asked very clearly and requested a clear, simple, answer.

I’m not holding my breath

This is exactly why it is so difficult for passengers to decide whether to remain ‘obedient customers’ or to kick back and remove voluntary contributions.

 

I have written to ask P&O whether any staff who have served me during my holiday will lose remuneration if I remove gratuities. I asked very clearly and requested a clear, simple, answer.

 

I’m not holding my breath

I have also asked P&O for a clear and simple answer to the question 'If a passenger removes the service charge, do staff that they decide to reward personally have to hand in any gratuities given to them directly by these passengers'?

Like you, I'm not holding my breath, but I did ask them last year whether any gratuities that we gave over and above the service charge had to be handed in and I received a very clear answer in writing. They do NOT have to hand them in.

That would have been (still may be) my follow-up question, Selbourne, but I wanted to keep all interactions very simple. One question at a time; no wriggle room

I have also asked P&O for a clear and simple answer to the question 'If a passenger removes the service charge, do staff that they decide to reward personally have to hand in any gratuities given to them directly by these passengers'?

 

Like you, I'm not holding my breath, but I did ask them last year whether any gratuities that we gave over and above the service charge had to be handed in and I received a very clear answer in writing. They do NOT have to hand them in.

The problem with asking P&O anything is that you are liable to get different answers depending on who answers you !!

If P&O listen to what people are saying they could make a PR coup by making tips included in the cruise fare and using that as an advertising slogan.

If necessary they could look at reducing the amount of obc given.We have booked a 2 night cruise on Oceana in a suite and without even asking we were given £100obc.

Why would that be a PR coup, Saga have done it for ages.

https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/the-saga-experience/inclusions.aspx

Could someone cleverer than me should set up a poll to ask 'how, as a result of the latest increase, posters intend to tip on their next P&O Cruise'. May be interesting to see the results.

This is exactly why it is so difficult for passengers to decide whether to remain ‘obedient customers’ or to kick back and remove voluntary contributions.

 

I have written to ask P&O whether any staff who have served me during my holiday will lose remuneration if I remove gratuities. I asked very clearly and requested a clear, simple, answer.

 

I’m not holding my breath

If you are on freedom dining certainly unless you are going to tip every night after your meal.

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Why would that be a PR coup, Saga have done it for ages.

https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/the-saga-experience/inclusions.aspx

I wonder how many on here would go on Saga,not us.

Could someone cleverer than me should set up a poll to ask 'how, as a result of the latest increase, posters intend to tip on their next P&O Cruise'. May be interesting to see the results.

Regarding a ponential of a poll, one has to ask what percentage of those stating they would tip, will be economical with the truth?

You are welcome, but I fear that you may have misunderstood my answer. So, to be clear, the crew DO miss out, because P&O does NOT make up the shortfall. Forget the ones who have some withheld due to poor scores, the rest get a proportion of what is in the pot. So, the more people that remove the service charge, the smaller the pot becomes and the smaller each persons share is.[/quote

 

Oops:o ...I did totally misunderstand your reply...thank you for your clarification.

 

I honestly thought that I had read on a previous post that the cruise company did make up the shortfall....but of course I could have misread that too! :D

I'm sure I read this too janny444 and was told by 2 different crew members (butlers) that P&O make up the shortfall. They get paid the same each pay packet so I'm not sure what's true [emoji85]

 

As we're usually away over Xmas we give extra in a Xmas card as a present and leave the autotips on not sure If we would do the same an other time if year though!

 

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This is the problem, there is a lot of supposition, somebody knows somebody who...., or I have spoken to my friend the cabin steward. Everybody thinks they know what happens, but nobody is sure. P and o expect us to make up their staffs wages, in whatever form. While I am not against tipping, it’s the people who feel they are doing a civic duty by ensuring the staff are paid. It would be very interesting to hear directly from the staff their own feelings.

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