Europeans (and Brits), Me & Gratuities

Whether by cash or automatic deduction, I have always paid gratuities on all the 16 cruises I have taken. In a few months, I will be on the Eclipse sailing from Southampton and I gather that most of the passengers will be Brits and other Europeans. I gather too that it is not their custom to pay gratuities (tips) and so they probably won't.

Since they will be getting the same service as I will, why should I pay the suggested gratuity? I am not seeking to short change the crew (I already have the funds) but I am beginning to think it does not make sense for me to pay it.

What are your thoughts? Spare me the abusive types, please.

If they all jumped off of a bridge would you think that was what you should do too?

Whether by cash or automatic deduction, I have always paid gratuities on all the 16 cruises I have taken. In a few months, I will be on the Eclipse sailing from Southampton and I gather that most of the passengers will be Brits and other Europeans. I gather too that it is not their custom to pay gratuities (tips) and so they probably won't.

 

Since they will be getting the same service as I will, why should I pay the suggested gratuity? I am not seeking to short change the crew (I already have the funds) but I am beginning to think it does not make sense for me to pay it.

 

What are your thoughts? Spare me the abusive types, please.

Why are you worried about what others will do? You cannot control their behavior. You know what the right thing to do is. Just do it.

Just do it! Go Gunners!

Whether by cash or automatic deduction, I have always paid gratuities on all the 16 cruises I have taken. In a few months, I will be on the Eclipse sailing from Southampton and I gather that most of the passengers will be Brits and other Europeans. I gather too that it is not their custom to pay gratuities (tips) and so they probably won't.

 

Since they will be getting the same service as I will, why should I pay the suggested gratuity? I am not seeking to short change the crew (I already have the funds) but I am beginning to think it does not make sense for me to pay it.

 

What are your thoughts? Spare me the abusive types, please.

I'm sorry, but this is a very lame comparison. What another culture does should have no bearing on what you do. So what if Brits don't tip---and I think that's a dangerous generalization? Why does that impact you? If a certain religion stops and prays five times a day, will you feel it necessary to follow suit? If you find that Italians tip 100% more than anyone else, will you do the same?

What you're saying holds no merit.

Why do you assume that Brits don't tip? On P&O the tips are left up to the passenger, the cruise line gives a guideline, the passengers give the tip in cash. We just don't make it a crusade like the Americans do. We certainly don't tip as much as US people & don't expect children & babies to tip. Any tip we give is for service as a real tip, not a service charge. You could say that the cruise line trusts us to do it as they don't charge it to our accounts like =X=!! As far as I know it is only North Americans that tip to the degree that they do.

Why do you assume that Brits don't tip? .

We were told repeatedly by staff on board while cruising over the last 5 months that 50% to 80% of Europeans, depending on the sailing, do not tip the suggested amount and remove the automatic gratuities from their on board account.

What I think is interesting and I have seen the idea posted on boards is to tip a portion of the gratuity upfront.

Would that not give your cabin attendant and server the message that you do tip and let them know that you will tip again at the end of the cruise as well. If others around you are not tipping, can you imagine the special treatment you will be getting?

This could almost be interpreted as the carrot in front of the donkey, but in this case, it could work to your advantage.

We were told repeatedly by staff on board while cruising over the last 5 months that 50% to 80% of Europeans, depending on the sailing, do not tip the suggested amount and remove the automatic gratuities from their on board account.

I would imagine people don't like the auto tip & regard it as being "forward", I expect also that traditional European passengers prefer to give the tip in cash in person. I think that most would think $24 a cabin a day is a heck of a lot more that we are used to paying & having paid that would not think to pay any more. We also are not used to cruise lines charging tips for babies & kids.

I can't believe that Europeans don't tip . We have taken 45 cruises & we certainly have had many conversations with Euopeans about the subject .They all with out exception said they tip all who give them good service . Whether the tips be in cash or on a pre paid gratuity sign & sail charge makes no difference .

How can any one with any decency not tip these extremely hard working people who serve us daily ??

Why do you assume that Brits don't tip? On P&O the tips are left up to the passenger, the cruise line gives a guideline, the passengers give the tip in cash. We just don't make it a crusade like the Americans do. We certainly don't tip as much as US people & don't expect children & babies to tip. Any tip we give is for service as a real tip, not a service charge. You could say that the cruise line trusts us to do it as they don't charge it to our accounts like =X=!! As far as I know it is only North Americans that tip to the degree that they do.

What a novel idea! Give a tip based on service! But then, you Brits have always been so practical. Unfortunately, that just wouldn't work here in the US. :)

As a Brit who always tips generously, I resent your generalization. However I do wish cruise lines would start calling it a service charge and make it mandatory thereby putting an end to this constantly repeated silly discussion.

Just to clarify one point: I did not assume that Brits do not tip. I picked up the matter from the cruise travel publications that people in Europe do not tip as North Americans do. Therefore, the cruise lines will have make up salaries. There was a suggestion that perhaps the cruise lines will have to include the gratuity as part of the cruise price in that region.

As I indicated, I have always paid the gratuity where, presumably, most people did. This case is different in that most, by custom, will not. So the question to myself is: If most do not, why should I? Won't the cruise line make up salary difference anyway?

My thanks for your surprisingly quick responses although some seem to have been given too quickly.

"Won't the cruise line make up salary difference anyway?"

No...the crew gets a salary of pittance really. Make up the difference

of people who don't tip?:confused:...no....that is why the crew and staff depend

on tips.

Our cruise in January is booked through a UK agent - the tips/gratuities are already included and you may find that this is the case with many other agents, so in fact the UK travellers do tip. As it is prepaid it cannot be removed. It would depend on the level of service whether we pay more or not and it would need to be really good service. We are not accustomed to paying extra if it is not deserved as we feel we have already paid our share.

In some European countries, patrons do not tip for certain services because the gratuity is included in the price, and the server receives a higher salary in lieu of a lower salary + tip. Thus, for example, in Germany, one typically does not tip on a restaurant bill, but German waiters tends to be relatively well salaried. The same, of course, can't be said for U.S.-based cruise lines. Servers on those lines receive a minimal wage and depend on tips. In theory, this also means that the base price of the cruise is less than it would be if the full cost of service were embedded in the price. With this in mind, I'm not sure why any European (or American for that matter) would avoid tipping. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Our cruise in January is booked through a UK agent - the tips/gratuities are already included and you may find that this is the case with many other agents, so in fact the UK travellers do tip. As it is prepaid it cannot be removed. It would depend on the level of service whether we pay more or not and it would need to be really good service. We are not accustomed to paying extra if it is not deserved as we feel we have already paid our share.

Delightful, helpful reply, Aussieflyer. Since this is the case, I have no problems. Thanks.

ShareViews.

Just to add another "Brit" comment - we too are sailing on Eclipse out of Southampton in June and have already pre paid our tips. We ALWAYS tip on cruise lines, sometimes giving way over the recommended amounts if we have had good service, never giving less than the recommended amount, even if service was not good. We are well aware that the salaries of crew depend on these tips. However, I think where there is a problem is with some people over here who are not aware of the salaries paid on ships and do not realise that the crew are paid a nominal amount and that the tips, effectively, make up their wages. That is surely up to the cruise lines to either change the structure of wages or enlighten the general cruising public in the UK. I should think were they to do that then they would leave themselves open to all kinds of legislation if crew sailing out of the UK were not paid the "minimum wage"? As has been said many times this is a very contentious issue and I guess will continue to be so until the cruise lines sort it out.

As a Brit who always tips generously, I resent your generalization. However I do wish cruise lines would start calling it a service charge and make it mandatory thereby putting an end to this constantly repeated silly discussion.

I am British and have pre-paid my tips for my cruise on Eclipse and have prepaid on my last 6 or 7 cruises . I will probably also add additional tips to our cabin steward if I think they have gone the extra mile.

I hate to think that all British people are accused of being mean when this is not the case . I do think that it is getting out of hand when the service charges are automatically added each time you buy a drink but there it is. I chose to go on an amercian cruise line and so therefore abide by the normal rules that apply .

What I cannot stand is all the whinging by cruisers who know exactly what is the norm then complain all day long about tipping . Please stay at home and spare the rest of us .

Scotslizzy

Most of the Euorpeans - Brits included who have done their homework understand how the system works and often prepay those recomended tips and then revert to the original idea of giving exta if the service was good.

Granted there are still those who simple don't do their homework or those who simply don't like the idea of wages being rolled off onto them and they are causing a problem and eventually we will see the tips become a service charge that will not be flexable. This group is unfortunately still very big and the lines are certainly not helping make it better when we pay the far higher prices for the basic product (Please note all US based companies have informed European TA that their pricing in Europe will be uped by 10 to 15% with in the next few months on top of the higher price we are paying anway (yes there are cases when specials here post a better prices than in the US but those are very seldom and are going to get even less now)

I chose to go on an amercian cruise line and so therefore abide by the normal rules that apply .

 

That is exactly how I have felt ever since I started cruising.

Phil

Cruise crew eligible for tips work harder for what they earn than I ever have had to. I could not enjoy myself looking them in the eye every day knowing they would get nothing.

I would never tip less than the recommended allowance, but would single out any particular crew member if reason would arise for above standard or below standard service. Frankly, no indivdual has stood out either way on any of our 5 cruises in the last two years. And before penalizing anyone, I would give them a clear explanation of the problem and await corrective actions before making a decision.

The 15% gratuity on beverages is more problematic. There are more than a few bar tenders and waiters i would have rather not recieved a tip for poor or attitude laden service, but there is no way to penalize them. The cruise lines consider this as incentive compensation for staff to sell drinks, but the majority of this bar staff does not have the charisma to pull this off with any charm. I can't remember the last cruise member who talked me into buying a drink, but at home here I often order something only because someone came up with a good line. There was only one shy indonesian waiter i recall, who i made it a point of alternating nights between wine and martinis in the main dining room just so he would get some orders and earn something.

There are indeed cultural differences between North America and elsewhere. 10 years ago, 90%+ of passengers were from North America and the tipping policy need not be explained. Now that has fallen to around 80%, but I don't see any particuarly heightened tip policy FAQ's for non-Americans on the cruise lines web sites.

I believe the reason for this is that in the USA no consumer purchase is ever presented as net price. Additional fees and taxes always apply on top of the quoted prices (hotels, cruise, etc), plus tips. Maybe only gas in the US is sold at net price. Europeans find this maddening as law almost always dictates the price offered to an individual consumer is the net price. Some countries like france have a tradition of stating "servis compris" with tips included, while others have wages sufficient that tips are not normally expected.

So I do believe this is a cultural bias and clearly the failure of the cruise line to adequately educate their sales agents abroad, as well as their customers. I imagine many Europeans pay their travel agents thinking that is 100% of the price and are upset upon seeing the additional tips automatically charged upon boarding. Witholding tips would then seem to me to be unfairly directed ire, that belongs to the cruise line, maybe their agent, but certainly not the service staff. Perhaps the lines' are ashamed to highlight this issue because it draws attention to the low base pay of many crew.

This is just another example of the lines' lax attitude toward customer education. Everything discussed on these boards is omitted from the lines' official web sites to,it seems intentionally, create some "mystique" around cruising. All of these issues have been asked and answered a thousand times, but none of the official web sites provide sufficiently detailed information. I do believe rankings and customer satisfaction would be much higher for any line with a detailed web site because then passengers would know exactly what they are going to get and not be surprised when their imaginations run wild and they believe they paid for something else.

We are from Belgium, not used to this kind off tipping, but we ALWAYS do tip (in some cases even more than expected), because we understand the importance off it to the staff, who have always been working very hard and have been very nice to us.

The European lines (Costa, MSC) follow the same tipping policy now, so it is not just an American issue.

I do like to pre pay the tips, just makes it easier i think.

Don't really know where this impression of us Brits not tipping comes from. On cruises, I think we tip as most other people on board. In fact we booked for the Constellation in September 2 days ago and have paid our tips up front. Then when on board we reward the staff who look after us. We know from previous conversations with the crew, that they get a printout of who has already paid their tips.