CUNARD Tips (Hotel & Dining Costs)

Hi there. We're going on our first Cunard cruise later this summer but have just read there is a daily charge of $11 each ($22 per day) added to our account. Does anyone know if we have the option of tipping whoever we choose rather than paying this blanket amount? When we sailed with Royal Caribbean we opted to pay our own tips and were given envelopes to distribute. Can we do this on the Queen Elizabeth? Hope someone out there knows! Many thanks. Vet Girl

Yes - just go to reception and ask to have the automatic gratuities removed from your account.

I left them on for our recent 14 nights on QV - but "felt" obliged to give some more directly to cabin steward and MDR waiters. I removed them on QE cruise - and gave the same amount directly to the said staff on that ship. I liked the second way better.

Barry

Hi there. We're going on our first Cunard cruise later this summer but have just read there is a daily charge of $11 each ($22 per day) added to our account. Does anyone know if we have the option of tipping whoever we choose rather than paying this blanket amount? When we sailed with Royal Caribbean we opted to pay our own tips and were given envelopes to distribute. Can we do this on the Queen Elizabeth? Hope someone out there knows! Many thanks. Vet Girl

You are able to cancel the autotip and reward those that you consider to be deserving but if you do they are required to hand the money that you give them to their supervisors who then put it into the general autotip fund that the $11 per day forms. This means that your efforts were in vain. What I and some others do is to reward specific people separately and in addition to this hotel charge and they are then able to keep that extra money. This subject has been discussed at length before on here and I am sure that if you were to search the forum you would locate the thread.:)

I agree with the cap'n, this is what I do as well; Leave the auto-tip alone and then tip a steward personally (and quietly with no fuss) for service above and beyond what is usual.

This means that on some voyages I never tip extra/beyond the auto-tip, and on a few cruises I may tip a couple of crew members.

As an example, during my last three voyages, I tipped extra to two stewards on one crossing and nothing extra on the other two cruises.

I've never understood, unless everyone offering me service was poor and undeserving of tipping, why the auto-tip is such an issue, I factor it into my on-board-spend/cost of the cruise.

What I would not do is to feel obligated into handing out money here, there and everywhere to cabin and dining room stewards who are merely doing their jobs well, I am already rewarding them via the auto-tip.

I hope this helps, Bon Voyage!

Do they still have the "You have been a star" cards? I understood that these are very much valued by the crew, if you feel they have excelled :)

Do they still have the "You have been a star" cards? I understood that these are very much valued by the crew, if you feel they have excelled :)

Yes, they are in the black folder in the cabin, are sometimes left on the bed on the last but one night or can be collected from the purser's desk. I have also heard that they are valued by the crew as they can lead to "perks" such as extended time ashore etc.

Yes, they are in the black folder in the cabin, are sometimes left on the bed on the last but one night or can be collected from the purser's desk. I have also heard that they are valued by the crew as they can lead to "perks" such as extended time ashore etc.

Well I hope that's true, as I did spend quite some time filling out those cards for all the staff that I interacted with frequently (and who played such a big part in the enjoyment of my cruise). This was in addition to leaving the auto-tip on and then tipping extra to various people.

I considered the $11 auto tip part of the price of the cruise, in fact I wish they would include it as such. I could not understand why there was such a long queue at the Pursers desk on our last day until I the penny dropped - removing the tips. Am I being cynical in thinking they waited until the last moment in case crew members got to find out?

We tipped the cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier extra because we wanted to - I did not feel under any pressure to do so. We also tipped a couple of bar staff who had , in our opinion, looked after us well.

We overheard a lot of discussion at dinner that night about the auto tips.....I say just include them as part of the holiday cost

I considered the $11 auto tip part of the price of the cruise, in fact I wish they would include it as such. I could not understand why there was such a long queue at the Pursers desk on our last day until I the penny dropped - removing the tips. Am I being cynical in thinking they waited until the last moment in case crew members got to find out?

We tipped the cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier extra because we wanted to - I did not feel under any pressure to do so. We also tipped a couple of bar staff who had , in our opinion, looked after us well.

We overheard a lot of discussion at dinner that night about the auto tips.....I say just include them as part of the holiday cost

I really like the auto-tip. As far as I'm concerned it's one less thing to think about, and I feel (hope) that all the staff on the ship are being rewarded, not just the tiny percentage who interact with me personally. It wouldn't occur to me to remove it.

While I can see the argument for simply including the auto-tip as part of the bottom-line cruise fare, wouldn't that then simply create another problem in that there would then be pressure to tip for every service we receive? At least if it's marked as an auto-tip as at present, we know that all our tips are taken care of and we needn''t feel obliged to give any further tips unless we specifically choose to do so.

...While I can see the argument for simply including the auto-tip as part of the bottom-line cruise fare, wouldn't that then simply create another problem in that there would then be pressure to tip for every service we receive? At least if it's marked as an auto-tip as at present, we know that all our tips are taken care of and we needn''t feel obliged to give any further tips unless we specifically choose to do so.

That is a known problem known on other lines - the staff practically has their hands out for each and every service. On Cunard anything extra can be given on the last evening.

I like to use envelopes. It's especially handy when one wants to vary the amount given to individual waiters for example. I write their names on each envelope and can pass it on to each staffer while keeping the amount discrete.

?........ I could not understand why there was such a long queue at the Pursers desk on our last day until I the penny dropped - removing the tips. Am I being cynical in thinking they waited until the last moment in case crew members got to find out?..."...

Why do you 'ass u me' that people were removing the auto tip?

They could have been arranging any number of things at this point in their holiday.

We always treat it as part of the holiday cost too and fill in the cards and hand them in an envelope with a small extra tip to those who have been especially good in our estimation.

Can anyone break down how the $11 is distributed i.e. how much to whom?

Also, if you are tipping on top of the auto-tip, how much do you give for good service to a good waiter or cabin attendant for say a 7 night TA?

Yes - just go to reception and ask to have the automatic gratuities removed from your account.

 

I left them on for our recent 14 nights on QV - but "felt" obliged to give some more directly to cabin steward and MDR waiters. I removed them on QE cruise - and gave the same amount directly to the said staff on that ship. I liked the second way better.

 

Barry

Felt obliged? We've always had stellar service. We're both in the service industry & we live off our tips. It's always a pleasure to take care of "family" who took good care of us!

Why do you 'ass u me' that people were removing the auto tip?

They could have been arranging any number of things at this point in their holiday.

We always treat it as part of the holiday cost too and fill in the cards and hand them in an envelope with a small extra tip to those who have been especially good in our estimation.

Yes, I am guilty of making a sweeping generalisation but I was in the queue myself (lost property) and people were openly discussing why they were there.......I am sure some people were there for other reasons but

I wouldn't ass u me that......

Yes, I am guilty of making a sweeping generalisation but I was in the queue myself (lost property) and people were openly discussing why they were there.......I am sure some people were there for other reasons but

I wouldn't ass u me that......

Fair enough :)

It's a pity that people are allowed to remove it but

maybe they were planning to tip individually.

I like to believe the best of people.

Perhaps some passengers wait until the last day to remove the auto-tip in order to judge the level of service. I also understand that the amount paid can be reduced as well as removed thus giving choice of amount relevant to service received.

The service charge (known as auto-tipping by some) is shared as well with all those staff on board that we never meet but who work so hard to make our cruise wonderful - like the people in the laundry room or the lowest of the kitchen staff. By taking off the automatic charge in order to tip those who serve you, people in effect cut out all the hidden workers - so no wonder staff must share these as well. We usually give $20 - $50 on top to cabin, dining and bar staff who have been particularly helpful. If they share this as well I have no idea but we do it anyway.

I do not know how the $11 pd is split - but I have heard there is a formula and the frontline and more senior staff do get a bigger share.

This must be the second favourite discussion topic for Cundarders (after dress and slipping standards)

People who remove autotips should read the story in today's Guardian about 150 crew on the Arcadia who were sacked when they protested about receiving lower wages, mainly due to the removal of autotips.

I am going on a 13 night around the med in july with my wife and 14 year old daughter. we thought about removing my daughters auto tip, but on reflection she is looked after really well by all staff on board. We will therefore be paying $33.00 per day. we will end up paying over $400.00, as others have said we factor this into our cruise cost, but i would not pay anything else, if everyone on board paid this the staff would have a nice sum at the end of the season.

People who remove autotips should read the story in today's Guardian about 150 crew on the Arcadia who were sacked when they protested about receiving lower wages, mainly due to the removal of autotips.

I wonder what those passengers who remove the auto-tips and give cash only to the few they meet think about this? Perhaps they couldn't careless about the 'behind the scenes' workers who may in some cases be more hardworking and loyal than the up-front staff.

Have those of you who have sailed with Cunard in the past typically given extra tips to room service waiters?

We the passengers do not do the hiring or firing so have no control over the "skill" or the lack thereof, just as we have no control over the wages paid.

As a passenger my concern (selfish though it may seem) is my experience ,my comfort, and the service I receive for the money I have paid.

If I want McDonalds service, I go to McDonalds -when I go to Le Chez Maison I expect a far better meal and level of service .

If I go to Neiman Marcus, and pay $1995 for a top I expect it to be of good quality, but if I go to Walmart and pay $12.50 for a top I know it will have skimpy seams, and will only last through 4 wearings.

Unfortunately some times - not all - but sometimes, a passenger on the Queens gets Walmart quality for a Neiman Marcus price. and that is when they remove the auto tip and write an adverse review.

People who remove autotips should read the story in today's Guardian about 150 crew on the Arcadia who were sacked when they protested about receiving lower wages, mainly due to the removal of autotips.

Thanks for sharing that information. Here's a link for anyone interested in reading the story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/01/arcadia-cruise-ship-indian-crew?INTCMP=SRCH

Have those of you who have sailed with Cunard in the past typically given extra tips to room service waiters?

Hi FamilyVacation. Yes, I do - usually $3.00 for a small, uncomplicated order, $5.00 for a larger order such as dinner. Tipping is of course optional. Waiters do not hang about waiting for a tip, so I have the tip ready before the order is delivered. Just to add that my experience with room service has been very good. Perhaps if the service was not that good, the tip would be less. Regards, -S.

I am going on a 13 night around the med in july with my wife and 14 year old daughter. we thought about removing my daughters auto tip, but on reflection she is looked after really well by all staff on board. We will therefore be paying $33.00 per day. we will end up paying over $400.00, as others have said we factor this into our cruise cost, but i would not pay anything else, if everyone on board paid this the staff would have a nice sum at the end of the season.

well if you look at the $11 a day per person it works out at a huge wage at the end of the year

On a full ship of 2600 passengers all paying a minimum of $11 a day thats

$28600 a day or $10,439 ,000 a year

divide it into 2000 crew they all get $5219 a year in tip plus other person tips and the extra 15%.

sadly though they a very small wage from cunard around $10 a day so for a nine month period around $3000, making $8219 approx , bear in mind that many crew get a lot more than 75p an hour and it worked out in a different way, the crew you dont see get a far higher wage than the crew like wait staff etc,,

also I am not a mathematician, so please correct my figures