How much to tip?

I'm off on Britannia tomorrow. I have read a lot surrounding the debate to auto tip or not. While I appreciate it is a very subjective matter, what is considered an acceptable tip to be paid to say a Butler or Cabin Steward or indeed the waiting staff? I would hate to offend by giving what might be classed as a trivial amount but by the same token I am not so wealthy that I don't have to consider what I am spending. I guess I just want to do right by hard working crew members. Does one tip daily or at the end of the cruise? Any advice would be appreciated.

Either leave auto gratuities in place £7pp per day or remove them and tip at end of cruise to whom you want and how much is up to you.

Either leave auto gratuities in place £7pp per day or remove them and tip at end of cruise to whom you want and how much is up to you.

Agreed, and what a perfect no nonsense response to the op's question if you don't mind me saying so.:)

Agreed, and what a perfect no nonsense response to the op's question if you don't mind me saying so.:)

What you mean is he gave you the answer you wanted to hear.:rolleyes:

PS probably so did the OP.

What you mean is he gave you the answer you wanted to hear.:rolleyes:

Strange response, so what would your helpful advice be to the op.?

P&O Advise

During your time on board, you'll be looked after by lots of people - waiters, buffet staff and cabin stewards, who'll go out of their way to make each moment of your holiday special.

Rewarding good service every time it happens isn’t always easy. So, our Service Reward Programme is a simple, one-off way for you to say ‘thank you’ for all the service you receive. A discretionary amount of £7.00 is added to your on-board account each day, for each guest aged 12 and over. This helps reward the waiters and buffet staff as well as your cabin steward or butler, who greatly appreciate your recognition of their hard work.

It means you can relax and enjoy your holiday, knowing tips are taken care of.

So like Majortom advised you ...You could leave the Service reward on knowing your tips are taken care of .

Or just pay what you think is fair ,it's your personal choice.

Not long to your cruise now so go and enjoy it and relax.

Strange response, so what would your helpful advice be to the op.?

Pay the going rate.

Take what you were thinking of tipping to the casino and place it on red or black, then depending on the outcome, give them all nothing or twice as much as you were going to give in the first place.

Pay the going rate.

Thought £7 pp per day was the going rate

I find that people have different ideas on what is fair and reasonable. I also worry about over-tipping or not paying a fair amount. Auto tipping used to be an easy option for me but I have decided recently to opt out and adopt my own policy.

So this is my current policy :

Cabin Steward : £5 per day paid at end of cruise. I would add a further flat amount proportional to extra requests and exceptional service.

Dinning room staff : A flat amount of £20 to £50 if I had special requests. For example special meals arranged to meet dietary needs. Service would need to be outstanding. The rest at my discretion but no obligation to pay anything. No tip paid for someone simply taking my order and placing a plate of food in front of me.

Buffet staff : I don't feel obliged to pay staff for cleaning the tables. If I go to the buffet frequently and one or two servers stand out as offering assistance - getting drinks, helping me find a table, helping me with carrying tray as I am disabled then I tip towards end of the cruise. It is discretionary and ones who deserve to receive a tip often stand out.

Bar staff : No tip paid unless they do something exceptional or same server repeatedly provides outstanding service. If it is a one off like server has to go to another bar to fulfil a request then I pay a tip at the time. Otherwise towards end of the cruise.

Other : If I use discretionary services like wheelchair assistance, porter etc. then I feel obliged to pay a minimum of £5.

It's not a strict policy. I often go with how I feel at the time. However, recently I have decided that tips need to be discretionary and not obligatory. It's for P&O to worry about rewarding hard working staff not me. I simply need to show my gratitude to those who have gone the extra mile. One exception is cabin steward where I believe a tip is obligatory as I feel that it is factored in as part of their remuneration.

As a matter of interest do people tip the porters at Southampton? We normally give them a few pounds but not sure if that is enough. Last time they took the suitcases so quickly we didn’t have time to get any money out so felt really quilty.

As a matter of interest do people tip the porters at Southampton? We normally give them a few pounds but not sure if that is enough. Last time they took the suitcases so quickly we didn’t have time to get any money out so felt really quilty.

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I don’t know about not expecting a tip. We were on an 18 day cruise from Southampton. Had 5 suitcases, 2 of them small but none of them at all heavy, only 2/3 full.Took suitcases out of car, husband went to short term car park to meet Parking4cruises . I waited 10 minutes with cases so tried to move them myself, I am late 60s and 5ft 1inch. Tried to drag suitcases plus hand luggage across to the gap where the suitcases go through. One of the car directing people said someone will collect them, I said but no one has. So he called someone who came over and said he would be back in a while and if I gave him a big tip he would take them . He did eventually turn up 5 minutes later after emptying a few more cars but I didn’t tip him even though I had a five pound note in my hand ready, I did however watch him to make sure my suitcases went to correct place.

I would say it was nothing to do with the number of suitcases as most couples had more than us and heavier.

I find that people have different ideas on what is fair and reasonable. I also worry about over-tipping or not paying a fair amount. Auto tipping used to be an easy option for me but I have decided recently to opt out and adopt my own policy.

 

So this is my current policy :

 

Cabin Steward : £5 per day paid at end of cruise. I would add a further flat amount proportional to extra requests and exceptional service.

 

Dinning room staff : A flat amount of £20 to £50 if I had special requests. For example special meals arranged to meet dietary needs. Service would need to be outstanding. The rest at my discretion but no obligation to pay anything. No tip paid for someone simply taking my order and placing a plate of food in front of me.

 

Buffet staff : I don't feel obliged to pay staff for cleaning the tables. If I go to the buffet frequently and one or two servers stand out as offering assistance - getting drinks, helping me find a table, helping me with carrying tray as I am disabled then I tip towards end of the cruise. It is discretionary and ones who deserve to receive a tip often stand out.

 

Bar staff : No tip paid unless they do something exceptional or same server repeatedly provides outstanding service. If it is a one off like server has to go to another bar to fulfil a request then I pay a tip at the time. Otherwise towards end of the cruise.

 

Other : If I use discretionary services like wheelchair assistance, porter etc. then I feel obliged to pay a minimum of £5.

 

It's not a strict policy. I often go with how I feel at the time. However, recently I have decided that tips need to be discretionary and not obligatory. It's for P&O to worry about rewarding hard working staff not me. I simply need to show my gratitude to those who have gone the extra mile. One exception is cabin steward where I believe a tip is obligatory as I feel that it is factored in as part of their remuneration.

As mentioned earlier in this thread there are currently only a couple of options regarding the way we pay our tips/gratuities.

You have chosen to remove the auto gratuities for the reasons explained in detail above, and of course you have every right to do so.

Here's a good tip for today . Don't be late http://www.abpsouthamptonhalf.co.uk/plan-your-visit/cruise-ship-access/ ;)

Thought £7 pp per day was the going rate

Yes it is and that would be my advice. I would leave out the suggestion to remove it and pay what you want at the end of the cruise.

I normally give them £1 a case. Not a lot I know, but to be fair to the porters, they do not seem to expect a tip, unlike their American cousins!

 

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We have used CPS quite a lot and do the same as you, but agree they don't hover expecting a tip and sometimes do seem surprised to receive one.:)

We have used CPS quite a lot and do the same as you, but agree they don't hover expecting a tip and sometimes do seem surprised to receive one.:)

Yes you have to be quick to give them a tip, off like a shot they are.

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Yes you have to be quick to give them a tip, off like a shot they are.

 

 

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Yes, agreed they are usually very busy.:)

Nothing is required, you can leave the recommend daily fee in place and the cruise lines says that covers the staff. You can remove and pay nothing, you can remove and pay cash, the amount is your choice. No one can make you do anything.

Myself I always remove the fees and pay a fair amount to the people who directly provide service to my wife or myself.

Yes it is and that would be my advice. I would leave out the suggestion to remove it and pay what you want at the end of the cruise.

Why, surely it is a tip and you tip depending on the level of service you receive and as much or as little as you deem fit.

We have not had a tipping thread for a while. It must be hours

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Tipping porters - approx. 1500 potential tips per departure, say 75 per porter, that's £375 per week or say £16,000 per year, and no tax or national insurance!!

Tipping porters - approx. 1500 potential tips per departure, say 75 per porter, that's £375 per week or say £16,000 per year, and no tax or national insurance!!

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