Any other cruiselines paying their guides

[alexandra cruiser]

and bus drivers onshore?Know Scenic does,but I ve never heard of others.I know that they DESERVE tips,but so much easier if cruise company takes care of it.

When I go thru many different countries,and currencies,I m always worrying about small change for tips.It s a hassle.Have mistakenly left small bills on ship and not able to tip at all,ca nt exactly ask for change for a $50.??

Am I the only one interested in this?Any other cruiseslines inc.tips to them?

 

On the AMA lotus in Vietnam,the Australian pasengers DID NOT have to pay in their group,said it was included?Maybe just an Aussie thing?:confused:

[beesKate]

I presume Uniworld does (starting with 2014 sailings). Their new updated information indicates all tips (both onboard and onshore) are included.

[Stratheden]

Alexandra, Tipping is completely foreign to Australians. We just don't tip. We sometimes round up to the nearest $5 if we don't want some coins.

 

I get really stressed when we visit the US. I have no idea how much is appropriate to tip. I have a tip calculator on my phone and I sit in a taxi ready to calculate how much to tip for the whole journey.

 

We were abused by a waiter in NYC for not tipping enough last year so I am sure we ended up tipping everyone twice the amount we should.

 

This is the reason Australian Tour companies offer all inclusive tours. We travelled with Scenic in Canada and Alaska last year and everything was taken care of. We didn't need to tip anyone unless we felt we wanted to tip a bit extra for exceptional service.

 

Australian hospitality workers are well paid here compared to US. Probably between $20 and $25 per hour for a bar attendant.

[H2Otstr]

Grand Circle is going to start. They polled their travelers and the majority of their clients want to see those tips included in the price of the cruise.

[Ozjohnno]

I asked this same question when we cruised with Tauck in 2011. They had three busses follow us from Amsterdam to the Austrian border and we became quite friendly with the drivers. Tauck provide three Tour Directors on board under the Cruise Director and they are Tauck employees. I thought we had the best local guides that could be found and because of the Tauck pricing structure we did not have to tip either the bus drivers or the local guides. As Stratheden said above this Australian is also one who finds tipping to be stressful and I was very glad that Tauck handled that part of the holiday.

[Barrheadlass]

Grand Circle is going to start. They polled their travelers and the majority of their clients want to see those tips included in the price of the cruise.

 

Sharon,

Where did you see that gct is going to include tips?

[H2Otstr]

Sharon,

Where did you see that gct is going to include tips?

 

I received an email from them.

 

BTW, the tips are only for the local guides, bus drivers and hotel porters. The Program Managers and crew are not included in that.

Edited February 10, 2014 by H2Otstr

[ingo_e]

Let me add a few thoughts from a guides perspective: Tipping us all inclusive is a big mistake :)

 

If you got all included tips, the following will happen.

 

- Bad guides get more than they deserve

- Excellent guides are not honored any more

 

In the end, no one has an interest any more in improving his / her tours.

 

From my experience: When I work for an all inclusive tip, my tours are still rated excellent (probably because I am too lazy to screw them up on purpose :) ) - but when I check how much energy, awareness for certain guests, the general mood (trying to raise it if they start lame) etc.. I invest, they are nothing compared to non-included tours. The included tip is usually 20%-30% of what I would make myself. So I do not go the extra mile on these tours. I know, it may not sound fair, but why should I change anything if it has no (fiscal) consequences for me?

 

Furthermore tips are an important indicator, as we usually do not have access to feedback surveys. Lets assume I change some storylines, want to try something new. Then I notice tips are dropping - so I go back to what I did before. If tips rise, obviously my new concept works better, and I keep it.

 

So tipping service, staff, guides, drivers all inclusive may not cause any problems this year, or the next. But on the long run, it will drag quality of tours down.

 

My 2 included cents :)

Ingo

[Canal archive]

In the UK we are also a bit wary of tipping okay if you get exceptional service but not if there is a service charge already included. The US is easy you know that everyone is tipped so no decision needed. This is one of the things I like about Scenic with tips included. We did notice however that on our last cruise with them the cruise director specifically asked for feedback about our guides on several of our excursions we later realised that these were either new excursions or guides new to Scenic. We have never, as yet, had an inferior guide most have been exceptional with just a very few being alright. It is a bit subjective as of course you don't get to use every guide and we did hear that some of the guides may not have been to everyone's taste. Our coach/bus drivers without exception were very good, even the one that took a wrong turning on way back to the boat from Cesky Krumlov (spelling?) he was so apologetic and funny after nearly taking us off roading our guide was horrified and up to then had been so correct all the passengers were in bits, one of the best bus rides ever and we got to see a lot more of the area and arrived back at the boat about on time we were never in any danger and the talk at dinner was quite animated.

[CPT Trips]

Sharon,

Where did you see that gct is going to include tips?

 

I recall seeing a thread in the forums on their website and also the email.

[CPT Trips]

Ingo_e

I was under the impression that our feedback to the cruise company would result in poorly rated guides not being used. Can you comment?

[ingo_e]

I was under the impression that our feedback to the cruise company would result in poorly rated guides not being used. Can you comment?

 

That is the case. However, these decisions are usually (!) not based on a single review (or reviews from one single group). But keep in mind: With the boom in the river cruise industry at the moment, companies are happy to have guides at all (better a poorly rated guide than none at all).

 

What I meant is "the next level" above "too lousy for tours at all". Fixed tips will stall individual developments, as reduces the motivation to improve ones tours..

[alexandra cruiser]

enough to begin with?Say, same as what they d normally get WITH tips.So everyone happy?

Sorry, but I agree with the others(as I said)its just such a worry and hassle.

The next one I m going to 3 countries that don t take US dollars,or euros.So would have to find ATM and get change for Bulgaria,Serbia,Hungary,and Romania.??Then my DH often goes on own,so HE needs extra change for HIS TOUR.

 

Glad I picked Scenic.May try Tauck because of this(if they ever get full balcony ships),and good to hear Uniworld coming onboard too.Sorry, would still not take Grand Circle(just prefer to deal with TA and like more luxury).

[Stratheden]

We were advised by Scenic (when in Canada last year) that our review of our included tour and tour guide decided what payment was made to them.

 

If we were on an included tour and it was exceptional we would probably give the guide something extra to show our appreciation. What Aussie don't like is "having" to tip.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Stratheden
Spelling

[CPT Trips]

That is the case. However, these decisions are usually (!) not based on a single review (or reviews from one single group). But keep in mind: With the boom in the river cruise industry at the moment, companies are happy to have guides at all (better a poorly rated guide than none at all).

 

What I meant is "the next level" above "too lousy for tours at all". Fixed tips will stall individual developments, as reduces the motivation to improve ones tours..

 

Thanks, I get it now. The quick feedback when a guide experiments with the story is something I never thought about.

[ingo_e]

Can't the cruise company just pay them enough to begin with?Say, same as what they d normally get WITH tips.So everyone happy?

 

The whole river cruising thing started like 12-14 years ago with mainly US / UK guests. So I guess companies were happy that they did not had to pay that much (to their mainly east-european staff) as their guests were used to tip. Now things start to change (more non-tipping nations on board) and they start to see "all inclusive" as a sales argument. So long story short: In a highly competitive market as river cruising is at the moment, they are not going to raise salaries enough in order to compensate the change. So these decisions are making a lot of people in the industry unhappy (except those marketing folks who can write the 'all inclusive' in their brochures) as they tend to lose money. Which will most likely affect the quality..

 

We were advised by Scenic (when in Canada last year) that our review of our included tour and tour guide decided what payment was made to them.

 

In Europe, Guides gets envelopes before or after the tour, but it is always the same fixed amount. They do not base it on reviews and wire the money later on - then the tip would appear on a bank account and hence would be taxable. So to keep things simple, everyone gets the same.

[franski]

The next one I m going to 3 countries that don t take US dollars,or euros.So would have to find ATM and get change for Bulgaria,Serbia,Hungary,and Romania.??Then my DH often goes on own,so HE needs extra change for HIS TOUR.

 

We did Bucharest to Budapest with Viking (so not all inclusive....) - and hit all the countries you mentioned. All tipping was done in Euros.

I just made sure that I got as many small bills and coins as possible before I left my home country. We never had any currency issues.

 

Fran

Edited February 10, 2014 by franski

[Ozjohnno]

I can see ingo e's point. If cruise companies are paying local guides the same amount then it would be economically better to work for companies that are not all-inclusive as the guide will receive tips above what is in the envelope. It also seems though that it may not be long before all companies include local guide tips in their cruise price.

[Got2Cruise]

enough to begin with?Say, same as what they d normally get WITH tips.So everyone happy?

Sorry, but I agree with the others(as I said)its just such a worry and hassle.

The next one I m going to 3 countries that don t take US dollars,or euros.So would have to find ATM and get change for Bulgaria,Serbia,Hungary,and Romania.??Then my DH often goes on own,so HE needs extra change for HIS TOUR.

 

Glad I picked Scenic.May try Tauck because of this(if they ever get full balcony ships),and good to hear Uniworld coming onboard too.Sorry, would still not take Grand Circle(just prefer to deal with TA and like more luxury).

 

I think if you hand the tour guide USD or Euros as a tip and say sorry this is all I have, they will take it.:) Yes it is easier for them if it is in their national currency but believe me, USD is welcome everywhere. We were in Russia, they took it. When my parents went to China, they took it. But just as a question, what if you are in one of those countries and want to purchase something?

[Ozjohnno]

I think if you hand the tour guide USD or Euros as a tip and say sorry this is all I have, they will take it.:) Yes it is easier for them if it is in their national currency but believe me, USD is welcome everywhere. We were in Russia, they took it. When my parents went to China, they took it. But just as a question, what if you are in one of those countries and want to purchase something?

 

I know this is going to sound rude so in advance I'll apologise but if you come to Australia thinking we will accept US Dollars as a tip then you're in for a very rude shock. About the same level I'd get from a New York Cabbie if I offered him Aussie Dollars. US Dollars are not accepted everywhere.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I know this is going to sound rude so in advance I'll apologise but if you come to Australia thinking we will accept US Dollars as a tip then you're in for a very rude shock. About the same level I'd get from a New York Cabbie if I offered him Aussie Dollars. US Dollars are not accepted everywhere.

 

I agree that US dollars can be a hassle for Europeans who don't plan to visit the US soon, but the Euro zone is close enough to all the non-Euro countries to which river cruises go that Euros can easily be used by anyone you give them to. Certainly in Switzerland they were completely happy to receive Euros -- all the stores and restaurants we went to maintained separate purses for Euros and made change down to the penny in Euro coins. Since we plan to visit Europe on a regular basis, we keep a supply of Euros from trip to trip. [This may not work so well in Scandinavia -- or in England.]

[Host Jazzbeau]

As to the original question, it's hard to imagine that the "all-inclusive" river cruise lines pay their Cruise Directors the amount you get by multiplying AMA's suggested tip by the number of passengers. If everyone pays as suggested [we did, happily for the service we got] they make a tidy sum [and they earn every penny of it.]

Edited February 11, 2014 by jazzbeau

[Crochet Queen]

I know this is going to sound rude so in advance I'll apologise but if you come to Australia thinking we will accept US Dollars as a tip then you're in for a very rude shock. About the same level I'd get from a New York Cabbie if I offered him Aussie Dollars. US Dollars are not accepted everywhere.

 

I couldn't agree more, Ozjohnno!

We wouldn't dream of using our local currency when visiting any other country. I just can't understand why people from the US think their $ is accepted worldwide. When we were last in Europe in 2010, I heard many complaints from tour guides who were forced to accept the US$ over the Euro etc as although very difficult to change was better than nothing.

Our motto when we travel "when in Rome ...... ". After all we go to experience a different food, culture etc. than we have at home

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[alexandra cruiser]

I think if you hand the tour guide USD or Euros as a tip and say sorry this is all I have, they will take it.:) Yes it is easier for them if it is in their national currency but believe me, USD is welcome everywhere. We were in Russia, they took it. When my parents went to China, they took it. But just as a question, what if you are in one of those countries and want to purchase something?

 

that I would give out.And I rarely purchase anything,like gifts,etc.Eat on boat,since I paid for it.My DH is VERY Scottish and tight with the bucks.haha.Sometimes he may splurge and uses credit card for large purchase or dinner(if they take them).That s why I like all inclusive,he pays ahead ,then doesn t COMPLAIN for every nickel and dime.But hey ,,,at least he PAYS up front.I ve learned to deal with it.:p