Tipping: Keeping Up With Inflation?

[balf]

 

 

Oh just to mention that if a Yankee requests crisps on board, chances are they [we] will be served potato chips, as opposed to the very tasty fried potatoes freshly made on board, so I've learned to ask for French Fries (and malt vinegar, not ketchup :D)

 

Yours in Gloop Free Dining,

Salacia

 

Crisps. Many years ago there was just one brand, when you could get them in wartime Britain. Smiths crisps, always with salt in a little twist of blue paper that was always wet and always right at the bottom of the bag.

 

Never eat them now. None taste as good as those rare packets did so long ago.

 

http://crisplist.co.uk/

 

David.

[fantasy51]

If the crew have a guaranteed salary (nothing to do with tips) why would there need to be any top up? And the idea of the company effectively paying tips to staff is frankly rediculous. I don't pay my tips to pay the salaries of the crew. That's the employers responsibility.

 

David, as I understand the situation, here it is. (I may be wrong.)

 

The cruise line pays them a basic salary of X.

It says that because of the tips they can be guaranteed X + Y (which is the amount the industry says they should be paid). However, if something goes wrong on a voyage (Cunard does not manage to sell enough staterooms) then the company makes up the difference so that the salary is indeed X + Y.

If the voyage is good, then the tips are way more than that and they come away with the basic salary (X) plus the guaranteed component (Y) plus the extra tips (Z).

 

Our tips are indeed paying a component of their salary (hopefully small). However, we are also paying for that over-the-top amount, which is the real reason they work on the ships. I would hate anyone to stop paying the tips on the grounds that the ship should do that, as what would happen in practice is that the staff would miss out on Z.

[siennagirl1]

Since some are asking....In the Ask Cunard section (what ever it is called) Cunard really already tells you what to do. Though they could be more direct.

 

How does tipping work?

During your voyage, you will meet staff throughout the ship who provide you with excellent service. Many more crew support those who serve you directly. A discretionary Hotel and Dining charge will be added to your shipboard account on a daily basis for each passenger (including children). This charge will be shared amongst all those who help provide and support your experience, including the waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards and others. Please note, this is a discretionary charge and should you wish to remove it or make any adjustments, you may contact the Purser’s Desk before the end of the cruise.

Grill Accommodations: $13.50 USD per person per day†

Britannia Accommodations: $11.50 USD per person per day†Note: Casino dealers and Spa personnel do not share in the Hotel and Dining charge as not all guests utilise these services.

What about gratuities in the bars?

A 15% gratuity is added to your bar charges and dining room wine account. This is shared amongst the beverage staff and their support staff.

 

In the US, which has a large tipping culture and it is truly a cultural thing, as has been stated, it is customary to tip between 15 and 20% of what ever the cost of the service is. It is easy to apply this to cruise tipping....say the fare per person for your cabin is $500 per day and remember that includes food and room cost. So a good tip for good service for food and room would be (20% of 500) $10 per person per day. Guess what, Cunard and most other mainstream lines already add a set amount per day for regular cabins and for suites. For Cunard, in a regular cabin, it is $11.50US pp /pd, more than 20% of the cost of most regular cabins. So the auto tip is already a very generous tip by any country's standard and covers everyone without one running around passing out envelopes and making a big display of one's tipping...after all this is very personal.

 

We have been cruising for 30 years...long before the auto gratuity. Back in those days, we filled envelopes twice a cruise based on a suggested minimum amounts to the wait staff and stewards. It was something like $5-6 dollars total per person, per day and increased as the years went along. Then the auto tip appeared and I really love it. It has also increased since it was first brought out. So I feel Cunard and other lines are taking care of inflation with the rates they have set for passengers and passengers are tipping at the US rate of 20% for service. At this rate a passenger has every right to expect good service.

 

Leaving the auto tip on is the easiest way to tip...then everyone gets something and if you feel that someone has been extra wonderful to you, give some extra...you feel good and the staff member feels good and knows you were extra pleased with their efforts. "Flashing money around" is just plain poor taste, be it on land or sea.

 

As far as the staff supporting big families...that is true, but....these families do not live in the likes of Germany, England or the US. The staff work on the cruise ships exactly because the guaranteed pay is such a good wage and raises their standard of living so much...even with out any extra tips. There are many jobs in first world countries where the bed winner is away from their family for many months at a time! Don't buy into a guilty trip some people try to serve up about how poorly paid/lonely the staff is...it is all relative. Ships have a tipping culture..some lines include the tips in the base fare and say no tipping...others like Cunard use the auto gratuity. If one gives anything over that, it is their personal business and any attempt to suggest otherwise is just plain crude. As others have said a kind word, a smile and respect go a long way!

 

I understood the automatic gratuity was divided between all staff however on this link below I copied today on ask cunard it states the gratuity is only divided between room staff and wait stuff. It would be nice if they had some consistency.

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/fleet/gratuity

[Underwatr]

I haven't looked at all the posts -- did someone point out the "20% of $500" error somewhere along the way?

[cwn]

I haven't looked at all the posts -- did someone point out the "20% of $500" error somewhere along the way?

 

Yea, this is an old thread...the mistake was caught about 30minutes after I made the mistake back in Sept.