Rise in Tips ?

[davecttr]

Ouch!

 

So I am a snob just because I usually sail Cunard?

 

What a horrible narrow minded individual.

We are on Ventura for two weeks in May and I certainly don't want to associate with people with that mentality.

 

We are Diamond with Cunard and always go QG. Just for the record, we both drive BMW's, so what?

 

On Cunard we always hold at least one cocktail party and invite all sorts of folks from all types of ship's class, so there is absolutely no snobbery attached.

 

The other shocking point is the number of tight fisted pax who take pride in depriving others less well off with their well deserved tips. They should be utterly ashamed of themselves, and not coming on here to brag about how miserly they are.

 

Stewart

 

Of course you are not a snob because you cruise with Cunard

 

You can't call someone horrible and narrow minded just because they have a sharp sense of humour.

My post has a smilie at the end, that changes its meaning :)

Edited March 12, 2015 by davecttr

[gazabfc]

Just include them in the original price, end of problem.Then if you feel the need to give more to the staff that go that extra mile all well and good.:)

[BigMac1953]

Of course you are not a snob because you cruise with Cunard

 

You can't call someone horrible and narrow minded just because they have a sharp sense of humour.

My post has a smilie at the end, that changes its meaning :)

 

...then I didn't realise it was meant to be a joke. I will take back my comment and you can have my apologies.

 

Stewart

[davecttr]

...then I didn't realise it was meant to be a joke. I will take back my comment and you can have my apologies.

 

Stewart

 

Fair enough!, apologies accepted.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

the crew know who has had auto tips removed. nothing is secret on a ship :eek:

 

Very true.

 

I have read all the comments with great interest, and with the exception of the "Rude" comments regarding Cunard, it has been a nice discussion.

 

There will always be people who dont tip.

 

There will always be people who tip above the recommended gratutity. (Me)

 

and there are people who expect the cruise fare to include tips.

 

 

Going forward, what do people expect the cruise lines to do next ?

I expect the leadership on this to come from the American Lines RCCL and Carnival, as they basically own most of the otehr well known cruise brands...

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited March 12, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn loves Tipping.

[Postiebear]

In my job I do not receive tips, no would I expect to just for doing my job. I had crap service in the self service restaurant on my last cruise during breakfast and lunch so removed the auto tips, I tipped the waiters in the main dining room and the wine waiter and my cabin steward, I even tipped another waiter because I had dinner at another table for 2 nights. But I refused to tip the self service restaurant staff. Who I chose to tip is down to me and only if I feel I have received good service.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

I had crap service in the self service restaurant on my last cruise during breakfast and lunch so removed the auto tips, .

 

Auto tipping is not for the self service restaurant staff.

 

.

It gets very complicated at this point.

There are typically 20 cafe attendents employed by the cruise line per lido cafe.

Then during the peak times, such as breakfast lunch, as one of the main restaurants is closed, the wait staff from the MDR are on duty in the self service cafe.

The tips you pay are for the wait staff from the MDR.

How it works is that each cafe attendent, considers it a promotion to be moved from the self service restaurant to the MDR.

This is based on customer feedback etc, but also on ones working ability.

 

Self service cafe's (Lido deck) staff ,do work very hard, they do work very long hours, and they do get about 200 pounds per month salary.

 

MDR staff, on the other hand, get about 50 pounds per month, and get their income topped up by tips.And depending on a good / bad cruise scenario, depends on how much they take home.

 

I really feel sorry for these waiters and assistants. They do deserve every penny they get

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited March 12, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn loves the Wait Staff

[CCFC]

the crew know who has had auto tips removed. nothing is secret on a ship :eek:

 

They don't know that until you are off the ship, for obvious reasons.

[davecttr]

Auto tipping is not for the self service restaurant staff.

 

.

It gets very complicated at this point.

There are typically 20 cafe attendents employed by the cruise line per lido cafe.

Then during the peak times, such as breakfast lunch, as one of the main restaurants is closed, the wait staff from the MDR are on duty in the self service cafe.

The tips you pay are for the wait staff from the MDR.

How it works is that each cafe attendent, considers it a promotion to be moved from the self service restaurant to the MDR.

This is based on customer feedback etc, but also on ones working ability.

 

Self service cafe's (Lido deck) staff ,do work very hard, they do work very long hours, and they do get about 200 pounds per month salary.

 

MDR staff, on the other hand, get about 50 pounds per month, and get their income topped up by tips.And depending on a good / bad cruise scenario, depends on how much they take home.

 

I really feel sorry for these waiters and assistants. They do deserve every penny they get

 

 

 

 

 

.

Complicated!

 

so theoretically who gets a higher 'salary', a waiter or a steward?

[Big Stevie]

Complicated!

 

so theoretically who gets a higher 'salary', a waiter or a steward?

 

Sounds like the MDR waiters get a lower basic wage but they have the ability to earn more through auto tips, and any extra tips guests give them.

 

Self service staff earn £200/month and not a penny more (seeing as auto tips dont reach them).

 

 

From this thread I think we can summarise as follows..

 

Main Dining Room waiters and cabin stewards are the only staff that receive the auto tips.

 

However, they in turn will tip other members of staff (referred to as 'fixing up') that help them do their job, such as the dishwashers that clean and return the waiters silverware (which apparently the waiter owns?) and laundry staff that prepare the clean sheets etc and have them ready for the cabin stewards. Whether the MDR waiters and cabin stewards 'fix up' with anyone else remains unclear, but highly likely. So the tips that the waiters and cabin stewards receive are partly distributed to certain other staff, assuming they themselves have worked well.

 

There are obviously lots of other staff who probably aren't at the receiving end of any tips, they are just doing their job for whatever salary they get, whether we think thats a low salary or not. It seems that guests that leave auto tips on in the belief that they get spread amongst every member of staff are wrong.

 

.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Big Stevie

[daiB]

Sounds like the MDR waiters get a lower basic wage but they have the ability to earn more through auto tips, and any extra tips guests give them.

 

 

 

Self service staff earn £200/month and not a penny more (seeing as auto tips dont reach them).

 

 

 

 

 

From this thread I think we can summarise as follows..

 

 

 

Main Dining Room waiters and cabin stewards are the only staff that receive the auto tips.

 

 

 

However, they in turn will tip other members of staff (referred to as 'fixing up') that help them do their job, such as the dishwashers that clean and return the waiters silverware (which apparently the waiter owns?) and laundry staff that prepare the clean sheets etc and have them ready for the cabin stewards. Whether the MDR waiters and cabin stewards 'fix up' with anyone else remains unclear, but highly likely.

 

 

Well after over 230+ posts we have got to the reality. Certainly exactly as I have understood it for a number of years.

[balf]

Sounds like the MDR waiters get a lower basic wage but they have the ability to earn more through auto tips, and any extra tips guests give them.

 

 

 

.

 

Just out of interest Stevie, and feel free to tell me it's none of my bussiness, but earlier you wrote this.

 

"But now Im seriously thinking about removing them, and using the money for an excursion for my wife and 8 yr old son"

 

So have you decided to lose one excursion to pay the tips.

 

I've cruised for many years and on quite a few different lines and it has occurred to me, talking to a good cross section of passengers and staff, that there are times when the staff are better off than some of the passengers.

 

Of course many will say that this is ridiculous, but I don't think so. There is much mystique about the remuneration to cruise staff, but it's noticeable that, far more than the tips what they are really keen on is an excellent on the cruise satisfaction form.

 

David.

[Jenna109]

They don't know that until you are off the ship, for obvious reasons.

 

They definitely do know almost as soon as you do it. They are even questioned by supervisors to find out why.

One waiter even asked me why I had cancelled. Actually I hadn't it was an admin error as we were on a b2b

[daiB]

Just out of interest Stevie, and feel free to tell me it's none of my bussiness, but earlier you wrote this.

 

 

 

"But now Im seriously thinking about removing them, and using the money for an excursion for my wife and 8 yr old son"

 

 

 

So have you decided to lose one excursion to pay the tips.

 

 

 

I've cruised for many years and on quite a few different lines and it has occurred to me, talking to a good cross section of passengers and staff, that there are times when the staff are better off than some of the passengers.

 

 

 

Of course many will say that this is ridiculous, but I don't think so. There is much mystique about the remuneration to cruise staff, but it's noticeable that, far more than the tips what they are really keen on is an excellent on the cruise satisfaction form.

 

 

 

David.

 

 

That is because of the bonus scheme which is separate from the tips.

 

Even parts of the civil service use bonus schemes.

[PORT ROYAL]

Even parts of the civil service use bonus schemes.

 

Oops!

Stand by to be flamed for raising a potential discussion on Civil Servants + Bonus + Possible "Productivity" ;)

[Big Stevie]

Just out of interest Stevie, and feel free to tell me it's none of my bussiness, but earlier you wrote this.

 

"But now Im seriously thinking about removing them, and using the money for an excursion for my wife and 8 yr old son"

 

So have you decided to lose one excursion to pay the tips.

 

To be honest Im still not sure what to do. I made that comment when not knowing anything about how auto tips work, but this thread has opened my eyes a little. But we are still on a tight budget so haven't decided what to do yet. If we leave the auto tips on then I'm quite sure we won't be giving any additional tips away thats for sure.

 

 

what they are really keen on is an excellent on the cruise satisfaction form.

 

Well thats another mystery isn't it. Is this bonus made up from tips? Or is it paid by P&O as a way of topping up their wages if excellent service has been delivered?

[kruzseeka]

Stevie - I've been following this thread but can't remember whether you told us where you are going - and if you did it's a very long thread now to trawl back through it! I understand completely where you are coming from - you have saved hard, booked a holiday of a lifetime for you and your family, are really looking forward to it and wanted to understand exactly how the tipping system works - so that you can make an informed decision about what is right for you. And that is your decision which I totally respect.

 

As far as your organised excursions go - I find it is often very easy, more satisfying and very much cheaper to adopt a DiY approach. Unless there is something really special you feel you must do/see and it's impractical to do it independently I would recommend that you investigate how easy it is to plan your shore time by making your own arrangements. We usually adopt this approach as it offers the option of deciding just how long to spend exploring/at a beach/going at our own pace/stopping for a drink when and where we want to etc. I'm sure there would be loads of help forthcoming if you want to tap into others' experiences and look at other possibilites than a ship's excursion (often very expensive) and you can save a bit of your spending money in the process to spend on whatever else you want to.

 

For example the express bus at €4 return into Athens did exactly the same thing as a ship's 'Athens on your Own' transfer even down to dropping you at the same place and that cost us £35 p.p. Actually not strictly true - they gave us an Athens map on the coach - but that's something you can download yourself before you go!

 

I hope you have a fab time and whatever you decide to do re tips just relax and enjoy your cruise! (And ask for any tips if you want them re doing your ports independently.)

[Jenna109]

Excellent advice regarding do it yourself trips. We do our own or link up with others on the specific cruise forum. For independent tours toms ports guides dot com has excellent local information. The site does not do tours or try to sell you anything - Tom is an avid cruiser who give extremely useful information. Lots of his ideas cost nothing ie free local buses which are not really advertised.

Enjoy your holiday and do what is right for your family

[Big Stevie]

Stevie - I've been following this thread but can't remember whether you told us where you are going...

 

Im doing a 14 night Mediterranean cruise from Southampton.

 

Vigo, Spain • Lisbon, Portugal • Gibraltar, Gibraltar • Monte Carlo, Monaco • Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy • Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy • Ajaccio, Corsica • Seville (Cadiz), Spain • Southampton, United Kingdom

 

As far as your organised excursions go - I find it is often very easy, more satisfying and very much cheaper to adopt a DiY approach...

 

As for excursions, I have prebooked a Rome excursion to the Colosseum as this is a place weve wanted to see for years, and due to the transfer time from port to Rome I didn't want to risk missing the ship!!!

 

As for the others, I will certainly be doing DIY trips when in Gibraltar and Monaco as these are closer to port. Some of the other destinations I have no knowledge of, so may just do a DIY bus tour as you suggest, or even stay on the ship and relax???

Edited March 13, 2015 by Big Stevie

[BrianI]

Vigo. You dock right in the centre of the city so easy to walkabout if you have not been there before.

Lisbon. Depends which dock you are at. You could be a mile or three miles from the centre. You can get an all day travel card for the buses and trams for €6.50 or take the hop on hop off tour buses.

Gibraltar. 20 min walk into the town to stock up on your duty frees. If you want to go up the rock to see the tunnels and the apes, then you need a taxi. Plenty touting for business at the cruise terminal.

Monaco. You dock right in the harbour near the floating gin palaces so easy to walk around.

Livorno. Industrial port so not attractive. You can take the train to see the leaning tower at Pisa. About 15 mins on train but train station at Livorno is a mile out of town.

Rome. You are doing excursion.

Ajaccio. Small town easy to walk around.

Cadiz. You are not going to Seville which is 50 miles away. You dock right in the city centre so easy to walk around.

As someone as already said Google Toms Port Guides which cover most but not all the ports you are visiting

Brian

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

..............far more than the tips what they are really keen on is an excellent on the cruise satisfaction form. .........David.

 

The cruise satisfaction form and the potential to earn more money go hand in hand.

 

This only applies to Dinner, as the Breakfast /Lunch, is open seating in most cases.

 

The MDR is full of different sized stations for the waiter/assistant waiter.

If a waiter gets a string of "Excellent" in reviews/forms, then he gets a bigger station, in turn meaning more tips.

 

A station can vary from 26 pax, ( being a combination of 2 large tables and one small one) x two dinner seatings, to the very bad station of 10 pax (one table, sometimes in an undesirable location so many pax will ask to be moved) x two dinner seatings. The latter being bad reviews or comments or anything less than excellent reviews.

 

There are many sized waiter stations, the above is a good example.

 

So the incentive is all about providing "Excellent" service to the pax, as the amount of "Excellent" is $$ to the waiter

In some cases its the waiter with the best personality and not the best waiting service, as they have the likability factor, that mkes the best ratings in the comment card.

 

So yes, the Waiter can sometimes be much better off than the pax he is serving, especially if he has a lenghty service with the company and from where he is from.

 

This does not apply to Thomson, as there system is really not a system at all, when compared to the estlabished Cruise lines like RCCL, Carnival brands etc.

Thomson have a contract with Louis etc to man their hotel departments.

 

And yes, it is often a case of the status of your cabin that dictates as to what table where you are seated.

Dont ever think otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited March 13, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is the best. Lynn can write about something without having had wine

[saildaway]

I do hope most passengers will not opt out of paying these tips. I know a 25%increase seems a lot but it is only £1.05 per passenger per day or £14.70 increase for a 2 week cruise. When you consider the price of your cruise this is not very much extra and the stewards, waiters etc do work long hours and very hard. P&O are still much cheaper than the majority of cruise lines for tips and we have never had reason yet to complain. Next cruise P&O Ventura 12th April 2015

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Agreed.

 

 

Please continue to pay the tips to your Waiter/ Assistant Waiter and Cabin steward. As mentioned, its not really that much extra to pay.

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited March 13, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn loves waiters

[balf]

And yes, it is often a case of the status of your cabin that dictates as to what table where you are seated.

Dont ever think otherwise.

 

The table position is easily solved, and is another tip for new cruisers. Always go and have a look at the table you have been allocated. Always. Don't assume because you have a top grade cabin you will get a good position. Not sure that I go along with you on that anyway in my experience. The finest table disregarding position is with people who you can get on with, and no one knows that until you sit down.

 

The M D I have always found will do what he can to seat you where you will be happy. He doesn't want unhappy passengers asking fo a change on the second night of the cruise.

 

I can't count the times the waiters, when they know the cruise surveys have been delivered to cabins, asking "please mark excellent, good is not good enough"

 

Employment on cruise ships is highly valued.

 

David.

[Big Stevie]

kruzseeka & Brian, Thanks for the info regarding excursions, I am copy/pasting everything onto a word document which I will print off and take with me. :)

Edited March 13, 2015 by Big Stevie