Corkage Fees Raised

[Merriem]

Durant,

 

I have lived in Europe for three years, traveled extensively through Asia, Australia, and South America.

 

Duh........I am well aware of service charges, and are happy to pay them when the service is of the character to be rewarded. It should never be automatic.

 

Also, your constant reference to penny-conscious passengers, there must have been a lot of them on our two week cruise. 15%is standard tipping, and AGAIN, it should be up to the person being served, not any cruise line, restaurant, etc telling you what you have to pay.

 

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary this is the definition of the word TIP or Gratuity:

"Main Entry: gra·tu·ity

Pronunciation: gr&-'tü-&-tE, -'tyü-

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural -ities

: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially : TIP

 

See the word VOLUNTARILY

[smeyer418]

I am sorry but maybe I missed something here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on tipping but at most upscale European rests. the service charge is 18% or more. 15% may be the standard tip at the local diner but it is not the expected amount at the higher end establishments where 20% is more in line. I use the standard amount as a base. Good service infact should IMO get more and really poor service less- I have very rarely left nothing but I have on one or two occassions. I in fact leave extra for the bar staff at most places I go, and normally I wind up ahead as I get a couple of free bes after 3 or 4 drinks. Finally I do think a corkage charge of $20 plus 15% or 18% is too much. but whether its 15% or 18% the different is .60 not enough to loose sleep over.

 

Proud charter member of the PPS-Passport Pusher Society

Oceania Insignia(Athens to Venice)-something new!

smeyer418@yahoo.com

Celebrity, NCL, Overnight Ferry, hydrofoil between countries, car ferries and river cruise and of course the Staten Island Ferry

[goeurope]

Merriem:

 

The 18% isn't a tip; it's a service charge.

 

--

Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[Merriem]

Durant,

 

You are wrong according to the oceania website.

 

It says "An 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases."

 

No mention of "service charge" and I have already given you the definition of gratuity.

[goeurope]

OK, service charge, tip, gratuity, whatever. I just hope I'm never sitting near you when you argue with the waiter about the automatic gratuity or the difference between 15% and 18%. :-)

 

--

Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[Merriem]

WHO SAID ARGUE..........YOU

[sfbear]

Merriem and Durant . . . let it go !

[drwong]

Both Durant and Merriam make valid points. Labelling mandatory service charges as "gratuities" is wrong, but it's also a means of ensuring fairness to the ship staff whom you may never see. Of the $3.50 that goes to you cabin steward, it's divided among the steward, the assistant steward (who makes the bed or cleans the bathroom), the towel/ice delivery boy, and the other behind-the-scenes staff. And the $6.50 that goes to your dining room steward is shared by the waiters and bus boys who also serve you. Similarly, the corkage fee is to cover the time of the wine sommalier who serves you, the additional wine glasses that must be washed, and the lost revenue to the cruise line.

 

And if Durant thinks Oceania's management (or passengers) are cheapskates, I took an informal survey of passengers (and crew) who sailed on a line where all tipping was voluntary and I was shocked to find out how LITTLE some of the passengers tipped, if at all! Some gave their stewards $1.00 a day, which then had to be shared with all her assistants. And while some cruisers tipped a particular waiter whom they liked, the other waiters who served their table got zilch, despite the fact that they probably worked just as hard. It was a real morale problem for those crew members who gave so much but received so little in return.

 

While I initially objected to them, I now view the mandatory service charges as a means of ensuring fairness (not to mention workplace satisfaction) among the crew members, and if I've been particularly impressed with a waiter or steward, I'm more than happy to press an additional gratuity into their palm on the last day of the cruise.

 

Richard

 

From the Insignia's Inaugural sailing (4/3/2004)

[ClaudiaF]

Have no problem with the automatic gratuities that ship charges.. infact always add to them..these people work very hard and esp. on last months cruise, they were always happy and acted like they really loved their jobs. A great bunch of happy people makes for a very comfortable cruise.

I just think that a $20.00 corkage fee ( for whatever the reason)from any restaurant or in this case cruise ship is an absolute insult.

Just my opinion.. and if you look at poll results I am not alone.

 

Next stop:

Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"

 

 

 

[goeurope]

Sure, the $20 corkage fee is high. Presumably that's because Oceania would rather not have customers bring wine into the restaurants; they'd rather have customers order wine from the menu. The corkage fee is a way to discourage BYOB without depriving customers of free choice. (A $20 corkage fee may not be an attractive choice, but it *is* a choice, unlike a "no BYOB" policy.)

 

As for automatic gratuities on drinks, they make sense because they save time and disruption. The alternative would be for the passenger to (1) calculate a tip and then (2) either produce cash or enter an amount on the bar chit and write in the total before signing. I suspect that most guests would prefer to keep bar transactions quick and unobtrusive--especially at meals and in other social situations.

 

--

Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[meow!]

We only had a few occasional drinks, so we did not pay particular attention to the bills (Normally we ordered one to two litres of bottled water a day, which cost some $4 per bottle). Instead we found that there was a machine which gave us apple juice and orange juice etc. for free at the back of the Terrace Cafe (Tapas in the evening) in the open section. Quite a few times, when the weather permitted, after the ship left port, we sat in that section, sipping apple juice and watching the waves behind us. What a wonderful feeling, better than even on our own little balcony, especially since there was no wind blowing at the back of the ship, as the ship sailed forward!

[digby]

"When a cruise line (HAL) charges you $15 for opening a bottle of wine, then charges you an additional $2.25 service charge - that is outrageous!! You may not think so, but I do."

 

If I didn't like the charges a cruise line was charging, I wouldn't book them! I have never not been able to find a good bottle of wine on the ship's menu, so will never be paying a corkage fee. I wonder what you think they charge for this service at a fine restaurants in major cities like San Francisco?

[goeurope]

>> I wonder what you think they charge for this service at a fine restaurants in major cities like San Francisco?<<

 

I just did a quick Google search on "corkage fees" and found:

 

Corkage fees in various L.A. and Orange County restaurants ($10-$40, average around $15)

http://www.kmozart.com/Lifestyle/corkage.asp

 

Corkage fees in NYC restaurants ($10-50, average $20 or so)

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/articles/02/08/winechart.htm

 

As for San Francisco, CALIFORNIA WINE AND FOOD MAGAZINE reports that corkage fees range from $10 for restaurants with small wine lists to $30 for restaurants with more than 500 wines. The article, "The Real Deal on Restaurant Corkage Charges: Restaurateurs Respond to Complaints of Excess," includes advice for restaurants on how to handle corkage fees.

 

Bottom line: Oceania's $20 fee is average or slightly on the high side of average, depending on where you dine back home.

 

--

Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[ClaudiaF]

Wonder if you could do a corkage fee search for ships Durant? Am well aware that some restaurants ( as our friend in last post just brought to mind) charge exhorbinant prices to open your wine ( sure, like French Laundry) well, if I am going to Napa I am going to drink the great wines on Thomas's list, not bring mine in.. that is a different thing entirely.. I am talking about this ship not restaurants in LA or SF or anywhere.. infact the top !!!!!restaurants in LA are most all becoming wine friendly ;-) some charging a couple bucks and encouraging you bring your own, so that is no comparison..

I tried my own comparisons at various ship boards and found that 10 was okay and 15 was really pushing the limit.. even on the so called top ships.. some we have been on like Radisson do not charge their passengers to open their wine..never was charged on Princess or Crystal.. and not trying to save a buck here...it just is getting to be the principal so wonder if you, since you have alot of in with all the ships can find out.. that would be great!

 

Next stop:

Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"

 

 

 

[Merriem]

Was not charged on Celebrity last year in SA.

 

Restaurants and ships are not quite the same

[et2]

Last month some books said $12 well others said $20. I took a bottle to dinner on the final night and was told it was $12. I joking said "I thought it was $10". The Sommolier whom I had talked to about different wines didn't charge me anything. In response I gave him a Ten Euro tip.

[Wanderlusty]

Someone on another board recently complained, "Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City don't charge for cocktails; why do ships' casinos?" Someone else gently pointed out that the point of a free drink in Las Vegas is to prevent the customer from leaving and heading for another casino. On a ship, what's there is the only game in town. If you want to gamble and drink, you pay for drinks.

 

And so it is with other charges like wine corkage. As someone pointed out, Oceania does offer another option for those who want to drink wine: ordering it from the ship's list. They are making it an option to use their corkage service, but why would they want to make it an overly attractive option?

 

They are in business to make money, after all, and Oceania has never presented itself as an all-inclusive line. Like most other lines nowadays, it takes a partial pay-for-what-you-use approach, which keeps fares under control and which is really appealing to many, not all, cruisers.

[chazaroo]

Durant, you said: "Furthermore, such passengers are likely to be more of a burden than a blessing for the crew *and* for other cruisers--"

I believe you have hit the proverbial nail on the head. 15% or 18% if the difference is that traumatic, geez, stay at home or don't drink.

--chazaroo

 

PS: Durant, what do you want to bet that those complainers are also the ones hogging the deck chairs by the pool?

[ClaudiaF]

Last month some books said $12 well others said $20. I took a bottle to dinner on the final night and was told it was $12. I joking said "I thought it was $10". The Sommolier whom I had talked to about different wines didn't charge me anything. In response I gave him a Ten Euro tip.

 

We like that!

[ToniL]

We were looking for a cruise experience that offered a more intimate, yet casual environment. I wouldn't want to pay the price for Silverseas, because as a light drinker I'm not interested in paying for other peoples drinks. So, for me Oceania's approach is perfect. I'll pay for what I consume. And corkage is a fact of life, I think it is a compromise that allows passengers the ability to be selective with what they drink without cutting into the company's profits. Any bottle of wine worth ordering ends up costing $15 - 20 more than retail anyway - on land or sea. And as someone who has had children work in the service industry, tip sharing protects those who do the behind the scene work who contribute as much as those up front. So, that $3.50 is going to benefit a number of people, and I doubt that it in any way subsidizes the company itself as was implied earlier.

[HAPPYME]

I HAVE READ ALL OF THESE REPLIES- What Is All Of The Bickering About? Go On Vacation, Have A Good Time, Stop Being So Bratty.