Tips

[poole boy]

I can't see why people think there will be a fuss about this since P&O brought in automatic tips we have always left them on and never given it another thought I really do think everybody should pay there tips this way then the tight people who cancel there tips and slip of the boat without paying would have no excuse not to pay tips.
graham

[Mervyn and Trish]

I would certainly agree that most people who don't pay, or have tips deducted from their account, are tight rather than suffered bad service. Always been the same. That's why, whatever it's called, I'd include it in the price and say clearly "No tips required"

[qbman1]

It's probably a culture thing, in the same way that the Goans expect tips, I would feel uncomfortable not tipping if we receive good service, regardless of whether or not it says "no tips required" !

[Mervyn and Trish]

Never thought I'd see you and culture in the same sentence, but you're probably right. However at least the meanies would have to pay towards a decent wage in the price.

[cruise kitten]

I agree with him. Occasionally.

The reason it's not in the overall price is easy. It's like airlines not including food, baggage, choosing your seat, check in fees, etc. in the price.

It makes the headline price look cheaper than it is. You commit. Then you find there's more to pay.

Presumably Merv, like us you budget for the tips when you first book; I realise I am a bit nerdy but I keep a spreadsheet for our cruises which factors in everything, tips, parking, OBC etc and it calculates a cost for the cruise.
A balcony cabin from Southampton since 2012 has ranged from Pnds 97pppd - 137pppd(a pesky update seems to have snaffled my pound symbol), the high and low were both P&O cruises.

Like you towny44, we like to be prepared for all we have to pay out.
I do think P&O should specify the amount per person instead of just stating 'an amount will be added to your onboard account'

But back to the whole tipping question, people can get very passionate about it, and whether it is right or wrong, I'm firmly in the camp that if that is what traditionally happens, be it through tradition, culture or custom, that is what I will do, but if I should receive genuine poor service, I would be speaking to someone onboard, not plastering it on facebook, unless the issue isn't resolved.
I also don't have a problem with extra tipping for someone who goes above and beyond expectations.

[oldtimer]

Your OBC pays for your tips.

[david63]

I do think P&O should specify the amount per person instead of just stating 'an amount will be added to your onboard account'

They do - it just depends on where you look.

In P&O's defence it is easier to say an "amount" rather than specify it in a dozen different places and then remember to change it when it goes up.

If you look here you will see what it is.

[kaymar]

That's fine, but then fair-minded people like us will still want to reward good service by tipping as appropriate so we will end up paying more on the basic price and still forking out for tips. No one wins except the cruise operator

Sorry, qbman, but I completely disagree. We have always been happy to tip the recommended amount as we have never had bad service and, barring a catastrophe, leave on the automatic tip. This is a reward for good service and I like to think we are fair-minded people but I really see no reason to add anything extra unless someone does something really exceptional.

It's just the thin end of the wedge - if it becomes normal practice, the crew will begin to expect it and before long we will all be expected to pay the automatic amount on the bill and then the same again in cash.

Automatic tipping, currently £5 pppd, is the way P&O choose to go. Any more is not necessary, you are just setting a precedent for everyone else - stop it, before it is too late

[qbman1]

That's me told !!

Before the "auto tipping" was introduced (I think it started at a total of about £3.70 pppd) we used to tip more than that amount anyway so we happily paid the auto tip and then added a bit extra as appropriate (assuming good service, which we almost always received). I agree that the current amount of £5.00 makes it rather less necessary to add a top-up but there will still be cases where we feel that we want to. That is just us and it is not setting a precedent but I still see other people giving extra tips as well so we are not alone in wanting to reward the people who have looked after us so well.

[Onelife]

Hi qb...l have no way of knowing if this is true or not but l don't think you are alone when it comes to wanting to give a little extra on top of the £5pppd wage fiasco. I may be wrong but as l am always right l rather suspect the little extra.... 'thank you tip'....falls somewhere between wanting the steward to see that you appreciate his/ hers service and that of awkwardness of just leaving with a....'thank you'.... handshake. Kaymar is of course right in that it dose set a precedent and the more people do it the more it will be expected. I personally wouldn't leave an extra tip but do as l am told so leave one.... squeak! squeak! ....l will however be putting my foot down on our next cruise unless told otherwise...squeak! squeak!

Regards

Keith

[barney]

Now we do Freedom dining, we usually have many different waiters so it's impossible to try and give extra to all.

So, I just leave the standard amount on my bill, whatever it is at the moment.

On our last few cruises, the cabin steward has been very discreet (invisible) and we never struck up any relationship so did not feel inclined to leave anything extra.
They did their job and that was all.

So, in summary, the current system suits me very well.

I like to think that I give my customers excellent service but in all these years, I never been offered one single tip ???????

We had a nice meal in the West End last Saturday after going to see The Phantom (again) and when the bill came it had 12.5% added
I duly paid and then noticed the Waiter hovering, as if expecting extra .
I calculated that a tenner was enough and if it wasn't going to the staff, then take it up with the owner !

I did get a little sideways glance from Mrs Barney

[qbman1]

Hi qb...l have no way of knowing if this is true or not but l don't think you are alone when it comes to wanting to give a little extra on top of the £5pppd wage fiasco. I may be wrong but as l am always right l rather suspect the little extra.... 'thank you tip'....falls somewhere between wanting the steward to see that you appreciate his/ hers service and that of awkwardness of just leaving with a....'thank you'.... handshake. Kaymar is of course right in that it dose set a precedent and the more people do it the more it will be expected. I personally wouldn't leave an extra tip but do as l am told so leave one.... squeak! squeak! ....l will however be putting my foot down on our next cruise unless told otherwise...squeak! squeak!

Regards

Keith

I think you are right there, OL. We had been cruising for quite a number of years before the auto-tip was introduced and it would now just seem wrong if we walked out without slipping the steward and table waiters a couple of quid ! Perhaps we need to be re-educated or re-trained ?!

[Dark Knight]

if you take the tipping system at face value, whether included or suggested, then people could quite rightly say that they have paid the tips and that it is quite right not to offer anymore, regardless. This does however mean that good service is taken for granted all the time
the issue for me is the "stigma " of either removing the tips if a person is unhappy with the service received or the peer pressure of tipping a bit more , so as not to seem tight
I have on one cruise, just paid the tips and disembarked without tipping anymore to anyone, did I feel guilty?, no ,as the tips were paid in the prescribed manner and I did not think the service received warranted extra tips
so for me , personally, I leave the pppd tips in place and then decide if any of the staff are worth an extra tip, depending on service received above and beyond the norm

[kaymar]

That's me told !!

Before the "auto tipping" was introduced (I think it started at a total of about £3.70 pppd) we used to tip more than that amount anyway so we happily paid the auto tip and then added a bit extra as appropriate (assuming good service, which we almost always received). I agree that the current amount of £5.00 makes it rather less necessary to add a top-up but there will still be cases where we feel that we want to. That is just us and it is not setting a precedent but I still see other people giving extra tips as well so we are not alone in wanting to reward the people who have looked after us so well.

Sorry cubie, I meant to add a but I was semi-serious and I really don't think that there is any need to feel at all awkward just saying thank you as you leave. Your steward/butler/waiter will know that you have left a tip and will probably be happy that they have done a good job. The danger comes, as Dark Knight rightly says, from "the peer pressure of tipping a bit more , so as not to seem tight". It's the wrong reason. You never know, the people who you see giving cash tips may well have cancelled the auto-tip.

[qbman1]

That's me told !!

Before the "auto tipping" was introduced (I think it started at a total of about £3.70 pppd) we used to tip more than that amount anyway so we happily paid the auto tip and then added a bit extra as appropriate (assuming good service, which we almost always received). I agree that the current amount of £5.00 makes it rather less necessary to add a top-up but there will still be cases where we feel that we want to. That is just us and it is not setting a precedent but I still see other people giving extra tips as well so we are not alone in wanting to reward the people who have looked after us so well.

Sorry cubie, I meant to add a but I was semi-serious and I really don't think that there is any need to feel at all awkward just saying thank you as you leave. Your steward/butler/waiter will know that you have left a tip and will probably be happy that they have done a good job.

That's exactly how I took it - you will have to do better than that to upset me !!!

I know it's stupid, but I still feel more comfortable leaving a token "thank you"

[Gill W]

I'm happy to just go with the auto tip, it's simple, the tips have been taken care of, and I don't have to make sure I've got a load of cash with me, In this day and age, I rarely use cash for anything, so it makes more sense to me to pay by auto tip.

As I now have a special dietary requirement, I do give an envelope (with cash in!) to the head waiter, as he's done extra work for me, and if anybody else really did go the extra mile I'd give them a little extra too.

[Quizzical Bob]

Our cabin steward on this cruise told me that he had 18 cabins to service and if he had 2 faults reported during the cruise he received nothing from the auto tips. They also do not receive the full amount that is taken off the passengers. I have cancelled part of the auto tips and rewarded him personally for an excellent job.

[kaymar]

Our cabin steward on this cruise told me that he had 18 cabins to service and if he had 2 faults reported during the cruise he received nothing from the auto tips. They also do not receive the full amount that is taken off the passengers. I have cancelled part of the auto tips and rewarded him personally for an excellent job.

Might that be just a bit misleading, QB?

He would have to be doing rather a poor job if more than 10% of his customers actually lodged a complaint, wouldn't he? As in all jobs, there has to be some incentive for them to do the best they can, hasn't there? We have never had any occasion to complain and it would have to be something pretty serious if we did.

Neither would he expect to get the whole amount paid by his passengers - as we know it is divided amongst all the crew who have contributed to the enjoyment of their cruise. Was this not what he meant?

Can you really cancel just a part of the auto tip? I thought it was all or nothing.

[barney]

Most of the stewards that we've had have been very discreet and overall, the service has been as expected.

We did have one lady on Arcadia a few years back who certainly wasn't going to die from hard work and seemed to do the absolute minimum she could get away with.
Having said that, she was charming and had a lovely way about her, so we couldn't possibly have complained.

We constantly joked about getting back to our cabin unexpectedly, to find her having a kip on the sofa and half a bottle of wine missing.
When walking off at one of the ports, I convinced Mrs Barney that when I looked back at the ship, she was sitting on our balcony sipping a glass of bubbly.

Funnily enough, she was by far the worst but we built up a very nice relationship with her.

[screwy]

We have always left the Auto tip on.......until now. We have always tipped our Cabin Steward on top and also some of the waiters, we do freedom dining, As of the next trip we will be taking the Auto off and tipping the Cabin steward and any others on a ad-hoc basis. the reason for this is that when we do land based holidays we dont tip all and sundry but always the chambermaid etc and some of the waiters, we have paid for our holiday and believe that the staff should be paid accordingly with a tip on top if they have given reasonable service. i know we are in a minority but hey ho.it's our decision.

Now, wheres the Bunker again.?

[Boris+]

We have always left the Auto tip on.......until now. We have always tipped our Cabin Steward on top and also some of the waiters, we do freedom dining, As of the next trip we will be taking the Auto off and tipping the Cabin steward and any others on a ad-hoc basis. the reason for this is that when we do land based holidays we dont tip all and sundry but always the chambermaid etc and some of the waiters, we have paid for our holiday and believe that the staff should be paid accordingly with a tip on top if they have given reasonable service. i know we are in a minority but hey ho.it's our decision.

Now, wheres the Bunker again.?

We've had a load of cruises which had the gratuities included - so we didn't think twice about it. Most of our future reservations have the gratuities included, there's just one where we will be expected to pay the tip, and we would normally have paid it from the obc. However, for the very first time, on this particular cruise we are going to ensure that the Auto tipping is off - and we'll reward people as and when they deserve it. So, like Screwy - we're going to try it out and see how it goes.

Make roomin that bunker!!!

[Raybosailor]

Has anyone noticed a change in attitude of the staff since they got a 43% rise in tips ?, on our two previous cruises we have left the auto tip in place and also gave all three waiters and cabin steward an envelope on the last night as an extra thank you for good service. They will not get so much in the envelope on our next cruise unless the service is exceptional.

Like Gill I have a special dietary requirement and the head waiters have looked after me very well.

[Angela]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and looking to book our first cruise, I have picked a cruise to The Canaries, Spain and Portugal on Ventura, my question is Saver fare or Select fare, do we take the chance of a decent cabin or do we pay the extra to choose? we want a balcony cabin, any help appreciated..

[oldbluefox]

My advice would be to pay what you feel it is worth to you. Sometimes you can find prices go up rather than down and if choice of balcony cabin etc is important to you then go select. Don't forget to factor in any special deals which may be going including OBC and parking/coach fares.
Unfortunately only you know what you really want but in the past I have tracked prices and sometimes they have gone down in price and sometimes almost doubled. I don't think there is any hard and fast rule as far as I am concerned.
Sorry I can't be more help. Nevertheless, whatever you choose I feel sure you will enjoy the experience.

[Onelife]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and looking to book our first cruise, I have picked a cruise to The Canaries, Spain and Portugal on Ventura, my question is Saver fare or Select fare, do we take the chance of a decent cabin or do we pay the extra to choose? we want a balcony cabin, any help appreciated..

Hi Angela....As this will be your first cruise l would definitely go for the hassle free 'select' option. Ok' you could save yourselves a few hundred quid choosing 'saver' but having secured your cabin/dining sitting preferences in advance dose allow you to get straight into the build up/excitement of looking foward to your cruise.

'Balcony cabins' are the way to go...Enjoy!!

Regards

Keith