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Tipping on Seabourn


Onica
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My husband and I are first-time cruisers on Seabourn, and want to really understand the tipping policies. "Not required and not expected" doesn't really tell us if most people do tip, and if they do, when and how much. We would appreciate guidance.

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My husband and I are first-time cruisers on Seabourn, and want to really understand the tipping policies. "Not required and not expected" doesn't really tell us if most people do tip, and if they do, when and how much. We would appreciate guidance.

A donation to the Crew Fund is the way to go.....then it can be shared with all the behind the scenes crew, If you are a first timer with Seabourn check out the the 'sticky' referral coupon thread at the top of this board for a $400 onboard credit.

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It's good to know about the Fund. But my question is whether most people donate to the Fund, whether there is any pressure to do so, when you would make such a donation, and what is considered the norm.

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There is no pressure to tip. It is a personal decision but not necessary. I have seen some very strong opinions against tipping on Seabourn. Good service on Seabourn is not based on tipping, unlike some other cruise lines.

 

 

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"Not required and not expected" really means that gratuities (aka total staff compensation) are included in the price of the cruise. You will not be "taxed" a percentage at the end of the cruise as in other cruise lines. There is no pressure for additional contributions to individual staff, like stewardess or bartenders. It is truly not expected.

A few people may donate to the fund, but I doubt it is the norm.

The links above posted by CruiseGal on general tipping rules at other lines do not apply to Seabourn.

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How can there be pressure to give tips? Who would pressure you? Who would know?

 

If the line's policy is no tipping that means no tipping. Why go against that?

 

If you want to tip your stewardess- and we have done so as a token of our appreciation following an extended ie 3 week plus cruise and in with a small amount relative to what she might get on a mass market line (where she presumably earns far less salary) - go ahead. Like I said, who would know? No one but her.

 

In speaking with Seabourn crew, they are very happy to work there. Many have come from mass market lines and I have never met one who went "south". Nor have I met a crewmember on a mass market line such as Holland America (one cruise) or Cunard (dozens, mainly crossings) who came from Seabourn or Silversea, another no tipping luxury line.

 

Happy and healthy cruising!

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Can someone explain to me the relevance of any of these links to this specific question? Am I missing something?

 

There is absolutely no pressure at all to tip on Seabourn, nor is there any pressure to make a donation to the Crew Fund. I concur with other posters, most people probably don't even know it exists. I wouldn't if I hadn't read about it on CC.

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Can someone explain to me the relevance of any of these links to this specific question? Am I missing something?

 

There is absolutely no pressure at all to tip on Seabourn, nor is there any pressure to make a donation to the Crew Fund. I concur with other posters, most people probably don't even know it exists. I wouldn't if I hadn't read about it on CC.

I expanded that poster's history and no record of her ever traveling on a luxury line. Perhaps somebody thinking of Seabourn but not quite ready to ask a question.

 

I was a bit surprised to be thanked by the Assistant Cruise Director on my Seabourn cruise. I had thought the donation would be more anonymous between me and the Crew Fund manager.

 

 

Roy

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I understand that staff and crew are informed if one has made a donation to the crew fund.

 

We have never been approached in any way at all to give a tip - the only time we were approached was a junior waiter hoping we would give a high rating for service. I suggested he should not do that, and he certainly did not need to.

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Most crew members I know would prefer to be singled out for complement to the Hotel Manager, their manager or on the surveys as they receive benefits (time/shift offs for example) and promotions in part based on that.

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On Odyssey at the moment and a member of staff who we (and I assume many others) gave very positive feedback about last year was been promoted to Assistant Maitre D. I am sure that means far more to him in case of progression than me having slipped him a few dollars. The no tipping policy is far better for us Brits who get terribly flustered by it all :o :D

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Most crew members I know would prefer to be singled out for complement to the Hotel Manager, their manager or on the surveys as they receive benefits (time/shift offs for example) and promotions in part based on that.

 

I make a point of giving 'real-time' feedback to the Maitre D'. 98% of this is positive but, on the very rare occasions that it is necessary, I will also highlight an issue. I also complimented one of the Patio chefs to the Executive chef. On our last cruise, I noted that the Maitre D', the Chef and others immediately passed the feedback on and you could see the extra spring in the step of the crew members who received the good news.

 

On Seabourn you can have a career which starts at waiter and ends at Hotel Manager if that is what you want. Customer feedback is a key component of that progression. It is always fantastic to see crew members who have been promoted since our last cruise and we make a point of congratulating them. On one particular occasion, a newly promoted crew member came up to us and thanked us for her promotion (although I am sure we were not the only ones who gave her a good rating).

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I love it that we don't have to tip (agree that we British aren't very adept at tipping!) but I'm always very conscious that I want to thank the wonderful staff and I do it face to face, to their manager, and I single out ones who have gone over and above on the Survey that we get at the end of a cruise.

 

However, we dined with another couple on the last cruise and they said they tip at every opportunity. No idea why as it really isn't expected

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Most crew members I know would prefer to be singled out for complement to the Hotel Manager, their manager or on the surveys as they receive benefits (time/shift offs for example) and promotions in part based on that.

 

This can't be emphasised enough as it's very much appreciated. The crew do get feedback on this, so it's definitely worth taking time to do it.

I've had at least two crew members thank me on a current cruise for my positive feedback about them on a previous cruise.

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My husband and I are first-time cruisers on Seabourn, and want to really understand the tipping policies. "Not required and not expected" doesn't really tell us if most people do tip, and if they do, when and how much. We would appreciate guidance.

 

Onica - we may not have answered your question - What do most people do?

 

The answer is that most, if not nearly all, do not tip because it really is included in your cruise price. Seabourn employees receive a very fair salary and do not depend on tips for a full salary. Seabourn follows the European compensation model where every job receives a full wage; not like the US model where some service jobs receive a very low wage and customers are supposed to make up the difference in tips. That is what leads to "pressure" and "expectations" to tip.

 

Seabourn employees provide outstanding service as compared to mass market lines. That is their job and they are fairly compensated for it. If you have received truly extraordinary help or service, you can certainly reward it, but do not consider that to be "tipping" in a conventional sense. What is really appreciated, as mentioned by most replies, is a recommendation either in the survey or to management. Or you can show your generosity with a contribution to the crew fund. Whatever you decide to do, you will receive the same welcome and extraordinary service on your next cruise.

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As has been stated, tips are not required or expected - look at other cruise lines where you will see "we add $XX per day per person for tips". Yet we, unfortunately, almost always see someone who has to make a public production about giving a "tip", sometimes it is quite awkward to the crew member receiving it. If you feel the no tipping policy is not sufficient then contribute to the crew welfare fund - see the purser to make your contribution - or discreetly have a nice word w/ your stewardess in private, which I admit we have done on occasion for cruises of 20+ days when we have exceptional, even by Seabourn standards, service. If there is someone in particular we want to express our appreciation to, we prefer to buy something personal in one of the ports for those crew members, they appreciate it and always will remember you for it.

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OP: Assuming good service, we tip our stewardess at the end of the cruise. We feel a token amount ($5) a day for a three-week cruise, is a bit of extra compensation for the many towels for which we ask daily replacement. :) We also bring specialties from our homeland that we give at the end to to select crew.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I know this thread is out of date now, however, on our recent Odyssey cruise I did shopping with the Chef and the Galley tour. One of the things which the Executive Chef, Tom was very keen to press home was the fact that without all of those staff behind the scenes, the Kitchen Porters, the laundry staff, the engine room staff etc, the front facing staff could not do their job - it is very much a team effort. I was later chatting to one of the Seabourn Square staff members and she told me that every department has a rep who sits on a committee to decide how the staff fund is spent. To me this seems far more equitable than just tipping those people you have come into contact with and whether you give $10 or $1000 to the staff fund, every member of staff benefits.

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We had such a wonderful stewardess on our recent cruise and left "treats" for her in our cabin (with a thank you note attached) and she was thrilled. It was so easy to bring her a bag of special candy or cookies from our daily outings ashore and another way to thank her for being so attentive.

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  • 3 weeks later...
A donation to the Crew Fund is the way to go.....then it can be shared with all the behind the scenes crew, If you are a first timer with Seabourn check out the the 'sticky' referral coupon thread at the top of this board for a $400 onboard credit.

 

 

Were do you find the "Referral Coupon"?

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