Jan5174

How do people find so much to say about tipping?  Surely it’s all been said by now. Regardless of the P&O policy, if you want to - that’s fine. If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. 

Perhaps we we could all stop now and discuss something else? 

If you want a particular cabin or location - pay for it like the rest of us !

I hope you didn’t then see the dress ‘walking’ round the ship!!!

And after all of this anf getting to page 2..NO ONE has actually posted on here to say they have purchased it.

My thoughts exactly. I’ll keep an eye on the thread just in case !

Thank you very much, that’s really helpful.

Hi. It would appear from the P&O site that that we have to collect our luggage from the carousels when arriving in Malta on a Thomas Cook flight. Is it then handed over to P&O and transported to ship/cabin ? Or do we have to do this ourselves?

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply folks. Down to us now to make up our minds.

Make your own minds up - some people are overwhelmingly negative! I think you’ll love it if you go with a positive mindset.

If you do a search you will find loads of threads with info - bad and good - regarding Christmas cruises. Rather than start yet another thread repeating information spend a few minutes searching what is already available .

Ha ha ha - that’s made me laugh. This has been so entertaining!

Oh my goodness, how sad !!

Should say sun beds - although with some people’s behaviour perhaps synbeds is a better description!

Anyway, thank you FangedRose for an amusing couple of days. Although clearly I think you’re a bit ...........???

I can’t believe some of the comments in this thread! Fanged Rose - you seem completely paranoid about germs - however do you live in normal society? How do you cope in general social areas - synbeds May have had other people’s towels on them; chairs have had other people’s (dirty?) clothes on them. People put bags on chairs or on tables? However do you cope?

I’m fine about giving feedback and I’ve happily given an excellent when it’s deserved. We’ve had brilliant service on occasion ( most occasions, really) and I’ll always mention outstanding crew members by name. Just no additional money from us !

Shall we all stop debating this now as everyone has their own views and makes their own arrangements. Personally - pay the required cost of the cruise and then don’t tip anyone. It’s their job and it’s not my responsibility to pay their wages. I don’t tip bus drivers who help me onto the bus; postmen who deliver my post; shop assistants who help me find an item in the supermarket etc etc............ Just ... WHY ???

For starters, all the cabin stewards and stewardesses wear gloves or hadn't you noticed? Secondly, I've never read such unadulterated rubbish. If everybody stopped worrying about germs all the time, we would all be a lot healthier. All this bacterial wipes, bacterial spray in bathrooms and kitchens stops your immune system being able to cope with any germs at all. That's why kids these days have all these allergies, asthma etc. etc. Nobody at my school had allergies or asthma. A nightdress in a drawer is not going to give anybody anything.

Oh I do agree ! What rubbish some people believe - and what a sad, full of worry life they must have!

If you want to say thank you, then say it!

It shouldn’t require a monetary addition to make it mean something ! I’m not so sure that receptionists or shop assistants receive gifts for doing their job. Others might, but it is absolutely not necessary . I worked for thirty + yers in one of these professions nd occasionally received cards. Any gifts offered would be returned and I would tell people that it was not necessary or expected. In many job roles gifts of any sort are not permitted - and a very good thing too. If you need to add money to a thank you then it is meaningless.

It’s definitely not a wind up. I simply do not see why I should ‘tip’ somebody for doing their job. Where should it end? Do you tip nurses? Teachers? Solicitors? Social workers? Receptionists? Shop assistants? Everybody who ‘serves ‘you in some way? Ridiculous!!

I’m speechless!

I don’t tip after tours and I remove the compulsory P&O gratuities. I don’t tip individually either. I pay for the cruise, and am happy to pay whatever the going rate is. I happily pay for any tours undertaken and consider that in both of these cases the responsibility for the wages of those involved is not mine. They are doing their job . The tipping culture is ridiculous, unnecessary and divisive. It is not necessary to ‘pay for good service’ . We have enjoyed many cruises,on a variety of lines, and also stayed in many top hotels. The service we have received has, almost without exception been entirely satisfactory. When there has been the (very rare) problem, this has been sorted without a fuss, and without a tip! And no, I don’t think we are unusual or rude, or affecting the well being of other guests/passengers as has on occasion been suggested.

It’s interesting that the issue of reserving sun beds reappears often on here - and no one on here is apparently guilty of this crime! Who are these people who do this? I must admit, on the cruises we’ve been on there are loads of reserved beds - often with a ‘guard’ on duty. However, we have usually managed to find beds away from the pools or more popular areas.

Clearly cruise critic users never reserve sunbeds!

Hear hear Dorsetlad! Let’s allow veryone to do what suits them best !

Oh, how I agree with the previous post. We can all be friends even though we may disagree occasionally !

I’m fascinated by all the tipping posts. We have been on quite a number of P&O ships and I always take off the auto tips. I fail to understand the ‘tipping’ culture at all. The crew, cabin stewards, chefs, waiters etc etc should all be paid a fair wage for their work. I don’t receive tips in my profession, and I bet most other people don’t either. I object when visiting the States, because of the expectation that every bar tender, waiter, doorman , driver should receive at least a 10% tip.

We have been fortunate to be in suites on several cruises, and have had the services of a butler. I have not tipped at any time, despite them providing excellent service on all occasions. If an automatic tip was added to the initial price, then I would probably pay this and still travel, but no way am I tipping in any other way. The crew on the ship are dong their job, should be paid accordingly and it is not my job to ‘make up ‘ their wages !

I'm so enjoying your posts. We will be doing this cruise next June, travelling from the UK, and I am therefore very interested in the excursions you undertake, and your comments on the ship and the ports. Silversea will be a new experience for us, although we have cruised several times before. I'm looking forward to it!

I understood that for Alaska 7 day cruises , as mentioned by the previous poster, there are no formal night requirements - as stated on the SS website? We are on a cruise next year, and are combining this with a much longer Rockies/ Vancouver / Seattle trip. Coming from the UK , we do not want to carry necessary luggage, and therefore would not choose to bring formal evening wear unless absolutely necessary! I would always wish to adhere to dress guidelines - and prefer to dine in the main dining room. Hopefully my OH can get away with jacket/ tie?

Thank you USAFSS4ever . My other half loves travelling by train and I'm sure we will enjoy the trip. Thank you for your reply and the detailed information. It's really helpful . I am looking forward to a more cosmopolitan trip than we have been used to both on the cruise and the train. We have usually used cruise lines that have been overwhelmingly British. It will be lovely to meet others!

Jan