Confusion re daily charges.

Your answers to question 1 is I am afraid delusions of grandeur and with questions 4,5 and 6 it doesnt really matter who you give it too because if you remove auto gratuities they do not keep the money you give them it is all handed in and pooled and goes in the same pot as auto gratuities. So whthere you tip 1 or 2 cabin stewards or buffet staff instead of restaurant staff it is all given to office staff at Pursers desk and then shared out exactly the same as auto gratuities.

 

With reference to your reply number 3 then that is beyond belief because how could somebody believe that auto tipping is a "personal insult impugning their integrity".

You're missing the point, majortom. I think you are looking at the way your mind works and assuming that everyone else's mind works the same way. For example, number 1 would involve delusions of grandeur (according to you) - well, even if that were true, are you saying that no cruise passenger has ever had delusions of grandeur? I promise you, there ARE passengers who remove the tips because they want to giver the same amount or more, personally. The fact that you can't see the point does not mean it doesn't happen.

Is it really? How would P&O know that you had given him/her cash if the steward decided to keep it?

Because they get asked and if they say they havent been given any money and found to have there contracts are terminated and they do not work not only for P&O again but Carnival as a company so isnt worth the risk for what they could lose. Many times before auto gratuities were brought in when we gave both the waiter and assistant waiter an envelope after dinner on the final night the assistant always gave his envelope straight to the waiter.

You're missing the point, majortom. I think you are looking at the way your mind works and assuming that everyone else's mind works the same way. For example, number 1 would involve delusions of grandeur (according to you) - well, even if that were true, are you saying that no cruise passenger has ever had delusions of grandeur? I promise you, there ARE passengers who remove the tips because they want to giver the same amount or more, personally. The fact that you can't see the point does not mean it doesn't happen.

I am not missing the point the majority if not all that remove tips so they can give personally do so so they can give less than the amount taken on auto gratuities or suddenly dont come down for dinner on the last night and go to the buffet instead. P&O is one of the cheapest if not cheapest for auto gratuities and IMO having done well over 20+ cruises with P&O and over 30 overall the staff work very hard and well deserve the tips. Sorry but dont believe that anybody would remove auto gratuities and then give exactly the same amount in envelopes unless it made them feel important you can thank the staff without the need to give them an envelope because they are told who has removed auto gratuities anyway.

Quite a lot of people claim they do remove auto-tips and pay it personally - check the other threads. Of course, they may all be lying, but I prefer to believe they're not.

No doubt P&O have stats about how many people remove auto-tips and how many replace them with full cash tips. But they won't tell us.

Quite a lot of people claim they do remove auto-tips and pay it personally - check the other threads. Of course, they may all be lying, but I prefer to believe they're not.

 

No doubt P&O have stats about how many people remove auto-tips and how many replace them with full cash tips. But they won't tell us.

Yes I agree and have never said anything other but if they think they are doing it to give the waiters/cabin stewards the money personally to keep they are mistaken and more than likely because they want to give less than the auto amount.

Isn't it about time that cruise lines started paying their staff a proper wage. The de luxe cruise lines did away with tipping years ago and with no drop in standards.

It does stick in the craw when lines effectively coerce passengers into subsidising the wages of stewards and waiters. Tipping is not about paying a per diem amount into a fund, it is a personal thank you for the provision of good service.

It is about time it was included in the price of the cruise and if passengers wished to provide a gratuity for good service, they could do so without being told how much they should pay or indeed whether they should or should not tip.

P & O may be not quite as bad as some of the American mainstream lines who expect passengers to pay the wages of their service provision staff but that does not excuse them.

Pre-paid tipping clearly reveals what a pernicious activity this is. I'm afraid I do not accept the argument that this procedure leads to better service, in fact I believe it achieves the exact opposite.

Having said that, will I play P & O's game? Yes I will because I don't wish to see hard working people lose out on a living wage. Do I like it? You bet I don't, I resent the fact that I feel that my intelligence is being insulted.

It would also put an end to the petty arguments that manifest themselves when this subject is discussed.