Spoke to P&O regarding their 40% increase in automatic gratuities.

Having seen P&O up the auto gratuities in the space of a year from £5 to £6 to £7 per person per day (and finding this year and last year they implemented it just before we sail(ed) I emailed P&O. They responded with a phone call.

To my suggestion that they should cut the gratuities and just pay the staff a decent wage that the passengers don't have to subsidise with gratuities, I was told they are paid an above industry average wage which is "fair and proportional". He added that the gratuity is for service above and beyond. This goes against the general belief that they pay a poor wage which is only made worthwhile for the crew members once the gratuities are added on top. He also said that they have surveyed their passengers, and the majority don't want the gratuity included in the fare.

I got no real comment on the view that the gratuities have gone up so that those who still pay it are making up for the shortfall of those who withhold it.

He said that increasing the gratuity brings them more in line with other brands. He was not impressed that I pointed out that that seems to be a case of, "well if the others lines can screw more money out of the punters, then so can we".

I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company. However, if a staff member is on a disciplinary, then they don't get their gratuity. Out of curiosity I asked where that money goes, but was told he was not permitted to say, but repeated that it does not go to the company. I'm still curious as to where it goes.

bizarre!

Interesting!

And yet again different to what others have been told when they called. Story seems to change depending on who answers the phone.

The water gets even muddier and as the saying goes when in a hole stop digging but it seems P&O cannot help but digging themselves into even a bigger hole.

If true, and all crew are paid a competitive wage, it seems the obvious way to go is to remove the auto gratuities and pay individual crew members if you feel they have gone 'above and beyond'.

Pity there never seems to be a consistent answer when clients broach the question of gratuities to P&O as Eglesbrech posted.

Having seen P&O up the auto gratuities in the space of a year from £5 to £6 to £7 per person per day (and finding this year and last year they implemented it just before we sail(ed) I emailed P&O. They responded with a phone call.

 

 

 

To my suggestion that they should cut the gratuities and just pay the staff a decent wage that the passengers don't have to subsidise with gratuities, I was told they are paid an above industry average wage which is "fair and proportional". He added that the gratuity is for service above and beyond. This goes against the general belief that they pay a poor wage which is only made worthwhile for the crew members once the gratuities are added on top. He also said that they have surveyed their passengers, and the majority don't want the gratuity included in the fare.

 

 

 

I got no real comment on the view that the gratuities have gone up so that those who still pay it are making up for the shortfall of those who withhold it.

 

 

 

He said that increasing the gratuity brings them more in line with other brands. He was not impressed that I pointed out that that seems to be a case of, "well if the others lines can screw more money out of the punters, then so can we".

 

 

 

I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company. However, if a staff member is on a disciplinary, then they don't get their gratuity. Out of curiosity I asked where that money goes, but was told he was not permitted to say, but repeated that it does not go to the company. I'm still curious as to where it goes.

The question is, what is above and beyond?

They provide a service which, to be fair, they are trained for, and deliver. Like all rating systems, your delight at the service on your first cruise then becomes your expectations, and therefore difficult to go above and beyond in your rating.

If thats the response you received, then the have no right to impose the additional gratuities, unless P&O consider the level of service below above and beyond, to be an acceptable start point in the service they intend to provide.

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Of course I expect a level of service when on a cruise. By 'above and beyond' I mean something where the crew member has done something helpful that I didn't really expect.

Our first P&O cruise was a 28 nighter no fly Caribbean cruise on Ventura. We had a terrible first night with the noise from the air con in the corridor. We had a friendly chat with one of the waiters in the buffet that first morning. Next morning he came up to us with a couple of pairs of ear plugs - he's a waiter, not guest services and didn't need to do that, but he did.

I think the problem was us - new cruise line, never done more than 14 days before and were probably a bit stressed.

In the end loved the cruise and slept pretty well without the earplugs!

I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company. However, if a staff member is on a disciplinary, then they don't get their gratuity. Out of curiosity I asked where that money goes, but was told he was not permitted to say, but repeated that it does not go to the company. I'm still curious as to where it goes.

That is exactly the reason we now remove our automatic gratuities. We met a member of the crew who had had their tips deducted after a passenger’s complaints. We had no issues with the crew member so gave them our tip directly. We always do that now and give the waiting staff £5 a night, breakfast waiters £2 and our steward small amounts as we go along and a lump sum at the end. We also tip room service. We pay the same as we would if we paid P&O but we know the people we want to receive it get our money.

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We remove the tips and tip with envelopes. Apart from when we had a lot of OBC that is what we always do.

I leave the auto gratuities on to make it easy for me. That way I don't feel guilty if I failed to tip someone I should have. It is a personal choice and I am always reviewing whether I am doing the right thing.

I don't believe that the auto gratuity is excessive. I don't see why you would just add it to the cruise fare as it removes all discretion over removing the tips if service is bad. You pay one way or another so I don't understand the fuss except for the nagging concern over how the money is distributed. The distribution of the tips does worry me and for this reason only I may have a rethink in the future.

The auto tips are for your waiters, cabin steward and maitre d'it, nobody else. I don't tip the maitre di'it - what for? I do tip our waiters, cabin steward and wine waiter, even though the wine waiter gets commission.

Above and beyond is the Glass House head waiter on our last cruise who lent my husband a corkscrew because the bottle of wine we'd bought onshore had a cork rather a screw top (mea culpa). It is the same head waiter who got me the recipe for the pistachio cake we had during the taster dinner, from the chef, because I loved it so much. If it is true that P&O apply the auto grats for service above and beyond, that is ridiculous and a massive assumption.

Above and beyond is the Glass House head waiter on our last cruise who lent my husband a corkscrew because the bottle of wine we'd bought onshore had a cork rather a screw top (mea culpa). It is the same head waiter who got me the recipe for the pistachio cake we had during the taster dinner, from the chef, because I loved it so much. If it is true that P&O apply the auto grats for service above and beyond, that is ridiculous and a massive assumption.

Maybe this charge should be applied at the end of the cruise then when the passenger can make an informed decision on what service they have actually received?

Just been on a Cunard world cruise where gratuities were included. I much prefer that. All staff got their payment and we didn’t have to worry about it!

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Believe what you like the system is too secretive and open to abuse. Whilst it is still discretionary I am happy, P&O can increase it year on year it has no affect on me.

Above and beyond is the Glass House head waiter on our last cruise who lent my husband a corkscrew because the bottle of wine we'd bought onshore had a cork rather a screw top (mea culpa). It is the same head waiter who got me the recipe for the pistachio cake we had during the taster dinner, from the chef, because I loved it so much. If it is true that P&O apply the auto grats for service above and beyond, that is ridiculous and a massive assumption.

Just scratching my head here groovechick!:confused:

Did you tip the head waiter for getting you the Pistachio recipe or the Chef who'd created it?

I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company.

It depends how you look at it.

P&O being able to withhold the money for performance reasons mean it is pay and not a distribution from a tip tronc.

£7pppn split between a steward and two waiters will be a substantial proportion of the amount of pay they receive. I am sure stewards and waiters consider this element of performance pay when deciding to take the job and don't just look at the base pay.

So P&O don't 'keep' the money in the same way they don't 'keep' the money out of your fare that pays the captain. However they don't have to fund the majority of the wages for these staff out of the fare.

Just out of curiosity when is the latest time you can remove auto gratuities? I never have and never will but curious as I've never seen long lines of people at customer services doing it?

Presumably as it is optional any time up to them deducting the amount from your credit card.

However as it is optional and you never gave them explicit permission to take it (i.e.you never signed for it), I suspect if you contacted them after the cruise and asked for it back they would be obliged to do so. So theoretically up to six years after you arrive home.

Having seen P&O up the auto gratuities in the space of a year from £5 to £6 to £7 per person per day (and finding this year and last year they implemented it just before we sail(ed) I emailed P&O. They responded with a phone call.

 

To my suggestion that they should cut the gratuities and just pay the staff a decent wage that the passengers don't have to subsidise with gratuities, I was told they are paid an above industry average wage which is "fair and proportional". He added that the gratuity is for service above and beyond. This goes against the general belief that they pay a poor wage which is only made worthwhile for the crew members once the gratuities are added on top. He also said that they have surveyed their passengers, and the majority don't want the gratuity included in the fare.

 

I got no real comment on the view that the gratuities have gone up so that those who still pay it are making up for the shortfall of those who withhold it.

 

He said that increasing the gratuity brings them more in line with other brands. He was not impressed that I pointed out that that seems to be a case of, "well if the others lines can screw more money out of the punters, then so can we".

 

I often hear accusations that the cruise lines line their own pockets with the gratuities. I was assured that for P&O, all of the gratuity money goes to the staff, none goes to the company. However, if a staff member is on a disciplinary, then they don't get their gratuity. Out of curiosity I asked where that money goes, but was told he was not permitted to say, but repeated that it does not go to the company. I'm still curious as to where it goes.

Thanks for posting an interesting read.

The water gets even muddier and as the saying goes when in a hole stop digging but it seems P&O cannot help but digging themselves into even a bigger hole.

I agree,if everyone at P&O sang from the same songsheet there would be no confusion but by giving different answers it does make you sceptical.

If true, and all crew are paid a competitive wage, it seems the obvious way to go is to remove the auto gratuities and pay individual crew members if you feel they have gone 'above and beyond'.

 

Pity there never seems to be a consistent answer when clients broach the question of gratuities to P&O as Eglesbrech posted.

It does open your eyes when you get conflicting answers.

I leave the auto gratuities on to make it easy for me. That way I don't feel guilty if I failed to tip someone I should have. It is a personal choice and I am always reviewing whether I am doing the right thing.

 

I don't believe that the auto gratuity is excessive. I don't see why you would just add it to the cruise fare as it removes all discretion over removing the tips if service is bad. You pay one way or another so I don't understand the fuss except for the nagging concern over how the money is distributed. The distribution of the tips does worry me and for this reason only I may have a rethink in the future.

I agree with you.

We usually do short select cruises and the obc covers the gratuitys but i always give extra cash tips too.

Now thats a thought. If everyone aked for the return of all of their 'Discretionary' payments for the last 6 years P&O would certainly have to rethink their policy. I roughly worked out that my wife and I would be returned at least £1500!