Cunard gratuities

[southwestie]

I wish they would do that and then that would be the end of it.

 

 

Ray66, I wish they would as well, but then those who say they and dont would have pay then.

 

Id be happy to have the money on the botton line price-In the UK we dont tip anyoneone other than a Taxi or waiter and thats mixed as well, how much, 10% 15 %, I wont tip a taxi after midnight for sure, they add on a huge rate

[thames_side]

But I see Cunard don't add a gratuity or tip to the bill now. It's a "hotel and Dining charge". So that's different!

[karenbeanpole]

We have so far prepaid our tips on the RCI and Celebrity because of freedom dining. On P& O we had early sitting, which meant that we could use our discretion for tipping and it wasn't added automatically to our account.

 

My opinion is that we don't mind auto tipping, provided it is a reasonable amount. However, we definitely prefer to use our discretion to tip the crew whom we think have served us well, not people we don't know about, never met, etc.

 

We have heard that crew members get paid very badly and rely greatly on tips. But we have no idea if that is true (crew would say that, wouldn't they). If it is true, it is high time they get paid better by their employers, and not have to rely on tips!

[claudius]

Advice please on gratuities. I understand that Cunard charge 11$ a day per head on your onboard account. Is this optional.?

 

One may object to the daily tipping rate. On long voyages, one should - most Voyagers do tip, those, with whom they have contact.

[britsbest]

One may object to the daily tipping rate. On long voyages, one should - most Voyagers do tip, those, with whom they have contact.

 

Says you...I say you shouldn't tip unless YOU want to.

[ToadOfToadHall]

I must have read hundreds of threads on tips and it's a issue that is never, ever, going to go away.

 

It comes down to one very simple thing : The difference between UK and US culture.

 

In the UK we may, or may not, tip. And then pretty much only in a restaurant, and almost never in a pub. A taxi may get the fare rounded up to the nearest pound.

 

But in the US, tipping is ingrained in the culture. You tip practically everyone who serves you anything.

 

And we even have a different attitude to VAT/Sales tax. In the UK prices are shown with VAT included and in the US prices are shown without sales tax and then only added on at the till. Imagine that in the UK ? There would be a riot in Tescos !

 

The more you think about it, the more it's all a farce. Why add 15% on to the price of a drink ? Why not just increase the price by 15% and charge that figure ?

 

The same is true with the $11 a day. Why do Cunard ( or any other line for that matter ) not simply add that to the price they charge you ?

 

Having said all that, I do pay the $11/day. I look at it like this :

 

The advertised price of the cruise is not the final price; when you hand over your money to the travel agent/cruise line, you still have to pay for things like; car parking, petrol, insurance, putting my cat in the cattery, having my clothes dry cleaned before I go and so on. So I just think of the daily charge as another one of those extra things that I have to pay for.

[transatlantic fan]

So are the staff not aware of those who take the auto tip off?

[Underwatr]

So are the staff not aware of those who take the auto tip off?

Eventually they are, because any cash tips in place of auto tips are supposed to be "tipped out" into the auto tip pool.

[Ray66]

We've had various threads about tipping in the last few weeks. Some people mention about removing the auto-tip on the first day, others say it can be removed near the end of the voyage.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1416218&highlight=tipping

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29012014&highlight=tipping#

[hampshirelad]

I was told very recently by a very senior person, that on Victoria tips to individuals in the Dining rooms, stay with them are are not put in a pot. However I believe that other Cunard ships do have a pot. I know on other cruise lines all tips have to go into a pot and this is compulsory which defeats to the object of trying to tip individuals.

[southwestie]

I have asked on QM2 if the cash I have given to a waiter is theres, I was itold is was theres, how would anyone know if your room steward had a cash tip on them anyway

[capnpugwash]

Afaik if you remove the auto-tip, any monies given to staff are pooled. If however you leave the tips on your extra cash is retained by the individual. The bars have a slightly different arrangement but that is their choice.

[Potts698]

Advice please on gratuities. I understand that Cunard charge 11$ a day per head on your onboard account. Is this optional.?

 

It is an optional charge as there are individual views on whether it should be paid or not and there is no right or wrong answer here. My objection is that I should have no option as to whether to tip or not when I buy a drink at any bar or restaurant on board. The staff are there to serve the drink and 15% HAS to be paid if you want to have one - no option. I am from the UK and there is certainly not a culture of paying 15% on any drink purchased in a bar etc, a tip or a drink is perhaps bought for the bar person if they give exceptional service during an evening but not every time you buy a drink! This is stealth tax imposed by most cruise operators nowadays.

[SALAD MUNCHER]

My objection is that I have no option as to whether to tip or not when I buy a drink at any bar or restaurant on board. The staff are there to serve the drink and 15% HAS to be paid if you want to have one - no option. I am from the UK and there is certainly not a culture of paying 15% on any drink purchased in a bar etc, a tip or a drink is perhaps bought for the bar person if they give exceptional service during an evening but not every time you buy a drink! This is stealth tax imposed by most cruise operators nowadays.

 

I totally agree with your argument. Surely the catering/housekeeping staff far outnumber the beverage staff, yet the 15% added onto drinks is only suppposed to be shared amongst this minority. Considering that the amount of drinks served on board is crazily high, and if what we are told is true, this small group of staff must be coining it in!

 

Imagine this scenario - if you buy two cups of tea in Sir Samuels for say $4 the waiter first attends your table and asks what you want. He then brings you the tea and you receive a bill for $4 + 15% i.e. a 60 cents tip. On the next table a couple are celebrating a birthday so want to buy a bottle of champagne. The waiter does the same job, i.e. visits their table and asks what they want. He then brings their bottle of Champagne. They then receive a bill for $40 + 15%, i.e. a $6 tip - $5.40 more than the tip from the couple on the next table for doing exactly the same job!!?? Can anyone really justify this as being fair?

 

I believe that if all staff were included in the hotel and dining charge it would be a fairer system, and people could if they wished choose whether or not to tip waiters/bar staff/room stewards extra if they felt they had received excellent service, and moreover all staff (and more importantly customers) would be treated equally.

[tiggis]

I'm generally pretty relaxed about the tipping policy - I always leave on the auto-tip and generally give a bit extra to room stewards and waiters. But I was somewhat taken aback last week on the QV when I treated my partner to a couple of acupuncture sessions. At over $100 each these certainly weren't cheap - but a 15% gratuity was then added on top. As I see it, acupuncture is itself the service for which I am paying, so why should I pay an extra percentage on top of the quoted price?

 

John

 

PS And I seem to remember from a previous voyage that if you buy a bottle of water from the room mini-bar, 15% service is added 'for your convenience' even though no obvious service has been provided.

[William Dean]

It is an optional charge as there are individual views on whether it should be paid or not and there is no right or wrong answer here. My objection is that I should have no option as to whether to tip or not when I buy a drink at any bar or restaurant on board. The staff are there to serve the drink and 15% HAS to be paid if you want to have one - no option. I am from the UK and there is certainly not a culture of paying 15% on any drink purchased in a bar etc, a tip or a drink is perhaps bought for the bar person if they give exceptional service during an evening but not every time you buy a drink! This is stealth tax imposed by most cruise operators nowadays.

 

It's not a stealth tax at all. You have been reading too much of the Daily Mail.

 

There is no subterfuge at all. Cunard are completely frank and open about the charge, and therefore there is no element of stealth.

 

When you book, the information is available to you in full. If you don't like it, don't book. It is as simple as that. You are therefore entirely free to avoid payment of the 15%.

 

WD

[Underwatr]

if you buy a bottle of water from the room mini-bar, 15% service is added 'for your convenience' even though no obvious service has been provided.

The service provided ostensibly is the restocking of the mini-bar. That bottle of water didn't get there on its own...

[ToadOfToadHall]

I'll make my point again; it comes down to one simple point:

 

It's all down to the difference in culture between the US and UK when it comes to tipping.

 

In the UK, we don't tip ( in general ), so we don't see why we should in the US. And as Cunard is a US owned ship, you are, when on board, in the US.

 

Now, I don't agree with the 15% and $11 a day either, but, I have a choice; either accept it ( which I do ) or don't go. It's like people who complain about certain TV programmes; if you dont like them, don't watch them.

[southwestie]

:eek::eek:

I'll make my point again; it comes down to one simple point:

 

It's all down to the difference in culture between the US and UK when it comes to tipping.

 

In the UK, we don't tip ( in general ), so we don't see why we should in the US. And as Cunard is a US owned ship, you are, when on board, in the US.

 

Now, I don't agree with the 15% and $11 a day either, but, I have a choice; either accept it ( which I do ) or don't go. It's like people who complain about certain TV programmes; if you dont like them, don't watch them.

 

So the choice for my cocktails are have one-or-dont have one, but I cant have and not be made to pay the 15% tax, if I do want one, I have to pay the tax like it or not?, but as WD said it made known to you, so its not stelth tax at all, you know about it before hand.

 

am i confused

:eek:

[ToadOfToadHall]

:eek::eek:

 

So the choice for my cocktails are have one-or-dont have one, but I cant have and not be made to pay the 15% tax, if I do want one, I have to pay the tax like it or not?, but as WD said it made known to you, so its not stelth tax at all, you know about it before hand.

 

am i confused

:eek:

 

It's not 15% tax ( it does not go the HMRC ). In the US, people tip for every drink they buy in a bar ( I'm not saying that's right, I'm just saying that's how it works in the States ).

 

 

As yourself this:

 

If your cocktail is on the drinks list as costing $11.50 would you object to paying that amount ?

 

Now, would you object to paying $10 + 15% ?

 

The price is the same ( $11.50 ) but it's written a different way, that's all.

 

Just forget about the 15%, just look at the price and think "that $10 cocktail is really $11.50, it's written that way".

 

Of course, you may object to $11.50 in the first place, but that's a different argument.

[Penzance]

ToadofToadHall makes a valid point regarding the US sales tax (9.25% in California) and the VAT (20% I believe) in Britain. Living here in the US, I've always thought that Americans like to be aware of the amount of sales tax they are being charged, whereas the Brits just want to see the bottom line and pay. If Cunard just incorporated the 15% into the price of the beer/drink/cocktail (not mentioning that it is a tip) maybe the final figure on the bill would not cause as much sticker shock. Plus, it would keep those people "who don't partake" very happy. A much better solution than adding more to the price of the cruise.

 

Just my two cents worth :)

[southwestie]

It's not 15% tax ( it does not go the HMRC ). In the US, people tip for every drink they buy in a bar ( I'm not saying that's right, I'm just saying that's how it works in the States ).

 

 

As yourself this:

 

If your cocktail is on the drinks list as costing $11.50 would you object to paying that amount ?

 

Now, would you object to paying $10 + 15% ?

 

The price is the same ( $11.50 ) but it's written a different way, that's all.

 

Just forget about the 15%, just look at the price and think "that $10 cocktail is really $11.50, it's written that way".

 

Of course, you may object to $11.50 in the first place, but that's a different argument.

 

 

I too fully agree with you on this, i would rather be told £11.50 bottom line, same with the auto tip just add it on to the fare and its done, then I can choose if I wan to tip extra to the wait staff etc

[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]

I think the present system is just fine, it makes perfect commercial sense and gives absolute clarity to the passenger. The company is incentivising its bar staff by having a method whereby the more they sell the greater their reward (via the service charge). At the same time the consumer is made perfectly aware what proportion of the total bill goes to Cunard and what proportion goes to the tipping pool for the waiters, quite the opposite of a stealth tax.

 

I don't like the idea of a bottom line price only or removing the service charge element. For me the current way prevents any uncertainty when presented with the bill (check) i.e. I know that the waiter is already getting a proportion of the total as a tip and therefore will be happy that I've simply signed on the line. It's one less worry for a simple man in this great do I don't I tipping versus non-tipping affair and no need to start working out 10%, 15%, 20% etc in my head when I'm on vacation specifically to give my brain a rest for a while.

 

M-AR

[Underwatr]

It's more than tipping custom/culture - it's also a recognition that the wage paid to service staff assumes that a significant amount of their income is from tips. If you withhold from their tips you withhold from a fair wage.

I know, if they just raised all the prices and paid the staff more, blah blah blah. But since that's not the way it is, the right thing to do is tip at least at the suggested level.

[ToadOfToadHall]

I know, if they just raised all the prices and paid the staff more, blah blah blah. But since that's not the way it is, the right thing to do is tip at least at the suggested level.

 

I agree entirely with what you are saying; it's not the way it's done in the US, but the British has a real problem with it, and many think (wrongly) that they can change the US system somehow if they refuse to tip (which, of course, they can't).

 

I'll admit I found it strange/annoying when I first went to the States ( it's all a bit bemusing to us British at first ), but I've visited the US quite a number of times now that I just accept it as 'that's the way they do it in America'. I mean, I can't change America !!