0, 5, 10, 15, 18%

[NSWP]

STRATHNAVER..

 

Re tipping Porters..yes, true as told many times by Americans here on CC and to my face on Princess cruise ships. I believe it. After all..it is the 'Land of Tipping.'

 

BROSSY..you must have got an 'honest Porter' LOL.

[strathnaver]

wrong button :o

[cjm66]

 

So not tipping for cabbies or porters either? I am used to tipping $1 a bag.

 

 

In many hotels in Australia you will not be offered a porter service for your bags unless you ask for it - in which case you may be directed towards the self serve luggage trolleys, unless you clearly need extra assistance. The porter service we have used at cruise terminals is part of the service and we do not tip. Cabbies get an added on auto surcharge for bags - consult the label on the window with the charges all spelled out. Is it really true that your bags can go missing if you do not tip the porters or is this a CC version of an urban myth?

[Flipper133]

If you really want to see an Australian "Cultural" film you should try and watch "The Adventures of Barry Mackenzie" or even "Alvin Purple" ... but again they might give us Ozzies a bad reputation:o

[rugbypopsie]

If you really want to see an Australian "Cultural" film you should try and watch "The Adventures of Barry Mackenzie" or even "Alvin Purple" ... but again they might give us Ozzies a bad reputation:o

 

 

OMG NOOOOOOOOOO! It took us years to live those down.:eek:

[moyaroo]

I must be going bonkers, I could swear I posted here today! About not tipping porters and bags lost. I think this is n urban myth. While I normally do succumb (Hey, I am a Yank after all) occasionally I don't get the tip out in time and the porter just moves on to other bags. So though my tipping is not 100% my bag arrival is.

 

On movies. No one has mentioned Animal Kingdom a delightful (?) family drama. OK my choices are a bit dark . . .

[Cruise Arizona]

Thanks for all the movie suggestions. I'll have to see what is available on DVD from Netflix. I've seen Priscilla and Strictly Ballroom, and liked those, but I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions.

 

I got to see a bit of Australia last week on the Discovery Channel, on what else, "Shark Week." They had reenactments of several attacks that happened in Au, one a Navy diver who lost his hand and leg during a training mission in Sydney Harbor, and the other a lady who was bitten in the buttock while reef snorkeling in Northern AU. No worries, I'll bet more people are killed by Kangaroos in a year than Sharks. (We have more people killed by deer in the US. Most are car accidents involving the deer that results in a driver or passenger being killed.)

 

Anyway, back to tipping, I probably should have said "10% for slow service" rather than "Bad Service". I don't know that I've every really had bad service, in which case I would probably speak with the manager and would not even consider leaving a tip.

 

Someone mentioned that the surcharge is already included for the bags in a taxi, so that is helpful.

 

Most hotels and motels in the US do not have bellmen or porters, only the fanciest high end ones, a typical hotel has the self service carts, or if its a motel, you just back up your car to the door. Occasionally we will stay at a fancy hotel, and that is where I tip the doormen.

 

Most of the rules about tipping are kind of unwritten and hard to figure out sometimes confusing to even us who are used to the system. Different cities even have different customs when it comes to service people like apartment doormen and hair dressers. Generally we tip 10-15% for sit down dining service and no tipping at all for fast food. A buffet??? I usually tip based on the beverage price since thats usually all the servers bring you at a buffet, if its self serve beverages, then no tipping. You would tip an airport shuttle bus driver a few dollars if he helps with your heavy bags, you might even tip your tour bus driver, but you would never tip a city bus driver, why? I don't know. You would tip your hair dresser or massage therapist, but not your dentist, doctor, or physical therapist. They say you are supposed to leave a tip for your hotel maid, but I never do. It can be confusing even for those who are used to it.

 

But it sounds like I don't have to worry about it in AU at all and should not feel guilty or uncomfortable in not tipping.

[bazzaw]

"So though my tipping is not 100% my bag arrival is."

 

A man checked his bags in at the airport for a flight to London.

 

He said: " I would like this bag to be sent to London, this one to Paris and this one to Moscow please"

 

"Sir, we can't do that"

 

"Why not? - You did it last year when I went to London!"

 

 

Barry

[oysterfiend]

Thanks for all the movie suggestions. I'll have to see what is available on DVD from Netflix. I've seen Priscilla and Strictly Ballroom, and liked those, but I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions.

 

I got to see a bit of Australia last week on the Discovery Channel, on what else, "Shark Week." They had reenactments of several attacks that happened in Au, one a Navy diver who lost his hand and leg during a training mission in Sydney Harbor, and the other a lady who was bitten in the buttock while reef snorkeling in Northern AU. No worries, I'll bet more people are killed by Kangaroos in a year than Sharks. (We have more people killed by deer in the US. Most are car accidents involving the deer that results in a driver or passenger being killed.)

 

Anyway, back to tipping, I probably should have said "10% for slow service" rather than "Bad Service". I don't know that I've every really had bad service, in which case I would probably speak with the manager and would not even consider leaving a tip.

 

Someone mentioned that the surcharge is already included for the bags in a taxi, so that is helpful.

 

Most hotels and motels in the US do not have bellmen or porters, only the fanciest high end ones, a typical hotel has the self service carts, or if its a motel, you just back up your car to the door. Occasionally we will stay at a fancy hotel, and that is where I tip the doormen.

 

Most of the rules about tipping are kind of unwritten and hard to figure out sometimes confusing to even us who are used to the system. Different cities even have different customs when it comes to service people like apartment doormen and hair dressers. Generally we tip 10-15% for sit down dining service and no tipping at all for fast food. A buffet??? I usually tip based on the beverage price since thats usually all the servers bring you at a buffet, if its self serve beverages, then no tipping. You would tip an airport shuttle bus driver a few dollars if he helps with your heavy bags, you might even tip your tour bus driver, but you would never tip a city bus driver, why? I don't know. You would tip your hair dresser or massage therapist, but not your dentist, doctor, or physical therapist. They say you are supposed to leave a tip for your hotel maid, but I never do. It can be confusing even for those who are used to it.

 

But it sounds like I don't have to worry about it in AU at all and should not feel guilty or uncomfortable in not tipping.

 

No don't feel guilty,

We really don't want tipping in NZ and Australian culture.

People are paid to do a job and they should do it. If they don't like their jobs, they change jobs or upskill.

If you get great service in accommodation that is one place I would tip as we have an accommodation business (albeit small) ourselves and only pay our cleaning staff $15.50 an hour- not alot but really more than our small business can afford and much better than many accommodation places pay.

[bazzaw]

If you get great service in accommodation that is one place I would tip as we have an accommodation business (albeit small) ourselves and only pay our cleaning staff $15.50 an hour- not alot but really more than our small business can afford and much better than many accommodation places pay.

 

This sounds like you are saying "I don't recommend that tipping be done in Australia - except in my industry" ??????

 

Barry

[oysterfiend]

If you get great service in accommodation that is one place I would tip as we have an accommodation business (albeit small) ourselves and only pay our cleaning staff $15.50 an hour- not alot but really more than our small business can afford and much better than many accommodation places pay.

 

This sounds like you are saying "I don't recommend that tipping be done in Australia - except in my industry" ??????

 

Barry

I don't recommend tipping in either Australia or NZ but I just know that cleaners work hard as I am a cleaner, general dogs body.

Not saying waitresses etc don't work hard- they do. I have also done waitressing when at University but never expected a tip.

If you get one it is a bonus.

I don't recommend tipping in general,

but do myself in NZ and Australia if I like the service people and have received exceptional service.

Overseas and on cruise ships is a different matter-

Do in Rome as Romans Do.

[Thornbird]

I got to see a bit of Australia last week on the Discovery Channel, on what else, "Shark Week." They had reenactments of several attacks that happened in Au, one a Navy diver who lost his hand and leg during a training mission in Sydney Harbor, and the other a lady who was bitten in the buttock while reef snorkeling in Northern AU. No worries, I'll bet more people are killed by Kangaroos in a year than Sharks. (We have more people killed by deer in the US. Most are car accidents involving the deer that results in a driver or passenger being killed.)

 

Good to see you aren't overreacting - many visitors totally overestimate the risk of these things. I'm not sure that many people are killed by roos, but there are definitely very few killed by sharks. On average less than one per year. And crocodiles (which are probably more dangerous - they can follow you up onto land and jump up into trees) kill even less. Oh and those terribly poisonous snakes and spiders, kill approximately none. We have effective antivenoms now even if you do get bitten. In Sydney, you are unlikely to encounter anything too scary, though it is the only metro area that plays home to a potentially fatal spider - the Sydney funnelweb - so do avoid close contact with spiders and you'll be fine. Most of the nasty critters live further north.

 

The real risks to visitors are the fact that we have no ozone layer and everyone gets badly burnt at least once before they beleive us when we tell them they need to cover up and use sunscreen more than they are used to, and the heat (if they aren't used to it) causing heat stress/ heat stroke which can really ruin a few days of your holiday.

[erewhon]

Cruise Arizona,

 

Please do not tip while you are visiting Australia and New Zealand.

 

Hope you thoroughly enjoy your time "down-under".

[cjm66]

I got to see a bit of Australia last week on the Discovery Channel, on what else, "Shark Week." They had reenactments of several attacks that happened in Au, one a Navy diver who lost his hand and leg during a training mission in Sydney Harbor, and the other a lady who was bitten in the buttock while reef snorkeling in Northern AU. No worries, I'll bet more people are killed by Kangaroos in a year than Sharks. (We have more people killed by deer in the US. Most are car accidents involving the deer that results in a driver or passenger being killed.)

.

 

Hi Cruise Arizona - a bit off the tipping topic but related to your research generally. Try this web site - the actual link takes you to the page about the "dangers" of Australia.

 

http://www.postcardz.com.au/dangers-of-travelling-in-australia.htm

 

Colleen

[Cruise Arizona]

Good to see you aren't overreacting - many visitors totally overestimate the risk of these things. I'm not sure that many people are killed by roos, but there are definitely very few killed by sharks. On average less than one per year. And crocodiles (which are probably more dangerous - they can follow you up onto land and jump up into trees) kill even less. Oh and those terribly poisonous snakes and spiders, kill approximately none. We have effective antivenoms now even if you do get bitten. In Sydney, you are unlikely to encounter anything too scary, though it is the only metro area that plays home to a potentially fatal spider - the Sydney funnelweb - so do avoid close contact with spiders and you'll be fine. Most of the nasty critters live further north.

 

The real risks to visitors are the fact that we have no ozone layer and everyone gets badly burnt at least once before they beleive us when we tell them they need to cover up and use sunscreen more than they are used to, and the heat (if they aren't used to it) causing heat stress/ heat stroke which can really ruin a few days of your holiday.

 

Well other than we are completely landlocked in Arizona, I can't imagine that I would have to do things much differently in Oz as I do at home. As a matter of fact, I even have two C-wear swim suits I ordered from Australia to wear when I'm in the sun for any more than just a few minuts. I always wear a wide brimmed hat when I'm working in the yard or walking the dogs. We live at 5000 ft elevation and AZ has 360 sunny days a year. We may have more ozone, but you could never tell.

 

Oh, snakes, we have lots snakes, last year we had 12 rattle snakes either in our garage on our back porch. I get my husband or neighbors to kill them because of the kids and dogs, but they are really not aggressive. A person would have to really work pretty hard to get one of them to bite. Most bites in Az are on drunk men or young men, who were trying to handle the snakes. There was a young girl bitten by a big one about 10 years ago, unusual bite because she had just sat down on a large rock, but apparently the snake took her presence as a thread to her den. That bite was very unusual and the snake express a large amount of venom. The girl had to receive something like 144 doses of anti-venum. But usually if you don't bother the snakes they won't bother you. We had one in our drain pipe the other day, and I only saw it because I watched a bunny hop in there. The snake was too small for the bunny to it just let the bunny hop on by. I don't like snakes but I have learned to watch for them here on my property, I'm sure if I am mindful, I won't encounter any problems in Au.

[bazzaw]

The biggest thing about Australian snakes is not how many of them that there are - but their venom. It is well known that Australian snakes account very highly in the "most venomous snakes" listing. Here , http://www.avru.org/general/general_mostvenom.html, you can see that 20 of the 25 in this list are Australian - and the Rattlesnake features very low in the list. In fact, there is only 1 North American snake on the list.

 

 

Barry

[NSWP]

I would rather face a Pit Bull Terrier than a 'Joe Blake.'

 

Visitors need to be aware of the 'Noah's Arks' but.

 

As for spiders, we won't even mention Funnel Webs and Red Backs under the 'dunny seat, LOL.

 

Ah, back to the topic..just tip a couple of bucks for good service, it will be appreciated.

[silverwillow]

Public service announcement:

 

To all Americans,

 

Please note that when travelling to Australia and New Zealand all your gratuities have been pre-paid.

 

Thank you. :p

[Cruise Arizona]

:D

Public service announcement:

 

To all Americans,

 

Please note that when travelling to Australia and New Zealand all your gratuities have been pre-paid.

 

Thank you. :p

 

Thank YOU!!!:D What a good way to put it!!!

[lonig]

Someone asked why we tip in the US. The servers in most states receive $2.13 go $2.65 an hour, so tips are very important to them. Some states do pay minimum wage which can be from $4.30 to $8.50 an hour for servers (federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour). Would be tough to live on any of these wages, that is why they rely on tips. I appreciate the comment that we have pre-paid tips in Australia, lol.

[rugbypopsie]

Hi Lonig, yes we do understand the pay structure in the states that is why we follow the convention of tipping when we are visiting you. However what has got us riled up in the insinuation that we are ignorant and need to learn to tip in our own country...absolutely not the case. As for "tipping" on the ship well its actually a wage supplementation and that is what it should be called...it has nothing to do with superior service or anything that Australians and Kiwis would recognise as a tip.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that we already pay way more for our cruises that US citizens do for the same cruise..I would be happy to have the hotel charge rolled into the cruise fare.

 

The way it is now the cruise line wants to rip us off on the price and the booking conditions then pay the "hotel charge" on top and then tip staff individually on top of that.:mad::mad:

 

 

[aussie57]

Hi Lonig, yes we do understand the pay structure in the states that is why we follow the convention of tipping when we are visiting you. However what has got us riled up in the insinuation that we are ignorant and need to learn to tip in our own country...absolutely not the case. As for "tipping" on the ship well its actually a wage supplementation and that is what it should be called...it has nothing to do with superior service or anything that Australians and Kiwis would recognise as a tip.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that we already pay way more for our cruises that US citizens do for the same cruise..I would be happy to have the hotel charge rolled into the cruise fare.

 

The way it is now the cruise line wants to rip us off on the price and the booking conditions then pay the "hotel charge" on top and then tip staff individually on top of that.:mad::mad:

Well said Rugbypopsie :)

[The_Big_M]

However what has got us riled up in the insinuation that we are ignorant and need to learn to tip in our own country...absolutely not the case. ..

 

If it wasn't for the fact that we already pay way more for our cruises that US citizens do for the same cruise..I would be happy to have the hotel charge rolled into the cruise fare.

 

The way it is now the cruise line wants to rip us off on the price and the booking conditions then pay the "hotel charge" on top and then tip staff individually on top of that.:mad::mad:

 

 

The way I read it, he didn't say anything about tipping here, just how it works on Celebrity ships.

 

As for their pricing Celebrity seems to keep pricing fairly similar between locations. There are still some local specials and currency rates go up and down, but we don't generally pay more for their cruises than those in the US do.

[aussie57]

Good to see you aren't overreacting - many visitors totally overestimate the risk of these things. I'm not sure that many people are killed by roos, but there are definitely very few killed by sharks. On average less than one per year. And crocodiles (which are probably more dangerous - they can follow you up onto land and jump up into trees) kill even less. Oh and those terribly poisonous snakes and spiders, kill approximately none. We have effective antivenoms now even if you do get bitten. In Sydney, you are unlikely to encounter anything too scary, though it is the only metro area that plays home to a potentially fatal spider - the Sydney funnelweb - so do avoid close contact with spiders and you'll be fine. Most of the nasty critters live further north.

This just about sums up the wildlife problem :D

[melsimpress]

I can just see us running into each other and saying "G'Day Mate, you know I'm not really Australian, I just use the fake accent so people don't know I'm American and expect me to tip."

 

Who knows I may actually start to pick up an accent after only a few days. On one of my cruises, we spent a lot of time with a British couple and I found myself starting to pick up a British Accent.

 

Maybe I'll rent a few Australian Movies before the trip so I can work on my accent, any recommendations for good ones?

 

Hi Guys!!

 

Don't forget Crocodile Dundee to add to your collection of movies, and The Castle is a movie I definitely agree with.;) Just chillax here, go with the flow, we're a pretty laid back bunch in Oz.:p Think of all the extra spending money you'll have without the worry of how much to tip who!!

 

Cheers

Melissa:D