Tipping on board brittania?

[davecttr]

I wonder if P&O HQ have considered the positive marketing aspects of including tips in the market price. "No tipping required". Or are the customers purely driven by the headline price?

[eddie11]

Indeed. They make great play of being a British cruise line, what better way to show it than to eschew this US nonsense of a tipping culture? It's such a (relatively) small amount. Presumably if they added it to the fare it need not be as 'high' as the current £5.50pppd, because no-one would/could avoid it.

 

I wonder if they're thinking this way? There is always a question on their quesionnaires about whether you prefer inclusive holidays. I've always taken this to mean they are investigating drinks packages but maybe not, maybe it is inclusive tips?

[FAB1]

We use select dining restaurants a lot and tip them very handsomely - because the service is exemplary.

 

When we went to the White Room, as it was then on Ventura, we were told on booking with the MaitreD on the desk that there was no need to tip as it was included in the cover charge.

[wowzz]

Indeed. They make great play of being a British cruise line, what better way to show it than to eschew this US nonsense of a tipping culture? It's such a (relatively) small amount. Presumably if they added it to the fare it need not be as 'high' as the current £5.50pppd, because no-one would/could avoid it.

 

I wonder if they're thinking this way? There is always a question on their quesionnaires about whether you prefer inclusive holidays. I've always taken this to mean they are investigating drinks packages but maybe not, maybe it is inclusive tips?

 

Unfortunately P&O are about as 'British' as Rolls Royce or Bentley. At the end of the day, Carnival will call the shots.

I always leave the auto tips on, and was pleasantly surprised when booking my first P&O cruise a few weeks ago, as to how low the gratuities are compared to previous cruises I have taken on Celebrity and Princess. Of course, the disparity is even worse now with the exchange rate.

But, given how low the gratuities are, I agree that it would make sense to include the tips. Booking a cruise for £2000 pp, I cannot see that an extra £70 or £80 pp would be a deal breaker. If you cannot afford £2080, but can afford £2000 I would question your decision to spend that much money on a cruise in the first place.

Also, if Princess cruises based in Australia are 'all inclusive' [because the Aussie passengers all removed the auto-tips because of the anti-tipping culture in Australia] surely the same could be done in the UK. However, that would mean that everyone removes auto-tips, and pay no tips in cash at all - after a few months the crew would probably mutiny.

[smj777]

I wonder if anyone else does as we do? We tip our cabin steward on the very first time he comes to our cabin.

 

We say something like 'I'm sure you'll look after us'. We then get excellent service (not that we probably wouldn't anyway) and then give a smaller tip at the end.

 

We also give tips to waiters, barstaff etc. if we have had special service. We also pay the auto tips.

[jeanlyon]

Now that I cannot understand. Why would you tip somebody before they have done anything? Bribe comes to mind! LOL

[davecttr]

That's not tipping it is bribery!

[peteukmcr]

Now that I cannot understand. Why would you tip somebody before they have done anything? Bribe comes to mind! LOL

 

That's not tipping it is bribery!

Many US passengers claim to do this, not only stateroom attendants, but bar staff as well, as soon as they board.

[jeanlyon]

Absolutely unbelievable. Definitely bribery. And so unnecessary.

[terrierjohn]

Absolutely unbelievable. Definitely bribery. And so unnecessary.

Definitely agree, I go along with the current cruise tipping culture purely because I understand that this is how this group of service staff get the vast majority of theiir pay.

If tips were included in the cruise price then I might give a little extra for outstanding service, but not as a general rule.

[PRINCESSTHE BEST]

That's not tipping it is bribery!

 

Say for example, you remove the auto tips at the beginning of the cruise. The cabin steward may or may not know this has happened. If he does, it may affect the way he views you and the service you are going to get. Being upfront and informing him you have done this and giving him a tip at the beginning of the cruise is a gesture of goodwill. He then knows he will be paid the remainder at the end.

[PRINCESSTHE BEST]

Now that I cannot understand. Why would you tip somebody before they have done anything? Bribe comes to mind! LOL

 

Why would P&O want you to tip before they have done anything? But they do, they add gratuities to your on board account on day one.

[peteukmcr]

Absolutely unbelievable. Definitely bribery. And so unnecessary.

 

Definitely agree, I go along with the current cruise tipping culture purely because I understand that this is how this group of service staff get the vast majority of theiir pay.

If tips were included in the cruise price then I might give a little extra for outstanding service, but not as a general rule.

I am only reporting what you will read on other cruise line threads re giving a gratuity at the start of the cruise. They believe they get better service.

[jeanlyon]

Princess, I'm sorry, but if they know I have removed the autotips, then that's fine. At the end of the cruise, I give my tips. I have never encountered bad service yet on any cruise. Agree that P&O charge the autotip on Day 1 or 2, but it's not charged to your account until the end, so neither here nor there.

 

to tip someone at the beginning before you even know what they are like is just ridiculous.

[Florry]

I wonder if anyone else does as we do? We tip our cabin steward on the very first time he comes to our cabin.

 

We say something like 'I'm sure you'll look after us'. We then get excellent service (not that we probably wouldn't anyway) and then give a smaller tip at the end.

 

We also give tips to waiters, barstaff etc. if we have had special service. We also pay the auto tips.

 

 

Yes I've seen this lots of times, (not so much on cruises), to get swift service by tipping upfront. In fact it was common place 30 years ago in affluent circles. I would question whether it benefits passengers on cruises so much, other than perhaps if you intend to frequent a particular bar which gets busy - I'm usually in bed with a cup of cocoa [emoji23]

 

 

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Edited November 4, 2016 by Florry

[jeanlyon]

Florry, I have heard of dropping some cash to a head waiter to get the table you want, something similar to that, but not tipping waiters before you have been served? One is a bribe, one is a tip.

Edited November 4, 2016 by jeanlyon

[Florry]

Florry, I have heard of dropping some cash to a head waiter to get the table you want, something similar to that, but not tipping waiters before you have been served? One is a bribe, one is a tip.

 

 

It's not so much waiters more bar staff, and it was more common place years ago. I agree it is an inducement to ensure you are given a priority service, but not in a dishonest way. It's perhaps a bit of an 'old school' practise used more in privileged circles, that isn't that common place these days. As I say on cruises I don't think it's done much largely because there are lots of bar staff anyway and once a steward has a tip it could reduce his incentive and be counter productive, especially if he/she has 16 other cabins to impress who haven't tipped yet. I'm not saying it's right or wrong just that in my younger years I witnessed this quite often and it worked. I'm sure I've seen it in films from time to time too. I wonder if it's still done in the US?

 

 

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Edited November 4, 2016 by Florry

[balf]

I would guess that if they upped the prices so they could say all grats are included people would still wonder are they getting a decent wage, so tip on top to make sure.

 

It always amazes me that there are people who think it is up to them to pay the staff wages. They are employed by Pando, and if they are being exploited and under paid it's their responsibility.

 

DAVID.

[balf]

I wonder if anyone else does as we do? We tip our cabin steward on the very first time he comes to our cabin.

 

We say something like 'I'm sure you'll look after us'. We then get excellent service (not that we probably wouldn't anyway) and then give a smaller tip at the end.

 

That's a bribe not a tip.

 

David

[balf]

Why would P&O want you to tip before they have done anything? But they do, they add gratuities to your on board account on day one.

 

And you can remove them on day two, but you would have a problem getting back a bribe.

 

DAVID.

[Florry]

And you can remove them on day two, but you would have a problem getting back a bribe.

 

 

 

DAVID.

 

 

lol can't argue with that [emoji23]

 

 

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[Mysticalmother]

It always amazes me that there are people who think it is up to them to pay the staff wages. They are employed by Pando, and if they are being exploited and under paid it's their responsibility.

 

DAVID.

I am not necessarily disagreeing with you, but one has to look at the culture of the particular business. It is no different to say, a ladies hairdresser....many of them are paid a low basic wage, and the rest is made up in tips. The junior who washes your hair etc ..A tip is expected in hairdressing salon, and one is usually given. Similarly in restaurants all over the UK, wages are basic and tips are used to make their wages up to a more reasonable level. Most of us do tip in eating establishments unless a gratuity is shown as included....how many people take the tip off at the end when settling the bill? Only if service is bad.

 

I am not saying it is right....but it is a reality. No different on cruise ships.

[peteukmcr]

I am not necessarily disagreeing with you, but one has to look at the culture of the particular business. It is no different to say, a ladies hairdresser....many of them are paid a low basic wage, and the rest is made up in tips. The junior who washes your hair etc ..A tip is expected in hairdressing salon, and one is usually given. Similarly in restaurants all over the UK, wages are basic and tips are used to make their wages up to a more reasonable level. Most of us do tip in eating establishments unless a gratuity is shown as included....how many people take the tip off at the end when settling the bill? Only if service is bad.

 

I am not saying it is right....but it is a reality. No different on cruise ships.

I agree with your analogies in terms of supplementing the workers remuneration.

 

In terms of the practice of adding gratuities (either prepaid or a daily addition to the on board account), these are included in the headline fare by some lines (Thomson, Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea etc) and so the corresponding lead in fare could appear higher than others. These lines may also include other discretionary elements such as shore excursions, beverage packages etc.

 

Many mainstream lines do not include the above and so the lead in fare is lower, but then the above can to be added if required. But it is at the discretion of the guest. I suspect many of the main stream lines are scared of including tips and other items in the fare because then they will appear more expensive on the routes where their ships sail in competition with others.

 

This is exactly what the airlines have been doing for years now. You have the low cost models of Ryanair, Jet2, Monarch, EasyJet etc who have a low lead in fare, but if you want checked in bags, allocated seats, refreshments, airport check in, flexible tickets, etc to complete your trip, you pay extra.

 

The legacy carriers such as BA, Lufthansa, Air France, Virgin Atlantic etc, invariably had higher lead in fares, but these included (and still do in a lot of cases) checked baggage, allocated seats, airport check in, in flight refreshments and flexible tickets.

 

Both types of airlines are now re-inventing themselves, the low cost are providing more 'inclusive' but expensive fares, allocated seats, and flexible fares, and the legacy carriers are providing the ability to have no checked bags, enabling travellers to pre pay for a specific seat (long gone are the days of booking your flight and your travel agent allocating you the best extra leg room economy seat!), refreshments for purchase (BA on short haul will soon offer M&S food for purchase).

 

What I'm trying to say is that if you add up all the 'extras' which are discretionary for many things, the total may not come out much different from those that include them already and that are an 'expected' cost of cruising.

 

Package holiday companies have been doing this for years, and although initially it may appear less expensive to book your flights and accommodation separately, by the time you add the cost of the other elements (transfers etc), the total may not be that much less.

Edited November 5, 2016 by peteukmcr

[terrierjohn]

It always amazes me that there are people who think it is up to them to pay the staff wages. They are employed by Pando, and if they are being exploited and under paid it's their responsibility.

 

DAVID.

It hardly matters whether you pay the crews wages out of the cruise fare or via the auto grats, you are still going to pay them somehow.

[peteukmcr]

It hardly matters whether you pay the crews wages out of the cruise fare or via the auto grats, you are still going to pay them somehow.

Exactly. If you end up paying them out of the cruise fare, that means that will increase to cover them.