Explorer OTS ex Sydney - TIPS!!!

[ChrisOz]

Yeah. I know. The word "tip" in the subject is a real troll magnet. I am brave. Here goes...

 

In the land of Oz where resides Dorothy, the tin... and kangaroos... we normally don't tip. In a taxi we "round up" and likewise in a restaurant. That's about it.

 

So it comes as a surprise to me that on the Explorer OTS it is sufficient on a day to day basis to have my stash of USD $1 and basically tip $1 for every bar or other service I pay on my card.

 

Is that correct? I mean: $1 sounds like I am a tight wad. But is it because gratuities are included anyway so the tip is totally unexpected and thus $1 is quite enough?

[bobbythedog]

For cruises ending or transit in Australia, would it make sense to tip suitable cruise staff with A$ instead of the customary US$?

[Langley Cruisers]

...So it comes as a surprise to me that on the Explorer OTS it is sufficient on a day to day basis to have my stash of USD $1 and basically tip $1 for every bar or other service I pay on my card.

 

Is that correct? I mean: $1 sounds like I am a tight wad. But is it because gratuities are included anyway so the tip is totally unexpected and thus $1 is quite enough?

 

You know that when you purchase a drink (excluding having paid for a drink package), there is an 18% auto-gratuity added to the bill, right? So you tipping the extra $1 USD will make them very happy but it certainly isn't required or expected.

 

When you say "But is it because gratuities are included anyway..." what do you mean? The auto-gratuity/service charge/hotel charge (whatever you want to call it) is either added to your daily bill on board ship, or you can pre-pay it on your final bill before leaving home. Tips are not included in RCI's price, so that left me a little puzzled... could you elaborate?

 

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[ChrisOz]

Would have to use COINS. I have travelled enough to know that notes are always preferred. And coins from my point of view are heavy and bulky to lug around.

 

Thus the USD thing.

 

Smallest I can go in Aussie stuff is $5. I think that is a bit much for each and every transaction considering I have been told gratuities are already added on.

 

Does anyone else do as I am planning: Put a crisp US $1 in the folder when asked for your signature?

[JVilleGal]

Ok I'll bit... without going to the RCCL website and figuring out your itinerary as I already had to search ALL your prior posting to figure out your sailing...... are your gratuities included already in your cruise fare? Is that why you asked?

 

 

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Edited November 27, 2016 by JVilleGal

[ChrisOz]

Ahhhh I am thinking I am not making sense here.

 

From the RCCL website, I click on one of my reservation numbers. Takes me to a page "Countdown to Cruise". I have a few tabs I can select. The right most one is "Tips and Reminders". Click on that and I get a list of useful things to know.

 

One of which is: "A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine bill when you are served."

 

It is in this context and only this context I plan to "slip" a $1 note or "bill" as many call them in the USA! Basically whenever gratuities are already included. I assume it is not just bar bills.

 

I would not dream of tipping the room attendant $1 for my stay hehehe.

Edited November 27, 2016 by ChrisOz

[aussielozzie18]

Hi Chris,

On the Explorer, you either pre-pay tips and your TA will add it to your cruise fare or you are charged on board by RCI. These onboard charge by RCI is $13.50per day to your onboard account.

 

In addition to this, if you get exemplary service, you may choose to pay a tip at the end of the cruise to your room steward, your favourite barman and your waiters. However, this is entirely optional.

 

There is no mandatory 18% tip on drinks. For example, when I bought the $8.50 cocktail of the day, the charge was $8.50. There was space on the receipt for a tip but as I was told by a waiter who served me the drink, the tip is entirely optional and not necessary.

 

Unlike a land based vacation to the USA, for cruises on RCI in Australia, you do not need to carry around $1 bills to tip the barman, room cleaners etc.

 

I always tip my room steward at the end of the cruise. I am a light drinker so I dont have a regular barman but friends who cruise RCI often and like to drink, always tip their barman at the end of the cruise as well as the waiters in the Main Dining Room, if they provide excellent service.

[easyboy]

Yeah. I know. The word "tip" in the subject is a real troll magnet. I am brave. Here goes...

 

 

 

In the land of Oz where resides Dorothy, the tin... and kangaroos... we normally don't tip. In a taxi we "round up" and likewise in a restaurant. That's about it.

 

 

 

So it comes as a surprise to me that on the Explorer OTS it is sufficient on a day to day basis to have my stash of USD $1 and basically tip $1 for every bar or other service I pay on my card.

 

 

 

Is that correct? I mean: $1 sounds like I am a tight wad. But is it because gratuities are included anyway so the tip is totally unexpected and thus $1 is quite enough?

 

 

No, you are not a tight wad. The $1 tip is not expected but is already appreciated.

 

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Edited November 27, 2016 by easyboy

[BekkaW]

The price of drinks will already include the 18% required gratuity. It is not added to your bill - that happens on US cruises but is literally illegal here so the gratuity is already included. If you want to give $1 extra you can but there is no requirement to.

 

Another poster mentioned that perhaps you should be doing it in Australian dollars, that is not correct. Everything on the ship stays in US dollars.

 

Daily gratuities for cabin and wait service will be added to your onboard account, if they have not been prepaid.

[BekkaW]

There is no mandatory 18% tip on drinks. For example, when I bought the $8.50 cocktail of the day, the charge was $8.50. There was space on the receipt for a tip but as I was told by a waiter who served me the drink, the tip is entirely optional and not necessary.

 

The 18% is already included in the $8.50. Menu price for drinks is lower on US cruises but then the % is added on.

 

I agree with everything else you said :)

[Sparky74]

Back in 2011 we ordered 200 x US$1 bills from the bank for cruise tipping and we're still working our way through the first 100! We prepay our gratuities and if we receive exceptional service our cabin steward and dining staff will get an additional cash tip in Aussie Dollars. We use the US$1 bills to tip for room service (only a couple of times each cruise) or if we order a (non alcoholic) drink in the theatre (maybe every second or third night). We find that as a result we get very good service on Australian sailings.

 

There's an old joke which asks what the difference is between an Aussie and a canoe? Canoes sometimes tip!:rolleyes:

[ChrisOz]

Whew! Just a few replies (lol).

 

Obviously I am way out of my depth with tipping.

 

Just such a foreign thing to me. Keen to do the "right thing".

 

Where I am coming from: I am fed up with the "Ugly Australian" thing in my part of the world. Drunk. Crass. And never thankful for service.

 

Yes, myself, DW, DS, DD will be partying hard with my full support. (We all work and study hard the rest of the year). But not drunk. Not crass. And always thankful for great service. Thus my keenness to show my appreciation in a small way at the exact time the service was given.

 

I think we'll clarify tips with Guest Services as soon as we board and arrange if necessary for a standard gratuity amount to be added to the account every day.

 

I'll have some dollars to tip on an occasional basis while on board.

 

And as we always do when travelling, decide if someone (or more than one) deserve something special at the end.

 

Simple as that!

 

And... many thanks for all the great replies here. I had expected that this might start a tipping argument and thus be accused of trolling.

[kobecat]

On the Voyager of the Seas, US$13.50 per day per passenger was added to our on-board account. I am happy with this but with our exchange rate at present, it is a high charge. So if you have four of you if I read your post correctly, you will be paying close to AU$75 per day in tips. I would not be paying any more.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

It may be that the prices are increased on Australian cruises to compensate for the no-tipping culture.

 

If they DON'T charge your account daily, that's what's happened, they HAVE figured in the tip amount into your fare.

[MrYellowDuck]

Most Australians and most New Zealanders won't tip extra; many will turn off the auto-tipping if it is turned on. Some other lines now don't bother billing daily for fares bought in AU and NZ; prices have not been increased - they were already considerably higher than a US guest pays.

 

American's love to pay tips and those from many other countries do not. Lines cater to keeping both groups happy.

[JVilleGal]

Was this cruise booked thru an NZ/AU Agent? Are you on an ALL inclusive fare? Or ????? If your tips are already included you don't need to feel you have to tip. If the drinks already have the auto 18% added either in the price of the drink (higher drink cost) or added to the drink bill (this can not be removed).

 

I guess we need to know more info about the conditions under which you booked. Your Travel Agent can spell this out for you but without knowing what is included in your fare we are only guessing.

 

My TA pre pays my Gratuities, my bar bill has an automatic 18% that I can not remove. I am booked in a suite so will likely tip my Butler in addition and any room service attendant service not provided by the Butler. The Concierge IF we use them AND the porters at port embarking & debarking. We also leave a small tip for the tour guides & bus drivers.

The extra tips are left for excellent service.

 

 

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[ChrisOz]

Was this cruise booked thru an NZ/AU Agent? Are you on an ALL inclusive fare? Or ????? If your tips are already included you don't need to feel you have to tip. If the drinks already have the auto 18% added either in the price of the drink (higher drink cost) or added to the drink bill (this can not be removed).

 

I guess we need to know more info about the conditions under which you booked. Your Travel Agent can spell this out for you but without knowing what is included in your fare we are only guessing.

 

Booked directly. (I have had too many problems with TAs over the years. Yes, I have even had to book a hotel room in a "pension" in Paris by phone. No French and no English at the other end. But I get by somehow!)

 

My booking details on line state that gratuities will be added daily to my account. So the price I have paid so far is not all inclusive in that respect. Drinks will already have gratuities on them but my friends tell me there is still space on the drink receipt to add more!

 

On the Voyager of the Seas, US$13.50 per day per passenger was added to our on-board account. I am happy with this but with our exchange rate at present, it is a high charge. So if you have four of you if I read your post correctly, you will be paying close to AU$75 per day in tips. I would not be paying any more.

 

Yes. Four of us.

 

I have to confess. I work in a fairly large workplace and at any time I can look around and there will be ten or so colleagues who cruise regularly with family. So I have a lot of experiences to draw upon.

 

They mostly turn off automatic tipping due to that $75 / day hit.

 

After that attitudes vary.

 

Speaking for myself I will be doing what I normally do when travelling: sit down with family and discuss who particularly stood out. I'll have envelopes and red/orange and gold coloured Aussie notes ready to place in said envelopes.

 

On the cruise ship I will track down the crew members and hand the envelope directly and without other crew members seeing. (Yes to avoid having to share with others). I am rather proud of my "palming off" style. Talk about greasing the wheels of commerce in Asia lol.

 

If unable to track down then I will as accurately as possible identify the crew member by name and physical description and station on the envelope and deposit the envelope with Guest Services and say a prayer.

 

If I do indeed turn off tipping (a matter to be discussed with my DW) then naturally more envelopes will be handed out. I won't be generous. No-one can solve world poverty save for Bill Gates. I will just do my bit.

Edited November 30, 2016 by ChrisOz

[The_Big_M]

I think we'll clarify tips with Guest Services as soon as we board and arrange if necessary for a standard gratuity amount to be added to the account every day.

 

No need to arrange with Guest services. Auto tipping will be automatically done for your account. Note that you can vary the amount/percentage if you wish. This room auto service charge covers the service staff everyone always has, i.e. dining and room attendants. It doesn't cover the optional services like drinks and spa since some don't use them at all. However, when those services are purchased, the tip is automatically included in the total.

[kobecat]

Did you know that the staff get a daily list of who has taken the auto tipping off? In this case they know they are working for nothing. It is my understanding that if auto tipping is taken off and you tip individuals they MUST turn this in. It is not worth their job not to. If auto tipping is left on and you give extra, they must declare it, but are permitted to keep it.

 

 

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[JVilleGal]

I agree that if the AU conversion is $75 per day that is excessive. Why don't you just adjust the amount to $14 x 4. The envelope system just does not get to the back room folks that allow the front facing people do their jobs so well. Inappropriate use of envelopes hurts the crew.

 

Please just adjust your Auto Gratuities so that these funds reach the proper staff members.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Did you know that the staff get a daily list of who has taken the auto tipping off? In this case they know they are working for nothing. It is my understanding that if auto tipping is taken off and you tip individuals they MUST turn this in. It is not worth their job not to. If auto tipping is left on and you give extra, they must declare it, but are permitted to keep it.

That is exactly what I also gathered from our room steward before.

[Aus ATC]

IMHO, then best approach is to simply consider the auto gratuities as part of the cost of the holiday. We prefer to prepay, and then it is done. If I didn't prepay, I would not dream of removing the per day charge (unless perhaps in the case of a consistent service failure - but not something we have encountered). Anything extra for the room steward, MDR staff etc is given as an acknowledgement of the (good) service provided.

 

Same for the drinks - we are generally on a package and don't tip, but may sling a favourite barman or 3 a few dollars on the last night - but not from any sense of obligation. I don't think actual currency matters - they will sort it out!

 

It is a pity these "gratuities" have to be separately itemised, but as the cruise industry is largely born of a USA culture, it is just something those of us from other countries have to live with. The important thing is that the people who work hard to make our holiday great are fairly compensated - however that happens to be structured.

[kerrycoco1]

O

 

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[ChrisOz]

Did you know that the staff get a daily list of who has taken the auto tipping off? In this case they know they are working for nothing. It is my understanding that if auto tipping is taken off and you tip individuals they MUST turn this in. It is not worth their job not to. If auto tipping is left on and you give extra, they must declare it, but are permitted to keep it.

 

WOW! I had no idea.

 

And yes, I totally agree that the envelope system is weak in respect of the back room boys and girls.

 

I guess I am a typical Aussie. I want to do the right thing, morally, within my means but due to inexperience I am clueless. Lol.

[Aus ATC]

WOW! I had no idea.

 

I guess I am a typical Aussie. I want to do the right thing, morally, within my means but due to inexperience I am clueless. Lol.

 

Me too - just leave the auto tipping in place and enjoy the cruise. Tip (and this in the true sense of the word) if you want to, but don't feel obliged.