Rise in Gratuities

[jeanlyon]

We always tip, but on our terms. My objection with p and o is being told I have to tip,and by how much. A tip is option, not compulsory and we, as passengers, should not help p and o pay the staff’s wages. A tip should be awarded for good service, here again that is open to negotiation, no as a right.

 

 

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Exactly my feelings. A tip is something given freely, not a compulsory charge. We tip our cabin steward and waiters on the last night and also the wine waiter if he/she is any good. yes I know they get commission, but sometimes they are very good. I do not tell them I have removed the autograt. Why would I? I have never seen it referred to yet as a service charge, has that changed recently? This is what is says on their wite https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/gratuity It's called tips! Oh yes and further down it says "service charge". LOL

[kalos]

 

Until P&Os do make a change to add the costs to the initial costs or make the service charge compulsory (which they would need to advertise which is what they want to avoid) customers have a choice and some for their own reasons choose not to pay any tips. While I personally don't agree with their position, P&O allow them to do so.

 

 

Any change for the better has to come from the company not the customer.

 

Well said..

 

Yesterday Simon Calder - travel consultant contacted P&O ...

 

A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “The service charge is reviewed periodically and is given directly to reward the waiters, cabin stewards and other staff on board for the exceptional service they provide to guests.

“It is a discretionary charge.”

 

So that's the latest from P&O, nothings changed apart from the price .

 

I will pay my auto's and what anyone else pays is of no concern to me I will be too busy enjoying my cruise .

[Millers]

Well said..

 

 

 

Yesterday Simon Calder - travel consultant contacted P&O ...

 

 

 

A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “The service charge is reviewed periodically and is given directly to reward the waiters, cabin stewards and other staff on board for the exceptional service they provide to guests.

 

“It is a discretionary charge.”

 

 

 

So that's the latest from P&O, nothings changed apart from the price .

 

 

 

I will pay my auto's and what anyone else pays is of no concern to me I will be too busy enjoying my cruise .

 

 

 

Correct

 

 

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[simonpjd]

We are with Cunard for 35 nights soon. The auto gratuity there is 12.90 USD pppd. So that is nudging towards a thousand dollars. And of course they whack an extra 15% tip on everything bought on board. And the cheapest bottle of wine is 40USD.

I am not sure how they get away with it.

So you lucky P&Oers it could be worse.

 

 

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[Host Hattie]

We are with Cunard for 35 nights soon. The auto gratuity there is 12.90 USD pppd. So that is nudging towards a thousand dollars. And of course they whack an extra 15% tip on everything bought on board. And the cheapest bottle of wine is 40USD.

I am not sure how they get away with it.

So you lucky P&Oers it could be worse.

 

 

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I'm not sure which cabin you have booked on Cunard but the Hotel & Service Dining charge is $13.50 in suites and $11.50 in other categories.

[majortom10]

We are with Cunard for 35 nights soon. The auto gratuity there is 12.90 USD pppd. So that is nudging towards a thousand dollars. And of course they whack an extra 15% tip on everything bought on board. And the cheapest bottle of wine is 40USD.

I am not sure how they get away with it.

So you lucky P&Oers it could be worse.

 

 

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They do not "whack" 15% tip on everything bought onboard only drinks and bottles of wine.

[dgs1956]

 

A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “The service charge is reviewed periodically and is given directly to reward the waiters, cabin stewards and other staff on board for the exceptional service they provide to guests.

“It is a discretionary charge.”

 

 

This is the whole point about this issue. It is a Service Charge. It is not a tip. Tipping is a reward for what you personally consider to be good service. A Service Charge is just as it says. It is discretionary but most feel obliged to pay it but the recent increase are making even us reconsider.

[insanemagnet]

This is the whole point about this issue. It is a Service Charge. It is not a tip. Tipping is a reward for what you personally consider to be good service. A Service Charge is just as it says. It is discretionary but most feel obliged to pay it but the recent increase are making even us reconsider.

I agree it isn't a tip, but it isn't a service charge either. It is the bulk of the wages for the staff P&O have chosen not to pay.

[soobs]

We tip and also leave the auto charge on our final bill and really the cabin steward get an easy time with us, we make the bed in a morning before going to breakfast unless it's changing day, we clean the bathroom apart from the loo when we have been in it and are tidy and everything is away in draws so easy to just wipe down, it has often been commented on by the cabin steward but we still leave a small tip. We are easily pleased in the dining room so again not too much trouble for the waiters we don't tip as we are freedom dining and rarely get the same waiter we have on occasions come across an excellent waiter so my OH always carries a fiver just in case

Do wish people wouldn't cancel auto tips as it just pushes the price up for those who don't

[dgs1956]

I agree it isn't a tip, but it isn't a service charge either. It is the bulk of the wages for the staff P&O have chosen not to pay.

 

Can't argue with that but I wish everyone who stop calling them auto tips when they are definitely not that.

[grapau27]

We tip and also leave the auto charge on our final bill and really the cabin steward get an easy time with us, we make the bed in a morning before going to breakfast unless it's changing day, we clean the bathroom apart from the loo when we have been in it and are tidy and everything is away in draws so easy to just wipe down, it has often been commented on by the cabin steward but we still leave a small tip. We are easily pleased in the dining room so again not too much trouble for the waiters we don't tip as we are freedom dining and rarely get the same waiter we have on occasions come across an excellent waiter so my OH always carries a fiver just in case

Do wish people wouldn't cancel auto tips as it just pushes the price up for those who don't

Your experience is very similar to ours,the cabin steward has the towels to change and we do like you and keep a very tidy cabin.

[jeanlyon]

Goodness I draw the line at cleaning the bathroom when I'm on holiday! We don't leave a mess either, but I don't make the bed. It's only a duvet!

[grapau27]

Goodness I draw the line at cleaning the bathroom when I'm on holiday! We don't leave a mess either, but I don't make the bed. It's only a duvet!

True and easy to tidy the duvet and pillows.

[jeanlyon]

So what do I want the cabin steward to do then? Sheesh?

[soobs]

Turn down my bed at night and leave me a chocolate, leave me ice and lemon for my G & T and greet me with a nice smile and hello makes my day

[Josy1953]

We tip and also leave the auto charge on our final bill and really the cabin steward get an easy time with us, we make the bed in a morning before going to breakfast unless it's changing day, we clean the bathroom apart from the loo when we have been in it and are tidy and everything is away in draws so easy to just wipe down, it has often been commented on by the cabin steward but we still leave a small tip. We are easily pleased in the dining room so again not too much trouble for the waiters we don't tip as we are freedom dining and rarely get the same waiter we have on occasions come across an excellent waiter so my OH always carries a fiver just in case

Do wish people wouldn't cancel auto tips as it just pushes the price up for those who don't

I used to make the bed until one of the cabin stewards told us that he had to make the bed because the cabin could be be randomly inspected and if the bed was not made "properly" in would be in trouble. We always put everything away and leave everywhere tidy before we leave the room.

[Bedruthen]

We will not accept the auto gratuity system, until P&O become transparent about how the gratuities are distributed. We tip our cabin steward and dining room waiters directly, an amount based on the recommended tipping rates issued by the cruise company. Our experience is that this is also what the staff prefer, so I can only conclude that it is financially beneficial for them. I am not an obedient customer!

[Bedruthen]

I am reading this thread with increasing unease. I would like gratuities to be built into prices and if so, nobody could escape with not paying so they would not need to be at current or new levels.

However, in this thread, and in many others on the same topic, the real ‘victims’ are not people who have to pay more on top of the price they have paid for their holiday (most can well afford it) but the recipients of the gratuities who continue to give great service and presumably have seen their gratuities gradually reducing because the people they serve and clean for don’t want to pay a little extra. They have no voice on here. I wonder whether any of those who remove gratuities and do not ‘give an envelope with an equivalent amount’ have the nerve to explain why to their steward and/or waiter, the victims of the choice they make.

 

I am not intimately familiar with the system on P&O, but on Cunard, any deficit in tips is made up by the cruise line, For example, staff are paid say £100 but guaranteed to receive say £1000, which is made up £100 plus the auto gratuities. If the auto gratuities are removed by the passengers, it does not impact the staff as they have a minimum guaranteed pay promise, so they still get £1000. For this reason, the staff prefer passengers to pay them directly in cash, as they no longer have to declare or share such payments.

[2irisheyes]

We have always left the auto tip in place. On our last cruise our table companions removed the auto tips and tipped in cash/envelopes on the last evening. There was all the hand shaking and bon homie while this was done and we were almost made to feel like cheapskates for not handing over cash. There were disappointed looks from the waiting staff. It certainly makes us wonder what we will do in future. What would the cruiselines do if everyone removed the auto tips I wonder. I don't like the idea of subsidising other passengers.

[Millers]

While passengers are daft enough to go along with this tipping/service charge folly we will forever have this silly discussion. P an o are the culprits, not passengers

 

 

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[jeanlyon]

We have always left the auto tip in place. On our last cruise our table companions removed the auto tips and tipped in cash/envelopes on the last evening. There was all the hand shaking and bon homie while this was done and we were almost made to feel like cheapskates for not handing over cash. There were disappointed looks from the waiting staff. It certainly makes us wonder what we will do in future. What would the cruiselines do if everyone removed the auto tips I wonder. I don't like the idea of subsidising other passengers.

 

Yes, that's what we have found as well, that's why we remove the grats and tip with an envelope.

[NSWP]

Yes, that's what we have found as well, that's why we remove the grats and tip with an envelope.

 

On our last P&O cruises - Aurora and Oriana in late 2016, the Pursers Office told me if we removed the auto tips/gratuities/service charge, whatever you want to call them. I call it the AWS - automatic wage subsidy. If taken off or reduced, then the staff - waiters, cabin stewards have to hand the cash into the tipping pool. So what was the point in giving them cash, we just left the automatic wage subsidy on.:halo: No way I am going to give them double bubble, AWS and Cash. Princess also operates like this.

[gadabout60]

I wonder what would happen to the cruise fare if the cruise lines could no longer employ staff from “third world” countries (or at least non Western countries) and let’s say P&O employed Brits on minimum wages and added that to the cost of a cruise.

 

With the number of hours the staff actually work per week with no days off, wonder what that would add to the cost of a cruise?

 

I personally suspect quality of service might also go down

[davecttr]

I wonder what would happen to the cruise fare if the cruise lines could no longer employ staff from “third world” countries (or at least non Western countries) and let’s say P&O employed Brits on minimum wages and added that to the cost of a cruise.

 

With the number of hours the staff actually work per week with no days off, wonder what that would add to the cost of a cruise?

 

I personally suspect quality of service might also go down

 

How many hours do they work per day? do they get any days of during their contract? do they get overtime etc etc? If they were paid our national minimum wage and worked a 12 hour day they would get £657 per week or £16,443 for a 6 month contract.

 

Would 'europeans' work in such conditions? Check out the Pride of America which has American crews and apparently offers a mediocre service for a much higher cruise price. how about double :eek:

[davecttr]

9 night Pride of America cruise including flights from Heathrow inside cabin from £2250 per person. 10 night cruise to Spain from Southampton on P&O from £650 per person