P & O tipping.

[Mardymadam]

We are new to cruising and booked on the Brittania next Jan. The tipping policy of £7 pp per day seems a bit extravagant and will all but wipe out our 'on board spend' allowance.My question is, can this amount be reduced? and how does one go about it? I am happy to tip some, as I understand it is shared fairly, but I think I should personally be allowed to decide just how much. Advice would be welcome, and thanks.

[leaveitallbehind]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. As you are a new cruiser you may not be familiar with the policies guiding gratuities. You should consider gratuities as part of your total budget for cruising. It is an industry standard practice and is the method by which many of the ship's employees have a significant portion of their compensation earned for the work the perform in service of you. The recommended amounts are determined to generate a certain level of income for these people and to reduce that amount would be taking money away from them for the service they provide to you.

 

Why would you want to reduce that for them? To do so would suggest to them and their management that their service level to you was sub-par and could affect their performance reviews, Just pay it as suggested part of your cost of cruising and enjoy your cruise and the service these hard working people will provide for you.

[John Bull]

The daily charge on P&O has been deeply unpopular with Brits since it was introduced a few years ago - it's the norm for the American tipping culture, but alien to us Brits.

It was introduced at £4 pppd but increased quite quickly to the current level of £7 pppd.

It's actually still significantly less than on US ships (average about $14 pppd)

 

The legal situation.

It's not mandatory. It's added to your on-board account but you can go along to the purser's office (aka Guest Relations) and ask for it to be removed or reduced. You can do this at any time during the cruise, tho' to avoid complications I suggest you make it at least 24 hours before the end of the cruise to allow for it to be done before your final on-board account bill is prepared.

 

The moral situation, which may or may not interest you.

All just MHO, but also the opinion of many others.........

Failure to pay, or reducing the amount you pay by cancelling the charge & giving less in cash, penalises the crew, who rely heavily on tips to make up for an abysmal wage - way below the UK minimum wage.

If you were aware of the expectation when you booked, I would regard reducing the amount that you knew about at the expense of the crew as cheapskating. That said, plenty of experienced P&O passengers cancel the charge and don't put their hands in their pockets at all.

But both cruise lines & many UK agents "forget" :rolleyes: to tell newbies about the charge, and it's nowhere near as prominent as it should be on their websites or in their literature. If that's the case for you, you might want to cancel the charge and suggest they be more up-front about the expectation.

 

Just this week P&O have announced that they are going to abandon this unpopular charge, presumably because of the grief that it causes. They say that cruise ticket prices will not increase to compensate, but you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll balance the books in one way or another. ;)

Unfortunately for you, that won't take effect until next May.

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=8819

 

"Tipping" is a hot topic on Cruise Critic.

Despite nowadays being part of the Carnival Corp. empire, P&O is a British cruise line serving mainly Brits.

Feel free to ignore any flaming you might get on this thread from those Americans who seem unable to comprehend that the US tipping culture is out-of-step with the rest of the world.:rolleyes:

Edited to add. This comment not aimed at leaveitall. Our posts crossed, and leaveitall's comment is much as I would have replied to an experienced cruiser .

 

JB :)

[Mardymadam]

Thanks to all for your responses, I was totally unaware of this charge when I booked the cruise (which is probably a one off and the most expensive holiday we have ever booked) If the crew and workers wellbeing is dependant on the tipping arrangement then it will probably be the last time we book. I am amazed that these poor people are not better paid by this large Company. I have no issue with tipping, I regularly tip in hotels/restaurants etc. I do feel however that the amount should be a personal matter, so thank you to the person who pointed out how to arrange this.

[jocap]

It's been a big problem for Brits for ages, and unfortunately you've booked just before P&O are banishing tips from their fleet.

More and more were removing them at the reception desk, so that's always an option for you, unless you're on Freedom dining.

[Mardymadam]

Thanks for that Jo, unfortunately we are on freedom dining, please could you explain how that might affect me reducing the charge?

[davecttr]

Thanks for that Jo, unfortunately we are on freedom dining, please could you explain how that might affect me reducing the charge?

It won't, you can reduce or remove the charge whatever form of dining you are on

[Mardymadam]

Many thanks, the information is much appreciated as I feel very much out of my depth regarding all these complications!! I feel as though we are on a steep learning curve, which is detracting somewhat from the anticipation we usually enjoy prior to a trip. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. Once again, many thanks for everyones help.

[leaveitallbehind]

If the crew and workers wellbeing is dependant on the tipping arrangement then it will probably be the last time we book.

 

Why? It must be out of some perception of principal because surely $9 US per day per person cannot be that unaffordable to the total overall cost of cruising to be a deal breaker.

 

It has nothing to do with how much a cruise line can afford to pay their crew - they could pay that for you and increase your rates accordingly. Would that be more acceptable? As previously mentioned, the current method of gratuities is an industry practice with most of the cruise lines.

 

It has, in part, to do with most of the crew being international with different wage and tax structures relative to their home countries. Adding to their wage with a recommended amount of gratuity from the passengers assures a certain wage level and simplifies the cruise line's payroll task. It then is up to the crew to deal with that income with their home countries policies.

 

It also adds incentive to the crew as many passengers will add more to that amount if they feel the service warrants it.

 

Up to you, but decide for the right reasons.