Tipping on Oceania

[Rob the Cruiser]

@sunlover12 - You need to find a different travel agent. A great place to start is on Oceania's website page that identifies their preferred agents. 

 

Pick 2-3 and ask them to submit a quote for the itinerary that you have already booked. You'll be surprised at some of the generous incentives they offer.  They will be much more significant than a bottle of bubbly. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[Paulchili]

24 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

have never had our TA pay for gratuities or given us an OBC.

I would say that it is time for you to look for a new TA 🙂

On your next O cruise ask your fellow cruisers for recommendations.

[Glenndale]

55 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Not all agents provide PPG

some top producers get incentives from the cruise line & pass the PPG onto their clients

Then there are  those with Oceania club Gold status& above   that get PPG  from the cruise line as part of the loyalty benefit

I think some of the Gratuity pool goes into the crew  benevolent fund & rewards etc..

I  give extra to the housekeeping staff & sometimes the wait staff if we sit in the same section a lot

Barristas  may also get  an extra tip from us as we are there daily 😉

 

 

 

We’re silver status and get PPG but even though we have a good relationship with our TA over many years, we haven’t been offered gratuities, usually just a small discount.

It just seems to be the way business is conducted over here.

 

 

[sunlover12]

Thank you Rob and Paul for your quick responses. I just looked at Oceania's website that lists their preferred travel agents. I hadn't seen that before.   Shows how little I know!   I was under the mistaken impression that the travel agent we have been using does a lot of business with O but they are not on this list.  I'll also ask our fellow cruisers this summer for recommendations. 

[Hawaiidan]

17 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

Thank you Rob and Paul for your quick responses. I just looked at Oceania's website that lists their preferred travel agents. I hadn't seen that before.   Shows how little I know!   I was under the mistaken impression that the travel agent we have been using does a lot of business with O but they are not on this list.  I'll also ask our fellow cruisers this summer for recommendations. 

When searching   ask... no state that you  want an agent who will 1 give you a OBC  Pay Gratuities   AND  provide a good discount or Cash rebate to you after the cruise   not less than 5%     Many will give 8-10%     Be in the driver seat,   dont let an agent tell you what he will do... tell him what you require of an agent !!!!   Be assertive... its you money make it work for you, make you agent WORK for you.     When you find  a great guy... be loyal to him and build a relation ship.   Being a bargin  shopper  ready to jump agents for a few bucks less may save you in the short term  but not be productive  in the long term.

That is my experience

[Glenndale]

Coincidentally, my agent has an offer on a cruise that I am interested in with included gratuities and extra OBC, as well as the 'O' life amenities. 

There's a first time for everything 😀, now if only I can get a free upgrade.....

 🐖 Couldn't find a flying pig emoji.

 

[Kingofcool1947]

No.  I do not tip.  Unless Stewart provided above standard service.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, Glenndale said:

Coincidentally, my agent has an offer on a cruise that I am interested in with included gratuities and extra OBC, as well as the 'O' life amenities. 

There's a first time for everything 😀, now if only I can get a free upgrade.....

 🐖 Couldn't find a flying pig emoji.

 

In your dreams.....now getting an up-sell is possible  for a better cabin.    Tell you agent to let O know your interested and give him a budget and for  what type cabin   Say take 40 to 50 % of the difference between your present cabin and that which you would go for.........if the price is right !         These things are time sensitive... you need to give the agent authority to make the decision...  otherwise the offer will go to the next guy who was interested.

[pinotlover]

Words have meanings and meanings have words. Some times we need to use the proper words. 

 

In the travel industry there are Travel Agencies, Travel Agents that works for the Agency, and Travel Consortiums that are a collection of Travel Agencies. It is typically the Consortium that works with a cruise line to work out mutually favorable deals.

 

In most cases here, I’m willing to bet when posters say “ My TA gave me PPG”, their contract with Oceania says XYZ Consortium supplied PPG. These are in fact pass throughs from Oceania via the Consortium to the member Agencies. The TA didn’t give you a thing in reality. Oceania works with different Consortiums on different cruises to reach a wider audience. So your Travel Agent May not be able to offer you Consortium PPG on every cruise.

 

Second, not everything happens immediately. Case in point, early 2021 cruises. For many of the cruises, Oceania hasn’t yet worked out any Consortium deals because they are to far into the future. Still working on some late 2020 deals. So if you weren’t offered PPG on a 2021 cruise it’s probably because there is nothing to offer yet. Here’s another clue. If Oceania waitlists most of a 2021 cruise now, they have little motivation to work any Consortium deal on that cruise, because they don’t have to!

 

In some cases, depending upon the cruise or the cruiser, rebates and benefits may be coming from any of the three parties. As a point of interest, my TA gives us nice benefits and great service. We get refundable OBC. However, we never get a rebate check back . For those that claim to do soI would be interested to know if the check has the Agent’s name on the check or the Agency.

[Rob the Cruiser]

Our rebate check comes from the Agency, not the Agent.

[pinotlover]

Rob;

 

That is the same as in most cases I’d bet. You’re what’s called in other businesses a “ house” account. The Agent gets some transaction fee for providing services but not any percentage of the actual commission. Most good TAs would never cut the deals, some people here claim to get, out of their split of the commission.

[edgee]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Rob;

 

That is the same as in most cases I’d bet. You’re what’s called in other businesses a “ house” account. The Agent gets some transaction fee for providing services but not any percentage of the actual commission. Most good TAs would never cut the deals, some people here claim to get, out of their split of the commission.

I get a check about two weeks prior to sailing for between 8 and 11% of the cruise fare back in the form of a rebate check from the agency. It comes with a nice note from the agency owner whose name is "on the door." In addition for most recent Oceania cruise (10 day Caribbean) I was offered a choice between flowers, wine or $110 of refundable credit. I took the $110 in cruise credit! The agency is one of the largest sellers of cruises and group tours in the country, but I get very personal service from my agent who is salaried...not on commission.

[pinotlover]

Edgee;

 

Great testimonial!

 

My point in this was attempt to clarify terms people were throwing around and of intermingling. Even though both may be a TA. There is a huge difference between the Travel Agent and the Travel Agency for whom the Agent works. Also the Consortium, if any, they belong to can influence cruiser benefits outside of any Travel Agent or Agency activity.

 

Likewise, most all the names of OCC Members are in fact the name of The Agencies that have obtained that status, not individual Agents. Therefore, one could have an Agent that works for an OCC TA who themselves are either large sellers of O cruises or not. Likewise, an Agent could be large seller of Oceania Cruises , and highly knowledgeable, but work for an Agency that overall doesn’t meet OCC requirements. Neither of those affect how much an Agency, or the Agent, might choose to rebate any given cruisers.

 

In regards to Hawaiiandan’s point of making demands for certain privileges, I believe my TA, along with others in the profession I’ve known, will tell you they are more open to more liberal benefits after doing business with you for awhile, and seeing you’re a frequent traveler and revenue generating, instead of a  once every two to three years flash in the pan. Good Relationships are not one sided! Sometimes it takes money to make money!

Edited April 30, 2019 by pinotlover

[Hawaiidan]

On 4/29/2019 at 5:28 PM, pinotlover said:

Edgee;

 

Great testimonial!

 

My point in this was attempt to clarify terms people were throwing around and of intermingling. Even though both may be a TA. There is a huge difference between the Travel Agent and the Travel Agency for whom the Agent works. Also the Consortium, if any, they belong to can influence cruiser benefits outside of any Travel Agent or Agency activity.

 

Likewise, most all the names of OCC Members are in fact the name of The Agencies that have obtained that status, not individual Agents. Therefore, one could have an Agent that works for an OCC TA who themselves are either large sellers of O cruises or not. Likewise, an Agent could be large seller of Oceania Cruises , and highly knowledgeable, but work for an Agency that overall doesn’t meet OCC requirements. Neither of those affect how much an Agency, or the Agent, might choose to rebate any given cruisers.

 

In regards to Hawaiiandan’s point of making demands for certain privileges, I believe my TA, along with others in the profession I’ve known, will tell you they are more open to more liberal benefits after doing business with you for awhile, and seeing you’re a frequent traveler and revenue generating, instead of a  once every two to three years flash in the pan. Good Relationships are not one sided! Sometimes it takes money to make money!

Well said..it is the long term loyalty with an agent who comes to know your travel habits and travel budget.

Booking once a year for$ 2500 pp cruises  for 1 or 2 years is one thing.    However, booking every year 5000-7000pp is another. DOING Cruises every 9 to 12 months, for over 5 or more years  establishes you as a client to hang on to............

 LOYALTY HAS ITS REWARDS...ITS A 2 WAY STREET......... YOU BOTH BENEFIT   or Money talks and BS walks

 

[GeorgesGal]

On 4/15/2019 at 8:37 AM, nigelc said:

Not sure if it is common practice, but it is what I do - both on Regent & Oceania I always tip the Room Attendants. They work so hard and provide such a high quality service that I like to thank them personally and give them a tip. As to the waiters in the restaurants, it is rare to get the same ones twice, so it is a thank you after each meal but I do not tip.

 

I agree on both points!

[Classiccruiser777]

10 minutes ago, GeorgesGal said:

 

I agree on both points!

 

When we eat in the GDR and find a waiter that is especially good we request to be seated in his/her area. I tip them, too.

[keithm]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 12:17 PM, Kingofcool1947 said:

No.  I do not tip.  Unless Stewart provided above standard service.

Do you leave the standard gratuity in place? If you remove it, then you're stiffing all those you also don't see! That auto tip helps make up for the fairly low wage these people make.

[keithm]

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 5:36 PM, Classiccruiser777 said:

 

When we eat in the GDR and find a waiter that is especially good we request to be seated in his/her area. I tip them, too.

Yes, we started doing that on our Jan. trip. Service was always excellent, but I like the personal interactions as well. Always nice to hear about their families & such.

[Paulchili]

57 minutes ago, keithm said:

Always nice to hear about their families & such

Not that this applies to you personally, as I was not there, but just a peeve of mine about these type of interactions.

It is nice to form bonds with staff and find out about their families. That said, there is a line where it can become annoying to others.

I am referring to some people who tie up servers with endless personal conversations that may be interesting to them but it is at the expense of prompt service to others in that area. Nothing more annoying than waiting to place your order while a guest at the next table is having a 10 minute conversation with a waiter who is too polite to tell him/her he has work to do and that guest is not the only guest in the dining room..

As always, there are 2 ways to do things - the right way and the wrong way.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Paulchili

[keithm]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

Not that this applies to you personally, as I was not there, but just a peeve of mine about these type of interactions.

It is nice to form bonds with staff and find out about their families. That said, there is a line where it can become annoying to others.

I am referring to some people who tie up servers with endless personal conversations that may be interesting to them but it is at the expense of prompt service to others in that area. Nothing more annoying than waiting to place your order while a guest at the next table is having a 10 minute conversation with a waiter who is too polite to tell him/her he has work to do and that guest is not the only guest in the dining room..

As always, there are 2 ways to do things - the right way and the wrong way.

Then, perhaps if it happens, you, politely say something to the table. We like to interact with the staff. If that bothers others....

[Paulchili]

47 minutes ago, keithm said:

We like to interact with the staff. If that bothers others....

As I tried to explain - perhaps unsuccessfully - is that I don’t mind the interaction with staff but not to excess and at the expense of others. When a staff member is available - i.e. not serving others - one can spend as much time with the staff as the staff will tolerate. When they are serving others, it would be considerate to take that into account and interact with them in a limited way.

I don’t think that you would be happy in a reverse scenario -i.e. me talking to a server for 10 minutes while you (and many others) are ready to order your drink or food.

JMO.

PS We too like to interact with staff and try to get to know them better. Several years ago we befriended a staffer from Myanmar with whom we have remained in email contact for several years and saw him in Yangon where he gave us a personal tour. He was working in the stairwell and we saw him often after dinner. We always spent some time with him and he was happy to practice his English and share facts about his country with us. The difference - he was there by himself and by us talking with him we did not deny anyone else of his services. It only meant that he worked a little later - a thing that he not only didn’t mind but usually “waited” for us to have that conversation.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Paulchili

[Kate-AHF]

What a nice story Paul. Very nice you were able to see him again in Yangon.

[jelly.roll]

Its my understanding that the tips are treated as a contribution to salary and distributed to all employees as an undistinguished part of their salary. I've been told that individuals receive no increase or decrease in salary as a result of cruse assessed tips. I have not and would not request to withhold tips since in the long run would increase prices. Exceptional attentive service, however should rewarded with a cash tip.

[mexicobob]

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 9:06 AM, Classiccruiser777 said:

One of the best “tips” you can give on Oceania is to recognize deserving people by name in the feedback questionnaires.

This applies to all cruise lines.

[Hawaiidan]

On 5/13/2019 at 7:12 PM, Paulchili said:

As I tried to explain - perhaps unsuccessfully - is that I don’t mind the interaction with staff but not to excess and at the expense of others. When a staff member is available - i.e. not serving others - one can spend as much time with the staff as the staff will tolerate. When they are serving others, it would be considerate to take that into account and interact with them in a limited way.

I don’t think that you would be happy in a reverse scenario -i.e. me talking to a server for 10 minutes while you (and many others) are ready to order your drink or food.

JMO.

PS We too like to interact with staff and try to get to know them better. Several years ago we befriended a staffer from Myanmar with whom we have remained in email contact for several years and saw him in Yangon where he gave us a personal tour. He was working in the stairwell and we saw him often after dinner. We always spent some time with him and he was happy to practice his English and share facts about his country with us. The difference - he was there by himself and by us talking with him we did not deny anyone else of his services. It only meant that he worked a little later - a thing that he not only didn’t mind but usually “waited” for us to have that conversation.

Same here  we had a great Austrian  cabin attendant  and kept in touch... When we Visited Salzberg Austria she  picked us up and gave us an all day  tour of the lake region....  But  too I see others trying too hard to connect with staff.   Be nice to them but realize they  lust like the officers and  all staff are working and  did not sign on to meet you as a life long dream.