Tips

[Maui Girl]

On 1/11/2020 at 3:13 PM, Brisbane41 said:

It has always been a well known fact and highly published fact that cruising is cash free. No cash required, put everything on your cruise card. Cruise lines have gone above and beyond to publicise this fact and use it as a major draw card to attract passengers.

 

The problem with a custom like that it is done without any regard for the offence it causes around the world. The people who do it love the saying "when in Rome" yet they are the first to not abide by their own saying when they are there! They do not realise how much the rest of the world has bent over backwards and bit their tongue over this strange and unique custom to mainly two countries on the planet. 

 

It is definitely a very dangerous game to play on a cruise ship particularly now that the international clients now make up the majority of passengers. It may not offend the crew member but it most certainly will offend fellow passengers. 

You seem to be having a difficult time “biting your tongue “ on this subject!  I understand that tipping is not necessary or common in Australia, that’s totally fine.  However, we occasionally give a little cash to servers that we deal with on a daily basis and our waiters and room steward on the last day.   This is done in a discreet manner and it’s just between me and the staff member, it’s no one else’s business.   It’s appreciation for the hard work that they do,  not trying to impress others and certainly has nothing to do with size of anyone’s anatomy 🙄🙄.  And we have NEVER had any automatic gratuities removed from our account just for the record.  

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, Maui Girl said:

It’s appreciation for the hard work that they do.  

 

I hope you also fill out the feedback forms. Most people only fill them if they have something negative to say but if you really appreciate a staff member's hard work you should make sure the cruise line knows. If they see a name consistently turning up in positive feedback they will offer those staff career advancement opportunities🤗. 

[Brisbane41]

1 hour ago, Maui Girl said:

You seem to be having a difficult time “biting your tongue “ on this subject!  I understand that tipping is not necessary or common in Australia, that’s totally fine.  However, we occasionally give a little cash to servers that we deal with on a daily basis and our waiters and room steward on the last day.   This is done in a discreet manner and it’s just between me and the staff member, it’s no one else’s business.   It’s appreciation for the hard work that they do,  not trying to impress others and certainly has nothing to do with size of anyone’s anatomy 🙄🙄.  And we have NEVER had any automatic gratuities removed from our account just for the record.  

If its "discreet" why mention it at all. 

 

You see out here in Australia they sell these cruise packages to families and regular workers, people who have ordinary jobs and the like. What they are told is that it is all inclusive. What you could be doing by mentioning this is making those types of people feel uncomfortable by "tip shaming" them or placing yourself on a threshold above them that are only going to alienate them and make them feel that cruising is not for them. This is the demographic and market that cruise lines have targeted. They have made it clear in their brochures, literature and pre-cruise information that it is all electronic and not necessary to carry cash. Even then there are allocated tip nominations on the pay dockets when signing for things to alleviate the use of cash and make it discreet.

 

You should really consider what you post on here and how it effects other people and consider will this be culturally insensitive, am i writing this to brag and big note myself or is my intention to shame others and make them feel inferior.

[NSWP]

Personally I think tipping is a private thing.   Not that I am a fan of such practice.

Edited January 28, 2020 by NSWP

[Maui Girl]

12 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Personally I think tipping is a private thing.   Not that I am a fan of such practice.

Me too, although there are certainly people who try to make a show of it! 

[Maui Girl]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I hope you also fill out the feedback forms. Most people only fill them if they have something negative to say but if you really appreciate a staff member's hard work you should make sure the cruise line knows. If they see a name consistently turning up in positive feedback they will offer those staff career advancement opportunities🤗. 

Good point!  I have filled them out occasionally, not always.   I don’t think I have ever come across anything so bad on a cruise that I have to do a negative report.  I suppose it could happen. 

[Maui Girl]

36 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

If its "discreet" why mention it at all. 

 

You see out here in Australia they sell these cruise packages to families and regular workers, people who have ordinary jobs and the like. What they are told is that it is all inclusive. What you could be doing by mentioning this is making those types of people feel uncomfortable by "tip shaming" them or placing yourself on a threshold above them that are only going to alienate them and make them feel that cruising is not for them. This is the demographic and market that cruise lines have targeted. They have made it clear in their brochures, literature and pre-cruise information that it is all electronic and not necessary to carry cash. Even then there are allocated tip nominations on the pay dockets when signing for things to alleviate the use of cash and make it discreet.

 

You should really consider what you post on here and how it effects other people and consider will this be culturally insensitive, am i writing this to brag and big note myself or is my intention to shame others and make them feel inferior.

I “mentioned it “ because the OP asked a legitimate question and I thought you came down on her rather harshly!   Tipping is a personal matter and if you write in a couple bucks on the ticket or put a little cash in the folder, no one should even notice.  I don’t know about others but we only do it occasionally anyway, since it is already added in.  
Cruises are marketed everywhere to regular people, not just to Australians.  Although, there are luxury cruise lines for people that really like to throw money around 😂😂

We are retired so we have a budget just like a family would.  

[Brisbane41]

3 minutes ago, Maui Girl said:

I “mentioned it “ because the OP asked a legitimate question and I thought you came down on her rather harshly!   Tipping is a personal matter and if you write in a couple bucks on the ticket or put a little cash in the folder, no one should even notice.  I don’t know about others but we only do it occasionally anyway, since it is already added in.  
Cruises are marketed everywhere to regular people, not just to Australians.  Although, there are luxury cruise lines for people that really like to throw money around 😂😂

We are retired so we have a budget just like a family would.  

Not sure what it is like in other parts of the world but in Australia regular families on regular incomes can afford to go on cruises. Regular people like retail assistants, bartenders, hairdressers, receptionists, cleaners, mechanics, miners, military personnel, teachers, truck drivers, gardeners. The list is endless. To these people they pay for what they have to and are on tight budgets that don't include tipping. When posts come up it is those type of people that think that cruising is for the lawyer or brain surgeon who has the money to throw around and they think cruising is not for them.

[Maui Girl]

3 hours ago, Brisbane41 said:

Not sure what it is like in other parts of the world but in Australia regular families on regular incomes can afford to go on cruises. Regular people like retail assistants, bartenders, hairdressers, receptionists, cleaners, mechanics, miners, military personnel, teachers, truck drivers, gardeners. The list is endless. To these people they pay for what they have to and are on tight budgets that don't include tipping. When posts come up it is those type of people that think that cruising is for the lawyer or brain surgeon who has the money to throw around and they think cruising is not for them.

I think it’s very similar, at least in the US.  I know lots of couples and families that go on cruises and consider it to be affordable, and these are people with regular jobs, not doctors and lawyers.  There’s a lot of variation in cruise lines and how “fancy” they are, but there really is something for everyone, in my opinion.  In the US, I think they mostly all have some kind of automatic tip added to the account, so I assume most Americans that are used to tipping go along with that, and include it in their budget, although again, it’s a private matter so who knows 🤔.    I don’t know if there are as many cruise lines sailing from Australia??   We mostly cruise Princess because it’s reasonable and generally not many children ( because we are old and retired 😊) 

 

 

 

[The_Big_M]

Good to see the sweeping generalisations are out again.

 

Some of those "regular people" are on 100k+ incomes. Whether people budget or not is not a factor of income. I'm also yet to see any major marketing in the Australian market for cruises as "all inclusive". The sales pitch is on other aspects. Tipping is then represented accurately as is the custom onboard.

 

And I'm yet to hear any potential cruiser say "cruising is for the lawyer or brain surgeon who has the money to throw around and they think cruising is not for them."

[Russell21]

We are on the aged pension and manage to have a 10day Islands winter and a 13/14 day Fiji or NZ cruise each year, We own our own home, no debts, buy our wine 3 cases at a time, have balcony cabins, and the big secret is, WE DON'T PLAY POKER MACHINES. We tip our room steward, both waiters, and occasionally a favourite bartender.

[lissie]

16 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

And I'm yet to hear any potential cruiser say "cruising is for the lawyer or brain surgeon who has the money to throw around and they think cruising is not for them."

 

Well they are definitely marketed as such in New Zealand - both Princess and P&O Australia have no explicit gratuities - they are included in the fare. Given these are Australian based companies I imagine Australia is the  same 

[MicCanberra]

23 hours ago, Brisbane41 said:

You should really consider what you post on here and how it effects other people and consider will this be culturally insensitive, am i writing this to brag and big note myself or is my intention to shame others and make them feel inferior.

Glass houses?

[possum52]

2 hours ago, lissie said:

 

Well they are definitely marketed as such in New Zealand - both Princess and P&O Australia have no explicit gratuities - they are included in the fare. Given these are Australian based companies I imagine Australia is the  same 

Only the exclusive cruise lines such as Oceania are all inclusive. If you cruise on Princess and P &O, you still pay for drinks, some restaurants and excursions. Their fares are not all inclusive. 
 

Leigh

Edited January 29, 2020 by possum52

[SinbadThePorter]

34 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Only the exclusive cruise lines such as Oceania are all inclusive. If you cruise on Princess and P &O, you still pay for drinks, some restaurants and excursions. Their fares are not all inclusive. 

 

You can step onto a P&O or Princess ship and not spend a cent until you disembark. That makes them all inclusive.

 

Drinks, pay restaurants and ship excursions are not required to enjoy the cruise, they are extras. Free alternatives are available for all of them.

[Maui Girl]

27 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

You can step onto a P&O or Princess ship and not spend a cent until you disembark. That makes them all inclusive.

 

Drinks, pay restaurants and ship excursions are not required to enjoy the cruise, they are extras. Free alternatives are available for all of them.

😂😂.  You are correct! But I don’t know how anyone would disembark with a zero bill?  
I’ve got to have drinks, excursions, a couple of photos!  Much more self control than I have 

[Aus Traveller]

8 minutes ago, Maui Girl said:

😂😂.  You are correct! But I don’t know how anyone would disembark with a zero bill?  
I’ve got to have drinks, excursions, a couple of photos!  Much more self control than I have 

We can cruise on Princess and end with a zero bill. We have OBC from a few sources - more than we spend on drinks.

Edited January 30, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[possum52]

54 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

You can step onto a P&O or Princess ship and not spend a cent until you disembark. That makes them all inclusive.

 

Drinks, pay restaurants and ship excursions are not required to enjoy the cruise, they are extras. Free alternatives are available for all of them.

Yes I agree, but I'm certainly not going to drink the crap coffee provided free and I do like to have a drink other than water or cordial (lemonade)! Surely all inclusive means ALL drinks and food! 

 

20 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We can cruise on Princess and end with a zero bill. We have OBC from a few sources - more than we spend on drinks.

If you didn't have OBC would you still buy drinks though? Or just drink water, the free coffee etc?

 

Leigh

 

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, possum52 said:

If you didn't have OBC would you still buy drinks though? Or just drink water, the free coffee etc?

 

Leigh

We buy drinks. For instance, on P&O we cannot take wine on board and we don't have as much OBC, so we end up with a debit balance on our on-board account. We don't deliberately try to cruise without spending any extra.

[possum52]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

We buy drinks. For instance, on P&O we cannot take wine on board and we don't have as much OBC, so we end up with a debit balance on our on-board account. We don't deliberately try to cruise without spending any extra.

There doesn't seem to be as much OBC being offered these days. We have FCD OCB and if we are lucky to be offered given OBC by cruise line, that's great. Probably many people/families going on their first cruise would not have OBC unless it was offered as part of their cruise fare. They'll most likely spend money on drinks etc. I know that on our first cruise, we booked ship's excursions as we were not confident enough to do our own thing. Now, it is different, we are quite happy to book our own excursions privately or find our own way to where we want to go. I would imagine those on their first cruise would do the same as we did. 

 

Leigh

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, possum52 said:

There doesn't seem to be as much OBC being offered these days. We have FCD OCB and if we are lucky to be offered given OBC by cruise line, that's great. Probably many people/families going on their first cruise would not have OBC unless it was offered as part of their cruise fare. They'll most likely spend money on drinks etc. I know that on our first cruise, we booked ship's excursions as we were not confident enough to do our own thing. Now, it is different, we are quite happy to book our own excursions privately or find our own way to where we want to go. I would imagine those on their first cruise would do the same as we did. 

 

Leigh

We get shareholders' credit on both P&O and Princess and possibly OBC from a TA. Also on Princess we get the loyalty credit and FCD credit.

 

I agree that new cruisers wouldn't be getting much OBC and they are usually the ones spending more on board.

[lissie]

25 minutes ago, possum52 said:

There doesn't seem to be as much OBC being offered these days. We have FCD OCB and if we are lucky to be offered given OBC by cruise line, that's great. Probably many people/families going on their first cruise would not have OBC unless it was offered as part of their cruise fare. They'll most likely spend money on drinks etc. I know that on our first cruise, we booked ship's excursions as we were not confident enough to do our own thing. Now, it is different, we are quite happy to book our own excursions privately or find our own way to where we want to go. I would imagine those on their first cruise would do the same as we did. 

 

Leigh

Frist time cruiser here -going in a few weeks - very exciting! 

 

Far from first time traveller though - very, very experienced traveller here , last trip was solo 3 weeks in Sichuan, China.  It never occurred to me to use Cunards excursions, found the relevant FB group for the destinations, identified the recommended local tour providers - booked them direct.  

 

We have enough OBC to cover the tips - not the drinks.  Given neither of us need to put on a whole lot of weight, and my partner has health issues which suggests that drinking 15 alcoholic drinks a day would be a VERY bad idea - we will just drink what we want and evaluate what the cost was at the end.  I believe there is coffee available in the cabin - if its a horrible brand -I'll buy some of my preferred brand at the first port.   We do like speciality coffee -but our experience is that few non-Kiwis can make a decent flat white so I've almost given up when overseas - tend to switch to tea. 

[Maui Girl]

8 minutes ago, lissie said:

Frist time cruiser here -going in a few weeks - very exciting! 

 

Far from first time traveller though - very, very experienced traveller here , last trip was solo 3 weeks in Sichuan, China.  It never occurred to me to use Cunards excursions, found the relevant FB group for the destinations, identified the recommended local tour providers - booked them direct.  

 

We have enough OBC to cover the tips - not the drinks.  Given neither of us need to put on a whole lot of weight, and my partner has health issues which suggests that drinking 15 alcoholic drinks a day would be a VERY bad idea - we will just drink what we want and evaluate what the cost was at the end.  I believe there is coffee available in the cabin - if its a horrible brand -I'll buy some of my preferred brand at the first port.   We do like speciality coffee -but our experience is that few non-Kiwis can make a decent flat white so I've almost given up when overseas - tend to switch to tea. 

I don’t know what cruise line you are going on, so I could be wrong. On Princess you can get coffee from room service (free) but there isn’t any kind of pot in your room to make your own.   Of course the same coffee is available in the dining room and buffet and specialty coffee somewhere on board.  Since pots are considered a fire hazard, I guess most lines have similar arrangements.  
I was looking at the drink prices on the Ruby Princess where we will be soon, and it looks like the package there is $87 AUD, that calculates out to about 6 drinks per day for us, to balance out.   But it depends a lot on what you are drinking, a beer is a lot cheaper than a martini. If I drink 6 martinis I may fall overboard 🤣

 

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

You can step onto a P&O or Princess ship and not spend a cent until you disembark. That makes them all inclusive.

 

Drinks, pay restaurants and ship excursions are not required to enjoy the cruise, they are extras. Free alternatives are available for all of them.

A cruise with only the free drinks doesn't sound too much like fun.

[MicCanberra]

17 minutes ago, Maui Girl said:

I don’t know what cruise line you are going on, so I could be wrong. On Princess you can get coffee from room service (free) but there isn’t any kind of pot in your room to make your own.   Of course the same coffee is available in the dining room and buffet and specialty coffee somewhere on board.  Since pots are considered a fire hazard, I guess most lines have similar arrangements.  
I was looking at the drink prices on the Ruby Princess where we will be soon, and it looks like the package there is $87 AUD, that calculates out to about 6 drinks per day for us, to balance out.   But it depends a lot on what you are drinking, a beer is a lot cheaper than a martini. If I drink 6 martinis I may fall overboard 🤣

 

Sounds like they are on Cunard's queen Elizabeth