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marcoigna
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Good day all.

 

Excited about Virgin Voyages...

 

Firstly, from the title, I am aware that gratuities are included - and very aware that tipping is very subjective, (just like food) - 

 

However,  I am looking at sailors that have been on their ships to see if people are actually offering a gratuity at the bar / restaurant etc.... I have seen some reviews and read that there is NOT a gratuity line on the bar receipts.....

 

I am not in favour of travelling around the ship (pool/bar/restaurants) with cash in my pocket, but I honestly would like to do the correct thing as well.

 

We are travelling in a suite as well - so seeking advise if you tip your "Rockstar Agent" - and perhaps the amount!!!

 

I don;t have an issue with room-service as I feel this is a given....

 

But more curious as to what passengers are doing in these matters....

 

Thanking you all in advance,

 

 

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1 hour ago, marcoigna said:

Good day all.

 

Excited about Virgin Voyages...

 

Firstly, from the title, I am aware that gratuities are included - and very aware that tipping is very subjective, (just like food) - 

 

However,  I am looking at sailors that have been on their ships to see if people are actually offering a gratuity at the bar / restaurant etc.... I have seen some reviews and read that there is NOT a gratuity line on the bar receipts.....

 

I am not in favour of travelling around the ship (pool/bar/restaurants) with cash in my pocket, but I honestly would like to do the correct thing as well.

 

We are travelling in a suite as well - so seeking advise if you tip your "Rockstar Agent" - and perhaps the amount!!!

 

I don;t have an issue with room-service as I feel this is a given....

 

But more curious as to what passengers are doing in these matters....

 

Thanking you all in advance,

 

 

As tipping is included, i will not tip as I normally would. But I will be tipping for super extra service, and going above and beyond.. If everyone tips on  VV then the purpose of the line including tipping in the fare is defeated..

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2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

For me personally, I carry cash, and tip $1 - $2 per drink... There currently is no option to tip with the Band, as there are no receipts given. I didn't see anyone else tipping with cash when I cruised last week...

The only way to roll…not surprised you didn’t see others…most are clueless in this regard.

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The "correct thing" it to take the marketing at face value, tips are included. You aren't been stingy or robbing staff of their pay (unlike the mess of hospitality staff in the USA).

 

Virgin itself is strongly associated with British culture and I think the tips included policy was partly associated with that. Staff remittance will have taken account for the policy so I don't think any guest should be worrying about doing the "correct thing".

 

Sit back, relax and enjoy your time on the ship.

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On 10/15/2021 at 12:46 PM, marcoigna said:

Good day all.

 

Excited about Virgin Voyages...

 

Firstly, from the title, I am aware that gratuities are included - and very aware that tipping is very subjective, (just like food) - 

 

However,  I am looking at sailors that have been on their ships to see if people are actually offering a gratuity at the bar / restaurant etc.... I have seen some reviews and read that there is NOT a gratuity line on the bar receipts.....

 

I am not in favour of travelling around the ship (pool/bar/restaurants) with cash in my pocket, but I honestly would like to do the correct thing as well.

 

We are travelling in a suite as well - so seeking advise if you tip your "Rockstar Agent" - and perhaps the amount!!!

 

I don;t have an issue with room-service as I feel this is a given....

 

But more curious as to what passengers are doing in these matters....

 

Thanking you all in advance,

 

 

We tipped $5 on the table after every meal at the restaurants, left money in our cabin everyday for our room attendant, and tipped $2 on every drink the drink waitresses/waiters in the casino brought us over to the machines.  There were others tipping just as we were, but there were also others that didn't tip.

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Is anyone hurrying down to pay for their wifi, cover the restaurant meal cost, pay for a group workout, or handing over what they think is the cost of post mix soft drinks each time they use the soda fountain? Next people will be voluntary paying VAT, sales tax and duty on transactions whilst the ship is "tax free"!

 

 

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19 hours ago, Chrish2 said:

 

Is anyone hurrying down to pay for their wifi, cover the restaurant meal cost, pay for a group workout, or handing over what they think is the cost of post mix soft drinks each time they use the soda fountain? Next people will be voluntary paying VAT, sales tax and duty on transactions whilst the ship is "tax free"!

 

Totally understand what you are saying - but we live where tipping is very customary everywhere we go or do.    

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4 hours ago, marcoigna said:

Totally understand what you are saying - but we live where tipping is very customary everywhere we go or do.    

 

What if you are on a Mediterranean itinerary with a higher proportion of customers which tipping isn't anywhere near as "customary" (tip less, or tip more to feel like you are going to "compensate" for others?)? What about transatlantic itinerary? (tip half as much?).

 

At this rate VV will have to split the offering like other providers do, tips not included for US passengers, tips included as a "bonus" for non-US passengers.

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On 10/23/2021 at 5:12 PM, Chrish2 said:

Is anyone hurrying down to pay for their wifi, cover the restaurant meal cost, pay for a group workout, or handing over what they think is the cost of post mix soft drinks each time they use the soda fountain? Next people will be voluntary paying VAT, sales tax and duty on transactions whilst the ship is "tax free"!

 

As you pointed out Virgin explicitly says that tipping isn't needed because they have fairly compensated their staff and intend to remove that concern for their customers. We intend to take that seriously and won't do tips for typical bar or food service.

 

However, if someone goes "above and beyond" in some way that feels extraordinary we'd still tip them, and will bring along some extra cash just in case. As an example: on our recent Allure of the Seas cruise we hit our concierges with a last minute request to play host in our room to two other couples we befriended, and they not only arranged everything but got us reduced prices on some items and threw in a few freebies. That's the sort of out-of-the-ordinary thing we'd tip for regardless of stated policy. 

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On 10/24/2021 at 12:15 PM, marcoigna said:

Totally understand what you are saying - but we live where tipping is very customary everywhere we go or do.    

I would say do what makes you happy and what you feel comfortable with. 

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On 10/26/2021 at 11:05 AM, CroozFanatic said:

I'll just say that many of these folks haven't had employment or full employment for 18 months and nearly all of them support others back at home.

Thank You for saying what I was truly expecting to see.  In all of our 20+ cruises the staff has always provided excellent service no matter which cruise line we sail on.  What I say to myself is "who needs this $2 more, us or them?"  The answer is always the same.  We can afford to cruise.  They are working or should I say slaving to earn a mediocre amount to support families back home.  

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Just because Virgin is saying that gratuities are included and you don't need to tip, they aren't saying you can't tip. I have done several cruises where the specials that were included had all gratuities paid. In one case I had a room steward who went above and beyond any room steward then I have ever had. I tipped him extra. I had some bartenders who couldn't be bothered and so they weren't tipped extra but one really stepped up to the plate on one cruise. He and I had been talking over the course of a couple of days and he knew I had recently lost my husband and was traveling alone. One day at the pool bar a guy started hitting on me and just wouldn't take no for an answer. This particular bartender went to the phone and made a call. I didn't think anything about it until a security person came up and politely asked the guy if he could come with him because they needed his help resolving something. And off they went. The bartender then winked at me and went on to help the other folks at the bar. That man got a tip for sure. 

 

So in my mind, do what your heart tells you. Richard Branson doesn't have tip police on the ship. 

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Tip if you want to tip. I felt like I saved so much money on this cruise not being nickeled and dimed for sodas, specialty dining, ice cream, the arcade etc - I was glad to leave some tips.  I spent about $95 on tips and that includes the $5 for the bag porter at port. 
 

I tipped in the casino (usually at the end of the night) by leaving some chips before I cashed in. I was going to gamble the last night but was too tired so just went in and left them a $10 tip. Casino staff typically splits their tips so it all goes to the group (that is why they announce “dealers!” every time they get one) 

 

I typically did not tip the wait staff but one waiter just joined the ship and was released from quarantine and it was his first night officially on the job so I tipped him $5 as a good luck on his contract. I also tipped the tram driver in Bimini $1 each ride. I tipped someone in the cleaning crew $10 because I got sick and she helped clean it up. I know it was her job but I felt so incredibly bad. 
 

I brought some candy for my room steward and wrote a thank you note and originally planned to tip them $30 but ended up giving $50. I know it is sometimes multiple people that clean the rooms so not sure if they split the tips or not. I also spilled make up on my carpet and heard vacuuming in the hall and flagged them down to help and the staff quickly helped me clean it up.  Big props to the cleaning crew! 

 

Mysteriously, I still haven’t been charged for the octopus I took home with me. 😂

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/18/2021 at 2:12 AM, littlelovesunshine said:

We tipped $5 on the table after every meal at the restaurants, left money in our cabin everyday for our room attendant, and tipped $2 on every drink the drink waitresses/waiters in the casino brought us over to the machines.  There were others tipping just as we were, but there were also others that didn't tip.

So you tipped twice? I dont get it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I didn't tip and I didn't see anyone else tipping either. There was a specific question about whether you felt you were being solicited for tips in the post-cruise survey. I really got the feeling the brand wants to do away with tipping as part of their reinvention of cruising.

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