Tipping?

[saminina]

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

 I wonder if it would help those who wonder if they should or should not tip know what job classifications receive a tip and the amount (or percentage of the cruise fare).   

I would refer you to posts on this thread.   Numbers 4, 5, 6, 13, 20, 22,and 23.  

[SLSD]

On 6/9/2022 at 6:04 PM, LMB01 said:

The people we saw tipping were not new to Seabourn 

Many were people we knew so we know they are experienced cruisers on the line.

 

 

 

 

Do you think they get better service because they tip?  Has their experience shown them this?  I don't know the answer.  Just curious.   (I am a firm proponent of the Crew Fund so that no one is left out. ) 

Edited June 11, 2022 by SLSD

[Utopia1]

I have not been aware of getting better service when one tips--

The only answer I have is do what you feel comfortable doing-==and not be concerned what the next person is doing.

 

[2SailingNomads]

Crew fund.  You might love your (name it: stewardess, bar tender, waiter) but the people driving the tenders, cleaning the public bathrooms, staining the rails, etc. work just as hard and you do not have the same interaction so they do not come to mind.  We contribute to the crew fund at the end of the cruise as on multiple cruises crew have come up to thank us, we are not looking for special service, rather going above the all-inclusive to reward the entire crew - parties, need to get home, etc.  I recall one cruise 7-8 years ago and someone was walking around - making themself feel good - blatantly passing out cash to multiple people.  Also saw someone early on the cruise tip the hostess in the MDR and always had the same table, which  wrote a letter to SB management about.  That is NOT what SB is supposed to be about.  

[Mauzac]

I do hope tipping individuals doesn't become more prevelant, it upsets the equilibrium as far as I'm concerned.  When we were choosing a cruise line, we specifically chose SB for its no tipping policy.  The Crew Welfare Fund makes it all very fair.

 

On our last cruise there was a couple onboard who spent every day (certainly sea days) on the Deck 5 area outside the Club.  They paid a SB employee to reserve them two of the most comfortable loungers in the sun, and two at the back in the shade.    I like Deck 5 when I want peace and quiet, it was near impossible to get a bed as 4 were reserved by 2 people, and not always used.  You may call it tipping, I call it blatant bribery!  It was noticed by not just me, and it created a bit of an atmosphere.  I really should've complained but it's just so awkward and although I really don't think the SB employee should be doing this, I also did not want to get him in trouble either.  

 

Hence my dislike of tipping... it creates situations like this.  

[saminina]

9 hours ago, Lois10028 said:

 

 

Well, SB has to fill the ships and when you expand the line from needing 600 passengers to over 1300 to over 2500 every week something has to give.  In Seabourn's case, a lot has given.   Tipping individuals, dress code on the passenger side and a very long list on the SB side.  Please change the advertising to reflect today's reality. 

[Utopia1]

5 hours ago, Mauzac said:

I do hope tipping individuals doesn't become more prevelant, it upsets the equilibrium as far as I'm concerned.  When we were choosing a cruise line, we specifically chose SB for its no tipping policy.  The Crew Welfare Fund makes it all very fair.

 

On our last cruise there was a couple onboard who spent every day (certainly sea days) on the Deck 5 area outside the Club.  They paid a SB employee to reserve them two of the most comfortable loungers in the sun, and two at the back in the shade.    I like Deck 5 when I want peace and quiet, it was near impossible to get a bed as 4 were reserved by 2 people, and not always used.  You may call it tipping, I call it blatant bribery!  It was noticed by not just me, and it created a bit of an atmosphere.  I really should've complained but it's just so awkward and although I really don't think the SB employee should be doing this, I also did not want to get him in trouble either.  

 

Hence my dislike of tipping... it creates situations like this.  

WOW!  I do remember the couple on the Ovation.   The lounges were put in an area that was usually used for a sofa.  The people left the lounges empty for hours- but did return for their pre lunch caviar and champagne and then left, again (leaving their books).   I naively thought they received this courtesy because they were on for several B/B  cruises and just appeared at dawn  to request  their "special" lounges.

After their departure the lounges were never put in that area again.

The SB employee created this problem.

Seabourn does permit tipping- and things like this will happen unless the passengers voice their distain for such preferential treatment.

 

[2SailingNomads]

I would have had a word or two with the Hotel Manager.  That crew member was clearly accepting money to provide preferential service.  Years ago a crew member, who was a long time employee, told me that the crew can accept tips but are supposed to put them into the crew welfare fund.  I do not know if that really was the case or still is, but it seems reasonable to me.   

[Host Dan]

15 minutes ago, 2SailingNomads said:

I would have had a word or two with the Hotel Manager.  That crew member was clearly accepting money to provide preferential service.  Years ago a crew member, who was a long time employee, told me that the crew can accept tips but are supposed to put them into the crew welfare fund.  I do not know if that really was the case or still is, but it seems reasonable to me.   

When I started sailing on SB I approached a crew member with a tip, and he not only refused,  but said he could be fired for accepting one.  Times have changed!

[LMB01]

31 minutes ago, Host Dan said:

When I started sailing on SB I approached a crew member with a tip, and he not only refused,  but said he could be fired for accepting one.  Times have changed!

On our 32 day holiday cruise, we did have one crew member refused a tip but not for the same reason.  Almost every time we have tipped, there has been sincere gratitude with a comment about this is for my family.   People can criticize but these folks still don’t earn a great deal of money.  Would you work 7 days a week for months on end? 
 

I don’t know, perhaps it was our first cruise, pre pandemic, thank you to the poster who said those who tip have started cruising and tipping pre pandemic, when a bartender who was sick told us about having to work sick and getting no relief.

 

This is a personal decision and it is not based on your cruising history.  We learned a great deal about many of the fallacies of this board when we discussed with two corporate executives on two separate cruises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[no1talks]

53 minutes ago, LMB01 said:

"People can criticize but these folks still don’t earn a great deal of money.  Would you work 7 days a week for months on end?"

But... But, what about the "Equilibrium" and "Slippery Slope of Expectation" hanging over luxury cruisers heads? 😉

Seriously, though, I'm with you. I spent plenty of years in a tip-reliant career. I did pretty well back then, but I had to show plenty of initiative. Now that I have the wherewithal, I like paying it forward to tipped service professionals in a larger manner than I could in my younger days.

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, LMB01 said:

 We learned a great deal about many of the fallacies of this board when we discussed with two corporate executives on two separate cruises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you clue the rest of us in as to the fallacies of this board?  What what I observe, the posters here  represent a tiny percentage of Seabourn cruisers and may not be representative of all.  Anything else?

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

But... But, what about the "Equilibrium" and "Slippery Slope of Expectation" hanging over luxury cruisers heads? 😉

Seriously, though, I'm with you. I spent plenty of years in a tip-reliant career. I did pretty well back then, but I had to show plenty of initiative. Now that I have the wherewithal, I like paying it forward to tipped service professionals in a larger manner than I could in my younger days.

But how  do you  plan to tip the professionals who drive the tenders, the line cooks, the people who do laundry, those who work in the hold of the ship, etc?  

[Mauzac]

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

But how  do you  plan to tip the professionals who drive the tenders, the line cooks, the people who do laundry, those who work in the hold of the ship, etc?  

 

So agree with this.  I remember a few cruises ago, going to a Q&A session with the Captain (think it was Tim Roberts) , and two other officers (think it was Food & Beverages Mgr and one other) and there were some interesting questions and fascinating answers.

 

The Captain talked about how hard all the SB staff worked and he made particular reference to the laundry staff and he said he made a point of going in to the laundry daily if he could, to sometimes just say hello or check all was OK.  They work in shifts and the laundry is going 24 hours, hard work.

 

It is for staff like this that means I want to use the Crew Welfare Fund.  They deserve it as much as the mixologist in the OB who makes your favourite cocktail, or your room attendant.  

 

[lincslady]

There are three ways of tipping,  IMO.

 

Handing some out on arrival to a particular member of staff to ensure a good restaurant table or deck  loungers.

 

Tipping the individuals who have made your cruise great at the end of the cruise - maybe your stewardess, a waiter who has looked after you etc.

 

Giving to the crew fund - the staff and crew know the names of those who have done this, and will almost always say thank you at some point.  You could of course do this near the start of the cruise, or leave it to the end.

 

To my mind, the last option is the best, and the first unforgivable - but I guess I am a bit of a Puritan.

[markham]

About that couple who tipped the deck staff to secure their Ovation deckchairs daily, leave the reserved deckchairs for mid-day caviar and champagne for hours etc. I noticed them too. They were long time Seabourn passengers who learned to/decided to abuse/manipulate the system for their own selfish needs. I reported them to Guest Services (and I now can imagine from this forum others did), and added more meat. They were bullies of the top degree insisting on premium wine glasses when having included wine in the MDR at the same center-front table they claimed daily, special food orders at each meal, and commanding the use of the main swimming pool each morning and afternoon by wide breaststroke crowding out others. And there is more...

 

How do people feel about such behavior? It was learned, after all, when Seabourn allowed the creep of privilege to become normalized by particularly selfish and personally aggressive passengers. I hope that they are now banned from Seabourn. No one pays these fares to be abused by these types .

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Edited June 12, 2022 by markham

[dalliowner]

The question is to people want to tip individually  to reward service or to obtain better service than others. The crew fund helps all the crew !!!

[commodoredave]

2 hours ago, markham said:

About that couple who tipped the deck staff to secure their Ovation deckchairs daily, leave the reserved deckchairs for mid-day caviar and champagne for hours etc. I noticed them too. They were long time Seabourn passengers who learned to/decided to abuse/manipulate the system for their own selfish needs. I reported them to Guest Services (and I now can imagine from this forum others did), and added more meat. They were bullies of the top degree insisting on premium wine glasses when having included wine in the MDR at the same center-front table they claimed daily, special food orders at each meal, and commanding the use of the main swimming pool each morning and afternoon by wide breaststroke crowding out others. And there is more...

 

How do people feel about such behavior? It was learned, after all, when Seabourn allowed the creep of privilege to become normalized by particularly selfish and personally aggressive passengers. I hope that they are now banned from Seabourn. No one pays these fares to be abused by these types .

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

As you note, this type of behavior can only take place with support or indifference from crew. I find it very annoying, especially when it affects me personally. On one of our Seabourn cruises this past February, we noticed a couple claim one of the few poolside cabanas at 8:00 in the morning (which my wife likes to use), and not return until after 4:00 pm just to remove the possessions they left on it.  The next morning they did the same and then left at 9:30 am for the beach day party in St. Kitts. I pointed this out at 10:00 am to one of the poolside staff who said they would take care of it. They didn't. At 12:45 pm I told a more senior poolside staff member about it, and they promised to take care of it. They didn't. At 1:30 I spoke to the senior staff member again and advised that if the possessions left on the cabana were not removed I would speak with the Hotel Manager -- it was immediately addressed. The offending couple returned at 4:15 pm, found their possessions had been removed, and asked crew about it. They were told their possessions had been taken to the lost and found, and would have to pick them up there. I had a big grin on my face during the entire conversation. The next day I gave the poolside crew member who dealt with it a nice tip.

[Mr Luxury]

If I see this sort of bullying and self righteous behaviour I would go and see the Hotel Director straight away.

Don't bother with deck staff as they rarely like to remove items as they do not want the confrontation.

I have even been known to remove items myself if I notice that sort of behaviour and give the items to reception.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Mr Luxury

[Host Dan]

4 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

 

I have even been known to remove items myself if I notice that sort of behaviour and give the items to reception.

I've done the same thing, many times.  (After quite a bit of time has gone by, of course.)  For a very brief time, there were signs reminding guests that if they did not return to the saved lounge within 1/2 hour, their possessions would be behind the bar.

This was short lived.

[RetiredandTravel]

22 hours ago, Host Dan said:

When I started sailing on SB I approached a crew member with a tip, and he not only refused,  but said he could be fired for accepting one.  Times have changed!

 

 

I had the same experience on my first Regent cruise.  On the last cruise (2019) there were a lot of people tipping , especially in the MDR, and I was left with the impression that the tippers were getting better treatment.   I firmly believe the best approach is a group tip and individual tipping should not be allowed.  If the game rules are that  individual tipping is necessary for us to have a competitive experience I will, this is the fault of the cruise line not mine.

 

 

 

 

[janecambridge]

On 6/9/2022 at 3:43 PM, Host Dan said:

I always contribute money to the Crew Welfare Fund at the beginning of the cruise.  This way all employees benefit.  The crew knows what guests participate.  Tipping individually on SB can lead to a slippery slope of expectation.

So if the crew know who participates at the beginning of the cruise,is this a way of getting better service? I see tipping anyone before they do a service as a bribe. What a horrible position to be in for the crew member,forever at a ‘beck and call’...

 

[Mr Luxury]

I agree,I don't see the point unless you are the type of person that thinks they will get better service.

I have always received great service and contribute to the welfare fund towards the end of the cruise.

Everyone should receive great service on a Seabourn ship and they generally do

Edited June 15, 2022 by Mr Luxury

[lincslady]

It is not the same as tipping individually - IMO.  The staff and crew are pleased to have your acknowledgement of their efforts, but  I am pretty sure it might get you an extra smile, but not extra special treatment.

[Host Dan]

12 minutes ago, janecambridge said:

 

 

 

12 minutes ago, janecambridge said:

So if the crew know who participates at the beginning of the cruise,is this a way of getting better service? I see tipping anyone before they do a service as a bribe. What a horrible position to be in for the crew member,forever at a ‘beck and call’...

 

I think you have it backwards.  The promise of a tip at the end is far more a "bribe" than knowing a guest contributed to the fund at the beginning.  On that note, remember this fund is for all emp!oyees, not just servers.