Tip Question

[eddieg07410]

On Viking are you expected to tip the staff that brings you room service every time or as part of a general tip at the end of the voyage?

[KBs mum]

It's part of the pre pay gratuity. Some US people tip extra to individuals but not all. Don't feel you have to.

Other nationalities have the gratuities included in the cruise cost and rarely tip extra, not being from tipping cultures

Edited September 7, 2022 by KBs mum

[CDNPolar]

As the above answer stated, but to add, they really are no different than your restaurant servers.  This is their job on the ship and they receive their tips at the end like all other staff.

 

We have found that tipping individual crew on the ship - that we see all the time - is something that we like to do, but we would not tip room service if the server was different every time.

[TayanaLorna]

This was a big discussion thread a while back.  People reported from no tips to $1.00 each time and as high as $10 if they ordered a lot of food.  The server does not linger expecting a tip so each to their own.

[THR]

Travelling from Australia, where tipping isn't customary, I note gratuities are specified as being included. We don't propose to tip (when we go on our first cruise) on a regular basis - but we may seek certain people out at the end.

 

I imagine that staff are familiar with different tipping cultures and perhaps it genuinely is included in our fare? Or only people from the US tip, perhaps.

 

[longterm]

8 hours ago, eddieg07410 said:

On Viking are you expected to tip the staff that brings you room service every time or as part of a general tip at the end of the voyage?

Here's what we do: we usually prepay for gratuities, and then we always give our room steward an extra tip, since he's the one person who works for us every day.

If we do order room service, we tip the server; having seen videos showing the rooming spaces on cruise ships, and knowing that these people are gone from home 6 months at a time, we personally like to "pay it forward" by being a little extra-generous with ship employees. 

We don't leave tips in the restaurants however, at least haven't in the past; I don't know what ship workers make, but my guess is that, by US standards, it's not much. 

We were in Cancun a week ago; on the last day there, our room wasn't made up because we were in it that afternoon; room servicing ends at 6pm at that hotel. At about 10 minutes before 6 we spotted the maid in the hallway, and she came over and was about to start cleaning the room. I slipped her a $20, and the look on her face was priceless--we made her day, and my wife and I still talk about it; I expect that the daily pay for a housekeeper in Cancun is not much more than what we gave her.

 

Our new plan is to pick one person on every trip we take, and give them a really special tip; on a Viking cruise we'll probably pick a random person other than our room steward. 

[Mr Luxury]

Tipping should be a private matter and not talked about.

Do Viking have a crew welfare fund that you can contribute to like we do at Seabourn so that all crew can benefit from the gratuity.

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, eddieg07410 said:

On Viking are you expected to tip the staff that brings you room service every time or as part of a general tip at the end of the voyage?

 

Onboard ship, I am never expected to tip anyone. I provide tips at my discretion, at the end of the cruise, to those crew members that went the extra mile.

 

The room service crew are all included in the "Discretionary Service Charges" that are added to cruises booked in North America. In the morning, the base room service crew is supplemented by waiters/waitresses from other dining venues, so on occasion you could have a member of the wait staff from the restaurant delivering breakfast.

[Heidi13]

9 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Tipping should be a private matter and not talked about.

Do Viking have a crew welfare fund that you can contribute to like we do at Seabourn so that all crew can benefit from the gratuity.

 

Affirmative, at least pre-COVID, the ships maintained a crew welfare fund.

 

However, I'm not sure how pax could contribute to it, as we were on a World Cruise with the gratuities included. Viking contributed to the fund. This information was included the day we attended the crew training program, presented by the HR Manager, aboard Viking Sun.

[Mr Luxury]

15 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Affirmative, at least pre-COVID, the ships maintained a crew welfare fund.

 

However, I'm not sure how pax could contribute to it, as we were on a World Cruise with the gratuities included. Viking contributed to the fund. This information was included the day we attended the crew training program, presented by the HR Manager, aboard Viking Sun.

Thanks Heidi,

Gratuities on Seabourn are always included but a lot of regular cruisers know about the crew welfare fund that goes to fund parties and electrical goods like TV's and other personal items.

We find it is the perfect way to show our appreciation to all crew above and below decks.

We just go to guest services and ask them to donate a certain amount.

Much more discreet than waiving a few notes about to make yourself feel good.😁

[sugarside]

On the subject of crew welfare fund we were told on our recent cruise during a promotional talk on the viking on board offer of paying £100 for a voucher for another cruise and Viking increasing that to £200 that this money goes into the staff welfare fund mentioned.

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, sugarside said:

On the subject of crew welfare fund we were told on our recent cruise during a promotional talk on the viking on board offer of paying £100 for a voucher for another cruise and Viking increasing that to £200 that this money goes into the staff welfare fund mentioned.

Haven't heard of this but I assume that you can go to guest services and donate further.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Haven't heard of this but I assume that you can go to guest services and donate further.

 

I have no doubt you could contribute by visiting the Purser's Desk.

[Peregrina651]

On 9/7/2022 at 9:18 AM, THR said:

Travelling from Australia, where tipping isn't customary, I note gratuities are specified as being included.

 

In UK & AU/NZ markets, gratuities are included in the cruise fare. In US & CAN, they are not; they are added to our on board account at the end of the cruise and will adjusted or deleted at the guest's request.  There are some guests who prefer to tip the folks they have interacted with on a daily basis in person and there are others who prefer to tip via their on board account.

 

On 9/7/2022 at 11:14 AM, Mr Luxury said:

Tipping should be a private matter and not talked about.

 

Baloney!

 

When you are in a new environment, how can you decide on how you want to handle the issue unless you ask what the local customs are. No one is telling anyone how they must tip; they are merely providing information so that others can decide for themselves what they will do --and only because they have asked.

[Travel R]

36 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Baloney!

 

When you are in a new environment, how can you decide on how you want to handle the issue unless you ask what the local customs are. No one is telling anyone how they must tip; they are merely providing information so that others can decide for themselves what they will do --and only because they have asked.

 

Agreed. The amount you tip should be a private matter, but the tipping practices should be discussed and made known.

 

Having been in the situation where I worked as a bus person, and did deliveries, and knowing that a few extra bucks can go a long way, I am a very good tipper (if I am able). Since I am now able to afford a premium cruise, it should mean that I am able to afford to tip. And yes, I am also part of the American tipping mentally.

 

Although a "thank you" is nice (and required), but what is better is also adding the additional: (1) pointing them out by name on the post-cruise reviews, and (2) giving them money.  Many of them work so they can send what they make back home to their families (who they do not see for months), so even a little bit helps.

 

To give you an idea of what the $ means to an individual staff member, let's look at average salaries.  The last cruise I was on had a lot of staff from the Philippines, so let's use that country as an example.   The average salary in that country (according to salary explorer) in 2022 was 44,600 PHP per month, which is equivalent to under $800 US dollars a month (or under 700 UK pounds, or 1,100 Can dollars). Even if you leave a $20 tip at the end of the cruise, that is equivalent to a half day's salary back in their home country.

 

In the long run, what you personally give should be kept private.  But the tipping practice should be discussed.

 

[Disclosure, I have not yet sailed on my first Viking ship yet, but I do have experience on a multiple mainstream cruise lines.]

 

[KBs mum]

On 9/7/2022 at 2:18 PM, THR said:

Travelling from Australia, where tipping isn't customary, I note gratuities are specified as being included. We don't propose to tip (when we go on our first cruise) on a regular basis - but we may seek certain people out at the end.

 

I imagine that staff are familiar with different tipping cultures and perhaps it genuinely is included in our fare? Or only people from the US tip, perhaps.

 

Agree with you, we're from the UK, we sometimes tip but don't plan it in advance. Gratuities are included in our fares, as they are yours.

It's a cultural thing, the US default action is to tip, ours and yours is not to. 

The staff welfare fund and mentions by name in the questionnaire are more in line with our plans

[longterm]

On 9/7/2022 at 10:49 AM, Mr Luxury said:

Much more discreet than waiving a few notes about to make yourself feel good.😁

But if it makes me feel good, and at the same time, makes THEM feel good, I'd call that a win-win.

 

[Hockeyump]

You can feel good discretely which to me is what tipping is all about. I despair when I see someone making sure everyone close by sees their 'generous' gesture.

[longterm]

1 minute ago, Hockeyump said:

You can feel good discretely which to me is what tipping is all about. I despair when I see someone making sure everyone close by sees their 'generous' gesture.

True. I have a few rules I live by: a) Be honest, even when nobody is watching or when you might be able to get away with something; b) Pay it forward; c) Ask yourself what your motivation is.

[CDNPolar]

Tipping for us brings us great pleasure. 

 

We do not tip because we are expected to or from any external motivation.

 

When someone remembers our name the second time they see us, or they go out of their way to assist, we generally tip discretely when we come across them where it is not obvious what we are doing.  This gives us pleasure because as was mentioned above, the wages in some of the home countries are extremely low and these are the best paying jobs some of these folks can get.  We can afford it so we pay it forward a bit where we can.

 

My company has operations in many of the countries that Viking crew come from.  One in particular is the Philippines.  It pains me that people doing the same job that got me to where I am today could not dream of travelling like I do because their salaries are so low.  Then you take their currency and convert to a US, UK, or CAD fare on a cruise and it would be impossible for them to afford.

 

I also agree - who, and how much you tip should remain a personal choice and private, but to talk about tipping is important.

[longterm]

9 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Tipping for us brings us great pleasure. 

 

We do not tip because we are expected to or from any external motivation.

 

When someone remembers our name the second time they see us, or they go out of their way to assist, we generally tip discretely when we come across them where it is not obvious what we are doing.  This gives us pleasure because as was mentioned above, the wages in some of the home countries are extremely low and these are the best paying jobs some of these folks can get.  We can afford it so we pay it forward a bit where we can.

 

My company has operations in many of the countries that Viking crew come from.  One in particular is the Philippines.  It pains me that people doing the same job that got me to where I am today could not dream of travelling like I do because their salaries are so low.  Then you take their currency and convert to a US, UK, or CAD fare on a cruise and it would be impossible for them to afford.

 

I also agree - who, and how much you tip should remain a personal choice and private, but to talk about tipping is important.

I agree. 

My wife and I never talk politics outside a tiny group of like-minded friends, but we decided that it might be time to try to influence the vote in our state--so we put a campaign sign in our yard, hoping we might sway one of our neighbors.

I tend to think of this discussion in a similar vein; if a discussion about tipping encourages others to give a little extra to the workers on Viking cruises, then that's a good thing, IMO. It's a private choice, of course.

Another adage my wife and I live by, that I read somewhere a long time ago: "Never pass up the opportunity to be generous."

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

My company has operations in many of the countries that Viking crew come from.  One in particular is the Philippines.  It pains me that people doing the same job that got me to where I am today could not dream of travelling like I do because their salaries are so low.  Then you take their currency and convert to a US, UK, or CAD fare on a cruise and it would be impossible for them to afford.

 

To add some perspective to the subject from the marine industry.

 

When I worked as an officer on the cruise ships, my salary was considerably higher than the base wages of the hotel ratings. With this disparity, why do so many keep returning to the ships. The reason is that the wages afford them a significantly higher standard of lifestyle than the average person in their home countries. When chatting with many of the crew, while they made considerably less money than me, many of them were significantly more affluent than me, and maintained a higher lifestyle than I could afford. 

 

When moving to Canada, I experienced the fact that your salary is only relevant in your country of residence/employment. In UK, I made reasonable money, easily beating most of my age group, but on moving to Canada, I could not have survived on my UK salary. When I started working on local ships, my salary increased > 300% over what I made in UK, but my standard of living was still lower, due to the cost of living. As I experienced, comparing salaries in different countries is not a measure of affluence.

 

Yes, crew members in the Philippines can't afford a World Cruise on Viking, but neither can most people in the western/developed world. However, to compare apples to apples I will use local ferries, which are common in the Philippines and the developed world. The cruise ship crew members can easily afford to use their local ferries, but in the developed world they are becoming unaffordable for an increasing number of people. 

[Sleep7]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:22 AM, longterm said:

Another adage my wife and I live by, that I read somewhere a long time ago: "Never pass up the opportunity to be generous."

Love this!!!👏

[Cruisenewbie63]

Sorry to add to tip dilemma,   But for UK passengers., ( where gratuities included?).   Would you feel a tip for breakfast, lunch , and dinner would be  the norm ?  I have tipped individuals at restaurants i( not buffet). If I have been seen by them a few times ?
I would tip cabin steward additional too,  

also room service or late night hot chocolate/ milk?  Brandy ( normally covered under silver spirits package ).  Would normally tip additional too?
 

I would imagine that may be the norm ?
just more difficult sometimes at dinner?   Different servers etc?   

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, Cruisenewbie63 said:

Would you feel a tip for breakfast, lunch , and dinner would be  the norm ?

 

No. That is what is covered by the pre-paid gratuities: the normal everyday activities that make up the job description. However, if someone has delivered excellent service throughout your cruise, you may feel that you wish to give an additional gratuity to that person.

 

Some people will give a small tip for the delivery of room service. Others feel that it is part of the job description and don't tip. Same with a drink from the bar delivered to the cabin, where a service charge is part of the price.