Increase in Hotel and Dining Service Charge (aka Auto-Gratuities)

[Solent Richard]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Not under the impression that hotel and dining service charge increase as always been direct payment to staff when clearly it doesn't. Cunard should not take any percentage of that charge but I am convinced they do. Also there is the long held belief, told to me by member of staff, that they have a guaranteed minimum guaranteed wage written into their contracts and if it is not received in tips then Cunard have to make good that promise. Therefore it is in Cunard's interest that cruiser's pay the charges so they don't have to and so increasing profits. Unfortunately Cunard like many cruise lines muddy the waters about tips and is like a secret society. Why don't they just come clean add gratuities to cruise fare so we all pay them and then if staff receive extra from guests in cash they can keep it.

 

I too have borne witness to that statement and from an unimpeachable source. 

 

Tin hats at the ready Major. 😉😉

 

 

 

 

[BklynBoy8]

17 hours ago, D&N said:

Approaching the subject with a balanced view and taking into account different tipping customs in USA, UK and France, I think it's quite realistic for us.

The cabin is serviced more frequently than we really need, and the steward/stewardess is usually very helpful in replacing water, biscuits etc, and taking/retrieving stuff from laundry.

We don't use buffets or speciality restaurants so have 14 served breakfasts and dinners and 12 lunches in 14 days. There are always two waiters and several others topping up water and rolls etc in passing as we eat.

It roughly equates to what we would tip if we stayed in a hotel and ate all those meals in restaurants. It may be more noticeable as a total charge at end of trip. In other scenarios it would be given in small amounts directly to members of staff over the fortnight.

 

Ditto!

 

We agree totally with D&N statement....

 

After sailing so many decades, we are thankful for all the hard work for all those from boarding at the gangway to "Goodbyes" leaving, we appreciate their care and concern for us.

 

We truly appreciate even those not caring but in passing in the hallways the family we have while on board greeting us.

 

We agree appreciation is appreciated by the staff with their dedicated service is recognized.

 

We do at times also recognize that exceptional service with a gratuity at the completion of the sailing.

 

IMHO...it's up to the individual passengers sailings to judge their recognition of service received and what action they believe should be done.

[exlondoner]

4 hours ago, seasickphil said:

I do believe that for most people , the best scenario is like most other cruise lines do presently and that is factor the gratuities into the headline price, that way it takes away much of what is being said now on here, then all of the crew get their tips and us passengers are still paying for them but without all this hoo-ha.

Just out of interest, if you were to experience very poor service, as happens sometimes, if only very occasionally, how could you remove the ‘service charge’ from the all in payment? I suppose they would just give credit.

[BklynBoy8]

54 minutes ago, babs135 said:

A pound here and a pound there soon adds up and if they increase the 15% on drinks that could be the final nail in the coffin for attracting new cruisers. Maybe I'm being overdramatic but I'm sure you get my drift.

 

I can't believe that I saw in the past another cruise line raising their 15% to 18%.

 

WOW!

[exlondoner]

59 minutes ago, babs135 said:

We all know the adage 'the straw that breaks the camel's back'. Could this be one of those straws?  Yes, as many of us have said (myself included) If you can afford to cruise you can afford the gratuities, but there comes a point when this could no longer be true. 

A pound here and a pound there soon adds up and if they increase the 15% on drinks that could be the final nail in the coffin for attracting new cruisers. Maybe I'm being overdramatic but I'm sure you get my drift.

It really is time the gratuities were included in the fare then we wouldn't constantly have these discussions

 

 

No, I fear the discussions would then turn to the exorbitant nature of the fares. 😀

[Zeg]

3 hours ago, seasickphil said:

If you do that then the non frontline staff ( cleaners, chefs/kitchen staff etc ) have to survive on the poor basic pay.

Not to mention the farmers, delivery drivers, dock workers, check in staff, port security officers…….🤷🏼‍♂️

[NE John]

23 minutes ago, Zeg said:

Not to mention the farmers, delivery drivers, dock workers, check in staff, port security officers…….🤷🏼‍♂️

Some of those workers are often covered by union contracts. Way beyond the scope of this conversation!!

[Zeg]

15 minutes ago, NE John said:

Some of those workers are often covered by union contracts. Way beyond the scope of this conversation!!

Yes Union members have a long tradition of refusing/returning tips. 😉

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, babs135 said:

We all know the adage 'the straw that breaks the camel's back'. Could this be one of those straws?  Yes, as many of us have said (myself included) If you can afford to cruise you can afford the gratuities, but there comes a point when this could no longer be true. 

A pound here and a pound there soon adds up and if they increase the 15% on drinks that could be the final nail in the coffin for attracting new cruisers. Maybe I'm being overdramatic but I'm sure you get my drift.

It really is time the gratuities were included in the fare then we wouldn't constantly have these discussions

 

 

It is the straw that broke the camel's back as far I am concerned. We have spent last 7 days enquiring about prices from varying sources and thinking about booking a cruise in December under current 10% savings offering and triple OBC. But since this announcement we have decided not to book and instead have a pre Christmas holiday in our favourite hotel in Austria.

[D&N]

The other thing that I've been thinking about on this topic is how gratuities are taxed.

Whether Carnival Corp has to declare auto-gratuities as revenue? And whether the staff themselves have to pay income tax on them?

I don't know the answers, I expect it varies depending on the tax jurisdiction that the company or staff are subject to.

Possibly including them in the headline fare would have tax implications we haven't considered.

Giving individuals cash tips could help them avoid tax, although tax evasion is probably not something one should condone.

[seasickphil]

2 hours ago, Zeg said:

Not to mention the farmers, delivery drivers, dock workers, check in staff, port security officers…….🤷🏼‍♂️

What do paying our Cunard gratuities have any bearing on their wages?

[BigMac1953]

3 hours ago, D&N said:

 

I don't know the answers, I expect it varies depending on the tax jurisdiction that the company or staff are subject to.

 

 

There isn't one.

 

All earnings at sea are tax free, providing you are out of your home country for a defined period. In the UK it's 6 months.

 

Our daughter had two seafaring contracts, P and O and Colorline. Thr former was tax free as it was 9 months, but with Colorline, she was 2 weeks short, so to save thousands, she had to go on holiday abroad for 3 weeks.

[D&N]

11 hours ago, BigMac1953 said:

 

There isn't one.

 

All earnings at sea are tax free, providing you are out of your home country for a defined period. In the UK it's 6 months.

 

Our daughter had two seafaring contracts, P and O and Colorline. Thr former was tax free as it was 9 months, but with Colorline, she was 2 weeks short, so to save thousands, she had to go on holiday abroad for 3 weeks.

 

I knew that was the case for UK, but no idea about all the other nationalities that typically form the hotel and catering staff on cruise lines.

 

That's interesting about your daughter. Was she on one of Colorline's big ships (Magic or Fantasy)?

Someday we might get round to trying them to compare with the Silja sisters.

[BigMac1953]

4 hours ago, D&N said:

 

 

That's interesting about your daughter. Was she on one of Colorline's big ships (Magic or Fantasy)?

 

 

Our daughter Fiona, commuted to Oslo 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off and was on Colorline Magic as principle cast member. She even had a (small) single cabin with a porthole!!

 

[ohcsim123]

The increased gratuities go into effect as of 04/26/2024.

Our 30-day cruise is scheduled to begin on 08/23/2024.

 

I have no intention of cancelling or reducing our gratuities while on board but, if possible, I would like to save a few bucks by pre-paying these charges soon and before the increase takes effect.

 

Is this permitted and how might I make it happen?

 

John

[ohcsim123]

Well,

I called Cunard and received their answer that I cannot pre-pay gratuities (to avoid the 04/26/24 increase) on our cruise that begins on 08/23/24.

John

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for posting the answer, I suspected that would be the case. 

[billbee]

I've booked a cruise on QM2 sailing in 2025 and will adjust my gratuities to the price quoted at time of booking. Nothing personal, but 9 days after booking my cruise the price dropped by £300. Did Cunard adjust my fare to match? No. 

Works both ways as far as I'm concerned.

[Poole Boy]

2 hours ago, ohcsim123 said:

Well,

I called Cunard and received their answer that I cannot pre-pay gratuities (to avoid the 04/26/24 increase) on our cruise that begins on 08/23/24.

John

Why not just ask the Purser to reduce the daily gratuities to what every level you want  when  you are on board, or remove entirely and tip in cash as deserved

[Pilgrim70]

When you book a drink package, does the quoted daily price include the 15% gratuities.? 

[BigMac1953]

8 minutes ago, Pilgrim70 said:

When you book a drink package, does the quoted daily price include the 15% gratuities.? 

 

Yes

[ovccruiser]

Interesting reading yet again, the gratuities topic🤣

 

My UK view on the subject. I also holiday at all inclusive hotels very much like a cruise on shore including entertainment, drinks and food almost 24/7. At no time are we asked to pay gratuities. The price equates to cruise prices, so more expensive than cruising as the hotel has no mooring/birthing costs or has to buy fuel to get from A to B. 😂 

 

I also recently cruised with P & O on a 2 week cruise and again there were no gratuities required on that either and they are part of the same group. Yes, we didn't get "free" chocolates at night and the bed wasn't turned down, but that did not worry me. 

 

 

[worldtraveller99]

Our first Cunard cruise which I have just booked will be our first non-all-inclusive cruise (indeed our 2nd ocean cruise ever). How compulsory is the hotel etc service charge? - which seems very high for us poor Brits who earn half the salaries of similar Americans due to our awful exchange rate nowadays...... How long is the queue to take it off (I understand it is at the Pursers desk on embarkation day - does this have to be done then?), and how then do you tip please - an envelope in your cabin? thrusting cash - UK or US? - at service personnel - and if so when? Thank you for your help!  PS I assume all drinks still go onto our bill with a 15% charge added to each one?

[Host Hattie]

The simplest thing is just to treat it as part of the cost of the cruise that you pay on board rather than ahead of time. 

The queue at the Purser's office will vary as people will be there for other reasons. 

Did I read in another thread that you have booked a Grills cabin ? If so, the Concierge Desk can help with most things. I'm not sure about removing the Service Charge. 

[D&N]

Some of us Brits simply take the view that the various members of staff that contribute to our trip deserve to receive these sums, whether they are paid out as a share of gratuities, or as I have read in the last few years, guaranteed in their salaries whether we pay them or not. We will then give cash to any individuals that we feel have been particularly nice or helpful to us.

As someone living permanently in France who receives all their revenues in GBP, I don't recognise that the exchange rate to EUR or USD is awful.