Gratuities

[happy daze john in oz]

There has been much talk among us about the way in which crew wages are paid oin cruise liners, many believe the 'gratuities' charged are used to pay them as their wages.
The method of charging and collecting them vary from company to company, some charge a fixed daily amount which is added to your final account, some add it to the original fare, while some still leave it to the discretion of the passenger, though this is rare now.
Here in Oz the practice of tipping is not common and never has been, something that goes back to the days of the leg irons. It maybe for this reason that Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean have abandoned the practice, as of 1st May 2011, of directly charging passengers the $10 per day and the 10% added to all bar purchases. No doubt they will find another way of adding it in. The reason for the change has been brought about by the number of complaints about it claiming it is an unfair imposition. I am not sure what is occurring in your part of the world and would like to hear your comments.
I was unable to find out exactly where all the money goes but was assured by the assistant Purser that much of it goes to those behind the scenes, galley, deck etc? Only have his word for that.
My original account clearly stated 'no gratuities applicable' so on the first day at sea signed a form which prevented the company from adding the $10 per head per day to my account, it did not remove the bar charge though.
During the course of the voyage I got to speak with a number of barmen and our table waiter about wages etc. Basic wage is $50 U.S. per month but there are a variety of what they called 'add ons' which vary depending on the department so the final wage can be substantial and far in excess of what they could earn in their own country.
Bar and dinning saloon crew do the best out of it. From the 10% bar charge the company take 20% the balance then goes 30% to the barman and the remainder to the waiter. It partly goes to explain why on tis voyage the bar staff were always at your elbow asking if you would like another, and the first thing you got in the dinning saloon was the wine list. For me this was no hardship but I know some of the others were not so keen.
I gave a substantial tip to the two waiters who served us along with the B.R. who was extremely good.
Better thanIi did as a winger, maybe a 'Tikki' under the side plate if you were lucky.

[Neil Morton]

Welcome home John and all the best for 2011.I hope the airlines don't start that caper.The mind boggles if the stewards/ess/attendants rely on a sling to bring the old trolley around.

[Terry Wilcox]

My wife and I sailed on a Trans Alantic cruise last May on the M.S.C. Poesia. When we got our first statement of what we had spent, included was service charge of 12 dollars per person, per day. of which we were not told about when we booked the cruise. The cruise was 16 nights, so that made the total of service charge for myself and my wife $368.00. for the cruise. The Pursers decided to have a meeting in the restaurant, to establish why all of the passengers were up in arms about paying it. The meeting was not announced, and it was by word-of-mouth that the information was passed on. We were all interviewed, and asked our reason for not paying it, and then signed a form, and it was taken off our statement. As far as I can see..... it is another way of paying the crews wages. What happend to the good old days when you paid a tip for good service? Take care..... Terry.

[Graham Payne]

Hi All,
I really don't understand this "tipping" thing, maybe some of you catering blokes could advise ?
In the mid '60s on the old Orient Line as a deck boy I was paid £16 pm, an AB approx £47 pm with NO TIPS to either.
As Far As I'm Aware ??? the catering staff were paid much the same according to their rank ie bell boy £16pm / waiter/ bedroom steward £47 pm etc. If this is so, why was a bedroom steward in tears when one of his "Bloods" ran out on him on disembarkation in Tilbury.

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi All,
I really don't understand this "tipping" thing, maybe some of you catering blokes could advise ?
In the mid '60s on the old Orient Line as a deck boy I was paid £16 pm, an AB approx £47 pm with NO TIPS to either.
As Far As I'm Aware ??? the catering staff were paid much the same according to their rank ie bell boy £16pm / waiter/ bedroom steward £47 pm etc. If this is so, why was a bedroom steward in tears when one of his "Bloods" ran out on him on disembarkation in Tilbury.

Mate she might have been a good looker who mad some rash promises. But on a serious note, the shipping companies of today are no different from our time, greed is the name of the game. I am of the opinion the charge is used to 'top up' wages as the base rate is so low. Had a look at prices for next Christmas and there has been a slight increase no doubt to cover the 'service charge' Princess Cruies will no longer be charging. There is another aspect to this, cruising is the largest and fastest growing holiday form around now, Princess are the third largest company even though they have only 17 ships with two on order. But they along with P&O, Cunard, Holland Amerca, Royal Caribbean, and a number of others are all owned by Carnival though they all operate as seperate companies. I will continue to cruise and pay the BR or winger if they please me with good service, if not then they get nothing.

[Gulliver]

Hi John.Yes,that was another excellent write-up about your cruise.I thought it would be even better if you'd have put some dates and times in,as I think there are others apart from myself,who are interested in the logistics(with regard to distances cruised,time in port etc,unless It's just me again!)

I know you're an 'old cruising hand' now and really enjoy them.I'm glad for you.
I'm still not convinced it's for me,for lots of reasons which I know many of us have discussed in these forums in the past.

Just before Christmas some acquaintances of ours did an 11 nights Canaries and Iberian Peninsular Cruise,arriving back on 23rd December. It was their first cruise,and he is a travel agent,who of course was able to negotiate a good discount with an upgrade to a balcony cabin.It was on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas,which we all know,as being one of the biggest 'block of flats' type of cruise liners in service.
Good points were: Dep/Arr from Soton,i.e. no Fly Cruise involved and excellent accommodation and service.(I n fact the service was so solicitous it sometimes became a bit annoying,for example no sooner had they left their cabin(at whatever time) of day or night,) than their steward was in 'tootling around' with something or other;I would have hated that-I was one of those officers,who,when I was at sea,used to feel uncomfortable being served by a uniformed steward,thinking it was pointless and demeaning for them to be doing so! I also cleaned my cabin daily before the steward came in-they loved me!

Bad points: The sheer size of the ship is not user-friendly for the elderly or infirm,with vast distances walked,they were exhausted most evenings.Hardly a relaxing holiday on that score.It was commented that if they had wanted a walking holiday then they would have booked a trekking holiday and taken their walking boots.
I don't constantly walk round and round an hotel on shore,so why would I do it at sea?
Ditto in some of the ports,notably Las Palmas.True,these days more ports can accommodate large ships like these,and you don't have to 'suffer the ashore by tender' routine;but because they have usually to dock nearer the harbour entrances,there is either a very long walk into town,or a wait for a crowded shuttle bus to the dock gates.
Time in port.If it was me,I would have been dismayed for example at only 8 hours in Lisbon.
That is one of my favourite cities of all time,and one needs 3 days to do it justice.Even an overnight stay would have been better,In some places the 'nightlife' ,especially the Portuguese fado doesn't get going till 10pm, which is 6 hours after the ship has sailed.

Sitting In a packed air-conditioned tour bus,and usually,by the time disembarking has taken place, at least an hour after docking,a two hour whistle stop tour of just some of Lisbon's sights,would have left me distinctly unimpressed....and wanting more.
　
Drinks horrendously expensive(a common criticism) of most cruises.
Gratuities were apparently optional,with tips(or wages! for the stewards being rewarded accordingly.
Knowing my friend's shall we say,tightness,in my local when it comes to putting hand in pocket for a 'round' then I suspect the stewards didn't get much at all from him.(Oh the bitchiness from me!)

But no,I wasn't impolite with my friend's 'cruise fever',and dutifully listened to all they said with interest,without open criticism-unlike what I've written for you lot.!
Cruising is still not for me,then...and certainly not in one of those huge blocks of flats.Perhaps a smaller Saga type cruise liner?......
Will I ever be converted?.............
Watch this space.
Gulliver
PS My friend said they went through Biscay out and back...and didn't feel a thing...
(Words now failing me-a ship that doesn't move about a bit--what's the point then?....)


PPS John-what on earth is a 'tikki' under the side plate?

　

[Graham Payne]

Hi John," he was not that way enclined" but I agree with you on cruises nowadays " Carnival Cruises" in particular seem to dictatate the market and I would always do the Tipping bit. Its just the question I asked that interests me ? AB's & Bedroom Stewards who were around at that time in the 60s INFO please, put a OLD man out of his misery. p.s. NOT THAT BLOODY OLD

[happy daze john in oz]

Gulliver thank you for your comments. I whole heartedly agree with you about size. I have seen a vidoe of that ship and she is certainly not for me. From personla experiences and from talking with others who like to cruise as I do ships of up to about 75,000 tons or about 2,000 bloods are very good, after thta it gets a bit too much. Ther are some such as the Volendam that only take about 1,500 and look very comfortable, but I guess it is up to the individual. We had one couple on this last cruise who were completing over 630 days in total cruising and one couple who were doing a double header. For me it is not os much the cruise but the chance to be out on the open sea, hopefully with a bit of a swell or more, meeting people and visiting other places. It is also the most relaxing way to travel. Off again April 4th with Royal Caribbean.
I have a copy of ships log and will post on site, or can send you a copy if you give me somewhere to send it.

[Neville Roberts]

the tipping at a % of the bill started in US, as the staffs of restuarants ,and hotels were paid well below minimum wage, in uk it was or still is just a small token . we used too earn a fairly decent wage for the time ecept for the hours put in ,59 pound a month at the end of my seagoing , the only ones that were used to tipping were the yanks ,it was recomended $1 a day per person but we did not always get that . even so it was looked at as an great extra ,I remember one 14 day cruise we did out of NYC were we used as a home port in the winter for 6 months ,I made $ 150 ,that was one of the best I did and that was 2 sittins of 6.the ships today just take advantage of the old US system . and UK bloods are still not into giving a % . so it should be included in the fares now .

[robpage]

It would be better if the cruise companies just paid a decent wage , and gratuities were voluntary extra payments to me . The cost of the cruise is what the company charges . the gratuity is what I would pay for exceptional service . Why mix the two ?. Does this really get shared amongst the deckhands and the non front of house crew as implied . I cannot imagine tipping the quartermaster or the donkeyman , because I had a good trip . I still regard this as a cover up for paying slave wages to crewmen . We fought for decent wages for seafarers , regardless of nationality years ago , now we support their exploitation by paying carnival cruises good money to treat them like unpaid serfs .

Sorry guys , I know that a lot of you like cruises , but I just cannot go along with the theory of this one

Regards

Rob