Early-retirement wannabe

Goldiegirl

I go on cruises, and part of the culture of cruises is the tipping policy.

It's the done thing to tip at a 'suggested' rate, currently £5.50 per person, per day on P&O Cruises. Many cruise lines 'suggest' a higher amount.

This money goes to the cabin steward and the dining room waiters. These staff are poorly paid (less than minimum wage, as they are not employed in the UK) and work very long hours.

If the passengers don't tip, then the steward or waiter could face a significant drop in income.

It's always a controversial subject on the cruise forums, but the cost of the tipping needs to be factored into someones cruise budget. It needs to be done, because it's not cricket to stiff the hardworking staff after two weeks or more.

saver861

Deleted_User wrote: »

Why are you discussing tipping in a thread about wanting ER? I keep opening this up hoping for interesting insight into pros and cons of ER and find tedious drivel about tipping? Surely tipping discussion belongs on another board?

Maybe you need to do a chill drill ......

annnnnd breatheeeeee ....

gadgetmind

Goldiegirl wrote: »

If the passengers don't tip, then the steward or waiter could face a significant drop in income.

Which is a matter between them and their employer, neither of whom should try to make it my problem. I pay for goods and services, company then funds these goods and services from the money I hand over.

Simple.

chucknorris

I tend to tip 10% in restaurants, unless the service or food is poor, when this happens I usually explain that although I normally tip, because of the poor service/food on this particular occasion I am not leaving a tip.

bugslet

Deleted_User wrote: »

Why are you discussing tipping in a thread about wanting ER? I keep opening this up hoping for interesting insight into pros and cons of ER and find tedious drivel about tipping? Surely tipping discussion belongs on another board?

Always handy to start your own forum and then you can control any errant thread wander to your hearts content. Otherwise, chill.

I always tip taxi drivers, hairdressers and waiters, unless as chuck says, the service has been rubbish in which case they'll be aware that I'm not happy.

stephennt

gadgetmind wrote: »

Which is a matter between them and their employer, neither of whom should try to make it my problem. I pay for goods and services, company then funds these goods and services from the money I hand over.

Simple.

But it also makes sense for employers to differentiate pay to reward those that perform above and beyond; tipping is a very efficient way to do this (as the employer doesn't have to run some formal process to collect client feedback, etc).

uk1

gadgetmind wrote: »

Which is a matter between them and their employer, neither of whom should try to make it my problem. I pay for goods and services, company then funds these goods and services from the money I hand over.

Simple.

It isn't actually that simple.

The staff on these lines are most often from third-world countries and they take these jobs largely to send cash home to their families. They are often not even hired directly by the cruise line but through agents and so they cannot negotiate with the lines and these people basically take what they can. In reality it isn't too far removed from "slavery" as they are also often quite exploited because they are exploitable often working "overtime" with no extra pay for fear that they are fired if they complain. They hardly never see their families and the first thing they do when the ship hits port is head for the phones or internet cafes to make calls home.

It is absolutely your business if you wish to not tip for whatever reason you choose. You can feel that you "don't like tipping" or do not care for their situation etc but my view of this situation is that it is an unsatisfactory situation, and I'd prefer to see them paid more, but they most often provide really good service and on this issue we should bite the bullet and not complain and let them have the service charge.

I like you hate the "extra tipping charges" on these cruise lines and would prefer to see them give a decent salary and charge more. Some lines already include the tips and say that no more is expected but many including myself feel that tipping is still more often than not appropriate and also like to give to the "crew fund" which is used to the benefit of all the crew which also means that those you don't see are also given something.

For the avoidance of doubt, I repeat I agree you are perfectly entitled to disagree and not to tip but in this specific situation I see it as a potential exception on the grounds of the characteristics of their employment, and that we're all here once and if these people make your "trip of a lifetime" really great and go the extra mile then giving them a bit more is a good thing.



Jeff

gadgetmind

uk1 wrote: »

my view of this situation is that it is an unsatisfactory situation, and I'd prefer to see them paid more

They won't ever be paid more if the employers can simply impose some of the cost directly onto the customers.

Goldiegirl

uk1 wrote: »

It isn't actually that simple.

The staff on these lines are most often from third-world countries and they take these jobs largely to send cash home to their families. They are often not even hired directly by the cruise line but through agents and so they cannot negotiate with the lines and these people basically take what they can. In reality it isn't too far removed from "slavery" as they are also often quite exploited because they are exploitable often working "overtime" with no extra pay for fear that they are fired if they complain. They hardly never see their families and the first thing they do when the ship hits port is head for the phones or internet cafes to make calls home.

It is absolutely your business if you wish to not tip for whatever reason you choose. You can feel that you "don't like tipping" or do not care for their situation etc but my view of this situation is that it is an unsatisfactory situation, and I'd prefer to see them paid more, but they most often provide really good service and on this issue we should bite the bullet and not complain and let them have the service charge.

I like you hate the "extra tipping charges" on these cruise lines and would prefer to see them give a decent salary and charge more. Some lines already include the tips and say that no more is expected but many including myself feel that tipping is still more often than not appropriate and also like to give to the "crew fund" which is used to the benefit of all the crew which also means that those you don't see are also given something.

For the avoidance of doubt, I repeat I agree you are perfectly entitled to disagree and not to tip but in this specific situation I see it as a potential exception on the grounds of the characteristics of their employment, and that we're all here once and if these people make your "trip of a lifetime" really great and go the extra mile then giving them a bit more is a good thing.



Jeff

Very well said:T:T

These crew members are typically employed on 9 month contracts, working from early morning to late at night, with no days off.

The tips from passengers are a significant part of their income, and if the passenger withholds tips on a matter of principal, the only people that suffer are the crew, not the cruise company.

Next year, I'm on a 45 night cruise. The tips will cost £500 (at least), and I will also tip the head waiter, as he will do additional work for me, looking after my dietary requirements.

It's a lot of money, but if someone can afford the cruise, they can afford the tips.

I wouldn't dream of withholding tips, as the crew will work incredibly hard, and are always cheerful and helpful.

Goldiegirl

gadgetmind wrote: »

They won't ever be paid more if the employers can simply impose some of the cost directly onto the customers.

If the tipping system was abolished, the cruise companies would simply increase the cruise fare, so the passenger would pay one way or the other