PO tips increase

[gfwgfw]

Cruise with Saga - gratuities are not expected by service crew

[Mervyn and Trish]

But price is much higher even allowing for that

[kaymar]

And there will always be those who like to be seen to be giving their waiters a tip, even if it has already been included in the price

[GillD46]

Maybe it is just that passengers feel the level of tipping is pitifully low and want to give selected crew members a little extra!

[qbman1]

And there will always be those who like to be seen to be giving their waiters a tip, even if it has already been included in the price

.....but also those who don't feel it necessary even though they have removed the auto-tips

[Ginny-T]

If they insist on setting a charge for tipping, just increase the price of the cruise in the first place to take it into account. That way, people can just decide to tip or not to tip. We always opt out of auto tipping (which I'm sure makes us look nasty to the staff), but tip those who give us good service very generously. Our butler on our last nine-night cruise was tipped £80.00, which I'm sure was much better than the share he would have had from the auto tip amount.

[Manoverboard]

SNAP-ish.... we gave our Butler £30 for a 3 night cruise

In reality I had no idea how much he was expecting but gave him what it was worth to us for his contribution to our 50th wedding anniversary celebrations.

ps ... At the end of his contract he was intending to transfer to Azura as a bar tender ???

[Mervyn and Trish]

You must have really upset him!

[Stephen]

I must remember to tip the butcher, baker and candle still maker, and any other bleedin heart story type with their hand out, which is pretty much everyone these days.

[Happydays]

We still haven't been told about the increase! Must be expecting us to pay what we booked;)

[david63]

We still haven't been told about the increase! Must be expecting us to pay what we booked;)

I haven't had any notification either

[gfwgfw]

But price is much higher even allowing for that

Yes, but with a little survey, Saga becomes close to a good value comparable product

Been there and got the "T" shirt

Lubboo

gfw

[kaymar]

If they insist on setting a charge for tipping, just increase the price of the cruise in the first place to take it into account. That way, people can just decide to tip or not to tip. We always opt out of auto tipping (which I'm sure makes us look nasty to the staff), but tip those who give us good service very generously. Our butler on our last nine-night cruise was tipped £80.00, which I'm sure was much better than the share he would have had from the auto tip amount.

I may well be wrong but as I understand it, if you cancel the auto tip, the recipient of any cash tip is expected to put this into the pot. Suggested auto-tip is 9x2x£5.50 = £99.

[qbman1]

Still no e-mail so I must be one of the important few, retained at the old rate !

[poole boy]

I must admit we have not had an email yet and are going 9 weeks sunday

[towny44]

We have had ours for 4 cruises right through to Sept 2018.

[qbman1]

You're clearly not one of the Special Ones !

Not that it bothers me in the slightest, but would the t&c's allow for an increase in the auto-tip amount charged if we haven't been notified in advance of the cruise ? Just asking !

[qbman1]

Just received this "Important Notification" for our upcoming July cruise....

"We have recently made a small change to our Service Reward Programme.

During your time on board, you'll be looked after by lots of people - waiters,
buffet staff, cabin stewards and butlers, who'll go out of their way to make
each moment of your holiday special. We know that rewarding good service every
time it happens just isn't convenient, so our Service Reward Programme provides
a simple, one-off way for you to say 'thank you' for all the service you
receive. For cruises departing 27 March 2017 onwards, this amount changes for
each guest aged 12 and over, to 6.00GBP per day. The Service Reward appears on
your folio as a 'service charge'.

Of course, if you want to personally reward a crew member in addition to this,
feel free to do so. And, if you wish to vary the amount, or let us know about
the service you receive, please contact Reception on board."

That's £6.00 x 2 people x 14 nights = £168 which I still think is reasonable (although I'm sure Stephen won't agree!). Trouble starts when us soft-hearted types start dishing out extra to the cabin stewards, waiters et al !

[kaymar]

Be brave and Don't Do It, qbman - you'll just wreck the whole system.

[qbman1]

I know, but I'm British and have grown up with a "tipping mentality" ! I know we should do "either - or" and not both so I'll have to have a serious think about whether we just leave on the auto tips and resist the temptation to hand over wads of tenners or take off the auto tips and go back to cash rewards at the end where we think they are deserved.

I do think the auto tip system is fair, though, as it includes other deserving staff members whom we wouldn't usually tip

[Keechy]

Auto tipping is OK if you're on freedom dining. On club dining, I'd rather tip the waiters directly. Even with auto, we still give the cabin steward an extra backhander if they've done a good job. At least you know they're getting something.

[david63]

Just received this "Important Notification" for our upcoming July cruise....

"We have recently made a small change to our Service Reward Programme.

During your time on board, you'll be looked after by lots of people - waiters,
buffet staff, cabin stewards and butlers, who'll go out of their way to make
each moment of your holiday special. We know that rewarding good service every
time it happens just isn't convenient, so our Service Reward Programme provides
a simple, one-off way for you to say 'thank you' for all the service you
receive. For cruises departing 27 March 2017 onwards, this amount changes for
each guest aged 12 and over, to 6.00GBP per day. The Service Reward appears on
your folio as a 'service charge'.

Of course, if you want to personally reward a crew member in addition to this,
feel free to do so. And, if you wish to vary the amount, or let us know about
the service you receive, please contact Reception on board."

That's £6.00 x 2 people x 14 nights = £168 which I still think is reasonable (although I'm sure Stephen won't agree!). Trouble starts when us soft-hearted types start dishing out extra to the cabin stewards, waiters et al !

I think you may have me to blame for that!

When I received my pre-cruise booklet last week there was reference at the front saying it was £6 and at the back £5 (not been £5 for years). Being a good and helpful passenger I pointed out this discrepancy in an attempt to allay any confusion that some other passengers may have, hence the "Important Notification" - or it may just be coincidence!!

[qbman1]

Thanks, pal !

So, a £0.50 pp increase is down to you ? I make it that's £14 you owe me !

[Kenmo1]

On our recent cruise we made the decision to leave the auto tips on because we had a lot of OBC and also we were on freedom dining so expected to move from table to table. As it turned out, we ended up with the same table and waiters about 18 out of the 24 nights. On the last night we felt that we should be giving them something extra which we found embarrassing although we didn't give them any more but we had left the cabin steward an extra tenner. Stupid, I know, to feel like this but it has made us think about taking the tips off in future and pay who we want if we are on club dining. If we are on freedom dining in future we will try to avoid having the same table over and over again but will leave the auto tips on.

I would like to see the tips included in the price to avoid all this messing about.

Maureen

[qbman1]

There really is no easy solution, especially whilst the option to remove your auto tips remains. As the system stands, it is neither one thing nor the other. I think the answer is to make the auto tips compulsory and to make it clear to everyone (staff and passengers alike) that any additional cash tips are prohibited.