PO tips increase

[poole boy]

kaymar
as a daily mail reader we always leave the auto tips on as well so suggest you have your memory tested

[bassman67]

could I suggest an option whereby passengers can opt out of auto-tipping and elect to make their own beds, clean their cabins and just eat in the self-service restaurant. That would be just like home.

[gilly88]

£336 for 4 is not at all excessive, sorry about that, but if it is then either don't take the kids on a cruise else take a holiday in a Welsh cottage like wot we did.

P&O staff will have to work hard for the mess all four of you make surely, so they therefore deserve the tip from the four of you regardless of the final total.

Out of interest Celebrity would charge up to three times that amount on their cruises.

manoverboard: I stand by my comment of the cost even though I actually do not take auto tipping off when we go on our cruises, which for information and to keep with your point, we only do every other year, and the other year we visit our lovely seaside coasts of Great Yarmouth and cornwall. it still means that we will have to factor in another expense to our cruises fund. oh and by the way we are very mindful of the stewards work load and endeavour (well I do anyway!) to keep our cabin as tidy as possible.

[kaymar]

Part of the "assumed" argument for the increase is that there are more removing the auto tip and then not tipping at all or tipping at a lower rate - whether this is true or not I do not know and it is highly unlikely that P&O will confirm this one way or the other.

"Daily Mail reading knuckle-draggers", is a description I seem to remember from somewhere

Hey Kaymar, I'm a Daily Mail knuckle dragger, or at least a DM reader, and I don't remove the auto tips.
I think its more likely to be Guardian mincing left whingers who queue up at passenger services to delete the auto tip, then go missing for the last evening, despite telling everyone they do it because they like to tip in person.

Nothing personal, towny, just a blast from the past - a prolific contributer who used to use that phrase (amongst others) for anyone who disagreed with his views

[kaymar]

Part of the "assumed" argument for the increase is that there are more removing the auto tip and then not tipping at all or tipping at a lower rate - whether this is true or not I do not know and it is highly unlikely that P&O will confirm this one way or the other.

"Daily Mail reading knuckle-draggers", is a description I seem to remember from somewhere

Hey Kaymar, I'm a Daily Mail knuckle dragger, or at least a DM reader, and I don't remove the auto tips.
I think its more likely to be Guardian mincing left whingers who queue up at passenger services to delete the auto tip, then go missing for the last evening, despite telling everyone they do it because they like to tip in person.

Nothing personal, towny, just a blast from the past - a prolific contributer who used to use that phrase (amongst others) for anyone who disagreed with his views,

edited to add.........although, to be fair, it was usually smokers and people who did not comply with his interpretation of the dress code who merited that description

[Mervyn and Trish]

Ah. You refer to the underclass

[qbman1]

You called, yer Lordship ?

[barney]

I don't think it's worth getting hot under the collar about.

It is what it is.

£5, £6, £7 it's hardly the end of the world is it.

If I can afford the £££s to cruise, I'm sure that the tips won't put me off.

[Manoverboard]

£336 for 4 is not at all excessive, sorry about that, but if it is then either don't take the kids on a cruise else take a holiday in a Welsh cottage like wot we did.

P&O staff will have to work hard for the mess all four of you make surely, so they therefore deserve the tip from the four of you regardless of the final total.

Out of interest Celebrity would charge up to three times that amount on their cruises.

manoverboard: I stand by my comment of the cost even though I actually do not take auto tipping off when we go on our cruises, which for information and to keep with your point, we only do every other year, and the other year we visit our lovely seaside coasts of Great Yarmouth and cornwall. it still means that we will have to factor in another expense to our cruises fund. oh and by the way we are very mindful of the stewards work load and endeavour (well I do anyway!) to keep our cabin as tidy as possible.

Absolutely and so you should.

It was, after all, a genuine thought and I do actually agree with you that the sums add up to something quite substantial.

My intention was only to open the debate and not to cause offence. An alternative ( afterthought ) to the Welsh Cottage idea could have been to suggest that you booked for 13 days rather than 14

[screwy]

I cant see why this always develops into arguements. You either leave them on or take them off, It's no one elses business what folk do or dont do..!!

[towny44]

I cant see why this always develops into arguements. You either leave them on or take them off, It's no one elses business what folk do or dont do..!!

A somewhat moot point Screwy, if the reason for the increases is due to more passengers not tipping.

[gilly88]

My intention was only to open the debate and not to cause offence. An alternative ( afterthought ) to the Welsh Cottage idea could have been to suggest that you booked for 13 days rather than 14


hadn't thought of that!

[david63]

Let's put this in context.

The tips are going up 50p a day = £3.50 a week.

Have one less drink a week and you will be in profit!

[poole boy]

personally I think it would be more honest and fair if the cruise lines put the tips on the price of the cruise meaning everybody would have to pay them and you would know what your cruise was costing you and you could budget accordingly.
a friend told me that when they went with royal caribbean they asked for freedom dinning when booking and had to pay for the tips before they would accept the booking.

[oldbluefox]

I belong to the tips included brigade. It cuts out all the arguments about tipping, you know what you are paying and eliminates the tightwads who avoid tipping.
Having said that, I don't think P&O's recommended tips are excessive for good service.

[Stephen]

I belong to the tips included brigade. It cuts out all the arguments about tipping, you know what you are paying and eliminates the tightwads who avoid tipping.
Having said that, I don't think P&O's recommended tips are excessive for good service.

It's a service industry so why would anyone not expect good service, and more importantly have to pay more for something that should the norm.

[oldbluefox]

I agree Stephen, which is why I believe tips should be included in the price. It's almost a patronising tradition. Cynically it smacks of "You be a good boy and look after me and I'll give you some money at the end". When we go on a cruise, go shopping, have a meal out, whether that be Heston Blumenthal or KFC, good service should be the norm, not only here but throughout society because that's what we are being paid for.
If you don't get good service you complain and if necessary take your custom elsewhere.

[Mervyn and Trish]

It would need the whole industry, or at least the big players, Carnival and RCI, to act together or one line going it alone would suddenly look more expensive on base price. It's the old argument about whether Ryanair is really cheaper than BA, which many times they're not. But many potential customers don't see beyond the headline price.

[qbman1]

I belong to the tips included brigade. It cuts out all the arguments about tipping, you know what you are paying and eliminates the tightwads who avoid tipping.
Having said that, I don't think P&O's recommended tips are excessive for good service.

It's a service industry so why would anyone not expect good service, and more importantly have to pay more for something that should the norm.

Thus speaks Captain Tightwad !

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'd agree with Stephen but not if the people expected to provide that service are working seven days a week for less than £50

[Stephen]

I belong to the tips included brigade. It cuts out all the arguments about tipping, you know what you are paying and eliminates the tightwads who avoid tipping.
Having said that, I don't think P&O's recommended tips are excessive for good service.

It's a service industry so why would anyone not expect good service, and more importantly have to pay more for something that should the norm.

Thus speaks Captain Tightwad !

Go away you silly man

[kaymar]

Just a couple of quick points.

Firstly, I suspect the preference for tips as opposed to wages has something to do with deductions (N.I if not tax)

Secondly, everyone - or at least most people - need to be incentivised. Do a better job, get more income. It works.

Stop tipping and increase prices and service would almost certainly suffer

[towny44]

My view is that the staff prefer the tip system because they can, and often do, find their wages are higher than the salaried staff.
I have no firm proof this is the case, other than various hearsay comments on forums, and one specific comment made to me a few years ago by a Princess waiter saying that he did not want promotion because he did not intend a long career on cruise ships and he earned more with his tips than the salaried head waiters.
I do not know if this is still the case, or if it applies to all cruise lines, but Princess and P&O are both owned by Carnival.

[Stephen]

I agree Stephen, which is why I believe tips should be included in the price. It's almost a patronising tradition. Cynically it smacks of "You be a good boy and look after me and I'll give you some money at the end". When we go on a cruise, go shopping, have a meal out, whether that be Heston Blumenthal or KFC, good service should be the norm, not only here but throughout society because that's what we are being paid for.
If you don't get good service you complain and if necessary take your custom elsewhere.

Exactly Foxy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against remunerating (a much better word than 'Tip') someone if I feel they have gone above and beyond. What I object to is it being enforced upon me as a god given right whether I want it or not.
As others have said, it would be far better if any gratuities were included in the overall price, although I much preferred the old envelope system myself where I new a particular person was going to get all of my gratuity and not just a fraction if any like the current system.

[qbman1]

Can I just ask why you have an aversion to tipping the waiters then ?