THE GENTLE ART OF TIPPING: Part 2 (The response!)

Someone picked up on the article about tipping that I copied in the 1st part of the entry about tipping from cruisecritic.com in the WeLoveCruising Yahho group - and it caused quite a reaction about how over-the-top people thought the dear tipping chap is... (told you tipping was a HOT topic on the boards!).

Here is what transpired:

yummy_mummyuk: "An interesting report. Whilst I agree with most of what the writer says, he seems to go a little OTT with his tipping - he seems to tip just about everyone that moves. Personally, I always tip the cabin stewards and table waiters. Never had one so bad that they didn't deserve something, although sometimes they may not deserve as much as I would usually give.

Sometimes I will tip the wine waiter if they have been really outstanding, but as I know these earn commission on the wine they sell I dont usually. Like wise, the barstaff and waiters also earn pretty good commission on what they sell during a cruise. Restaurant managers, assistant restaurant managers and head waiters are salaried and unless they have gone out of there way to make my dining experience better than the norm, they go untipped too!"

decibels_lad: "Sounded like he had money to burn!! We tip our table and cabin stewards!Often my dad also tips the bar men and stewards at his favourite bar, either crows nest or terrace!!"

Doug B: "Yes. What I found surprising was that he seems to be advocating quite a high level of tipping on top of the "voluntary" service charge which, for instance, Cunard, and many other cruise lines already add to your account. In this situation I often give a bit extra if the service has been really good, but not to the level he is suggesting".

Lyanthie: "I am sorry but I cant see the point of tipping at all. One small quote from the above article: "It is a good idea to give him/her a portion of his/her tip at the beginning of the cruise. You will be surprised how obliging that will make him/her." i.e. Tipping is not a reward for service, it is like blackmail to make sure you get some decent service.

A cruise is expensive, very expensive in our case. We are cruising for 82 days and we are expected to tip 60$ a day. Thats silly, I can have a damn good holiday on 60$ a day.The idea is, the staff are very low paid, so, we must tip them so they earn a living wage. eh, zippy zippy no. P&O is a UK company, so, all their staff should be paid at least the minimun wage. P&O business is to make money from the cruises. As a shareholder in P&O I know they are paying a dividend each year, so, they can afford to pay their staff. If P&O do NOT pay their staff a living wage, that is their problem, not ours.

I object to being faced with the emotional blackmail of compulsary tipping. We dont tip in the UK, why should we have to tip on a UK cruise just because the bosses are keeping all the profit for themselves.Guess you can see I get somewhat emotional about tipping:)"

This is one topic that rumbles on - as you can see from any quick trip to any message board or group on cruising!