Cruise and Maritime, Ocean Countess , Tips

[HighlandGirlEB, Inverness]

Hi
I am a first time cruiser who is traveling with Cruise and Maritime on the Ocean Countess in July.

I am a single parent with a Teenage son whos always dreamed of cruising and when I saw a great deal just through caution to the wind and booked it.

I always tip in a restuarant , as much as I can afford. Some times its a lot some times its not.

Before booking I asked the travel agent whom I booked with if the tips were compulsary or if i could decide once on board what to pay , depending on the quality of the service etc.

She spoke to them during the booking and informed me that once on board you could "opt out" and then put cash in an envelope of the staff at the end of the trip.

However after booking it when I called Cruise and Maritime to discuss car parking , I asked again and the girl said that it was compulsary and you cant opt out.

So my question is , does any one have experience with this cruise line and its policys?
Id just like to know where i stand before i get on board, I just got the feeling that the staff may have said that simply because that is they way they "want it" not because i actually "have to"..

Thanks very much in advance

[Mrs M]

Can't help you with your question, but I've read your posts and I hope you have a fabulous holiday.

[Blondie, Oxford]

Hi
I am a first time cruiser who is traveling with Cruise and Maritime on the Ocean Countess in July.

I am a single parent with a Teenage son whos always dreamed of cruising and when I saw a great deal just through caution to the wind and booked it.

I always tip in a restuarant , as much as I can afford. Some times its a lot some times its not.

Before booking I asked the travel agent whom I booked with if the tips were compulsary or if i could decide once on board what to pay , depending on the quality of the service etc.

She spoke to them during the booking and informed me that once on board you could "opt out" and then put cash in an envelope of the staff at the end of the trip.

However after booking it when I called Cruise and Maritime to discuss car parking , I asked again and the girl said that it was compulsary and you cant opt out.

So my question is , does any one have experience with this cruise line and its policys?
Id just like to know where i stand before i get on board, I just got the feeling that the staff may have said that simply because that is they way they "want it" not because i actually "have to"..

Thanks very much in advance

If you check the Cruise and Maritime website, you can view the Pre-Sailing Booklet for Ocean Countess. It shows that the ship operates an automatic gratuity system of £5.00 per person per night which is distributed between your cabin steward and restaurant staff. You have the opportunity to adjust the amount by contacting the Reception Desk.

Have a great cruise!

[Malcolm, Essex]

....do bear in mind that the crew get paid such a pittance for very long hours, the 'tips' are not really 'tips' at all, they are their wages!

[HighlandGirlEB, Inverness]

....do bear in mind that the crew get paid such a pittance for very long hours, the 'tips' are not really 'tips' at all, they are their wages!

Yes I did understand that and as I said i plan to "tip", and I prob will stick with the £5pppn, however I will be cruising on a budget and just wondered what the options were.

[HighlandGirlEB, Inverness]

You have the opportunity to adjust the amount by contacting the Reception Desk.

Have a great cruise!

Thank you very much for the info

[Happy, Wolverhampton]

On our first cruise we opted out of automatic tipping by visiting reception on the first day to advise that we wished to make personal tips instead, we were not made to feel uneasy about opting out. On future cruises (and improved finanaces) we have paid the daily amount per person as we appreciate how hard the staff work for so little money. A compromise is to pay the daily amount for yourself and cancel the daily amount for your son and then make personal tips if you wish and finances allow. Whatever you decide to do make it your first job on board before reception gets busy and then forget about it and sit back, relax and have a fantastic cruise.

[Cooke, Ashby]

£5 pppn is not very much, and works out at leass then we would pay if we tipped individuals. However, we still tip staff who have gone out of their way to be helpful. judith

[robert, livingston]

gratuities

hi inverness,,
have read all the posts answering your text,
some good advice, some not so good advice.
best one i could see for you is when you get on boat go to reception and opt out of mandatory gratuities billing, then as you quite rightly said, tip as you feel appropriate. as i will be doing.
for others, tipping is a personal thing, if you feel you have had good service from someone, then tip them. the ""its part of their wages"" should not come into it. the cruise firm should pay them the standard rate straight off, then any tipping earned would be a bonus, most other ships have the gratuities included in the price and you are told this by the tour operator up front about this, we did`nt even get brochure when booking and had we not checked the net would have been unaware of this tipping system.
i have been on quite a few cruises (mainly warm weather ones) and have always given gratuities to those staff who deserve it... some cruises ,,like this one, does not add the gratuities onto the initial cost of the holiday as it would appear more expensive and not be as appealing as at first seen..
question ::: if everyone decided to opt out of automatic gratuities billing, would this then mean that staff would receive no wages ??? disgraceful

[robert, livingston]

do bear in mind that tipping should have been included in initial cruise price (that way all staff would receive benifit) and any additional tipping would be a bonus for hard working staff..

[robert, livingston]

£5 pppn may not be very much for some folk, but for some on tight budget £70 a couple for a week is quite a bit, this should have been included on initial price of holiday

[robert, livingston]

hope everyone enjoys the cruise will be going on 1st july so lets hope we get some decent weather.

[HighlandGirlEB, Inverness]

hope everyone enjoys the cruise will be going on 1st july so lets hope we get some decent weather.

Robert are you going on the Ocean Countess on 1st July?
Just thats the date we sail for the Fjords and i wondered.