[ 09-03-2007: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

I think they have no place in the real world!

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Originally posted by Carlos Fernandez:
Something I really hate is when someone does not go to the dining room the last day of the cruise to avoid the tips, I feel like throwing them overboard.

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That's probably why they are added to your tab automatically now. When I worked in a hotel back in the 80's it was the same thing with room service. We had to add 20% to the tab because most people would just send you on your way or give you two bucks.

On the flip flops subject I don't care for them and find something like a topsider much more comfortable or at least a Birkenstock

[ 08-28-2007: Message edited by: timb ]

There are "geta: for formal wear; complete with tabi, the sock which also houses the big toe in a separate compartment. There are special types of sandals, for field work, climbing Mt. Fuji and all sorts of other functions. All are of the same basic configuration, and vary by style, design, materials and such.

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Originally posted by Carlos Fernandez:

Something I really hate is when someone does not go to the dining room the last day of the cruise to avoid the tips, I feel like throwing them overboard.

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I demand that the cruise lines drop the deductions of automatic tipping from your account. I find it very rude and intrusive into an individuals financial affairs that a company dare to tell you how and when to tip.

We dont have a tipping policy here in Australia and no Australians tip anyone for anything.

On a cruise I will only ever tip the cabin steward with cash depending on how much I get them to do and how nice they are - sometimes that is more than the suggested amount. If I am on Princess and have anytime dining then the waiters get nothing, if I am on traditional dining with P&O and have the same then it depends on how good they are. As for shore excursion staff - they get nothing as I pay enough for excursions to begin with.

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Originally posted by Sutho:

I demand that the cruise lines drop the deductions of automatic tipping from your account. I find it very rude and intrusive into an individuals financial affairs that a company dare to tell you how and when to tip.

We dont have a tipping policy here in Australia and no Australians tip anyone for anything.

On a cruise I will only ever tip the cabin steward with cash depending on how much I get them to do and how nice they are - sometimes that is more than the suggested amount. If I am on Princess and have anytime dining then the waiters get nothing, if I am on traditional dining with P&O and have the same then it depends on how good they are. As for shore excursion staff - they get nothing as I pay enough for excursions to begin with.

Allot of people in Australia would not know what tipping is, we are on high wages and dont expect it. The only people that tip in Australia are tourists. Think it is the same for New Zealand, it was certainly that way in Oman on my 2006 cruise they didnt want or expect tips.

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Sutho,

"When in Rome....."

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Originally posted by reeves35:
For fellow Aussies out there, this is about thongs!!! For non-Australians out there, yes, thongs mean different things in different countries.

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Actually I absolutely didn't understand what this thread was about untill I read this post. In French those "flip flops" are called "tongs", almost like down under ! I guess there must be a connection between France and Australia somewhere...

There is a second reason, if you need one Here.

[ 08-29-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Peter Stringfellow provides all the evidence that we need that 'Thongs' should be banned on men: See Here

There is a second reason, if you need one Here.

[ 08-29-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Pascal:

Is that you and Mrs M., Malcolm ?

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No It's Joe and Mrs. J, recently on vacation in Florida.

Then I read Sutho's comments.

Do I detect a possible cause-and-effect relationship here? Just picture the reaction of the crew when they get the word that they are being deployed down under! It means a significant pay cut, if Sutho's countrymen/countrypersons follow his lead.

Or am I missing something here?

Point of clarity. I love Australia, served with an Aussie Intelligence Unit in the SW Pacific in WWII; served with Aussies in Vietnam; and hope to go there again. I may even tip!

But Sutho, come off it old man!

[ 08-29-2007: Message edited by: Cambodge ]

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Originally posted by Cambodge:
Elsewhere on CT, and almost continuously there is bitching about the quality of ships and service dispatched to OZ.

Then I read Sutho's comments.

Do I detect a possible cause-and-effect relationship here? Just picture the reaction of the crew when they get the word that they are being deployed down under! It means a significant pay cut, if Sutho's countrymen/countrypersons follow his lead.

Or am I missing something here?

Point of clarity. I love Australia, served with an Aussie Intelligence Unit in the SW Pacific in WWII; served with Aussies in Vietnam; and hope to go there again. I may even tip!

But Sutho, come off it old man!

[ 08-29-2007: Message edited by: Cambodge ]

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First I am still in my 20's.

I can assure you that no Australians tip at all! It is not our custom and we dont believe in it. Every Australian I met on Sapphire Princess in 2005 had the automatic tipping removed from the account.

When it comes to tipping - I am in control - I call the shots - no one, not even a cruise ship dare to tell me how much, when and who I tip and have the hide to remove the amount from my account.

Other countrymen may think it is rude of us Australians not tipping, but we see it a rude, snobbish and smutty when people do. We see it as arrogance and behaviour of someone who considers themselves beter than others. Its like bribery - if I pay you a good tip you will do a good job for me of do what I want.

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Originally posted by Sutho:

[...]As we see it the stewards and waiters are already paid to do their job so why should we give them anymore?

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Those who remove tips as a matter of course are the arrogant ones regardless of one's own cultural background.

Some cruiselines include the gratuities in the fare anyhow, NCL, Carnival etc all do it from time to time. Maybe P&O Aus fares are high in comparison to others as they know tips will not be forthcoming. Sometimes one even [Cunard, Celeb] has a choice of paying with the fare up front or not. On other occasions from the UK when tips have been included vouchers have been issued to hand out to staff [NCL].

.. Just because one doesn't see people hand over tips, or miss the last meal does not mean they haven't tipped either. For years US based lines have included tips in some cruises from the UK. Tipping is not done in the same manner here as in the US either. Here we do it discretely and don't make a song and dance over it; we don't tell all and sundry how much or little we have left either and often not even let others see one has been left.

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
I will keep the tipping in mind next Jan.(actually getting there on 1/6, 2 days before sailing from Sydney) when go on the Sapphire Princess. I respect the custom and it does save a few bucks here and there that I will spend on other stuff. BTW is there anything like a VAT(as per Europe) in OZ?
Frosty 4

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We have a 10% GST (goods and services tax) tourists are exempt and have some refund if they spend a few hundred or more (I think it is still this way)

As for tipping - please remember I stated that I pay cash to my cabin steward and regular waiter!!! I have no problem tipping if the situation is right and I feel I have received good service. HOWEVER my main gripe is the automatic deductions - it is wrong and intrusive into peoples financial affairs.

Interesting perspectives on this one. By the way, I'm against the flip flops too, apart from the pool areas.

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I'm not being argumentative, but what is the proper way of expressing gratitude to an Australian then?

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We dont let other people do things for us we are quite capable of doing ourselves. Baggage handlers we tell to go away - I can lift my own luggage and so can allot of other people. They are the first line of people automatically ruled out of being tipped.

Second are taxi drivers - they get paid good enough and they dont provide any extra service that require a tip. They are often nice enough to give directions but they dont expect tips nor do we intend to give them.

Bar staff and waiters in Australia do not expect them from other Australians. We know they are getting more than $20 per hour.

We dont have bathroom attendants in Austalia to collect fees in the bathroom. A cleaner is paid to clean it up when it is not being used.

Australians do know that foreigners tip which is why the people who work in the hospitality industry know to expect it from them - I can assure you that they dont go out of their way to do more work for the foreigners and that Australians who dont tip are looked after just as well as the tourists who do tip them.

We have been brought up to help out other people and not expect anything in return. To only do things for others EXPECTING something in return - well it would only be a shallow, mean and arrogant person who would behave like that to begin with.

One other thing that will automatically stop an Australian who is prepared to tip from tipping in another country is when the host asks for a tip. I have traveled in tour busses with other Australians around Europe all 18 to 35. The ones who had never heard of tipping were prepared to do it, however the guide and bus driver asked for a tip and suggested an amount and that pretty much insulted everyone and I can guarantee no other Australian tipped them.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
There is a second reason, if you need one Here.

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Quite put me off my breakfast, that has!

[ 08-30-2007: Message edited by: Globaliser ]

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Originally posted by Sutho:
As we see it the stewards and waiters are already paid to do their job so why should we give them anymore?

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On ships where the standard "tipping" amount is in the order of USD 10 per person per day, the stewards and waiters are basically unpaid unless you "tip" them.

I hate the system as much as you do, and love the tip-free culture in Australia and New Zealand. But when you are on one of these "tipping" ships, you must remember that the "tipping" for which you are being asked is not tipping as you would understand it ashore. Like it or not, it is the way that you pay your share of the crew's wages.

If you stubbornly and parochially insist on imposing your own local attitudes in a place where they do not belong and are inappropriate, then you are the one behaving badly. Whatever you do, don't take it out on the crew - none of this is their fault, and they are the ones who have been working for no money unless you "tip".

[ 08-30-2007: Message edited by: Globaliser ]