Bertram's logbook

My tip with the tips

700394

Please don't get me wrong: I love my job! I really do!

Why do I still consider answering the popular party question "and what do you do for a living?" with "wickerwork designer", "amoeba researcher" or "golf ball diver" (which actually exists in US golf clubs and, at $65 an hour, is not such a badly paid profession ...)? Because I've usually barely said the word "cruise journalist" before I'm asked the same three questions over and over again:

1. "Tell me, do the crew actually sleep on board?" (No, they have to get into small inflatable boats at night and are then pulled behind the ship on ropes).
2. "Do they really produce all the electricity on such large ships themselves?" (No, they have miles of cable with them so that they can always stay connected to a power socket on land).
3. "And what about tipping? Do you have to pay it and if so when, to whom and how much?" (Dear people, if I knew that exactly after almost 25 years at sea ...)

Which brings us to the actual topic of this logbook entry: correct tipping. There is only one thing that can be said in general terms: the captain gets nothing! Never!

And for everyone else: pay attention to the small print in the shipping company's information. With many international providers, it is now common practice to include the tip in the price of the trip. Or it is automatically deducted from the on-board account (which you can of course object to if you are not prepared to give the usually poorly paid crew an additional daily bonus of 7 to 12 euros). Some shipping companies also provide envelopes for tips in the cabin at the end of the voyage. Typical amounts are two to four dollars per guest per day for the chambermaid and five to eight dollars for the waiters.

However, I prefer to take a more flexible and personal approach. Even on all-inclusive ships, it's worth a quick thank you note and a few dollars tip when the cabin steward finally realizes from the third day of the trip that I hate it when the sheets are tucked under the mattress in the morning. And if the concierge on a luxury ship spends half the night trying to order a rental car to the next port at short notice, then of course I'm happy to pay him back - even if the concierge isn't normally on the tip list. The same applies, by the way, to attentive bartenders, hard-working masseurs, bar pianists who play my favorite songs ...
My motto is: think for yourself and don't leave your common sense at the pier. Then not only would the tip thing sort itself out, but many a stupid question would be guaranteed to go unasked. And I would no longer have to worry about whether you can actually make a (second) career as a golf ball diver here in Austria...

Text: Jörg Bertram

My tip with the tips

Jörg Bertram

BEITRÄGE

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