Holand America - Volendam - Tipping Outrage!

Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

What exactly is the tiping procedure on HAL?
"skipfromla" wrote in message
...
Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

skipfromla wrote:

Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

Dear Skip,
Are you sure that "Tips were supposed to have
been included in the price of the cruise."
Every time we have been on HAL ships in the past
few years, it has been a "suggested gratuity of
$10 per day per person" added to the cabin bill.

Many years ago, HAL had the policy of
"Tipping not required" and a large number of
people "forgot" to reward really good service.
This subject - required tipping - has been beaten
to death on this group.

The "suggested tips" are indeed pooled, but it
is my understanding that the majority goes to the
cabin stewards and wait staff.

We always try to acknowledge superior service
with additions to the suggested gratuity, often in
the form of International Phone Cards which have
always been most welcomed. Seafarers the world
over want to call home, and it can be really
expensive.

Cheers,
John in LALALand (On the Left Coast)

skipfromla wrote:
Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

We sailed on the Volendam in Jan. '07 and tips were not included. They
did put the typical $10/day/person on our onboard account.

I wonder if the problem your friends had, was something to do with the
cruise/land package or some kind of misunderstanding with their travel
agent.

sue

"skipfromla" wrote in message
...
Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

Holland America at its website says:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/guests...&topic=tipping
You pay a 15% service charge at the bar or for drinks services. So exactly
who recommended the additional tips claimed?
Didn't happen on my cruise on the Volendam a couple of years back.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia

Your friend should have carried a copy of the final itinerary
receipt that spelled out everything. If tips were included in the price
it would have said that. Then go to the pursers desk with the copy,
remove all extra tip charges then have Holland America persue the issue
with the Travel Agency who included tips. Allow the purser to make a
copy (because they always want to know the reason your removing tips)
and keep on file with your complaint. I'm sure Holland America would
follow up.

"skipfromla" wrote in message
...
Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

I think that your friends misunderstood...The tips on all the HAL cruises
that we have taken were $10 a day and never were included in the price of
the cruise; but posted on our shipboard account in the amount of $10. pp.
per day.. Only the bar staff got tipped 15% on any drinks that were
purchased...I do not believe the ship recommended that the cabin stewards,
waiters, asst. waiters, etc. be tipped again...We usually tip over the
amount if someone deserves it because of exceptional service.
Something just does not sound right here and I can't help but believe that
it was a misunderstanding.

--Jean

"skipfromla" wrote in message
...
..
I made an error when I said that the $10 per day per person were
included in the price of the cruse. They were automatically added to
their shipboard account, of which, they were told 70% goes to the
behind he scenes people and then recommended that the personal servers
and room stewards be tipped in addition. No misunderstanding.

Because something was in effect a couple of years ago, a year ago or 6
months ago, it doesn't mean it will stay that way forever. If you
can't believe it, believe what you like instead.


LOL! Too funny! You come on here denouncing the Volendam and accusing it of
a tipping outrage. You stated that $10. a day was already included in your
friend's cruise fare and then you come back and say you made an error and
that is was automatically added to their shipboard account instead (which is
the way it is now done unless you request differently) and now you say they
were told that 70% goes to the behind scenes people..WHO told them such a
thing? It's a well known fact that the cabin steward and the waiter get
$3-3.50 a day, the asst.waiter gets $1.50-2.00 a day; so THEY are the ones
who get 70% of the tips and the rest goes to the people behind the scenes. I
still say that your friends were misinformed or they misunderstood. Most
all the cruise lines pretty much follow these tip amounts...sometimes
more...On the 12 day Celebrity Constellation last month, we paid $12.50 a
day pp. for our tips. No problem... they work hard for those tips and
deserve every cent.
Maybe you should do some research of your own before you make accusations
here...there are many seasoned cruisers who post regularly here; so it is
not easy to pull the wool over their eyes!
You might start with this link:

http://www.vacationstogo.com/cruise_tipping.cfm

On 5/31/2007 2:14 AM skipfromla exclaimed:
On Wed, 30 May 2007 18:03:09 -0500, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:


"skipfromla" wrote in message
...

Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

I think that your friends misunderstood...The tips on all the HAL cruises
that we have taken were $10 a day and never were included in the price of
the cruise; but posted on our shipboard account in the amount of $10. pp.
per day.. Only the bar staff got tipped 15% on any drinks that were
purchased...I do not believe the ship recommended that the cabin stewards,
waiters, asst. waiters, etc. be tipped again...We usually tip over the
amount if someone deserves it because of exceptional service.
Something just does not sound right here and I can't help but believe that
it was a misunderstanding.

--Jean



I made an error when I said that the $10 per day per person were
included in the price of the cruse. They were automatically added to
their shipboard account, of which, they were told 70% goes to the
behind he scenes people and then recommended that the personal servers
and room stewards be tipped in addition. No misunderstanding.

Because something was in effect a couple of years ago, a year ago or 6
months ago, it doesn't mean it will stay that way forever. If you
can't believe it, believe what you like instead.



I have sailed HAL fairly frequently. The policy is that a $10.00 per
day per person tip is automatically charged to the on board account(s).
If you desire to tip an individual for excellent service or for whatever
reason, you may do so. If you don't want to have the automatic tips
added to your on board account, approach the purser's office after the
ship has embarked. The auto tip will be removed from your account and
you can tip as you see fit.

Bar personnel and spa employees are not included in the auto tip. There
are other arrangements where gratuities are added to your bar or spa tab.

I have never been told by any HAL employee in reservations, or on the
ship that additional tips are expected or will be billed.

It seems to me, as others have stated, that this was a gross
misunderstanding.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

On Wed, 30 May 2007 18:57:41 GMT, J Carnaghie
wrote:

skipfromla wrote:

Friend of mine just got back from a combo cruise/land tour and spent 7
days of a 12 day Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Volendam. Tips
were supposed to have been included in the price of the cruise at the
rate of $10 per day per person on the cruise.

Once aboard they were told that 70% of the tips included in the price
of the cruise went to people who worked in the background, not to the
people they were in contact with, cabin stewards, waiters, bus boys,
etc. The ship recommended that these people be tipped in addition to
the tips already charged in the bill for their cruise..

It appears Holland America has involved itself in some deceptive
business practices by telling people all the tips are included in the
price and then changing the rules once the cruise starts.

Doubtful my friends will be cruising on any Holland America ship
again.

Dear Skip,
Are you sure that "Tips were supposed to have
been included in the price of the cruise."
Every time we have been on HAL ships in the past
few years, it has been a "suggested gratuity of
$10 per day per person" added to the cabin bill.


That's exactly what my friends said. They were told one thing when
booking the cruise and another when they were aboard.