Antarctic next month
If we are going to tip the bartenders on Le Boreal, what is their preferred currency? Should we bring lanyards for our trip identification cards?
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If we are going to tip the bartenders on Le Boreal, what is their preferred currency? Should we bring lanyards for our trip identification cards?
Comments
We extend gratuities in either €s for European trips or U.S. dollars otherwise. I have never heard of a Tauck “trip identification card” nor would I hang my personal information around my neck. Perhaps that is a large cruise ship practice.
Tauck will “read” your room key as you leave and re-enter the ship.
Tauck is "All-inclusive", so if you're going to tip, it would normally be at the end of the cruise. Almost everyone can deal with USD.
Once you board the ship your ship ID card lives in the sleeve of your parka. Their main concern is not leaving you on a remote Antarctic Island. Everything is included so you don’t need your card except to get into your room. Mike and I have opposite tipping techniques. I think you get better service if you tip early as opposed to doing a ‘surprise’ at the end. When tips are included it is better to show your appreciation early.
I tip at the end of the cruise to thank a crew member for their service, not as a bribe to get good service.
In 21 Tauck trips, I've never had a "trip identification card." There are name tags for the welcome reception/dinner, but after that, no identifications. I always tell people, "I'll have to ask your name again." And I do...and no one seems to mind.
MCD - this is an expedition trip, so I believe the ID cards serve a different purpose. Everyone wears the same outerwear, so it's necessary to identify the whereabouts of the passengers when they have landings.
Whatever you want to call it, in recent years we have had chipped cards on almost every small ship and river cruise. It is an accountability and security issue- so the ship's staff knows who is still ashore and who is coming aboard. The card is matched with your photo which is displayed to the staff on a small monitor at the boarding platform. Printed photos sheets with names are provided to cabin and wait staff, to help them learn your names- we saw photo sheets posted in the serving area of the restaurant and cleaning supplies/linen spaces. The card is also a cabin key and also allows you to open doors to the outside when the ship is underway.
I tip as a bribe to get good service. It works.
We always get good service anyway, we don’t have to bribe anyone first.
I always get good service, also. I don't feel the need to bribe the staff for service or to get them to recognize me..
I have given gratuities to the pianist on riverboat tours when he/she has been kind enough to play a requested piece or two for us and has repeated the piece later on when not asked. I would never describe my generosity as a bribe. The crew on these boats are professionals and have never had their hands out looking for a “bribe.”
We usually tip at the end of the tour with a personalized ‘thank you’ note for the excellent service and kindness shown to us. It is a personal choice that we make.
MCD: I guess you have never done a cruise. You get a card that is your ID that gets you on and off the ship, and it gets you into your room. On the Antarctica trip there is a place in the sleeve of your parka where you put the card when going ashore.