Additional tips

I plan to tip our steward on first encounter hoping to make an impression on him even though we are minimally demanding cruisers, but not sure how much to tip. We are keeping the automatic gratuity in place and I'm sure he will have access to that information. Any suggestions? It is 7 days to Alaska.

I plan to tip our steward on first encounter hoping to make an impression on him even though we are minimally demanding cruisers, but not sure how much to tip. We are keeping the automatic gratuity in place and I'm sure he will have access to that information. Any suggestions? It is 7 days to Alaska.

$10 to $20 and be prepared to be accused of bribery (not by me, we do the same thing). ;)

I plan to tip our steward on first encounter hoping to make an impression on him even though we are minimally demanding cruisers, but not sure how much to tip. We are keeping the automatic gratuity in place and I'm sure he will have access to that information. Any suggestions? It is 7 days to Alaska.

That's why we tip at the end of the cruise, how do you know how much to tip if you don't know what service you will get? We generally tip $5 to $10 per day depending on the service. When we were in our first suite the steward was not very helpful or accommodating so we gave our "extra" tip to the assistant steward instead.

We only tip AFTER a service is provided. Would talk to the Passenger Services if we did not like the job the steward was doing.

Also tip at the end of the cruise. Usually $20 or more for the cabin steward. Only once in over 30 cruises did we have a cabin steward hat was awful. We kept his tip.

I plan to tip after the cruise also, but when we give him our list of the little things we want to count on during the week - like ice in the bucket each afternoon and pillow top for the bed if it doesn't already have one, etc - it might be nice to give him a little reward upfront. After all, TIPS means To Insure Prompt Service!

We have never tipped at the beginning of the cruise and never had a complaint about the service. We tip extra at the end if warranted

On our last cruise we could tell right away that our bed needed a mattress topper so as soon as we met our room steward we put in a request for that (and extra hangers) and tipped him $10. It wasn't a bribe, but rather an acknowledgement that he had to remake our bed on the busy embarkation day.

Our service all week was exceptional so we gave him another $70 or $80 at the end of the cruise.

I guess I must be cheap. There is no way I would tip $5 - $10 per day or even, as someone else said, $10 up front and another $70 - $80 at the end of the cruise. I leave the auto-tip in place so the steward is already receiving a tip. If the service was good I will tip an additional $20 at the end of the cruise.

I do excellent work at my job and I don't get tips. I find tipping in the US to be totally out of hand.

I guess I must be cheap. There is no way I would tip $5 - $10 per day or even, as someone else said, $10 up front and another $70 - $80 at the end of the cruise. I leave the auto-tip in place so the steward is already receiving a tip. If the service was good I will tip an additional $20 at the end of the cruise.

 

I do excellent work at my job and I don't get tips. I find tipping in the US to be totally out of hand.

We are in the same "boat"

We do not tip when we meet our steward and our requests are minimal - a top sheet, egg crate if needed and robes. During our cruise, we rarely see our steward - they are so busy!

At the end of the cruise, we will tip $20-$30 depending on the service. If I was High Maintenance, I might feel differently :) Should add - we always keep the Auto Tips on too!

No way do we tip ahead of time and never have. :(

There is no need for "advance" tipping...none! Your cabin attendant will give you excellent service! Tipping is expected at the END of the cruise.

The auto tip is fine, but the steward is sharing that with quite a few people. In our case, we had a cabin flood and our steward worked very hard to make sure the impact on us was as minimal as possible, hence the larger tip at the cruise end.

With regards to tipping, I think everyone has to do what makes them comfortable. Coming from a past in the service industry, it makes me feel good to give a little extra at the end (if the service is good) to make their day.:)

Never seen reason to top in advance. Tips are for above and beyond. Auto-tips are for expected service.

Reading cruise critic before our first cruise, I too was prepared to tip the steward right off the bat. He came to the room, introduced himself and we asked him for some new hangers and some extra pillows and when I did that I pulled out a $20 bill. He smiled and waved his hand saying that was not necessary. I shrugged my shoulders and put the $20 away.

He turned out to be one of the best stewards we ever ha and we made sure he got a generous tip at the end of the cruise.

I am not sure of the offer made any difference-I really think it did not.

FWIW

We have never tipped at the beginning of the cruise and never had a complaint about the service. We tip extra at the end if warranted

No way do we tip ahead of time and never have. :(

We do the same thing & always receive great service without greasing any palms in advance.

$10 to $20 and be prepared to be accused of bribery (not by me, we do the same thing). ;)

On the high seas. :D :p :)

on the high seas. :d :p :)

lol!! :d

We rarely tip upfront, unless we make a specific request at the beginning of the cruise. An example would be that I didn't want to call room service and wait for them to change out the mini-bar. I left a note and $10 on the bed, and when I got back to the room, our steward had it all taken care of.

If we get good service from our steward and dining room waiters, we normally tip an extra $1 per day per person, on top of the auto tips. Depending on the length of the cruise, we will also tip our favorite cocktail servers between $5 to $20 each.

We don't consider ourselves big tippers by any means, but just like to give a little extra at the end.

If we get good service from our steward and dining room waiters, we normally tip an extra $1 per day per person, on top of the auto tips. Depending on the length of the cruise, we will also tip our favorite cocktail servers between $5 to $20 each.

I like to attend the BOGO (yes, I know it's been revised recently) and I just slip the waiter $1 with the first round each day. I get good service but would likely get the same service without the tip. We did tip our wine host in Vines $20 at the end of the cruise once because he was so very attentive, funny, and friendly.

I'm another one that doesn't offer a tip up front. In addition to auto tip in place, I will leave a $20 on the table top. As a solo cruiser I hope I never cause the cabin Stewart any extra work.

I don't pre-tip either, and I really don't know that you'll get any extra special service for pre-tipping, unless there's something specific you ask for (a full ice bucket is part of the job).

That being said, if you want to tip early and/or often, go ahead. There are so many people that complain about having to tip that I think it's great you're looking to give a little extra. Who cares when you give it?

I like to attend the BOGO (yes, I know it's been revised recently) and I just slip the waiter $1 with the first round each day. I get good service but would likely get the same service without the tip. We did tip our wine host in Vines $20 at the end of the cruise once because he was so very attentive, funny, and friendly.

Yes, Vines is a good one to remember. On another cruise, I tipped the IC manager $20 for giving me about 30 free lattes. I thought afterwards that I should have tipped more, but he seemed happy and surprised with the $20.

We are in the same "boat"

We do not tip when we meet our steward and our requests are minimal - a top sheet, egg crate if needed and robes. During our cruise, we rarely see our steward - they are so busy!

At the end of the cruise, we will tip $20-$30 depending on the service. If I was High Maintenance, I might feel differently :) Should add - we always keep the Auto Tips on too!

we leave the hotel service charge in place, at the end of the cruise leave in seperate envelopes $20 to $30 for the cabin stewards, I always thought that we should leave more but can't afford too, so was happy to hear other people leave similiar amounts.

I plan to tip our steward on first encounter hoping to make an impression on him even though we are minimally demanding cruisers, but not sure how much to tip. We are keeping the automatic gratuity in place and I'm sure he will have access to that information. Any suggestions? It is 7 days to Alaska.