tipping charges on princess cruises

[reddirtgirl]

I know that tips are automatically charged to our account (I believe $10.50/per day per person?) however, I've noticed on the boards that some people pay tips above & beyond that to room attendants, etc. How many of you do extra tipping and for what services? how much extra would be appropriate, for example, for your cabin attendant? we're first time cruisers and want to be sure we do the right thing. Thanks!

[kruisey]

I know that tips are automatically charged to our account (I believe $10.50/per day per person?) however, I've noticed on the boards that some people pay tips above & beyond that to room attendants, etc. How many of you do extra tipping and for what services? how much extra would be appropriate, for example, for your cabin attendant? we're first time cruisers and want to be sure we do the right thing. Thanks!

I think its up to everyone's disgression whether they tip extra or not.I just like to tip extra to those that have looked after me very well:) The amount? Well thats up to you. Any amount above the $10.50 is truly appreciated by the employees.

[Putterdude]

I know that tips are automatically charged to our account (I believe $10.50/per day per person?) however, I've noticed on the boards that some people pay tips above & beyond that to room attendants, etc. How many of you do extra tipping and for what services? how much extra would be appropriate, for example, for your cabin attendant? we're first time cruisers and want to be sure we do the right thing. Thanks!

 

It is not necessary to do any extra tipping, however people often tip room service a couple of dollars at each delivery and will often tip their room steward and waiters something extra at the end of the cruise if they have done a good job. The amount of the tip to stewards and waiters varies by length of cruise but genrally starts about $20 and goes up from there.

[Pam in CA]

I know that tips are automatically charged to our account (I believe $10.50/per day per person?) however, I've noticed on the boards that some people pay tips above & beyond that to room attendants, etc. How many of you do extra tipping and for what services? how much extra would be appropriate, for example, for your cabin attendant? we're first time cruisers and want to be sure we do the right thing. Thanks!

For people already receiving tips via the "auto-tip," i.e., your cabin steward and waitstaff, I tip extra ONLY if I've made some unusual requests and/or they've gone above and beyond what I expected. Some people think that if they tip their cabin steward extra the first day, they get better service. IMHO, that doesn't make any difference but if they believe it, it's up to them.

[katisdale]

I usually do tip the steward extra at the end of the cruise. I figure that anyone who has to clean a toilet they aren't personally using twice a day deserves at least $20.00 for the week.

[johnfas]

For people already receiving tips via the "auto-tip," i.e., your cabin steward and waitstaff, I tip extra ONLY if I've made some unusual requests and/or they've gone above and beyond what I expected. Some people think that if they tip their cabin steward extra the first day, they get better service. IMHO, that doesn't make any difference but if they believe it, it's up to them.

 

Cruised with my in laws a few years back. Tipped their waiter 20 one the first day and asked if he could take care of them. After the second night my mother in law was gushing about how good the waiter is and how fun dinner is. Believe me, sometimes it is worth every penny.

[vickie_bernie]

we like to tip for when some staff give us extra special treatment.... but note that doesn't always continue. We've given a great tip to the steward on arrival because he took care of all our requests; however after that initial day service was less than past experiences so we never tipped over the initial daily tip.

 

We like to tip room service $2, we tip our waiters each night if they did a special request, and we often tip bar staff for getting us water all day without batting an eye.

 

But none of this is required they are usually very happy to accommodate whatever you want

[Toto2Kansas]

We normally book full suites, so we definitely tip extra to room service staff, especially for full meals ($5-$10 per delivery depending on the size of the meal delivered). Our room steward is usually given between $50-$100 extra per cruise (also depending on the length of the voyage and service provided).

 

Others that provided service above and beyond, like the serving staff when we have breakfast at Sabatini's, any department heads, favorite bar tenders etc. We tip according to the extras above and beyond normal service they provided.

 

Keep in mind, this is for a full suite, and just the way we enjoy rewarding the staff for extra things they do for us. We also leave the auto suite tip in place, which is only 50 cents more per day ($11 per person), which we don't feel is anywhere near enough for the size of the suite to be cleaned, laundry delivered, and the other items that come along with it.

 

Grautities, above and beyond the normal auto tip, are definitely up to each individual passenger. We tip the above only when we feel that the staff has really done a fantastic job, which is usually the case. It isn't necessay to tip additional, unless you feel there are staff members that deserve the extra. :) :)

[Steelers36]

For people already receiving tips via the "auto-tip," i.e., your cabin steward and waitstaff, I tip extra ONLY if I've made some unusual requests and/or they've gone above and beyond what I expected. Some people think that if they tip their cabin steward extra the first day, they get better service. IMHO, that doesn't make any difference but if they believe it, it's up to them.

 

 

I started doing this a couple of cruises ago because there is usually a list of things we want on arrival. Just sailed CB on Dec 6 and gave stewardess $10 on arrival & meeting her. But I also requested use of a corkscrew, two wine glasses, and a top sheet. She was very pleasant and quite accommodating all week long. Mea culpa - I left and forgot to leave a little extra at the end.

 

As for the extra service - I agree. I tipped the Sanctuary staff now and then as we used it or for favors extended.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We don't tip at the start, as we usually don't have special requests. At the end, if someone's done really well, they'll get extra from us. We also will fill an envelope for the kids' counselors to split up.

 

Anyone not in our autotip pool who's done something for us, we'll go to the front desk and get a "Done Something Special" (or whatever it's called) card and fill it out with their name, location, and country of origin. Supposedly, crew members whose names are on those cards are entered into a drawing for a prize. And these cards are put into their files for when they're up for a promotion.

[Peachy12]

This is a tough one for us as we've never cruised before, so we'll wait until we're on board and see what happens. I find the way they handle the "automatic tips" in your onboard account is both genius and annoying. It's great for the staff because most people won't argue about it (even though it's totally voluntary), and will just pay the cost to save rocking the boat (pardon the pun), but it's not great for people like my husband and i who have scraped together all the money we could just to make it onto the ship (it's the honeymoon we never got to have, and a well deserved break from parenthood), and then find out we'll be charged another $260 worth of tips.

I think it's fair to reward staff that go out of their way to please you, and am really hoping that one person stands out so that we can direct the bulk of the tips to them (as they say you can choose who it goes to). However, if we get crappy service (as i've read from some people) i won't hesitate to reduce the tip total.

Has anyone here ever decided not to pay the "voluntary tips"?? It'd be interesting to hear how that went down.

[Peachy12]

PS - I should have mentioned that my shock at the $260 is probably due to the fact that I'm from Australia, and we don't practice tipping as a custom. I know some very generous people do it here, but to be honest, i've only ever seen it done once in my 32 years (by my dad, and the waiter brought the money back, and said we'd made a mistake and overpaid him). I hope i don't offend anyone by my dislike of tips, i guess when we don't get them ourselves, it's hard to justify why we should pay them to others. But i hope we get a great steward so we CAN tip them.

[Rockymountainsparky]

We don'T tip at the start, but wait until the end. And then, only if the service was above and beyond. Usually $20.

[Steelers36]

PS - I should have mentioned that my shock at the $260 is probably due to the fact that I'm from Australia, and we don't practice tipping as a custom. I know some very generous people do it here, but to be honest, i've only ever seen it done once in my 32 years (by my dad, and the waiter brought the money back, and said we'd made a mistake and overpaid him). I hope i don't offend anyone by my dislike of tips, i guess when we don't get them ourselves, it's hard to justify why we should pay them to others. But i hope we get a great steward so we CAN tip them.

 

Yeah, it is just a cultural difference thing. The crew members sharing in the tips really need that as part of their income because they do not get much otherwise. Only other option would be to build it into the fare prices. Anyway, to address your prior post, I think on the whole you will be happy with service provided and friendliness of the hotel staff. Hopefully it will meet your service expectations that you have in Australia and then just assume you would have been charged more to cruise without tipping.

[paul929207]

I tip extra, if I feel someone has done things beyond the normal excellent service. My wife likes a little bowl of fresh veggies and salad dressing when we sit down. We ask for it the first night and it is there the rest of the nights. I give an extra tip for this.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Cruised with my in laws a few years back. Tipped their waiter 20 one the first day and asked if he could take care of them. After the second night my mother in law was gushing about how good the waiter is and how fun dinner is. Believe me, sometimes it is worth every penny.

 

I understand tipping your room steward or waiter for service above what is expected. If you do it before any service is preformed in my opinion it's no longer a tip, it's a bribe.

 

We usually tip our room steward/waiter at the end of the cruise and if it's a extended cruise somewhere in the middle if they are doing an excellent job.

[spongerob]

If you leave the automatic charges on, you really don't need to tip extra. You can of course if you receive excellent service and wish to reward someone, OR if you make a special request that is delivered, OR if you do something that requires extra work, like hosting a party in your cabin and making a big mess.

 

The comment cards are also a nice thing to fill in for those who you think have performed well during the cruise. They cost you nothing but can be very valuable to the person receiving them.

 

I never pre-tip (I think it's gauche) and have never felt as if I have received anything less by not doing so.

[ONT-CA]

I usually do tip the steward extra at the end of the cruise. I figure that anyone who has to clean a toilet they aren't personally using twice a day deserves at least $20.00 for the week.

 

Couldn't agree more with "at least". But in addition, should we have friends in for drinks and such and there is bar residue to be cleaned up in addition to the stuard's regular turndown service we slip them a further gratuity.

[Stevesan]

I understand tipping your room steward or waiter for service above what is expected. If you do it before any service is preformed in my opinion it's no longer a tip, it's a bribe.

 

We usually tip our room steward/waiter at the end of the cruise and if it's a extended cruise somewhere in the middle if they are doing an excellent job.

 

I'd agree with that in principle, but the purported origin of Tips, To Insure Prompt Service, requires advance payment.

 

How do you do that tipping after the fact? :rolleyes:

[brfan]

I'd agree with that in principle, but the purported origin of Tips, To Insure Prompt Service, requires advance payment.

 

How do you do that tipping after the fact? :rolleyes:

 

Except tips is not an acronym and if it was it would be "To Ensure Prompt Service" and therefore be TEPS. The idea that Tips is an acronym is an urban myth.

 

http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp

[Colo Cruiser]

We have never given a bribe to anyone at the beginning of the cruise.

[cruisemom42]

As a solo, I've found that I can sometimes be ignored by bar staff (on land or at sea). I often find a bartender in a location I plan to frequent and give him a $20 with my first drink order. Generally that has worked to "ensure prompt service" the rest of the cruise. :)

[DonnaK]

We never tip the room steward extra. I cannot imagine what additional tasks he/she could do that are above and beyond the realm of their job that would warrant additional cash. It is their job to clean the cabin, provide ice/extra glasses/towels/top sheet etc on request. In over 10 cruises, all setwards have done their jobs well, but none have been over-the-top outstanding or extraoridinary.

 

Now, we always tip the wait team additional cash because they do perform special tasks for us outside the general scope of their job, like notice our likes and dislikes to anticipate our needs before we request them, and go out of their way to provide "off menu" items. We've had waiters run up to the specialty restaurant to get us tiramisu on the nights it wasn't on the menu (without us asking for it...simply because they noticed we liked it). We've had waiters notice that we like the olive tapanade at lunch, so they had it sitting on the table every night thereafter for dinner (without us asking for it). Etc.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

I'd agree with that in principle, but the purported origin of Tips, To Insure Prompt Service, requires advance payment.

 

How do you do that tipping after the fact? :rolleyes:

 

A "tip" is for service performed. Dining out I have never tipped before ordering the meal or having it served. It kind of defeats the purpose.

[Colo Cruiser]

Prompt service should be ensured regardless.