Up front tips

[rool]

I'm not thinking about the prepaid type but giving your steward a little something on first day.

 

Do you do it & if so what's the going rate.

 

I've only done one cruise on Brilliance last year and after reading this board thought I'd give it a go. I left a $20 bill with a little note to say thanks in advance for all the great service we were going to receive and left it in an envelope in the room when we went for our meal that night.

 

Being a cruise virgin I didn't know if that was too much (I doubt it some how) or enough (I'd hate it to be an insult) and whether the Steward got it or if someone else got it. We were treated to some robes and the bottled type toiletries, neither of which we were entitled to, and overall was very happy with the service.

 

We're having our first cruise with Celebrity in a C3 cabin on Eclipse in July and wondered whether I needed to raise the bar a bit.

[Wine-O]

I'm not thinking about the prepaid type but giving your steward a little something on first day.

 

Do you do it & if so what's the going rate.

 

I've only done one cruise on Brilliance last year and after reading this board thought I'd give it a go. I left a $20 bill with a little note to say thanks in advance for all the great service we were going to receive and left it in an envelope in the room when we went for our meal that night.

 

Being a cruise virgin I didn't know if that was too much (I doubt it some how) or enough (I'd hate it to be an insult) and whether the Steward got it or if someone else got it. We were treated to some robes and the bottled type toiletries, neither of which we were entitled to, and overall was very happy with the service.

 

We're having our first cruise with Celebrity in a C3 cabin on Eclipse in July and wondered whether I needed to raise the bar a bit.

 

I never tip up front. You won't get bad service on Celebrity, so don't worry about it. We partake in Celebrity's automatic tipping -- daily deduction on your seapass account -- if you get exceptional service, tip additional at the end of the cruise (last night).

[Denny01]

I agree with Wine-O (you have to with that name!). We use the Auto-tip and if we get good service, we tip extra. I usually use an envelope and put the cash in there for our Room Steward and MDR waitstaff. How much? $20 is good. Very subjective.

 

We also tip waiters/bartenders who give us special service, and we use the Elite lounge and tip our waitstaff there.

 

I personally wouldn't pre-tip. Not expected and not needed. Service is excellent as provided.

 

Denny

[Gracie115]

We do when we're going to be asking for "out of the ordinary" things and $20.00 is what we've tipped and we give it upon meeting the attendant. We did on our Solstice cruise last week. I agree with person who said you don't need to...you'll still get great service, we've just chosen to do it. Oliver, our stateroom attendant on Solstice was outstanding, the best we've ever had and I suspect he would have given same service with or without the tip. But I'm in the hotel business I know how hard these people work so, for me anyway, any tip you want to pass on is most welcome by the staff. Should it make a difference in service received? NO! Does it? Probably, at least in some cases. But no matter what on Celebrity you're going to get taken care of regardless, so do what YOU want to do.

[rool]

Excellent thanks, all good points.

 

We're on select dining and as a result have prepaid so that takes some of the stress away.

 

I don't know if it's just me but I always feel awkward around the whole handing over tips thing and prefer to leave things in the room :)

[Wine-O]

Excellent thanks, all good points.

 

We're on select dining and as a result have prepaid so that takes some of the stress away.

 

I don't know if it's just me but I always feel awkward around the whole handing over tips thing and prefer to leave things in the room :)

 

We usually carry a wad of singles that we leave in the safe and tip for room service -- $2 or so for coffee, juice, and pastries in the morning, and a little more if we order a large breakfast. We always go to the dining room for dinner, but have read that several people like to eat out on their balcony. For 2 dinners, maybe I would give him/her $4-5 for bringing and setting up.

[Denny01]

Gracie115 has brought up a good point. If you know you are going to ask for something special, you should consider 'pre-tipping', I guess such as when we throw a big party in our room/balcony and ask for extra setups, a couple of ice buckets for wine and them to be iced down and so on. Good point to keep in mind for those 'beyond the pale' requests of the staff - a tip at the time would probably make sense.

 

Denny

[Gracie115]

We usually carry a wad of singles that we leave in the safe and tip for room service -- $2 or so for coffee, juice, and pastries in the morning, and a little more if we order a large breakfast. We always go to the dining room for dinner, but have read that several people like to eat out on their balcony. For 2 dinners, maybe I would give him/her $4-5 for bringing and setting up.

 

 

We do this too, $2.00 for my coffee every morning and even though the room service menu states "6:30-7AM" as 1st time open I alway write "as close to 6AM as possible" and after 1st morning it's 6AM on the dot. Is that due to the tip? No idea...but worth that $2.00 to sit on balcony every morning and watch the sunrise!!

[Alliea]

I thought they add tips to your bill, and didn't have a choice on that part? And if you did not want them on your bill, you had to go ask.

[teajak]

We usually carry a wad of singles that we leave in the safe and tip for room service -- $2 or so for coffee, juice, and pastries in the morning, and a little more if we order a large breakfast. We always go to the dining room for dinner, but have read that several people like to eat out on their balcony. For 2 dinners, maybe I would give him/her $4-5 for bringing and setting up.

We do the same,usually you have to stop them to give them the tip. They never assume or wait around expecting it.I usually get $50.00 in ones banded at the bank, and keep that in the top drawer easier that way.

[cb at sea]

Just tip at the end....they do not need to be "bribed" to give you stellar service! We do tip for room service delivery at time of delivery...but no "advance tips" to anyone!

[Denny01]

I thought they add tips to your bill, and didn't have a choice on that part? And if you did not want them on your bill, you had to go ask.

 

There are prepaid gratuities such as when you choose Select (anytime) dining prior to the cruise and the gratuities are added to your initial 'bill' you pay at final payment due prior to the cruise. No additions or subtractions. You can provide cash tips on your own. the pros/cons of that are being discussed on another thread.

 

There is auto-gratituties which is the 'normal' method when you select traditonal dining. The daily gratuity is added to your On Board charge card and you pay it at the end of the cruise. You can adjust up or down, and you can also use cash tips to suppliment it on your own.

 

You can have the daily auto-gratuity removed completely from your On Board bill and pay cash via envelopes at the end of the cruise (or stiff the staff).

 

Each time you order a drink, a 15% gratuity is added to the bill. You can add to that amount on the bill and it is added to your On Board Chargecard you pay at the end, or you can palm them a bit of cash. You can't remove the 15% (as far as I know - but I'm sure there is someone who has tried).

 

When you use a specialty restaurant, you pay an extra amount for that experince which includes the gratuity, but you can add to the amount when you get the bill, as you wish, or use cash to your waitstaff at end of the dinner.

 

And then, you can give a cash tip as we are discussing here to the steward, MDR waitstaff or any other staff/waiter/bartender you wish throughout the cruise.

 

Denny

[madelinerose]

Just as on land, we tip whenever we feel it's appropriate. No set amount. ;)