Anyone NOT tip extra above the daily service fee?

[cccole]

[quote name='schoolinmy3']While I understand that, I do not think my 10 yo would by herself accumulate the charges that an adult who uses all of the ship's services will. I don't know exactly all of the activities that the hotel service charge covers but except for getting her bed ready I don't see where else she would accumulate tips. We will eat at the dining room once, maybe twice at the most on 10 days. On our last cruise we only ate once in the dining room. I am not complaining, mind you, as I believe that they provide excellent service on HAL. I am just remarking that her $11 per day, especially since she is a 3rd passenger in a room, is generous. But then maybe I am missing something. :rolleyes: Again, I want to stress this is not a complaint, merely an observation. I believe the stewards and other staff more than deserve the tips for their excellent service ;)
diane[/QUOTE]


I understand what you are saying and you did not express your comment as a complaint. When I read it I just couldn't think of normal services available to an adult that were not also used by children, for which the $11 is used. If I understand correctly the $11 was put in place to compensate all of the employees who would not generally get a monetary tip at the end of a cruise but serve the passengers on a daily basis. I didn't mean for my response to be unkind and I hope you have a great cruise with your family. Cherie

[Mary Ellen]

[SIZE="3"]Actually we [I]have[/I] seen the laundry guys due to a problem, but if in a similar situation, I'm sure one wouldn't be thinking of tipping them. :([/SIZE]

[cruz chic]

[quote name='CowPrincess']though I would LOVE to tour Cartegena sometime :) [/quote]
Don't worry...you aren't missing anything............

[CowPrincess]

[quote name='lorekauf']Don't worry...you aren't missing anything............[/quote]

Hey, I've seen Puerto Cortes -- I [B]need[/B] to "top" that experience :D And the bears are out of hibernation here. I'd pretty much prefer to be anywhere else right now (excluding Puerto Cortes).

[Bobs cruising]

[quote name='lorekauf']Don't worry...you aren't missing anything............[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I beg to differ, we were just there. It is a lovely and very safe city, Police are on every corner. We took a 4 hour tour and found plenty to see and do. :)[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Why so negitive? :confused:[/SIZE][/FONT]

[jtl513]

[quote name='lorekauf']Don't worry...you aren't missing anything............[/quote]
[quote name='Bobs_cruising']I beg to differ, we were just there.[/quote]
We also enjoyed Cartagena very much.

[Highbypass Turbofan]

[quote name='GloBug']I usually bring $2 bills with me, so much easier to carry half the number of $1 I would usually carry to tip with. People like and remember those $2. Porters get $2 per bag, room service gets $2 per tray, etc...[/quote]


That is a great idea!...thanks for the tip..:p...no pun intended..

[GloBug]

Turbofan, you won't find many $2 in circulation. You will probably have to go to your bank to get some and you might even have to order them in advance, so check with your bank early. But it sure cuts down on the number of bills you have to carry.

[Nancyquilts]

[quote name='GloBug']Turbofan, you won't find many $2 in circulation. You will probably have to go to your bank to get some and you might even have to order them in advance, so check with your bank early. But it sure cuts down on the number of bills you have to carry.[/quote]
They are so seldom seen it may be hard for the crew to convert them easily.

[Topsham]

[quote name='schoolinmy3']While I understand that, I do not think my 10 yo would by herself accumulate the charges that an adult who uses all of the ship's services will. I don't know exactly all of the activities that the hotel service charge covers but except for getting her bed ready I don't see where else she would accumulate tips. We will eat at the dining room once, maybe twice at the most on 10 days. On our last cruise we only ate once in the dining room. I am not complaining, mind you, as I believe that they provide excellent service on HAL. I am just remarking that her $11 per day, especially since she is a 3rd passenger in a room, is generous. But then maybe I am missing something. :rolleyes: Again, I want to stress this is not a complaint, merely an observation. I believe the stewards and other staff more than deserve the tips for their excellent service ;)
diane[/quote]

Diane,

On the other hand..... your daughter still dines three times a day in the Lido. .

The job of making up a cabin for three is considerably harder than making up one for two. The bed has to be folded out each evening and made up, extra towels etc etc.

As far as other services are concerned, there are many passengers on every cruise who do not use any where near all the services that are provided. It has to be averaged out and unfortunately it means that some pay for services they didn't use and other that use everything do not have to pay extra.

Just thinking outside the box...

Stephen

[GloBug]

[quote name='Nancyquilts']They are so seldom seen it may be hard for the crew to convert them easily.[/quote]

Not sure I understand this. If they use it in the states, it's $2 legal tender. Not an issue for anyone to use. If they need to convert to currency of their own country, wouldn't it be the same as converting a $1 bill or a $10 bill? The only problem I can foresee is if they try to use it in a soda machine... :rolleyes:

[jtl513]

[quote name='GloBug']Not sure I understand this. If they use it in the states, it's $2 legal tender. Not an issue for anyone to use. If they need to convert to currency of their own country, [B]wouldn't it be the same as converting a $1 bill or a $10 bill?[/B] [/quote]No, it's not. Because $2 bills are not widely seen outside the US, they are treated with suspicion - like they are counterfeit - while other denominations are recognized and accepted readily.

No one on board the ship will refuse a $2 bill certainly, but they would prefer two $1s.

BTW, $2 bills are not very popular with a lot of US merchants either, because there is no slot in the cash registers for them, and many customers are reluctant to accept them in change.

[GloBug]

Oh, good point. I wouldn't expect them to make it out of the US, but I suppose they can. It seems like registers would have more then enough slots, but perhaps not everyone puts larger denominations under the cash drawer in their registers.

I've had customers who accused me of handing out counterfeit bills when the govt. changes them. It took a few customers to convince one woman that the new bill I was giving her in change was not Monopoly money!

[jtl513]

[quote name='GloBug']It seems like registers would have more then enough slots, [/quote]But if you allocate a slot for $2s, it would be empty nearly all the time.
[quote name='GloBug']
I've had customers who accused me of handing out counterfeit bills when the govt. changes them. It took a few customers to convince one woman that the new bill I was giving her in change was not Monopoly money![/quote]Exactly! Yet there are clerks in this country who have accepted $3 bills! :D

[NMLady]

[quote name='Kween Karen']On my long Grand Voyage I found it fun to randomly hand out $5 bills to those who served me well or made an impact with their friendliness. It was fun to do this throughout the cruise.....and of course the service continued!![/quote]

I love that idea, Kween Karen. I think I'm going to incorporate it into our cruises instead of waiting until the last day and trying to find some of those people. I do make sure to fill out those comment cards to praise employees who've done more than I'd expect.

[NMLady]

[quote name='bulgargirl']
What I [I][U]don't [/U][/I]get - the number of people that say they tip extra when service warrants it and go on to mention always tipping room service.

How can you have had [I][U]extra[/U][/I] or special service in the delivery of room service, particularly if you automatically tip every single time? What did the room service deliverer do in those situations that was so much better than normal delivery? And if you do it every single time, aren't you really saying that you tip before knowing whether or not you got good service? Or are you doing this to ensure future great service? I don't get it.[/quote]

We only do breakfast room service, usually about 7:00am, using the card hung on the door the night before.
Those who do that room service actually have assignments elsewhere during the rest of the day, so I figure, rightly or wrongly, that they're assigned room service as an extra job during their day, so I give them a tip to compensate.

[snorkler8]

This has been interesting reading. DH and I will be taking our first HAL cruise and have anytime dining. We have cruised Celebrity and loved the assigned seating as its fun to get to know your wait staff. Hmmmm, guess I'll go with no expectations and will be happy with what ever we get! lol

[RevNeal]

Interesting reading, indeed. When I tip in the Pinnacle I do pretty much the same thing that I do in the main dining room ... I palm it to the stewards who served me. Hence, if someone was watching to see if I had tipped extra they, [B]hopefully[/B], would think I hadn't. :) In-the-flesh aboard ship, tipping is between me and the stewards.

As for going beyond the nominal ship's "service charge," I do it based upon the quality of the service. Only ONCE had I not tipped extra to the cabin and/or dining room stewards. Usually the service is exceptional, and hence -- IMHO -- an extra tip is warranted.

[Opinions]

[quote name='jtl513']Neither do I, and neither does HAL. That's why we both call it a Hotel Service Charge ... which is a way to pay the crew. Tips are [U]extra[/U] IMO.

[/QUOTE]

HAL does not always call it a Hotel Service Charge...I just received a brochure "VALUES" dreams on sale"...On page 26 it lists the amenities one receives if they book a full Grand Voyage by May 31... One is "prepaid gratuities"...I would assume this is the same as the Hotel Service Charge.

[cruz chic]

[quote name='Bobs cruising'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I beg to differ, we were just there. It is a lovely and very safe city, Police are on every corner. We took a 4 hour tour and found plenty to see and do. :)[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Why so negitive? :confused:[/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]
That's my opinion...ok? Have you liked everywhere you have visited? It gets so I really don't like to say anything because people feel the need to be critical of it. If you like it so be it. I might like some place that you don't.

[jtl513]

[quote name='Opinions']HAL does not always call it a Hotel Service Charge...I just received a brochure "VALUES" dreams on sale"...On page 26 it lists the amenities one receives if they book a full Grand Voyage by May 31... One is "prepaid gratuities"...I would assume this is the same as the Hotel Service Charge.[/quote]Yes, HAL often does a lousy job of updating old copy and/or proofreading it.

[bulgargirl]

[quote name='NMLady']We only do breakfast room service, usually about 7:00am, using the card hung on the door the night before.
Those who do that room service actually have assignments elsewhere during the rest of the day, so I figure, rightly or wrongly, that they're assigned room service as an extra job during their day, so I give them a tip to compensate.[/quote]


Thanks for the answer! Logical reasoning, indeed.

[Kween Karen]

I, too, injoyed my tour of Cartegena.......it was interesting, safe, full of history......and a new country for me to visit.

[jtl513]

[quote name='lorekauf']That's my opinion...ok? Have you liked everywhere you have visited? It gets so I really don't like to say anything because people[B] feel the need to be critical of it[/B]. If you like it so be it. I might like some place that you don't.[/quote]I hated Acapulco. You may love it ... but saying our opinons differ does not mean we are being critical of your opinion or you.

[hrhdhd]

[quote name='RevNeal']As for going beyond the nominal ship's "service charge," I do it based upon the quality of the service. Only ONCE had I not tipped extra to the cabin and/or dining room stewards. Usually the service is exceptional, and hence -- IMHO -- an extra tip is warranted.[/quote]

Rev:

Because I have seen your enjoyment of the precise use of language, I just have to ask: if the service is ALWAYS (or always except for once) exceptional, then it's not really [I]exceptional[/I], is it? It's just the level of service on a HAL ship. :rolleyes: