Confused about Tipping

[Moondoggy51]

We are about to go on our first cruise and we're confused about Tipping. It is my understanding that Princess has a gratuity that gets added onto your bill automatically. Because it is automatic, I've heard from some people that they don't tip any extra on the ship, others have said that they tip if a member of the crew does something special that's sort of above and beyond the call of duty (i.e. Not ordinary service) while yet others say that they always tip above and beyond the automatic gratuity. So I'm confused. I don't want to be a Cheap Charlie and not tip if it's expected but I don't want to act like Daddy Warbucks either and tip when it is not necessary or not expected. Can someone please advise?

 

Beyond the tipping on the ship what is the normal expected tipping protocol if your being served at Princess Cays on the beach or you take a snorkeling excusion on one of the islands? I'm assuming that on a snorkeling excursion that a gratuity is expected but is there a means to calculate what the tip should be or is there some expected amount one should tip?

 

Any advice will be appreciated.

[DonnaK]

As far as tipping onboard the ship, there is absolutely NO obligation to give an additional tip beyond what is automatically posted to your onboard account. Some people on Cruise Critic are overly generous, however you will NOT be considered cheap if you do not tip above the auto amount. Just do what feels right to you at the time. We generally do not tip the room steward extra, but do give the wait team an extra $20.

 

One person onboard that you should tip is the person who delivers room service, should you order any. It's also customary to tip the tour guide on an excursion.

[dfields1814]

I agree with DonnaK. First, I never take off the automatic tip. I do tip the room steward a few dollars extra only if he/she does extra services for us (which is usually true for almost every cruise). Room service also get a few dollars. But that is about it. I don't tip the wait staff only because we have anytime dining and get different servers each night. I probably would give them an extra tip if I had traditional dining with the same servers that gave service over an above the usual good service that is expected.

 

The next best thing I found you can to do for staff after a tip is to fill out that card at the end of the cruise naming a crew memebr who did an outstanding job. That seems to be a big deal to them. I have actually received thank you notes from the crew members I praised.

[bucky7680]

This is what I personally do.

I always tip the porters $1 a bag. I’ve never had my booze confiscated.

I always tip my bartender at least a buck. I know there is a 15% tip built into the price of a drink but my premium bourbon and waters are nice and strong and usually set on the bar as I sit down after the first day.

I always tip for my drinks at the Captain’s reception. I know that the drinks they hand out are free but I order premium liquor and there is always a fresh one waiting when I finish the one in my hand.

I always tip my waiter $20 the first night and tell him or her I appreciate good service.

I only tip my cabin steward beyond the compulsory tip if I feel I’m getting personal service above and beyond just making up my room. On our last cruise I never met my cabin steward so there was no extra tip.

I NEVER tip the servers on deck or around the pool. I made this mistake once and I never had any peace when I was trying to relax on deck. Not that they leave you alone in the first place.

I only tip the people on the excursions if they go beyond my minimum expectations. A tip is never guarantied but I usually do.

By the third day of the cruise the crew knows who the tippers are. My friends are always amazed at the attention and service I get from the crew. Some people like to pamper themselves in the spa or pay extra for better service in the specialty restaurants. I love it when my servers know my name and my needs.

For a 7 day cruise I bring $100 in $1 bills for extra tip money. Our next cruise is a 15 night through the Panama Canal and I will most likely bring $150 in extra tip money. Also I try to give on the sly because they are supposed to put all tip money in a central pot.

I NEVER reduce the compulsory tip charged by the Cruise Line. I feel it is part of the basic cost of my cruise. There are many people behind the scenes who get a piece of this and it is unfair to punish them for poor service given by one or two individuals. If you are unhappy with your service let management know right away.

This is just my personal way of tipping on a cruise. It works for me.

[5waldos]

I basically agree with all the above. Haven't had anytime dining so we have sometimes given table staff and room staff a bit extra- $15 for head room and table people, $10 for assistants.

 

As far as on shore- we usually tip as a family about $15 when it is a small excursion- or just a few of us. On the mega trips with 40 or 50 we will often leave about $5. We figure that we are getting personal service on the very small trips.

 

All the above assumes that we have gotten especially good and personalized service. On our first cruise our room staff kept everything in very good order but I never saw them or met them. Ever. And our table staff ignored us- they were far more interested in the cute young women at the other side of the table. Hence, no extra tip. Removing tips is an option that most believe should only be done as a very strong statement that things were not up to snuff- although there is another group who wish to personalize their gratuities and hand them out in cash themselves.

 

You have also asked a question that most likely will generate hundreds of contentious responses. Take all of it with a handful of salt. some will claim that they give out hundreds of dollars in extra tips by the end of the cruise, some complain that they can't afford the cruise much less tip the staff. Most of us are someplace in between.

[VibeGuy]

I too bring a stack of singles and fives so that any question I ask that requires any additional effort on the part of the answerer (ie, not directions/the time/etc) is followed with a tip. I'm more comfortable tipping at the time of the requests rather than the "reward in heaven strategy" or up-front tipping, but that's my personal tipping style.

 

Examples:

 

• May I have a large diet Coke, please? (with a coke card, first fill of the day by a particular server, and about every third refill, if it's genuinely large)
  
• Could we get some extra wooden hangers?
  
• Would you mind pulling the clothes out of the dryer when we're at dinner? Just throw them on the bed.
  

 

I've had variable experiences with Anytime dining. We had an excellent experience on one ship, and tipped the server (25), assistant waiter (15), and headwaiter (20) at the end of the sailing, as we ended up in a particular section every night and never had a wait for a table. On others, we've tipped night-by-night as service warranted, and on others, nobody's gotten a bonus tip.

 

Bar waiters who provide good service? I generally leave a buck or two as we leave the bar as they are auto-gratted on the check at 15%.

[maple]

Although they weigh a little in the suitcase, I bring a couple of rolls of the Sacagawea gold colored dollar coins for tipping. They work quite well.

[sultan_sfo]

US coins and $2 bills are not accepted by money changers (banks, etc) outside of USA for remitting money abroad. Good souvenirs though.

 

Although they weigh a little in the suitcase, I bring a couple of rolls of the Sacagawea gold colored dollar coins for tipping. They work quite well.

[Pam in CA]

Although they weigh a little in the suitcase, I bring a couple of rolls of the Sacagawea gold colored dollar coins for tipping. They work quite well.

 

US coins and $2 bills are not accepted by money changers (banks, etc) outside of USA for remitting money abroad. Good souvenirs though.

I agree. The person you've given them to can't do a thing with them so they're nothing other than a souvenir of someone who didn't want to tip in usable currency.

 

To the OP, as the others have said, leave the auto-tip on. There is absolutely no obligation to tip anything extra to your waitstaff or cabin steward unless they provide service above and beyond what's expected. A 15% service charge will be added to any beverages you purchase so there's no need to tip extra.

[Moondoggy51]

Thanks for all the replies. But a few more "newbie" questions......

 

We're signed up for the late seating dinners and some of you have mentioned tipping the staff however I'm confused. With this kind of seating, how many members of the staff are you actually engaged with during dinner? What are their roles and why would you tip one more than another?

[Pam in CA]

We're signed up for the late seating dinners and some of you have mentioned tipping the staff however I'm confused. With this kind of seating, how many members of the staff are you actually engaged with during dinner? What are their roles and why would you tip one more than another?

Your auto-tip takes care of anyone who serves you in the dining room, including the Table Captain, waiter and assistant waiter. There's no need to tip anything extra unless they've gone above and beyond, i.e., served specially-ordered food, etc.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Agree with much of what is mentioned above. We have never tipped ahead of time, though. You may want to give the porters at the port a dollar or two per bag.

 

Since we have a kid, we also give an envelope with cash to the kids' program counselors for her age group to divvy up.

 

You can get tipping envelopes (for any extra tips you're giving) along with the made a difference cards.

[steponboard]

One person onboard that you should tip is the person who delivers room service, should you order any. It's also customary to tip the tour guide on an excursion.

I never tip room service on Princess because they are included on the tipping pool. My observation regarding shore excursion tipping is that most people don't tip on the ones I've taken through the ship. On a private excursion which costs half the ships prices and delivers twice the service I tip.

[caribill]

Some history of tipping on Princess

 

The original system was a suggested amount per day for your room steward, your wait staff, headwaiter, etc. People would put money in envelopes and hand it to these people at the end of the cruise. Some people put in more than the suggested amounts, some put in less.

 

When Anytime Dining was introduced, passengers with that option no longer had the same waitstaff each evening, so Princess switched to the daily "auto-tip" (listed as Hotel Charge on your onboard account) which was the same amount as the original suggested tipping amounts. Accordingly, the auto-tip was the equivalent of handing out envelopes of the suggsted tipping amounts.

 

The current auto-tip amount is $10.50/day/passenger ($11 for those in mini-suites and full suites). This is shared with your room steward, restaurant waitstaff (including traditional dining, anytime dining, buffet, room service, and specialty restaurants), headwaiters, etc.

 

Some people, as mentioned in other posts, like to reward extra good service with cash, equivalent to what people used to do by putting more money in an envelope.

 

Some people like to go to the Purser's desk and reduce the amount or eliminate the auto-tip, saying they want to reward the people directly with cash. This is self-defeating, as waitstaff and cabin stewards cannot keep that money if the auto-tip has been reduced or eliminated, and that cash is then placed into the auto-tip pool. (Room service delivery people can keep any tip you hand to them.)

 

Bar staff are tipped with a mandatory 15% added to every bar charge. This includes soda as well as drinks with alcohol. Some people, as noted in other posts, like to tip some extra cash. I am not sure if that extra cash is kept by the individual who receives it or is shared with other bar staff.

 

Not included in the tipping pool and thus should be tipped for good service onboard are Spa services (can tip in cash or add to the service being charged) or those who run the children's programs (tip in cash).

 

Also, some people like to tip casino personnel who are also not included in the auto-tip.

 

Hope this helps.

[Asil65]

Good information. Thanks for sharing. I like the idea of bringing a bunch of 1 dollar bills. I had also read a post about tipping the kids club counselors if your kids are in the club a bunch of time. My kids have only been on two cruises with me. They really did not spend a lot of time in the clubs so I had never tipped extra. I think it is a very subjective thing. I do notice that on many excursions there is very little extra tipping going on. We always like to give them a bit extra afterward. We will be doing Traditional Dining for the first time on a Princess ship. If we get great service we will give our servers a bit extra. If you do the math 10.50 per person per day is a pretty small tip IMHO.

[kymbakitty]

Pretty much agree....we gave $40 to the server for the Balcony Dinner and an extra $25 to the room steward (14 night cruise)...but other than that, we didn't tip any additional $$. We only ate dinner in the MDR maybe 3 nights and once for lunch, never for breakfast.

 

We didn't have room service this time, but anywhere from $3-$10, depending on how much you order.

 

The only thing I don't agree with is the $1 per bag for porter. That is really, really outdated tipping policy. Hubby usually gives porter (we are talking about the ship's porter, right?) $10 - $20 because my husband certainly doesn't want to schlepp the luggage....and it would only be $20 if we have a lot of luggage (usually at the end, 5 bags!), and the porter is walking quite a distance for us (which usually seems to be the case, not sure why). But probably only $10 when we get there (ship porter) because it's really not that far....but I know he would not give $1 per bag.

 

But other than that....I pretty much concur.

 

Don't worry about it...you will know when someone has done something above and beyond. If you leave your auto tip on, don't even think about it....trust me, you will know when it is appropriate.

 

No pressure though....

 

Dawn

[cb at sea]

Don't forget about the casino...it's customary to tip your dealer (if you're playing a table game) and if you're a slot player and hit it big enough, you should tip the person who "hand pays" you!

[NYGirl1002]

I agree about the porter. We usually give $5.00 - $10.00 a bag.

 

I also leave the auto tips in place but by the end of the cruise I've really felt I've known the waitstaff and steward so well that I usually give them an envelope. I've given the steward $30, head waiter $25, assistant waiter and beverage server $20.

 

After all it seems that they go out of their way to learn what my family likes and dislikes, our names and it always seems they go out of their way to my our vacation nice.

[Colo Cruiser]

I would never consider not tipping room service.

[bhopal21]

I would never consider not tipping room service.

 

Me either.:eek:

 

Mike:)

[dfields1814]

What is the thinking on tipping at a speciality restaurant? I usually tip. But do you need to? If so how much?

[caribill]

What is the thinking on tipping at a speciality restaurant? I usually tip. But do you need to? If so how much?

 

The servers there are included in the auto-tip. Many people tip extra for great service.

[caribill]

Hubby usually gives porter (we are talking about the ship's porter, right?) $10 - $20

 

These porters are not employed by Princess.

 

In the USA they are likely to be very highly paid, unionized people who expect a tip even with the "no tipping required" signs right above where they take your luggage.

[Colo Cruiser]

And they will take what they perceive to be a low ball tip out on your luggage.

[Tophat4321]

I am a tipper and on the Island in April I tipped my room steward $50.00 and a bottle of good wine. The folks bringing me coffee in the morning I tip a buck or two. Wait staff in dining room got $20.00 ea and the guys in Sabatinis each got $30.00.We had dinner there one night and breakfast many times during the cruise. The staff at Sabatinis were very personable and got us special eats for breakfast that were not on the menu. :)