how many singles do you bring to tip

[heidik]

What do you recommend for a 14-day Caribbean?

[m steve]

dollar coins, especially the presidential ones. I would take about $30 worth and could get more at the front desk if I needed more $. Probably they would have only paper ones.

[Mary Ellen]

If you find you need more than you've brought, the Front Desk will happily make change of larger bills to ones. We find that it is easier to travel with larger bills and change them at the Front Desk as needed.

[Emerald city gal]

For smaller amounts ! take a 20.00 and go to the casino. They will always break a bill into what you request. I find that the front desk does not always have 1 dollar bills

[VermeulT]

I spend the weeks prior to the cruise going through the house collecting random coins that came out of DH's jeans and are left here and there.... I roll them and exchange them at the bank for singles & a few five's.... that's what we bring to tip... you'd be surprised how much it adds up to ... last cruise it was like $40.

[sail7seas]

I keep an envelope of $1 and $5 bills in my carry on bag (that I never unpack) and every now and then I drop 10-15 more bills in there. We always have at least $75 in one and five dollar bills. I wouldn't load them into my wallet but in the envelope, no bulk. When we get to our cabin we always place the envelope in the same place so we can quickly take out what we want.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just go to the concierge (others go to the front desk) and get change there.

No need to carry a lot of small bills.

[RuthC]

I budget how much I think I'm going to need for the cruise, then add to that. I take some in small bills just to get me to the ship, some in larger denominations, and the rest in Travelers Cheques.

No need to carry a wad of cash.

I break the larger bills, or cash the Travelers Cheques, at the Front Desk. I've had more trouble getting large bills there than small bills. Ones and fives are easy to get.

[kyriecat]

I usually have $10-15 in $1 bills and $20 in $5 bills. That has always been enough for the first couple of days (porters, cab drivers, bellman at hotel, room service). After that, I just request smaller bills at the front desk as needed.

[DaveOKC]

I normally take $100 in $1s and $5s (about $50 each). Especially on a 14 day, you will need every bit of that IMO. Yes, you can get more on-board, but I hate to bother - I just leave the excess in the safe until I need it.

 

DaveOKC

[jtl513]

When calculating how much you will need, don't forget to include some for excursion guides and bus drivers. Small bills are better for buying small items in ports too, as change will most often be given in the local currency.

[solocanadian]

What do you recommend for a 14-day Caribbean?

I travel with larger bills and get them changed into singles at the front desk. They are more than willing to do this. This is the first thing I do once I've unpacked on Embarkation Day.:)

[SwissMyst]

What do you recommend for a 14-day Caribbean?

 

Zero. Tips are inclusive in your final bill tally, at your discretion to raise or lower them. HAL wants a "cashless" cruise experience. And for internal security reasons this is good policy to follow.

[ariawoman]

Zero. Tips are inclusive in your final bill tally, at your discretion to raise or lower them. HAL wants a "cashless" cruise experience. And for internal security reasons this is good policy to follow.

 

I have to say, I didn't see anyone tipping on the cruise I was on in October either. I admit I brought singles in the event that I felt the need to top for service that was above and beyond what one would consider included, but I really didn't feel it was warranted. I might be an exception as I'm not a drinker so I didn't go to the bars, or didn't use the waiter to get drinks for me at shows or whatever, but in general, I didn't feel that there was even an opportunity to give them anything.

 

So, if anything, I agree with Swiss, if you feel the need to give more, you can always add more to the final tally at the end, rather than carrying, else you could of course tip the person specifically, but in no way did it feel "normal" on the ship to be doing so. I can't explain it, but, it felt to me like an all inclusive ship (like seabourn in that respect).

 

I know many will disagree with me, and that's fine, but honestly, the idea of tipping felt almost awkward in the atmosphere of the ship. I can't explain it any more than that.

[sail7seas]

Just because you don't see people tip does not mean they are not doing so. My DH always tips in Pinnacle with a polite handshake and thank you. You would have no idea he just passed a $20 bill.

 

No need to be obvious.

You certainly don't see us tip when Room Service delivers our wonderful breakfast. Doesn't mean we don't tip him every time he comes. :)

 

Etc

[edcrfv]

Whats the extra $20 at the Pinnacle for?

[SwissMyst]

 

So, if anything, I agree with Swiss, if you feel the need to give more, you can always add more to the final tally at the end, rather than carrying, else you could of course tip the person specifically, but in no way did it feel "normal" on the ship to be doing so. I can't explain it, but, it felt to me like an all inclusive ship (like seabourn in that respect).

 

I know many will disagree with me, and that's fine, but honestly, the idea of tipping felt almost awkward in the atmosphere of the ship. I can't explain it any more than that.

 

Thank you for your comments. It is an important missing perspective to put into this discussion and I was referring only to tipping while on board ship. Yes, one will need tips and dollar bills still are accepted when outside the ship if this is the expected practice depending on the service recieved.

 

But I fully appreciate HAL's policy intention to not have amounts of cash floating around the the crews quarters. Or creating the expectation their service is only for those who pay extra for it. It is just a very corrosive concept to do otherwise, and this no tipping policy is also one of the reasons we like HAL too - no individual tipping makes the whole experience much more enjoyable for all passengers.

 

We are all in this together for the short time we share. And we are very happy to tip at the end as appropriate. And if the upgrade fairy is any clue whether HAL likes us or not, I would say the upgrade fairy has been very, very good to us in response. So I guess our way of handling tips only at the end of the cruise has not been a negative. Loving the always courteous, friendly and professional service we have always gotten from HAL is one of our primary loyalty factors for these ship.

 

Knowing people are doing things because they are genuinely service oriented in this hospitality industry job choice and not because they expect a tip was the immediate difference we felt on our first HAL ships and has us coming back for more.

 

So this is not about tipping or not, but how and when to tip while honoring HAL's "cashless" cruise policy that sets it apart from other cruise line experiences.

[tcook052]

Zero. Tips are inclusive in your final bill tally, at your discretion to raise or lower them. HAL wants a "cashless" cruise experience. And for internal security reasons this is good policy to follow.

 

That's how I understood it was being done and hadn't planned on making a point of tipping with bills while on board. The shore ex. staff, drivers, etc. are a different story but hadn't really thought about doing it while onboard.

[Mary Ellen]

We also tip at the time of service in the specialty restaurants and for room service. I'd be shocked if anyone noticed.

[sail7seas]

Whats the extra $20 at the Pinnacle for?

 

I'll read this to mean you ask a serious question and want an answer. ;)It is tip for the team who served us a delightful dinner.

 

Some of us wish to tip and some do not. No need for either 'camp' to defend their choice.

 

We choose to tip.

[SwissMyst]

Just because you don't see people tip does not mean they are not doing so. My DH always tips in Pinnacle with a polite handshake and thank you. You would have no idea he just passed a $20 bill.

 

No need to be obvious.

..........

Etc

 

OMG, do you suppose we got that perfectly awful Pinnacle meal because we did not slip a $20 into the maitre d's hands when we arrived and had to sit their for 20 minutes before anyone came to even give us a menu? And it only went down hill from there. A $20 bill on top of the $20 extra charge could have saved us from that nightmare (June Zuiderdam). I didn't know this was expected. That explains a lot.

 

HAL are you listening. PG expects cash shakedowns or else they give you what we got that night. Ugh.:confused:

 

BTW: we never tip for room service and have never had a late meal or a bad one. Plus they come in and out so fast you get the impression "tipping them" is totally unexpected, and even and embarrassment.

[SwissMyst]

That's how I understood it was being done and hadn't planned on making a point of tipping with bills while on board. The shore ex. staff, drivers, etc. are a different story but hadn't really thought about doing it while onboard.

 

You are correct in your understanding. This is one way HAL ships set themselves apart.

[IRL_Joanie]

We also tip at the time of service in the specialty restaurants and for room service. I'd be shocked if anyone noticed.

We tip for all room service at time of delivery, each time. Averages out about $2.00 per delivery for breakfast, $1.00 for coffee or tea and anywhere from $5.00-$10.00 for dinner.

 

We are doing 1 course by course dinner on our verandah this cruise and expect that we will give more to our server than our normal amount.

 

Hubby also tips in the specialty restaurants when we receive excellent service.

 

We also tip our stateroom stewards, dining room stewards and Neptune Lounge Concierges at the end of the cruise.

 

So in answer to the OP's question, we take on average of $100.00-$150.00 in small bills for tipping.

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

Thank you for your comments. It is an important missing perspective to put into this discussion and I was referring only to tipping while on board ship. Yes, one will need tips and dollar bills still are accepted when outside the ship if this is the expected practice depending on the service recieved.

 

But I fully appreciate HAL's policy intention to not have amounts of cash floating around the the crews quarters. Or creating the expectation their service is only for those who pay extra for it. It is just a very corrosive concept to do otherwise, and this no tipping policy is also one of the reasons we like HAL too - no individual tipping makes the whole experience much more enjoyable for all passengers.

 

 

What is this about a 'no tipping policy'? I have not heard HAL was during our crusing lifetime a 'no tipping' cruise line. They used to say 'no tippipng required' but that is no longer ever stated. They always permitted tips and a great many of us chose to tip and still do tip above the automatically applied hotel service charge.

 

Crew has a purser and paymaster and they can 'bank'. They do not to leave wads of cash floating around.

 

 

We are all in this together for the short time we share. And we are very happy to tip at the end as appropriate. And if the upgrade fairy is any clue whether HAL likes us or not, I would say the upgrade fairy has been very, very good to us in response. So I guess our way of handling tips only at the end of the cruise has not been a negative. Loving the always courteous, friendly and professional service we have always gotten from HAL is one of our primary loyalty factors for these ship.

 

Knowing people are doing things because they are genuinely service oriented in this hospitality industry job choice and not because they expect a tip was the immediate difference we felt on our first HAL ships and has us coming back for more.

 

So this is not about tipping or not, but how and when to tip while honoring HAL's "cashless" cruise policy that sets it apart from other cruise line experiences.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have to say, I didn't see anyone tipping on the cruise I was on in October either. I admit I brought singles in the event that I felt the need to top for service that was above and beyond what one would consider included, but I really didn't feel it was warranted. I might be an exception as I'm not a drinker so I didn't go to the bars, or didn't use the waiter to get drinks for me at shows or whatever, but in general, I didn't feel that there was even an opportunity to give them anything.

 

So, if anything, I agree with Swiss, if you feel the need to give more, you can always add more to the final tally at the end, rather than carrying, else you could of course tip the person specifically, but in no way did it feel "normal" on the ship to be doing so. I can't explain it, but, it felt to me like an all inclusive ship (like seabourn in that respect).

 

I know many will disagree with me, and that's fine, but honestly, the idea of tipping felt almost awkward in the atmosphere of the ship. I can't explain it any more than that.

 

Just because your didn't see anyone giving anyone an extra tip doesn't mean ti didn't happen.

When we tip our dining room staff -- we just have the extra tips money in the palm of the hand and as we shake hands with them at the end of the cruise, they haven't gotten a tip from us. And they do quickly slip their tips into their pockets.

Do you check everyone's cabin to see whether or not people have left envelopes there?