Extra Tips - How Much Do You Leave?

[tomkat]

We always give our room steward $20 when we first arrive and $10 to he assistant. We have always received excellent service.

 

Yep, same here, up front cash tipping does amazing things...they all know they will get the standard auto tip (their base salary) at the end, and so I like to make sure they know I'm extra special, so I usually hand out a $5, a $10, or a $20, every so often along the way.

[VegGirl]

This may be a dumb question, but I'll ask anyway so I can gauge how much cash to bring. We're planning to order room service quite a bit on our upcoming cruise, and won't be eating in the MDR. Will they give us something to sign when they deliver the food, where we can add a tip to our stateroom account? Or do I need to bring small bills to tip room service deliveries with cash on the spot? I was able to add tips to the stateroom account on my other two cruises; however, those were with Princess & Celebrity. I didn't know if Carnival did things differently, and I see people mention cash tips on here frequently.

 

Also, can I reallocate the auto-tip amounts? I'd like to give a higher percentage to the room attendant than the waitstaff, since we're not planning to use them (won't completely eliminate it - just want to give the stateroom attendant the higher percentage).

[Tbay-eh]

This may be a dumb question, but I'll ask anyway so I can gauge how much cash to bring. We're planning to order room service quite a bit on our upcoming cruise, and won't be eating in the MDR. Will they give us something to sign when they deliver the food, where we can add a tip to our stateroom account? Or do I need to bring small bills to tip room service deliveries with cash on the spot? I was able to add tips to the stateroom account on my other two cruises; however, those were with Princess & Celebrity. I didn't know if Carnival did things differently, and I see people mention cash tips on here frequently.

 

Also, can I reallocate the auto-tip amounts? I'd like to give a higher percentage to the room attendant than the waitstaff, since we're not planning to use them (won't completely eliminate it - just want to give the stateroom attendant the higher percentage).

 

You are not charged anything for room service so you do not give them your SS card - give them cash (I take lots of 5s and 1s for this purpose) You can go to the service/pursers desk and have them remove the wait staff tip but please tell the Maitre d that you will not be using the dining room so they can seat someone else at the table who will be paying tips to the waiter. There may be people on a wait list waiting for a table so this would solve an issue for someone.

[VegGirl]

You are not charged anything for room service so you do not give them your SS card - give them cash (I take lots of 5s and 1s for this purpose) You can go to the service/pursers desk and have them remove the wait staff tip but please tell the Maitre d that you will not be using the dining room so they can seat someone else at the table who will be paying tips to the waiter. There may be people on a wait list waiting for a table so this would solve an issue for someone.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

We've got anytime dining. Do we still need to inform the maitre d'?

[WhansaMi]

If you usually leave additional tip money for your cabin steward or waiters, how much do you leave? (This would be in addition to the auto tips.)

 

On our last cruise we've gave the steward an additional $20 per cabin (two cabins for a family of four) and the waiters $40 for the family. We had excellent service from them all.

 

Just curious what other people leave.

 

(PS -- I'm not interested in restarting the perennial auto-tips debate!!)

 

We usually ask for a few things the first day (egg crate put on bed, ice delivered first thing each morning, so we give the stewards $25 the first day, to let them know we are not going to be demanding, and then not recognize their extra attention.

 

At the end of the cruise, we've given between $50 and $100 to the stewards (depending on the length of the cruise) and around $50 - 75 to the waiters.

[jimbo5544]

Ya' know... I've done it both ways and have yet to see a lick of difference whether I tip at the beginning of the voyage or at the end.

 

The vast majority of the staff members who interact with the passengers are fantastic and would do their jobs regardless... witness how they performed on the Splendor.

 

:)

 

Excellent point Mach!

[yesaccasey]

I think it really depends...

 

If you think the level of service you received was over the auto tip amount then leave more to the people who really made your vacation special.

 

If I need ice constantly or order room service then I am sure to tip them earlier in the cruise so they make a little extra effort. A lot of times the people are just so great anyways that you don't even need to tip them in the beginning and can do it at the end if warranted.

[Tbay-eh]

Thanks for the info!

 

We've got anytime dining. Do we still need to inform the maitre d'?

 

My computer has been down so sorry for not posting earlier. I would definitely inform the Maitre d as there is a wait list for anytime dining and if you can free your spot up it means some one else can get in. Also, do you know that there is a very limited menu for room service - no hot meals - not full breakfast etc as on other lines.

[travelntreats]

If any staff member does something out of the ordinary that I REQUEST or STANDS OUT as ABOVE AND BEYOND... they will get a little extra.... if none of the above scenarios occur... auto tip is all they are getting and deserve...IMHO