Extra tips for extra great service - cash, gift or ?

[GIGGIRL]

Hi all, my DH and I are in a debate about any extra tips for our cabin steward, waiter, etc. Along with our automatic tips, I say for services above and beyond, we give them a pre-paid credit card, i.e. visa or MC for $20 or $25 dollars. He thinks good old cash. I thought the cards would be more personal and not have to be pooled. I have a list of "please do's" for our steward and was thinking of giving him the list and a card right off the bat! Also, we are late seating in the MDR, so we'll have the same waitstaff for the entire trip, other than a night or two in the specialty restaurants. I don't think it hurts to show your gratitude for any little extra service provided, i.e. two lobster tails, escargot, overlooking the corkage fee a night or two;)

 

This is our first Princess cruise and also using the automatic tips. Not having to have the extra cash would be nice. Thanks, just wondering ....! Oh, and Really, really looking forward to our trip:)

[cruiseryyc]

Have never tipped "prior" services; we tip extra at the end of the cruise to the people who helped the most (i.e. waiter; assistant waiter; room steward). I'm the old fashioned cash tipper.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Cash for sure!!

 

Jan

[Happy ks]

I think they prefer cash and I think they would assume the cash up front is a bribe for special treatment. I think the cabin stewards work hard already and to make them think you expect more special service than they already give, way too much pressure on them.

 

We've never given cash up front and have received all the service some people mention here on CC. Extra pillows, extra ice, extra towels, etc... We almost always give extra cash at the end of the cruise.

[paul929207]

Cash is best. Pre-paid cards are not accepted everywhere. The staff member may not understand them.

[donaldsc]

I would estimate that there are at least 10,000 earlier posts on this subject on CC. They all give the same answer - cash.

 

DON

[Roses2]

Cash only and after not before! For Princess it should be in an envelope with your name and cabin number. The recipient can only keep the extra tip if you have not removed the nightly charge (tip).

[LARGIN]

Cash!

[Coral]

I also agree with cash.

[ssbeagle]

I always bring some chocolates for our steward and wait staff and give them to them at the beginning of the cruise. I always give extra at the end of the cruise if we have gotten better than usual good service. They get to keep that cash if you keep the automatic tips in place as well. They don't pool the extra.

[GIGGIRL]

Thanks all. DH wins! Cash it is! We've been lucky enough on other cruises to have such good service that we never tipped the "suggested" amount anyway and would happily put that something extra in the envelope at the end. Will stick with that tradition this cruise too! :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

those credit card gift cards usually tend to be a hassle for me (you have to know the balance and many stores won't even deal with them) so I wouldn't think to give it to someone who's usually in port for just a short of amount of time.

 

Besides cash (and if you keep the auto-tip on, a crew member could keep anything extra), you can also get one of those "made a difference" cards from the front desk and fill in the crew member's name, origin country, and work area. These are put in their personnel files and could often help get them a promotion.

[aquilegia]

As you're planning to tip in addition to the autotips, the cash won't be pooled. It's only if you've removed the autotips that staff have to pool any cash tips.

[kymbakitty]

Hi all, my DH and I are in a debate about any extra tips for our cabin steward, waiter, etc. Along with our automatic tips, I say for services above and beyond, we give them a pre-paid credit card, i.e. visa or MC for $20 or $25 dollars. He thinks good old cash. I thought the cards would be more personal and not have to be pooled. I have a list of "please do's" for our steward and was thinking of giving him the list and a card right off the bat! Also, we are late seating in the MDR, so we'll have the same waitstaff for the entire trip, other than a night or two in the specialty restaurants. I don't think it hurts to show your gratitude for any little extra service provided, i.e. two lobster tails, escargot, overlooking the corkage fee a night or two;)

 

This is our first Princess cruise and also using the automatic tips. Not having to have the extra cash would be nice. Thanks, just wondering ....! Oh, and Really, really looking forward to our trip:)

 

I find myself curious about your list of "to dos" right off the bat.

 

Do you mind sharing? Might be something that gets added to "secrets/tips that Princess doesn't tell you" or perhaps it might help to show why you would want to tip extra cash.

 

:)

[willcruiseanythyme]

I have heard of many giving tips at the time they meet their room stewards and got better service! Although this shouldn't have to happen...we should ALL be getting great service from the get go, I do believe that they will take extra special care of you! I have done it on one cruise myself by slipping an extra $20 to the room steward and I always had plenty of ice, fruit, extra towels, extra shampoo, etc. in the room. They always seem to remember you better as you pass in the halls too. Just my opinion.

[kruzinon]

If you pre purchase the credit cards and you don't receive good service then what? LOL Cash is the answer and I have sometimes pre tipped (bribed as some say) my room attendand when I am asking for a few things extra from them right away......some here claim as such but I have never had my corkage "overlooked"...just lucky I guess.

[WeBeGone]

Leave the auto tip on and give CASH for extra service.

[Toddy709]

First of all, GigGirl, I hope you have a wonderful time on your first Princess cruise!!

 

All of our Princess cruises, but one, we have had exceptional service, especially from our room stewards. The one cruise that wasn't exceptional was still good, just nothing special. In addition to the auto-tip, we only tip at the end.

 

Personally, I don't think tipping at the beginning is looked at as a bribe and I don't think it would be inappropriate to tip when asking for a few extra things up front. I don't think that people whose main income is tips really care WHEN they get tipped, before, during or after!

[cruiseryyc]

I have heard of many giving tips at the time they meet their room stewards and got better service! Although this shouldn't have to happen...we should ALL be getting great service from the get go, I do believe that they will take extra special care of you! I have done it on one cruise myself by slipping an extra $20 to the room steward and I always had plenty of ice, fruit, extra towels, extra shampoo, etc. in the room. They always seem to remember you better as you pass in the halls too. Just my opinion.

 

Have received all the best care (ice, fruit, extra towels, etc) without tipping at first meeting and our room stewards always remember us.

[CroneWynd]

On our first Princess cruise, we appreciated our cabin stewart so much, that we inquired as to when he would have his day off in port. The evening before, we gave him some cash and suggested that he have a drink onshore "on us"...

 

I think he appreciated that! :)

[chasetf]

We always leave cash .... because it is so easy to "shop" for. :D

[Mad Jayhawk]

We give cash directly to those that make our cruise an enjoyable experience. We go to the services desk and tell them that we are 'taking care' of the tips on our own so that the auto-tips are removed from our bill. We are not big tippers but we do tip what we think is an a reasonable amount. We feel the 'tipping guideline' the cruise line provide is way overstated. We do not usually use the main dining room and when we do we usually see some dining room people only the night before the end of the cruise 'for some reason'.

[pms4104]

We give cash directly to those that make our cruise an enjoyable experience. We go to the services desk and tell them that we are 'taking care' of the tips on our own so that the auto-tips are removed from our bill. We are not big tippers but we do tip what we think is an a reasonable amount. We feel the 'tipping guideline' the cruise line provide is way overstated. We do not usually use the main dining room and when we do we usually see some dining room people only the night before the end of the cruise 'for some reason'.

When you remove the hotel service charge/tips from your onboard account and distribute cash tips on your own ... all those monies go into the pool ... and the people you are "taking care of" will only get a teeny tiny portion of that tip. So, you are short-changing them more than you intended.

[sultan_sfo]

Amazing viewpoint. Many of us feel the auto-tip is too low and give extra.

 

...

We are not big tippers but we do tip what we think is an a reasonable amount. We feel the 'tipping guideline' the cruise line provide is way overstated.

[whale-watcher]

Cash...in addition to the autotip. And we do pre-tip on occasion, especially when we have several requests right when we board (for example, opening balcony partitions).