Prepaying for Tips

[ladyt]

I am not sure what to do. Should we prepay our tips or do we tip as we go?

Please advise on the pros and cons.

 

Thanks

[rdrseller]

We have done it both ways. If you prepay, you can not get any of it back. So, if you have terrible service or a really bad room steward, you are out of luck. The good part is that you have taken care of the tips in advance and you don't have to add that as part of your on ship expenses.

 

I know several people that have posted in the past that they would never pre-pay. They like to tip the specific people and only those for their good service. We have found that we enjoy pre-paying. We have never had a "BAD" experience. If someone goes above and beyond we can always give them a little extra on the ship.

 

It really is just up to your desire. Take care of the tips or take enough extra cash to pay on the ship!

 

Either way you go, enjoy your cruise.

[sea_u_onboard]

I'm assuming when you say "pre-pay" you are referring to paying for your tips in your final payment to Carnival.

 

It is true that if you pre-pay and something happens that you get poor service - you can't go to the pursers desk and request a refund.

 

If you want to pay for the tips - so they are out of the way I suggest that you just call and place money into your account. I know it's possible because my SIL gave us "credit" for Christmas one year. That way the money is sitting in your account for you when you board. They will automatically put the tips on your account when you board - but if you want to pay the old fashion way then you can still get them removed and pay the old fashion way.

[pholter]

I loved prepaying our tips.... It was money that didn't overwhelm my Sign and Sail account as soon as we boarded the ship. I consider the $70 per person the absolute minimum tipping, so I would never worry that the service wouldn't be good enough to cover it. We tipped extra throughout the week and at the end of the cruise to our Cabin Steward, Asst. Cabin Steward, Waiter, Asst. Waiter, Cafe worker, favorite bartender, and Maitre'd.... We prepaid as much expense as we could and even had several hundred dollars as a credit on our S&S when we showed up. It made for a worry free vacation :)

[jbags58]

:o WE prepaid our tips and felt it was a PIECE OF CAKE! NO fuss, no muss!

 

WE have also done it the other way..placing all this stuff in envelopes etc...

Time consuming and a waste of time in my opinion but its not a really big deal.

Even on the short Ensenda cruise I just took...I just filled out the paper and it showed up on my ship and sail card and it was DONE!

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

Julie :D

 

Carnival GLORY - April 30th, 2005

RCL - Monarch of the Seas February 18, 05

Carnival PRIDE - May 3, 2003

[dizzy205]

This cruise will be our first for the pre-pay tipping. We --I mean DH takes good care of the rooms teward in advance($$), anyway to hopefully ensure a good week. I was told by someone on another post that the crew has an invoice or manifest that tells who pre-pays and who does not. So they know right? I don't have to go around asking if they know we pre-paid??

[booboo4031]

I like the pre-paying tips too... something less on my S&S account that I have to worry about. :)

[tankersbabe]

We prepay too...I consider it part of the cost of the cruise, and prepay the tips when I make my final payment. It's easier to me, and my S&S looks better. I tip extra at the end if I feel it is worthy. So far, my room stewards have gotten nice rewards at the end...I don't tip at the beginning of the week, can't get that back if they suddenly decide they don't like their job.

 

Stef

[Palomar]

This cruise will be our first for the pre-pay tipping. We --I mean DH takes good care of the rooms teward in advance($$), anyway to hopefully ensure a good week. I was told by someone on another post that the crew has an invoice or manifest that tells who pre-pays and who does not. So they know right? I don't have to go around asking if they know we pre-paid??

 

That's my concern too...do these people know they have already been tipped...I would hate to think the "extra" money I give be thought of as the entire tip.

 

Btw, I've never prepaid before and so far it has not shown up on my bill. Will they automatically charge the tips to my sign and sail card when I check in?? Also if someone could break down the amount per day and to who gets these tips, it would be appreciated! I do like not having to worry about extra cash (even though I would probably give a little extra anyway).

[BADBUOY]

It's so much easier to pre-pay your tips. If the service isn't up to par you go to the purser's desk and change the amount given. In fact, you can do the same if you get service 'above and beyond' the call of duty.

 

Buddy

[tef43]

It's so much easier to pre-pay your tips. If the service isn't up to par you go to the purser's desk and change the amount given.

Not correct. When you "pre-pay" gratuities, as opposed to having them charged to your S&S, you lose the ability to downward adjust.

[DewCruiser]

I have a question on this. We have made our final payment and are deciding if we want to pre-pay our tips so we don't have to worry about it later. According to Carnival's web site you can still pre-pay up to 2 weeks before the cruise. My main question is how do I? Do I just call our TA and do it through them? We are sailing on May 23rd and probably won't be able to do this until mid April.

 

Thanks!

[booboo4031]

It would have to be done through your ta because when you book through a ta instead of Carnival.... Carnival will not take anything from you directly.

[BADBUOY]

Not correct. When you "pre-pay" gratuities, as opposed to having them charged to your S&S, you lose the ability to downward adjust.

 

Your absolutely right. I guess I've not often heard of anyone 'pre-paying' as opposed to having the gratuitity charged to your S&S card.

 

Buddy

[budgetED]

I cruised Carnival 3 times in the past, when we were given envelopes the last day of the cruise to tip accordingly. After getting all that great service in the restaurants, extra entrees, wonderful food, all the tables were full etc, it was a sad sight to see on the last dinner of the cruise the restaurants were about half empty! The wait staff had worked so hard all week only to be left hanging by some passnegers who decided to skip out on the last meal in order to avoid paying gratuities!

 

I think this has a lot to do with the cruiselines now adding the gratuities automatically or pushing the prepay option. I'll be sailing on NCL next week where they are automatically charged. I don't mind either way, and will tip extra if the service warrants it.

[ladyt]

Thanks for all your responses. I think I will prepay for my tips. It does seem a bit easier.

[UnVrYaN]

We have always prepaid the gratuities, and for that matter have never even seen an envelope at the end of our cruise. The prepaid tips are actually what would be considered minimal(sp?) at best. The break down of what these people get is pretty unbelievable. The least anyone should do is the basic amount carnival applies to your s&s account.(barring any major incident) Just my 2cents. They work ahard for what they get which isnt much.

[Victory Bound]

We pre-paid our tips on our last cruise and with 4 people, I was glad to have this taken care of ahead of time. I don't have a problem with the service level as I consider this a part of the cost of our cruise. I wouldn't pay less than the minimum.

 

When we received our final documents, there were vouchers for the tips to the waiter, asst. waiter & cabin steward. I just slipped those vouchers in the envelopes at the end of the cruise, along with a little extra cash and handed those out. That way, we did not miss out on the opportunity to have that contact.

 

We will pre-pay on our next cruise also.

[Ems21]

I will be going on my first cruise in September. This is probably a stupid question, but I want to make sure I know everything before I book my cruise. When I go online to Carnival's site and go through the reservation process, there is a box you can check for Pre-Payed gratuities. This is where you are paying for your pre paid tips, correct? Then if I feel the staff did a great job I can tip extra. Im trying to make sure that there is no other "Hidden" tips. Thanks in advance!!!

[serene56]

You could buy funship dollars for the amount of your tips--or place the money onto your cabin account by calling 1-800-906-7603. That way its not prepaid---but its paid for before you go.

 

And anyone who is getting bad service on a ship better report it to someone so you can be taken care of properly

[tankersbabe]

I will be going on my first cruise in September. This is probably a stupid question, but I want to make sure I know everything before I book my cruise. When I go online to Carnival's site and go through the reservation process, there is a box you can check for Pre-Payed gratuities. This is where you are paying for your pre paid tips, correct? Then if I feel the staff did a great job I can tip extra. Im trying to make sure that there is no other "Hidden" tips. Thanks in advance!!!

 

I think you have it right! Or you can just let your PVP or TA know that you want to prepay your gratuities.

 

You need to pay $1-or $2 when you order room service, and $1 per bag to your porters when you board, but otherwise, that's it!

 

I usually tip my room steward extra at the end, haven't had the opportunity to tip my waitstaff extra...they did a fine job on the Fantasy, but totally blew it on the last night when he got hateful and snippy with everyone at the table...okey dokey.

[Ems21]

I think you have it right! Or you can just let your PVP or TA know that you want to prepay your gratuities.

 

You need to pay $1-or $2 when you order room service, and $1 per bag to your porters when you board, but otherwise, that's it!

 

I usually tip my room steward extra at the end, haven't had the opportunity to tip my waitstaff extra...they did a fine job on the Fantasy, but totally blew it on the last night when he got hateful and snippy with everyone at the table...okey dokey.

 

 

 

Thanks Tankersbabe!

[heathfm67]

You could buy funship dollars for the amount of your tips--or place the money onto your cabin account by calling 1-800-906-7603. That way its not prepaid---but its paid for before you go.

 

That's a great idea! I am booked through a TA, but I wanted to 'sock some money away' to cover the S&S bill at the end of the week.

 

I see that I can purchase the Funship dollars directly from Carnival's website. Will they send them to me snail-mail, or have them waiting onboard when we arrive? And do I have a choice? I'd rather not have to remember to bring them!

Thanks in advance.

[sea_u_onboard]

I see that I can purchase the Funship dollars directly from Carnival's website. Will they send them to me snail-mail, or have them waiting onboard when we arrive? And do I have a choice? I'd rather not have to remember to bring them!

Thanks in advance.

Why not just put a credit on your account? It will be waiting for you when you get onboard.