Tipping in Europe??

[Sunshine91]

John & I are cruising on Noordam's repositioning voyage out of Rome (Civitavecchia) Oct 25. We'll have 4 glorious days in the Eternal City before making our way to that big blue beautiful girl. She makes port calls in Monte Carlo, then 4 more in Spain & 3 in Portugal before crossing the pond to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

From what I've read & what I remember about Europe (but never the Mediterranean area), many restaurants include "service" in the total bill. For outstanding service above & beyond, customers can leave another 5% or so. That's fine; easy enough to understand, as long as the service line is clearly indicated on the check. :rolleyes:

 

My questions are about tipping other service workers - like cabbies, red caps at the airport or train station, hotel room service delivery, hotel housekeeping, bar tenders, tour guides, etc. Who?? How much?? Percentage of the bill or flat rate?

 

As much as tipping is ingrained in our US culture, it's just as much not ingrained in European culture. We don't want to offend & miss someone we should have tipped. We don't want to insult & under-tip.

 

Any & all guidance is muchly appreciated. :)

[Grandma Gilly]

Being European I am in a good position to answer your question.

 

Very few restaurants and cafes include service. CHECK your bill. If it is included it is absolutely not necessary to leave extra. If not included, then leave 10%.

 

Taxis- also give 10% of the fare. Porters and doormen- if they are only opening doors for you then it is not necessary to tip. If they are carrying baggage then 1 to 2 € or £ is sufficient depending on the amount of baggage.

 

Yes, tipping in the US is very different to Europe and we have to adjust when we visit there.

 

Hope this helps.

Gill

[debsjc]

Whilst leaving 10% is normal in Northern Europe, it is not in Southern Europe, for example Spain & Portugal. If service is not added, they usually just add a small amount to a restuarant bill, less than 5%.

 

Unfortunately, some of us tourists are changing their local custom, by over-tipping. I remember going to Spain and being 'told off' by a friend who lives there for leaving too much!

Generally for items such as room service or baggage, you don't have to tip, but if you do just give a small amount.

[karlth]

You shouldn't tip in the nordic countries, i.e. Norway, Iceland, Sweden, etc.

 

It isn't expected.

[kazu]

I would definitely hit the port boards or even Fodors /Frommers on line for each country you are visiting. They have very good advice as far as tipping goes. ie. some countries you just round up your cab trip a euro, others expect a bit more. It really depends upon where you are going. :D

[prescottbob]

http://www.magellans.com/store/article/367?Args=

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/738653-foreign-tipping-guide-country-region.html

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

[Gerd]

.

 

Hello "Sunshine91"

 

as a German, married with a Dutch girl, who lives in France, and work in Switzerland– and meanwhile have visited quiet a lot of European countries, I can help you, and this very helpful community.

 

First, the 10% mentioned here is by far to much.

I never have seen a European country where you are obliged to add this percentage.

And yes, a percentage is always mentioned somewhere as a "guide-line" (probably by a labor union) but really no one really does it => and there is nowhere a law which imply it mandatory !!

>> Its just a (well done) courtesy gesture, but not a obligation.

 

I know, some European trade unions and service personals present it in a manner that it is mandatory, but it is not at all a given ordinance.

 

My DW was in a 5 star hotel a "premier maître de Hotel" – so she really knows what is foreseen, and what is really applied.

I remember me that she ones told me, that somebody paid a heavy bill for a large company Dinner, and finally put some copper pieces on the table (which are 1,2 and 5 cent pieces). She kindly mentioned to him that he has "forgotten his money"….

 

We do as everybody :

 

- we add for a Lunch or a Dinner some 5 / 10 / 15 Euro

- we also let some 5 to 10 Euro for the room service, ore even more, if we are been there for several days

- at the Bar we always round up with 3/5 Euro

- for the Taxi fare we proceed in the same manner

- Taxi driver usually add themselves 2/3 Euro per luggage to the fare

- for hotel steward luggage service we do give 2 to 3 Euro per piece

- door stewards, well we do have them her in Europe, but I cannot see why we should honor his service – the opening of the hotel door

- car valet service is another point where the US and Europe is quiet different. European does not really hands over there car to a unknown person – so usually they drive there car themselves to the parking slot. Meanwhile, not all hotels really provide a valet service….

 

And finally, we have US friends who paid in Paris, France the US amount and they where treated as a king by the service personal….;)

 

 

=> Please take this list as just my humble meaning and procedure.

Do not aggress me if you think different, but fill indeed free to change the mentioned values.

 

Because of the job of my DW we really know that all service personal works hard for there money.

In Europe, they get a full salary, and no "alignment" by the guest / visitor / tourist is needed.

And everybody will appreciated it if you honor there service.

But just do not use your home habit in Europe, and meanwhile in quiet a lot of states around the globe.

 

i.e. Japan is a country, where any kind of a tip is close to a affront….!!

 

By the way, in Italy they add always a amount for "silverware" and so on, but this is another story….!

 

 

 

 

Happy cruising

 

G E R D

 

 

 

Our marvelous cruises : :)

 

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997

MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001

MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002

MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004

MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004

MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005

MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006

MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007

MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008

MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Empires - July 2010

MS Ryndam – North Cape Splendors - June 2011

 

193 days - 42'587 Nm :

 

 

 

 

Future Cruises : :p

 

 

7 days MS Volendam – Glacier Bay Inside Passage, July 4, 2012

 

 

14 days MS Amsterdam – Alaskan Adventure, July 13, 2012

 

[MrTijger]

Basically you tip in Europe when you've enjoyed yourself, its not the primary wage component as it is in the US for the staff.

 

It's not a service charge here but an actual tip that expresses your satisfaction.

[karlth]

Basically you tip in Europe when you've enjoyed yourself ...

 

Not in the nordic countries.

 

You just say thank you. :)

[jtl513]

Even within Europe tipping varies by country. This is an excellent article about tipping in different regions of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_(gratuity)

[DiploTraveler]

The first time I went to France, we took a taxi from the airport to a train station in Paris and another taxi from the train station in Metz to where we were staying. For both taxi rides, we tried tipping 10-15% since we're American and didn't know any better. Both drivers chased us down to give us our change. We didn't reject the money because, after all, they didn't seem to want/expect it and went out of their way to return it to us.

 

We didn't get it the first time, but after the second driver did the same, we realized that tipping (at least that much) wasn't normal.

[Sunshine91]

Thank you, everyone, for your insights & suggestions. I'll be checking out those websites. :)

[sail7seas]

Hope you have a wonderful trip, Susan. :)

 

[Karennella]

The first time I went to France, we took a taxi from the airport to a train station in Paris and another taxi from the train station in Metz to where we were staying. For both taxi rides, we tried tipping 10-15% since we're American and didn't know any better. Both drivers chased us down to give us our change. We didn't reject the money because, after all, they didn't seem to want/expect it and went out of their way to return it to us.

 

We didn't get it the first time, but after the second driver did the same, we realized that tipping (at least that much) wasn't normal.

Yes, please, do not overtip. Please understand that the way you tip in North America is the exception rather than the rule. In Australia we do not tip hairdressers, guides, hotel room cleaners etc. If we want, we leave small tips in restaurants but we leave the tip line empty on the credit card bill if need be. When in Europe, the tipping seems to be very similar to here. The service staff here are paid a similar hourly rate to many other workers and our collective taxes pay for everyone's health care and so on. I do think that you get better service in the US from your system, but in balance most of us prefer to continue our own way rather than have it changed.

[DiploTraveler]

I do think that you get better service in the US from your system, but in balance most of us prefer to continue our own way rather than have it changed.

 

I don't mean to start a fight here, but... I'm not convinced that tipping leads to better service. I certainly can see how being a generous tipper can get you more/better attention than the other patrons around you, but quality of service is primarily a result of training and culture. I lived in Japan for two years. They have impeccable service and tipping is just not accepted there... not even a bit of change or rounding up a bill.

 

Now that I'm back in the US, I tip the obligatory 15% at restaurants and the service has been a huge downgrade. Most restaurants in my area have terrible to mediocre service, but some are great... everyone gets tipped regardless because it is a cultural requirement.

[agabbymama]

I don't mean to start a fight here, but... I'm not convinced that tipping leads to better service. I certainly can see how being a generous tipper can get you more/better attention than the other patrons around you, but quality of service is primarily a result of training and culture. I lived in Japan for two years. They have impeccable service and tipping is just not accepted there... not even a bit of change or rounding up a bill.

 

Now that I'm back in the US, I tip the obligatory 15% at restaurants and the service has been a huge downgrade. Most restaurants in my area have terrible to mediocre service, but some are great... everyone gets tipped regardless because it is a cultural requirement.

 

 

You may be right that everyone in the US expects tips, but I can tell you if the service is bad, they may get 25 cents from me. If the service is good, I will give the 20%, but I have even sometimes left no tip at all.

[debsjc]

Most restaurants in my area have terrible to mediocre service, but some are great... everyone gets tipped regardless because it is a cultural requirement.

 

That's the part I hate when we travel to North America. I'm happy to leave 15-20% if the service is good, but not when it's bad. On the rare occasion we've had terrible service I have left nothing, and I'm sure they thought we did it because we were English. I would love to have told them the real reason they didn't get a tip!