Who is NOT in the auto gratuities?

[NoobCruise]

I read somewhere that the Concierge is not included in the hotel service charge, so we should be sure to tip them.

 

Who else should we tip separately that doesn't receive anything from the auto tips?

[serendipity1499]

The only people that I know of that are not in the Hotel Service charge would be the Front Desk, the Shore excursion desk, Engine room & Maintenance Dept, Cruise Director's Dept, Spa personnel & Officers & Management,..I have no idea WHO else you should tip..We only tip extra to those who give us Service such as the Cabin Steward, The Dining Room Stewards, the Pinnacle Servers & perhaps one or two Special Stewards in the Beverage Dept., such as a wine or cocktail Steward or a bar tender, even though they charge a !5% SC on all beverages.. If I use the Beauty Parlor or SPA services, I'll tip them when signing the bill..

cheers...Betty

[cjm66]

The staff providing spa services are not included in the gratuity pool. Steiner run the majority of spas on cruise ships under contract as a concessionaire including all ships under the Carnival umbrella (P&O, Cunard, Princess et HAL etc) and Royal Carribean lines. So they are NOT employed by the cruise line. I always tip directly unless really disatisfied with the service or put off by an over agressive upsell of expensive beauty products, which does negate the beneficial effects of the treatment.

 

Colleen

[English_in_Spain]

On our last cruise on the Noordam we left a tip for the laundry department.

 

We were on board for 35 days and had a lot of laundry done and the service was very good. I know they are in the gratuity pool but we wanted to say a special thank you for a job well done.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

The only people we tip extra is the concierges -- 2 of them. The amount we tip depends on how much we use them on a cruise.

We also tip extra to bar people who wait on us on a regular basis. On a couple of cruises the bar servers / wine stewards were constantly changing and we rarely had the same person each night -- thus no extra tips.

With the new system in the dining room -- on our last cruise we didn't ever use the wine steward -- our waiter took our drink orders -- so no extra tips there.

Now this subjective -- if you order room service -- you can or can not tip the person who delievers your meal(s). They are included in the Hotel Service Charge.

[cavecreekguy]

With the new system in the dining room -- on our last cruise we didn't ever use the wine steward -- our waiter took our drink orders -- so no extra tips there.

 

I missed this...so are you saying we no longer place all drink orders through the "bar guy" (as I call him)? I remember on my last cruise frequently correcting my traveling companion who kept trying to place bar requests with the waiter. I had to keep saying "no, you need to ask the bar guy for that".

[cb at sea]

The ONLY folks you NEED to tip are the stateroom attendant, and your waitstaff, as recommended. Bartabs have tip added in...you can give more, if you feel like it...there's a place to add more to the tab.

 

Room service delivery isn't included in the tips, so if you use that service, tip at time of delivery. If the concierge does something really special, a small tip is nice....not needed, but nice!

 

You do NOT tip the front desk staff, or Maintenance Dept or anyone else! It's simply not needed or suggested! Those folks are on SALARY...they are not "tipped" employees!

[serendipity1499]

The ONLY folks you NEED to tip are the stateroom attendant, and your waitstaff, as recommended. Bartabs have tip added in...you can give more, if you feel like it...there's a place to add more to the tab.

 

Room service delivery isn't included in the tips, so if you use that service, tip at time of delivery. If the concierge does something really special, a small tip is nice....not needed, but nice!

 

You do NOT tip the front desk staff, or Maintenance Dept or anyone else! It's simply not needed or suggested! Those folks are on SALARY...they are not "tipped" employees!

 

This is completely wrong...You don't NEED to tip

anyone extra such as your wait staff & stateroom attendants or even Room Service! And HAL never recommends extra tipping..You are quoting Royal Carib's. recommendations not HAL's

These people are ALL included in the Hotel Service Charge, which HAL charges you..

However, some of us choose to tip extra because they give us such wonderful service with a smile!

If you decide to tip extra that is entirely up to you to decide!!

Cheers...Betty

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I missed this...so are you saying we no longer place all drink orders through the "bar guy" (as I call him)? I remember on my last cruise frequently correcting my traveling companion who kept trying to place bar requests with the waiter. I had to keep saying "no, you need to ask the bar guy for that".

 

HAL's new procedure in the MDR is that the wine steward only takes bottles of wine or wine package orders. The waiter takes cocktails and wine by the glass orders. HAL has thus decreased the number of wine stewards it employs in the MDR. Depending on the number of "drinkers" in a section, this can slow down dining service.

[RuthC]

The waiter takes cocktails and wine by the glass orders. HAL has thus decreased the number of wine stewards it employs in the MDR. Depending on the number of "drinkers" in a section, this can slow down dining service.

It also puts an Indonesian, very possibly a Muslim and opposed to alcohol, in the position of serving liquor. I am very uncomfortable now asking for a drink, or single glass of wine, at the dinner table.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I missed this...so are you saying we no longer place all drink orders through the "bar guy" (as I call him)? I remember on my last cruise frequently correcting my traveling companion who kept trying to place bar requests with the waiter. I had to keep saying "no, you need to ask the bar guy for that".

All new rules for all the ships.

 

HAL's new procedure in the MDR is that the wine steward only takes bottles of wine or wine package orders. The waiter takes cocktails and wine by the glass orders. HAL has thus decreased the number of wine stewards it employs in the MDR. Depending on the number of "drinkers" in a section, this can slow down dining service.

Maasdam was able to cut back 4 wine stewards in the dining room.

Wonder how many wine stewards have been cut back on the larger ships?

 

It also puts an Indonesian, very possibly a Muslim and opposed to alcohol, in the position of serving liquor. I am very uncomfortable now asking for a drink, or single glass of wine, at the dinner table.

 

We were so stunned by this new set-up that I never thought about that.

I did make a comment to our dining room steward that I felt bad that he had an extra duty to do at dinner.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The ONLY folks you NEED to tip are the stateroom attendant, and your waitstaff, as recommended. Bartabs have tip added in...you can give more, if you feel like it...there's a place to add more to the tab.

 

Room service delivery isn't included in the tips, so if you use that service, tip at time of delivery. If the concierge does something really special, a small tip is nice....not needed, but nice!

 

You do NOT tip the front desk staff, or Maintenance Dept or anyone else! It's simply not needed or suggested! Those folks are on SALARY...they are not "tipped" employees!

 

Hmm -- I will have to look at my bar tabs on our next cruise -- I don't remember any place to add more to the tab.

[Typhoon1]

On our last cruise on the Noordam we left a tip for the laundry department.

 

We were on board for 35 days and had a lot of laundry done and the service was very good. I know they are in the gratuity pool but we wanted to say a special thank you for a job well done.

 

 

How did you make sure it was delivered to the Laundry?

[Tampa Girl]

It also puts an Indonesian, very possibly a Muslim and opposed to alcohol, in the position of serving liquor. I am very uncomfortable now asking for a drink, or single glass of wine, at the dinner table.

 

 

I don't think your concern is justified. If they are uncomfortable about being around alcohol, to the extent of even carrying a glass, they are working the wrong job. This is their choice. Arent' the bartenders also Indonesian? You don't know if they are Muslim and you don't know if they strictly practice whatever they practice. Stop feeling guilty!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

The ONLY folks you NEED to tip are the stateroom attendant, and your waitstaff, as recommended. Bartabs have tip added in...you can give more, if you feel like it...there's a place to add more to the tab.

 

Room service delivery isn't included in the tips, so if you use that service, tip at time of delivery. If the concierge does something really special, a small tip is nice....not needed, but nice!

 

You do NOT tip the front desk staff, or Maintenance Dept or anyone else! It's simply not needed or suggested! Those folks are on SALARY...they are not "tipped" employees!

 

Hmm -- I will have to look at my bar tabs on our next cruise -- I don't remember any place to add more to the tab.

The ONLY receipts on HAL that have a place to add for additional tip is in the Spa. No other receipt that you receive have a place to do this. cb at sea you must be thinking of another cruise line because I can think of a few cruises lines that do this but definitely not HAL. I just on disembarked the Zuiderdam last Saturday and 7 weeks before that I disembarked the Westerdam. As a matter of fact places like Pinnacle do not even give you a bill any long half of the time it just appears on your on board account. I personally wish HAL would give you a bill and you could add a tip to this like the other cruise lines do. They also definitely do not do it for the Bar tab. You hand them your card they come back and hand you your receipt with the card and you no longer even sign for the drink so no chance to even add a tip. We ended up on the last night going to a few of the crew and handing them extra tips. The only place on the ship I signed for anything was in the shops and the spa which are both not directly Holland America with the Spa being Steiner and the Shops being Starboard Shops.

On a sad note to the crew I witnessed something that I understand is increasing. All day into the evening at 10pm there was a long line at the front desk at the end of our cruise. So I asked what this was all about, it seems that many cruisers now go and have their tips removed. Most were not from the US. There was a very large percentage that feel they should not be charged the Hotel Service Charge :mad: I guess many attempt to do it in the begining of the cruise but HAL does make them wait to at least see how the service is in hopes they will not remove but they still do so.

[Harley57]

The ONLY receipts on HAL that have a place to add for additional tip is in the Spa. No other receipt that you receive have a place to do this. cb at sea you must be thinking of another cruise line because I can think of a few cruises lines that do this but definitely not HAL. I just on disembarked the Zuiderdam last Saturday and 7 weeks before that I disembarked the Westerdam. As a matter of fact places like Pinnacle do not even give you a bill any long half of the time it just appears on your on board account. I personally wish HAL would give you a bill and you could add a tip to this like the other cruise lines do. They also definitely do not do it for the Bar tab. You hand them your card they come back and hand you your receipt with the card and you no longer even sign for the drink so no chance to even add a tip. We ended up on the last night going to a few of the crew and handing them extra tips. The only place on the ship I signed for anything was in the shops and the spa which are both not directly Holland America with the Spa being Steiner and the Shops being Starboard Shops.

On a sad note to the crew I witnessed something that I understand is increasing. All day into the evening at 10pm there was a long line at the front desk at the end of our cruise. So I asked what this was all about, it seems that many cruisers now go and have their tips removed. Most were not from the US. There was a very large percentage that feel they should not be charged the Hotel Service Charge :mad: I guess many attempt to do it in the begining of the cruise but HAL does make them wait to at least see how the service is in hopes they will not remove but they still do so.

 

IMHO. The removal of the HSC is grossly unfair to the HAL crew. Perhaps HAL and other cruise lines should move to including the HSC in the cruise fare. If all cruise lines followed this practice then the crews would be assured of a decent wage and cruisers would still be able to compare cruise fares between the cruise lines as an apples to apples comparison. There is probably more to this scenario than I am seeing, but I hate to see anyone denied their hard earned wages.

[arewethereyet]

It also puts an Indonesian, very possibly a Muslim and opposed to alcohol, in the position of serving liquor. I am very uncomfortable now asking for a drink, or single glass of wine, at the dinner table.

Do you feel uncomfortable if the same Muslim waiter serves you pork? And are you assuming that none of the bar staff are Muslim?

 

These people are working in jobs where they know the deal. I'm not uncomfortable with them serving me pork, wine, or anything else that their religion might forbid to them personally.

[Hawaiidan]

This is completely wrong...You don't NEED to tip

anyone extra such as your wait staff & stateroom attendants or even Room Service! And HAL never recommends extra tipping..You are quoting Royal Carib's. recommendations not HAL's

 

These people are ALL included in the Hotel Service Charge, which HAL charges you..

 

However, some of us choose to tip extra because they give us such wonderful service with a smile!

If you decide to tip extra that is entirely up to you to decide!!

 

Cheers...Betty

 

with the advent of the Auto tip..... thats what they get total...

I consider it overly generous because I seldom if ever use the dining room, room service ir speciality ones either.... and 15% for the drinks is more than enough.

[RuthC]

I don't think your concern is justified. If they are uncomfortable about being around alcohol, to the extent of even carrying a glass, they are working the wrong job. This is their choice. Arent' the bartenders also Indonesian? You don't know if they are Muslim and you don't know if they strictly practice whatever they practice. Stop feeling guilty!

 

Do you feel uncomfortable if the same Muslim waiter serves you pork? And are you assuming that none of the bar staff are Muslim?

 

These people are working in jobs where they know the deal. I'm not uncomfortable with them serving me pork, wine, or anything else that their religion might forbid to them personally.

The word I used was "uncomfortable", not "guilty". There is a difference, so please do not misstate my feelings. Which, btw, I am entitled to. Others are entitled to feel differently.

 

Barstaff are Filipino, and so are not as likely to be Muslim. Indonesia is the most predominately Muslim country in the world, so yes, there is a very good chance my table steward is Muslim. This task is new to him, and so is a change in working conditions from what he signed up for. I am uncomfortable with that.

Oh, and for the record, I haven't ordered pork.

[kjw869]

On a sad note to the crew I witnessed something that I understand is increasing. All day into the evening at 10pm there was a long line at the front desk at the end of our cruise. So I asked what this was all about, it seems that many cruisers now go and have their tips removed. Most were not from the US. There was a very large percentage that feel they should not be charged the Hotel Service Charge :mad: I guess many attempt to do it in the begining of the cruise but HAL does make them wait to at least see how the service is in hopes they will not remove but they still do so.

 

Lisa, the same thing happened last Saturday night on the Oosterdam. I have never seen a line so long at the Front Desk after we got back on the ship in Victoria about 10 PM. On our cruise, there was a tour group of over 200 Australians and a large group of Japanese cruisers from another tour company. I did see a lot of the Australians in line as they all had their lanyards around their neck. I'm not sure if they were in line for removing their auto tips, or had immigration questions.

 

I've never seen a line so long at that time of night or early in the morning when I deposited our surveys.

[innlady1]

On the Veendam recently, the wine steward(ess)...served our wine each evening. Guess Veendam hasn't made the change...or hadn't as of the 5/6 cruise.

[kjw869]

On the Veendam recently, the wine steward(ess)...served our wine each evening. Guess Veendam hasn't made the change...or hadn't as of the 5/6 cruise.

 

Same as the Oosterdam last week. Our wine steward served us drinks.

[sail7seas]

I agree with you, Ruth, and thought the same thing on our recent Maasdam cruise.

 

We order wine by the bottle and use whatever is left the next night so a wine steward takes care of us.

I would be uncomfortable asking a dining steward to deliver wine by the glass to me. It just does not feel right to me and on two levels. Certainly the possibility he might be Muslim factors as does the fact they already has more work to do than I personally think should be asked of them. There has to be something wrong going on if a person who has paid a great deal of money for their vacation feels uncomfortable at dinner time in the main dining room. I know this decision is not likely to be reversed anytime soon but my discomfort about it isn't likely to improve either. :(

 

We definitely find ourselves not mentioning if something we ordered is not delivered or comes wrong. It isn't worth it to us to send the steward back to the galley so we forego it and that is not right. IMO

 

I don't want to feel guilty on my 'luxury vacations'.

[arewethereyet]

Oh, and for the record, I haven't ordered pork.

LOL - That makes all the difference in the world.

 

BTW, it's not against Islamic law for Muslims to serve pork or alcohol to an infidel. So, no worries on that part.

 

Point is, these Muslims work on a ship that serves pork, serves alcohol, and has gambling. They know this when they sign on. As long as they don't partake, everything is cool. Even if they didn't expect to serve alcohol, they certainly knew they would be serving pork (not to you, of course).

 

And, no one has questioned your right to feel uncomfortable.

[sail7seas]

Hmm -- I will have to look at my bar tabs on our next cruise -- I don't remember any place to add more to the tab.

 

 

I have never seen a place on a bar tab to add a tip. The automatic tip is included but I've never seen a way to add more. We tip with cash when we tip the bar staff.