How "generous" are your tips?

[Herbaltees]

I have read so many threads where ppl mention tipping and how they tip so very "generous" or "well".

 

What does that mean? What is the tip you give a bartender for serving you? Or a staff member doing something you deem extra? or beyond their normal realm of service?

 

Is it $2? $5? $20? more?

 

We are sailing in just a short while and I want to be sure I have enough cash to tip "well".

 

Thanks in advance for your honesty.

[Room Service!]

I have read so many threads where ppl mention tipping and how they tip so very "generous" or "well".

 

What does that mean? What is the tip you give a bartender for serving you? Or a staff member doing something you deem extra? or beyond their normal realm of service?

 

Is it $2? $5? $20? more?

 

We are sailing in just a short while and I want to be sure I have enough cash to tip "well".

 

Thanks in advance for your honesty.

 

 

I guess we don't tip well. We pretty much give what is recommended.

We also don't ask for any extra service, and ARE not slobs in our cabin.

We do give $2.00 each morning to room service for our pot of coffee.

[mikel24m]

I have read so many threads where ppl mention tipping and how they tip so very "generous" or "well".

 

What does that mean? What is the tip you give a bartender for serving you? Or a staff member doing something you deem extra? or beyond their normal realm of service?

 

Is it $2? $5? $20? more?

 

We are sailing in just a short while and I want to be sure I have enough cash to tip "well".

 

Thanks in advance for your honesty.

 

Being a bartender for a long time I can tell you if you give $1 cash for each drink you get at the bar you will be happy with your drink and service that you recieve.Remember though they add 15% automatically on your bill.

 

We also start the week with a $20 for the room steward (yes we pre bribe) .We have never had bad service but I think they appreciate the cash and for us all we really want is ice at all times and its always worked out great

 

If I were you I would bring a bunch of singles and give them out as you see fit,the staff appreciates it :)

[Missileer]

We tip bar tenders a buck nearly every time and generally give our Room Steward Team $20.00 extra each. They work so hard for us all week. It is really small dollars and is much appreciated by the crew members.

Enjoy your cruise.

[CigarMatt]

Outside of a cruise (i.e. in my everyday life), I tip a dollar per drink at a bar and I tip about 20% at a restaurant (I usually round to the nearest dollar). In a hotel, if I stay a night I'll leave a couple of bucks for room service.

 

On the cruise, the drink tip is included in the price at 15% (which is about a dollar, depending on the drink you get). The steward who cleans my room is tipped about $7.50/day I think (we had two people in the room), which is more than I would have tipped for similar service in a hotel. I can't recall offhand how much of a tip goes to the dining service, but I trusted that they took out the appropriate amount.

 

In a nutshell, I felt like their pre-paid tips were in line and I didn't give extra. I didn't make a mess in my room though, didn't order room service, and didn't ask for anything out of the ordinary.

 

If you want to be generous then you can give an extra buck for each drink, you can leave a few bucks on the table after each meal, and you can give your steward $20 at the end of the trip - but I don't think it's necessary.

[golfadj]

Given that we pick up after ourselves think the steward does well for his suggested tip.

 

Bar service gets their 15% and that is fine by me.

 

We will give DR staff extra if their performance warrants.

[cruzin68]

We tip $2 to room service each morning for our coffee. Give half of our extra $20 to the steward at the beginning and the other at the end. We also tip their "helper". We like to have an extra bucket of ice for our wine, so that is extra for them. We enjoy getting to know the people taking care of us. We also always give extra to our MDR staff. Usually $20 for the waiter and $10 for assistant, but depends on level of service.

[CigarMatt]

We also always give extra to our MDR staff. Usually $20 for the waiter and $10 for assistant, but depends on level of service.

 

Is that per meal, or per week-long trip?

[nlktx49]

Our last cruise was a 7 day on the Magic. At the end we gave our room steward $20, as she did a good job, ice bucket was kept full. We had a tremendous trio in the MDR, so we tipped $20 to the head waiter, and $10 to each assistant. We don't tip extra for drinks, but don't hang out at any one particular bar. Tip $2 for room service, although we rarely use it. If I ever won any money on the slots I would tip the cashier on that! I don't feel that we are "generous" tippers, and would not tip if I wasn't happy with the service. I just feel the little extra we tip is appreciated.

[bplazo]

On our last cruise we just let the auto tip on and tipped for room service. We never saw room steward at all so never asked for anything and since I am a neat freak where everything has a place there really was not for him to do because I made the bed on several days and wiped out the sinks and the counter every day.

[LibratPDX]

I cruise solo and am pretty tidy, but I still give my room steward $20 at the end of the week. And sometimes I leave a dollar in the towel animals' mouths....just because it's a little silly :D I give at least that much to the piano bar entertainer at the end of the week, and a $5 bill here and there during the week. If a waiter or other service person has been especially personable, I give a $20. I usually don't use room service, but I give them a few dollars if I do. All of this is on top of the prepaid gratuities.......so probably a little TOO generous, oh well......

[nitro2448]

We don't have a set amount, but we do pay above the recommended amount. Usually to our steward, and we are not slobs either, we just know it won't hurt us as much as it might help them

[Havingfun2010]

I have read so many threads where ppl mention tipping and how they tip so very "generous" or "well".

 

What does that mean? What is the tip you give a bartender for serving you? Or a staff member doing something you deem extra? or beyond their normal realm of service?

 

Is it $2? $5? $20? more?

 

We are sailing in just a short while and I want to be sure I have enough cash to tip "well".

 

Thanks in advance for your honesty.

 

I would tell you, but it is private. What I can tell you is very seldom will a Carnival employee go what I would consider above and beyond. The service has gone down hill noticably.

[cathyoo]

I too always leave a few dollars for housekeeping at a hotel. I don't equate my room steward to housekeeping though. At a hotel they make up my bed and give me fresh towels once a day. I don't get towel animals and no one greets me by name in the hallway.

 

We always pre-pay our tips and give extra at the end of the cruise. It depends on how great our service was in the dining room and by our steward. Generally it is $20 to the steward and $10 for his/her assistant. Same for the dining room...$20 for the head waiter and $10 each for the assistants. Once we had a great assistant waiter and we reversed the order.

 

I alway tip a $1 for my drinks. I often use drink coupons and have had the server try to give me back the $1 saying it was included in the drink coupon.

 

We also tip at the speciality coffee shop. My husband liked the little newspaper (I understand that it is gone) and would get it with his coffee. Once there was no paper and he asked the girl working the counter. She ran up to the lido deck and found him a paper. My DH talked about that for a week.

[mcat12]

I give $20 to the room steward and between $50-100 to the dining staff and $5-10 to the mater d (however it's spelled) in addition to my pre-paid gratuities.

 

In the past I've cruised with friends who have also given the same tips, so our steward would get $40 and restaurant staff $100-200.

 

If you think about it $11.50 divided by 3 servers is just under $4/night per server. So for a 7 night cruise, you prepay $28/server in the main dining room--which in my opinion is not enough. But to each his or her own.

 

I do not tip additional to bartenders (like those in the atrium, etc) but I do tip the drink "runners". So if I'm at a comedy show, i tip the person who takes my order because i thought the 15% went to the person mixing my drink. is that right?

[Almost Packed]

Given that we pick up after ourselves think the steward does well for his suggested tip.

 

Bar service gets their 15% and that is fine by me.

 

We will give DR staff extra if their performance warrants.

 

this is the same for us. Never had stewards do anything to warrant extra $. actually, they have it pretty easy with us....i should be tipping myself instead lol. :eek:

 

never tip extra on top of drinks...okay, maybe once or twice, but rarely do because of the 15% added already.

 

dining room staff...only once did we receive excellent service, and tipped our head waiter (who went personally out of his way for us) $20.

[Ours91]

We give our prepaid tips and give our room steward a few extra bucks at the beginning of the cruise.

[alreadypacked]

We do auto tips, plus give the room steward and extra $10-$20 for the week. We're very neat and don't mess up the room much, but we have a couple requests. We tip room service $2 to $3 each time. When we have a regular bartender/drinks server, we give a buck extra every round for bar drinks. We tip the piano bar singer a buck or two every other request. If it's a repeated request of a song we really like, $3 to $5 each time we request it.

[Wolfie48]

We leave auto tips in place and tip our room steward and his helpers at least $20.00, we also tip our headwaiter and his helpers. We find a few bartenders or bar waiters that we like and tip them early in the cruise and at the end. We det good service and extra strong drinks for our efforts.

 

But no matter what anyone else says or does you should do what you feel is right.

[mousey]

Our last cruise was a 7 day on the Magic. At the end we gave our room steward $20, as she did a good job, ice bucket was kept full. We had a tremendous trio in the MDR, so we tipped $20 to the head waiter, and $10 to each assistant. We don't tip extra for drinks, but don't hang out at any one particular bar. Tip $2 for room service, although we rarely use it. If I ever won any money on the slots I would tip the cashier on that! I don't feel that we are "generous" tippers, and would not tip if I wasn't happy with the service. I just feel the little extra we tip is appreciated.

 

This is exactly the same as we tip if the service warrants it and so far it has.

[fan1080]

Other than if we order room service, auto tip only is considered "tipping well", imo.

[fan1080]

Being a bartender for a long time I can tell you if you give $1 cash for each drink you get at the bar you will be happy with your drink and service that you recieve.Remember though they add 15% automatically on your bill.

 

We also start the week with a $20 for the room steward (yes we pre bribe) .We have never had bad service but I think they appreciate the cash and for us all we really want is ice at all times and its always worked out great

 

If I were you I would bring a bunch of singles and give them out as you see fit,the staff appreciates it :)

 

It's bad enough that there is a perceived notion that pre-tipping ("bribe" as you pointed out, and I agree) will lead to better service; it's completely different when someone who works in the service industry says that's the way it is.

 

For me, if I felt someone was providing a better service to someone else because of their tipping standards, I would do my best to avoid the services of this person.

 

Sorry, but I find it utterly appalling that anyone in the service industry would stoop to such behavior.

[crusinpsychRN]

What about for excursions?

[MrPete]

I have read so many threads where ppl mention tipping and how they tip so very "generous" or "well".

 

What does that mean? What is the tip you give a bartender for serving you? Or a staff member doing something you deem extra? or beyond their normal realm of service?

 

Is it $2? $5? $20? more?

 

We are sailing in just a short while and I want to be sure I have enough cash to tip "well".

 

Thanks in advance for your honesty.

 

I've always just followed the guidelines, except once when I threw a fiver at the steward for helping me do something.

[MrPete]

Being a bartender for a long time I can tell you if you give $1 cash for each drink you get at the bar you will be happy with your drink and service that you recieve.Remember though they add 15% automatically on your bill.

 

We also start the week with a $20 for the room steward (yes we pre bribe) .We have never had bad service but I think they appreciate the cash and for us all we really want is ice at all times and its always worked out great

 

If I were you I would bring a bunch of singles and give them out as you see fit,the staff appreciates it :)

 

I tried that once on a ship during a drinking session and got nothing in return. It's not like on land. Never even had a buyback. Where I'm from, a buy back is pretty much expected on the third drink. Some places where you are a steady, it's every other.