Tipping Question

[Dwarfbunny]

My husband and I are about to leave on a cruise next week and it occurred to us -- after the first few days on a cruise, we usually start adding on an additional tip for our favorite waiters. Who actually gets this extra money? The waiter? The bartender? Do they split the tips? We got to talking about it, and realized we didn't know if we were actually rewarding a particular person for good service or if we were just paying extra for our drinks. Likewise, would it be a better idea if we slipped the waiter cash instead? Of course, then would we be cheating the guy actually making the drinks? If anyone can provide any insight as to how this works we'd appreciate it. We don't mind tipping (these guys work for peanuts, after all, ensuring we have a great vacation) but we want to make sure our money is going where we want. Thanks!

[Jeff&Mel]

My husband and I are about to leave on a cruise next week and it occurred to us -- after the first few days on a cruise, we usually start adding on an additional tip for our favorite waiters. Who actually gets this extra money? The waiter? The bartender? Do they split the tips? We got to talking about it, and realized we didn't know if we were actually rewarding a particular person for good service or if we were just paying extra for our drinks. Likewise, would it be a better idea if we slipped the waiter cash instead? Of course, then would we be cheating the guy actually making the drinks? If anyone can provide any insight as to how this works we'd appreciate it. We don't mind tipping (these guys work for peanuts, after all, ensuring we have a great vacation) but we want to make sure our money is going where we want. Thanks!

 

I prepay my gratuities when I purchase our cruise.

I bring a lot of change with me and will tip our cocktail waiters 1 euro each time.

 

I also bring several thank you cards with me that I use on the last day for our MDR server, our cabin steward and anyone else that I feel has given really good service. I will put anywhere from 40-100 euro in each envelope.