How much additional do you tip?

[harrodsfan]

I don't feel an obligation to be "double dipped" just because someone happens to be my regular waiter and assistant waiter and I had dinner somewhere else that night.

Totally agree. Also tip less if service is slow and special reguests are continually forgotten.

Have only had really superior service in the dining room on Legend of the sEas cruise in 1997. wE liked our waiter and assistant so much we didnt' miss a meal in the dining room and they were amply rewarded!

Other times have ranged from pretty good to so an attitude so bad we complained to the Head waiter and had a new waiter the next night.

WE had a cabin steward in the bAltic that couldnt' get our breakfast order straight in two weeks but had such a wonderful personality that when we docked in Stockhom we took her whole family to lunch. She was just delightful...Danica..that means you! :) She got a really big tip.

[dazee8]

harrodsfan... thanks for your thoughts. Always good to hear from experienced cruisers. I see from your cruise history (below your name) that you were a fan of the Royal Viking Line. We were too! Great ships that were small and had excellent service. Too bad the Sea, Star, Sky, Sun, and Queen are elsewhere now. :( Happy memories though. :)

[kryos]

If your steward/stewardess, waiter, asst. waiter (if you are at the same table each night) have done an outstanding job for a 7 day cruise, how much do you tip them extra per day approximately???

I usually tip the room steward about an extra $20 per week of the cruise. Same with the waiter. Of course, if I make any major special requests of my room steward (very rare), I will generally slide him something extra at that time. I don't wait for the end of the cruise to tip for "special" services.

 

Also, of course, the extra amount I choose to tip depends upon service. If the service were outstanding, or the steward went far and above the call ... I could just as easily increase the amount extra as well. On the other hand, poor service (thank God, I've never had this happen) would not only warrant nothing extra, but could impact the auto-tip amount as well.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[tlmlb]

Always have had excellent to outstanding service - minimal service (being there and going thru the motions would be minimal service) to me equals the auto-tip, I have always at least doubled the recommended amounts. The $70 per person a day seems very low for three meals and room cleaning.

 

Everyone has to make theirs....

[travelalot5]

How do people feel about the adult and child charge of $10 per day being the same?

[Beryl]

I'll give you my opinion travelalot :) ! I do think the tip being the same for adult and child is fair. The folks that work onboard offer the same service to everyone. Whether you're 8 or 80 they serve your meals, clean up after you, provide special requests, keep your cabin in order and generally make you feel like an honoured guest.

[Totally Addicted]

How do people feel about the adult and child charge of $10 per day being the same?

 

Were you asking because you felt that they should get more of a tip from the children? :D

[LARGIN]

I'll give you my opinion travelalot :) ! I do think the tip being the same for adult and child is fair. The folks that work onboard offer the same service to everyone. Whether you're 8 or 80 they serve your meals, clean up after you, provide special requests, keep your cabin in order and generally make you feel like an honoured guest.

 

I agree.. Tips should be the same.

[PrincessAddict]

For me it varies from sailing to sailing. I tip additional if the service was outstanding otherwise I just leave the $10.00 per person per day on my account. I tend to tip my cabin steward additionally since they work so hard to keep my cabin neat and tidy.

[ccrain]

We always give out cash as tips in addition to the auto-tip and in some cases actual presents to very special people. Those people who get additional tips also get the CRUISE cards filled out as well. In some cases certain people only get the CRUISE cards.

 

On a 10 day, we have tipped our cabin steward up to $60 extra. Waiters and assistant waiters up to $40 extra each - I usually increment in $20 bills since that's what we carry around. There have been cruises, the 7 day to Mexico and the 7 Day Star, where the additional tips were sparser. As has been stated, good curteous service is expected and the normal auto tip, IMHO, covers that.

 

We have filled out CRUISE cards for the Head Waiter, but never an additional tip. We've also filled our CRUISE cards for the Cruise Director, Asst Cruise Director and the Port and Shopping Advisor and once we bought a pearl necklace for a gift to one of the Asst Cruise Directors on the Island.

 

So to summarize for Dining and Cabin staff:

 

Good Service = Auto-tip

Good Service + = Auto-tip + CRUISE card

Great Service = Auto-tip + CRUISE CARD + Additional Cash

 

 

For Cruise Staff:

 

Contributes to a Good Cruise = Personal Thank You

Contributes to a Great Cruise = Personal Thank You + CRUISE Card

Makes for a Memorable Cruise = Personal Thank You + CRUISE Card + Personal Gift

[KAJOKG]

We usually tip $40 extra at the end of the cruise for good service. More for exceptional service. On our last cruise, the cabin steward was really exceptional. I don't know if it was his way or that we had reached platinum service, which he did mention. He even went to get our luggage so we would have it early and switched the chairs on our balcony to arm chairs with cushions. Needless to say, we were impressed enough to double our tip to $80. Since we dine PC and rarely have the same waiter, we just leave the tip on our on board account, but do not tip extra. We would if something extraordinary happened at dinner.

[Druke I]

Like Lady Jag, I think tipping is a very personal thing - suffice to say that I do tip additional when I think it is warranted. The amount I do not discuss, nor do I compare fares paid for the cruise.

 

I find that almost as tacky as asking someone what their wages are, or how much they draw in retirement!

[Charliesmom]

I have food allergies and need a lot of special help in the dining room. If I get exceptional service from the head waiter, I will tip $50.00 for a 7 day cruise. If I get good service from him, I will give him $25.00. The waiter and assistant waiter will get the automatic tip plus that amount again if they are super terrific. If not, we'll give an extra $20.00. The same goes for the steward.

 

When we tipped a headwaiter $50.00 on the first half of a back to back, he made special arrangements to be our head waiter the second time. He fell all over us with service.

 

I have had head waiters make special arrangements for all kinds of food not on the menu. I have also had head waiters who stick to what is being served that day.

 

If the cruise line devotes a cook to my needs (Carnival did this), we tip the cook, too.

 

I swear that there is a grapevine at Princess about who is a good tipper. After our back to back, we took another cruise with Princess and the head waiter was superb.

 

I'll test my theory on the next cruise we take. If we get super-duper service again, then I'll know that there is such a grapevine. Who knows, I might even see some of the same waiters again.

 

Roberta

[land lover]

I have a question and maybe it was answered or asked above...but after reading the first 10 posts the old eyes got tired.

 

If you give a cash tip do they get to keep it or does this get pooled also?

 

And how about room service is this tip pooled if it is given in cash?

 

Just want to make sure the extra money goes to the right person.:)

[Jane110]

How do people feel about the adult and child charge of $10 per day being the same?

 

Staff should be tipped extra for the kids. They're usually messier than adults in the cabins and need more catering to in the dining room.

 

Jane