Up Front tip for Steward? Yes or No? How much?

[Perfect Stranger]

Have never thought about tipping in advance. Would rather wait to see what kind of service I received.

[mikel24m]

Have seen some mention this, just wondering.

 

I always give a $20 when we meet and introduce ourselves to our steward.I bribe :)

 

I know service will be fine either way but I like to take care of people that will take good care of us

 

And Pete was correct ,if you take care of your bartender you will get superior service

[mnh]

I tipped extra upfront when I took my teen gd and her friend and they had a cabin across the hall from me....I expected they would make a mess and wanted to apologize up front....I checked their cabin every day and they surprised me....not too messy after all.

 

I know they also ordered room service every night when they got in from the teen club....my gd assured me they tipped every time...she has been on many cruises and knows the routine!

[Mrsdigi]

I have never tipped up front on a cruise , but have on several occasions at land based places . Especially Las Vegas. And it has usually brought pretty good results.

 

 

My former boss , who I traveled with many times . Was like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddy Shack (well not as vulgar :) , but did throw tips around in the same manner .) He was always treated royally . It was quite a thing to see.

 

I was just thinking about Caddy Shack when reading this thread. LOL

[mikel24m]

I found this site quite a few years ago before my third cruise.

 

Lots of people talked about tipping up front.

 

So I handed some money over to my steward on the first day. That was the worst steward I've ever had. Couldn't get him to bring me ice, took a while to get more TP, etc. I've never tipped upfront again.

 

This kind of gets me thinking ,We have never once been on a cruise and had to ask for TP ,every single one has had multipe rolls within reach.The same about ice ,we had ice twice a day (and especially good stewards all the time) every single cruise

[erby2283]

So am I tipping too much? We usually give our steward $50 on the last night of the cruise. My boyfriend used to move people for a living and basically had to live off tips. We feel that good service demands a good tip (even in restaurants). Heck, I tip the drink waiter in the dining room, in addition to our wait staff on any time dining and I don't even drink. :)

 

I just know that a lot people don't even tip these people at all so if I can chip in a little bit more, I'm happy to do it.

[lastinga]

Some people do it. We tried it twice and never will again. One time the service proved to be just fair at best and the other time, the steward said he preferred to earn it before being rewarded and he did - he was excellent!

 

I tried to give our Steward, Andar on the Legend, a gratuity up front and he said the same thing. "Please wait until the cruise is over, Ms. Lori."

He was excellent!

[mikel24m]

So am I tipping too much? We usually give our steward $50 on the last night of the cruise. My boyfriend used move people for a living and basically had to live off tips. We feel that good service demands a good tip (even in restaurants). Heck, I tip the drink waiter in the dining room, in addition to our wait staff on any time dining and I don't even drink. :)

 

I just know that a lot people don't even tip these people at all so if I can chip in a little bit more, I'm happy to do it.

 

You guys are the type of people us bartenders love ;)

 

We get paid by generous people :)

[larkz]

I tried to give our Steward, Andar on the Legend, a gratuity up front and he said the same thing. "Please wait until the cruise is over, Ms. Lori."

He was excellent!

 

Not to sound cynical, but this might be a very smart thing for a room steward to do. He already knows that you're a fairly generous person, because you offered the initial tip, and by putting off the reward, he may be able to impress you enough to increase the tip. Sounds win-win to me.

 

Either way, it's a nice gesture on his part.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

So am I tipping too much? We usually give our steward $50 on the last night of the cruise. My boyfriend used to move people for a living and basically had to live off tips. We feel that good service demands a good tip (even in restaurants). Heck, I tip the drink waiter in the dining room, in addition to our wait staff on any time dining and I don't even drink. :)

 

I just know that a lot people don't even tip these people at all so if I can chip in a little bit more, I'm happy to do it.

 

 

It's for you to decide. If that's what you feel is right and you're comfortable with it, go for it! :D

[KenMo]

This kind of gets me thinking ,We have never once been on a cruise and had to ask for TP ,every single one has had multipe rolls within reach.The same about ice ,we had ice twice a day (and especially good stewards all the time) every single cruise

 

That was the only time we've ever had a problem.

 

There was one roll of TP when we boarded and had to hunt him down and keep reminding him for more.

 

We asked for ice but I think he brought it once. This was back in the day when they'd let you get your own ice, so that's what I did.

 

I guess he was just having an off week.

[SASA13]

We always give $20 up front at introductions and show our collapsable coller to the room steward and ask him to keep it filled with ice at all times. If he does so, he also gets another tip at the end of the cruise.

If he does not, he does not get another tip at the end of the cruise.

We keep the auto tips in place, this is just something extra.

To date, we have never had a room steward ( on Carnival ) who did NOT

keep the cooler filled with ice. I don't consider this a tip, or a bribe, I attribute it to my good mood, once I start my cruise vacation :D

[tncap]

Back when I smuggled, I'd always leave a $10 on the first evening with the request that we always have fresh ice. Would tip in cash again at the end if s/he did as such.

[vols_159]

I may be a cheapo but I leave auto tips on and may leave a 5 or 10 on last night for great service. Average service doesn't get any xtra besides the auto tips

[erby2283]

You guys are the type of people us bartenders love ;)

 

We get paid by generous people :)

 

I guess so b/c our $50 is in addition to the auto-tips....:)

[Jane2357]

I always pre-tip,leave auto tips in place and if the service went above and beyond then I tip at the end. I expect excellent service, am happy to pay for it. :D If you want to call it a bribe - fine.

[WetToes]

Have seen some mention this, just wondering.

 

I don't see the point in tipping ahead. It is no guarantee of getting any better service then you would have gotten anyway.

I was a bartender and tried to give everyone good service ... unless they were an a$$.

[Elevens]

So am I tipping too much? We usually give our steward $50 on the last night of the cruise. My boyfriend used move people for a living and basically had to live off tips. We feel that good service demands a good tip (even in restaurants). Heck, I tip the drink waiter in the dining room, in addition to our wait staff on any time dining and I don't even drink. :)

 

I just know that a lot people don't even tip these people at all so if I can chip in a little bit more, I'm happy to do it.

 

To quote Steve Martin's character in My Blue Heaven: "It's not tipping I believe in. It's overtipping."

 

I am in the same boat as your boyfriend. I have worked in the hospitality/entertainment industry for the last 20 years and I know what it's like to make an income off of tips. You can make a person's night with an extra bit of generosity.

 

As for the question, I tip cash at the beginning and end of the cruise plus the auto-grats. I have never had anything but great service from my stewards, but I honestly believe that I would have received excellent service, anyway. $3.70 a day just seems too low for me and I feel that they deserve more than that for the jobs that they do.

[golfadj]

Why bribe them to get the normal good service we have always gotten?

[LittleJeanne]

We bring the full # of sodas and bottles of wine in our carry-on. I also pack a soft sided cooler. After several cruises where we ran out of ice and had warm drinks in the room we started pointing out the cooler on the 1st day as we handed the steward a $20. From that point on we have had no further ice issues in our room, and in some cases the service was so far above and beyond that we tipped the steward again as we left the ship.

[babyher]

I don't see the point in tipping ahead. It is no guarantee of getting any better service then you would have gotten anyway.

I was a bartender and tried to give everyone good service ... unless they were an a$$.

 

 

When I bartended I treated everyone good and pretty much everyone treated me good too ($$$$$) .

 

Occacsionally someone would slip me a few bucks at the start ,and yes I did bend over backwards a little more for them.

[tuxdude98]

One thing I have been thinking about doing, was bringing some local made candy, the kinda stuff you can't get unless you live in the area. Something that we enjoy at home and wanted to share with someone who's gonna be dealing with us for a week. What do you guys think of that?

[WetToes]

Nice thought, ... but cash, they want cash.

Your taste may not be their taste.

[babyher]

One thing I have been thinking about doing, was bringing some local made candy, the kinda stuff you can't get unless you live in the area. Something that we enjoy at home and wanted to share with someone who's gonna be dealing with us for a week. What do you guys think of that?

 

 

I am sure your heart is in the right place. But you never know if your steward or server likes candy, or can eat candy. Cash is always the best bet. This way they can use it for what they really want or need.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I am sure your heart is in the right place. But you never know if your steward or server likes candy, or can eat candy. Cash is always the best bet. This way they can use it for what they really want or need.

 

 

 

Ditto.