tipping

[Renmar]

I have never had a maitre d' refuse a tip.

 

And, I from time-to-time receive exceptional service from a maitre d,

because they remember me from previous cruises. So, the idea

that everyone get the same good-but-equal service isn't right.

 

We always received good (and sometimes exceptional) service from the MDH, and that IS right. If a BRIBE would influence that service he should be fired. IMHO of course.

 

Theo

[pablo222]

We always received good (and sometimes exceptional) service from the MDH, and that IS right. If a BRIBE would influence that service he should be fired. IMHO of course.

 

I have never tipped a maitre d' in advance, so I don't know

what would be a bribe in this situation.

[Loonbeam]

Hand money then say "It would be great if we could get a window table in Anytime dining at 7 PM every day for two" = Bribe.

 

Asking "If it would be possible to get a window table for two around 7 PM each night as you have an opening" and when given a standing reservation, then handing money = tip.

 

I'm not speaking to the appropriateness of the request or the tip, just illustrating a point. If you give the money before asking for something, the implication is obvious. If you ask first and then when the request is granted offer cash, thats a gratuity.

 

I have never tipped a maitre d' in advance, so I don't know

what would be a bribe in this situation.

[pablo222]

I'm not speaking to the appropriateness of the request or the tip, just illustrating a point. If you give the money before asking for something, the implication is obvious. If you ask first and then when the request is granted offer cash, thats a gratuity.

 

On two different cruises, on the last night, I had to track down the

maitre d' to give him a tip. I even passed by his office, and he wasn't

there. I had a head waiter bleep him, and he came out from the officer's

mess. (which I thought was pretty wierd)

 

I was not bribing him, nor was he soliciting a tip.

 

I had the opposite experience with the maitre d' on my last cruise.

(He is very popular on CruiseCritic, but my personal experience is

apparently different than others)

 

He gave me the table of my choice, but after that, he refused

every request. He did stop by the table every night and greet us.

 

I was not going to tip him at all, but the junior waiter in the station

begged me to tip the maitre d' and head waiter. She said that if

I didn't, they would blame her, and make her job harder. So, on

the last night, I held my nose, and did it.

[Loonbeam]

I have to admit thats a new one, and honestly if that happened to me I am not sure how I would have handled it. I've NEVER considered tipping an MD or HW on the basis of the performance of the table servers.

 

 

I was not going to tip him at all, but the junior waiter in the station

begged me to tip the maitre d' and head waiter. She said that if

I didn't, they would blame her, and make her job harder. So, on

the last night, I held my nose, and did it.

[Renmar]

I have to admit thats a new one, and honestly if that happened to me I am not sure how I would have handled it. I've NEVER considered tipping an MD or HW on the basis of the performance of the table servers.

 

You're not kidding. We have never experienced a server either who asked to "please tip the MD and/or HW because my job depends on it". I think if that happened to me corporate office would get a very nice letter explaining the situation.

 

Theo

[ChiefBoats]

It is automatically started when you report aboard.

 

_______________________________

Previous Cruises

Alaska 2008 – Island Princess

Alaska 2009 – Island Princess

Alaska 2010 – Royal Princess

Alaska 2011 – Golden Princess

Alaska 2012 – Star Princess

Panama Canal 2012 – Coral Princess

Western Caribbean – Crown Princess

Alaska 2013 – Island Princess

 

Future Cruises

Western Caribbean 2013 – Caribbean Princess

Southern Caribbean 2014 – Royal Princess

[Pam in CA]

I was not going to tip him at all, but the junior waiter in the station begged me to tip the maitre d' and head waiter. She said that if I didn't, they would blame her, and make her job harder. So, on the last night, I held my nose, and did it.

If ANY person asks/begs/suggests a tip, I absolutely, positively will not tip them. I don't care how much extra they've done or how far they've gone out of their way. I've never heard of the above.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I have never understood why there is so much conversation about the tipping. It is pennies compared to what you might tip if you are at a first rate hotel and/or restaurant. I hear people always say why should I tip the dining staff when I eat on the lido deck - dah - because the same people who serve you in the dining room are the same people who work the lido deck so you are being serviced by the staff either way. Like most of the people on this post we always do the autotip and then leave extra for the dining staff and room steward at the end of the cruise since they are the people who provide the majority of service to you each and every day.

 

I personally have never had a bad experience with any of the staff and always feel bad because I don't have a lot of money so while I do leave extra at the end of the cruise I always wish it were more.

 

When teaching my children about tipping my thing to them was don't go out and eat if you don't have enough to leave for a tip. I am the same way about hotels and the one that gets me is the people who don't know they should leave a tip at the buffet restaurant - what - who took away all those plates and bought you all those drinks.

 

Okay, off that soap box - enjoy the cruise you have planned everyone and leave the auto-tip in place - they deserve it.

 

When my daughter orders pizza for delivery, and she's getting out her allowance money to pay for it, I remind her to make sure she includes the tip.

 

I was speechless ... thanks for putting it more eloquently than I would have...

 

I didn't see a soap box ;)

 

 

We were looking at some of these 90+ day cruises that have been on sale ...

How on earth would you ever adjust to normal life at home after that :eek:

 

Dud .... where's my breakfast and what do yo mean that I have to make my own bead :confused:

 

There are some people here who keep posting about removing their auto-tips and I seem to remember this poster does that a lot too.

[dwhe]

I have asked this question many times and never had a response, we are from the UK and are aware that cruises from the Uk have a majority of Brits on board who all remove their tips, let me say we never do,............

 

Sue

 

Some Brits remove their tips, not all, just like some non Brits remove their tips, not all.

[Kathynot50]

If you tip as services are rendered, does the staff member get to keep it as they do not know if you are going to remove the auto-tip at the end?

Just a thought....

[pablo222]

If ANY person asks/begs/suggests a tip, I absolutely, positively will not tip them.

 

The interesting part was that she didn't care if I tipped her directly,

only what happend with the maitre d' and headwaiter.

 

And, the same with the email survey. I had a bad experience with

an open-seating lunch, not in any way related to my evening wait

staff.

 

She said that if I made negative ratings or comments about

any part of dining, it would come back to her.

 

I'm not thinking of giving up my job to work on ships anytime soon...

[N00B]

Assuming that I will be leaving the auto-tipping in place, I have a few questions about extra tipping.

 

I have only previously been on 1 cruise and it was a long time ago - so please keep in mind my limited and foggy experience.

 

It seems to me that your MDR waiter and your room steward have the most capacity to positively impact your cruise experience.

 

The waiter because I seem to usually eat 3 meals a day in the MDR and probably will with the expection of a couple special nights. And the room steward because if he's attentive and avaiable he can help ease some of the inevitable ommissions in packing or personal requests that you have from time to time.

 

Specifically I remember my MDR waiter being very attentive to my usual preferences when dining and I found it very nice that he knew when to double up portions of certian things on my plate automatically (double order of lox with my morning bagel pleas), and I never got a hard time about ordering 2 appetizers or whatever. I just wonder whether some cash early in the cruise might make the service more personal and attentive or whether this would be seen as pressure or something. I guess I'm asking whether I'd get more "value" from my money if I tipped up front rather than waiting until the end.

 

Likewise for the Room Steward. On my last cruise he got me out of a couple jams when my back pack burst in the middle of a hectic shore day. I don't know what else they really do but I would imagine as the person primarily responsible for your comfort while in your room there are a lot of little things they can provide to make your stay more comfortable and more personalized. Again, would giving him some money early on tend to provide more value, or would it be better to wait and see how/what he does and try to tip accordingly.

 

I guess the next question is - is this question totally inappropriate? Should I just accept the service provided and tip if I feel the staff member went above and beyond, or is it something worthwhile to tip some staff memember in advance in the hopes of them remember your preferences and providing a higher level of personal attention when they see you. Like perhaps your favourite bar/lounge staff knowing what drink you want and having it ready? Something like that. (Okay now I'm just all over the place). Thoughts?

[Astro Flyer]

If you tip as services are rendered, does the staff member get to keep it as they do not know if you are going to remove the auto-tip at the end?

Just a thought....

It's been posted that all cash tips must be turned in & at the end of the cruise cash received from those who keep the auto-tip have the cash returned to the crewmember.

 

Also that anyone caught keeping their cash would be fired & that it's difficult to conceal the extra cash from other crewmembers.

[Astro Flyer]

I guess the next question is - is this question totally inappropriate? Should I just accept the service provided and tip if I feel the staff member went above and beyond, or is it something worthwhile to tip some staff memember in advance in the hopes of them remember your preferences and providing a higher level of personal attention when they see you. Like perhaps your favourite bar/lounge staff knowing what drink you want and having it ready? Something like that. (Okay now I'm just all over the place). Thoughts?

What I feel is appropriate is what has been posted many times...I don't tip in advance to entice anyone to do their job properly. They are paid to provide excellent service to everyone & not merely those who tip in advance expecting to get better service than others.

 

Who to tip extra & what level of service generates an additional tip at the end of the cruise is a personal decision however I generally give extra tips. For the most part I have received excellent service which is what Princess expects from their crewmembers without having to tip in advance for them to provide excellent service.

[Pam in CA]

First, the dining room is not open for lunch on port days. Second, if you go to the buffet, there's tableside service. There are many staff on the ship who make your cruise experience.

[Loonbeam]

Princess standard policy for non-AUS is all tips must be reported, and if auto-tips are removed they are redistributed up to the amount the auto-tip would have been. Anything extra goes back to the crew member. Failing to report a tip when this policy is in effect can result in discpline including termination (and the other crew may not like you much).

 

Depending on circumstances, head pursers do have the authority to change the rules if needed, but as a rule of thumb, go with the above.

 

If you tip as services are rendered, does the staff member get to keep it as they do not know if you are going to remove the auto-tip at the end?

Just a thought....

[Loonbeam]

Just to put it out there, my 'when to tip' guidelines that I use...

 

During the cruise - if I ask a crewmember to do something that disrupts their routine, I will offer a small tip at that time (for example, a special request on embarkation day when they are very busy, or a very complicated drink order).

 

If I have a drink at table service as opposed to the bar, I will typically add $1 for the server, since I am never sure I will have the same one again. If I am on the drink card and using it heavily, I will also tip a little extra.

 

If it is someone I am not sure I will interact with again and they did something special, small tip.

 

Otherwise I wait till the end of the cruise and reward general excellence for those I dealt with regularly (Cabin Steward, MDR server if we found one we like, a particular bar staffer, casino host, sanctuary steward, etc) - I usually enclose the tip in a positive comment card (if the card isn't warranted, to me, neither is a substantial extra tip.

 

These guidelines have worked for me on cruises and at resorts (the only difference is at resorts I leave something for housekeeping daily as it is not always the same person), I only offer them as suggestions.