i hope this doesn't open a can of worms

[LittleJeanne]

It seems that most threads about tipping get heated and I'm really not trying to stir up anything, but outside of the auto tips on the ship what others do you tip while on a cruise and how do you determine how much?

 

I've been wondering if I've been tipping the porters that handle my luggage enough or too much. Do you tip per piece of luggage or per person? I do tend to tip more to them when they help me get my luggage after the cruise if they have helped me get through lines quicker and if they help load it into the car.

 

Also the way Port Canaveral's lot is now set up you have to walk quite a ways after picking up your luggage. We were sent out to a stand in the parking lot to meet our shuttle. My husband about freaked out when he saw what I tipped, but neither one of us wanted to drag all that luggage so far across on our own.

 

And what about shuttle drivers (when you are using them), most are handling your luggage in and out of the shuttle. I'm never quite sure what the appropriate amount is to give them.

[mikeg001]

I will sometimes tip out room steward depending on how he takes care of us with the little extras. One cruise we had a room steward that made sure everything was just excellent, he knew our names and each day asked how we were doing and if there was anything we needed. Room service i will give them a dollar or two each time, amazing how once you tip them they will bring your order quick and on time. We will also tip the MDR waiters again depending on how we are waited on. The porters get tipped on both arrival and departure, i give them usually a dollar per bag.

 

Not sure if my tipping is in line with others and waiting to see what others do also. hope this helps..

[alymb03]

Porters get a dollar per bag from us. Room service is $3-5 depending on how much we get for two people.

[KPfromCT]

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. DH thinks I always tip too much, but if you provide me with great service, and I feel you have gone above and beyond, yes, I am going to tip. The porters have a very strenuous job, and get paid minimally, so I am usually very generous with them, even though there is probably some rule of thumb to their tips, ie; one dollar per bag, or something like that.

I say just tip what feels right.:D:D:D

[Ontario_Cruiser]

Do people tip the table magician at dinner? If so, how much?

[EnTnSA]

We typically tip the porter around 2 dollars per bag, or around 10 dollars total. They are always extremely pleased with this and very helpful.

[Cruizinman]

I tip four to five dollars a bag, always .

[jacmo24]

Depends on the port and how much work the porters do for us. We average around $2 per bag.

 

We tip our Steward an extra $20-40 depending. Same with waiter. Holiday cruises a bit more. We also tip heavily in the casino on holidays. It is always VERY much appreciated. I find almost any tips early on do get you more and better service throughout and get you remembered. We did the same cruise 6 months a part and on the 2nd round, many waiters, dealers and others remembered us. You don't have to wait until the end of a cruise to tip!

[erby2283]

We tip van drivers who take us to the port about $5, porters $1 per bag. We did ATD this past cruise and in addition to the auto-tips, we tipped our waiter $35 (we also skipped the dining room 3 nights), and the assistant waiters $20 each. We tipped our room steward $40. Maybe this sounds like a lot to some people but my BF used to make a living off tips and we know how hard they work. We also know how many people don't tip at all so we try to do our best to make up for it.

[Andoria]

I tip four to five dollars a bag, always .

 

I'll carry your luggage for you:)

 

I think it depends on how much disposable income you have. Although I may WANT to tip more, I have a kid in braces.

[Chmie]

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. DH thinks I always tip too much, but if you provide me with great service, and I feel you have gone above and beyond, yes, I am going to tip. The porters have a very strenuous job, and get paid minimally, so I am usually very generous with them, even though there is probably some rule of thumb to their tips, ie; one dollar per bag, or something like that.

I say just tip what feels right.:D:D:D

 

I agree 100%.

Give me good service and I'll tip accordingly.

$5 is the norm and it makes me feel good too. :D

[Cruizinman]

I'll carry your luggage for you:)

 

I think it depends on how much disposable income you have. Although I may WANT to tip more, I have a kid in braces.[/QUOTE]

 

Enough said :p

[papaflamingo]

Gotta say I over tip the porters too. But in my opinion it's worth it. We also "uptip" the waiters and room stewards. Usually quite a bit depending on service. They work hard for minimal money. I have no problem with it. I spend a lot on vacation anyway, so a little more for the hardworking service people is more than acceptable.

But here's my favorite Porter story. We did a cruise out of Port Canaveral. When we checked in we had 6 very heavy bags. My wife tipped $40. The porter was so happy he gave me his cell number and said to call when we returned. I called as we were getting ready to leave the cabin. He met us at the bottom of the escalator, took our carry-offs, and that was the last time I touched a bag until I unloaded the car at home 7 hours later. He took our carry-offs, collected our luggage, escorted us through customs, and loaded my car in parking. I gave him another $40. Money well spent! I believe you get what you pay for. Even Andoria will carry my luggage for $5 per bag. A bargain. :)

[kona_wahine]

Extra $20 to room steward.

$5 porters for the usual 2 bags.

$2 to $5 room service depending on how much ordered.

[PresDuLac]

For me/us

 

We prepay gratuities and also tip extra as follows:

 

$40 or more - Steward

$20 or more to each of our MDR waitstaff

$5 to whoever takes care of us at Sea Day Brunch

 

$3 to room service for coffee - haven't ordered anything else yet.

 

We also tip the Host/Hostess/Maitre d $10 when we get on the ship and introduce ourselves and ask for a table for 2 - we did the same at the Steak House ($5) and got the table we asked for - we're also pretty nice too :D

 

$5 to the porter - usually just 2 small bags

$1 on top of 15% per drink or specialty coffee

 

That's all I can think of right now.

Edited December 10, 2013 by PresDuLac

[OCruisers]

Sort of depends. When we drive by and drop our luggage off DH gives the porters $10 for 4 bags.

When we return and the porter is carrying our luggage all the way to our car ... it'll be at least $20 and normally more.

Waving a couple of $20's will get you a porter quickly. :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[SantaFeFan]

Those of you who tip the "porter" upon arriving at your ship, keep in mind that in the US only longshoremen are allowed to work on the docks. The porters that take your bags and move it a few feet then put it on a cart are union members. It is a very good union. Their hourly wages are in the $38.00 to $52.00 range with very liberal overtime allowances, and with excellent benefit packages. Many make in excess of $100,000 annually.

 

The porter jobs come up very rarely and are highly sought after. The longshoreman get their daily job assignments from the union hall each morning. In Seattle for example there are just a few jobs per week and only in the summer. So of course they are very desirable positions as they receive tips on top of their wages.

 

So, you are tipping people who probably make a larger annual salary than you do and are being paid a very good wage for a "porter".

 

Also keep in mind that after they load the bags on that cart only a few feet away, the bags are screened, then delivered by the ship's crew members, who actually handle the bags much more than the porters do. They have to move your luggage up several floors, then down long, narrow hallways to get them to your room. They are working for minimum wages, and rely on tips to supplement their pay. BUT, they most often DO NOT get tipped for delivering your bags because often aren't there to receive them.

 

Bottom line - when you tip the dock porter, you are tipping someone who is making a very good salary. They handle your luggage at a minimum. The guys who work harder to get your bags to your room - the minimum wage people - get nothing.

 

I have never tipped a porter, ever, and my luggage has ALWAYS been delivered promptly. If I see the crew member who delivered my luggage to my room, HE get's $20 - because he is the one who deserves it the most.

Edited December 10, 2013 by SantaFeFan

[kcwingwalker]

Sort of depends. When we drive by and drop our luggage off DH gives the porters $10 for 4 bags.

When we return and the porter is carrying our luggage all the way to our car ... it'll be at least $20 and normally more.

Waving a couple of $20's will get you a porter quickly. :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

Indeed it will:)

[Keith1010]

We tip per piece of luggage as we would at a hotel.

 

Keith

[CaroleSS]

Do people tip the table magician at dinner? If so, how much?

 

I magically make food disappear at the table....can I get a tip????? ;)

[pris993]

Those of you who tip the "porter" upon arriving at your ship, keep in mind that in the US only longshoremen are allowed to work on the docks. The porters that take your bags and move it a few feet then put it on a cart are union members. It is a very good union. Their hourly wages are in the $38.00 to $52.00 range with very liberal overtime allowances, and with excellent benefit packages. Many make in excess of $100,000 annually.

 

The porter jobs come up very rarely and are highly sought after. The longshoreman get their daily job assignments from the union hall each morning. In Seattle for example there are just a few jobs per week and only in the summer. So of course they are very desirable positions as they receive tips on top of their wages.

 

So, you are tipping people who probably make a larger annual salary than you do and are being paid a very good wage for a "porter".

 

Also keep in mind that after they load the bags on that cart only a few feet away, the bags are screened, then delivered by the ship's crew members, who actually handle the bags much more than the porters do. They have to move your luggage up several floors, then down long, narrow hallways to get them to your room. They are working for minimum wages, and rely on tips to supplement their pay. BUT, they most often DO NOT get tipped for delivering your bags because often aren't there to receive them.

 

Bottom line - when you tip the dock porter, you are tipping someone who is making a very good salary. They handle your luggage at a minimum. The guys who work harder to get your bags to your room - the minimum wage people - get nothing.

 

I have never tipped a porter, ever, and my luggage has ALWAYS been delivered promptly. If I see the crew member who delivered my luggage to my room, HE get's $20 - because he is the one who deserves it the most.

 

Good for you, regardless, we will tip the porters and the crew on board, we do both getting on and getting off. We tip just like we would in a hotel.

 

We also tip extra for our room steward and the Head Waiter and Matre'd since we special order every night int he MDR. We treat the cooks to a drink of their choice on their breaks.

 

We are not big drinkers but we do tip in lounges for ice water and coffee.

 

We tip in the Lido when we ask for items not on the buffet and folks get what we requested. We tip the special order cooks who remember what we like and prepare an order for us every day in the Lido.

 

We tip musicians who play our favoirte tunes and treat them to a drink on their break.

 

We give folks at customer service a box of candy when they provide good service.

 

We write a note for every person who goes beyond the call of duty during our cruise.

[JustCruiseMe]

We leave auto tips and tip steward extra. We do ATD and had different servers several times which were fine but we didn't tip extra but had we been with the same server and had them provide above service we would have. The question I have is, why tip the Maitre D if all they do is walk you to your table and my interaction with them is about 60 seconds. Am I missing something? (Besides my mind sometimes:))

[pris993]

Do people tip the table magician at dinner? If so, how much?

 

YOur questions reminds me of a funny story. We were on a cruise with a wine steward who would come around with a cart with after dinner drinks, they use to do that years ago. The first night my DH bet the steward a free drink if they did not pour a full shot. The steward took on the bet, my DH had a free drink not just that night, evey night for the rest of the cruise. They never poured a full shot. It was amazing, the steward continued to play the whole cruise, those were the days... a lot of fun. The steward even had a match trick, that was played with another passenger at our table, did not work, the passenger ended up with a minor burn on his finger. Needless we did not tip the steward til the end of the trip.

[YubaSutter]

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. DH thinks I always tip too much, but if you provide me with great service, and I feel you have gone above and beyond, yes, I am going to tip. The porters have a very strenuous job, and get paid minimally, so I am usually very generous with them, even though there is probably some rule of thumb to their tips, ie; one dollar per bag, or something like that.

I say just tip what feels right.:D:D:D

 

If you think $45+/hr plus tips is minimally, I would like to work for you.

[mikeg001]

We leave auto tips and tip steward extra. We do ATD and had different servers several times which were fine but we didn't tip extra but had we been with the same server and had them provide above service we would have. The question I have is, why tip the Maitre D if all they do is walk you to your table and my interaction with them is about 60 seconds. Am I missing something? (Besides my mind sometimes:))

They walk you to your table? I dont even get that service. We will usually walk down to see where our table is then the first night they stand and ask do you know where your table is. I have never had any interaction with the Maitre D