Tipping issue - specifically for room steward

[LMaxwell]

We never ask for anything besides a stocking of ice (which there is a big plastic sign in the room that says to ask for ice). I don't consider ice delivery, extra towels, hangars, etc. to be "above and beyond". That is well within a room attendants job description. The cruise line does not "over stock" rooms with ice, wine glasses, etc. to save time, money, reduce waste, etc. But the items are available upon request. I do not give money up front as I view it as insulting to the service provider, like they would not do their job properly unless the palm got greased, and it is no guarantee that I will receive better service than I would have otherwise received.

 

I have never NOT tipped a room attendant at the end of a cruise. Often times I feel that their attitude and willingness to please and make sure we are comfortable is worth the additional gratuity even if we have made no special requests. One time my wife lost a 99 cent chapstick...not something exactly replaceable mid-ocean. She mentioned it to our room attendant who not only found the chapstick but made a little towel animal holding it for her. That was worthy of a mid-trip cash tip far in excess to the actual value of the item.

 

I don't pre-tip anyone in a service industry. If they don't want to provide the basic level of service promised by the company they will not last long; I do not have to, and will not, create a workaround to ensure basic services are provided.

[Cushing985]

I modify my tipping depending on how long the cruise is. On a 14 day cruise, for example, I tip extra mid-way through the cruise if the steward is great (as they always are) and then extra again at the end. On a 7 day cruise I tip extra at the end. I do the same thing for the dining room staff. I've never tipped up-front on a cruise and I don't tip up-front in a restaurant at home.

 

I don't believe supplying the cabin with ice or getting extra hangers is considered above and beyond service and doubt the steward does either. Just part of their regular outstanding service. I tip extra not really for their stellar service but because of the realization that they work hard for little "base pay."

 

I don't think tipping up-front guarantees excellent service and I'm not sure the people getting them would be insulted. I just don't think it's necessary.

[lovesthebeach2]

I know there are many threads on tipping. But this isn't about prepaid or cash for servers. And I know that room stewards get part of the prepaid, but here's my question:

 

Does anyone give their room stewards the cash up front? I read one person that said they did, but can't find a discuss on this. Do those of you who do tip up front feel you get better service? I'm pretty sure we did this 2 years ago on our last cruise and said we like to have ice in the room. We had new ice morning and night without asking again. I'm just trying to decide what is the right amount - I can't remember what we did. So, anyone out there with an opinion? Thanks!

 

We tipped $10.00 when we first boarded and asked for ice and clean glasses each day. We got ice morning and night and always had clean glasses and never had to ask again.

[CruisinKibble]

On the ROS transpacific in April this year we hardly saw our steward. Took a few days to find out she was our steward. Then over a week to learn her name. We had perfectly satisfactory service. Always a very clean room. Just no contact with our steward on any level. It became a real question for us if we were to provide a tip at the end of the cruise.

 

 

Sent from JD's iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Why on earth would you remove tips (take money away from them) when you received perfectly satisfactory service??

[CruisinKibble]

Obviously a lot of opinions. However how is tipping up front a "bribe?" I am asking that ice be delivered twice a day (a requested service now), and a couple extra towels. That is really just it. Now, I could leave a couple of dollars, as some have suggested, every day he brings ice. Or I can go ahead and give him a little extra with the request. But how is that a "bribe."

On the same line those who called it a "bribe" basically stated that they only tip at the end "if" the service is good. So in their minds, are they not simply "testing" the Cabin Attendant?

These people work for tips. There is no bribery involved. I have asked for a bit extra, and have shown my appreciation for the service. I never follow it with "there will be more at the end if you do a great job." That WOULD be rude. But slipping the Cabin Attendant a bit at the front for a requested daily service, is not, IMHO, rude or a bribe.

Truth is, you'll likely get great service whether or not you tip at the front, the back, the middle, etc. In fact, you'll likely get great service even if you remove your tips and stiff the poor guy. Me, I'll continue to show my appreciation for the hard work that they all do.

 

You misunderstood. My point was that tipping up front for no reason is a bribe. Tipping up front if you have a special request ( like ice) is acceptable. It's as simple as that.

[cb at sea]

No need to tip upfront....you will get great service! Tipping on cruises is customarily done at the END of the cruise.

[LMaxwell]

You misunderstood. My point was that tipping up front for no reason is a bribe. Tipping up front if you have a special request ( like ice) is acceptable. It's as simple as that.

 

On Royal Caribbean ice delivery is not a special request. Yes, you must request it, but that is simply to help them reduce waste as some people have no need or desire for ice delivery. It is a room amenity and there are signs in the room telling people to simply request it. There is absolutely nothing above and beyond about ice buckets. At that point if you personally wish to tip, go right ahead, but just want to be clear for others reading it is not a special request and should not be treated as such. The same goes for wine glasses, bottle opener, extra towels, hangars. All of those items are fully within the normal aspects of their job and provided free of charge by the cruise line and require nothing out of the ordinary for a room attendant.

 

Special requests would fall under the category of asking for a full size lounger for a balcony or requesting robes if you are not at the required level or asking for pool towels to be put in the room if you are not in a high enough category room. If one were to ask for any of those items I think an additional tip at the time may be warranted.

 

Some people just like to tip up front without asking for anything. That's fine for them. It's a personal choice.

[Cushing985]

Why on earth would you remove tips (take money away from them) when you received perfectly satisfactory service??

 

Yeah...I don't get this either. Some of the stewards, I've found, can be painfully shy. They just want to minimize contact with the passengers but will still provide outstanding services.

[LMaxwell]

Yeah...I don't get this either. Some of the stewards, I've found, can be painfully shy. They just want to minimize contact with the passengers but will still provide outstanding services.

 

I think they may have meant that the Auto-Tip was sufficient and they questioned whether they would leave ADDITIONAL tip or not given that even though the room was services adequately, there was no interaction. I could be wrong, but that was my impression.

[CruisinKibble]

Yeah...I don't get this either. Some of the stewards, I've found, can be painfully shy. They just want to minimize contact with the passengers but will still provide outstanding services.

 

I think some of them are as you say. I also think some of them realize that many cruisers prefer room stewards to be less visible. I have had very friendly stewards and I have had shy ones. I have complained about neither.

 

At the end of the day what matters most is if the room is taken care of. To get upset because you saw your room steward too much or too little is just petty.

[DonnaK]

We tipped $10.00 when we first boarded and asked for ice and clean glasses each day. We got ice morning and night and always had clean glasses and never had to ask again.

 

You would have gotten these items without asking again even if you didn't tip in advance.

[Esmerelda]

We usually give our steward an extra $20 on day 1 or 2. We don't ask for anything extra except maybe some ice. We just know how HARD and how FAST they have to work to get everything done with little to no downtime.

 

Then on day 4 or 5, we tip another $20. We figure that's $20 extra for each of us. The stewards are always SO appreciative.

 

In all of our RC sailings, we've only had 1 room steward that we did not do this for. That person was just very disinterested in our cabin, and didn't want to be seen? I don't believe we left any extra but that was 1 out of 9 cruises?

 

:p

[vmt514]

Thank you all for answering. I have read through your responses and the 2 links that were shared. (Wish I knew how you found them - all the searches I did came up with general tipping, restaurant tipping, bar tipping.) Anyway, after reading everything, and thinking about it - I concluded that I will not "pre-tip" the cabin steward, but will tip along the way if I ask for anything out of the ordinary. I guess I don't walk into a restaurant and pretip my server to give me better service. And I will give extra at the end for a job well done. So, again, thank you all.

[CruisinKibble]

Thank you all for answering. I have read through your responses and the 2 links that were shared. (Wish I knew how you found them - all the searches I did came up with general tipping, restaurant tipping, bar tipping.) Anyway, after reading everything, and thinking about it - I concluded that I will not "pre-tip" the cabin steward, but will tip along the way if I ask for anything out of the ordinary. I guess I don't walk into a restaurant and pretip my server to give me better service. And I will give extra at the end for a job well done. So, again, thank you all.

 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your new found knowledge!

[caribbean sailor]

We tipped $10.00 when we first boarded and asked for ice and clean glasses each day. We got ice morning and night and always had clean glasses and never had to ask again.

 

Clean glasses,and ice on request is part of their job also making the bed not extra.If we did not receive clean glasses daily i would complain.:)

[mr walker]

I tip the Cabin Steward $20 on the first meeting and ask that ice be filled daily. ... they always seem to drop anything they're doing and tend to me if I need something. They always greet us when they see us in the hall, and are always asking if we need anything. When they see us headed to our room, they will often rush over an open the door for us.

 

Thanks for confirming I am saving $20 each cruise :)

[Merion_Mom]

I modify my tipping depending on how long the cruise is. On a 14 day cruise, for example, I tip extra mid-way through the cruise if the steward is great (as they always are) and then extra again at the end. On a 7 day cruise I tip extra at the end. I do the same thing for the dining room staff. I've never tipped up-front on a cruise and I don't tip up-front in a restaurant at home.

 

I don't believe supplying the cabin with ice or getting extra hangers is considered above and beyond service and doubt the steward does either. Just part of their regular outstanding service. I tip extra not really for their stellar service but because of the realization that they work hard for little "base pay."

 

I don't think tipping up-front guarantees excellent service and I'm not sure the people getting them would be insulted. I just don't think it's necessary.

 

I never thought of doing that. Thanks for the suggestion! :o

[Wheeling_family_of_3]

Because my husband is quadriplegic, I needed many extra pillows on the first day to be able to position him in bed, and so we tipped $20 up front. We then also left extra at the end of the cruise, I have since forgotten how much. This was on top of the pre-paid tips. But we are flamboyant tippers .... We also tipped our waiters, drink waiter and bartenders generously on top of the automatic and pre-paid tips. It made us feel good to do it, so we did.

[papaflamingo]

Ok, one more comment. I know some of you think tipping up front is a bribe, so be it. I think that is absurd. These people live off their tips. Their families live off their tips. Is "pre-paid" tips a "bribe?" They are certainly paid up front, and the crew has a list of who has pre-paid. So they know that you have already tipped them. Maybe a small tip up front is a "bribe," but it sure doesn't seem to insult. In the Diamond Lounge we usually tip the waiters on the first day or so, and it always seems to get us better service. Many don't tip at all in the lounges. Tip the drink waiter in the MDR up front and he'll ensure that your nightly drink is sitting at your table when you arrive. In the lounge, when we tipped "up front," when we got off the elevator, the bar waitress would drop whatever she was doing and get our drinks (we were a party of 4) and they would be at a table waiting for us as we entered the lounge.

So, "tip," "bribe," or just an "appreciation of service," it's a big ship. There are lots of passengers that are expecting or demanding service. A small tip up front has always worked to ensure that we are at the forefront of the service side. Maybe it is a bribe, but it is money that I would tip at the end. It's simply an "advance" and it shows the server that I am going to reward them for their effort in stead of demand excellence for "standard" tips. Oh, by the way, we are not anywhere near "high maintenance." The "high maintenance" people are those who demand the moon, and are constantly running the crew, and still think that standard tips are "plenty" and think an extra $5 is a HUGE amount for great service. You know, someone who sees a "tip" as a "bribe."

[Adayatatime]

Ok, one more comment. I know some of you think tipping up front is a bribe, so be it. I think that is absurd. These people live off their tips. Their families live off their tips. Is "pre-paid" tips a "bribe?" They are certainly paid up front, and the crew has a list of who has pre-paid. So they know that you have already tipped them. Maybe a small tip up front is a "bribe," but it sure doesn't seem to insult. In the Diamond Lounge we usually tip the waiters on the first day or so, and it always seems to get us better service. Many don't tip at all in the lounges. Tip the drink waiter in the MDR up front and he'll ensure that your nightly drink is sitting at your table when you arrive. In the lounge, when we tipped "up front," when we got off the elevator, the bar waitress would drop whatever she was doing and get our drinks (we were a party of 4) and they would be at a table waiting for us as we entered the lounge.

So, "tip," "bribe," or just an "appreciation of service," it's a big ship. There are lots of passengers that are expecting or demanding service. A small tip up front has always worked to ensure that we are at the forefront of the service side. Maybe it is a bribe, but it is money that I would tip at the end. It's simply an "advance" and it shows the server that I am going to reward them for their effort in stead of demand excellence for "standard" tips. Oh, by the way, we are not anywhere near "high maintenance." The "high maintenance" people are those who demand the moon, and are constantly running the crew, and still think that standard tips are "plenty" and think an extra $5 is a HUGE amount for great service. You know, someone who sees a "tip" as a "bribe."

 

I personally would just prefer staff to be trained to serve everyone equally, and not serve those who tip more in a better way. I am sure staff have pride in what they do, and I would sooner see them paid a decent working salary so they don't have to choose who they serve.

 

There is something not nice, for all concerned, about treating people better just because they can afford to pay more. I certainly would expect exactly the same service as you, irrespective of how much I have tipped. Just like we all expect a high level of service from the captain.

[rwright261]

On our last Indy cruise, we gave our room steward 20$ on the first day and asked for a matress topper and was there any chance of getting two robes (we were in a balcony cabin), sure enough by the evening, we had our topper and robes.

 

Each time he left a towel animal we would leave 1$ bill in it / next to it the next morning. I am not sure we got any more towel animals than anyone else, but it was our way of showing the room steward we appreciated them :)

 

PS - We are MTD so our tips were pre-paid, but we left a little extra on top too to show our appreciation.

Edited June 17, 2014 by rwright261
Missed info.

[ducklite]

I know there are many threads on tipping. But this isn't about prepaid or cash for servers. And I know that room stewards get part of the prepaid, but here's my question:

 

Does anyone give their room stewards the cash up front? I read one person that said they did, but can't find a discuss on this. Do those of you who do tip up front feel you get better service? I'm pretty sure we did this 2 years ago on our last cruise and said we like to have ice in the room. We had new ice morning and night without asking again. I'm just trying to decide what is the right amount - I can't remember what we did. So, anyone out there with an opinion? Thanks!

 

We did it once--on our RCCL cruise. We didn't feel like we got service that was any better than it would have been if we hadn't. Our room steward was fine, but not exceptional. We've had much worse and much better on other lines.

 

I wouldn't bother doing it again.

[bigque]

I am another that don't give a extra tip upfront and have always had good service with the best being on my first cruise on Sovereign which was a guy named Stanley from Jamaica. He greeted us when we first got to the room and I greeted him with my best Jamaican accent and we hit it off from there and he wa great. I have given extra to all my room stewards at the end as I have not had one yet who was not good. We usually have wine in the room and everytime we come in the wine bucket has been refreshed with ice, never had to ask for that or ice for the room! :cool:

[ducklite]

I personally would just prefer staff to be trained to serve everyone equally, and not serve those who tip more in a better way. I am sure staff have pride in what they do, and I would sooner see them paid a decent working salary so they don't have to choose who they serve.

 

There is something not nice, for all concerned, about treating people better just because they can afford to pay more. I certainly would expect exactly the same service as you, irrespective of how much I have tipped. Just like we all expect a high level of service from the captain.

 

I agree, unless the extra service should come with the class of cabin booked. For example if you book a suite that includes butler and concierge service, you should expect a higher level of service than if you book a cabin that just offers a steward and guest services.

[Adayatatime]

I agree, unless the extra service should come with the class of cabin booked. For example if you book a suite that includes butler and concierge service, you should expect a higher level of service than if you book a cabin that just offers a steward and guest services.

 

Hopefully paying the extra means its catered for on board, so yes I'm with you on that.