Viking tipping

[Jay Bee]

If a Viking trip is billed sometimes as a "7 night," other times as an "8 day," what number do you use to compute gratuities? And is the Program Director tipped for all days of the cruise even if excursions/activities are not planned (like the day of boarding)?

 

Thanks.:)

[CaroleSS]

What you tip is completely up to you.....but here is what we do...

 

We tip on the "nights". The first "day" is shortened as is the last, but the number of nights is fixed. That just makes it easier for me.

 

We tip the CD for every day, even if they aren't actively helping us, they do work behind the scenes that make for a more pleasant vacation.

 

We always tip the "suggested" amount and give extra to those that have enhanced our vacation. Tipping is a hot topic as each country has it's own customs.....but when in Rome.....:D

[Worldcrzr]

We always give an extra amount to our room steward. When we board, we ask if he/she can accept gratuities and can they keep it. They always say yes. Then we tell them we give gratuities for excellent service and we always get it. This is above the amount that is calculated for the entire crew and placed on the bill. And, if we happen to see the same room steward on another cruise but they do not have our cabin, they always greet us with a warm smile and a "welcome back on board". We hand out envelopes the last night personally and thank each one who gave us extra service. The Cruise Director is a salaried employee and makes many times the amount our room steward does so I don't feel I need to tip him/her more than the amount added to the bill.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Worldcrzr

[aquilegia]

Well, on ocean cruises I've been on where gratuities are added automatically, they are always based on the number of nights, so that's how I've computed the tips for river cruises.

[Jay Bee]

Thank you, all. :)

[RMLincoln]

Would someone please walk me through the steps of Viking gratuities:

 

I understand that we can always get an envelope, put cash in it and give "extra" to whomever we want....

 

But the guideline on our TAs website says 12-15 Euros per day (night) per person... sounds a bit high, but we will plan to go along with the guideline.

 

How does Viking do it? We are used to a cruise ship adding the Hotel Service Charge to the bill. Will Viking just do this for us or do we have to request it?

 

And do we have to say what amount we request to be added? or for whom the gratuities are intended?

We have never tipped a Cruise Director, so that is new to us, please explain what the custom is on Viking.

 

Thanks so much. Very exciting on this new form of travel for us! Looking forward to my CC family helping us get prepared for it for this November. m--

[rjscott]

You can do cash in envelopes and envelopes will be provided. Or, you can request, on the last evening, that Viking add to your acct the "standard gratuities". That will cover the 12euro pp per day for crew and 2 euro pp per day for the Program Manager or CD. If you just ask forcthe standard gratuity, it saves your having to figure the amounts. ;). They will not be able to add to your acct any specific addt'l gratuities, so you will want to have cash on hand for those and envelopes will be available at the front desk.

 

Becki

[RMLincoln]

You can do cash in envelopes and envelopes will be provided. Or, you can request, on the last evening, that Viking add to your acct the "standard gratuities". That will cover the 12euro pp per day for crew and 2 euro pp per day for the Program Manager or CD. If you just ask forcthe standard gratuity, it saves your having to figure the amounts. ;). They will not be able to add to your acct any specific addt'l gratuities, so you will want to have cash on hand for those and envelopes will be available at the front desk.

 

Becki

 

Thank you so much.... now I don't feel quite as dumb :)

 

I'm assuming that the program director arranges the tours as well as many other things, but I assume the tour guides are locals and we would want cash to tip them (if warranted) at the end of each tour... and will need Euros for that.

m--

[travelfirst]

For each bus tour you need 3 euros. One of them get one euro and the other gets two euros. I forget which ones get what now.....

[rjscott]

For each bus tour you need 3 euros. One of them get one euro and the other gets two euros. I forget which ones get what now.....

 

Yes, forgot that! The guide gets 2 euro pp, if you felt he/she did a good job and the bus driver gets 1 euro pp. If we've been with our guide the better part of a day, we usually up their tip. We have found viking's guides, almost w/o exception, to be outstanding.

 

 

Becki

[CaroleSS]

I've heard the bus driver gets €1 pp and the tour guide gets €2 pp....Just remember that €1 and €2 are COINS.

[Orlandocruiser]

We generally gave 5€ for the two of us for our guides and sometimes more. We made sure we ordered plenty of 5€ bills before we left home. ( and please try not to tip in dollars - it must be a pain for them to change and 5 dollars isn't even 4 Euros with exchange rates and fees). BTW our program director was well worth the suggested tip.

[RMLincoln]

Thank you all for the tips guides on tipping guides! We'll have to accumulate coins and 5 Euros bills. My memory is that the ATMs give out 20 Euro bills, so will need to break those down... plus potty coins too! m--

[H2Otstr]

Thank you all for the tips guides on tipping guides! We'll have to accumulate coins and 5 Euros bills. My memory is that the ATMs give out 20 Euro bills, so will need to break those down... plus potty coins too! m--

 

You can get change at the reception desk. Have them break the larger bills for smaller ones and coins.

[CaroleSS]

I did the math for our upcoming trip and we'll need > €120 in coins for bus driver/tour guide tips! :eek:

 

I would think that the reception desk would have 'some' change, but not THAT much. My plan is to take one for the team and buy a gelato every day using a €20 and then use the change as tips.

 

It's my story and I'm sticking with it!!! :p

[rjscott]

Carole,

It does add up! And, I like your plan! ;).

 

You are right; the front desk will at times have small bills and coins for change, but in limited quantities. We tried to keep tips in mind when making small purchases in port. We would use a larger bill and ask for smaller bills/coins in change. Also, a couple of times we got caught totally w/o any bills less than 10 euros. We simply waited until the guide had collected all her tips and then explained we only had a 10, and could she make change? She was happy to do so, as she got a tip, and we were happy not to have to stiff her.

 

Becki

[joanne2]

I did the math for our upcoming trip and we'll need > €120 in coins for bus driver/tour guide tips! :eek:

 

I would think that the reception desk would have 'some' change, but not THAT much. My plan is to take one for the team and buy a gelato every day using a €20 and then use the change as tips.

 

It's my story and I'm sticking with it!!! :p

 

I love your plan!!

[RMLincoln]

I did the math for our upcoming trip and we'll need > €120 in coins for bus driver/tour guide tips! :eek:

 

I would think that the reception desk would have 'some' change, but not THAT much. My plan is to take one for the team and buy a gelato every day using a €20 and then use the change as tips.

 

It's my story and I'm sticking with it!!! :p

 

Perfecto!

[mimmy52]

If you have a transfer from the airport to the hotel, I suppose you are supposed to tip the driver and the host then too?

[rjscott]

If you have a transfer from the airport to the hotel, I suppose you are supposed to tip the driver and the host then too?

 

Not sure what you mean by the " host"?

 

Becki

[mimmy52]

The information we received from Viking says their host will help us check into the hotel and give us info on what we can do during our pre-trip extension in Lucerne. But maybe the driver is also the host.

[CaroleSS]

Maybe they think the airport greeter is the host? If so, I do t think a tip is expected, but if they go out of their way for you or do something "special" a small tip would be appreciated.

 

The transfer driver, we usually give a small amount as they tote our luggage.

[rjscott]

Oh, I see. At a precruise or postcruise hotel, you will have a Viking host , sometimes more than one, to assist with check-in, sightseeing, restaurant recommendations and reservations and then transport to/from the ship. It isn't necessary to tip the Viking host unless, as Carole has said, they do something extra special for you, like securing last-minute restaurant reservations to a top restaurant, etc.

 

Becki

[mimmy52]

Thank you. That helps a lot.