WOW Envelopes

[Truluv]

If you've prepaid your tips, do you use your WOW envelopes anyway? Do you tip your steward (pleasant & good service) an extra $20 or $40?

[Clarea]

If you've prepaid your tips, do you use your WOW envelopes anyway? Do you tip your steward (pleasant & good service) an extra $20 or $40?

It's totally up to you. Sometimes we tip extra, sometimes we don't.

[Truluv]

Thanks Cleara - but I also would like to know what amount is appropriate, if you do decide to provide an extra tip for good service.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Truluv

[Clarea]

Thanks Cleara - but what amount is appropriate?

Any amount you are comfortable with.

[Truluv]

I need some suggestions from others on an amount that might be suitable, please.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Truluv

[LizzieandLuke]

We gave everyone an extra $20 at least as everyone deserved it. We gave our waiter a bit more as well as our dining room bar tender. It only breaks out to less than $3 a day for a seven day cruise.

[LizzieandLuke]

I didn't mention we are a family of 4 and my kids were well taken care of :D

[Truluv]

Thanks so much fyree and Lizzie/Luke!

 

I've taken a few cruises in the past with Carnival, and enjoyed them a lot. I'm just a little confused by the prepaid tip thing, especially since my steward left a few WOW tip envelopes last night (finishing up a RCL cruise) just like the old tip envelopes we used to get. It definitely feels like there's an expectation for extra tipping.

 

My last RCL cruise was on Allure 2 years' ago, and they didn't have WOW tip envelopes. If I remember correctly, we got "WOW" cards that we could give to staff that they could use for extra time off.

 

Last year I cruised on NCL, and they also didn't have extra tip envelopes. Of course, everything changes so maybe they have them now.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Truluv

[Goofyisme]

If you have had tips were prepaid or added to your account daily then IMO you have paid the expected tip for good standard service. I have never experienced service that even comes close to making me think about reducing these amounts.

 

As far as anything additional, this is an entirely personal decision depending on your perception of how much if any crew members have gone above acceptable. For myself on a 7 day cruise I have added additional tips from $0 to $100 per cabin. Also will add additional tips to drink orders above the included amount for excellent service. This usually occurs later in the cruise as a server demonstrates that they have made an effort to learn my preferences and made efforts to anticipate my desires.

 

What ever you decide to do in giving any additional tips, If you received outstanding service from a staff member in any capacity please remember to fill out and turn in a WOW card for this individual. These cards really help in their evaluations.

 

Hope this is of some value, but in any case these are just my opinions.

[rodenboy]

We always prepay our tips, but we always feel guilty not tipping further at the end of the week. In fact, I can't think of a cruise where we haven't tipped further! We can't be the only ones surely?

[DonnaK]

We usually don't give additional tips outside of the recommended amount because we feel that they are more than adequate.

 

If the steward or waiter goes above and beyond the normal realm of their duties to do something special or out-of-the-ordinary for us, then we will give an additional $20 or so at the end of the week.

 

Example: The mattress on Explorer was way too hard for me and irritated my sciatica. The steward noticed that I was limping a bit and asked about it. He changed the mattress padding 3 times for me (all voluntarily, because he asked, not because I complained).

 

Another example: our HVAC system wasn't working properly on Allure and our cabin was unbearably hot. The steward reported the issue, and continually followed up, keeping on top of maintenance until the repair was done satisfactorily (it took 4 attempts to fix it before it was done)

 

But for providing ice, extra towels, extra pillows, etc - that's their job so we don't tip more

[Truluv]

Wow Donna - that Steward did an amazing job! I've had stewards who do the bare minimum, and some that are very competent but not friendly.

 

The steward I have now is a very gracious woman who is polite and does a very competent job. She had a tough week, since we've had some bratty kids who have been switching the "make up room" and "do not disturb" cards in the morning. She seems to be afraid that her passengers whose rooms weren't cleaned on time because of "do not disturb" signs will be angry. She also mentioned that she had opened a cabin where someone was sleeping and one where someone was showering, because they had the "make up room" cards on their doors. She's worried those passengers might be upset with her.

[yankees111]

Thanks Cleara - but I also would like to know what amount is appropriate, if you do decide to provide an extra tip for good service.

 

 

If you are happy with your service and want to tip extra then go ahead. It is fine if you don't tip extra also. It is your vacation and it should not make any difference what another person may or may not tip over the suggested amount...

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

We usually give about $20 to the room steward, $15-20 to the assistant waiter, and $30-40 to the waiter. But it depends on the service.

By the way, you can put the extra tips on your account. Then you just write a note in the WOW envelope letting them know.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On my Disney cruises I have pretty much always tipped extra. $5-10 for my cabin steward as I travel solo and keep things tidy. The $10 was the most recent cruise where I met my steward in the hall while I was going to buy some after-sun gel in the shops because I'd missed some skin with the spray-on sunblock and she asked about my day. When I said it was great and I'd had a blast, just gotten a little burned, she told me to wait a minute and she would be back. She came back with some of the after-sun gel bottles the Concierge guests get without my even asking for it. My dining team usually gets extra as well - anywhere from $5 for a fantastic head server to $10 for a great assistant server and $15-20 for a great server. But I never feel obligated to tip extra - even with the envelopes you get a slip that says the tip amount they are receiving from prepaid or autograts so even if you're not tipping extra you can put the slip in the envelope and give it to them. I do always mention spectacular service by name though as that is probably THE most important thing you can do for your servers/stewards.

 

Now last summer on Holland America, the service was fine, but nothing over the top, nothing above and beyond. I gave nothing extra and felt no guilt about it. No one stood out enough to be mentioned either.

 

We will see what happens in 27 days when I'm on my first Royal Caribbean cruise. :)

[grandgeezer]

 

Now last summer on Holland America, the service was fine, but nothing over the top, nothing above and beyond. I gave nothing extra and felt no guilt about it. No one stood out enough to be mentioned either.

 

We will see what happens in 27 days when I'm on my first Royal Caribbean cruise. :)

 

I feel the same way about my last three cruises on Celebrity. Service was at an expected level, nothing special. They were friendly and always smiling but, in our estimation, the service did not warrant an extra gratuity. I think the cutbacks don't leave them time to give you that WOW service like it used to be. We are on the Allure, in three months, so we'll see how that works out.

[Langley Cruisers]

We may tip our steward if the service is above and beyond. BUT - on our last few cruises, we have found new people to tip - one was "the omelette guy" in the Windjammer on Serenade (unbelievable service, knew my husband's order after a few days, incredible), and the ice cream girl in the Windjammer on Explorer. She was so sweet and kind, and just what I would call a "thankless job", just standing there serving the ice cream each night. Bless her heart. Both were delighted we acknowledged them. :)

.

[Jenhem31]

The least we've tipped extra is $20 and the most is $50. As others have mentioned, any amount you feel comfortable with is fine. There's no set amount or limit. It's up to you.

[stretchcruz]

I'm kind of feeling overly generous right now, and I thought we were cheap. We've been on over 45 cruises and started when tipping was optional. We keep the gratuities on, and give at least $50 to room steward and waiter, $30 to assistant waiter. Not per person, just for the 2 of us. We also tip at least $1 per drink in the diamond lounge and we gave the diamond hostess I think $25. It's a personal decision obviously and I now don't feel so cheap!

[sauvichick]

First roysl cruise we saw wow cards, but 2nd cruise none. I don't remember a wow envelope. All deserving were mentioned in the survey.

Tipping beyond what is required is a personal decision. We've always tipped all our cabin stewards additional, but on our last Allure cruise we tipped the most ever. First, we were in a suite and 2nd we truly adored our cabin steward for going the extra knot/mile. We tipped bartenders additionally in the night club because they would have our drinks ready as soon as we walked in after the 1st night. We don't eat in the MDR anymore so we only tip per specialty meal appropriately. Like I've said it's a personal decision and we only tip on the last day.

Edited July 5, 2015 by sauvichick