Tips how much extra?

[ObstructedView2]

My problem? My friend is planning on taking off her regular gratuities. I'm not sure if she plans to tip the room steward daily or not. Although she's not new to cruising, she seems to have no idea how negative it is to remove gratuities. She told me on one cruise they kept running out of toilet paper - I'm wondering if this was a coincidence or not.

I wonder if your friend also received some extra saliva in her ice bucket from her cabin steward.

Or when in the MDR if she was awarded with an extra special side order of saliva in her warm chocolate melting cake....:eek:

 

Happens all of the time... Treat the people who serve you well.

 

 

 

 

 

:)

 

[silvercrikhix]

All of the responses to this thread really go to show that tipping is as varied as the people giving them.

Do what you see fit and you now know what others do.

For us, we have found that pre-tipping the steward has not been helpful in our experiences.

Some are just more enthusiastic about their duties than others.

 

Our tips:

We round up the taxi fare by a couple bucks, unless they took a long route to up the fare, which has happened--they get nothing extra.

 

We tip the porters usually $10 bucks, if DH feels generous $20 for 3-4 suitcases with a take care of our bags and a wink.

We do not smuggle either, we just heard stories of grumpy porters wrecking luggage, etc...if they dislike you or are having a bad day.

 

We have had very good room stewards and some lazy ones.

The ones who shine can expect $50-$100 at cruise end.

We will give at least $20 no matter what, maybe they are just having a bad week.

 

Tipping room service, usually $2-$5 depending on size of order.

Bartenders, usually a $1 cash extra per drink rewards us with great service.

If we really like a bartender who have served us all cruise, we will tip them anywhere from $20-$100 extra at the end.

The gal on our last cruise was phenomenal and we got to know her well & really liked her story, spirit, etc...

She got $100, awesome girl.

 

If set time dining, we will tip an extra $20-$50 depending on how great the service was.

YTD, if good we tip a $5 at meals end, if not good $0 extra.

 

Tour guides tips vary also, anywhere from $5-$20 depending upon how they do their job.

[MCFTJCH2V]

All of the responses to this thread really go to show that tipping is as varied as the people giving them.

Do what you see fit and you now know what others do.

For us, we have found that pre-tipping the steward has not been helpful in our experiences.

Some are just more enthusiastic about their duties than others.

 

Our tips:

We round up the taxi fare by a couple bucks, unless they took a long route to up the fare, which has happened--they get nothing extra.

 

We tip the porters usually $10 bucks, if DH feels generous $20 for 3-4 suitcases with a take care of our bags and a wink.

We do not smuggle either, we just heard stories of grumpy porters wrecking luggage, etc...if they dislike you or are having a bad day.

 

We have had very good room stewards and some lazy ones.

The ones who shine can expect $50-$100 at cruise end.

We will give at least $20 no matter what, maybe they are just having a bad week.

 

Tipping room service, usually $2-$5 depending on size of order.

Bartenders, usually a $1 cash extra per drink rewards us with great service.

If we really like a bartender who have served us all cruise, we will tip them anywhere from $20-$100 extra at the end.

The gal on our last cruise was phenomenal and we got to know her well & really liked her story, spirit, etc...

She got $100, awesome girl.

 

If set time dining, we will tip an extra $20-$50 depending on how great the service was.

YTD, if good we tip a $5 at meals end, if not good $0 extra.

 

Tour guides tips vary also, anywhere from $5-$20 depending upon how they do their job.

 

When tips are taken from me, I consider the act fête complete.

[silvercrikhix]

When tips are taken from me, I consider the act fête complete.

 

Huh? We leave the auto-tips no matter what!

[Jana60]

Walk around throwing $5's at everyone with a name tag; they'll let you drive the ship (don't tip the captain; it is a faux pas)

 

Yeah that's what I was thinking too! I'm much more conservative than the others posting here. I only tip extra if the service level is superior not for the standard service since I expect the auto tips to cover that. At the beginning of the cruise I do ask for extra service from the room Stewart in that I request ice, a mattress pad or eggcrate, and I ask that they empty the refrigerator so that I can use it for my own drinks. If they do these three things, I gave them an extra 10 or 15. If they keep supplying ice twice a day and keep the room clean and well stocked then I give them another 15-20 at the end. If on the other hand they refused to empty the refrigerator and make me have to unload it myself into the top of the closet, if they do not bring me ice, & I do not get an eggcrate for my bed then they get the Auto tips and nothing else. If they don't keep the room clean, first i'll speak to them about it but if it continues I'll pull the tips entirely but only at the end of the cruise as I wouldn't want any revenge taking place.

[Jana60]

When I called today the lady on the phone said if you don't prepay your gratuities they add them on to your account the last day and you must pay. Is this true?

 

I'm only asking because I've seen others say they take the prepaid gratuities off and pay what they see fit to whomever.

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks

 

They are probably referring to the fact that if you don't pay your tips prior to the cruise then they put them on your sail and sign Card usually within the first couple of days. But that does not keep me from removing the tip if I consider the service poor.

[declansdad]

nobody has to call you cheap because you already know you are!:)

 

 

Totally uncalled for.

[Jana60]

nobody has to call you cheap because you already know you are!

 

Totally uncalled for.

 

I agree! Definitely uncalled for!

[Landlocked_N_Texas]

We will tip the porters $2/bag + $2. I usually request ice from the Steward and give him $20 the first day. If I have to make an unusual request, and/or when they go above and beyond, I keep $5 bills for the stewards, but I do cash at the end too. $1-2 for drinks (depending on the bartender) and $2-3 room service (coffee every day). I have envelopes marked for tips and pre-fill before cruising. As far as dining, we do Your Time Dining. Once we had an outstanding Waiter (Nonni on the Magic) who we requested and got each time. We tipped her cash at the end. This last cruise, no one stood out. We never requested a certain person's table, so we added $20 to the dining gratuities and that was that.

 

On our first cruise on Carnival I dumped a backpack on the bed (looking for sunglasses) and sand went everywhere! I felt awful!

The steward was so nice, but I didn't know to tip him at the time (I thought I did by adding to the auto-gratuities). I read later he may or may not have gotten it. Now I use cash!

[Bradburyesqu]

Every time I read one of these threads as a first time cruiser all I can think is "Why do cruise lines make something so simple so complicated."

 

I think I have some kind of handle on it, but there is one thing that still confuses me. I see that most people tip once either at the end or the beginning of the trip. I'm more accustom to tipping daily at the time service is rendered. The obvious difference being in a hotel or resort you don't get the same person every day. Is there an etiquette issue with tipping daily? It doesn't really matter, but it's just habit.

[kerryincork]

If you pay the auto tip daily you don't have to tip anyone else , simple as. Don't feel pressured in tipping more than the auto - tip just because others are flashing the cash. There is already a tip on every drink you buy and spa package you use. If someone stands out by all means tip them extra.

I was talking to a waiter once and they asked me to fill out comment card if I enjoyed the service as the more of those they get the better, re better duties and end of year bonus.

[funship freddy]

I have found that tipping the bartender a little cash improves service.:):)

[Nurse 3D]

As a nurse, I appreciated when my service is acknowledged in written form. What I don't understand is not saying anything to a person about bad service. I usually tip the room steward and dining room stewards. Pay what you are comfortable with. My idea of good service may not be what you expect or want.

[mzlinda]

One thing that puzzled me....on my last cruise, we (3 women in 1 cabin) tipped our room steward $10 each one day, and I almost thought he was insulted. The night before when we hung out on our balcony half the night instead of going to dinner, we eventually found him hanging out in the hall waiting for us to leave. When we figured that out, we just asked him to hand us some towels and we sent him on his way but he later explained that he isn't done for the night until all cabins are serviced or decline service. We wanted to give him something extra for the inconvenience. Stopping to think about it later, I wondered if he thought we were planning to remove the auto tips. I guess we should have said "here's something extra for you" instead of "thanks for taking good care of us". I'm sure it looks bad for them when people remove the auto tips and I wonder if he worried about that the rest of the week. Tipping can be a fine art.

[simplelife]

Always tip the porter at the port. They usually say $1 a bag, but I usually slip him a minimum of $5 per bag.

 

Room service, always tip $5.

 

I usually give an extra $20 to our server at dinner, $10 to his/her assistant. I don't understand tipping the maitre'd because I never see them throughout the entire cruise.

 

Anyone that brings me something that I have to sign for (bartender, waiter/waitress, etc.), I usually add a couple bucks when they bring me the slip to sign -- get better service. However, I add $10 for steakhouse server.

 

As for the room steward, if I don't see them as I am leaving, I usually leave an extra $20 on the desk.

 

Yes, I know, I over-tip. However, if you have ever worked in the hospitality business, you will do the same.

I don't consider this over-tipping, if you mean that the servers' tips are for the whole cruise. This is about the same as what I usually do. I tip the maitre'd if he arranges a different table or seating for me. I have, at times tipped the assistant waiter as much or more than the waiter, if his service was especially good. Of course this is all in addition to the auto-tips, which I always leave on.

[fitoldguyinspeedo]

OK so I realize this question has been asked a thousand times and in as many different ways but here goes.

 

We've just booked our second ever cruise (Southern Caribbean May 1 2016) and I'm confused as to tipping. According to the Carnival website you can simply add tips automatically up front and be done with it.

 

But, as I read though the posts here, it appears most accomplished cruisers tip in cash for each service rendered. That to me seems like alot of trouble to carry a wad of cash (1's) around on sea days (no pockets in my speedo anyway, lol).

 

So.... I can certainly see tipping the room steward a 20 in the beginning and a 20+ in the end but what I don't understand is the in-between. The dining rooms, the bars, the servers on deck. Do you all tip them in cash each and every time and no up front tipping at all?

 

I often overtip for excellent service and am not concerenced about money but I thought one of the whole points of cruising was not having to worry about cash.

Edited December 10, 2015 by fitoldguyinspeedo

[mmckm]

OK so I realize this question has been asked a thousand times and in as many different ways but here goes.

 

We've just booked our second ever cruise (Southern Caribbean May 1 2016) and I'm confused as to tipping. According to the Carnival website you can simply add tips automatically up front and be done with it.

 

But, as I read though the posts here, it appears most accomplished cruisers tip in cash for each service rendered. That to me seems like alot of trouble to carry a wad of cash (1's) around on sea days (no pockets in my speedo anyway, lol).

 

So.... I can certainly see tipping the room steward a 20 in the beginning and a 20+ in the end but what I don't understand is the in-between. The dining rooms, the bars, the servers on deck. Do you all tip them in cash each and every time and no up front tipping at all?

 

I often overtip for excellent service and am not concerenced about money but I thought one of the whole points of cruising was not having to worry about cash.

 

What you decide to tip is totally up to you and what your comfortable with. We leave the auto tips on and have a drink package and usually tip $1.00 cash per drink if service is good. Cash is better then writing it down as the bartenders get the tip. Also if you write a tip on the bill it goes into the tip pool which you are already doing if you keep the auto tips on. We never tip up front. To me that is like a bribe. We will tip the room steward on the last night. We have always had good room stewards and if we had a bad one we would adjust the tip accordingly. Also room service a couple dollars depending on what is ordered.

We have anytime dinning and will leave a small tip every night at dinner. We make sure we have $1.00 bills for tipping when we leave home. Its easy and if we run out ,you can always get more at the passenger service desk.

[mmckm]

I don't consider this over-tipping, if you mean that the servers' tips are for the whole cruise. This is about the same as what I usually do. I tip the maitre'd if he arranges a different table or seating for me. I have, at times tipped the assistant waiter as much or more than the waiter, if his service was especially good. Of course this is all in addition to the auto-tips, which I always leave on.

 

I never tip the Maitre'd, or head waiter they are management as far as I'm concerned and there salary is a lot better then the servers. At the chefs table we tip the servers.

[kerryincork]

If you leave the auto - tip in place there is absolutely no need to tip anyone cash. On all bar receipts the 15/18% tip has already been added to price of drinks.

You absolutely do not have to tip anyone extra. We usually leave extra for the steward as I have not had a bad one. I very rarely tip any one extra as I leave the auto tips in place and personally believe this is sufficient.

[Jana60]

Walk around throwing $5's at everyone with a name tag; they'll let you drive the ship (don't tip the captain; it is a faux pas)

 

LOL! Why not make it $10s or $20s? These kind of threads always make me laugh. It's sort of like you're out on a date with a guy who is bragging about his car and his home and all of his possessions to try to impress. You know the song "That don't impress me much"? Sometimes I'm just impressed by people's stupidity!!

[k2excursion]

LOL! Why not make it $10s or $20s? These kind of threads always make me laugh. It's sort of like you're out on a date with a guy who is bragging about his car and his home and all of his possessions to try to impress. You know the song "That don't impress me much"? Sometimes I'm just impressed by people's stupidity!!

 

That's why I tip $100 to each waiter & room steward every night, and an extra $2,000 to each at the end. Only $1,000 for the 1st night's bribe, oops, I mean tip. $50 tip for each drink that a bartender brings me.

 

I was thinking that I must be the only one who feels the same as you. I have been on many cruises, and have only seen a small minority of people leaving extra tips for the dining room waiters. Usually, only on the last night, and not the huge amounts that I see reported on these threads. Most people just leave on the auto-tips, and that's all. Drinks have the tip added on automatically. Extra tipping is certainly not a bad thing, and the extraordinary high amounts that get reported on these threads is not a bad thing, but it isn't necessary nor expected by the crew. The main exceptions are room service or if you have a special request. People who don't tip extra at all, other than the exceptions, shouldn't feel bad about themselves. People who give much smaller extra tips, like $5 to waiters instead of $80+, shouldn't feel bad. Anything extra is a blessing to them, and you are in the minority of people who tip extra. I think that some people don't tip extra at all, even though they want to, just because they think that $5-$10 extra is not enough.

Edited December 11, 2015 by k2excursion

[Who Cares?]

This is my second time on Carnival and i plan on tipping extra for the wonderful service that is given. As i am not a very experienced traveler and usually just go camping, im not so sure how much and to whom.

So for a 6 night on the Breeze what and who would you tip extra.

trying to plan how much small bill to take with us.

Thanks

 

$0 - no one.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Who Cares?

[cruiselovin'girl]

So if I am understanding this correctly, the auto tips are all pooled by waiters, room stewards, etc.? I had assumed that whatever was put on our bill was for our particular waiter, room steward, etc. Always have added extra $$ at the end of the cruise for good service but now I'm wondering if I should save extra cash and hand it to them personally. Does anyone know for sure? I don't mind pooling for regular service but if I want to tip someone for exceptional service, I want to make sure it goes to the right person! :rolleyes:

Thanks for our input,

Pam

[Jana60]

So if I am understanding this correctly' date=' the auto tips are all pooled by waiters, room stewards, etc.? I had assumed that whatever was put on our bill was for our particular waiter, room steward, etc. Always have added extra $$ at the end of the cruise for good service but now I'm wondering if I should save extra cash and hand it to them personally. Does anyone know for sure? I don't mind pooling for regular service but if I want to tip someone for exceptional service, I want to make sure it goes to the right person! :rolleyes:

Thanks for our input,

Pam[/quote']

 

You should keep auto tips because all of the employees work together to make your cruise a great experience but if somebody goes above and beyond, for instance if you have a fantastic room steward and you want to show your appreciation, just give him an envelope with a note and tip or a greenback handshake (cash in the palm). He definitely wouldn't have to share something nobody else knows about.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Jana60

[cb at sea]

If you pay the suggested tips, you're done. On cruises, tips are extended at the END of the cruise, on the last night...it's not a "tip as you go" thing. Rarely is more tip warranted....and you'll know if you need to!