SINGLE HSC/TIPPING THREAD (Previously "Why are gratuities not included in Fares?")

[jtl513]

what happens to any unused OBC?

Any purchased by you/family/friends/TA is refunded. Any that comes from HAL or Carnival Corp is lost. But - they use up the non-refundable kind first.

[summersigh]

please tell me what is the advantage of prepaying gratuities? Why not pay off your credit card balance when you are finished cruising, before your credit card payment due date?

The only advantage I can see might be if you bought Carnival Corp gift cards at a discounted percentage. (be sure they work on all ships for Carnival Corp which owns HAL - not just Carnival ships)

 

Aside from that and any OBC perks from booking we wait until the end of the cruise and just pay off the credit card when the bill comes in. If it's paid off when the bill comes in there's no interest charged on my cards at least.

[jtl513]

deleted

Edited February 3, 2017 by jtl513

[RuthC]

please tell me what is the advantage of prepaying gratuities? Why not pay off your credit card balance when you are finished cruising, before your credit card payment due date?

Some people like to budget by paying something every month over a period of time. Purchasing OBC, as well as such things as shore excursions, specialty dining, etc. in advance allows them to do that.

Sure, they could pay off the bill at the end the same way, but then there would be interest charges.

[Randyk47]

Some people like to budget by paying something every month over a period of time. Purchasing OBC, as well as such things as shore excursions, specialty dining, etc. in advance allows them to do that.

Sure, they could pay off the bill at the end the same way, but then there would be interest charges.

 

We initially liked the option to prebook tours, especially for the smaller ones that potentially get booked up quickly. Sure beats going to the tours desk when we first board to hopefully get the tours we want. Might add that we usually book our cruises a year plus out so have plenty of time to research ports, tours, and get recommendations. By the time we can actually book tours we have a pretty good, actually firm, idea of what we want. Over time we also got to appreciate the ability to pay off a part of the cruise with little to no risk. We like it a lot.

[RocketMan275]

Some people like to budget by paying something every month over a period of time. Purchasing OBC, as well as such things as shore excursions, specialty dining, etc. in advance allows them to do that.

Sure, they could pay off the bill at the end the same way, but then there would be interest charges.

 

There shouldn't be any interest charges. If you have the funds to buy OBC for the gratuities prior to the cruise, you have the funds to pay for the gratuities at the end of the cruise.

[kazu]

please tell me what is the advantage of prepaying gratuities? Why not pay off your credit card balance when you are finished cruising, before your credit card payment due date?

 

I am with you in that I don't see an advantage. Some people apparently like the feeling of not ending the cruise with a big bill--but they start with one. :rolleyes:

 

Advantage for me is to try to dollar cost average the foreign exchange risk of the cost in U.S. $

 

I have bought a couple of shore excursions, booked my specialty dining and bought obc.

 

I am quite capable of paying off my credit card when it arrives, but I prefer to try to manage the exchange risk and budget.

 

And hrhdhd - I'm not starting with a big bill as you put it:rolleyes:, our bill is paid off every month. No doubt we will still have a bill at the end of our cruise, but at least the entire cost will not be subject to exchange rates in one moment of time. Remember, everyone who is on board is not from the U.S.

 

Personally, I LIKE having my shore excursions confirmed, my specialty dining lined up. I don't want to wait until I am onboard and rush here and there. Much nicer things to do on embarkation day ;)

[Appalachian Mountain Mama]

please tell me what is the advantage of prepaying gratuities? Why not pay off your credit card balance when you are finished cruising, before your credit card payment due date?

 

 

Well in my case I do pay off my credit card every month, BUT, right now I am in the process of buying a house for my grandson to live in while he attends college and the mortgage lender tends to freak out when I have very large charges on my card so I like to keep everything under $1000. So smaller prepaid increments are best.

 

 

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[SonnekeH]

no interest charges if you pay off your credit card balance before the due date.

[SonnekeH]

weird

[Hsmama]

thanks for all the replies... I am going to buy some as I noted I want to put some spend on a credit card right now.... and FWIW, I always PIF all cc balances, but sometimes timing of the spend is important. (bonuses) I am still a bit confused by the purchase page where it appears I don't input any payment to get them....

[jtl513]

I am still a bit confused by the purchase page where it appears I don't input any payment to get them....

IIRC when you have put all the items in your "cart" that you want and go to Checkout you will be asked for credit card details.(I don't have a booking right now and can't test if that is exactly correct.)

[kazu]

IIRC when you have put all the items in your "cart" that you want and go to Checkout you will be asked for credit card details.(I don't have a booking right now and can't test if that is exactly correct.)

 

your memory is good :) That's how it works :)

[Platoon Leader]

I apologise in advance if this addressed somewhere else.

When we dine at PG or other speciality venues I have always tipped at least 20 percent. A fellow cruiser told me the tip is included in the fee. Can anyone advise as I don't want to stiff the hard working staff. Thanks

 

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[RuthC]

A tip is not included in the Pinnacle surcharge. It is included in the Hotel Service Charge, as those who work there are included in that pool.

Should you wish to tip your server an additional amount, you can give it to him in cash.

[Platoon Leader]

A tip is not included in the Pinnacle surcharge. It is included in the Hotel Service Charge, as those who work there are included in that pool.

Should you wish to tip your server an additional amount, you can give it to him in cash.

Thank you

 

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[igraf]

Holland America has historically been a "no tipping" cruise line. The current policy is to charge an overall daily service charge so that rewards are not limited to the more visible crew. In addition, the beverage servers add gratuities to the bar bill.

 

From the HAL website:

 

"Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as Dining Room wait staff and the stewards who service your stateroom each day. There are also many others who support their efforts whom you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge is automatically added to each guest’s shipboard account."

 

To address your question: I don't think that the PG waiters are working harder than the MDR waiters so tips or lack of should be the same for both. Same for all the other workers on the ship. I personally prefer the Hotel Service Charge over cash tips to a select few.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

I apologise in advance if this addressed somewhere else.

When we dine at PG or other speciality venues I have always tipped at least 20 percent. A fellow cruiser told me the tip is included in the fee. Can anyone advise as I don't want to stiff the hard working staff. Thanks

 

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[rkacruiser]

Personally, I offer a $10/person gratuity in the PG and a $5/person at Canaletto.

[POA1]

Holland America has historically been a "no tipping" cruise line. The current policy is to charge an overall daily service charge so that rewards are not limited to the more visible crew. In addition, the beverage servers add gratuities to the bar bill.

 

From the HAL website:

 

"Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as Dining Room wait staff and the stewards who service your stateroom each day. There are also many others who support their efforts whom you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge is automatically added to each guest’s shipboard account."

 

To address your question: I don't think that the PG waiters are working harder than the MDR waiters so tips or lack of should be the same for both. Same for all the other workers on the ship. I personally prefer the Hotel Service Charge over cash tips to a select few.

 

igraf

Actually, Holland America had a "tipping not required" in the 90s and before. Tipping not required is the same thing as tips not expected. It's absolutely not "no tipping." (We have our 1990s paperwork if you want to have a throw down.) Some travel agents did (mistakenly) referred to "tipping not required" as "no tipping."

 

Even "tips included" lines like Silversea allowed tipping.

 

My guess is that they implemented a service charge specifically because people came up with your interpretation of the gratuity policy b

[Platoon Leader]

Holland America has historically been a "no tipping" cruise line. The current policy is to charge an overall daily service charge so that rewards are not limited to the more visible crew. In addition, the beverage servers add gratuities to the bar bill.

 

From the HAL website:

 

"Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as Dining Room wait staff and the stewards who service your stateroom each day. There are also many others who support their efforts whom you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge is automatically added to each guest’s shipboard account."

 

To address your question: I don't think that the PG waiters are working harder than the MDR waiters so tips or lack of should be the same for both. Same for all the other workers on the ship. I personally prefer the Hotel Service Charge over cash tips to a select few.

 

igraf

I always reward MDR stewards and cabin stewards extra in addition to the daily service charge. Also the Cabana staff. Their good cheer and hard work day after day is amazing.

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

We started to cruise with HAL in the 90's when the policy was "tipping not required". But we did give cash tips to those whom we felt made out cruise special.

We do leave the Hotel Service Charge in place and do tip extra as mentioned above.

PG -- the price charged for your meal does not include a tip for the servers as they are included in the "pool" of crew who share from the Hotel Service Charge. Thus we do give tips to the staff there.

[alwaysfrantic]

In Sel de Mer (in PG )where there is ala carte pricing, is it possible to add a tip on a signed form, or still take cash as for pinnacle grill?

[Platoon Leader]

In Sel de Mer (in PG )where there is ala carte pricing, is it possible to add a tip on a signed form, or still take cash as for pinnacle grill?

Great question. I was wondering that too.

 

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[Florida_gal_50]

In Sel de Mer (in PG )where there is ala carte pricing, is it possible to add a tip on a signed form, or still take cash as for pinnacle grill?

 

Great question. I was wondering that too.

 

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I would assume cash only. I don't recall there being any line to add a tip on the koningsdam. We left cash.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Do servers in the Pinnacle pool their tips? Service there seems to be such a team approach that I'm not sure who should get what.