Awkward Tipper

[Juslaugh]

We are going on our first cruise on the Carnival Dream July 17, 2016. One of the reasons I booked a cruise was because I read where you could prepay gratuities.

 

You see, I am what you would call and awkward tipper. I never know how much to give to who when we are on vacation, so I just wing it and am usually way over or under the "norm" when I check with my seasoned traveler friends afterwards.

 

As you can imagine, checking in to a Hotel is more stressful to me than the average well-put-together tipper because I immediately start worrying about who we are supposed to tip and how much. Restaurants I do OK with, but everything else from hair professionals to maid service, I can't ever remember what I am supposed to give to who. I know, there's a app for that. I have it-still doesn't help much.

 

So I was so happy to have this stress removed from my vacation with the click of a check box and a couple hundred upfront dollars. Then I started reading all of the wonderful reviews on these boards and see that on top of the prepaid tip, almost all of the seasoned cruisers tip more.

 

Carnival's site says that all the tips other than room service are paid and drink gratuities would be added to my sign and sail card.

 

I don't want to seem cheap and ungrateful to the staff on the ship so I was wondering what the seasoned cruisers have to say about extra tips. Who do you tip, including excursions, why, and how much.

 

Thanks!:confused:

[cb at sea]

If you "prepay" your tips..you are done. Finished...there are not others to tip! Your pre-payed tips cover the cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiter, and head waiter. Any drink or drink package you buy has the "tip" added to the cost. You are done. No worries!

 

If you have something that requires an extra tip, you will know...if you aren't sure...then no tip is required. It's really quite simple!

 

 

If you don't pre-pay, then the tips are added to your shipboard account....again, no worries! It's been made very easy and simple for everyone!

Edited June 8, 2016 by cb at sea

[Tripper10]

Grabbing popcorn

[thinfool]

Doing the prepaid tips is all you need to worry about.

 

If you order a cocktail/beer/soda onboard you will see an automatic 18% added for a gratuity. Easy Peasy.

 

Rarely is anyone criticized for leaving the autotip arrangement alone and tipping nothing more. It is, after all, called 'gratuities'.

 

We always leave the autotip in place and then assess the service that we experienced and may or may not offer additional compensation.

 

Oops...forgot about Room Service. While the food is free, there seems to be a custom to tip the room service person a couple of dollars.

Edited June 8, 2016 by thinfool

[Bases5]

There is no need to tip extra unless you feel someone went the extra mile

Shore excursions we tip 5-10 dollars pp

[GUT2407]

Someone is sure to tell you that not tipping extra is stiffing the crew.

 

Ignore them.

[Elaine5715]

Just do a search for gratuities or tipping here and you will get all the opinions you need. Your title will attract all the "no, no more" tippers who hate the idea that some cruisers tip extra.

[dulcimergirl]

It is customary to tip 2 to 5$ for a room service delivery. I keep a stack of ones just for this in the closest spot. The amount depends on you, and the amount of food ordered.

All else is covered with your prepaid tip..

[originalgeek]

don't forget a buck or two per suitcase for the porter who takes your bags onto the ship at embarkation. (Unless you have nothing but carry-on. In that case, tip yourself a healthy tenner and go get a beer. Let the guy who gives it to ya keep the change).

[Juslaugh]

OK. That's what I originally thought. Thanks.

[dmtiern]

Pre-paid tips, done! For me, extras include:

 

• Porter that takes your bag when you arrive at the port - $1 per bag
  
• Bartenders - If the bartender is great, I give $1 extra every drink (which is on top of the added gratuity but goes in his/her pocket) If it's just standard service, no extra $1
  
• Room service - $1-$3 per tray
  
• Cabin Steward - totally up to you to leave extra. I leave $20 with a note asking to keep us in ice on the first day, usually that is it unless he/she goes above & beyond during the trip then another $10-20 t the end
  
• Excursions - we are usually a party of 4 or 5. We tip $20-$40 at the end if we got awesome service & had a blast
  

I bring small bills & lots of ones -

 

YMMV, have a great trip & don't overthink this :)

[Juslaugh]

Thanks for the shore excursion answer. Much appreciated.

[GUT2407]

Just do a search for gratuities or tipping here and you will get all the opinions you need. Your title will attract all the "no, no more" tippers who hate the idea that some cruisers tip extra.

 

And the ones who tell you not tipping is a sin.

[firemanbobswife]

Doing the prepaid tips is all you need to worry about.

 

If you order a cocktail/beer/soda onboard you will see an automatic 18% added for a gratuity. Easy Peasy.

 

Rarely is anyone criticized for leaving the autotip arrangement alone and tipping nothing more. It is, after all, called 'gratuities'.

 

We always leave the autotip in place and then assess the service that we experienced and may or may not offer additional compensation.

 

Oops...forgot about Room Service. While the food is free, there seems to be a custom to tip the room service person a couple of dollars.

 

 

Did they go up? Bar gratuities have always been 15%.

[Juslaugh]

Thank you all for replying with so much great information so quick. I really can't wait. Awkward tipper or not, it's going to be GREAT!

[Juslaugh]

That, I can do.

[ducklite]

We are going on our first cruise on the Carnival Dream July 17, 2016. One of the reasons I booked a cruise was because I read where you could prepay gratuities.

 

 

 

You see, I am what you would call and awkward tipper. I never know how much to give to who when we are on vacation, so I just wing it and am usually way over or under the "norm" when I check with my seasoned traveler friends afterwards.

 

 

 

As you can imagine, checking in to a Hotel is more stressful to me than the average well-put-together tipper because I immediately start worrying about who we are supposed to tip and how much. Restaurants I do OK with, but everything else from hair professionals to maid service, I can't ever remember what I am supposed to give to who. I know, there's a app for that. I have it-still doesn't help much.

 

 

 

So I was so happy to have this stress removed from my vacation with the click of a check box and a couple hundred upfront dollars. Then I started reading all of the wonderful reviews on these boards and see that on top of the prepaid tip, almost all of the seasoned cruisers tip more.

 

 

 

Carnival's site says that all the tips other than room service are paid and drink gratuities would be added to my sign and sail card.

 

 

 

I don't want to seem cheap and ungrateful to the staff on the ship so I was wondering what the seasoned cruisers have to say about extra tips. Who do you tip, including excursions, why, and how much.

 

 

 

Thanks!:confused:

 

 

 

It is considerate of you to be thinking ahead. Here is a good run down:

 

Anyone who touches your bags (skycap, curbside check in, shuttle driver, bell services at a hotel, etc.) should get $2 per bag, $1 is fine for smaller bags like daypack stand such, $5 for large or heavy bags. Typically $5 is the minimum, and there is no max.

 

If you stay at a hotel the night before your cruise it's nice to leave a few dollars for the housekeeper.

 

On board you've already paid your gratuities for the servers in the main dining room and your cabin steward. Any drink you order from a bar will have a gratuity already on the slip when you sign. If you find that one bartender is taking extra good care of you, slipping them an extra $10-50 (depending on how well they take care of you and how often) is a nice gesture. It is not necessary though.

 

You should plan on tipping room service $2-5 per delivery.

 

If there is no gratuity automatically added to spa or salon services, a personal trainer, or anything else along those lines, 15-20% is standard. There will be a line for it on the check out slip.

 

If you feel your steward or servers do anything extra, you can thank them with a little cash. How much is up to you. I'd start at $5 and go up. I have added nothing extra and as much as doubled the standard daily gratuity. It just depends.

 

If you eat in a specialty restaurant, there will be a gratuity line in the slip. We determine what the meal wok,d have cost at home and tip based in that number.

 

It's not a bad idea to take $50 in singles and $50 in fives along.

 

If handing actual cash makes you uncomfortable, for servers, stewards, and bartenders bring a few notes cards along and write a thank you note and put the cash in the envelope with the note.

 

Don't overthink it and don't stress about it.

[ryano]

Pre-paid tips, done! For me, extras include:

 

• Porter that takes your bag when you arrive at the port - $1 per bag
  
• Bartenders - If the bartender is great, I give $1 extra every drink (which is on top of the added gratuity but goes in his/her pocket) If it's just standard service, no extra $1
  
• Room service - $1-$3 per tray
  
• Cabin Steward - totally up to you to leave extra. I leave $20 with a note asking to keep us in ice on the first day, usually that is it unless he/she goes above & beyond during the trip then another $10-20 t the end
  
• Excursions - we are usually a party of 4 or 5. We tip $20-$40 at the end if we got awesome service & had a blast
  

I bring small bills & lots of ones -

 

YMMV, have a great trip & don't overthink this :)

 

Exactly the same for me.

[2chilover]

We are going on our first cruise on the Carnival Dream July 17, 2016. One of the reasons I booked a cruise was because I read where you could prepay gratuities.

 

You see, I am what you would call and awkward tipper. I never know how much to give to who when we are on vacation, so I just wing it and am usually way over or under the "norm" when I check with my seasoned traveler friends afterwards.

 

As you can imagine, checking in to a Hotel is more stressful to me than the average well-put-together tipper because I immediately start worrying about who we are supposed to tip and how much. Restaurants I do OK with, but everything else from hair professionals to maid service, I can't ever remember what I am supposed to give to who. I know, there's a app for that. I have it-still doesn't help much.

 

So I was so happy to have this stress removed from my vacation with the click of a check box and a couple hundred upfront dollars. Then I started reading all of the wonderful reviews on these boards and see that on top of the prepaid tip, almost all of the seasoned cruisers tip more.

 

Carnival's site says that all the tips other than room service are paid and drink gratuities would be added to my sign and sail card.

 

I don't want to seem cheap and ungrateful to the staff on the ship so I was wondering what the seasoned cruisers have to say about extra tips. Who do you tip, including excursions, why, and how much.

 

Thanks!:confused:

 

We prepay our gratuities so we don't even have to think about it. On the ship, we give thank you cards, placed in a bag or basket of candy bars, with cash in them to our steward, his assistant and our MDR waiter and his assistant.

 

On excursions, it depends. A taxi or bus driver- usually $5. The leader of an excursion who gave us a great time - more. When snorkeling in Coz, the guide got into the water with us and spent two hours providing food for the fish and diving down to get conches and sting rays stirred up. We gave him $25 and the driver $10. The guide came running down the boat dock after us, waving the money and yelling "Miss Chilover!, Miss Chilover!" I was afraid I hadn't given him enough. On the contrary, he was acting like it was Christmas, thanking us profusely. That made our whole trip.

 

Next cruise is October and I plan on implementing a new way of tipping that I read - bringing full sized candy bars with a couple of ones or a five wrapped around them with a rubber band to hand out to various staff such as cleaning personnel etc.

 

For us, tipping is part of the fun of a cruise. They are so very appreciative.

[2chilover]

It is customary to tip 2 to 5$ for a room service delivery. I keep a stack of ones just for this in the closest spot. The amount depends on you, and the amount of food ordered.

All else is covered with your prepaid tip..

 

Good point. I forgot room service. $3.00 each delivery (I keep a stack of ones for this as well). And bartenders - $1.00 for each drink, left with the receipt.

[lucyddr]

$2/bag rounded up to the nearest $5 to the porter.

$1 extra per drink if it is made well and bartender is interactive/enjoyable

$5 for room service (maybe $2-3 if only one simple tray)

$5-20pp for excursion (depends on experience)

$20pp for spa if great service

 

I agree with the poster who recommended bringing $5's and $1's. I bring $100 (50 $1 bills and 10 $5's). Works great for us!

Edited June 9, 2016 by lucyddr

[stefs111]

$1 per drink to server or bartender

$5 per room service order, the trays are heavy and they have to walk a long way

$10 to porter for two or three bags

$10 or $20 first day to room attendant with the request for ice in am and pm

[Computer Nerd]

op, there is not a single thing else you need to pay in tips. even as far as room service and such, there is no requirement to tip a penny more. that being said, do whatever makes you feel happy. if you don't want to tip more and that makes you happy, go for it. if you want to tip over the moon like I did once on a pink jeep tour .... still the best excursion i have ever taken and the driver knew that as well after the 100 dollar tip i gave her .... and that makes you happy, do it. no one on board is going to get mad or upset either way so just do what makes you happy and stress free and have a great cruise.

[Computer Nerd]

it's interesting that many people here seem to give and extra dollar to the bartender when there is already a 15 percent tip included on the receipt for every drink you buy......even soda.

[Tapi]

it's interesting that many people here seem to give and extra dollar to the bartender when there is already a 15 percent tip included on the receipt for every drink you buy......even soda.

 

 

It has never crossed my mind to tip cash over the 15% for a drink on cruises. And I have never seen anyone do it either. I'm not saying that those who claim to do it are lying, just that it seems that those who do it are a rare exception and not the rule.