Average amount of tips above gratuities

[gliles]

Their signature indicates they have been on many cruises.

 

But yeah, the whole tipping thing is confusing with the arbitrary "rules".

 

The guy that unplugs the toilet at 3 AM....the girls that answer the phones...no tip. Why? They don't work hard? They aren't away from their families? Or my favorite, they don't appreciate cash?

 

I was actually using the "OP" as a general term that whoever asks about tips may have many reasons for doing so. Not specifically talking about this OP. The topic is always so heated and people who reply offing no information, that's what I don't get. I like your profile pic :)

[ThirstyCruiser]

I bring 100$ bills to give out to each one

 

You beat me to it. [emoji3]

 

 

I'm gonna march up to Guest Services as soon as I get on the ship and demand they increase my auto gratuities right then and there.

[ThirstyCruiser]

I was actually using the "OP" as a general term that whoever asks about tips may have many reasons for doing so. Not specifically talking about this OP. The topic is always so heated and people who reply offing no information, that's what I don't get. I like your profile pic :)

 

Dr. Martin Van Nostrand, at your service.

[SheehanDJ]

If I order it, $1 per drink

If they see me with out one and bring me one in case I want it, $1 and I will find them the last day for an end of week bonus of $10

 

Room steward $2 per day, $10-$30 depending upon service the last day (average is usually $20)

 

The waiter gets twice as much as the assistant waiter. The dollar amount on this varies widely as to us anyway an enjoyable dinner can really have a big impact on the cruise. There is nothing the wait staff can do about the quality of the food, but if you are on the late seating they will know what the early seating complained about and steer you away from it. Walking into the MDR and finding a shrimp cocktail waiting for you is a nice touch, having a plate brought out of some other main course to share, those types of things.

[Retired LEO]

I'm gonna march up to Guest Services as soon as I get on the ship and demand they increase my auto gratuities right then and there.

 

I've tried doing that and they couldn't do it.

[Lady Hudson]

We have always given a bit extra going back to the days when no auto gratuities were available and money had to be stuffed into envelopes. I usually give the assistant waiter and the waiter the same amount. I tip my room steward and the concierges a tip if I use their services. This trip I did not see the suite concierge but did tip the diamond concierge. All is personal choice.

 

However, I do think the auto amount for tips is getting very high. Will I change the amount extra that I give dependent on increases in the auto tips? Maybe - maybe not. Just will have to wait and see.

 

Just my thoughts.

[ktkcruisers]

Ktkcruisers, reasonable question. So far seems like a lot of people who hate tipping to begin with answered. Best answer "what ever you feel they deserve." We have almost always added to the tip. But we ask for different things. If the crewmember does the minimum, then no additional. If they go above and beyond, then additional. Only YOU can decide if the service was "above and beyond." We do ask for some things like ice twice a day, etc. Usually we add $20-$40 to the cabin steward, same to waiters. But we've done more and less. You'll know if you think someone deserves additional tip. You'll also know how much you want to tip. Don't let anyone talk you out of it because they want to feel better for never adding to the tip. These people work very hard for very little money.

 

 

Thank you for your kind response! My DH and I just got off the Oasis yesterday. We tipped the waiter, assistant waiter and cabin steward $20 each. We also brought $1 bills to tip throughout the week for extras. While we were going through customs, a fellow cruiser mentioned that they generally tip $50 to their cabin steward. They did not mention how much they tip the waiters in the MDR. As we've cruised through the years, we've tipped a little more each time. After hearing that a fellow cruiser tipped $50, we wondered if we were tipping enough. I do understand that the waiters and cabin stewards make very little money. Also, this was our first cruise where we were diverted due to weather issues and a medical emergency and were unable to make it to St. Kitts and St. Thomas. The cruise staff had to put up with a lot of complaining. I hope they were all tipped very well. Rough week for them!

[ktkcruisers]

How much did you tip above the prepaid gratuities in the past during the multiple sailings that appear in your signature????

 

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

This was a sincere question on my part. We have always tipped above gratuities, especially understanding that these people make very little money and bring it home to their families. I just wanted to try to gage where we were in tipping and to be fair to the staff that works so hard on our behalf.

[chadbt]

How much do I tip? I'm not saying for fear of embarrassing people of lesser means, but suffice it to say it's A LOT. :rolleyes:

[ColoradoGurl]

$50-$100 to the room steward

 

$25-$50 for each of the dining room waiters (main waiter, asst. and drink person)

 

$5 for room service deliveries

 

$1-$5 on drink orders

 

$5-$10 to porters who take your bags onto the ship, but $40 to the porter who took us off and through the fast lane (but I learned it really wasn't worth it and would be happy to stand in line for free and wait next time because the free lines were short)

 

$1 and $5 bills to tip others on and off the ship. I feel like my extra tip expense has been in the $300 range on the last 2 cruises. I'm probably a middle of the road tipper, with some tipping less and some tipping more.

 

 

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Edited August 28, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[ducklite]

How much do I tip? I'm not saying for fear of embarrassing people of lesser means, but suffice it to say it's A LOT. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

How do you know who may or may not have "lesser means?" Do you have a magic ball that gives you the ability to see the net worth statement of each cruiser?

 

The term " a lot" is subjective.

[Shivdan]

We generally tip 30-50 to the room steward, depending on service, 20 to assistant waiter, 30 to main waiter and the bar staff 50-70, we generally find a favorite bar and spend most time there - we like to people watch and also meeting new people

 

 

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[cruiselvr04]

We do not cruise in suites. If we could afford to do that I would likely tip more.

 

On the other hand a few extra dollars at the end of the cruise doesn't mean we will go without.

 

We tip $1 per drink during the free drink hours for Diamond and above and sometimes will add a dollar on to daytime drinks or drink with a package.

 

If our service from waiters or room stewards is exceptional i.e.extra friendly, opens doors for us. calls us by name, brings ice, has drink waiting at table, knows our preferences, we tip an extra $20 at the end. Lately the service has not been that great so sometimes nothing.

 

I appreciate being waited on as I do it all day for others with no tips. It is exhausting for me to be cheery all the time and I am sure it is for them too so I appreciate what they do.

[aubreyc1988]

If you are pleased with the service of your room attendant and your main dining room wait staff, how much do you tip above the prepaid gratuities? Thank you in advance for your response!

 

I know people will throw fruit at me for this, but if I am "pleased with my service" with room attendant and MDR staff, they have done their JOB, and I alway leave the recommended cruiseline daily amount in place (13.50 per day per person) and don't tip extra.

 

For me, it would take a LOT of going above and beyond to get an extra tip, because I don't ask for much more than the bare minimum.

 

The cruiseline has the suggested amount for a reason, and the employees agreed with a contract with the cruiseline that they are ok with receiving that amount, so if one just does the cruiseline standard for tipping per day and nothing extra, there IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS, even if your stateroom steward/mdr staff does do a good job - that's their JOB to do a great job serving you.

 

ALSO, if you want to tip extra, by ALL means, tip whatever you want, I feel like asking what amount other people tip extra is just tacky.

Edited August 28, 2016 by aubreyc1988

[Ontario Cruiser]

We also tip at the Diamond Club as my understanding and I might be wrong they don't get the 18% that is added on to a drink that s paid for at the other bars

OntarioCruiser

[time4u2go]

$0.00

[setsail]

How do you know who may or may not have "lesser means?" Do you have a magic ball that gives you the ability to see the net worth statement of each cruiser?

 

The term " a lot" is subjective.

 

I thought lots of cc posters had magic balls:p

[chadbt]

How do you know who may or may not have "lesser means?" Do you have a magic ball that gives you the ability to see the net worth statement of each cruiser?

 

The term " a lot" is subjective.

 

I'm just trying to have a little fun with this thread - witness the Michael Jackson eating popcorn picture as reply #1.

 

I enjoy being a little on the generous side when I can, and I definitely endeavor to treat the service personnel with respect and kindness.

 

I mapped out my more specific tipping ideas in another thread.

[Computer Nerd]

Ktkcruisers, reasonable question. So far seems like a lot of people who hate tipping to begin with answered.

 

and just how do you come to this preposterous, unsupported by any rational thought, conclusion. :rolleyes:

[traveler279]

and just how do you come to this preposterous, unsupported by any rational thought, conclusion. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Probably arrived at that conclusion because the first seven responses - not counting Michael Jackson - evaded the question and included a reference to slave wages.

 

 

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[widallas]

I know people will throw fruit at me for this, but if I am "pleased with my service" with room attendant and MDR staff, they have done their JOB, and I alway leave the recommended cruiseline daily amount in place (13.50 per day per person) ...

 

ALSO, if you want to tip extra, by ALL means, tip whatever you want, I feel like asking what amount other people tip extra is just tacky.

 

I think if you read the OPs responses, he was asking a reasonable question, on a cruise forum where people can ask questions and hope to get responses. If you want to ask cruise questions, seems like the logical place to go. I think they were just trying to figure out if they were tipping too much or too little based on the average. I totally agree with you on one point -- what other people tip doesn't influence what I will tip (or not), and the auto-grats are there to cover basic services for doing their job.

 

For the OP, on our last cruise, we tipped the room steward an extra $20, but I don't think I would again under the same circumstances...she was barely visible, and there were things that weren't done well. We felt a little "guilt-ed" into it. We tipped the MDR waiter $20, even though we only ate there twice...he was awesome, and would have gotten a larger tip had we gone all week.

 

For this cruise, we have budgeted $20 for the steward and $40 for the waitstaff; we will bring some $1s for the barstaff. I like to tip for really good service, and that doesn't seem like a crazy amount to me considering how much we are spending on the cruise. But I am not going to tip extra if it's not earned with good service, and I will tip more if they have gone above-and-beyond.

[ducklite]

I'm just trying to have a little fun with this thread - witness the Michael Jackson eating popcorn picture as reply #1.

 

 

 

I enjoy being a little on the generous side when I can, and I definitely endeavor to treat the service personnel with respect and kindness.

 

 

 

I mapped out my more specific tipping ideas in another thread.

 

 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with the respect and kindness comment. We have had a gamut of service levels in cruises that ranged from utterly outstanding to poor enough to take the situation to a manager for remedy one time. Typically service has been average to very good.

 

We keep our cabin tidy and try to make minimum work for the steward. (Usually at least once during the cruise we tell them no service required that day). We leave towels where they don't need to bend over to get them off the floor, don't leave toothpaste "dinner mints" in the sink, and keep everything hung up and put away. I was embarrassed on one of my cruises to come back to the cabin and find a sweater I had obviously forgotten to put away before going to dinner neatly folded on the dressing table.

 

Same thing at meals, we don't keep them running for extra portions (we don't believe in stuffing our faces because the food is "free" and have never not been full from a typical 3-4 course cruise meal--more often than not we skip at least one course.) We try to pre plan for any condiments we might need and mention them with the order. We don't make a mess of the table.

 

I have been stunned to see how sloppy some people leave their cabin and worse yet, how they have treated the crew as if they were personal servants. I heard one woman raising her voice (in a thick southern accent I could barely understand) because the cabin steward was having a difficult time understanding what the woman was asking for as I walked by the open door.

 

I have been seated with people who obviously had never been taught the words please or thank you. It was embarrassing, even though we didn't know them and it was just luck if the draw in open seating. I have seen people snap fingers at servers. It is just unbelievable, and makes me truly value the level of service that is delivered by the vast majority of crew.

[aubreyc1988]

I think if you read the OPs responses, he was asking a reasonable question, on a cruise forum where people can ask questions and hope to get responses. If you want to ask cruise questions, seems like the logical place to go. I think they were just trying to figure out if they were tipping too much or too little based on the average. I totally agree with you on one point -- what other people tip doesn't influence what I will tip (or not), and the auto-grats are there to cover basic services for doing their job.

 

For the OP, on our last cruise, we tipped the room steward an extra $20, but I don't think I would again under the same circumstances...she was barely visible, and there were things that weren't done well. We felt a little "guilt-ed" into it. We tipped the MDR waiter $20, even though we only ate there twice...he was awesome, and would have gotten a larger tip had we gone all week.

 

For this cruise, we have budgeted $20 for the steward and $40 for the waitstaff; we will bring some $1s for the barstaff. I like to tip for really good service, and that doesn't seem like a crazy amount to me considering how much we are spending on the cruise. But I am not going to tip extra if it's not earned with good service, and I will tip more if they have gone above-and-beyond.

 

I live by the policy where i don't worry if OTHER people take off their tips, don't tip extra, what people tip extra, ETC. Not MY business, I just worry about myself.

 

and the Royal has an extended FAQ about tipping and tipping guidelines.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/subject.do?faqSubjectName=Gratuities&faqSubjectId=415&faqType=faq

 

I feel like Royal says it best with

 

"Feel free to recognize crew members who make your voyage exceptionally memorable. You can visit the Guest Services desk to increase the amount of your gratuities or reward a crew member with an additional cash gratuity at your discretion. Gratuity envelopes are available in your stateroom. You'll find a comment card there, too - another way you can provide feedback and recognition for wow-worthy crew members."

 

There's no WRONG amount to tip extra, it's at an individual's discretion.

[aubreyc1988]

I'm just trying to have a little fun with this thread - witness the Michael Jackson eating popcorn picture as reply #1.

 

I enjoy being a little on the generous side when I can, and I definitely endeavor to treat the service personnel with respect and kindness.

 

I mapped out my more specific tipping ideas in another thread.

 

I'm the MJ culprit, but I just couldn't help myself. Good gifs deserve to be posted in good topics. :D

[widallas]

I enjoy being a little on the generous side when I can, and I definitely endeavor to treat the service personnel with respect and kindness.

 

There's no WRONG amount to tip extra, it's at an individual's discretion.

 

;) Well said...