Exra Tips on a b2b cruise

[Thrak]

We tip servers and our steward every couple of days throughout the cruise if they are outstanding. Why wait until the end?

 

Because it's a pain in the neck for them to deal with documenting and turning in the tips over and over. They can lose their jobs if they don't. It's much easier for them to get tipped in one shot.

[mellon1]

mellon1 thank you for the advice. I was just worried if we tipped at each segment what if they thought what we tipped was not what they think we should have tipped and then they make our lives awful on the 2nd leg...never thought of it that they would think we were cheap or didnt care for them and then therefore slack off. I was always curious as to what others leave as tips and thank you for offering what you leave as that is pretty close to what we do so I dont feel like we are far off from the norm.

 

We tip our Room Steward the most, as he does the most for us taking care of our room 2xs a day. I usually give him a list of what we would like daily, like extra towels, ice, tissues and to keep our balcony glass clean daily. We do an aft so it gets really bad from the wake. We do tip our waiters/assistants also, but only see them 1 time a day. We have Sabatini's in the am for breakfast and tip them at the end of each leg as we go there each day for breakfast.

 

You don't have to tip, but they really do appreciate it. We look that they make our trip special and it is well worth it to make them happy too.

[cruzrbachoua]

Yup that is what we do as well. I am a picky eater and dh now has some slight food things he needs to avoid eating so usually on princess when we say no tomatoes or this or that and the waiters remember to not put it on future items without us repeating ourselves really makes us feel pampered and dh always gets milk with dessert so if they remember that without asking makes it great. We provide a list to the steward as well like extra towels, 2 patters. We will be in an aft suite in a couple years so i will keep in mind the keeping the glass clean...never knew the wake makes it spotty...good 2 know...this is why i love cc.

 

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[Desert Cruizers]

Since each cruise is considered a separate cruise, you should tip at the end of each one. Although unlikely, most of your crew will be on the following cruise, but a possibility some may be at the end of their contract and leaving on vacation. We always tipped at the end of each cruise even when doing a b2b

[Going Coastal]

One reason to give it at the end of each segment is that

some staff will be going home after the first and some will be reassigned.

[keithm]

Hi we are going to be on a b2b next year and have a question....for those of you that have done a b2b before when do you give the extra tips? I was thinking if I confirmed we would have same wait staff and steward we were thinking it should be the last day of the last part of the cruise...or is it better to break it up and doing at the end of each leg? I mean wonder if they don't think it is enough and the 2nd part of your cruise is miserable...have read some horror stories...just curious how others have done it...Thanks

It's kind of you to tip over the auto gratuity. We do as well. The easiest way is to ask your staff if they will be staying on for the second leg(and this part is important!)will they be serving your table on the second leg. Sometimes they rotate to a diff. part of the dining room. With us we had the same cabin attendant throughout. Hopefully you still have the same cabin on the second leg. That is not always the case. With our wait staff(The Regal by the way)the asst. waiter did change. The head waiter stayed the same. She was about the nicest we've ever had(Flora is her name)The first asst. waiter was fine & we tipped him on the last night of our second leg. The second leg the new asst. waiter was totally green & kept. messing up. This made it very hard for Flora. We still tipped him, just not as much. We're in the food industry, so we're a bit more forgiving. That being said, the guy should have been more skilled!

[flamomo]

On a recent 23 day Pacific Princess cruise (B2B but booked as one cruise), our steward's contract ended 4 days before the end of the cruise, and we got a new steward for those remaining days.

Our first steward was very good, and was especially attentive when we both got quite sick with a respiratory infection about a week into the cruise and he went out of his way to help us in any way he could. We both tipped him the full amount that we would have given him had he not left early. The guy we had for the final few days received a small bonus amount too.

We were fortunate enough to have the same dining room table assignment and wonderful wait staff for the whole cruise. They deserved every bit of what we gave them because of their great attitudes and attention to detail!

[dw64]

Just got off b2b2b. Switched cabins after b2b. Last steward was the WORST ever with Princess. I have 43 cruises. He cleaned our cabin once a day. Had to ask for our laundry, which took up to 5 days. He kept saying how tired he was. I didn't tip extra. I didn't complain. I rated him 7 . ( I didn't want him to lose job). It was the holidays. There were mud slides in the Philippines. To each there own.

 

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[floridalover5623]

Just got off b2b2b. Switched cabins after b2b. Last steward was the WORST ever with Princess. I have 43 cruises. He cleaned our cabin once a day. Had to ask for our laundry, which took up to 5 days. He kept saying how tired he was. I didn't tip extra. I didn't complain. I rated him 7 . ( I didn't want him to lose job). It was the holidays. There were mud slides in the Philippines. To each there own.

 

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Sounds like he did his job & not much more than what was expected.

I hate to give people a bad rating.

Every one can have a bad time from time to time.

[critterchick]

Because it's a pain in the neck for them to deal with documenting and turning in the tips over and over. They can lose their jobs if they don't. It's much easier for them to get tipped in one shot.

 

I thought that the extra tips were theirs to keep.

 

I tip at the end of each segment, even if we're in the same cabin with the same attendant. One never knows when they are going to send money home or buy gifts for loved ones in a particular port. Or there may be something unexpected - I once had a stateroom attendant get sick and not be able to come back to work. I would hate for somebody not to get their extra due.

 

As for the amount, we give $20 or so for good service, more for exceptional service, on a 7 night cruise. There is no "right" amount, just what you think is appropriate.