Tip at the end or pre pay

[Donh44]

Just curious what everyone else does, I've done both and was wondering if the quality of service is affected if the staff already knows they have been tipped or if they know at all that you haven't pre payed your gratuities

 

 

Always prepay. When I step on that ship, I owe nothing. When I find that service is exceptional or that I am happy with, then I will tip extra at the end.

[threetocruise]

We always prepay and give extra if warranted.

[sgttami]

I've done both and prefer pre-pay. I like everything that's expected paid for before I go.

 

Most always tip extra in cash too...especially cabin steward.

[You Me & the Sea]

We've never prepaid and have received GREAT service from our room steward and our DR staff. So much so that we tipped above the recommended amount.

[Crazy4Camping]

When folks talk about having OBC to go toward the tips, you must have a good amount of OBC cause when we got charged it was almost $300 for the week for 2 people.

[comiso13]

Can you prepay up to a few days before the cruise? i wouldn't want to pay too soon and carry that amount on my credit card for some time.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

When folks talk about having OBC to go toward the tips, you must have a good amount of OBC cause when we got charged it was almost $300 for the week for 2 people.

 

Sounds like you got hosed.

 

If it was only a 7 day cruise it shouldn't even have been $200.

 

Bill

[Saint Greg]

Can you prepay up to a few days before the cruise? i wouldn't want to pay too soon and carry that amount on my credit card for some time.

 

I wouldn’t prepay it you don’t have the money to pay it off. Just let them add it during the cruise.

[Saint Greg]

When folks talk about having OBC to go toward the tips, you must have a good amount of OBC cause when we got charged it was almost $300 for the week for 2 people.

 

Notice you said go towards tips...not cover all of them. But your grats should’ve been like $180.

[Keith1010]

We have always tipped at the end and it has worked out very well for us.

 

Keith

[Computer Nerd]

Both

[jimbo5544]

Both

 

 

 

Short, succinct, and well said. I agree.

 

 

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[Purvis1231]

We have done both- prepaid and auto-paid. The only time we have bad service is one time when we prepaid so I doubt this has anything to do with quality of service. The time we had poor service, the management was aware of the situation and replaced the steward without us complaining. The management is watching the stewards.

[nutterbutter818]

I like pre-paying for budgeting purposes however I still allocate and bring extra monies so that I can give additional for those that go out of our way during our cruise. We have a daughter that travels in a wheelchair and it is not uncommon for someone to go above and beyond to make our cruise and her experience the best possible.

[JGORD7]

I am a very new cruiser only my 2nd cruise & 1st on on Carnival. So as far as tipping goes the website shows automatic gratuities or prepaid gratuities. At the risk of sounding stupid here if you do either of these options does that mean you don't leave extra money for room person or when you order a drink?? Everyone is taken care of then?? Are all charges just put on your sail account to pay at the end? Thanks in advance.

 

Also, when booking online at what point & where do they ask how you want to pay for gratuties? Do they do this at the port?

Edited March 14, 2018 by JGORD7

[dmdiver]

Tips for bar servers are added to the cost of the drink. The prepaid tips are the minimum. If we feel the service was excellent, we will sometimes tip a little extra to the steward or dining room staff on the last night. So, if you look at your sail & sign account, you will see the drink total with the tip included. You just pay that at the end of the cruise - ours goes onto our credit card to be paid off when we get home.

 

When you go through the online booking process, once you have selected your cabin I think there is a box that you can check to prepay gratuities. Even if you don't select it at booking, you can go to your cruise manager & select prepaid gratuities. They are not actually paid until final payment. You only have to actually pay the deposit unless you are booking last minute and are already past what the final payment date would be.

[JGORD7]

Tips for bar servers are added to the cost of the drink. The prepaid tips are the minimum. If we feel the service was excellent, we will sometimes tip a little extra to the steward or dining room staff on the last night. So, if you look at your sail & sign account, you will see the drink total with the tip included. You just pay that at the end of the cruise - ours goes onto our credit card to be paid off when we get home.

 

When you go through the online booking process, once you have selected your cabin I think there is a box that you can check to prepay gratuities. Even if you don't select it at booking, you can go to your cruise manager & select prepaid gratuities. They are not actually paid until final payment. You only have to actually pay the deposit unless you are booking last minute and are already past what the final payment date would be.

 

Thank you! Where do you leave the extra $$ on the last night? Do you leave cash in the room or how do you give that? Also, I did find where you select prepaid gratuities on my cruise manager. Again thank you for your help.

[summersigh]

Sounds like you got hosed.

If it was only a 7 day cruise it shouldn't even have been $200.

Bill

Carnival Tips - $12.95 USD per person, per day for guests in standard stateroom accommodations and $13.95 USD per person, per day in a suite or above.

So $12.95 X 2 people X 7 days = $181.30

[summersigh]

Thank you! Where do you leave the extra $$ on the last night?

If we're tipping extra I normally put a post-it-note on it saying "thank you" with our cabin number and hand it to them in person the last day.

The steward I find when he's in the hall cleaning.

Dining staff as we enter for the last dinner of the cruise.

[Crazy4Camping]

Notice you said go towards tips...not cover all of them. But your grats should’ve been like $180.

 

Yes you are correct I looked at the wrong line item! Oops!! Glad that it will be paid for before I even board. Can't see a reason to wait.

[Saint Greg]

Yes you are correct I looked at the wrong line item! Oops!! Glad that it will be paid for before I even board. Can't see a reason to wait.

 

The reason I wait is a couple cruises ago I had unused OBC because everything was prepaid. You get a discount for prepaying cheers, internet, etc. the only thing you don’t get a discount on for prepaying is grats. So my OBC usually goes towards my grats.

 

But if there are people who have a family of 5 and don’t want to shell out $450 early or can’t afford to pay it early...there’s nothing wrong with waiting. And it’s nobody else’s business really.

[dmdiver]

When we tip extra, we just hand it to them & say thank you.

[Crazy4Camping]

The reason I wait is a couple cruises ago I had unused OBC because everything was prepaid. You get a discount for prepaying cheers, internet, etc. the only thing you don’t get a discount on for prepaying is grats. So my OBC usually goes towards my grats.

 

But if there are people who have a family of 5 and don’t want to shell out $450 early or can’t afford to pay it early...there’s nothing wrong with waiting. And it’s nobody else’s business really.

 

I completely agree! I have read threads on here where folks get really nasty about the whole thing. Whether the staff knows or not is another debate. I truly hope that if they do, that doesn't change how they do their job.

[yankedog]

We used to prepay so it was all done by the time we get on the ship. We walk in the first day and when our room steward walks up and introduces her/himself we talk for a bit and hand them a $20 bill. We say “keep the ice coming and we hope to see you around”. We always get great service. I feel if you add a smile when you see them it goes a LONG way. If you need something done or done differently they will go out of their way to do it. We do anytime dining and if we have great service the first night we will request the same table nightly. We tip as we go in that case. Drinks... same. They add the tip on... but I think if you add a tip also at the beginning you will get their attention right away. We have had one 5 day cruise that none of this worked. And our safe didn’t work, our door lock didn’t work...actually the last night when my DF dropped food on clothes and our bags were already taken, at 1 in the morning I fed $$ into the washer and IT didn’t work. I think we were doomed from the get go!!

 

 

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[momonthego17]

We used to prepay so it was all done by the time we get on the ship. We walk in the first day and when our room steward walks up and introduces her/himself we talk for a bit and hand them a $20 bill. We say “keep the ice coming and we hope to see you around”. We always get great service. I feel if you add a smile when you see them it goes a LONG way.

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Definitely agree about the smile[emoji3]

 

 

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