Don't Flame Me - Honest Question.

[Shore>Mom]

DH and I both work in the service industry. We are big tippers and would never screw a server, steward or bartender. That said, we prepaid tips on  a Disney cruise then  handed our steward $75 at check in and told him we would hit him up again at departure. U guessed it - never saw him again and our cabin was not really serviced well. I'm hesitant to go hard early or even pay gratuities up front after that experience. Who gets the prepaid gratuities? Does my steward even see that money? Any insight into the "cut" would be greatly appreciated. I want to tip the folks who make my vacation special the most - over and above what they might get from Norwegian. 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Shore>Mom
Misspelling

[GUT2407]

4 minutes ago, Shore>Mom said:

DH and I both work in the service industry. We are big tippers and would never screw a server, steward or bartender. That said, we prepaid tips on  a Disney cruise then  handed our steward $75 at check in and told him we would hit him up again at departure. U guessed it - never saw him again and our cabin was not really serviced well. I'm hesitant to go hard early or even pay gratuities up front after that experience. Who gets the prepaid gratuities? Does my steward even see that money? Any insight into the "cut" would be greatly appreciated. I want to tip the folks who make my vacation special the most - over and above what they might get from Norwegian. 

Always a risk when you chose to tip up front, will he think gee I might get more or hey I’ve their $$$.

 

inhave no doubt they get their share of auto grats, ore paid or added to the bill.

[bonvoyagie]

I never pre tip for the very situation you stated. On all of my NCL cruises the room stewards have always gone out of their way to make my vacation great. I tip at the end of the cruise - that includes the butler and concierge  if I am in a suite. As far as where my DSC goes - only NCL knows for sure. I usually book my cruises well in advance and prepay the DSC - makes my onboard account smaller and with less paper.

[Trimone]

Always tip at the end of cruise, it keeps the staff on their feet.

look at it this way, would you tip before a haircut?

[beerman2]

Give him a little tip in the beginning, then what you feel is appropriate for his/her work the day before debarkation.

 

i make it a point to Thank them whenever I run into them and certainly when tipping that last day.

[Clay Clayton]

My experience is different from the PPs. We alwaysleave a $20 with our note to the steward-empty the fridge, 2 ice buckets please, extra pillows, and a bar of soap (had to cross that one off on Breakaway, maybe Norwegian is now providing both shower gel and bar soap with out ya having to ask?) when we first go to the room. If we meet the steward we hand it and the note to him/her in person. 

 

Have always had great service-not sure how much the pre-tip has to do with it but we figure it can’t hurt.  If we ever had a lousy experience, we wouldn’t leave more at the end of the trip. 

 

Regarding the split, rumor is that the crew only sees a portion of the money directly. The remainder (majority?) goes to fund crew benefits-I would presume parties, prizes etc.  We went to add  few dollars as a gratuity to a specialty dining tab once as our server was extraordinary. She said not to bother as she would only see 1/940 of the amount as anything added to the bottom of a receipt goes into the pool.  Since then we have always tried to have some cash in our pocket or go back with some when service is above average. 

[newmexicoNita]

3 hours ago, Shore>Mom said:

DH and I both work in the service industry. We are big tippers and would never screw a server, steward or bartender. That said, we prepaid tips on  a Disney cruise then  handed our steward $75 at check in and told him we would hit him up again at departure. U guessed it - never saw him again and our cabin was not really serviced well. I'm hesitant to go hard early or even pay gratuities up front after that experience. Who gets the prepaid gratuities? Does my steward even see that money? Any insight into the "cut" would be greatly appreciated. I want to tip the folks who make my vacation special the most - over and above what they might get from Norwegian. 

For us, it is simply we stick with the auto gratuity policy and tip extra at the end of the cruise, no the beginning. I know a lot of people tip up front. The tipping that is automatic goes to several crew members, not just the cabin steward or the servers. I don't think any of us really know who gets what, but I can pretty much assure you the tips are divided fairly. I know, there are some who think otherwise.

[4774Papa]

Where you in a suite?  We usually tip about $30 to the room steward for a 14 day cruise, as well as tipping when laundry is returned or room service breakfast.  

[Oakman58]

We always pre-pay the DSC and then tip our room steward daily.  I tip the room steward above the DSC because he/she cleans up after me.

 

On occasion I tip a ship’s bartender or server but not very often.  The 20 % auto gratuity added to the beverage package is more than I tip a bartender or server on land.

[NLH Arizona]

I've never tipped at the beginning of a cruise and have always received fantastic service.  I pre-pay the DSC and then will leave an additional tip at the end of the cruise, if I feel that the service has been above and beyone.  As far as how the DSC is divided up, that is between the employee and NCL, IMHO.

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Shore>Mom said:

DH and I both work in the service industry. We are big tippers and would never screw a server, steward or bartender. That said, we prepaid tips on  a Disney cruise then  handed our steward $75 at check in and told him we would hit him up again at departure. U guessed it - never saw him again and our cabin was not really serviced well. I'm hesitant to go hard early or even pay gratuities up front after that experience. Who gets the prepaid gratuities? Does my steward even see that money? Any insight into the "cut" would be greatly appreciated. I want to tip the folks who make my vacation special the most - over and above what they might get from Norwegian. 

The room steward, complimentary restaurant wait staff, etc.  gets part of the Daily Service Charge (along with other outward facing and behind the scenes personnel who work tirelessly to make your vacation special. 

 

When people ask, a nice additional tip to show your appreciation is $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise for a room steward. 

 

We always carry about $100 in dollar bills to tip bartenders and wait staff. By day 3, the bartenders know exactly what I want when I get to the bar. 

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

When people ask, a nice additional tip to show your appreciation is $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise for a room steward. 

so, right now our gratuities are $145 pp. If I add another $100 pp per cruise for the steward alone, that would my grats by about 66%. I just don't know what a steward could do for us to earn an additional $300 per 10 day cruise. We are not in a suite and do not need anything other than the regular cleaning.

 

[JamieLogical]

As others have mentioned, the DSC theoretically covers your room steward. We also like to tip extra on the last day if they did a great job (on NCL they always do).

[ColeThornton]

28 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

When people ask, a nice additional tip to show your appreciation is $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise for a room steward. 

 

 

 

 

 

That's absurd.

[NLH Arizona]

58 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

so, right now our gratuities are $145 pp. If I add another $100 pp per cruise for the steward alone, that would my grats by about 66%. I just don't know what a steward could do for us to earn an additional $300 per 10 day cruise. We are not in a suite and do not need anything other than the regular cleaning.

 

I agree, for $100 tip above the DSC, the Cabin Steward better be doing something way above and beyond normal services.  There is no "right" amount or suggested standard; for my additional tip, when I give it, is usually about $20 to $30 dollars for the entire cruise and the Cabin Stewards have always been very appreciative.

[JillK]

One thing I have noticed is that before the days of standardized tipping and the ability to pre-pay it (which we do), the room steward was part of our cruising experience. They were always very visible and often we would spend time chatting with them every day. 

 

On both of my Disney cruises, the room was serviced but I rarely saw the attendant. On my Oasis cruise we never even met our room steward. Our room was always made up/turned down but we didn't see this person once in the entire week. 

 

On my most recent cruise aboard the Brilliance, we pre-paid the tips and were also provided with additional envelopes on the last full day if we wanted to recognize excellent service.

[kochleffel]

On one cruise I tipped a little at the beginning when I was asking for special service (actually a provided service but I needed it at specific times). I prepay the DSC on NCL and then tip above it where it's warranted. On a cruise just ended, I saw my cabin steward frequently and I also inconvenienced her a lot, not with special requests but through returning to my cabin unexpectedly and the like.

 

I've had generally good service on NCL, except for small mixups in the dining service. Once when it was more than just inconvenience I asked to speak with the dining manager.

 

[vpearlkc]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

The room steward, complimentary restaurant wait staff, etc.  gets part of the Daily Service Charge (along with other outward facing and behind the scenes personnel who work tirelessly to make your vacation special. 

 

When people ask, a nice additional tip to show your appreciation is $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise for a room steward. 

 

We always carry about $100 in dollar bills to tip bartenders and wait staff. By day 3, the bartenders know exactly what I want when I get to the bar. 

 

 

 

[deliver42]

I always tip extra for drinks and the cabin  steward at the end of the cruise. If I had a good waiter on a particular night, tip him, and tip in specialty restaurants. I never pre tip though. By the way, the DSC is kept in tact.

[MCC retired]

Was this a World Cruise ??????  If not , $75 or $100 extra tip for the cabin steward is INSANE whether as a bribe before,  or thank you after .

[njkate]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The room steward, complimentary restaurant wait staff, etc.  gets part of the Daily Service Charge (along with other outward facing and behind the scenes personnel who work tirelessly to make your vacation special. 

 

When people ask, a nice additional tip to show your appreciation is $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise for a room steward. 

 

We always carry about $100 in dollar bills to tip bartenders and wait staff. By day 3, the bartenders know exactly what I want when I get to the bar. 

 

 

Seriously???? That is absurd. For room steward who did a great job $2-3 PP per day would be generous. They are already getting part of the DSC

[BirdTravels]

18 minutes ago, njkate said:

Seriously???? That is absurd. For room steward who did a great job $2-3 PP per day would be generous. They are already getting part of the DSC

And don’t forget $10-$15 per person per day for the butler and $5-$10 pp/pd for the concierge who are not part of the DSC  

[ColeThornton]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And don’t forget $10-$15 per person per day for the butler and $5-$10 pp/pd for the concierge who are not part of the DSC  

 

 

Okay, now I know you are full of it.  lol

[njkate]

21 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Okay, now I know you are full of it.  lol

I have to agree and I certainly hope new cruisers take her advise on tipping with a grain of salt.

If that is what she really tips good for her and those receiving it,  but it is NOT the norm

Edited October 28, 2018 by njkate

[njkate]

36 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And don’t forget $10-$15 per person per day for the butler and $5-$10 pp/pd for the concierge who are not part of the DSC  

LMAO so you are saying on my last cruise, 3 adults in a Haven 2 bedroom for 9 nights we should have tipped the butler almost $500 when we NEVER saw her? Asked once on a sea day if we could take dinner in cabin and she said sure, call room service???

The only time we saw her was on last night when she all of a sudden came to take her snack trays, that prior to that the room steward always took. She was fishing for a tip.

By your "suggestions" on a 9-10 night cruise someone could end up spending an additional $500-1000 just in tips depending on cabin. 

 

If that is truly what you tip very nice of you but please when people ask about tipping don't lead them to believe this is the norm because it's not.

Edited October 28, 2018 by njkate