Ovation of the Seas - Tipping

[sunscreen]

We will be on the Ovation of the Seas doing a 13 night New Zealand cruise.  We always like to tip the room stewards extra and when we have cruised in past have always tipped in U.S. cash.    Was wondering what the staff would prefer on this cruise as the OBA are all in U.S. dollars but I would think they would appreciate New Zealand or Australian cash.    Any advice?  

[Chiliburn]

6 hours ago, sunscreen said:

We will be on the Ovation of the Seas doing a 13 night New Zealand cruise.  We always like to tip the room stewards extra and when we have cruised in past have always tipped in U.S. cash.    Was wondering what the staff would prefer on this cruise as the OBA are all in U.S. dollars but I would think they would appreciate New Zealand or Australian cash.    Any advice?  

Gratuity should be included for departures to and from Australia.( we dont have the tipping culture)

The second last day there will be a envelope on your bed.you can put anything in the envelope as the ships bank will change it and put it in your stewards account.

so if you have $NZ left over use that.

 Guests service you can get more envelopes . It’s been said all cash tips are supposed to be pooled and if they don’t they can be dismissed,don’t know if it’s true? So write their name on the envelope.

 

[Big Kev]

The OP is Canadian....  If the cruise was purchased and paid in USA/Canada, the gratuities are not built into the bottom line cost unless the OP elected to pre-pay..

In those cases, basic gratuities are added to each persons on-board account daily..

Of course, any extras, over and above the amounts can be gratefully handed over in cash..  

Most crew would prefer USD cash, dependant upon the ships itinerary..

 

"The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. Guests who have pre-paid their gratuity will not see a daily charge during their cruise.)

 

Sue and Phil

 

[The_Big_M]

Agree with Big Kev. Getting AUD or NZD locally isn't a preference as their regular costs as well as onboard currency, including pay/transfers back are in USD so it's still their primary currency.

 

They can use it for local ashore expenses, but they don't tend to do much of that.

[SinbadThePorter]

13 hours ago, sunscreen said:

We will be on the Ovation of the Seas doing a 13 night New Zealand cruise.  We always like to tip the room stewards extra and when we have cruised in past have always tipped in U.S. cash.    Was wondering what the staff would prefer on this cruise as the OBA are all in U.S. dollars but I would think they would appreciate New Zealand or Australian cash.    Any advice?  

 

Tip in whatever currency is most convenient to you at the place and time that you find the need to tip.

 

Cash is cash, so long as it's not counterfeit. 🤑

[MicCanberra]

The OBAs may be USD but as it is an extra tip for certain staff, you can so it in what ever currency you fancy. You may want to discard some of your NZD or AUD, so go for it.

[Docker123]

I asked my cabin steward on QM2 last year about this. In particular, if she would like some AUD.

 

she said they often go ashore to buy toiletries and other minor stuff they do not want to get onboard.

 

she said they price it in a shop, go to an agency to exchange USD for local currency, and then go and buy.

 

having even a relatively small amount of AUD saved a lot of time.

[GUT2407]

We were in a supermarket one cruise and some crew were at the checkout before me. They had to sort money to pay, I know they had Aus$ NZ$ US$ Euro Yen and Uk£ in their hands as well as some I didn’t recognise.

[GUT2407]

Should have added that was in NZ.

[NSWP]

My experience has been the service crew will gladly accept any form of valid currency.  But they might baulk at some of the South American and Central American currencies which are volatile to say the least.

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

My experience has been the service crew will gladly accept any form of valid currency.  But they might baulk at some of the South American and Central American currencies which are volatile to say the least.

 

Get Rael Uncle Les,  everyone loves Ecuador's currency.