Tipping cabin steward upfront?

[canes20]

1 hour ago, Story2write said:

We always prepay the gratuities and we make sure to meet with the steward that cover our cabin. We ask for a bucket of ice and we place a tip each night thanking them for their efforts.   

We tip in the beginning and the end along with prepaid. Do you leave a note with nightly tip so they know its for them?

[GradUT]

<< my mother was with us on a recent cruise and the same steward skipped her a couple days and no towel animals when I got them.>>

 

I never tip more than the set gratuities, but I might consider it if I could be sure that I DIDN’T get those ridiculous towel animals every night. 

[Nic6318]

4 hours ago, elcuchio24 said:

 

To have the person prioritize my needs during their day to day activities, as I have proactively incentivised them monetarily.

 

Hi

 

but...how would you know that they are giving you good service because of the tip, rather than because the are a good worker?

 

I tip extra at the end of the cruise because I have received good service. Over a number of cruises, twice I did not feel the service was sufficient. Not bad enough to complain, or remove any prepaid gratuities, but certainly no extra was given. 

 

I will on occasion ask for a special favor, and then may give a gratuity at the time of asking rather than after.  I have read on these boards how some people actually give their stewards a "list" of expectations. For something like that, I could see where the cash up front would seem warranted, but most people don't do that beyond the request for ice, or the twice a day cabin service. It is your money, however, it is yours to deal with as you see fit.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, GradUT said:

but I might consider it if I could be sure that I DIDN’T get those ridiculous towel animals every night. 

 

 

Just ask, he would be happy not to make them for you. 

[HillBilly Bob]

7 hours ago, tom3562 said:

Has anyone had luck tipping your cabin stewards up front? 

I always give our steward a twenty when we first meet.  They will NEVER forget you...and it works every time we have done this.  Not only did they get us ice....it NEVER had time to melt since if we used some, when we returned to our cabin, fresh ice was either added or replaced entirely.   

[elcuchio24]

1 hour ago, Nic6318 said:

 

Hi

 

but...how would you know that they are giving you good service because of the tip, rather than because the are a good worker?

 

I tip extra at the end of the cruise because I have received good service. Over a number of cruises, twice I did not feel the service was sufficient. Not bad enough to complain, or remove any prepaid gratuities, but certainly no extra was given. 

 

I will on occasion ask for a special favor, and then may give a gratuity at the time of asking rather than after.  I have read on these boards how some people actually give their stewards a "list" of expectations. For something like that, I could see where the cash up front would seem warranted, but most people don't do that beyond the request for ice, or the twice a day cabin service. It is your money, however, it is yours to deal with as you see fit.

 

If its bad, I will reduce my daily grat with guest services at the end....either way I win :-)

[Jim and Monika]

I'm not sure how anyone can say the service is better when they tip up front. There is no way of knowing what the service would be without it. We have tipped up front 3 times out of 20+ cruises, mostly in the early cruises, and have had better service without it. Not sure if the steward is trying to earn our tip at the end, or assuming they already got their tip so no need for anything special. Of course, there is no way to really tell unless you and your neighbor ask for the same things and have only one tip up front. But, then again, this would only be true for that individual steward. Do what you want, we will choose to tip at the end based on the results of the service.

[BigguyNC]

My wife always gives the cabin guy (or girl) a $10 or $20 tip at the beginning of the cruise, and then tells him (or her) her expectations for the duration of the cruise - bucket of ice every day, crackers and cheese in the afternoon instead of the appetizers, etc.  We’ve generally had good service.  If we’ve experienced no problems during the cruise she will usually hand them another tip at the end.  All of this, of course, is over and above the standard assessed gratuity.  

 

You would like working for my wife.  She’s generous to a fault!

[sanmarcosman]

28 minutes ago, BigguyNC said:

My wife always gives the cabin guy (or girl) a $10 or $20 tip at the beginning of the cruise, and then tells him (or her) her expectations for the duration of the cruise - bucket of ice every day, crackers and cheese in the afternoon instead of the appetizers, etc.  We’ve generally had good service.  If we’ve experienced no problems during the cruise she will usually hand them another tip at the end.  All of this, of course, is over and above the standard assessed gratuity.  

 

You would like working for my wife.  She’s generous to a fault!

What crackers and cheese or other appetizers are served to you by the housekeeping staff on Carnival?

[mexicobob]

8 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

What crackers and cheese or other appetizers are served to you by the housekeeping staff on Carnival?

I want to know this also.  Have sailed in the best suites on Carnival have felt lucky to get a free bottle of water.

[smittyfoto]

It's $10 or $20...you've spent a grand or more to go on the cruise...it's money well spent in my mind... I'd rather have my money go to a person that I had an interaction with than a corporation, which the majority of my money is already going to...but I work in the service industry so I'm a bit biased.

[BigBuoys]

24 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

What crackers and cheese or other appetizers are served to you by the housekeeping staff on Carnival?

 

Sometimes I get cookies, chocolate strawberries, or petit fours left in the room from the casino throughout the cruise. Wonder if that is what they are referring to as apps?

Edited March 2, 2019 by BigBuoys

[sanmarcosman]

1 minute ago, BigBuoys said:

 

Sometimes I get cookies or chocolate strawberries left to the room from the casino throughout the cruise, but I wouldn't call them apps. Wonder if that is what they are referring to as apps?

As Platinum I get the chocolate strawberries and macaroons but they are delivered by the food and beverage staff and not by a housekeeping stewarding department person. The thread is about tipping your cabin steward. I'm guessing they may be thinking of another cruise line like one with a fancy schmantzy butler.

[sanmarcosman]

14 minutes ago, smittyfoto said:

It's $10 or $20...you've spent a grand or more to go on the cruise...it's money well spent in my mind... I'd rather have my money go to a person that I had an interaction with than a corporation, which the majority of my money is already going to...but I work in the service industry so I'm a bit biased.

I agree and that's still $10 or $20 best presented after service is rendered to you. 

[BigBuoys]

Just now, sanmarcosman said:

As Platinum I get the chocolate strawberries and macaroons but they are delivered by the food and beverage staff and not by a housekeeping stewarding department person. The thread is about tipping your cabin steward. I'm guessing they may be thinking of another cruise line like one with a fancy schmantzy butler.

 

Thanks -  I always just assumed it was stewards cause it was always delivered when I was not there. 🙂 Looks like I just have bad timing. LOL

[Steve551]

9 hours ago, tom3562 said:

Has anyone had luck tipping your cabin stewards up front? 

Even thou we always pre-pay our gratuities, I got into a habit of giving our steward a $20 bill up front when they introduce themselves. This has seamed to always make a great cabin steward / customer relationship for the week. with thee exception one time. I believe it was a 4 day voyage, I tipped up front, and never seen him again till the last day leaving my room. Curious if anyone else does the same?

Happy Sailing!

I do tip upfront by prepaying our gratuities. Extra tip is given the last night of the cruise.

[CA_Cruzing]

11 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

That would be a bribe, not a tip. Tips are for good services rendered. I prepay auto gratuities ahead of time and then give the steward a nice thank you card with cash on the last night. 

So you never juice a hostess in a nice restaurant to get “your” preferred table or server? If you want excellent service, just tell someone the expectations and pay them for it. Why play guess games with your vacation? That seems ridiculous and petty. 

[Llamabear]

I've always prepaid grats, but leave a note along with a few dollars everyday for my stewards and have gotten great service! Twice a day servicing, ice bucket always full, always greeting me in the hallway and asking if I need anything. I also always mention them by name and how great they were in the post-cruise survey. Take care of those that take care of you.

[Bostwick girl]

We take a small cooler with us to have plenty of ice and it keeps whereas the ice buckets only last a short time.  When we meet our cabin steward, we go over his list, ask for twice daily service and I give them $20 and tell them I basically just want to have plenty of ice.  So every evening when our room is done, they fill my cooler.  I've never had bad service and the crew is awesome.  Of course I'm one of those people who clean up after myself so they really don't have much to do besides vacuum, dust and make the bed. I also prepay gratuities. If my dining staff is really good, I'll give extra. I've NEVER removed gratuities.

 

[bakersdozen12]

7 hours ago, CA_Cruzing said:

So you never juice a hostess in a nice restaurant to get “your” preferred table or server? If you want excellent service, just tell someone the expectations and pay them for it. Why play guess games with your vacation? That seems ridiculous and petty. 

 

No, I would never pay a hostess in a restaurant for a certain table or server. We don’t have favorites of either, but the restaurants we do frequent give us excellent service all of the time no matter what. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t come back. Same with the stewards on Carnival. You don’t need to bribe them for excellent service. They provide that automatically. It’s their job and they are great at it. Which is why I always give them extra tips in cash at the end of the cruise. 

[rufflesmom]

We have never tipped up front and have always received great service.  What we do is be friendly and respectful to the steward during the cruise.  We always greet them, try to not get in the way when they are cleaning, etc, and then tip extra at the end.  Our service has never suffered because we did not tip up front.

[louanne93]

Being in the service industry for 35 years, when someone tips me upfront, my main focus is them. I still take care of everyone, but they get extra check backs...

I was raised to tip the Maitra'd, or Host whether going to a club, show, or dinner. 

My husband and I just went on a Princess cruise and during the week one night we didn't make reservations for the steak house. We had 10 in our party for dinner, it was already booked for the evening. My husband went to the Maitra'd privately and slipped him a $20. We had a table for 10 within minutes. I know this is a personal preferance but I also think this is an "older" tradition that is getting lost in a new generation.

No flames please, this is my own personal opinion.

[summersigh]

We never take the auto-grats off.  We're always polite and friendly with the cabin steward and try to call them by name. 

We've always had good service - some better than others but always took good care of the basics.

If the service is good we tip $20-$40 extra the last day.

[CA_Cruzing]

19 minutes ago, BigguyNC said:

Sorry to have offended you Bostwick girl.  I didn’t see that this was solely a forum for your beloved Carnival cruise line.  I don’t think it’s a “North - South issue either.  It’s just that some folks prefer to shop at K-Mart and others prefer something a litttle better.

What’s the Carnival income requirements? I need to check if I’m over or under qualified. Thanks for looking out for us non K-Mart shoppers. 

[CA_Cruzing]

1 hour ago, louanne93 said:

Being in the service industry for 35 years, when someone tips me upfront, my main focus is them. I still take care of everyone, but they get extra check backs...

I was raised to tip the Maitra'd, or Host whether going to a club, show, or dinner. 

My husband and I just went on a Princess cruise and during the week one night we didn't make reservations for the steak house. We had 10 in our party for dinner, it was already booked for the evening. My husband went to the Maitra'd privately and slipped him a $20. We had a table for 10 within minutes. I know this is a personal preferance but I also think this is an "older" tradition that is getting lost in a new generation.

No flames please, this is my own personal opinion.

It’s a realistic approach. 

 

I can’t fathom how people will drop a few grand on a vacation and can not afford a few extra bucks to have their vacation their way. What’s $20 or $40 extra to someone else to have that extra level of service?

 

To each their own. The bribe comments make me laugh the most.  Life is too short to be too cheap.