First-time Cruiser, gratuity question.

[zeph918]

Hello everyone. I have a new question to ask. I am going to be going on the Carnival Breeze for a cruise in September. I already have everything booked and I went ahead and prepaid my gratuities on my package via the website.

 

Does this cover gratuities across-the-board? I am thinking about my waiter or waitress for our sit-down meals.  Does the gratuity add-on also apply to them or do we need to tip them separately?

 

I know we can always give an additional tip, I just didn't know if it was covered already or not. I am certainly not the type of person to shaft someone for good service.

[shof515]

yes the gratuities does cover the waiters/waitress

[zeph918]

Awesome thank you. Is there any way that the waiter or waitress knows that I have prepaid gratuities? I know it sounds funny but I don't want to walk away from the table and the waiter or waitress resent me because I didn't leave a tip. You know what I'm saying? Is there a way for them to tell that it's already been taken care of?

[jc4me]

Just now, zeph918 said:

Awesome thank you. Is there any way that the waiter or waitress knows that I have prepaid gratuities? I know it sounds funny but I don't want to walk away from the table and the waiter or waitress resent me because I didn't leave a tip. You know what I'm saying? Is there a way for them to tell that it's already been taken care of?

Even if you did not pre-pay gratuities, they are posted to your shipboard account, so you would not typically leave money on the table like you would at a restaurant.  No need to be concerned 🙂  Have a fantastic cruise!

[Wheels87]

They know that the only reason they would not get the basic gratuity is if you intentionally had them removed at guest services. Most folks do not do that. 

 

I always carry a wad of $1 bills to tip bartenders, drink servers, etc. The crew members really appreciate that and my family and I really enjoy rewarding people who work so hard. 

 

Cheers! 

[CruisingViper]

Congrats on your first cruise, the Breeze was one of my favorite ships to sail on. 

If you do the sit down dinner each night, you'll sit in the same place each night and have the same waiters and waitresses so you'll get to know them and they do a great job of getting to know everyone by name and their drink and food habits. For instance they'll learn that I sometimes like to order a manhattan with dinner and ask if I'd like one, and they'll learn my son like sprite and be ready with one.

The gratuity charge will cover everything. Some people will tip extra with cash at dinner on the last night, but it is certainly not expected. 

[ishap]

1 hour ago, zeph918 said:

Hello everyone. I have a new question to ask. I am going to be going on the Carnival Breeze for a cruise in September. I already have everything booked and I went ahead and prepaid my gratuities on my package via the website.

 

Does this cover gratuities across-the-board? I am thinking about my waiter or waitress for our sit-down meals.  Does the gratuity add-on also apply to them or do we need to tip them separately?

 

I know we can always give an additional tip, I just didn't know if it was covered already or not. I am certainly not the type of person to shaft someone for good service.

 

Everything is covered and there is no need for you to worry.  You are always welcome to tip extra to people you think have gone above and beyond.  I typically tip my wait staff on the last night of the cruise with a little extra, depending on how good the service is.  I will hand that directly to them as we are leaving the table and thank them for an amazing cruise.

 

It is also customary to tip for room service, especially if you are getting the free room service food.  I usually carry some $1s for this.

 

Tipping extra, beyond the pre-paid gratuities, is totally up to you. 

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, zeph918 said:

Awesome thank you. Is there any way that the waiter or waitress knows that I have prepaid gratuities? I know it sounds funny but I don't want to walk away from the table and the waiter or waitress resent me because I didn't leave a tip. You know what I'm saying? Is there a way for them to tell that it's already been taken care of?

They will know, it is posted for them to see as well.

[Djptcp]

We always tip our room steward a little at the beginning of the cruise and ask him to keep our ice bucket full. We almost always leave a bit more at the end if we have been particularly pleased with the cabin care. DH always tips bar staff in cash even though a tip is included in the drink order. I tip bar staff in the casino in cash when I get to Drinks on Us. We cruise a lot on the same ships and they remember you. And we always tip while playing table games in the casino. The extra tips don't have to be much, but the employees really appreciate it. DH had laid down a tip while playing Three Card Poker one time and the dealer won $400 on DH's big win. Of course it went into the tip jar for all the dealers and you can believe they all remembered him through the whole cruise!! 

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, CruisingViper said:

Congrats on your first cruise, the Breeze was one of my favorite ships to sail on. 

If you do the sit down dinner each night, you'll sit in the same place each night and have the same waiters and waitresses so you'll get to know them and they do a great job of getting to know everyone by name and their drink and food habits. For instance they'll learn that I sometimes like to order a manhattan with dinner and ask if I'd like one, and they'll learn my son like sprite and be ready with one.

The gratuity charge will cover everything. Some people will tip extra with cash at dinner on the last night, but it is certainly not expected. 

 

This is only true if you have Early or Late dining. If you have Your Time Dining, you'll usually get a different wait team because you can be seated anywhere. With that said, if you do have YTD and like a particular waiter, you can request to be seated in their section. Just be aware that your wait could be longer if their section is already full.

[cruisegus]

I'm sure the waiters and waitresses know if tips are prepaid or your someone that just lets the auto gratuities go to your sign and sail acct.  I do know that your room steward know this for sure.

[BrezQ]

We bring cash, especially ones, to tip wait/bar staff.  We give our room steward a little extra, and usually tip for drinks too!

 

it's not necessary, we enjoy it! (I'm a bartender, so I couldn't skip it)

 

Have a blast!

[cathyz]

The basic tips cover everyone and some cruisers don't tip any extra.  We have always tipped our steward, waiters, favorite bartenders extra cash a few times during the week or on the last day.  They really appreciate it.