Extra tips at the end of the cruise

[lamondys]

1 minute ago, Tulsacoker said:

 

 

really 

Indeed. Me pointing out to you, the post # that the OP mentions how much she tips does NOT mean I care which post # she mentions it.

[m8zenblue]

Just to weigh in on this subject, again,  of tipping, as I have commented on this subject on a previous post.

I was accused by others of wanting more than I was entitled to and taking away from other guests by tipping practices, mainly from people from countries that do not practice the tipping habits of Americans.

I will defend my tipping practice of tipping my cabin attendant prior embarkation and at debarkation.

I also tip our server, his or her's assistant, the sommelier and the maitre d at debarkation.

I have always had excellent, I repeat, excellent attention and will continue to tip as I wish.

In closing, it's your money, do as you please, I will never, ever, comment about what someone does with THEIR money.

[weregoingcruising]

22 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Seriously?  You think I was "upset" because people didn't mention it.  Obviously, you don't know me, so you don't know what upsets me, but strangers on the internet not answering a specific inquiry isn't one of them.   

 

Yeah, I didn't originally say how much $$$  I tip because I thought 20 bucks sounded cheap to me. ( which was the entire point of my post) If you have issues with me or my postings, please feel free to hit the IGNORE button. 

Where is the IGNORE button?

Edited September 26, 2019 by weregoingcruising
add a word and corrections

[Redokie]

Love your thoughtful and planned gifts!    We usually tip an EXTRA $20. per person to wait staff and room attendant.  We have on occasion gave an extra amount for exceptional service of help.      Also, in our first years of cruising  (10 years ago) we did not do this, all we could afford were the original tips.

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

19 hours ago, calicakes said:

 A few months before we left, I ordered men's leather wallets from Ebay. .. For the women, I assembled makeup bags with makeup purchased with coupons and received in subscription boxes.  Those went to the gals at Cafe Al Bacio, the hostess in Blu, the pastry gal in Blu.    I'll add a picture to the next post. 

OP--

Many thanks for your sharing this idea.  I confess to being a little surprised at the criticism you've gotten on here. I have found myself wondering how to say thank you beyond just the cash and you provided a really neat approach.

Thanks!

 

 

[Lisamarie18]

We sailed last Christmas, six of us in three adjoining cabins.  I think we left our room steward  $40 per cabin. In MDR, $40 each per cabin for waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier individually. We typically tipped per drink at the bars and then gave tips at the end of the trip to the bartenders that we hung out with the most.  On Christmas morning we left our steward  a small bag with 4-5 chocolate truffles, a card and a small cash gift as well to wish him a happy holiday spent away from his family. We keep the auto gratuities on. 

 

 We are cruising this year for New Year’s Eve and plan to tip similarly.  I always bring some blank cards and envelopes and write a thank you note.  

[calicakes]

7 minutes ago, Lisamarie18 said:

On Christmas morning we left our steward  a small bag with 4-5 chocolate truffles, a card and a small cash gift as well to wish him a happy holiday spent away from his family.

Thats really nice.  Going to remember that for our Xmas cruise 2020. 

[wpgcycler]

lol, tipping threads. Well, at least this one's about adding instead of removing tips. Carry on.

[Lisamarie18]

@calicakes I’d love to say I thought of it but I’m pretty sure I read about the idea on here 🙂   Enjoyed your review! Thanks for taking the time to do it

[calicakes]

6 minutes ago, wpgcycler said:

lol, tipping threads. Well, at least this one's about adding instead of removing tips. Carry on.

I can't even imagine someone removing the tips.  The crew works so hard.  I did not have one instance of bad service on this cruise.  Maybe other lines?  I've only ever cruised X( 4 cruises) and NCL(1 cruise).  The service on NCL was not nearly as great as on X.   We always receive pre-paid grats as a perk from our TA too.  I never even knew you could remove them.  What is the reasoning behind removing them? 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

What is the reasoning behind removing them? 

There are a number of reasons why some people choose to remove gratuities:

 

- pure and simple, to save money;

- because of perceived poor service;

- some passengers are from countries where tipping isn't part of social custom and etiquette;

- some passengers prefer to pay directly to those deserving in amounts they deem to be appropriate.

 

There are probably other reasons, but those four come to immediate mind. 

[NBEASTCOASTER]

Calicakes, I think your gesture was very creative and and most welcomed by the crew!  Kudos to you!

 

Not sure about Celebrity, but on RCCL we found out on about day 5 that bartenders shared tips and we had found our favourite bartender on day 1 at the pool bar.  Even though we had the drink package we tipped him every drink (on our account) once we found that out we stopped tipping him and at the end of the week put cash in an envelope and gave it to him, he was allowed to keep  what was in the envelope for himself.

[wpgcycler]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

 What is the reasoning behind removing them? 

 

It's more a lack of reasoning IMO.

[Alushar]

We were on same cruise and it was our strangest cruise for tipping. We usually tip our stateroom assistant, waiter etc, bartender in Martini.

 

This cruise we ate 7 times in Specialist and had bad experience in MDR so only gave minor $10 tips to a couple of waiters in LPC and Tuscan on repeat visits. For stateroom we needed nothing additional and always tidy ourselves so left basic $20. We had no outstanding server in Martini bar they seemed to change often so just put a $10 into the pot on the bar.

 

Lowest amount of tips given which when thinking about the cruise makes sense and we always use envelopes

[CGTNORMANDIE]

10 hours ago, Fouremco said:

There are a number of reasons why some people choose to remove gratuities:

 

- pure and simple, to save money;

- because of perceived poor service;

- some passengers are from countries where tipping isn't part of social custom and etiquette;

- some passengers prefer to pay directly to those deserving in amounts they deem to be appropriate.

 

There are probably other reasons, but those four come to immediate mind. 

 

Saving money is at the root of all the reasons to remove the service charge.  Removing the DSC takes away from cleaners, dishwashers, food handlers and prep, laundry workers, and all the people who work behind the scene.  Being disappointed by a lapse in service in the dining room or the cabin or the bar is not a valid reason for removing the DSC.  

[gold1953]

12 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

 

Saving money is at the root of all the reasons to remove the service charge.  Removing the DSC takes away from cleaners, dishwashers, food handlers and prep, laundry workers, and all the people who work behind the scene.  Being disappointed by a lapse in service in the dining room or the cabin or the bar is not a valid reason for removing the DSC.  

Only crew who serve you face to face get a portion of the grats. You can get the list of recipients at any time. 

[Fouremco]

From Celebrity's website:

 

This gratuity is shared by your stateroom attendant, dining services staff, and housekeeping staff members who help enhance your vacation experience.

[cachouonacruise]

The tipping issue is always a topic that makes me feel uncomfortable.

 

I know and agree that the crew works hard and deserve compensation. This is not my issue.

 

Before we had prepaid gratuities, cruise lines issued specific guidelines on how much and to which members of the crew, tipping was expected. This was relatively simple, at least.

 

Now, that these are prepaid, people are discussing « extra tipping », « tipping time » and soon, we will have extra tipping, on the extra. It almost feels that passengers are competing for the service, by tipping earlier and earlier or more and more.

 

I recognize that tipping is a cultural issue. I also recognize that cruising is a luxury vacation.

 

I am just not comfortable to be perceived as cheap, because I did not fully understand, the last trend on how fast to tip, how much extra to tip, or to how many employees, I should extend tipping? ( Examples: Nice Maitre D, Nice Casino Attendants, Friendly and smiley security personnel, helpful guest service employee etc.)

 

Finally, my cruise ticket is not cheap either. So, I am left wondering which members of the staff are adequately paid by the cruise line? In short, what am I buying when I pay a cruise ticket?

 

I wish there was a simpler way then this competition for the tipping policy, to ensure that the staff is duly compensated for their work, without making passengers feel cheap for not giving the most extra tip. And I would conclude by saying that the number of recurring treads proves my point: that the tipping issue is complex and leaves numerous passengers feeling unsure or uncomfortable.

 

 

[sippican]

On 9/25/2019 at 11:06 PM, calicakes said:

. I can’t imagine anyone saying they don’t want to add the daily tip.  I just wasn’t sure how much was appropriate. 

 

Well I'm here to to say that we "don't want to add" additional daily tips unless their service exceeds what is customary service. Sometimes service is absolutely exceptional, and sometimes its mediocre.  I have already paid tips and frequently add more ($20 - $100+), but have never taken tips away (even though we've had staff that performed poorly). I know this is probably not a popular opinion, but I believe many do not express that opinion because we tend to get blasted.

Edited September 27, 2019 by sippican

[boscobeans]

When we first started cruising about 20years ago our dining room staff and our stateroom staff had more time to go beyond simply doing what was just customary.

 

Now they have more tables or rooms to service and don't have time to go beyond what is just required.

 

We still tend to go above the pre-paid tips because they are earned as long as they do a decent job. 

When you think of the amount you tip them compared to a restaurant or hotel it is well worth it.

 

 

[Marelaine]

On 9/25/2019 at 8:18 PM, calicakes said:

I was really looking for specific dollar amounts that people give, however I guess no one wants to share that. 

 

Everyone has an opinion( me especially).  

 

I think a wallet is super nice for someone who served me breakfast 1 or 2 times.  As I stated I gave a generous cash gift and the wallet to my regular waiter and assistant.  

 

As you noted, most people aren't comfortable talking about money. But I will.

We leave auto-grats in place so we don't miss anyone. We put our extra tips in an envelope along with a thank you note for those who provided excellent service. We are regular balcony cruisers, 10 day cruises.

cabin steward and head waiter $40 - $50

assistant waiter, bar server in the MDR, $20 
cafe al bacio - $10 if we've had the same server for most of the cruise

On the last evening, I put a few $10 bills to hand to crew members who are not usually tipped, such as the restroom attendants.  
 

 

[Marelaine]

1 hour ago, cachouonacruise said:

The tipping issue is always a topic that makes me feel uncomfortable.

 

I know and agree that the crew works hard and deserve compensation. This is not my issue.

 

Before we had prepaid gratuities, cruise lines issued specific guidelines on how much and to which members of the crew, tipping was expected. This was relatively simple, at least.

 

Now, that these are prepaid, people are discussing « extra tipping », « tipping time » and soon, we will have extra tipping, on the extra. It almost feels that passengers are competing for the service, by tipping earlier and earlier or more and more.

 

I recognize that tipping is a cultural issue. I also recognize that cruising is a luxury vacation.

 

I am just not comfortable to be perceived as cheap, because I did not fully understand, the last trend on how fast to tip, how much extra to tip, or to how many employees, I should extend tipping? ( Examples: Nice Maitre D, Nice Casino Attendants, Friendly and smiley security personnel, helpful guest service employee etc.)

 

Finally, my cruise ticket is not cheap either. So, I am left wondering which members of the staff are adequately paid by the cruise line? In short, what am I buying when I pay a cruise ticket?

 

I wish there was a simpler way then this competition for the tipping policy, to ensure that the staff is duly compensated for their work, without making passengers feel cheap for not giving the most extra tip. And I would conclude by saying that the number of recurring treads proves my point: that the tipping issue is complex and leaves numerous passengers feeling unsure or uncomfortable.

 

 

As a person who has grown up in a 'tipping culture,' I agree with you. I wish the cruise lines would just pay their crew members decent wages and adjust our upfront cost. No more wondering if and how much we should tip. 

[calicakes]

1 hour ago, sippican said:

 

Well I'm here to to say that we "don't want to add" additional daily tips unless their service exceeds what is customary service. Sometimes service is absolutely exceptional, and sometimes its mediocre.  I have already paid tips and frequently add more ($20 - $100+), but have never taken tips away (even though we've had staff that performed poorly). I know this is probably not a popular opinion, but I believe many do not express that opinion because we tend to get blasted.

When I say " Daily tip", I meant the pre-paid gratuities.  The tips per stateroom.  I think for AQ it was 15 a day.  I don't mean extra tips.  On our first cruise, I didn't tip anything extra because I didn't think we were expected to.  I never really thought about it past " required tipping". 

[calicakes]

29 minutes ago, Marelaine said:

As a person who has grown up in a 'tipping culture,' I agree with you. I wish the cruise lines would just pay their crew members decent wages and adjust our upfront cost. No more wondering if and how much we should tip. 

I always wonder how much they do get paid.  Does anyone know?  I understand their food/board is "free" or maybe it isnt?  I did ask a crew member who was going home to Russia for vacation, if X paid for their flight home and she said Yes. 

[Marelaine]

2 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I always wonder how much they do get paid.  Does anyone know?  I understand their food/board is "free" or maybe it isnt?  I did ask a crew member who was going home to Russia for vacation, if X paid for their flight home and she said Yes. 

 

I think that is a closely guarded secret. A few crew members have hinted that the lion's share of their wages is from the auto-grats.