Thoughts on additional tips?

[daisy-mae]

10 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

It is no more bribery to tip a crew member at the beginning in anticipation of service than it is to pay HAL for a premium suite in anticipation of service.

 

There is a difference between a large faceless corporation, in this case HAL, and an individual crew member.

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

There is a difference between a large faceless corporation, in this case HAL, and an individual crew member.

Of course, that is my point.  You don't like the way I tip then you don't have to cruise in the same cabin.  That is life, we all vote with our wallet, at least in a free society.

[daisy-mae]

I'm not sure that I follow the logic. If I pay a certain price for a given product, then I guess I am paying up front in anticipation of a certain level of service. But would the staff members assigned to the cabin not be expected to provide that level of service without an additional incentive up front?

 

And as another poster has implied, would it be acceptable to ask to have the tip returned if the service was not up to par?

[Mary229]

5 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

I'm not sure that I follow the logic. If I pay a certain price for a given product, then I guess I am paying up front in anticipation of a certain level of service. But would the staff members assigned to the cabin not be expected to provide that level of service without an additional incentive up front?

 

And as another poster has implied, would it be acceptable to ask to have the tip returned if the service was not up to par?

I see no difference.  You could well buy that Neptune Suite and have all matter of issues.  There actually was a thread about that this very week.  No, I would never ask for a tip back.  Do you ask for your HSC back? No, of course not.  I consider the HSC prepaid myself.  We all have different ways of achieving our desired results and I don't see why it offends others.  I was taken aback by a fellow cruiser's comment (who saw John give a tip) and I am almost offended by people on this forum who give a d*** about how others tip.  Honestly I have much to say about people who withhold tips but I will honor the spirit of this thread and not give my personal opinion and continue to give my personal logistics

[sail7seas]

My  opinion  is of no more (or less) value than anyone else's here and same for you daisy -mae.  It would feel like bribery to me if I tipped in advance.  If  you like to tip in advance, good, go for it, do what makes  you  happy and the rest of us should do the same IMO...  whatever makes each happy.

 

 

Perhaps you have not been as fortunate  or as pleased as   I have been ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sail7seas]

1 hour ago, daisy-mae said:

I'm not sure that I follow the logic. If I pay a certain price for a given product, then I guess I am paying up front in anticipation of a certain level of service. But would the staff members assigned to the cabin not be expected to provide that level of service without an additional incentive up front?

 

And as another poster has implied, would it be acceptable to ask to have the tip returned if the service was not up to par?

 

 

 

You seem to  be confusing paid in advance cruise fare with optional over  and above tipping   that often is done at end of cruise.

 

 

 

 

[Mary229]

14 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

My  opinion  is of no more (or less) value than anyone else's here and same for you daisy -mae.  It would feel like bribery to me if I tipped in advance.  If  you like to tip in advance, good, go for it, do what makes  you  happy and the rest of us should do the same IMO...  whatever makes each happy.

 

 

Perhaps you have not been as fortunate  or as pleased as   I have been ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No reason to be snarky.  I have been happy with my level of service however I have gotten it.  I do not understand your point except to say I am wrong and you are right.  

[Cruising-along]

9 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

It would feel like bribery to me if I tipped in advance.  If  you like to tip in advance, good, go for it, do what makes  you  happy and the rest of us should do the same IMO...  whatever makes each happy.

I agree with you Sail.  I'm glad people tip period, no matter when or how, but it bothers me that so many who do tip in advance claim they get better service than the rest of us. How do they know what kind of service we get, especially from our cabin stewards?  I've never felt the need to make sure I'll get good service if I slip something extra in advance -- and have had excellent service on all our cruises.  Over and above the norm.  I've found that a sincere smile and appreciation (verbally and written) goes a long way.  Then at the end comes the extra tip. 

[Seasick Sailor]

We used to tip at the end of our cruise. Now, if we are on a 3 week, or 2 week cruise, we tip weekly, and we will do so on our upcoming 6 week cruise in March. We did not realize our adorable steward went home in the middle our 3 week Viking cruise last year and we missed giving him any tip. He was already gone by the time we heard. I feel very bad because he was so nice, kind, and hard working. 

[sail7seas]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

No reason to be snarky.  I have been happy with my level of service however I have gotten it.  I do not understand your point except to say I am wrong and you are right.  

. 

 

 

 For someone to say they do not agree   with you, is not Snarky IMO

Does  e veryone always agree in your world?  Sadly Not in mine.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by sail7seas

[Cruising-along]

39 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

We used to tip at the end of our cruise. Now, if we are on a 3 week, or 2 week cruise, we tip weekly, and we will do so on our upcoming 6 week cruise in March. We did not realize our adorable steward went home in the middle our 3 week Viking cruise last year and we missed giving him any tip. He was already gone by the time we heard. I feel very bad because he was so nice, kind, and hard working. 

That happened to us once too, I felt the same way.  Since then, I ask at the beginning of the cruise if our assigned stewards will be on my whole cruise. Especially on our longer cruises.

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

What part  of my message do  you consider snarky?  The part w here I  say  I  do not agree with you?   If that is not it, i have no clue. kindly clarify. 

 

TIA

 

 

 

 

What I do is bribery - ummm. You can’t see that 

[sail7seas]

Hmm,no

 

🤔

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by sail7seas

[daisy-mae]

1 hour ago, sail7seas said:

My  opinion  is of no more (or less) value than anyone else's here and same for you daisy -mae.  It would feel like bribery to me if I tipped in advance.  If  you like to tip in advance, good, go for it, do what makes  you  happy and the rest of us should do the same IMO...  whatever makes each happy.

 

 

Perhaps you have not been as fortunate  or as pleased as   I have been ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not quite sure what you are getting at, sail7seas. I did not say that anyone's post is of greater or lesser value, as we are all entitled to our opinions. I was just trying to understand how Mary could equate booking a certain type of cabin with paying up front for the service. Yes, when you book a suite you are paying for a certain level of service, most often more extensive  and varied than the service one would get if booking an inside cabin. The compulsory gratuities (HSC?) are agreed upon when purchasing the cruise fare, which is what I thought she was referring to when making the comparison between HAL and the individual stewards.

 

My point was that giving HAL a commitment to pay a given amount to be doled out to staff at the end of the cruise was not quite the same as handing a gratuity to an individual at the beginning of the trip with the expectation that service commensurate with the payment would be forthcoming.

 

I have always been pleased with the service provided and have rewarded those who have helped to make my vacation memorable and enjoyable. Each to his/her own.

[tunafish]

On 12/30/2019 at 11:13 AM, RuthC said:

It's been explained many times, on many tipping threads, which you regularly participate in. But one more time since you asked: 
If you are charged $14.50 per day for a Hotel Service Charge, the recipients get $14.50 per day. But if your cruise fare were to be increased $14.50 per day to cover the service charge, the recipients would get less than $14.50. Taxes would need to be paid out of that. 

A. the reason they hire people from all over the world and sail under convenient flag is not to follow standard payroll tax and company tax that is true for US land based company.

B. why do you guys think that $14.50 goes directly to someone. it goes to the company as you pay it to the company... 'nough said

 

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, tunafish said:

B. why do you guys think that $14.50 goes directly to someone. it goes to the company as you pay it to the company... 'nough said

And you know this how? 

[SumoCitrus]

For those who tip at the beginning or during the cruise, do you notice an improvement in service after the tip(s)? I already get exceptional service from HAL usually so it's hard to imagine what else they could do.

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, SumoCitrus said:

For those who tip at the beginning or during the cruise, do you notice an improvement in service after the tip(s)? I already get exceptional service from HAL usually so it's hard to imagine what else they could do.

 

I doubt they do.

I suspect there is a list of those who tip extra.  Crew talk.

Just a supposition on my part, of course based on a few little things I have heard 😉 

 

And irregardless, I think the crew do a fabulous job whether you tip extra or not. 

[Mary229]

8 minutes ago, SumoCitrus said:

For those who tip at the beginning or during the cruise, do you notice an improvement in service after the tip(s)? I already get exceptional service from HAL usually so it's hard to imagine what else they could do.

It depends.  Let's get this straight - I only tip early when I am making a special request, not a request that would be considered the normal part of protocol.  I do not believe in asking  people to do something beyond their normal job description without compensation.  I offer the compensation and if they still refuse or are unable to fulfill my request I am not vindictive.   That would be silly.  That said, I often see people make unreasonable requests, it makes me very ashamed of some of my fellow passengers.  

[Hlitner]

I will be true to the spirit of the OP and not comment on the politics of tipping.  I think that giving extra tips is a very personal thing and you need to follow your own conscience not to mention your own budget.  We often slip extra tips to our favorite bar tenders and bar waiters and, when we are happy, we might spread around a few 10s and 20s (perhaps more if its a longer voyage).  Since we generally dine in open sitting we do not have any assigned waiters.  Accordingly we generally do not give any extra tips to waiters.  While this might not seem right to some folks, the cruise lines have created the situation and we have had to adapt.  As to our cabin steward (or stewardess) what we do really varies.  We do not give extra tips for normal service (that which meets most of our expectation) but when we get a cabin attendant that exceeds the norms our tipping also exceeds the norms.  The amount will really vary depending on the length of the cruise and what we think the employee deserves.  The reality of cabin stewards on HAL (we are talking regular cabins...not big suites) is that they are often so overworked that they have no time for the personal touches we used to experience years ago.

 

Speaking of cabin staff, having just finished our 2nd cruise in MSC's Yacht Club...our Butler provided a level of service we could only dream about on HAL.  He did everything from escorting us on the ship (at embarkation) to escorting us (via private elevator) off the ship at ports and disembarkation.  When we wanted some additions to our mini-bar it was done within minutes.  He would often bring us our drinks when we were sitting in the YC's dedicated lounge and, at times, he was everywhere.   On our last HAL cruise we met our steward the first day, and seldom saw him the rest of the cruise other then a quick hello if we passed in the corridor.  But our cabin was always cleaned before we returned from breakfast, everything was sparkling, etc.  So where does that leave us if we were to try and compare levels of service?  Honestly we do not have the answer.  But  we sure did give a generous extra tip to that MSC Butler.

 

Hank

[GreggMc]

Is there a recommended tip cheat sheet somewhere that shows what we should tip for each of the different crew members? First time Crusing so point me in the right direction if needed. Thanks

[VennDiagram]

5 minutes ago, GreggMc said:

Is there a recommended tip cheat sheet somewhere that shows what we should tip for each of the different crew members? First time Crusing so point me in the right direction if needed. Thanks

 

As long as you leave the daily hotel service charge (HSC) in place, anything ELSE you might decide to give members of the crew is entirely up to you. 

 

Just in this thread, and another recent thread around here someplace that I can't find, people have given a range of the amount they tip.  From nothing to $2ish to $10ish or more per day.  We usually tip our cabin stewards, dining team, wine steward, and a bar steward or 2.  If we are in a Neptune Suite we will usually tip the PG staff (NS gets breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill), and usually the Neptune concierges. 

[GreggMc]

4 minutes ago, VennDiagram said:

 

As long as you leave the daily hotel service charge (HSC) in place, anything ELSE you might decide to give members of the crew is entirely up to you. 

 

Just in this thread, and another recent thread around here someplace that I can't find, people have given a range of the amount they tip.  From nothing to $2ish to $10ish or more per day.  We usually tip our cabin stewards, dining team, wine steward, and a bar steward or 2.  If we are in a Neptune Suite we will usually tip the PG staff (NS gets breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill), and usually the Neptune concierges. 

Yes we have one of the Neptune Suites and I don't want to short change anyone. Thanks

[RocketMan275]

22 hours ago, SumoCitrus said:

For those who tip at the beginning or during the cruise, do you notice an improvement in service after the tip(s)? I already get exceptional service from HAL usually so it's hard to imagine what else they could do.

Absolutely.  Take for example, a bartender.  If one tips extra with each drink, then the bartender will notice and will have an incentive to provide better service  to receive more tips.

[sail7seas]

2 hours ago, GreggMc said:

Is there a recommended tip cheat sheet somewhere that shows what we should tip for each of the different crew members? First time Crusing so point me in the right direction if needed. Thanks

 

 

 

For tips above the automatic hotel service charge added to our on board bill, Anything you choose to give is optional and through the , hundreds of threads dealing with this question, most cc'ers usually agree that most of us who always tip 'extra' make our own choice how  much extra we tip and to whom we give those extra tips.