Suggestions for stateroom attendant extra tipping?

[BillHana]

I always pre-pay gratuities long before boarding and I intend to keep this up because I want to  support the hardworking folks. I accept this help the cruise line meet the guaranteed agreed upon wage but I would hope once this is met the worker gets extra.

 What is the tactful and effective way to give the stateroom attendant extra? The obvious is to leave cash in the envelope the last night of the cruise but I would like to let them know sooner than the last day that I care (and maybe get extra attention).

Any suggestions on how to accomplish this? Give a cash tip the first and last day? Leave an envelope with cash every day? What have others done?

[sellwingri]

On the last full day, I’ll make a point to seek out our attendant and hand them $20 or $30 in cash, usually in our room, and thank them for their service.  I was once told by an attendant that if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

[Tulsacoker]

you can give them a tip when you first meet them. if I was going to tip each day I would go to guest services and get tip envelopes to pit it in each day and leave it in the room. 

[mafig]

10 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

On the last full day, I’ll make a point to seek out our attendant and hand them $20 or $30 in cash, usually in our room, and thank them for their service.  I was once told by an attendant that if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

 

Really?  Never heard that.🤔

[Cruiser_1977]

On my most recent cruise I saw Mark before dinner on the final evening. I thanked him and told him I had something for him. I simply handed him a $20 bill. I have also had cruises where I haven't left anything above the pre-paid amount. As someone who used to work for tips, I honestly believe they should reflect the level of service beyond "standard". 

[not-enough-cruising]

29 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

Urban Myth 

[sellwingri]

11 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Urban Myth 

It may be a myth but a stateroom attendant told me this so I tend to believe them.

[grouchomarx]

Tip in cash in an envelope on the last full day.  I don't understand tipping in advance.  They haven't done anything yet.  You don't know they will warrant an extra tip yet.  What if they turned out to be horrible?  Then the money was not well spent.  Don't leave the money behind, hand it in person to be sure they get it.  Last cruise our steward was positively amazing.  I gave him $40.

[WI-Cruiser]

We typically give the attendant $10 or $20 dollars when we first meet - we usually have a few initial requests like ice for our cooler, extra pillow, extra towels, bathrobes, etc.  On the last night of the cruise we hand him/her another $10 or $20 (depending on length of cruise) if the service was satisfactory. If we don't get a chance to see him before we depart we leave it in an envelope in the stateroom.

[NavyCruiser]

Since we remove auto grats, We inform our Stateroom Attendant that we did so & tip him/her approx $42 first day ($6 per person per day) & approx $42 last day, adjusted a few $ up or down....no envelopes

[johnjen]

1 hour ago, BillHana said:

I always pre-pay gratuities long before boarding and I intend to keep this up because I want to  support the hardworking folks. I accept this help the cruise line meet the guaranteed agreed upon wage but I would hope once this is met the worker gets extra.

 What is the tactful and effective way to give the stateroom attendant extra? The obvious is to leave cash in the envelope the last night of the cruise but I would like to let them know sooner than the last day that I care (and maybe get extra attention).

Any suggestions on how to accomplish this? Give a cash tip the first and last day? Leave an envelope with cash every day? What have others done?

If they've went above and beyond, I usually hand them a $50 note at the end of the cruise, citing what they did for us.

[robtulipe]

1 hour ago, sellwingri said:

On the last full day, I’ll make a point to seek out our attendant and hand them $20 or $30 in cash, usually in our room, and thank them for their service.  I was once told by an attendant that if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

Only time that occurs with any cash tips is if the guest has removed automatic gratuities.  😉

[SRF]

1 hour ago, NavyCruiser said:

Since we remove auto grats, We inform our Stateroom Attendant that we did so & tip him/her approx $42 first day ($6 per person per day) & approx $42 last day, adjusted a few $ up or down....no envelopes

 

You do know if you remove auto grats, they are required to put any cash received into the tip pool?

[marci22]

2 hours ago, sellwingri said:

I was once told by an attendant that if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

 

Interesting.

[marci22]

24 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

You do know if you remove auto grats, they are required to put any cash received into the tip pool?

Aren't auto grats one big tip pool? That is how Royal describes it.

 

Even if you do tip in cash, it's hard for me to believe that Royal would penalize that worker by decreasing his pay and distributing his cash envelope tip to everyone else. Seems ridiculous and punitive.

Edited January 23, 2020 by marci22

[goldfish65]

8 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Aren't auto grats one big tip pool? That is how Royal describes it.

 

Even if you do tip in cash, it's hard for me to believe that Royal would penalize that worker by decreasing his pay and distributing his cash envelope tip to everyone else. Seems ridiculous and punitive.

In my job as a server at a resort, we pool all tips. If we get cash, we turn it in to the manager who distributes it accordingly. It is not a punitive system for us because we know without everyone helping each other we would not be able to give the best service.

 

[Tree_skier]

3 hours ago, BillHana said:

Give a cash tip the first and last day?

This is what we do.  

[DaKahuna]

We always pre-pay gratuties. 

 

On embarkation day, we have a couple of things that we like to convey to our stateroom attendant.  We normally hand him a $20.00 and inform him of our wish list (ice twice a day, extra towels, sheets to cover the sofa and any chairs, etc.) 

 

Depending on the level of what we believe to be 'over and above services' we normally provide a cash tip on the last night of the cruise or failing to see him that night, the next morning.   

 

There has only been one time when we did not give our stateroom attendant cash at the end of a cruise.  

 

We also make it a note to take down names of everyone who we believe went above and beyond and make sure to mention them  by name in our post cruise review. 

 

 

[cruiserking]

Usually, on embarkation day I give the steward $20 and tell him/her to take good care of us, we like extra soap etc. 

 

If the service has been good all week I'll give an additional $40 or $50 at the end of the cruise. 

 

Jonathan

[lazydayz]

If the service is outstanding, we tip midway through and then again the last evening.

 

If someone goes above and beyond on a particular day, then at time of that service.

 

We almost always feel the cabin steward deserves more than their share of the tip pool.  

 

Our last cruise, he did not but the cabin steward for the adjoining room helped us out several times.  She got the extra tip! 

[Bookster99]

My wife and I have discussed bringing a small gift along on the cruise as a small added incentive above and beyond the tips. Good chocolate or something like that. What are your thoughts?

 

We've never done it: It's always the pre-paid gratuities plus a little more we slip in their hands. Just an idea. Thoughts?

[not-enough-cruising]

15 minutes ago, Bookster99 said:

My wife and I have discussed bringing a small gift along on the cruise as a small added incentive above and beyond the tips. Good chocolate or something like that. What are your thoughts?

 

We've never done it: It's always the pre-paid gratuities plus a little more we slip in their hands. Just an idea. Thoughts?

They don’t need your gifts; they need cash. There is no greater incentive than cold hard cash. 

[Bookster99]

6 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

They don’t need your gifts; they need cash. There is no greater incentive than cold hard cash. 

agreed. This is additional to cash. Appreciate your input.

[maria1122]

8 hours ago, sellwingri said:

On the last full day, I’ll make a point to seek out our attendant and hand them $20 or $30 in cash, usually in our room, and thank them for their service.  I was once told by an attendant that if you used the envelopes, they’d have to share with everyone so I never use them.

Edited January 23, 2020 by maria1122

[Tree_skier]

36 minutes ago, Bookster99 said:

My wife and I have discussed bringing a small gift along on the cruise as a small added incentive above and beyond the tips. Good chocolate or something like that. What are your thoughts?

 

We've never done it: It's always the pre-paid gratuities plus a little more we slip in their hands. Just an idea. Thoughts?

While it is a nice gesture above and beyond cash, there are so many individual tastes, dietary restrictions or allergies that I would worry that having gone to the effort to pack it all the way onto a cruise ship it would just be disposed of by the recipient.