ADDITIONAL Tips/Gratuities - How much do you give and for who?

[Bo1953]

32 minutes ago, Lojay2 said:

I usually give $20 to the room attendant when he comes in to introduce himself, we have a couple of special requests that we need done.  I also give him another tip on the second to last day if the service has been good. 

 

I also give the restaurant people an extra tip the first day as well as a couple of times during the trip, definitely including the Maitre D' , who helps out with my wife's special menu needs due to allergies every night.

 

This is the best money spent because no matter what restaurant we go to, including the buffet, he seems to always have made arrangements for her allergies or we run into him an he points what she can and cannot eat.  

Thank you for this post, I have similar experiences as well.. being a vegan, when staff would see me in OVC, they would show me what is good or not good.

 

I had to even stop one Assistant Mgr who ordered pancakes for me every day! By day four (4) I told him that I had my fill of them... LOL he felt bad, but I assured him that I was not upset, but did not want them every morning..

 

These staff members can be invaluable when sailing and they know what your particular requirements are.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

20 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Guest relations specifically told me I could not do that 😞

 

They also told me the same thing.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

8 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you for this post, I have similar experiences as well.. being a vegan, when staff would see me in OVC, they would show me what is good or not good.

 

I had to even stop one Assistant Mgr who ordered pancakes for me every day! By day four (4) I told him that I had my fill of them... LOL he felt bad, but I assured him that I was not upset, but did not want them every morning..

 

These staff members can be invaluable when sailing and they know what your particular requirements are.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

 

You have to be careful what you ask for.  I mentioned to one of my favorite waiters one night that I was disappointed that there wasn't rum raisin ice cream on the menu.  Thereafter, no matter what I ordered for dessert after that, I got that item PLUS rum raisin ice cream!

[Bo1953]

30 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

You have to be careful what you ask for.  I mentioned to one of my favorite waiters one night that I was disappointed that there wasn't rum raisin ice cream on the menu.  Thereafter, no matter what I ordered for dessert after that, I got that item PLUS rum raisin ice cream!

LOL - Yes, going forward I will specify only one time....

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[Fouremco]

58 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

You have to be careful what you ask for.  I mentioned to one of my favorite waiters one night that I was disappointed that there wasn't rum raisin ice cream on the menu.  Thereafter, no matter what I ordered for dessert after that, I got that item PLUS rum raisin ice cream!

LOL. My DW mentioned to our waiter how much she loved the rack of lamb served the first night. For the next few nights, until we begged him to stop, he'd bring a side order of lamb no matter what we ordered. We love lamb, our favourite meal no matter how prepared, but I was starting to baaaaah in my sleep! 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Fouremco

[mafig]

15 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

You have to be careful what you ask for.  I mentioned to one of my favorite waiters one night that I was disappointed that there wasn't rum raisin ice cream on the menu.  Thereafter, no matter what I ordered for dessert after that, I got that item PLUS rum raisin ice cream!

 

That happened to dh with chocolate cake.  He got it every night.

One night we went to a specialty...…. chocolate cake was delivered to our cabin.

[Bo1953]

For those of us who have had that 'constant' attention with the DR's/food, X is doing its' best to accommodate, for sure...

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

8 hours ago, mafig said:

 

That happened to dh with chocolate cake.  He got it every night.

One night we went to a specialty...…. chocolate cake was delivered to our cabin.

 

You've got to admire their creativity!

[hiccups]

We didn't used to tip extra, but when we learned how little of the daily charge goes to the cabin steward, we started using the form at guest services and leave $20-25.  On our last cruise on Summit, I had a bartender that made me a special drink a couple times, so I gave him $5 on the last night.  Other than that, we usually don't have enough repeat staff that we give extra tips.  We have select dining, and on Summit, we were seated in the same section three nights, so we did have the same wait staff and I suppose could have tipped more, but the service was what we expected, not "above and beyond."

I think on our next cruise on Edge we'll probably treat it more as an all-inclusive and bring some smaller bills for other "here and there" tips.

I always fill out the mid-cruise and final surveys and mention staff that has provided great service by name.
 

[calicakes]

On 2/1/2020 at 1:42 PM, Pushka said:

I like the idea of tipping the washing attendant or someone who wouldn’t normally get recognised. There was a delightful girl near Aqua on Equinox who did a great job. Maybe better for her would have been a mention on the feedback form assuming these are actually read. 

Edited Saturday at 01:44 PM by Pushka

When I live blogged back in September for our Equinox cruise, I was blasted by NUMEROUS people for extra tipping in gifts.  We gave some little cosmetic bags with new makeup.  Mascara, lipstick, lip balms, etc, etc.  We gave some of the male crew members ( the ones that we tipped)wallets with cash inside.  I gave a makeup bag to the gal who brought us pastries each morning in Blu.  She was THRILLED.  As was the hostess of the restaurant.  We also gave a makeup bag to the gals at Bacio.   Everyone said makeup was tacky, they want cash, etc.  To that I say " You do you".  I'll continue to do what I want.  

 

 

[sdnich]

Having worked in the hospitality industry in my younger years I’ve always been a good tipper! And struggle when I get bad service and have on occasionally  left very little to no tip  in restaurants on land. I feel fortunate that with Celebrity we tend to get really good service throughout the ship and usually have extra ones fives and tens with us to give when we feel they have exceeded our expectations. The last cruise I also tipped my bathroom attendant a few times $5 she was wonderful and smiling and always quick with a complement when I entered the bathroom! We were in aluminate for 15 nights so we tipped pretty much everybody on different nights always take care of the Sommelier Anna was fabulous and brought us many different wines to try . We always give our butler at least $50 at the end of the cruise but tip him  throughout because we do room service for breakfast and usually leave five dollars every morning. Our room attendant we left an extra$ 50 of our onboard credit to cover both cruises On our B2B.

[mayleeman]

I consider this to be a wonderful thread. It should help not only new cruisers, but also anyone who is not used to tipping in general but is interested in seeing how it is done.

 

Liken it to a group of people going for the 1st time to a nice buffet like the Bellagio champagne brunch (assming no added service charge). There might be a tip jar at the omelette station, but other than that, you might have no real idea of how much or even whether to tip a drink server. Is it based on the price, as for a table service meal?  That seems awfully high for drinks when you do all the selecting and carrying of food unaided. I usually base it on the number of drinks they have to bring, whether or not we have additional requests, and how long we are there. Usually averages @ $1 glass (incl water). But it has always been helpful to discuss it with our friends so that we are all comfortable (and it has helped newbies who were not planning on tipping anything -- because the waitress brought no food -- when they found out the servers do rely on tips). In one Myrtle Beach buffet brunch, our waitress was getting the tips, but I gave a separate tip to a waiter who bee-lined from across the room twice to pour coffee when ours was changing food trays in the line.

 

The wide range of answers here might seem to some to be too broad to be helpful, but I think it is great to learn that the spectrum offers anyone wanting to tip extra latitude to do so while keeping their extra costs affordable however they define it.

 

We have budgeted an average of around $150/week total divvied up relatively equally between our attendant, the waiter & ass't, and others particularly helpful.

 

Note for @Bo1953: Twice in a couple of days I have seen you worrying that you might have posted something out of bounds. I wouldn't stress if I were you: you are just about the most consistently polite member on the forum and your posts are well-reasoned and chock full of helpful info. The attempt to explain what this thread is about was apt, and much needed.

[CaptCrunch]

Going to jump in here because I agree that these threads are helpful to those looking for this type of information.  

 

On our first Celebrity cruise, (7 night in a veranda) we tipped our cabin steward $20 extra at the end of the cruise.  He was very friendly and learned our routine and came in a cleaned when we were out at breakfast.  On this cruise, we had the same wait crew in the MDR and we gave the head waiter $20 and the assistant waiter $20. They were both so pleasant, made great recommendations and learned our preferences by day two.  The sommelier was abysmal (never could be found, took too long to bring drinks, didn't offer suggestions) so we didn't tip him anything extra at all.

 

On our second Celebrity cruise (11 nights in a suite) we tipped our cabin steward $50 and our butler $50. Both of them were very friendly and had positive attitudes and went out of their way to assist us.  We dined in Luminae for dinner each night and had the same wait staff - we tipped them $50 each at the end of the cruise.  We also tipped $50 for the sommelier on this cruise - He went above and beyond to make recommendations and suggestions on wine pairings with our dinner.  Additionally, he let us try a few wines that were normally available "by the bottle" only; this was something he offered based on what we had liked other nights and what we ordered for dinner, not something that we requested. 

 

In general, will tip a few dollars ($2-$3) on each drink order no matter where we are as long as the bar staff or waiter is pleasant and prompt.  We have found that after doing this a few times, the staff gets more pleasant and more prompt once they recognize you and know that there will be a few dollars for them with each drink order.  We tend to stick to the same bar/venue routine so it doesn't take long for the staff to remember you and rush right over to get your order.  

 

We get a daily room service order for what we call "first breakfast" which is a pot of coffee and pastries delivered early in the morning and we tip $5 for that order.  It was the same person who delivered it each day and by day two, it came on time and with everything we needed. One night we forgot to put our order on the door, and they brought the tray at our usual time with our usual order anyway.  We received the phone call a few minutes before to make sure we wanted it and just forgot to put our slip out.  When we stayed in a suite, the butler actually delivered this tray in the morning, so we didn't tip him any extra for this - just the $50 tip at the end of the cruise.  

 

For "second breakfast" we go to Oceanview and eat at the buffet. My husband hits the omelette station everyday and orders the same omelette.  On our second cruise, the man that was pulling the order slips recognizes my husband and realizes that he gets the same order every day so they start making it when he walks up to the omelette station - no need to stand in line and no need to fill out the order slip. The man who manages the order slips actually says to him on day three "Good Morning Mr. Crunch, we will prepare your omelette same as yesterday, no need to fill out a slip".  That guy got a $20 tip at the end of the cruise. On the first cruise my husband got an omelette everyday, but stood in line and filled out the slip (which was no problem, just nothing "special") so no extra tip was given. 

 

For the most part, we have always had really great service from friendly staff on Celebrity from just about every one on the ship. We will tip extra for staff that really go above and beyond the exceptional Celebrity service we've come to know. 

 

 

 

 

[lizinindy]

Thanks everyone--I've learned a lot of great tips! (get it..."tips") Ha! Anyway--I love the idea of the back story people getting recognition. Wish I'd thought of that but now, they will be on my radar. Love learning about using onboard credit for tips. To get the pool waiters to come by more often (since Celebrity seems to have cut staff everywhere), we always take a stack of one dollar bills to use to entice the waiter to return! Works like a charm!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I love the story about tipping the omelette maker.  I had the same experience one time and I definitely tipped that person and mentioned him by name on the survey.

[Texed]

22 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I love the story about tipping the omelette maker.  I had the same experience one time and I definitely tipped that person and mentioned him by name on the survey.

 

I have tipped the waffle maker extra.  Quite a few times.  😁

[Marelaine]

19 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

I have tipped the waffle maker extra.  Quite a few times.  😁

 

That's a great idea. I've never thought to do that. I put a few $10 bills in my purse on the last evening and tip a few who I wouldn't normally tip. The hardworking restroom attendant or a buffet attendant who has been helpful with my disabled son.

We sail in veranda cabins. We give extra tips for excellent service.
Our cabin steward gets $30 - 40 at the end of the cruise. 
Our head waiter $30 - 40 at the end of the cruise.
Assistant waiter $10 - 20 if we've had the same assistant throughout the cruise.
Bar server in the MDR $10 -20 
We don't drink wine so no tip for the sommelier.
We rarely use room service, but when we do $3 -5 depending on the size of our order, given at the time of service.


 

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, Texed said:

 

I have tipped the waffle maker extra.  Quite a few times.  😁

You are referred to as the 'Waffle King' around these parts... LOL

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

Edited February 7, 2020 by Bo1953

[CaptCrunch]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I love the story about tipping the omelette maker.  I had the same experience one time and I definitely tipped that person and mentioned him by name on the survey.

 

This is such a nice reminder about the survey.  I keep a running list on my phone of individuals and their specific actions that made our cruise so memorable, that way it helps me remember EVERYONE that I want to recognize either on the mid-cruise form or the end of cruise feedback form.  

 

I think the best feedback we can give is in the following format:

WHO it was

WHAT they did

HOW you felt by their action 

 

[lizinindy]

...and brilliant idea to take a photo of their name tag so you get it right!

[ohiopops4]

Thank you for starting this thread!  I've found it very helpful.  

 

One question, we are sailing in a Royal Suite for the first time and will not be using the MDR.  In addition to leaving extra tips for attentive service, is it possible for us to request that guest services transfer our MDR "regular" tips to the Luminae dining staff?  

 

 

[mayleeman]

I think the dining part of your tips goes to wherever you dine if because they know who should get it (especially if you present your seapass--they don't know if you eat in the buffet at any meal, so a small part is just allocated there automatically as I understand it). We were told our waiters in Blu would get the "waiters" portion, and if we ever ate in MDR, that night's amount would go to whoever served us then.

 

This is why waiters are not very happy when they have few tables to serve--they don't get tips for those tables. Which is also why people who do use the MDR (traditional seating, at least) do their usual waitstaff a good deed by informing the matre d when they will be going to a specialty or dining elsewhere or offshore--then other people can be seated in their regular tables.

 

If someone knows this is incorrect, plesse let me know

Edited February 9, 2020 by mayleeman

[Lauren10]

This is a useful and informative topic! We are a young couple who have done a couple of cruises in the past and usually stay in inside cabins. We pay for the pre-paid gratuities and then give out small amounts in mostly $1-2 dollar increments throughout the cruise. On our last cruise we probably spent an additional $60-100 on tips during a 7 day cruise. We have found that the staff was very appreciative of even a small tip and it is our impression that many people do not give extra cash (though we may be incorrect).  I am quite impressed at the generosity of other cruisers in this forum and we will plan to tip more when we are able to! 

Edited February 9, 2020 by Lauren10

[sippican]

10 hours ago, ohiopops4 said:

Thank you for starting this thread!  I've found it very helpful.  

 

One question, we are sailing in a Royal Suite for the first time and will not be using the MDR.  In addition to leaving extra tips for attentive service, is it possible for us to request that guest services transfer our MDR "regular" tips to the Luminae dining staff?  

 

 

 

That is a great question. I was told that the auto gratuities are distributed to the "appropriate" dining venue staff. I presume that means where you are assigned for dining - MDR, Luminae or Blu. Will be interesed to hear from  others.

[Pinboy]

3 hours ago, Lauren10 said:

This is a useful and informative topic! We are a young couple who have done a couple of cruises in the past and usually stay in inside cabins. We pay for the pre-paid gratuities and then give out small amounts in mostly $1-2 dollar increments throughout the cruise. On our last cruise we probably spent an additional $60-100 on tips during a 7 day cruise. We have found that the staff was very appreciative of even a small tip and it is our impression that many people do not give extra cash (though we may be incorrect).  I am quite impressed at the generosity of other cruisers in this forum and we will plan to tip more when we are able to! 

I assume you have read many posts regarding " Gratuities " and see that there are lots of people who choose to remove the gratuities at the beginning or even worse on the last day of the cruise --- so, they " stiff " the staff and think " I beat 'em ".

You are being very generous, extremely generous and great that you are considerate of the people serving you.