help with tipping ?

[t00thpix]

Can anyone suggest tipping amount per day to the room steward for a veranda room. Will give as a lump sum at end of cruise. Thank you!

[Life Buoy]

Do a topic search and you'll get more information than you desire. Watch what comments your question triggers.

[Jim_Iain]

Tipping is a very personal decision and can illicit some heated disagreements here on CC.   

 

You will be automatically charge $15.50  per person per day on your room account to cover all of your tips if you do not have free tips included in your room.   Depending on service if the room attendants service was above average I generally tip between $2.50-5.00 additional at the end of the cruise.

[az_tchr]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Tipping is a very personal decision and can illicit some heated disagreements here on CC.   

 

You will be automatically charge $15.50  per person per day on your room account to cover all of your tips if you do not have free tips included in your room.   Depending on service if the room attendants service was above average I generally tip between $2.50-5.00 additional at the end of the cruise.

Everyone has their own preference. I choose to give say $10 at beginning of cruise and at the end depending on service - especially extra service if any we request.

[Jim_Iain]

I should have said that the extra tip amount of $2.50 - 5.00 is per day.

 

[bEwAbG]

Quite a lengthy thread just a few posts down that covers this topic

 

 

[jb008]

The cruise line strongly recommends $15.50/per person per day to cover both stateroom attendant and food service personnel (e.g., waiter and assistant waiter). 

 

If it were me, I'd just leave auto-tipping in place.  If you feel someone(s) deserved it, give them a short thank you note and some additional cash directly to them.  We generally tip extra to both our stateroom attendant and food servers and try to recognize good service with either a comment card or by name in our post-cruise surveys.

[m8zenblue]

My advice to you would be to use your own judgement.

Explore the previous posts about this subject.

This topic is very heated amongst others.

Like previous posters have stated it's a personal choice and nobody else business except between you and the staff.

I'm sure whatever you decide would be appreciated with staff.

[kdawg954]

Like others have said, tip whatever you feel the service is worth.

 

i have never tipped more or less than what is taken out daily.  One of the reasons I enjoy cruising is because that work has been figured out for me already and I am content with the amount the cruise line decided on.  

 

Me asking for a bucket of ice everytime the room is made shouldnt result in having to tip extra, but certainly tip extra if you enjoy the service and feel it warrants extra.

[George C]

We normally tip a extra 40 or more depending on service of course, some room stewards are great others not that great. But this is just what we do. 

[MISTER 67]

We usually give 20 dollars each to our cabin steward, our waiter and to his assistant. We take 3 cruises a year and I'm sort of having a problem is everytime we cruise it goes up a dollar a day, it's part of the nickle and diming that the cruise lines seem to hit us with a lot and at the same time they cut down on amenities.

I'm probably wrong but in the back of my mind I don't trust the lines and the cynicism in me leads me to the conclusion that I wouldn't be surprised at all if they are pocketing some of the gratuities.

Edited February 10, 2020 by MISTER 67

[ghstudio]

 

[4774Papa]

6 hours ago, t00thpix said:

Can anyone suggest tipping amount per day to the room steward for a veranda room. Will give as a lump sum at end of cruise. Thank you!

We mainly take 14 day cruises and if the room steward does well, I tip $30-$40 depending in what he may have done for us.  I usually tip $2 if we order a hot breakfast from room service.  The Room Steward don't deliver the food.  

[laslomas]

The tip has already been worked out to a daily rate ($15.50) by Celebrity. This will cover a tip to your stateroom steward and that all that is required. Leave this in place and know that the crew will know you are doing so. Then get on with enjoying yourself without the worry of handing out cash as you go. If you feel anyone has gone beyond fulfilling their normal duties then tip whatever you feel. It is not necessary or required to tip extra.   

[GastroGnome]

Always leave the autogratuities in place becuase it covers folk you might not otherwise see - those who clean, maintain, cook etc.  If you feel you have receievd additional service then additional tips are at your discretion.  But more importantly - get a comment card from guest services and fill that in.  Getting positive feedback from those cards translates directly into perks for the staff, additional internet time, meals in passenger spaces, additonal time off - all sorts.  And getting thier contract renewed, promotion etc.  That is just as important - if not more so - than an additional tip.

 

 

[PelicanLvr]

Please don't sweat the whole tipping thing.  The cruise line charges you the base tip amount.  Leave that in place and if you feel someone has been nice or otherwise helpful....give them a bit extra.  

 

Also, I like to remember the staff really working their way up.  One cruise there was a bathroom attendant by the main lounge.  Every night he would open the door, smile, say "have a nice evening" etc.  and, of course, the bathroom was spotless.  The last evening, I gave him a tip .... his look of genuine surprise and gratitude was "priceless".  

 

Please remember these staff members work so hard for themselves and their families.  They are far away from home for long periods of time and many come from situations that are difficult for most of us to even imagine.    Saying "thank you" and putting a few extra dollars in their hand is much appreciated.....and so is a positive comment card mention.

 

  

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, PelicanLvr said:

Please don't sweat the whole tipping thing.  The cruise line charges you the base tip amount.  Leave that in place and if you feel someone has been nice or otherwise helpful....give them a bit extra.  

 

Also, I like to remember the staff really working their way up.  One cruise there was a bathroom attendant by the main lounge.  Every night he would open the door, smile, say "have a nice evening" etc.  and, of course, the bathroom was spotless.  The last evening, I gave him a tip .... his look of genuine surprise and gratitude was "priceless".  

 

Please remember these staff members work so hard for themselves and their families.  They are far away from home for long periods of time and many come from situations that are difficult for most of us to even imagine.    Saying "thank you" and putting a few extra dollars in their hand is much appreciated.....and so is a positive comment card mention.

 

  

This is excellent--- So much nicer to read this than the posters that feel " extorted " and won't fall into the " trap " of extra tipping.

Yes, I've mentioned this before, and noticed that the " extortee " is no longer commenting.

Hopefully they changed their mind.

[Pickels]

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 10:54 AM, t00thpix said:

Can anyone suggest tipping amount per day to the room steward for a veranda room. Will give as a lump sum at end of cruise. Thank you!

You are going to get a whole bunch of various replies here on CC; everyone is entitled to their opinion regarding tipping.  My take on this issue is this--  the automatic gratuities [which we never remove] are a starting point for tipping.  If someone has gone above and beyond with service, they get an envelop at the end of the cruise which will contain a three figure amount.  If, for whatever reason the service was not up to snuff, or someone had an attitude, the automatic gratuities are the ending point.  Just MHO.  

[jb008]

On 2/10/2020 at 5:37 PM, 4774Papa said:

We mainly take 14 day cruises and if the room steward does well, I tip $30-$40 depending in what he may have done for us.  I usually tip $2 if we order a hot breakfast from room service.  The Room Steward don't deliver the food.  

 

I'm hoping you mean $30-40 in addition to the standard recommended gratuities....

 

 

[4774Papa]

10 minutes ago, jb008 said:

 

I'm hoping you mean $30-40 in addition to the standard recommended gratuities....

 

 

Yes, of course.

[jb008]

Just now, 4774Papa said:

Yes, of course.

 

Just wanted to make sure 🙂

 

Those cruise line employees work hard and earn every cent.  I know we've all heard stories of the people that woefully under tip as a way to save money on their vacation.  Not considering (or caring) about how badly that hurts the employees.  And yes, the cruise line could just make gratuities part of the fares, but they by and large haven't <shrug>.

[Railwaylass]

I always tip our room attendant, waiter and assistant waiter extra at the end of the cruise, in addition to the prepaid gratuities.

 

But I've seen quite a few people on various threads mention that they tip $10 or $20 to their room attendant at the beginning of the cruise. I'd like to do that, it seems like a very nice start to their cruise and mine.

 

How does one do that gracefully? After all, I don't know that they're going to do a good job yet and they know that. So I worry that they would think that now I'm expecting them to give me better service than they do for example, my neighbour, who doesn't give them a tip at the start of the cruise. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I'm saying, "There's more on the way if you play your cards right",  when in actuality I would just mean it as a friendly gesture, because, hey! I'm on holiday! Have a drink on me!

 

I was thinking of mentioning what a great job they did getting the cabin ready for us, here's a thank you sort of thing...  Am I overthinking this?

 

How do those of you that tip your room attendant at the start of the cruise handle the situation?

[DENIE]

As others have said...a heated topic of discussion for some.  We give extra to those who we encounter on a regular basis and who go above and beyond.  This usually involves our cabin steward and our favorite bartenders and wait staff.  We usually dole out throughout the cruise, rather than just at the end.  The extra $$ means a lot to them.  Oh, we ALWAYS leave the standard gratuities in place. 

[groryjm]

One thing you rarely see accounted for on these threads is non Americans. For those whose native currancy is dollars bringing a little extra cash is fairly straight forward as is obtaining $1 notes. 

 

When we cruise as a Brit I have to anticipate the maximum amount I might require and buy it in advance taking a hit in commission and exchange rate on the transaction. I have to account for the fact that if I buy too much I will lose again trying to sell it back or have that money out of circulation for possibly another year until we sail again. 

 

Crew are not usually as happy with stirling and for Euros I have the same conundrum with having to buy money for tips.

 

The auto tips are different as I pay them in one hit 57 days before sailing and is not a problem.  

 

I'm not saying I don't tip extra but getting out $200 or so before cruising is one thing $1 or $2 tips with each drink is unreasonable for most non US cruisers

 

Awaiting 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[NewWestwardbound]

On 2/12/2020 at 11:56 AM, GastroGnome said:

But more importantly - get a comment card from guest services and fill that in.  Getting positive feedback from those cards translates directly into perks for the staff, additional internet time, meals in passenger spaces, additonal time off - all sorts.  And getting thier contract renewed, promotion etc.  That is just as important - if not more so - than an additional tip.

 

No comment cards, at least on on Silhouette last September. I was told to use the post-cruise e-mail questionnaire to mention staff for particular service - and did so. Other staff mentioned the questionnaire "score" for their restaurant/bar was as important to their future as cash tips.