Tipping?

[sanger727]

I don't think cash tippers are as common as this thread implies. We might tip the room steward a bit extra if they do something extra for us, but generally are fine with leaving the auto tips in place. Given the fact that for a cabin of two with all the service fees in tact is tipping between $400 and $500 on a 7 day cruise, that is much more than we would tip on a 7 day trip doing anything else. NCL says it goes to the staff. If it doesn't, shame on them. 

[GettotheSun]

 

53 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I don't think cash tippers are as common as this thread implies. We might tip the room steward a bit extra if they do something extra for us, but generally are fine with leaving the auto tips in place. Given the fact that for a cabin of two with all the service fees in tact is tipping between $400 and $500 on a 7 day cruise, that is much more than we would tip on a 7 day trip doing anything else. NCL says it goes to the staff. If it doesn't, shame on them. 

 

That's odd...I didn't think at all that this thread implied cash tipping (extra) was common...not at all.  Interesting why you would think that, not sure from which posts that would be "implied".

 

 

As others have said, each should tip as they see fit.  It is 100% a personal choice.  It's just a bit rich when some decide for others how they should tip...like they have a rule book or something.  

 

The hypocrisy is a bit steep though...under the rules of some, one should only tip at the very end of a cruise, to ensure that the staff have only been providing top-notch service.  Feels a bit like, "come to my cabin and kiss my ring, and thou shalt perhaps get a tip...peasant".

 

 

 

 

[GettotheSun]

Yikes, duplicate post...deleted.

Edited July 30, 2021 by GettotheSun

[GettotheSun]

4 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

The cruise line already figured out what they want so why second guess it. I never tip extra.

 

Depending on your cabin selection (e.g. Haven) the pre-paid gratuities (you know a tip paid in advance) does not cover all of the service workers such as the Haven Butler or Concierge.  It is helpful to point that out.

[seaman11]

They haven't worked in so long , i tipped heavy on top, and the look on the cabin stewards face was all worth it. 

[GettotheSun]

41 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

They haven't worked in so long , i tipped heavy on top, and the look on the cabin stewards face was all worth it. 

 

 

Totally agree. 

 

[complawyer]

at the extreme risk of continuing to beat a very,very dead horse, it doesnt hurt to give the people waiting on you, the bartenders or the casino dealers a little extra. if you choose not to, its totally up to you, you have paid an upfront daily charge, in a haven its $18 per person per day.

 

since with this category you get a private restaurant and bar, a little extra wont hurt. $5.00 for the breakfast waiter, lunch waiter, and bartender extra is just slightly over $100 for a 7 day cruise.

 

so, in good conscience, i will continue to tip.  by the way, we sometimes do use the main dining room, and when we tip the waiter after the meal, to say the least he/she is shocked. most people on a cruise dont tip  from what they all have told me.

 

by the way, if we're in the buffet and getting a made to order omlete, i give the cook a buck or 2. i think the little bit extra is really appreciated

[GettotheSun]

8 minutes ago, complawyer said:

at the extreme risk of continuing to beat a very,very dead horse, it doesnt hurt to give the people waiting on you, the bartenders or the casino dealers a little extra. if you choose not to, its totally up to you, you have paid an upfront daily charge, in a haven its $18 per person per day.

 

since with this category you get a private restaurant and bar, a little extra wont hurt. $5.00 for the breakfast waiter, lunch waiter, and bartender extra is just slightly over $100 for a 7 day cruise.

 

so, in good conscience, i will continue to tip.  by the way, we sometimes do use the main dining room, and when we tip the waiter after the meal, to say the least he/she is shocked. most people on a cruise dont tip  from what they all have told me.

 

by the way, if we're in the buffet and getting a made to order omlete, i give the cook a buck or 2. i think the little bit extra is really appreciated

 

You are pure evil.  (sorry couldn't resist - joking).

 

I think what you explained is very understandable, and appropriate.  

[ClevelandCruisin]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

at the extreme risk of continuing to beat a very,very dead horse, it doesnt hurt to give the people waiting on you, the bartenders or the casino dealers a little extra. if you choose not to, its totally up to you, you have paid an upfront daily charge, in a haven its $18 per person per day.

 

since with this category you get a private restaurant and bar, a little extra wont hurt. $5.00 for the breakfast waiter, lunch waiter, and bartender extra is just slightly over $100 for a 7 day cruise.

 

so, in good conscience, i will continue to tip.  by the way, we sometimes do use the main dining room, and when we tip the waiter after the meal, to say the least he/she is shocked. most people on a cruise dont tip  from what they all have told me.

 

by the way, if we're in the buffet and getting a made to order omlete, i give the cook a buck or 2. i think the little bit extra is really appreciated

I'll remember that about the buffet people! Thanks for the recommendation! 

[MoCruiseFan]

The right answer is to tip whomever you want to tip whatever amount you want to give them.  As long as you are OK with how you choose to tip, it is the business of no one else.  BTW, there is no such thing as tipping "extra".

Enjoy your cruise!

[GettotheSun]

18 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

The right answer is to tip whomever you want to tip whatever amount you want to give them.  As long as you are OK with how you choose to tip, it is the business of no one else.  BTW, there is no such thing as tipping "extra".

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Agreed.  And we're done.

 

[Named-Tawny]

11 hours ago, KAYKAY121 said:

Are you saying nearly everybody tips the servers and bartenders on the ship? I rarely saw anybody tipping besides us.

Yes.  When you buy a drink on the ship, they include a 20% tip  You can see it on the bill that you sign.

[Cruising Lynne]

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

at the extreme risk of continuing to beat a very,very dead horse, it doesnt hurt to give the people waiting on you, the bartenders or the casino dealers a little extra. if you choose not to, its totally up to you, you have paid an upfront daily charge, in a haven its $18 per person per day.

 

since with this category you get a private restaurant and bar, a little extra wont hurt. $5.00 for the breakfast waiter, lunch waiter, and bartender extra is just slightly over $100 for a 7 day cruise.

 

so, in good conscience, i will continue to tip.  by the way, we sometimes do use the main dining room, and when we tip the waiter after the meal, to say the least he/she is shocked. most people on a cruise dont tip  from what they all have told me.

 

by the way, if we're in the buffet and getting a made to order omlete, i give the cook a buck or 2. i think the little bit extra is really appreciated

These days it is kind of gross to give the guy in the buffet dirty money. We usually tip our room steward extra, waiters in specialty dining, drink servers in the casino, and occasionally  a bartender. In the future, if prices keep going up, we may cut back a little.

[Coastalbreezes]

7 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

Yes.  When you buy a drink on the ship, they include a 20% tip  You can see it on the bill that you sign.

Correct but that 20% goes into a pool and is not given directly to the person who made or served you the drink.

[sanger727]

13 hours ago, GettotheSun said:

 

 

That's odd...I didn't think at all that this thread implied cash tipping (extra) was common...not at all.  Interesting why you would think that, not sure from which posts that would be "implied".

 

I’m not going to go back through and count. But easily more than half of the posters in this thread said they tip extra, and some quite a bit more. If the same ratio held true through all cruise ship passengers then you would assume that a majority of cruisers tip extra. 

[Trimone]

I tip for exceptional service, if someone is average in my view tough luck!

A pure example of this once was the bartender in the Haven, he wouldn’t leave this certain group at the bar, just kept everyone else waiting, I know for a fact off other passengers he didn’t do very well at all for tips, and he certainly do off me, however the bar staff in other venues did well off me…

[Named-Tawny]

6 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

Correct but that 20% goes into a pool and is not given directly to the person who made or served you the drink.

The same is true in most land-based restaurants.  Tips are often pooled (or tipped-out) and go to more members of the team than just the person who served you.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Named-Tawny said:

The same is true in most land-based restaurants.  Tips are often pooled (or tipped-out) and go to more members of the team than just the person who served you.

And very often on ships they pool cash tips as well. However you tip there is no guarantee that the person you give it to will get it all (or even the majority of it).

[Named-Tawny]

5 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

And very often on ships they pool cash tips as well. However you tip there is no guarantee that the person you give it to will get it all (or even the majority of it).

 And personally, I consider this a feature, not a bug.

There are SO MANY people who work hard to ensure that I have a seamless hospitality experience.  Not just my steward, waiter and bartender, but the busser, the dishwasher, the line cooks, and more. It would be impractical to find them each and give them money - a tip pool means that I can tip one person and rest easy knowing (or at least hoping) that it's being divided fairly amongst all of those who contributed to my experience.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Named-Tawny

[MikeyB]

Is it appropriate to tip the Captain of the ship?

[FreestyleNovice]

1 minute ago, MikeyB said:

Is it appropriate to tip the Captain of the ship?

 

Only if you get your picture taken with him you'll have the opportunity! Captains are not in the DSC pool so be generous.. for each port of call we tip, especially if he docks the ship on time and when we like his announcements. We take our time to hand the tip at the picture moment and also hand him a gift, a souvenir fridge magnet from the port with the best weather, we never see anybody else tipping him so hence his amazement!

 

[hallux]

7 minutes ago, MikeyB said:

Is it appropriate to tip the Captain of the ship?

So THAT'S what happened to the Concordia, Schettino didn't get enough tips.  Or did he get a really big one that required him to sail closer to the coast?

[FreestyleNovice]

19 hours ago, complawyer said:

by the way, if we're in the buffet and getting a made to order omlete, i give the cook a buck or 2. i think the little bit extra is really appreciated

 

I knew lawyers make a lot of money but to tip the buffet cook?!  I have never seen people tip at the buffet line. Perhaps a waiter for some beverages. But thanks for learning how to recognize a lawyer on a cruise ship. 

[GettotheSun]

7 hours ago, sanger727 said:

I’m not going to go back through and count. But easily more than half of the posters in this thread said they tip extra, and some quite a bit more. If the same ratio held true through all cruise ship passengers then you would assume that a majority of cruisers tip extra. 

 

I think there may have been several people posting who do tip "extra", but I don't think that should be extrapolated to the general population...after all CC is full of blow hearts (like me).   That isn't necessarily indicative of the broader population, and I do believe at least one "extra tipper" pointed out that it was unusual / uncommon to be tipping extra.

 

I would (again) hazard a guess that if the majority of people on cruise ships (or resorts...or wherever) tipped "extra" this would be a non-issue.

 

 

[GettotheSun]

2 minutes ago, FreestyleNovice said:

 

I knew lawyers make a lot of money but to tip the buffet cook?!  I have never seen people tip at the buffet line. Perhaps a waiter for some beverages. But thanks for learning how to recognize a lawyer on a cruise ship. 

 

Not sure about cruise ships but at many all-inclusives ("land" resorts, LOL)...there is even a tip jar at the omelette station.  Not saying a lot of people do it, but it is there...and there is always some money in it, based on my experience.  Perhaps cruises are too "classy" to tip the plebes at the buffet?