First time cruiser - is it standard to tip the cabin steward

[cruisegirlppp]

2 hours ago, bayonnejoe said:

Most seasoned cruisers  give something extra. And as Happy Cruiser said, the staff regards positive reviews very highly. More than extra tips I think. They get good perks for great reviews. So don't  forget  names. 

I take a photo of their name tag so I don't get the spelling wrong. 

[Luvcrusn]

1 hour ago, MixerDave said:

Our son lives in Richboro - he used to live in Lamghorne.

The world is small 

[Denny01]

Realizing tipping and not is Very personal, I’ll disagree with one option of removing the gratuity or part of it if service is not satisfactory. Gratuities for the waitstaff and for the stewards is not for one person, but for that person plus those that support them. Reducing the gratuity (not the same as Not adding additional ‘tip’) impacts others who may well have done the job right. 

 

If I have an issue, I’ll contact the supervisor of that venue and work it from there. 

 

Den

[mfs2k]

3 hours ago, bayonnejoe said:

the staff regards positive reviews very highly. More than extra tips I think.

 

I'm not sure I believe this.  I think most tipped crew want money first and foremost.

 

But, there's nothing stopping anyone from giving cash AND positive reviews. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

[m8zenblue]

I guess you can take it 2 ways.

I assume most don't tip directly to cabin attendant cuz they pre pay gratuities.

I pre pay also but I also tip cabin attendant in cash.

And shame on those who don't tip at all.

[Algebralovr]

We always do the automatic gratuity.  When warranted, we do extra cash.  Sometimes it is warranted, sometimes it is not.  
 

We also make sure to list names on the survey after the cruise.

The other thing we do is hand write notes to management about those who went out of their way to make our vacation better.  It could be anyone from a snack attendant (the lowest customer facing service job, who usually scoop gelato and squirt sanitizer on hands as you enter the buffet area), to an assistant beverage ops manager who makes sure our favorite beverage is stocked where we want it.  The good words can help their careers. 

[D. B.]

Today we make sure we get the Celebrity Biz. cards that many staff have. The person at Guest Relations that helped us get a Cabin Upgrade (at no extra cost) and anyone else we think gave us Outstanding Service. If they do not have a printed card I make sure I record their name and after we get Home and receive the Customer Satisfaction Email ALL of those names are entered on that response.

   I know it makes a difference to them because a particular crew member we have known on Millennium on 3 cruises on that ship in a 4 month span Thanked us for it!

    As for my Cabin Steward on the second or 3rd. day ( I wait to see how the service is) I ask my Cabin Steward if he or she knows Who the Most Important Person is on the ship?

 They usually say, "The Captain?" and I say NO, it's You! Because while the Captain may keep me Safe YOU keep me Comfortable. With that I give them a nice $$ tip and I have always received Great Service for the remainder of my cruise. 

 In 20 years of cruises, I have only had one bad cabin steward experience back in the days of cash tips left the last day in an envelope. Rather than no tip I left him One Dollar so he knew what I thought of him.

 

 

[MISTER 67]

Extra gratuities are strictly up to you. We usually tip our cabin steward 25 dollars on the last night of the cruise. We always have dinner in the MDR and give our waiter 25 dollars and his assistant 20 dollars.

[frteach]

Anyone who cleans the toilet and makes my bed for me every day is someone to be rewarded. The first thing I do when starting a cruise is ask for the "fridge" to be emptied, and for a footstool for my veranda. It's usually done by the end of the day.  Usually, the steward learns our routines and cleans the room according to our habits. We haven't had a bad one yet. Same for anyone else who we interact with daily. Last cruise I slipped $5 to the guy who mopped the pool deck so I didn't slip coming out of the hot tub.  It seemed to be the same guy every day. Someone once said that those of us who are in a position to cruise at this time of our lives think that we have hit a home run, when actually we were born on third base. Many of the staff come from backgrounds that were much different from ours. That said, do what you feel is right.

[markeb]

As everyone says, it's a very personal decision. I've tipped extra and not tipped extra. More often the former these days, the latter earlier. And auto-tips creates an environment where the cruise line and their employees have established a baseline. But we definitely left extra on this last cruise.

 

If you don't want to carry wads of cash and track down envelopes, there is an extra gratuity (it may actually be called additional tip) form at guest relations (or the Retreat if you're in Retreat class). You can fill that form out and the amount will be charged to your onboard account, or deducted from you OBC. You can name employees, or give extra to a category (such as dining staff). One very nice thing in the Retreat is the concierge will track down employee numbers if you name an employee!

 

I've just joined the world in the 21st century and gone cashless...

[newtocruiseinblue]

This summer was our first time to have always included, but we tipped extra to our cabin steward and we also bought him a postcard at each destination and left the blank postcard with the tip on a daily basis. The crew at the time was unable to get off of the ship and we had a hard time figuring out something little to buy him in port as we knew that they have limited space… maybe he could use it to send to his family back home…we also provided positive feedback during the cruise and after in the review.

 

We also tipped our waiter/helper and my husband tipped the hostess because she went out of her way to seat us at an excellent table every night. He also provided positive feedback on the review for these staff members.

 

One “tip”: snap a photo of the names of your cabin steward and waiters, waitresses or any bartender or any staff member that helps you so that you have the proper spelling of their name for the review. it helped a lot to have a picture of the name when I was completing the review after getting home.
 

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Hi Belfast,

 

I hope you are getting a good idea of what to tip…or not to tip.  A lot of people think that the daily service charge takes care of the situation.  The DSC covers all the behind the scene personnel who you don’t see everyday.  If you remove this from your account you are taking away money from all those people not just the cabin steward.  Tipping is a personal matter between you and the person who gives you the service.  Your cabin steward, waiters, bartenders, etc. work very hard for very little pay.  If you feel you have received service that is above and beyond the norm then by all means let your conscience be your guide.  There is no standard to go by…it is up to you.  Have a great cruise and enjoy.

[miched]

At the end of the cruise you will know the answer to your question for all of the staff that served you.   It doesn’t matter what others do.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[dlh015]

11 hours ago, JFontaine said:

In the "old days" cash tips were handed out on the last evening of the cruise.  I still do this in envelopes obtained from the guest relations desk; they are available for free, and they have a stack for this purpose.  I write a short note on the envelope (thank you and good luck, and my name), and I give them out before dinner, dining room staff receive their envelopes as I'm leaving dinner. Have a great cruise. 

Precisely what we do...(over and above the included gratuities...)

[dlh015]

6 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 

I'm not sure I believe this.  I think most tipped crew want money first and foremost.

 

But, there's nothing stopping anyone from giving cash AND positive reviews. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

On our last cruise, I mentioned to our headwaiter (whom we had gotten to know quite well)  that we would be giving a very good review  for his assistant (because he deserved it!) and he confided that that would be well-timed as it would be very helpful for his upcoming review. So I would gather that good reviews are at least as important as the cash. But I would also imagine that it may be somewhat dependent on the management structure on the particular cruise line...

 

As you said though, cash *and* a good review covers all the bases  😁

[Stealthdog]

We usually do not tip extra because we normally get the service we expect for the grats we already pay for. There have been a few cruises that service was above and beyond and we tipped extra for that.

[emmas gran]

One person I tip and our friends do is the ladies room attendant outside our dining venue, it's a busy place and they keep them spotless

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, dlh015 said:

On our last cruise, I mentioned to our headwaiter (whom we had gotten to know quite well)  that we would be giving a very good review  for his assistant (because he deserved it!) and he confided that that would be well-timed as it would be very helpful for his upcoming review. So I would gather that good reviews are at least as important as the cash. But I would also imagine that it may be somewhat dependent on the management structure on the particular cruise line...

 

As you said though, cash *and* a good review covers all the bases  😁

Good reviews are part of the assessment process for promotions. On the first night of a cruise just before Covid our Assistant Waiter was changed because they needed her language skills at a different table. The new girl was fantastic and she explained she was on her second contract and was used as a "floater". Her first promotion would give her a permanent table. After 3 days we spoke to the Head Waiter  and told him we thought that she deserved a regular table as the main waiter and not just as the Assistant. He came back a few days later to say that after our comments they had put her under extra supervision and as a result she had been promoted to permanent Assistant and would be staying on our table. Furthermore the next day she would be starting the further training needed for promotion to main waiter which, if she passed the training, she would qualify for at the start of her next contract. The Head Waiter emphasised just how important passenger feed back was in helping to identify people who could be promoted. 

[the penguins]

22 hours ago, Belfast1916 said:

Hi we have the All Included - tips/wifi/drinks - However, I have just been told that we need to tip the cabin steward on the last day of our cruise.  Is this always done, I thought they would have been included in the tips in our All Included package.  

I would like to know if it is and how much do you leave?  Thanks everyone

Good morning. Since you expressed interest in our Hints and Tips our internet has been playing up. The Hints cover lots of things that are different on ships including dining and cabins etc. The tips are in "word" and if you would still like a copy please email us:

geoffanita at hotmail dot com. Just replace the "at" and the "dot" with the usual symbols. Have a great cruise Geoff and the boss (Anita).

[dazey]

WE usually tip our cabin steward approx. $30-$45 depending on length of cruise.  I especially tip when they listen that I do not want all those decorative pillows put on the bed.  It sometimes takes a few days before they figure out I am hiding them for a reason! 

[Gatordad1967]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

You will often hear that tipping is a personal choice and it is.   Basic tips are indeed included in most packages or added to your bill.

 

Our attitude is that if a person just does their job we do not feel compelled to tip additional.   If a staff member in any capacity goes above and beyond to make our vacation special we always tip extra.

 

On this trip, our Room Attendant will definitely get a nice tip.  He immediately learned our schedule and would clean our room the moment we left so it was back to perfection when we returned.   When he wold see me coming down the hall he would unlock our door for us.    I also sent a letter to the Hotel Director saying he would make a great butler in his next career move.

Perfectly said.  You are always spot on.

 

[MixerDave]

I have a neighbor who is a frequent cruiser.  She actually goes to guest services and asks them to reduce the tips!!

 

[MixerDave]

I recently returned from a Princess cruise - Spent a lot of time at one bar and got to know the bartenders quite well.  I would shake their hand and "palm" them a $20 bill which they split.  They told ne that the auto gratuities on the beverages are shared fleet wide.  I wonder if this is also the policy on Celebrity?

[Denny01]

44 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

I have a neighbor who is a frequent cruiser.  She actually goes to guest services and asks them to reduce the tips!!

 

I get the feeling some of these people are Looking for a reason to reduce their auto-gratuity. Kind of what you see when someone reports the ship is in poor shape because they spotted a worn bit of carpeting.

 

And I Did say Some, so please dont come on to defend yourself…..I obviously didnt mean You!….hehe.

 

Den

[GRBlizz]

It is so interesting to see the amounts people are reporting that they tip! We've only ever had one cruise with a cabin steward who disappointed us, and even then we felt bad giving him only half of our normal extra amount. 

Here's a question - when you do select dining, how do you handle extra tips for the waitstaff? When we have done select dining in the MDR, we seriously get a different person/team each night. Actually, it's one of the main drawbacks to Select in my opinion. But what do people do?