Retreat Tipping question

[George C]

23 hours ago, mfs2k said:

I'm packing a pack of 100 singles; 100 fives; and 10 twenties for tips on top of included gratuities. 

If I run out of cash, I'm done tipping. 

We do the same 

[PSU]

We always tip $1 a drink each time to the Retreat Bartender. I don't know if they get extra for working there. But they are very grateful that you are thinking of them. We started that when we cruised on Royal Caribbean in a suite and went to the concierge lounge.  

[grouchomarx]

I don't tip any extra on a cruise, generally speaking.  If someone goes above and beyond the call of duty I will.  For example one time I was dining in a steakhouse on a cruise and the waitress decided to bring us every side dish the restaurant offered, without us asking for it. I tipped her $20.  If nobody does anything extra like that, I feel that the automatic gratuities are sufficient.  I think you should do what you feel is appropriate and there should be no pressure to hand out extra $$ when you've already specifically paid gratuities.  If I'm in Mexico, I will tip everyone.  The resort is AI and it does state that gratuities are "included" but there is no specific charge for it so I don't know if employees actually get anything above their regular salary and assume they don't.

[mfs2k]

1 hour ago, grouchomarx said:

If I'm in Mexico, I will tip everyone.  The resort is AI and it does state that gratuities are "included" but there is no specific charge for it so I don't know if employees actually get anything above their regular salary and assume they don't.

 

I dont understand the difference. 

• Celebrity says gratuities are included and you don't tip except special circumstances. 
• Mexico All Inclusive resorts say gratuities are included but you tip everyone.

 

I assume crew/staff get their share of gratuities in both places but they also rely on the generosity of their guests for their overall compensation.

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, PSU said:

We always tip $1 a drink each time to the Retreat Bartender. I don't know if they get extra for working there. But they are very grateful that you are thinking of them. We started that when we cruised on Royal Caribbean in a suite and went to the concierge lounge.  

 

I assume that part of the increased gratuities you pay when staying in a suite takes care of those staffing the Retreat Lounge/Michael's and the Retreat Sundeck (if there is one).  That said, we typically kick something their way if we're in there enough.

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by DCPIV

[George C]

4 hours ago, PSU said:

We always tip $1 a drink each time to the Retreat Bartender. I don't know if they get extra for working there. But they are very grateful that you are thinking of them. We started that when we cruised on Royal Caribbean in a suite and went to the concierge lounge.  

We did a cruise in a suite that didn’t include drink package so we spent lots of time in suite lounge , we would get most of the drinks to go since it was a music charter,  barmaid gave us a bottle of decoy Cabernet.

[Husky1987]

On 9/15/2022 at 6:06 AM, DCPIV said:

A lot of this goes back to times before gratuities were included or added to one's on board account and before there were dining or beverage packages, even before specialty restaurants.  Back then, ALL tipping on board was done in cash.  The lines did give you a suggested amount for each position (room steward, waiter, assistant waiter, etc.)  They even put envelopes in your room with each position printed on the front.  

 

A lot of folks still want to hand out those envelopes.

 

Ah yes, I remember those good 'ol days all cash tipping...and the MDR on the last night of the cruise, half empty because people didn't want to face the waitstaff they were stiffing.

[NevadaCruiser2023]

On 9/14/2022 at 10:49 AM, MarinerAlex said:

Great idea Jelayne. Good to know that they pool tips in the lounge and at Luminae. I think I’ll do this.

 

Do you tip the MaitreD as well? Or would they get a portion of the pooled tips?

 

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

[NevadaCruiser2023]

2 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

Ah yes, I remember those good 'ol days all cash tipping...and the MDR on the last night of the cruise, half empty because people didn't want to face the waitstaff they were stiffing.

Is this before pre-paid gratuities?  Otherwise, I don't think "stiffing" is the proper word to use. 

[Husky1987]

1 minute ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

Is this before pre-paid gratuities?  Otherwise, I don't think "stiffing" is the proper word to use. 

Yes, as @DCPIV said, before pre-paid gratuities, tips were paid by hand, cash in envelope, on the last night of the cruise. It was very easy for folks to just not show up for dinner the last night.   

[DCPIV]

57 minutes ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

Is this before pre-paid gratuities?  Otherwise, I don't think "stiffing" is the proper word to use. 

 

I disagree. While they were not pre-paid they were just as "recommended" as they are today. 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

Not necessary.

[DCPIV]

1 hour ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

 

I agree that it's not necessary. Just ask. If it's available, it'll happen. If not, maybe another night. 

[markeb]

6 hours ago, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

 

Agree with the others. If they're open and you ask, they'll seat you there. If they're not open, it won't matter.

[wineoclock]

16 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

I agree that it's not necessary. Just ask. If it's available, it'll happen. If not, maybe another night. 

Personally I don’t think it’s appropriate to tip in Luminae for a specific table but I see no problem in asking. 

[ChefSha]

On 9/14/2022 at 3:50 PM, miched said:

It is better to give than to receive.  We are on a cruise that cost us thousands in a suite.  The extra $10, $20 or more to the people that serve us well won’t break us.  But I am sure it will make a difference in their life and help their family 
 

It does  add up.  On our last cruise it was over $400 with the most going to the Butler that got a lot because of his great service.   We also tipped the Retreat Hosts.   We were doing some B2B and the extra gratuities was well worth it 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Did you tip the butler as the cruise went or at the beginning/end? 

[ChefSha]

On 9/15/2022 at 7:28 AM, Gordoncruickshank said:

You get a form from customer services and tell them to charge tips of $xx to your onboard account and allocate it to those staff members or locations i.e. Luminae or Blu, you want to tip and the amount gets to the individual staff members or in the case of the restaurants into their tip pool.

That’s great info, thanks!

[DCPIV]

41 minutes ago, ChefSha said:

Did you tip the butler as the cruise went or at the beginning/end? 

 

We typically do so at the end. 

[vermonter16]

On 9/14/2022 at 2:00 PM, Gordoncruickshank said:

 The crew don’t care what currency you tip in if it is GBP, US$ or Euros as they have their own ways of getting it converted into what they want although it their next few cruises are in Europe we would usually us euros for tips but they are happy with any currency.

 

for some time we have used obc to do a transfer to the Luminae as the do pool all tips there. Over the course of a week or two we are usually server at some time by every staff member there and it is easier to do it that way rather than chasing them around the restaurant with an envelope. We tell the staff and the Maitre to make sure they get it.

How do you transfer OBC into tips?  

[vermonter16]

Just now, vermonter16 said:

How do you transfer OBC into tips?  

I see it has been answered above.  Sorry, my Internet went out onboard.

[wineoclock]

22 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

We typically do so at the end. 

We have tipped at the end unless we have held a party in which case we tipped after the party. 

[George C]

22 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

We typically do so at the end. 

We also tip butler and room attendant and sometimes concierge at the end.

[JLMcruise]

On 9/16/2022 at 10:29 AM, NevadaCruiser2023 said:

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

Most of the window tables are for 2 guests. Occasionally they will do a four. We spent 2 weeks on Millie and had a window table 95% of the time. The maitre d' knew we liked window tables but we were flexible. He did tip him at the end. All the staff (very quickly) get to now your likes and dislikes.

[whirlybird3]

If I go to the slot machine and load it with onboard credit, play one slot, then cash it out …. Will there be a service fee?  I like handing out cash to the crew for their exceptional service. 

[MarinerAlex]

From my recent onboard experience, there is no reason to tip for a table by the window - every time one was available/open, I would get it. That said, I only got one about 25% of the time as the dining room was quite busy during most of the times I went.

 

I couldn’t really figure out the dining schedule during this last cruise, what times popular, what times not.