Tipping onboard above mandatory tips?

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

I see you have the UDP and paid the 18%. Issue is that the waiters in the Specialty restaurants only receive a dollar or so out of that amount. The reminder of the 18% goes into the general tip pool.  Nothing extra goes to the bartenders, they get 0 from a voucher drink. As a side note the room service runners are volunteers who work for the extra anticipated tip. 

I agree with your premise.  No doubt.  But, I am confused about one thing.  On the Independence in May 2022, I put my nose where it didn't belong but the bartender actually opened up the discussion in the Playmakers Bar.  I asked him if he got the entire 18% that I was actually paying for, (I didn't have an alcoholic drink package and I wasn't Star Class), or any of the 18%, or just a small percentage of the 18%.  His answer was, "If you purchase a drink from me and you don't have a drink package or aren't Star Class, I get the entire 18%, otherwise, it goes into the ship's bucket".  

 

Bottom line:  Who knows what is really going on?  I'm still not sure!

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, blondcat said:

Lots of sharing here which is very helpful especially for me (British!) where heavy tipping in general is not business as usual.   One question I've never found an answer on is what is a reasonable amount to tip the concierge at the end of the week ? do you tip the concierge ? very grateful if anyone feels comfortable sharing.

I have tipped between $40 - $60 to the suite concierge.

[Ret MP]

16 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Bottom line:  Who knows what is really going on?  I'm still not sure!

I should have added, "And it's really none of my business anyway"!

 

And Correct an error I typed.  The date of my Independence cruise was Oct/Nov last year.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Ret MP

[KPookey]

Thank you all for sharing!!
 

I know I asked a somewhat tacky question and we all have different budgets. I tend to look for savings where I can. I certainly want to be sure I’m fair and not embarrassing myself. Honestly I also prefer a good drink, so I was wondering what tip might get me that. Years ago, you always got one. Since the dawn of drink packages it’s a struggle. I’ve learned to avoid the pool bar, step 1!! 

 

[vjmatty]

3 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

I see you have the UDP and paid the 18%. Issue is that the waiters in the Specialty restaurants only receive a dollar or so out of that amount. The reminder of the 18% goes into the general tip pool.  Nothing extra goes to the bartenders, they get 0 from a voucher drink. As a side note the room service runners are volunteers who work for the extra anticipated tip. 

This is where things get dicey… as someone who bartended all through my higher education, I believe in taking care of those who serve you. However, if the cruise line is going to mess with the reasonable and sufficient 18% gratuities, I’m not sure how responsible the passenger should be for the cruise line’s chicanery. 

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

This is where things get dicey… as someone who bartended all through my higher education, I believe in taking care of those who serve you. However, if the cruise line is going to mess with the reasonable and sufficient 18% gratuities, I’m not sure how responsible the passenger should be for the cruise line’s chicanery. 

I hear ya.  But, I don't want to enter into the politics of the cruise line and how it treats its crew.  So, I just go ahead and figure the 20% +/-  total, regardless.  If for no other reason, I sleep better doing it.  I deeply respect the crew, especially the 3rd World nation crew, and want to, within reason, treat them with respect and do my best to give them a helping hand to help them and whomever they support at home, if any.  

 

Nothing I'm saying here @vjmatty, is to say that you do or don't respect or tip or whatever.  Again, I'm just using your post as a basis for my comment(s).

[BirdTravels]

On 5/22/2023 at 9:11 PM, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

What we do…

Bartender: $1-$5 a service. 
 

Bar waiter $1-$2 a drink

 

MDR waiter $10 per day 

 

MDR assistant waiter $10 per day

 

Room Steward $5 per person in room per day. 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 5/22/2023 at 9:11 PM, KPookey said:

Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?

I suspect very few people tip at Windjammer.  

On 5/23/2023 at 4:05 PM, nimbex1970 said:

I did not have a drink package, so I added $2 for every drink I ordered on the receipt (didn't want to carry singles around) ... 

If you get the drink package, 18% is added up front. 

If you order individually, 18% is added to each drink. 

Either way, you're automatically tipping your bartender.  I do not feel the need to tip over-and-above most of the time.  

On 5/23/2023 at 6:07 PM, Ret MP said:

First, besides the 18% gratuity tacked on to the beverage tab and not including restaurants, there are no "Mandatory" tips.  

How about customary or expected or automatic tips?  

On 5/23/2023 at 7:14 PM, pilot said:

Why would you tip your room steward extra for cleaning your room only once a day?

Good question.  I'm already a little salty about tips increasing while service decreases ... it'd take something really big to convince me to tip even more.  As another poster said, though, we do keep the room neat and try to be "easy" for the cabin steward.  

On 5/23/2023 at 8:41 PM, CntPAcruiser said:

We typically give a $1 tip per drink for Diamond drinks ... 

Since you don't pay for Diamond drinks, if you don't tip, the bartender literally gets nothing, right?  Not being Diamond yet, I hadn't really thought about that.  Yeah, under those circumstances I would feel it necessary to tip.  

[Ret MP]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

  How about customary or expected or automatic tips?  

Actually, what I was alluding to is the pre-pay or automatically added to the daily room charge gratuities.  They are not "mandatory", they can always be deleted or any portion thereof.  The 18% on a beverage or in a restaurant isn't optional.  

[Mum2Mercury]

4 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Actually, what I was alluding to is the pre-pay or automatically added to the daily room charge gratuities.  They are not "mandatory", they can always be deleted or any portion thereof.  The 18% on a beverage or in a restaurant isn't optional.  

I understood.  Since "mandatory" isn't really true, I was suggesting other words that might be more appropriate.

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I understood.  Since "mandatory" isn't really true, I was suggesting other words that might be more appropriate.

Okay, got it now.  I have been struggling to come up with a better way to say it.  Yours is much better.  

[soremekun]

Waiting to hear these tip bragging feats:

-title to car

-deed to house

-your firstborn child

-college fund for crew member's child(ren)

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, soremekun said:

Waiting to hear these tip bragging feats:

-title to car

-deed to house

-your firstborn child

-college fund for crew member's child(ren)

1 Billion dollar Lottery Ticket.  Katook was very happy!

[LobsterStalker]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:12 PM, renza said:

I agree. I just got off wonder and the room attendants do not come into your room on day 1. So we had our guy 6 times total for maybe 5 min every evening. I gave him $30 extra which is $5 a night plus what I already tipped. I really don’t think I would do again. 

>>>Hilarious

[George C]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

What we do…

Bartender: $1-$5 a service. 
 

Bar waiter $1-$2 a drink

 

MDR waiter $10 per day 

 

MDR assistant waiter $10 per day

 

Room Steward $5 per person in room per day. 

You tip a little more than us we tip

at least a dollar a drink in bar or suite lounge

tip 50 or more for room steward- 7 day cruise 

tip waiter 5 to 20 per meal in suite or specialty restaurant 

tip concierge 0 to 100 depending on service 

[CutiePie10]

We tipped a little more last cruise we were on (hubby and I), but only to certain individuals.

The bartender:  We found a great one, knew when he would be at the bar, and we stuck with him lol.  He was great, made really great conversation, told us about his family, and we related on different subjects.  Plus, he took care of us as customers so we tipped him extra.  He helped make our cruise that much more enjoyable.

The Room Attendant:  He went above and beyond in getting certain things for us and telling us great places to visit while in port.  His attention to detail was great and he never missed a beat.  We tipped him an extra $50.

The Waitress:  We had MTD but was able to have the same waitress every night.  She was amazing, professional, and took great care of us as customers.  I felt she went above and beyond with certain dietary requests and such, so we tipped her extra as well.

We kept the "mandatory" tips, but when we tipped extra, we gave them all cash in envelopes.  I'm not sure if the "mandatory" tip goes straight to them or not or how it's split, etc, but since I felt that their service went above and beyond for us, I wanted to make sure the cash went straight to them.  

 

However, don't feel compelled to tip extra just because.  Like someone else stated, the tip that is already set works out for them as well, because you have to remember, you aren't the only ones tipping them.  I will tip more when I feel the service warrants it, and in that particular case, it did.  Mind you, the last time I cruised was pre-covid, so protocol may have changed since then.

 

[OCSC Mike]

23 minutes ago, CutiePie10 said:

I will tip more when I feel the service warrants it

 

That's my general philosophy. That said, our cabin attendants have always been great, ranging from efficiently doing their job and fulfilling our requests to also chatting with us quite a bit over the course of the week, saying "hi, how's your day?" every time we saw them etc., so they have always gotten something extra (the amount may vary).

 

The only tip I plan in advance and give no matter what is to the bartenders when using D vouchers. We don't camp out at bars so we don't really spend enough time with any one bartender to receive enough special service to warrant an additional tip but anyone who makes me a free drink deserves something. Back in the days of the DL happy hour, when we spent time there nightly and had the same server every night, they would almost always get an envelope at the end of the cruise.

 

Anyone else gets an extra tip for going above and beyond in some way and that could be a completely random crew member. One recent example... the crew member who sets up the breakfast in the DL every morning heard us talking to the concierge about not seeing chocolate croissants anywhere that cruise (my wife's favorite pastry). One morning towards the end of the cruise, I went up to get coffee alone and there was a covered plate on the concierge's desk with my wife's name on it on a post-it. The breakfast set up guy not only remembered but when he finally came across some chocolate croissants, he put 4-5 of them aside for my wife. It's that type of small personal gesture that can go a long way in our book. Naturally we tracked him down to thank him and show our appreciation before disembarking.

 

Another example was a greeter in the WJ a long time ago. We ate dinner there most nights that week and saw her every night. To this day she was the happiest, friendliest RC employee we have ever come across. We got to know her, she always told the WJ manager or assistant manager to take care of (not that we needed special attention), she kept telling my wife how much she loved her dimples, etc.. In any case, my wife wound up friending her on FB b/c she was so friendly.

 

It really is the little things to us. We're easy going and don't require a lot to be happy while cruising.

[cruisegus]

On 5/24/2023 at 3:13 PM, queenfrostine22 said:

So, if I wait til the end of the cruise and personally hand my favorite bartender a 20 instead of a dollar with each drink ordered, does he get to keep it all or does it still go into a collective tip jar at the bar? Lets face it, some bar servers are way more efficient than others.

First you need to separate the bar tenders (behind bar) from the bar waiters (floor servers).  Bar tenders do cash tips via staff agreement at the specificbar they work that week, and vast majority pool tips.  Bar waiters on the floor running your drink are each individual, that is cash tips are what the get.

Now if you wait towards the end of the cruise and discreetly slip, say a twenty to your guy and tell them it's just for them, they may actually pocket it or some will actually put it in the tip bucket anyway.

 

There are actually a couple different levels in the bar on royal ships and may have different terms than I tend to use, bar back, bar waiters, 2 levels of bar tender, then Bar Lead (white shirt w/shoulder tab-day; black shirt tie-night)

 

To advance the need to pass both a written test as we as a practical + an interview.  

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by cruisegus

[George C]

I remember going to windjammer for lunch several years ago ( rarely go there ) and ordering a beer from one of the waiters and tipping him a couple of dollars , he seemed to be in shock like he never received a tip before . In general staff is extremely hard working and deserve tips if that is in your budget. 

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, George C said:

I remember going to windjammer for lunch several years ago ( rarely go there ) and ordering a beer from one of the waiters and tipping him a couple of dollars , he seemed to be in shock like he never received a tip before . In general staff is extremely hard working and deserve tips if that is in your budget. 

Same here.  But, I do go for breakfast, often, for the BACON.  If no attendant comes over to me while I'm there, I don't leave a tip.  If someone does come over and provides me even a little service, I'll tip generously, especially if they get me a drink from the bar.  

[Reina del Mar]

On 5/25/2023 at 2:12 AM, Ret MP said:

Actually, what I was alluding to is the pre-pay or automatically added to the daily room charge gratuities.  They are not "mandatory", they can always be deleted or any portion thereof.  The 18% on a beverage or in a restaurant isn't optional.  

Unfortunately things are not quite the same in UK.

We have to pay mandatory tips ( oxymoron???) if we book My Time Dining with Royal Caribbean. They are part of the booking process and cannot be removed.

[lovesthebeach2]

Just an FYI, we once asked our favorite bar server if they get the gratuity for drinks they serve for Diamond and above and we were told YES!

 

We always tip extra….that insures good service, but it’s good to know they do get the gratuity for the Diamond and above drinks, because I often see (including posted here) that they don’t.

 

We have seen that recently that less and less people giving extra tip when they get drinks. Not sure why, but we noticed

[S.A.M.J.R.]

On 5/23/2023 at 6:07 PM, Ret MP said:

What I like to do at the places that do add on the 18% I like to make sure, if I get good service, they get at least 20% with a minimum of $2.00 (yes, a $2.00 dollar bill, if I can get them) tip from me. 

Just doing the math...

 

$14 drink.  Add  the automatic 18% = $2.52.  Add $2 and you're at $4.52.  Thats a little over a 32% tip.

 

So yes, they're definitely getting 20%.

 

Not saying you shouldn't give however much you want.  Just pointing out the math.

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Reina del Mar said:

Unfortunately things are not quite the same in UK.

We have to pay mandatory tips ( oxymoron???) if we book My Time Dining with Royal Caribbean. They are part of the booking process and cannot be removed.

According to the UK's own website and Consumer Advisory website, Mandatory Service Charges, you can ask the servicing business to remove the "Service Charge" at the point/time of actual sale if you don't feel you received the usual and customary service.  So, I wonder, not that I advocate doing it, if you can go to the Customer Service desk on the ship and have the service charge reduced or removed (credited back to your Debit or Credit Card if you're not a happy camper.  

 

And to clear up some semantics, a gratuity/tip is completely voluntary by the consumer in the UK, it's the Service Charge that is "Discretionary" or "Mandatory", and the decision to make it discretionary or mandatory is that of the business owner, not the government or consumer.  A discretionary service charge doesn't have to be paid by the consumer, totally optional. 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e24-tips-gratuities-service-charges-and-troncs/guidance-on-tips-gratuities-service-charges-and-troncs

 

https://consumeradvisory.co.uk/do-you-have-to-pay-service-charge-uk/

 

 

[Ret MP]

36 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Just doing the math...

 

$14 drink.  Add  the automatic 18% = $2.52.  Add $2 and you're at $4.52.  Thats a little over a 32% tip.

 

So yes, they're definitely getting 20%.

 

Not saying you shouldn't give however much you want.  Just pointing out the math.

Yes, thank you.  I was and am very capable of doing the math.  I live by my Signature.