Tipping ?

[Aubriee01]

We are going on a 14 day Panama cruise in January.  We prepaid gratuities.  Being a 14 day cruise, what would be a decent amount to tip our room steward and waiters?  We want to tip them extra, but are unsure how much for a longer cruise.  Does the length of the cruise matter?

[sparks1093]

4 hours ago, Aubriee01 said:

We are going on a 14 day Panama cruise in January.  We prepaid gratuities.  Being a 14 day cruise, what would be a decent amount to tip our room steward and waiters?  We want to tip them extra, but are unsure how much for a longer cruise.  Does the length of the cruise matter?

This is entirely a personal question and decision. Since they have already received the tip they are supposed to get there is no need to leave anything else. We usually leave more if they make our cruise a little more enjoyable or if they handle any special requests from us. Generally $20 for the steward and $30 for the waitstaff. We've never taken more than 7 day cruises but if we were to take one that was longer we would likely leave more.

[brzymom]

Personally on a longer trip like that--if my steward was really good I would leave an extra $50-$100 depending on how good they were. Last 11 night we left a card with $50 for our steward who really didn't do much for us and saw him twice after and he didn't even acknowledge the additional tip. Oh well.

[helloim_tay]

That's such a fun itinerary! Panama cruises offer amazing scenery. For gratuities on a longer cruise like that, I usually tip my room steward and dining staff a bit more than a standard 7 day. Maybe $75-100 each for the steward and head waiter would be a nice extra thanks for going above and beyond over two full weeks. Length does factor in more time for service. Have a wonderful trip! Be sure to enjoy relaxing onboard too between exploring ports.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 11/28/2023 at 3:26 AM, sparks1093 said:

This is entirely a personal question and decision. Since they have already received the tip they are supposed to get there is no need to leave anything else ...

I was going to say this same thing.  

Cabin steward:  I really don't feel obligated to tip over the expected amount now that they've just raised (twice!) the tip amount AND have cut the service to once a day.  We're just two people -- no kids -- and don't leave a big mess or ask for anything special.  Well, yeah, we ask for a paper Compass each evening, but nothing else. 

Wait staff:  We appreciate their service but feel that the standard amount is fair.  Ditto for bar staff.  

[Mary229]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:10 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

I was going to say this same thing.  

Cabin steward:  I really don't feel obligated to tip over the expected amount now that they've just raised (twice!) the tip amount AND have cut the service to once a day.  We're just two people -- no kids -- and don't leave a big mess or ask for anything special.  Well, yeah, we ask for a paper Compass each evening, but nothing else. 

Wait staff:  We appreciate their service but feel that the standard amount is fair.  Ditto for bar staff.  

I don’t disagree. I only tip extra for service above standard.  
 

to the OP - if your cruise is a back to back you may want to tip any extra weekly as your crew can change at the turnaround point. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Mary229

[sparks1093]

On 12/7/2023 at 8:42 PM, Mary229 said:

I don’t disagree. I only tip extra for service above standard.  
 

to the OP - if your cruise is a back to back you may want to tip any extra weekly as your crew can change at the turnaround point. 

A most excellent point!

[Nic6318]

Hi

 

I just want to throw this out there. If you are not a "needy" traveler, or particularly messy, there is no need for you to feel it necessary to give more. You have already paid the gratuities suggested. This goes for bar staff as well.

 

If you feel that someone has done something special for you that has made your vacation great, you can of course give them something extra, that is up to you. As has been mentioned many times, acknowledging crew members by name in post cruise surveys if they had done something that made your cruise memorable will likely be more beneficial to them in the long run, than a few extra dollars at this time. Of course doing both helps the most.

 

have a great cruise