Aubriee01 Posted November 28, 2023 #1 Share Posted November 28, 2023 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted November 28, 2023 #2 Share Posted November 28, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brzymom Posted November 28, 2023 #3 Share Posted November 28, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helloim_tay Posted December 1, 2023 #4 Share Posted December 1, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum2Mercury Posted December 1, 2023 #5 Share Posted December 1, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted December 8, 2023 #6 Share Posted December 8, 2023 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted December 9, 2023 #7 Share Posted December 9, 2023 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic6318 Posted January 3 #8 Share Posted January 3 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoe 59 Posted August 7 #9 Share Posted August 7 Going on a Princess cruise & thinking of removing the the gratuities, & just giving it to those that go that bit above the norm. Has anyone done this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sparks1093 Posted August 7 #10 Share Posted August 7 6 hours ago, joejoe 59 said: Going on a Princess cruise & thinking of removing the the gratuities, & just giving it to those that go that bit above the norm. Has anyone done this? I'm sure people do but do remember that the staff's income comes primarily from the tips, they make very little from the cruise line. This goes for some behind the scenes staff as well (such as those responsible for cleaning the common areas). Since I have no idea who gets a share of the tips that I leave and I don't want to stiff anyone I leave them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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