Two dollar bills

[Gunther1]

In the category of “ this might be an odd question”:

 

I’ve always thought it would be fun to tip bar staff with $2 bills…a friend of mine said that staff might not be familiar with them and think they were bogus.

 

Any experiences/thoughts about them ?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm not sure why that's fun? $2 bills are often considered unlucky because it's easy to confuse them with singles. Register drawers don't usually have a slot for them, so they could be put with the singles and counted as $1 instead of $2.

[retird]

What part of it would be funny?

[Gunther1]

9 minutes ago, retird said:

What part of it would be funny?

If you read my post, I said “fun”, not “funny”.  Big difference.

 

I tend to like things that are unusual, quirky, and out of the ordinary.

 

Going back to my original question, has anybody had any issues with giving them ?  

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

I tend to like things that are unusual, quirky, and out of the ordinary.

I haven't used $2 bills on the ship. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen one in years---possibly decades. 

What I would do is consider that the recipients of the gift might prefer to have something usual, mundane, and ordinary. Might be much easier for them to transact what they want to do with them. 

[Gunther1]

Thanks Ruth.  As usual, you are the voice of reason.

 

it was a thought….which with your logical response I shall pass on :).

 

ps…I DO want to meet you someday.  You sound  like you would be fun 😏.

[RuthC]

21 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

ps…I DO want to meet you someday.  You sound  like you would be fun

Sure would like that! I plan to be in Seattle in June. At least right now that's the plan. Maybe we can meet up. 

[0106]

This thread has a lot of opinions about tipping with two dollar bills. 

 

[Rusty Scupper]

U.S. is official currency onboard, so no problem for crew to exchange them. Use them often onboard for servers.

[bcummin]

Our Washington State Ferry system used to give $2 bills for change.  They probably still do, for what that is worth.

Barbara

[Blackduck59]

52 minutes ago, Rusty Scupper said:

U.S. is official currency onboard, so no problem for crew to exchange them. Use them often onboard for servers.

That depends on where you are.

[Gunther1]

5 hours ago, RuthC said:

Sure would like that! I plan to be in Seattle in June. At least right now that's the plan. Maybe we can meet up. 

Absolutely !  Let me know if it becomes official.  I’ll take you out for lunch or a good dinner .

[Mary229]

Heritage Auctions recently auctioned a regular $2 bill, with no odd markings, for $2400. You might want to hang on to those bills. 

[grapau27]

9 hours ago, Gunther1 said:

In the category of “ this might be an odd question”:

 

I’ve always thought it would be fun to tip bar staff with $2 bills…a friend of mine said that staff might not be familiar with them and think they were bogus.

 

Any experiences/thoughts about them ?

We get 10 free drinks daily on Royal Caribbean and I give $1 per drink tip.

After 31 years travelling to the US I had never seen a $2 note.

Fortunately a good CC member posted me two which I keep for their novelty.

 

[MISTER 67]

2 dollar bills were very popular in the USA back when horse racing was so much more popular than it is now as most bets and the payouts were based on 2 dollar amounts. If you spent an afternoon at the races, it’s more than likely you came home with more than a few 2 dollar bills.
I never heard that they were unlucky.

Edited January 19 by MISTER 67

[albingirl]

I read that some of them are quite valuable, too, depending on their coloring. Who knows? I am sure this could be speculation, of which can be fun in and of itself.

[Essiesmom]

I have read that crew have difficulty spending them ashore in the Caribbean and. Exico ports as vendors don’t recognize them, think they are bogus.  So crew would have to change them on board.  EM

[Blackduck59]

Each to their own but what some people may think of as a novelty that will get them noticed is just a pain in the a** for the person they are trying to impress. Remember your tip has no keepsake value for the recipient, to them it is just part of their pay packet. Tipping with "Uncommon" US bills to get "noticed" would be like me tipping with a $2.00 Canadian coin, it will get me noticed but perhaps not in a good way. If you want to give a cash gratuity, over and above those you already paid, that's all well and good. Just make it easy to spend.

[Wehwalt]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Heritage Auctions recently auctioned a regular $2 bill, with no odd markings, for $2400. You might want to hang on to those bills. 

The note sold for the high figure because it had an unusual low serial number, L00000007* If you can find a similar number in crisp new condition, go for it. But otherwise, there is nothing scarce about $2 bills.

 

I would say the drawback to tipping crew with $2 bills is that you force them to exchange them through the ship. It's at least an inconvenience.

Edited January 19 by Wehwalt

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 1/18/2024 at 6:01 PM, Gunther1 said:

If you read my post, I said “fun”, not “funny”.  Big difference.

 

I tend to like things that are unusual, quirky, and out of the ordinary.

 

Going back to my original question, has anybody had any issues with giving them ?  

 

Entirely possible they would doubt they were real and you were stiffing them. And very likely they would have trouble spending them off the ship.

 

Edited January 20 by Cruising Is Bliss

[kazu]

On 1/18/2024 at 10:01 PM, Gunther1 said:

 

Going back to my original question, has anybody had any issues with giving them ?  

 

How would anyone know if the crew had a problem?  I give my extra tips in an envelope - often with a thank you card towards the end of a cruise.  The recipient smiles, thanks me and puts it in their pocket or on their person.  they don’t open it in front of me.

 

I guess if you were using them to tip a bar steward for a drink you may be able to tell but my guess is that they would smile and say thank you whether they were going to have a problem or not.

[St Pete Cruiser]

On our Christmas/New Years cruise aboard the Zaandam, we enjoyed sharing breakfast in the MDR with a couple from the US who would leave a $2 bill next to their plate upon finishing their breakfast.  Apparently, that was their custom as the gentleman had a roll of them.  

[Shippy]

I always leave $2. bills. I think of them as a lucky piece.

I have coffee & pastry delivered to the room each morning & give one.

I also give one if there is a lady serving the rest room while I am in there. I do not think many people acknowledge them.

 

AND, my grandchildren love them. They show them off to their friends !

[Seasick Sailor]

Haven't really cared about the $2 thread opinions.  However.. 33 days on Rotterdam Dec/Jan 2023, 35 days on Koningsdam 2023 Feb/March, and 51 days on Rotterdam this Dec/Jan 2023/2024. 

 

Our bartenders,  waiters, and room stewards have told us they all appreciate USD over any other currency. Canada money on exchange onboard is 75 cents on USD.