Prepaid Tipping

[JimandChicky]

We are sailing on the Carnival Miracle 05-21-06. When I booked the cruise I opted to prepay our tips. After reading various posts I'm confused. From what I've read, it sounds like we are supposed to tip on the last night in the dining room. If I have already prepaid am I supposed to tip additional money, or if not, will they know that I prepaid if I don't have an envelope to give them? I want to make sure I tip appropriately. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :confused:

[caribbean dreams]

If you already pre payed than you don't have to worry about tipping on the last night unless you think they deserve an extra tip for their service.

We always end up giving extra for good service.

As for them knowing, i don't think they have any way to tell what tip came from who, unless you actually hand it to them.

 

 

[Dphipps2]

We prepaid tips on our last cruise and they gave us vouchers to put in the envelopes. It makes it nice so you can actually hand it to the person.

[Cotton]

Since you'll be on a CARNIVAL ship, it will be different from above: This is my reply from your question on the Carnival board, in case you don't go back to check:

 

quote=JimandChicky]I'm sorry but could someone tell me what the difference is between prepaying your tips at booking or having them added on your S & S card?

 

Prepaid Tips - This means you pay your tip at the time you pay for your cruise. Some folks like to do it this way to 'get them out of the way', and not have such a large Sail & Sign account. There is no adjusting if prepaid...it's a done deal.

 

Automatic Tips - These tips of $10 per person per day will be the first entry on your S&S account. You have the option of increasing, decreasing, or removing them from your account. Most folks leave them "as is", because it's a very fair amount.

 

Also, if you prepay, are you going to look foolish on the last night if you don't have an envelope...

 

The day of using envelopes is long past. (You can still do it this way, if you wish, but it's rare that you see envelopes being given out to crew members these days.) Exception - they will leave ONE envelope in your cabin to tip the Maitre d' on the last evening - optional.

 

....and how will the dining staff know you did tip them in advance?

 

In both instances - prepaying or automatic tipping - the cabin steward and waitstaff receive a list of who has paid their tips and who has had them removed.:)

 

I believe what MOST folks do these days is to leave the auto tips in place on the S&S account, and tip a little extra to anyone they wish. Personally, I always leave my auto tips in place and tip my cabin steward a little extra on the last morning.

 

[Kat_in_Texas]

A few members here have suggested that tipping with a pre-paid calling card is a nice gesture. For those of you with lots of cruising experience, what is your opinion of that? I don't want to seem cheap but if that is something that crew members enjoy, I'd be happy to do that. Also, would that be in addition to a smaller cash tip, especially for the cabin steward?

 

Thanks for your input!

[crystal808]

From what I understand, the phone card you buy may not be one that works for the crew member in calling their home land. Cash is what they can really use, for whatever purpose they "need".

 

When in doubt, give 'em cash.

 

Works for me(!) ;)

 

Paul

[Jane110]

A few members here have suggested that tipping with a pre-paid calling card is a nice gesture. For those of you with lots of cruising experience, what is your opinion of that? I don't want to seem cheap but if that is something that crew members enjoy, I'd be happy to do that. Also, would that be in addition to a smaller cash tip, especially for the cabin steward?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

Sometimes the calling card won't work from certain phones in certain ports. If they have alot of these cards and they have expiration dates, then it's money thrown overboard. I wouldn't try to control how a person spends the tip we give them. We just give them cash and let them figure out what they'd like to do with it.

 

If you've bought a card for yourself and there's some minutes left on it then by all means, give it to your cabin steward and maybe he/she can use it. But don't give them less of a tip because of it.

 

We always leave the automatic tips on our account and then usually end up tipping more to some people.

[Cotton]

A few members here have suggested that tipping with a pre-paid calling card is a nice gesture. For those of you with lots of cruising experience, what is your opinion of that? I don't want to seem cheap but if that is something that crew members enjoy, I'd be happy to do that. Also, would that be in addition to a smaller cash tip, especially for the cabin steward?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

Kat, over the past few years, folks have taken lots of 'goodies' for the cabin stewards - only to find that they have no use for all theses things we thought were such a nice gesture.... Even the phone cards seem to be bad idea. SO - in a nutshell - if you want to do something "extra" for anybody, CASH brings the most smiles!:)

[Kat_in_Texas]

Thanks for the input about calling cards. You're all correct, cash is always appreciated and useful, so I'll stick with what works! :D

[cruisinbuddy]

In '03 when we were on the Golden Princess, we opted for the auto tips. Everything was good but didn't warrant extra $. About day 5, I was at the pursers desk cashing t/c's and there was a lady beside me talking to another purser and she was going through her S&S account print out and going through each & every tip,(they itemize them for each day), and telling the purser, lower this one by $.50, next lower by $1.00 etc. What a cheapskate, she did her whole bill.

Next cruise, I've already paid them, so my S&S account will be that much less, more $ for foo foo drinks.

[KCruzin]

I recently cruised on the Carnival Valor and had the tips applied automatically. However, I ended up only going to the dining room 3 nights of 7 and decided to go to the Purser's Desk and have 4 nights of the automatic gratuity removed. At first I felt a little guilty about that because our service was not bad, but just like any restaurant in any town, tips only happen when the customer goes there. I then decided to add more to the cabin steward account. I spoke to several people who did the same thing. We all felt the cabin stewards/housekeeping work very hard.

Near the end of the trip we were provided an envelope to tip the dining room maitre'd as they don't receive automatic tipping.

[Trevoli]

I recently cruised on the Carnival Valor and had the tips applied automatically. However, I ended up only going to the dining room 3 nights of 7 and decided to go to the Purser's Desk and have 4 nights of the automatic gratuity removed. At first I felt a little guilty about that because our service was not bad, but just like any restaurant in any town, tips only happen when the customer goes there. I then decided to add more to the cabin steward account. I spoke to several people who did the same thing. We all felt the cabin stewards/housekeeping work very hard.

Near the end of the trip we were provided an envelope to tip the dining room maitre'd as they don't receive automatic tipping.

 

Boy, do I disagree with that approach. It's not the waitstaff's fault that you didn't go to the dining room. And it's not like they can move other passengers into the waiter's station to take up the slack.

 

Assuming you went somewhere else on those 4 nights, how do you think those people get tipped? Very often, the bar waiters and dining room waitstaff work in the buffet/food court, or whatever they call it on Carnival.

 

Just my opinion.

 

T

[LHT28]

I recently cruised on the Carnival Valor and had the tips applied automatically. However, I ended up only going to the dining room 3 nights of 7 and decided to go to the Purser's Desk and have 4 nights of the automatic gratuity removed.

 

Just curious as to where you ate for the 4 nights that did not require a wait staff or busboy ?????

 

Buffet dining rooms also require staff that deserve the auto tip.

[Cotton]

KCruisin - You did the waitstaff a big injustice.

 

Most of the evening dining staff work in the Lido buffet area for breakfast and lunch. There are very few waiters in the formal dining room during those times, as most of them work elsewhere, mainly on Lido.

 

So - Since you removed the other four night's tips, you actually 'stiffed' the hard working waiters. Shame on you.:(

 

Maybe this will help someone in the future not make the same 'mistake'.

[packercruising]

Totally agree! And we have never been on a cruise where SOMEBODY did not deserve extra.

[Trevoli]

Perhaps they did not know the finer points of tipping. It's the fact that several other passengers did the same thing that concerns me. How many good crew members got a reduction their hard-earned tips?

 

T

[KCruzin]

Wow...

take it easy on this first time cruiser. I actually heard about removing the

auto gratuity for the dining room on one of these sites and then found many others doing it onboard. I didn't think it was such a tacky thing to do.

As far as I knew, the auto gratuity was for the DINING ROOM not for the buffet, etc. so your comments are food for thought. However, my daughter and I are light eaters and often did not eat at all, buffet or otherwise and I stand by my comment that I don't tip for services not received OR

If the auto gratuities are really their salary that you make it sound why they don't just add it to our cruise cost so people like me won't be made to feel ashamed if we deduct.

 

I will keep these "finer points of tipping" in mind if I ever go on a cruise again.

[Cotton]

Well, that's one reason these boards are here - to impart information. Now, you (and hopefully many others) know.:)