Novice on Board

[MissRissa]

Should I leave a cash tip at the dinner table every night or just one large one on the last night? Also, if we decide not to eat in the diningroom one night do I need to let the diningroom know ahead of time? Thanks:p

[montekat]

You tip at the end of the cruise on the last night. You may tip extra at that time if you wish. You are given envelopes in which to put your tips so that you may hand them out to each person. You may either prepay the tips (you are given slips to put in the envelopes stating you paid) or pay in cash.

 

No need to let the dining room staff know you will not be eating there the next night, but it is polite to let your tablemates know so that they will not be waiting until you get there to order.

 

Have a great cruise!!

[MissRissa]

Thank you for the info:D I want to be sure we are doing the right thing, I am so excited about our first cruise!!

[Sheffie]

Thank you for the info:D I want to be sure we are doing the right thing, I am so excited about our first cruise!!

 

MissRissa, welcome to CC and to cruising!! You may think you are excited, but wait till you see that ship!!!

 

Have fun planning!

[eyzwdeshut]

it also depends on which cruise line you are on... if it's NCL's freestyle cruising, you might want to tip after each dinner, if you've had excellent service in one of the specialty restaurants.

[2Cruise4Ever]

Which cruiseline? Both NCL and Carnival now have automatic gratuities charged to your credit card each day. That takes care of the tip which means you part with less cash because you don't have to tip everyone on the last night. I don't know if other cruiselines do that, but it seems to be catching on. On both NCL and Carnival it's $10 per person per day. That covers just about everyone. You can certainly give specific folks more if you want to (and the DO appreciate that).

 

Happy Sailing!! :D

[Cotton]

Miss Rissa - When asking questions, it really helps us to know which cruiseline or ship you'll be on.:)

 

Hope this helps...Here's Carnival's tipping policy:

 

PREPAID - Means you pay for the tips when you pay for your cruise. No tips will appear on your Sail & Sign account.

 

AUTOMATIC TIPPING - The total amount will be on your S&S account, and may be adjusted or even removed. (Hopefully, no one actually removes them.)

 

The automatic tips of $10 per passenger per day will be the first entry on your Sail & Sign account. This would be $50 per person for a five night cruise - $70 per person for a seven night cruise. Only children under the age of two do not tip.

 

The auto tips are broken down as follows:

 

$3.50 per passenger per day to the cabin steward

$5.50 per passenger per day to the dining room waiter & asst.

$1.00 per passenger per day to the Lido Buffet personnel

 

Room service tips - $1-2 each time you order.

 

Bar bills automatically have 15% added, so no need to tip more.

 

The tips are a very fair amount. I believe the majority of passengers leave their automatic tips in place on the S&S account, and tip a little extra to a few folks at the end of the cruise.