Automatic $10 tip plus what else??

[pau2x]

We'll be cruising on the Grand Princess next month and have found out that we can have our credit card charged the $10/day/person tip for the waiters, stewards etc.

I'm wondering how much does everyone else tip their room steward before and after the cruise? Does the $10 count towards that? Do you give them cash (in an envelope perhaps) on the first day and last day? Thanks!

[johnql]

The $10 covers your wait staff and your room steward. If you feel that someone has given you exemplary service, you can definitely give them an extra tip. There is no need to tip anyone ahead of time, altho there are plenty of people who do this. The envelope tradition used to be in place on traditional cruises when tips were handed out on the last night of the cruise to the wait staff and steward.

 

If you receive what you consider the level of service that you expect, no one would fault you for not tipping anything extra. That's what the $10 pp/pd is for.

 

My rule of thumb is: you'll know when you encounter exceptional service and when you do, it should be rewarded.

[barbarah33]

Johnql put it very nicely. Tipping is very personal and totally up to you. The $10 per person per day is a totally acceptable amount and customary now. If you have a desire to tip anything extra to a particular person then that's up to you. What I might consider to be extraordinary you might look at as expected. I do usually hand my cabin steward something on the first day of the cruise when I ask for a few little 'extras' that I like each day. I wouldn't look down on anyone who doesn't and I don't think any cabin steward I have ever had expected it from me when I asked for these things. (Like extra towels, etc.) You should do what you are comfortable with.

[pau2x]

Thanks for the suggestions! Now I'll know not to feel obligated :) I'll probably want to tip extra on the first day and see how it goes from there.

 

Thanks again!

[dforeigner]

Thanks for the suggestions! Now I'll know not to feel obligated :) I'll probably want to tip extra on the first day and see how it goes from there.

 

Thanks again!

 

FYI, tipping extra the first day or bribing as some would like to call it does not always work. Some stewards have been taken advantage by believing that there is more coming later only to find out that they were stiffed. Why, because the auto tips were removed at the end of the cruise and the steward/waiter now has to turn in that money to the general tip pool.

 

DISCRETIONARY HOTEL AND DINING CHARGE

During your cruise, you will meet staff throughout the ship who provide you with excellent service. Many more crew support those who serve you directly. For your convenience a discretionary Hotel and Dining charge of $10 per passenger per day (including children) will be added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. This charge will be shared amongst those staff who help provide and support your cruise experience, including the wait staff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff and others. Please note this is a discretionary charge and should you wish to remove or make any adjustments, you may do so by contacting the Passenger Services/Purser's Desk onboard.

 

Casino dealers and Lotus Spa personnel do not share in the Hotel and Dining charge as not all passengers utilize these services.

[Cotton]

Pau - Tipping upfront for services not yet rendered IS a bribe, pure and simple....... It's like saying to the cabin steward "I know you won't do your job correctly unless I give you money upfront." Poor guy doesn't have a chance to show you how good he might be.

 

Extra tipping after services is just that - tipping for a job well done....... The automatic $10 per passenger per day is a VERY fair amount, and no need to tip additionally. I don't always tip the dining room staff extra, but I always give the cabin steward a little extra on the last evening.

[98Charlie]

We take a pack of thank you cards on every cruise so that we can write a personal note to those crew members we give extra tips for great service. Most often we give our room steward and wait staff an extra tip but there have been many others we wished to tip as well and those crew members are not included in the automatic gratuity program.

 

Example: Had a seating hostess on the NCL Star last year who had one of the bubbliest personalities ever, so much so that we found ourselves looking forward to dinner or lunch seating times just so we could see her.

 

Have run into a few bartenders and drink waiters on some cruises who went beyond the norm to please everyone; an entertainer in the piano bar who was the best we've encountered on 16 cruises -

 

You get the idea. Having a thank you note and envelope with us gives us the opportunity to write a personal note, tuck the tip inside before handing it to the recipient.

 

Dianne

[Kurbanfan]

Pau2x,

Your auto tips should be fine for the whole cruise. If you feel you would like to give a little extra (we will give our steward a little extra upon arriving for special requests) This is not a bribe and they know it.

A bribe would be something in the effect of tipping half of the amount from your auto tips up front and holding on to the rest until the end of the cruise.

The tips are charged automatically so you don't have to worry about it and can relax and have a great time!

[pau2x]

All this info is very useful!

 

I've been reading just about everything I need to know (at least what I think is everything!) and it feels like I would have been "cruisin' clueless" without all these shared info.

 

We're excited and hope to have a relaxing, grand time!

 

Ciao!

[Cotton]

To whomever it may concern:

 

Websters's says a bribe is something given as inducement.

 

(uh, like ... "Here, take this money and do a great job for me.")

[guntheros]

So does the dining staff/room steward know when you get on the cruise that you already prepaid your tips? I would hate for them to think we're stiffing them the whole time. Not that I wouldn't tip extra here and there though.

Nicole

[emd1]

My Travel Agent says that the staff knows who prepaid their tips. I have prepaid (first cruise) because I feel that what I prepaid is the minimum I would normally tip. If I get very good service, they will get more, and if I get great service they will get even more.

[MCManders99]

If you get room service, don't forget to tip. They are not included in the auto tipping.

[scapel]

So does the dining staff/room steward know when you get on the cruise that you already prepaid your tips? I would hate for them to think we're stiffing them the whole time. Not that I wouldn't tip extra here and there though.

Nicole

Can anyone else confirm that all the staff know that certain tips are pre-paid.

I understood that on the last day if a pre-paid tip was felt by the passenger not to be justified that the passenger could ask for the tip to be reduced. Is this correct?

Now if I tipped in person ahead of time the attendant would have it in his pocket and it would be more difficult to get it back.

I like to give half up front in person and take it from there. Anyone see any drawbacks with this?

[julieanne]

After 30+ cruises, I still do not pre-pay tips. I do not know if our waitstaff will receive that amount or if it will be divided. I do not care what the lines have stated either. I do not bribe either. We still have a firm belief that our staff should know exactly what we thought of their service and be able to put that money in their pockets. When we receive outstanding service during our trip, tips are given out then and there to bartenders, deck servers, etc. On our last trip, we switched tables halfway through our 14 night cruise due to excessive noise in our area of the dining room. You cannot imagine how thankful our waitstaff from the first table was, that we remembered them. I truly think they thought we would stiff them!

[scapel]

After 30+ cruises, I still do not pre-pay tips. I do not know if our waitstaff will receive that amount or if it will be divided. I do not care what the lines have stated either. I do not bribe either. We still have a firm belief that our staff should know exactly what we thought of their service and be able to put that money in their pockets. When we receive outstanding service during our trip, tips are given out then and there to bartenders, deck servers, etc. On our last trip, we switched tables halfway through our 14 night cruise due to excessive noise in our area of the dining room. You cannot imagine how thankful our waitstaff from the first table was, that we remembered them. I truly think they thought we would stiff them!

 

Did the wait staff on the first table get 7 night tips or 14 night tips?

Did the wait staff on the second table get 7 night tips or 14 night tips?

If you would have pre-paid your tips, I doubt if the cruise line would have proportion the tips. What do you think?

[Arwenmark]

So does the dining staff/room steward know when you get on the cruise that you already prepaid your tips? I would hate for them to think we're stiffing them the whole time. Not that I wouldn't tip extra here and there though.

Nicole

 

There is a list of people who remove tips from the automatic tip pool. but they would not think you were stiffing them the whole time because you would not be tipping until the end it is not customary on ANY cruise to tip daily as you go along.

[julieanne]

We gave them 7 & 7 plus. They both gave excellent service and I didn't feel that the cruiseline would divide it fairly. Also they both deserved above and beyond and we like to make sure that they get what they deserve, not just the minimum. I also feel that tipping in advance (1/2 up front) doesn't get you anywhere. We also tip for room service, everytime. The only way I would autotip is if we never had assigned seating. On our honeymoon, we ate in the dining room 4 times in 14 days. But those 4 days were heaven with our waiter and busboy. They got their 14 days plus and we tipped all of our alternative waiters in cash plus whatever they get from the split when you sign for your meal. Good service should always be rewarded when rendered, not in advance with an expectation of good service! :D

[adamsmom]

Also be sure to tip the kids' staff, if you are using them. They don't get any of the $10/day. Usually they will have something at the kid's area where you can leave tips.

[scapel]

We gave them 7 & 7 plus. They both gave excellent service and I didn't feel that the cruiseline would divide it fairly. Also they both deserved above and beyond and we like to make sure that they get what they deserve, not just the minimum. I also feel that tipping in advance (1/2 up front) doesn't get you anywhere. We also tip for room service, everytime. The only way I would autotip is if we never had assigned seating. On our honeymoon, we ate in the dining room 4 times in 14 days. But those 4 days were heaven with our waiter and busboy. They got their 14 days plus and we tipped all of our alternative waiters in cash plus whatever they get from the split when you sign for your meal. Good service should always be rewarded when rendered, not in advance with an expectation of good service! :D

I was wondering if you thought it would be insulting to the Maitre'd or a cabin attendant to give them a little something in advance. I gave a little something for bringing us an extra table for the veranda, in addition to a little something up front. If the service was poor, the up front would be subtracted from the recommended at the end otherwise the end tip would be the recommended in addition to the up front. I don't think I have ever had bad service. Some better than others, but nothing bad.

What do you think?

[julieanne]

Joe,

When service is given, by all means, tip. If you give half the tip up front, you'd better tell them it's half of their tip! I have had BAD service (4 young women traveling together, 2 weeks, Nordic Prince...our waiter liked young ladies) and then there was service that wasn't great, but I knew they were trying (promoted busboy to waiter going through a divorce.....oh boy). It is never insulting to give $$$, I would just make sure that it would be on top of the tip at the end. I have only not tipped once. That is the above situation and we were going to tip him on the last day, but he decided to make a few more inappropriate remarks to all of us, so we thought he should forfeit his tip. For mediocre service, I tip the recommended amount. I can honestly say that we usually tip above that!

[Arwenmark]

Joe,

When service is given, by all means, tip. If you give half the tip up front, you'd better tell them it's half of their tip! I have had BAD service (4 young women traveling together, 2 weeks, Nordic Prince...our waiter liked young ladies) and then there was service that wasn't great, but I knew they were trying (promoted busboy to waiter going through a divorce.....oh boy). It is never insulting to give $$$, I would just make sure that it would be on top of the tip at the end. I have only not tipped once. That is the above situation and we were going to tip him on the last day, but he decided to make a few more inappropriate remarks to all of us, so we thought he should forfeit his tip. For mediocre service, I tip the recommended amount. I can honestly say that we usually tip above that!

 

You should have reported him as soon as the inappropriate remarks started. My daughter and I sailed NCL in 2000. we had an overly friendly waiter, well third morning out for breakfast he bent down and kissed her on the cheek, we were both stunned. a bit later male workers she had never met started saying HI to her by name. Then at the buffet yet another one made a very inappropriate remark. That was it for us as we still had 12 days to go. reported it and next thing we new the Hotel manager was interviewing us and it went all the way to the Captain. they were both furious as right before our cruise they had had crew training in avoiding sexual harrassment.

We had no more problems the rest of the time and excellent service, From a different waiter, and the captain was going to put the Kisser off the ship, but we asked him not too as that would have made us feel awful.

Last cruise I was on he was still aboard but I did not see anything suspicious in his behavior so I think he learned.

But such things should be reported right away, not tolerated.

[Crown08]

We normally tip our room steward and any outstanding servers we encounter a little extra. I know on Princess the $10/day not only goes to your cabin steward but also people like buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff, etc. I don't think a lot of people realize this when they take the $10/day into consideration and start adjusting it.

[julieanne]

You should have reported him as soon as the inappropriate remarks started. My daughter and I sailed NCL in 2000. we had an overly friendly waiter, well third morning out for breakfast he bent down and kissed her on the cheek, we were both stunned. a bit later male workers she had never met started saying HI to her by name. Then at the buffet yet another one made a very inappropriate remark. That was it for us as we still had 12 days to go. reported it and next thing we new the Hotel manager was interviewing us and it went all the way to the Captain. they were both furious as right before our cruise they had had crew training in avoiding sexual harrassment.

We had no more problems the rest of the time and excellent service, From a different waiter, and the captain was going to put the Kisser off the ship, but we asked him not too as that would have made us feel awful.

Last cruise I was on he was still aboard but I did not see anything suspicious in his behavior so I think he learned.

But such things should be reported right away, not tolerated.

 

We did report him a few days into the cruise. At first we thought it was just funny, but then he started to get really pushy. Our busboy ended up doing most of the serving and he was terrific. We did speak with the Maitre'D and that got us the cold shoulder. Our late seating was full, so no table switch. At the end of the cruise, we filed a formal complaint and he was terminated immediately. Keep in mind, this was about 26 years ago! I do not think sexual harrassment avoidance was taught, I think it was encouraged!

:eek: Like I said, we dealt with it and still had a great time.

[scapel]

julieanne

Tip ahead is just incentive. There could be the recommended amount at the end or just the balance to equal the recommended amount. I have never failed to tip the recommended amount plus $5-$6 on 31 cruises. I have had some poor service, but felt sorry for the chap as he seemed to be trying so hard.