Tipping-HELP

[vesw01]

Ok, I read that it should be about $9 a day, per person, for the room steward, waiter and busboy. Here is my delimma. I am traveling with a senior citizen, an 11 yr old and a 2 yr old. First off do we have to have them come to our cabin everyday or can we just say we aren't interested in the service AND should I be tipping that much for the kids? It is over $252 in gratuities for the week and that seems like alot (by the way I don't drink, so I don't have to worry about that). Also, I have read on the boards to tip the room steward early - how does one go about tipping - do you give it to them in person or leave it for them - is this an embarrassing situation - I am very nervous about it!

[vesw01]

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[Dannzzigg]

From Carnival.com:

[quote]
What is the tipping policy onboard?

Guests can pay their shipboard gratuities in one of two ways:

1. Reverse Gratuity Policy - For our guests' convenience, we automatically add the recommended gratuities to the onboard Sail & Sign account on embarkation day.

Guests will have the discretion to adjust these gratuities based upon the level of service received during the cruise. This includes the option to adjust gratuities (up or down) for any individual on the Dining or Housekeeping staff. In order to do so, the guest will need to visit the Information Desk on board.

2. Pre-Paid Gratuity Policy - Gratuities are pre-arranged and paid at the time of booking or any time up to two weeks prior to the sail date.

All guests on each booking must prepay the gratuities, with the exception of children under two. The pre-paid gratuities can not be removed once the booking has been ticketed. The guest will not have the option to adjust the gratuities (up or down) based on the level of service received during the cruise.

The dollar amount of the gratuities will appear in the Miscellaneous Charge field on the booking. The guest copy on the cruise ticket will indicate if gratuities have been paid.

The total amount will be $10 per guest, per day, which breaks down as follows:


$5.50 pp/pd for Dining Team Service (Headwaiter and Waiter)
$1 pp/pd for Bistro Service (Waiter/Cooks)
$3.50 pp/pd for Cabin Services (Cabin Steward)
Tipping the Maitre D' is strictly at guest's discretion, based upon services rendered. For guests who wish to extend this gratuity in cash, an envelope will be available on the last evening of the cruise.

Tipping still applies regardless of the dining options selected, such as eating at the casual dining restaurant or utilizing room service.

Bar Waiters, Deck Stewards and Bell Boys - Certain personnel, as noted above, may be tipped as service is rendered. A 15% gratuity is automatically added to beverage purchases which the guest may adjust appropriate to the service received.

Note: Guests under two years of age are not required to extend gratuities.

[/quote]

I am also interested in the 'how-to' of tipping your cabin steward early. Just how is this done appropriately?

[Bunkie103]

Once you meet him you shake his hand and pass him a $20 no big deal. We waited until the last night and left something extra in a small envelope for our cabin steward along with the regular tip, which was on our S&S card. Did the same with our waiter and his assistant. :)

[green eyed lady]

I have to admit before we went on our recent Miracle cruise, I also thought $350 for 5 of us seemed high for tips. But after we had such wonderful service (especially from our dining room waiters) my way of thinking totally changed. Even my husband, who REALLY thought the tips were excessive, totally agreed that the service was well worth it. We ended up tipping extra on the last night. The staff we had earned every penny! My son nicknamed me "princess" on this cruise b/c I didn't have to do anything but be pampered!
So hopefully once you see how great the service is you won't feel that the tip amt is excessive.

Jen

PS just curious...why wouldn't you want the steward to come in everyday (twice) and make your bed, give you fresh towels, turn down the beds at night and of course, leave towel animals on the beds everyday ???(that was my favorite part!)

[VentureMan_2000]

Just think of it as part of the cost of the cruise, the same way you think of the taxes.

The folks who tip early are the people that want to ensure special attention, such as twice-daily ice for their cabin sodas/cocktails, extra pillows, and such. You don't need to tip early. If you don't get good service, visit the Purser's office and let them know by adjusting the tip downward.

The room Steward is part of the cruise as is the food service. This is one of the nice perks about the cruise. Just enjoy the service. A 2 year old will get the same curtesy and service as you.

Your Steward will make your room 3 times daily. They will have your clothes cleaned and/pressed (there is a co$t per item, and I believe no cleaning avail. for suits), leave mints on your pillows, and cookies on the kids pillows. Your Waiter will serve you a fabulous meal. You can order room service free of charge 24 hours a day (you may want to tip a $1 or $2).

I suggest you pre-pay the tip (include it in your final bill) before you arrive or when you set up your sign and sail at embarkation. That way the $252 will be dispursed correctly for you by Carnival.

It is unfortunate that the cruises just don't include the tip in the price so that you would know up front. They want to be able to advertise the lowest fairs. Some Travel Agents list an even lower fail to grab your attention but the small print will add another $250 per person to the price.

Everyone is trying to get an edge.

On the other hand, if the cruises just added it into the price, you would have no say, and therefore, you wouldn't be able To Insure Proper Service (TIPS).

[pholter]

Definitely plan on prepaying your tips so they aren't such a shocker on the S&S account. It really is just part of the Cruise fare for the service provided in all fairness to the staff. Regardless if you have the steward clean your room daily or not, they were assigned a certain number of rooms to make tips on each trip- it wouldn't be fair to short their paychecks either while occupying the cabin.

I think you'll be pleased enough with ther service that you'll end up tipping on top of the prepaid or S&S gratuities..

Have a great trip!

[Lefty1]

try this web site great for tipping [url]http://members.aol.com/cruisetip/[/url]

[vesw01]

Well, ok that clears some things up - so I am correct in saying that I should prepay $30/day (2 adults and 1 child, since my other child is 2). I would just assume that I pay for as much as possible beforehand.

I can always slip them money in the end if I wanted to - right?

[GoinCruisin]

vesw, we tipped our room steward and dining crew on the first day onboard... this was in addition to the tips on our S&S account. We also tipped our steward a little more on the last night (for his helper)... we just handed it to them. We also tipped our pool waiter well throughout the week, our glasses were never empty... and we received great service. I agree, it is great to come back to a clean room, and they make cute towel animals for you as well :D

Enjoy!

[GoinCruisin]

You may want to check with Carnival... I think the rule is under 2, not 2 and under... they will be able to tell you..

[Dee88]

Just like alot of others, I thought the gratuities were a bit high myself. But after a few days on the ship, I thought ever penny was worth it.
In fact, on the last night there, I got 3 blank cards from the shop on the ship and wrote my room steward, waiter and asst. waiter a little thank you note with something extra inside. They made my week memorable! :D

[Bunkie103]

I usually take little thank you cards and envelopes with me! ;)

[hstrybuf]

Children 2 years old and up fall under the tipping guidelines. Your waitstaff and steward will probably make a fuss over the kids and will still have to clean up after them. Our steward only did our room twice a day, but we're pretty good about not leaving much for him/her to do. It's really nice having them leave the room almost as nice as it was when we arrived, turning down the beds, leaving fresh ice and filling any request we might have. It's their job to do this and they will wait until you're gone to make up the room. Sooooo nice to come back to! :)

[dan40]

If you receive service, you should tip-period. And you will receive plenty of service so figure on [b]AT LEAST $280. FOR THE WEEK.[/b]

In over 40 cruises I have stiffed 1 waiter for horrendous service. All other times I tipped either the recommended amount or extra for outstanding service.
It is simply part of the cost of cruising and is not even equal to the cost of one meal per day if you had to buy your food.
Dan

[kaapt]

What is a fair amount to plan on tipping the Maitre D' if you receive good service? Do you also tip extra for waitstaff and are these handed out seperately?

[hstrybuf]

You may or may not ever see the Maitre D, but if your waitstaff is good, he's responsible. We tip about $5 to him on the last night. If you want to tip your waitstaff extra, you may do so on the last night. Just get an envelope from the Purser's desk or they may provide you with some for the last night. Depends on the ship. Really it's all up to you as what you would like to do and how much extra if any you want to tip.:)

[NinaCO]

[quote name='kaapt']What is a fair amount to plan on tipping the Maitre D' if you receive good service? Do you also tip extra for waitstaff and are these handed out seperately?[/QUOTE]$5 or $10 should be OK for the Maitre D'. There have been times when I haven't tipped him at all, and once when I tipped $20. ([i]OK[/i], the guy was funny and [color=red]hot[/color], and he was at our table for quite a while every night. :D ) Usually, I tip $5. You can give the waitstaff extra in cash on the last night if they've done a great job. I've had a couple of waiters who I tipped the recommended amount. But, they're usually so terrific that I tip more.

I have never tipped my waitstaff or cabin steward early in the cruise. A lot of people swear by it, but my POV is that tipping is a response to terrific service. I only tip my cabin steward and wait staff at the end of the cruise.

[DeckCadet]

Tipping is one of those expenses. You don't HAVE to tip, but it really helps the service and it especially helps the people giving you the service-tips are a big part of what they can send home to their families.
I don't like keeping tight reins on money except in cruise planning. I might just be the single heaviest tipper of all cruise history. I get great service. I tip accordingly.
You can prepay, you can also go ahead and do the S&S optional gratuities and adjust them as you wish.
You have to think about the 2 year old thing from the perspective of the worker.
You are a cabin steward. There are 4 people to clean up after in this cabin. A 2 year old uses a bed, etc. etc. etc. They need to be cleaned up after as well. You typically do not have a choice about cabin stewards unless you feel like putting the do not disturb on for the whole cruise and having a messy cabin. Either way it isn't any extra money to have them do it. They will do it tipped or not.
You are a waiter. A 2 year old has to eat as well. The vesw family has 4 members eating. You have to serve all 4 their food, clean up the table after them.....tough work if you really think about it.
I won't go further. We usually give a sizeable chunk of extra cash on top of the S&S for the dining staff... the Maitre'd gets a nice gift, as we know them well and they assure we have the proper table and waiter each time. That's how we do it.

[Cotton]

[quote name='DeckCadet']I might just be the single heaviest tipper of all cruise history.[QUOTE]

[b][color=darkslategray]*[i]Really[/i]?*:rolleyes: Read on:[/color][/b]

[b][color=#2f4f4f]I saw this in a cruise magazine awhile back:[/color][/b]
[b][color=#2f4f4f]There was a letter from a woman who was a dianosed bi-polar personality, and she forgot to take her meds on the cruise with her. On the last evening, she had a whim, and being in a [i]manic state[/i] (Lord knows why she had so much cash!), she tipped the dining room waiter $500 and the cabin steward $300 !!! [/color][/b]
[b][color=#2f4f4f][/color][/b]
[b][color=#2f4f4f]Once she was back home, realizing what she had done, she went into a depressive state. She called the cruiseline to try to get her money back! (Seems she didn't have enough money to pay her car note!) Of course, she did NOT get her money back. She was writing the letter to advise everyone to take their meds on vacation. Well....duh.[/color][/b]

[vesw01]

Ok, I agree, after I posted this I went back and read the policy in Carnivals handbook and it stated that I could adjust them up and down as necessary. You are correct the 2 yr old will make more of a mess then any of us, but she will not be using her own bed, she still sleeps in a crib and we can't have a crib in our cabin.

I, personally, do not like someone coming into my room while I am not there. I often do not have maid service when we stay at a hotel. I just think it is weird having someone come into your room and have free will to look through all of your stuff. Just a privacy/safety issue for me.

[CM2J2R2S]

So, for our family of eight, it would be $560 plus $50 for the maitre d'? Plus, potentially the pool waiter? and/or servers in lounges etc.? Do you just tip everyone? Love the aol website, thanks for that.

[hstrybuf]

vesw01, it is normal procedure for the steward to come into your room when you aren't there to clean up the room. That way they aren't bothering you when you ARE in the room. It's their job and if they don't get it done the supervisors will know it. Anything of value should be locked in the safe. Keep other things put away in drawers or the closet. They really have too much to do to have time to go through your stuff. Don't worry, just let them take care of you! :)

As far as tipping, that's up to you. We normally tip the steward and waitstaff the recommended amount if not more. The Maitre D gets $5 unless we haven't seen him the entire cruise. We tip porters, cab drivers, shuttle drivers, tour operators and anyone else who has done something to make our cruise just a little bit more enjoyable. We don't have kids young enough to be in the kids program but you can tip them as well. If you want to tip the pool attendants or lounge servers do so. We have on one or two occasions. We also tip extra for special requests. The amount is still up to your discretion.

[sls]

They are mainly just making the beds and cleaning the bathroom. Having the bathroom cleaned twice a day is a wonderful thing when you have several people sharing.

sls

[chipperberg]

Also remember that these people work hard 7 days a week, with very little down time, a key reason you will not find too many Americans working on the ship. And many do not get paid except for TIPS. It may have changed some, but from my exprerience in speaking to a waiter, he told me that he only makes tips. Nothing else, except room and board. It sounds like a lot to shell out in tips, only because it is all at once. But it is really quite cheap. Think about how much you would leave in a restaurant for 7-21 meals. Just MHO.