Do YOU add an additional tip on top of the 15% for drinks?

[Paleochick]

My dh and I always disagree on this one. When we order drinks and the total includes a 15% gratuity, we argue. He says the 15% is the gratuity. I say, why not add an extra buck or two. What do YOU do? Is 15% good enough most of the time, but you add more if the service/waiter is exceptional? Thanks for your time!

[Kurbanfan]

We don't tip more. 15% is fine.

[Cruising89143]

Depends. I usually find one or two bars on the ship that I visit each night and usually the same bartender is there. If they take good care of me the first night then they get additional tips throughout the week. It is up to each person as to what they feel is fair when it comes to tipping.

[newmexicoNita]

I have found 2 cocktail servers that I have tipped above and beyond, otherwise no, 15% is perfectly acceptable.

 

NMnita

[michmike]

I'm w/ gator. we tend to hit the same bar every nite and generally have the same server(s). If we get service above and beyond we take care of them toward the end of the trip.

[OceanDreamin]

I do the same thing as Gator, too.

 

Last cruise I had a lot of drink tickets, so the bar tender didn't get the 15%. Especially for the bar tenders who took extra good care of us, me and DH would tip extra.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also tend to go to the same bar and have the same people wait on us -- then if the service is good, we will tip them extra at the end on the cruise.

[cruiserbryce]

typically no...there were a couple car tenders in a bar on our last ship that we ended up talking to so much, and they may have given us a couple drinks without charging;) , overall just great personal guys that we left a little more for. But generally speaking, I dont leave more

[cruisead]

Never tip more. When you add up all those "little" 15%'s, it adds up to a tidy amount over a week. Unless some waiter goes way beyond, then maybe a few bucks on the last night, but the 15% is more than enough.

[houch]

I never add extra, 15% is fine!

[Grandpaul]

I only drink soda so I am inclined to tip a little extra especially if I get good service. Sometimes I'll get a bartender that doesn't serve me well because it's only soda. Oh well.

[cb at sea]

If they're just popping open a beer, then 15% is MORE than enough!! At the random bars, just picking up a drink or two, no additional is added to the tip. At our "regular' bar that we frequent before dinner, where the bartender goes above and beyond for us, a tip is given at the end of the cruise, just like we do for the waiters and attendant!

[Leafpeeper]

I do the same thing as Gator, too.

 

Last cruise I had a lot of drink tickets, so the bar tender didn't get the 15%. Especially for the bar tenders who took extra good care of us, me and DH would tip extra.

 

Where did you get drink tickets?

 

On our last cruise I noticed DH was adding a tip. He didn't realize the tip was already included. I found out he was tipping an additional 20% without realizing it. I HAD TO TELL HIM THAT THE TIP LINE ON HIS RECEIPT WAS FOR TIPPING ABOVE THE 15%. HIS WAITERS WERE GETTING 35% FOR EACH DRINK.

[Kurbanfan]

Where did you get drink tickets?

 

On our last cruise I noticed DH was adding a tip. He didn't realize the tip was already included. I found out he was tipping an additional 20% without realizing it. I HAD TO TELL HIM THAT THE TIP LINE ON HIS RECEIPT WAS FOR TIPPING ABOVE THE 15%. HIS WAITERS WERE GETTING 35% FOR EACH DRINK.

 

Alot of first time cruisers are not aware of the 15% tip. I have been asked on several of my cruises from passengers if they were suppose to tip.

[lgfromdg]

Since I usually tip 20% at home, unless I get bad service, I always add another dollar or two.

[Jimmers]

Since RCI is nice enough to include the 15% gratuity in with each overpriced drink I buy (regardless of the quality of service) I usually don't add anything. In fact on a couple of occasions when I've been given verified alcohol free drinks I wish I could've taken that 15% away.

 

Having said that, sometimes when I frequent a particular bar (read Schooner) I get chummy with a particular bartender. At the end of the cruise I'll give him a extra $20 or so.

 

Jimmers

[krystalkruzer]

No,15% for each drink is more than enough.

[henepup]

Being a bartender years ago, I will tip $1, in cash, here and there. If its a bar we frequent, it will be a little more than that. I was on a cruise about 10 years ago and we did tipped extra. When the bar would close the bartender would give us a 12 pack of beer at no charge!!! He would always give us free shots, too. You never know, you might get something for free!! Tipping is very personal, do what you feel is comfortable.

[traveler/]

My dh and I always disagree on this one. When we order drinks and the total includes a 15% gratuity, we argue. He says the 15% is the gratuity. I say, why not add an extra buck or two. What do YOU do? Is 15% good enough most of the time, but you add more if the service/waiter is exceptional? Thanks for your time!

I do not add more than the 15%.

However, if I am using a C & A coupon I give the gratuity in cash.

[DanJ]

I also use the soda card a lot, and find many bartenders act put-out to have to serve me. Tough crap for them I guess, but the couple I go to most often through the week, I give them 5 bucks or so. On top of that, when I do want a real drink, I go to one of them if it's convenient.

[luvscruising2007]

I am really glad someone started this thread. On our first cruise we didn't know that the 15% was already on there and we were tipping around 20% more. After we discovered it we felt we should continue because we had set the pattern. We usually went to the same bar each night before dinner and another after dinner. For our cruise coming up I think we'll have to cut that extra tip out unless a server really goes above and beyond.

[paul929207]

Normally, I leave it at 15%. At the end of the cruise I may give an extra $5 or $10 to a bartender that has taken good are of us.

[Warmer Climes]

We normally add a dollar per person on the slip, unless we are not totally satisfied with the service. We like to reward people for attentive service. At the end of the last cruise we tipped our favorite bar waitress $20 additional just because we liked her and felt like it.

 

I told my teenaged sons to tip the bartenders when they used the smoothie booklets, too.

 

Can you tell I worked as a waitress when I was a college student?

[GottaLuvCruising]

Most of our bar checks are for two drinks and we usually add $1. At the end of the cruise, we also give cash tips to the servers who took care of us most of the time (generally there are two or three that we see over and over again).

[lvtotrvl1]

We also add 1 or 2$ on to the tab. We have always been treated very well, and the servers work hard for us.