Tipping Confusion

[Tiny Mungus]

On RCL's website it says to tip $15.50 per day, but I saw members here say $10 per day. Who are people cutting?

[TEXASMUNK]

Tipping for suites is higher. The $10 is inside/outside/balcony

[reallyitsmema]

This a quote from the RCL website about tipping:

 

10. Tipping - So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines:

Suite attendant:$5.75 USDa day per guest

Stateroom attendant:$3.50 USDa day per guest

Dining Room Waiter:$3.50 USDa day per guest

Assistant Waiter:$2.00 USDa day per guest

Headwaiter:$.75 USDa day per guest

Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages.

Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.

Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways:

Pre paid by having them added to your reservation by your reservation agent.Added to your onboard SeaPass account.Paid in cash at the end of the cruise

 

Did you add suite attendant and stateroom attendant by accident? It is one or the other:)

[Tiny Mungus]

That's exactly what I did! Thanks for clearing that up.

[reallyitsmema]

You are welcome. :)

[wrp96]

And for help in calculating your tips, see this handy tip calculator created by a Cruise Critic member.

[Debde]

And for help in calculating your tips, see this handy tip calculator created by a Cruise Critic member.

 

Thanks for posting that! That is perfect!

[Mac777daddy]

Tipping for suites is higher. The $10 is inside/outside/balcony

 

Do you tip no matter what or tip based off how good or bad the service was? I can see a standard for tipping if the service is excellent but there should be a chart for less then excellent service. JMHO

[Sue L]

Do you tip no matter what or tip based off how good or bad the service was? I can see a standard for tipping if the service is excellent but there should be a chart for less then excellent service. JMHO

 

 

 

My view is the standard is for OK service and they will get extra for excellent service

[clararats]

Do you tip no matter what or tip based off how good or bad the service was? I can see a standard for tipping if the service is excellent but there should be a chart for less then excellent service. JMHO

 

A gratuity is suppose to be a way of showing your appreciation for a job well done.

 

If you feel as though the service rendered was not satisfactory, that should reflect in your tip. If the service sucked, give between 5% & 10%. If the service was barely ok, then give between 10% & 15%. If it was great service, I give between 15% & 20%.

[reallyitsmema]

A gratuity is suppose to be a way of showing your appreciation for a job well done.

 

If you feel as though the service rendered was not satisfactory, that should reflect in your tip. If the service sucked, give between 5% & 10%. If the service was barely ok, then give between 10% & 15%. If it was great service, I give between 15% & 20%.

Your theory works well in a restaurant where you can take a percentage of a total bill. It doesn't work with the suggested tips on a cruise.

[Mac777daddy]

A gratuity is suppose to be a way of showing your appreciation for a job well done.

 

If you feel as though the service rendered was not satisfactory, that should reflect in your tip. If the service sucked, give between 5% & 10%. If the service was barely ok, then give between 10% & 15%. If it was great service, I give between 15% & 20%.

 

Sounds good! Thanks

[FenwayFan33]

Does RCI give you the option of placing the tips on your sea credit card or do I need to bring cash?

[Sue L]

Does RCI give you the option of placing the tips on your sea credit card or do I need to bring cash?

 

 

You can pay them before you leave, or you can have them added to you seapass account on the ship. They will leave a form in your cabin on the 2nd or 3rd day or you can hand them out in cash, it is up to you.

[ShillyShally]

My view is the standard is for OK service and they will get extra for excellent service

 

This is how I view it as well - service would have to be abysmal for me to deduct beyond standard.

[ShillyShally]

Your theory works well in a restaurant where you can take a percentage of a total bill. It doesn't work with the suggested tips on a cruise.

 

 

I agree - as much as I would love to be able to tip 15-20% of my fare divided by those that served us, that is over and above my budget as it would add at least $500-$1000 (5 of us) more depending on sailing/room. I do like to give extra above the recommended amount in cash though since I know that extra can be kept and is not pooled.

[cb at sea]

We tip according to guidelines, unless service is awful--and we have had one terrible waitress! She got the bare minimum for waiters. Our room attendant was super--she got a HUGE tip! OUr ass't. waiter was better than the waitress, so his tip reflected that! You do NOT need to tip above and beyond for shoddy service. (We never saw the headwaiter--zip for him!)

[waterbugohio]

so if you decide to add the tips to your seapass card do you do this the last day?? And do you fill in the amount for each person???

[Sue L]

so if you decide to add the tips to your seapass card do you do this the last day?? And do you fill in the amount for each person???

 

 

No, the 2nd or 3rd day there will be a form delivered to your cabin in the evening that you fill out. You can ONLY do the standard tips this way and if you want to add anything then just do it with cash. If you want to lower them it can not be done with the prepay as they are a fixed amount. The last night you will receive vouchers and envelopes in your cabin to hand out.

[waterboy88]

We tip according to guidelines, unless service is awful--and we have had one terrible waitress! She got the bare minimum for waiters. Our room attendant was super--she got a HUGE tip! OUr ass't. waiter was better than the waitress, so his tip reflected that! You do NOT need to tip above and beyond for shoddy service. (We never saw the headwaiter--zip for him!)

On our first cruise we had the same experience. i hated the thought of giving the headwaiter 10 cents. so i spoke with the desk and asked what the policy and what you HAVE TO DO. they said it was strictly a guide and we could tip who we wanted and as much or as little as wanted. we ate in the windjammer alot because of our little guy (1 1.2 yrs old) and we had one guy in there that helped us out HUGE with things with our little guy all week. so he got a great tip from us. he had said he almost never gets anything because he's in the windjammer alot.

 

we made pretty good friends with him over the week. he mentioned most of the staff on board do not get paid - only what they make on tips. the service crew rotate positions so they all get to work in the dining room and other locations on the ship to earn better tips. so every other cruise he's in a different part of the ship. some positions get lots of tips others ZERO. can you imagine working like they do and not even have a pay check to pick up.

 

i say tip those that give you the service and tip those even better that went beyond what they had to do to make your trip great!

[Debde]

we made pretty good friends with him over the week. he mentioned most of the staff on board do not get paid - only what they make on tips. the service crew rotate positions so they all get to work in the dining room and other locations on the ship to earn better tips. so every other cruise he's in a different part of the ship. some positions get lots of tips others ZERO. can you imagine working like they do and not even have a pay check to pick up.

 

i say tip those that give you the service and tip those even better that went beyond what they had to do to make your trip great!

 

And there is an answer in a nutshell that needs to be posted at the other thread!! So-it is best to tip the person giving you the service in the dining room you are dining in!!! Thank-you waterboy!

[Merion_Mom]

On our first cruise we had the same experience. i hated the thought of giving the headwaiter 10 cents. so i spoke with the desk and asked what the policy and what you HAVE TO DO. they said it was strictly a guide and we could tip who we wanted and as much or as little as wanted. we ate in the windjammer alot because of our little guy (1 1.2 yrs old) and we had one guy in there that helped us out HUGE with things with our little guy all week. so he got a great tip from us. he had said he almost never gets anything because he's in the windjammer alot.

 

we made pretty good friends with him over the week. he mentioned most of the staff on board do not get paid - only what they make on tips. the service crew rotate positions so they all get to work in the dining room and other locations on the ship to earn better tips. so every other cruise he's in a different part of the ship. some positions get lots of tips others ZERO. can you imagine working like they do and not even have a pay check to pick up.

 

i say tip those that give you the service and tip those even better that went beyond what they had to do to make your trip great!

 

I believe that this is not strictly true. Every worker gets at least a minimal salary. For waiters and cabin attendants, I understand that it is (about) $50 a month. And "most" of the staff DO get paid, particularly those who are NOT in positions where they can earn tips. It is the tip-earning staff that is most underpaid by the cruiseline.

 

I am somewhat leery of workers on the ship who want to hit you with a pitiful tale. I understand that many work mostly for tips, and I tip appropriately.

 

I happen to think that it is NOT appropriate for a worker to try to manipulate passengers with sad stories, particularly if they are fudging the truth.

[waterboy88]

I believe that this is not strictly true. Every worker gets at least a minimal salary. For waiters and cabin attendants, I understand that it is (about) $50 a month. And "most" of the staff DO get paid, particularly those who are NOT in positions where they can earn tips. It is the tip-earning staff that is most underpaid by the cruiseline.

 

I am somewhat leery of workers on the ship who want to hit you with a pitiful tale. I understand that many work mostly for tips, and I tip appropriately.

 

I happen to think that it is NOT appropriate for a worker to try to manipulate passengers with sad stories, particularly if they are fudging the truth.

 

since then i have had a friend work on a cruise ship - it was a locked in 6 month contract. no pay just tips. it was in the food service part - he moved around to different parts. the only time he was paid was when he had a shift below deck with out any customer service aspects. then it was minimal (cant remember the amount) but it was like $50.

 

remember your in international territory - no labour laws.

 

headwaiters do get a small wage as well on top of what is usually the highest of the tips

[realtreebar]

thanks for tipping calculator!

[flobee]

I was under the impression that tipping was based on the number of days of the cruise, not the number of nights. Thus a 4 night, 3 day Monarch of the Sea cruise would be $9.75 x 2 x 3 = 58.50 not $9.75 x 2 x 4 = $78.00 as the calculator says.