Gratuities other than the standard

[bUU]

The following errors occurred with your search:

1. Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.

Maybe the problem is that I cannot think of a good search query to find threads devoted to summarizing how much and who we should tip other than the automatic gratuity that covers the room steward or the dining room staff.

 

This is all I could think of off the top of my head. Could folks please (quickly) fill in the blanks?

 

Porters at the pier - $1-$2 per piece of luggage

Room Service - $1-$2 per service

Bartenders - $??

Ship Excursion Guide - $??

?????

[dakrewser]

Bartenders are covered under the 15% service charge added to all bar tabs. Shorex guides I tend to give $2-5/pp depending on quality of their help. Sometimes even stretch it to $10. And don't forget the shorex drivers.

 

Usually we will give a bit more than the auto-tip to DR staff and room steward, provided they did "more than the usual" for us. Same with wine steward and, perhaps, a steward in the Crow's Nest if we have the same one a lot.

 

Otherwise, we'll tip those who go "above and beyond" - like the busboy in the Crow's Nest who rescued my wife's camera when we left it under a chair while we went to dinner. He had it tucked away waiting for us to return (because the steward knew us and could identify us). Evidently he slept with it overnight to insure its safety! He got a BIG tip!

[bUU]

Shorex guides I tend to give $2-5/pp depending on quality of their help. Sometimes even stretch it to $10.

Okay, so you consider $10 the upper-end of the range, there. And with regard to if there are two guides for the group, do you split it, or do you tip one and expect them to split the tips?

 

And don't forget the shorex drivers.

In what way? :) I remember reading that there is no need to tip them.

[jtl513]

We usually give the shorex guides $4 or $5 (for two of us) for a half-day, $10 for a full day ... if they've been good and made the excursion enjoyable. If there's two guides that do an equal amount of work we will give them each $3 or $4 for a 1/2 day, but if one is primarily an assistant s/he will get 1/2 the amount of the boss. We don't really have any hard and fast rules, and if we really like a particular guide we will go higher ... or vice versa.

 

If the driver has had a particularly difficult drive (one Amalfi Coast drive comes to mind) we will give him $5 or 5 Euros. We've noticed that few people tip the bus driver in any case.

 

Also, on some excursions we've had the driver is the primary guide/narrator, and a HAL escort who comes along does not do much work. In that case he gets the large tip and the escort gets $2 or $3 for the two of us.

[dakrewser]

Okay, so you consider $10 the upper-end of the range, there. And with regard to if there are two guides for the group, do you split it, or do you tip one and expect them to split the tips?

 

Generally there's a lead guide, that person gets the whole tip and they split according to their own system. If a HAL Shorex person come along we usually wouldn't tip them - it's part of their job to go along and monitor the tour. They aren't there to guide the tour-ers.

 

Drivers do get overlooked by the passengers far too often. Usually they get a small split from the guide, but where the driver has done extra work (drop off/pick up with little or no walking involved, extra stop for pictures, helping the guide remember stuff (or translate it!), etc. then we give the driver a direct tip.

[NoNoNanette]

Hi Bicker! :)

 

Porters at the pier - $5 per piece of luggage

 

Room Service - $1-$2 per service of breakfast, $5 for dinner

 

Bartenders - $10 bucks each to our 3 Crow's Nest bartenders.

 

Ship Excursion Guide - We've had such wonderful luck with our "drivers", that we usually slip the guy an additional $20, as do our travel companions.

 

Room Steward: An immediate $10 or $20 bribe :rolleyes:, and then a couple bucks per day on my pillow.

[Marmarjudy]

We don't do shore excursions, so can't help there.

 

Porters at the pier: always $2 per bag

 

Room service: always $2 per trip...coffee, beer, snacks, sandwich, never a full dinner.

 

Waiter/assistant: only if above and beyond, $20 or so for each.

 

Cabin steward: only if above and beyond, $25/30.

 

We ALWAYS leave the auto tip in place, look at it as part of the price of the cruise, we ask for nothing extra, but expect good service.

 

The cruises we leave above the auto tip are the exception, not the rule.

 

On our Westerdam cruise we left extra for all.

 

Judy

[mariner]

Porter: $5 a bag

 

Room Steward: $10 per day per person above the included tip.

 

Waiter: $10 a day per person above the tip.

 

Bus Boy: $5 a day as above

 

Room Service: $10 a day p/p.

 

Bartenders: I give them 10 percent above my tab.

 

Don't forget Yum Yum, maitre d and wine steward.

[Jemima]

My best guess is that most people leave the automatic tip in place and don't otherwise tip on the ship. Most do tip porters and excursion guides, but usually not as much as this thread suggests.

We give extra to our room steward and the dining steward and also tip room service. Last time we had AYWD so we didn't give extra to the dining stewards who were different nearly every night. I'm considering not tipping for room service. They are included in the automatic tip and I don't think they get to keep the tips.

[PRINSENDAM]

Porter: $5 a bag

 

Room Steward: $10 per day per person above the included tip.

 

Waiter: $10 a day per person above the tip.

 

Bus Boy: $5 a day as above

 

Room Service: $10 a day p/p.

 

Bartenders: I give them 10 percent above my tab.

 

Don't forget Yum Yum, maitre d and wine steward.

 

 

Mariner........

 

 

Don't forget to give the Sanitation Engineer $500 for a working crapper.:D

 

 

Stephen

[mariner]

No. I leave him q tips

[PRINSENDAM]

No. I leave him q tips

 

 

Good for cleaning under fingernails!

 

S.

[Tampa Girl]

Hi Mariner,

 

I must confess to being overwhelmed by your generosity! Where did you come up with these numbers? Do you do this when you stay in a hotel for a few days?

 

 

 

 

Virginia

[PRINSENDAM]

Hi Mariner,

 

I must confess to being overwhelmed by your generosity! Where did you come up with these numbers? Do you do this when you stay in a hotel for a few days?

 

Virginia

 

 

Sure Mariner tips in hotels. He always tips the staff with,"You should be working on a cruise ship!" :rolleyes:

 

Stephen

[mariner]

Tampa,

 

Yes.

 

For example, when I stay at the St. Regis in New York, I leave a $20 on the pillow each morning.

 

Least I can do for the hard work they perform. And it pays dividends.

 

A few years ago on MAASDAM, when the ship was late arriving in Norfolk, while all the pax were lined up at the Lido for an unscheduled lunch, the maitre d invited me and my wife to the private dining room for lunch and wine.

 

I tip based on the ``old guidelines'' when auto tip didn't exist and people expected to reward excellent service.

 

And Prinsendam, never forget to tip the guy who gets you back to your cabin from the Ocean Bar.

[newmexicoNita]

well it looks like we are pretty damn cheap: we tip:

 

$1.00 to $2.00 per bag to the porter, never less than $5.00

 

$1.00 for room service if we just get coffee, $2.00-$3.00 for a little more

 

$20.00 to the room steward at the end if the service has been really good. Otherwise we just tip what is the automatic tip.

 

$5.00 to $10.00 extra to a really good bar tender or cocktail wait person.

 

$1.00 to $2.00 per person for a short tour and $5.00 to $10.00 for a super all day one, but it is rare we do an all day tour

 

$5.00 to $10 to the wait person in a specialty dining room, but only if the service is really good.

 

$5.00 per bag, $20.00 bribe, etc: I don't think so....

 

Nita

[jer_l]

well it looks like we are pretty damn cheap: we tip:

 

$1.00 to $2.00 per bag to the porter, never less than $5.00

 

$1.00 for room service if we just get coffee, $2.00-$3.00 for a little more

 

$20.00 to the room steward at the end if the service has been really good. Otherwise we just tip what is the automatic tip.

 

$5.00 to $10.00 extra to a really good bar tender or cocktail wait person.

 

$1.00 to $2.00 per person for a short tour and $5.00 to $10.00 for a super all day one, but it is rare we do an all day tour

 

$5.00 to $10 to the wait person in a specialty dining room, but only if the service is really good.

 

$5.00 per bag, $20.00 bribe, etc: I don't think so....

 

Nita

I don't thnk you're being cheap at all. Some tip more, some will only give the auto-tip and some will not tip at all. You are somewhere in the middle--a good place to be.

[NoNoNanette]

I'm in agreement with Jerry, Nita. There's nothing "cheap" about your scenario.

 

Tip whatever you want. :)

[PRINSENDAM]

Tampa,

 

 

And Prinsendam, never forget to tip the guy who gets you back to your cabin from the Ocean Bar.

 

 

OK, what's the secret? How do you remember who it was that got you back to your cabin?:o

 

Stephen

[mariner]

Stephen.

 

Very simple: Bittenballen.

[PRINSENDAM]

Stephen.

 

Very simple: Bittenballen.

 

Don't get me started on that subject. the days of freshly made bittenballen inn the Ocean Bar are OVER!

 

Only a very poor frozen substitute, is sometimes available these days. :mad:

 

Stephen