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How much to tip?


amalia72
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Most cruise lines have auto tips so you can just go with the standard and have this charged to your ship board account.

 

In terms of luggage when you arrive to the cruise ship terminal for large pieces of luggage you will check them in by giving them to a porter and I would tip between $2.00 and $5.00 per bag. When you leave the ship if you need the help of a porter the same would be true. You give them cash.

 

You do not need to tip the crew member who once the luggage is on the ship takes it to your room.

 

If you order room service a tip of a couple of dollars in cash would be appreciated.

 

Keith

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Stewards and waiters (and supposedly behind the scenes crew according to some lines) get paid out of the auto tips. It's roughly $13-14 per person per day. That basically covers the people most passengers deal with the most.

 

If you order a drink, they automatically add tip to the bill. You can add a dollar or two if you think you'll want prompt, repeat service from the drink runners/bartenders. It's not necessary though. The auto tip tends to make them readily available anyways.

 

That all gets added to your room account that you settle up at the end of the trip (they usually just charge your credit card).

 

Keith covered the other likely encounters.

 

If you're in a suite, you may have a butler or something like that who needs to be tipped separately.

 

There's not a lot of cash necessary. Most people don't order room service as the menu is limited and the buffet isn't exactly far. Even if it's closed, there's usually other free food to be found somewhere.

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Most cruise lines, even RCI, have taken the "guesswork" out of it for you. There is no need to tip beyond what they charge on your account.

 

Included in the tips they charge you are bartenders, cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter.

 

NOT included is room service delivery and porters, or concierge (if you have a suite).

 

Of course, ashore, you would tip for cabs, and restaurant service, if you eat /drink ashore!

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I wish there was more information from folks on the extra amounts they leave for room stewards, or anyone else. I feel like the daily gratuities just aren’t enough and always give more. We usually tip $1 extra per drink to the servers and 5$ per day for the steward plus extra at the end depending on service think (We left an extra 80$ at the end of our last 14 night cruise). I’ve seen people tipping a lot more than that, but I’d like to get an idea of the average.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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For me, it depends on the service provided.

I have always left on the autotip.

 

If the steward is outstanding I will give and extra $5 to 10 per week. If they just do their job, then nothing extra.

 

We usually have ATD. If we have a different waiter each night, then nothing extra. If we have the same waiter then about $5 to 10 per week.

 

My wife is lactose intolerant and allergic to shellfish. We have the Head waiter come by every night to help her plan the mean for the next night. We usually give him about $20 per week.

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Hi, first time for us...

How much is it custonery to tip?

the stewrdess? he luggage boys? the waiters?

 

 

you will be charged a daily fee that covers all waitstaff in all (free) dining venues and your cabin attendant. there is no need to tip any additional unless you feel it is warranted.

 

specialty dining restaurants that have a fee, you should tip about the same you would tip in a land based restaurant for the same type of food.. $5-10 per person

 

the porters at the pier who take your luggage: $1-2 per bag is sufficient

you do not tip stewardesses/Flight attendants

 

if you get Room service: $1-5 based on the size of the order is recommended( even on those lines that charge a fee to deliver RS)

 

all on board charges will automatically have a gratuity added.. anywhere from 15-20% ( alcohol, spa treatments, etc)

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I usually give an additional $30 to the cabin steward, to the waiter,and to the assistant waiter in person on the last night. We're pretty self-sufficient. We keep the cabin clean and neat, don't have any special requests other than to ask for ice once a day (and I give a $10 at the beginning for that). We don't have any special dietary needs and eat in the MDR. I think the 18% added to the drinks is enough if I have to go to the bar to get a drink. If someone comes and gets my drink order and brings it to me, I'll add a couple of dollars. If I request room service, I keep an envelope with small bills and depending of the size of the order, I tip $2-5 in cash to the person making the delivery.

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specialty dining restaurants that have a fee, you should tip about the same you would tip in a land based restaurant for the same type of food.. $5-10 per person

First I've heard this. What is the consensus? Does the group agree?

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I think I left 20 for the room steward on my last 4 days cruise and gave 20 to the head waiter for our MDR table. I tipped a dollar an alcoholic drink for drinks with real money. Oh and I did track down a photographer that took an amazing photo of my son and give him a 50 dollar tip. That was an exception and I may have been extra thankful because I was drunk.

 

What actually killed me was getting on and off the ship. 10 twice to the airport shuttle driver. 20 to the cruise shuttle driver, 10 to the porter and then the same for the return. And then the same again when we left florida a few days later. We had one big giant bag and a few small miscellaneous bags. And it was raining and freezing.

 

THere were 2 of us and I felt like that was about right although, I do feel like the asst waiters at our table seemed to expect extra tip that I didn't give them (they weren't obvious about it but I suspect that is why I got the hug on the last day).

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First I've heard this. What is the consensus? Does the group agree?

 

I don't necessarily agree. Gratuity is already automatically added there. They're covered.

 

However, and this is completely dependent on your particular experience at the time you're eating, you can tip on top of that. I dunno if it's because only the better wait staff get assigned to specialty restaurants, or perhaps they do try more because they can "double up" on their tips so to speak (no one tips each meal in the regular dining rooms), but you hear more instances of wait staff being fantastic.

 

Now, I've only been in specialty restaurants once. I didn't see or experience any of this (I watched other tables too). Was the service good? Yes. Was it any better than a decently priced restaurant? No. It was about the same as a good team in the regular dining rooms. I've had at least two "regular" wait teams that blew away the service I got in the specialty restaurant. However, those teams were at least 10+ years ago and things have gotten noticeably worse in terms of service for the most part IMO. Also, it was traditional dining. Those two teams knew me well having served me for a week (although both started exceptional even on the first meal). Personally, I don't know of anyone who's noticed such outstanding service in a specialty restaurant as to warrant an extra tip. I've only seen it reported here on Cruise Critic, and there's an abnormally high percentage of people who seem to only cruise suites. There physically aren't enough suites on cruise ships to match up to the % of people on here who seem to only cruise in suites. Service damn well better be fantastic in those suites at those prices.

 

I view it generally as deciding to tip 15-25%. Whatever your base tip % is, was the service so outstanding as to deserve higher than your base tip for "good" service? For me, the type of restaurant matters. Chile's Tex-Mex restaurant? A lot easier to "wow" me than at, say, Gary Danko's which is Michelin starred. I expect "great" and not merely "good" service at Gary Danko's because I'm paying for it. My % tip is going to be a lot higher than at Chile's because of simple math. Similarly, at a specialty restaurant, I'm already paying extra and not a "cheap" price and the auto gratuity reflects that.

 

If you wanna get picky, global wage discrepancies matter as well. It may not seem like a ton of money to a wealthy American, but it's a ton of money compared to what they could earn back in their home countries. Now, if you want to view it as charity, that's up to you, but I don't expect any new cruiser to feel the need to donate to a single person charity (your specialty restaurant waiter) in this situation.

 

Of course, some people are just bigger tippers than others.

Edited by codex57
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