Why should I tip if pre paid gratuities?

As the title suggests, why should we pay extra? We dont mind paying the extra but when exactly are we paying the pre paid gratuities for. There seems to be quite a few posts on CC about tipping with all different figures and methods of paying for service but as I say,has that not been paid for already?

I feel slightly bad even asking this and feel really mean as well!

You don't have to tip above the daily service charge. UNLESS you are in a suite with a butler who is not part of the tip pool. OR the kids club staff is also not part of the pool and if you use them you should tip them.

Others feel that they have a favorite bartender who will take care of you and have your drink practically ready when they see you walk in, that might merit a dollar or two during the cruise. ITS UP TO YOU what you want to do.

You don’t. We tip only the porters at the terminal ($1 per bag) and room service. At the end of the cruise if we think our room steward has gone above and beyond we’ll leave $10 or $20. More times than not they do the job they’re payed for and that’s perfectly fine, just not something we tip extra for. Sauer makes a good point about kids club attendants. I didn’t know that because my kids are grown and there was no kids club when they were young. Don’t sweat the whole tip thing.

No reason to.

As the title suggests, why should we pay extra? We dont mind paying the extra but when exactly are we paying the pre paid gratuities for. There seems to be quite a few posts on CC about tipping with all different figures and methods of paying for service but as I say,has that not been paid for already?

 

I feel slightly bad even asking this and feel really mean as well!

Pre-paid gratuities has you covered. You do NOT have to pay any additional tips to anyone on the cruise. People on CC and in America especially seem to LOVE to tip people copious amounts of money. AND they LOVE telling everyone on CC that they do so and how much to each.

If you feel the pre paid is enough that’s fine, you left gratuities. We tip the room service staff in our area and the wait staff that serves us. 12 cruises and I can honestly say we have never had a problem with the staff.

You don’t have to. And many times, we don’t.

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Thanks for the replies. We were looking at tipping the porters and room steward (if exceptional service) at the end of the cruise. I looked around late last night and tipping is still a hot subject. That also explains why my initial post was partically waffly!

As other said no need to tip more unless you want to.

Keith

Yes, tipping is a thorny subject.

But that's about removing / reducing auto-tips.

The auto-tip / service charge means you've paid your dues, so I take the same view as yourself - I'll tip, but I'll not tip twice for the same thing.

As other posts, leave auto-tip in place & you're fine..... with a few minor exceptions

- if you use room service, a small cash tip is normal.

- I have no idea about butlers, those cabins are out of my league :o. Ditto kids' clubs, I'm way past that age.

- it's normal to tip porters at the port in the US, but not in the UK or Europe altho' many Americans do.

The auto-tip is effectively crew wages (they receive little other cash), and it's shared amongst all hotel-side crew including kitchen, laundry, etc.

If the US cruise lines were up-front & included decent wages in consequently-higher cruise prices I'd voluntarily tip on top. But they don't, so I only "tip" once.

Ditto the mandatory service charge on drinks. So I ignore the space on the tab for "gratuities", which I regard as over-kill

JB :)

ps. Oh my, didn't Shrewsbury make your team work hard last night :p

Thanks for the replies. We were looking at tipping the porters and room steward (if exceptional service) at the end of the cruise. I looked around late last night and tipping is still a hot subject. That also explains why my initial post was partically waffly!

well tipping the porters is suggested because they are not cruise line employees.

when people talk about prepaid gratuities that covers ONLY.. all meals in dining venues that do not incur an extra fee( except room service, which you should tip in cash a little extra) , and your cabin steward.

any other service you receive will have the 20% automatically added in if a fee is involved

'extra' tipping may include slipping a few singles to the bartender on top of that 20%( and if you have a drink package you paid that up front too) the butler if applicable, the concierges in the lounges on Royal Caribbean, etc

 

any other service you receive will have the 20% automatically added in if a fee is involved

 

'extra' tipping may include slipping a few singles to the bartender on top of that 20%(

20% ? :confused:

Was 15% on Royal Caribbean.

Has it recently been increased? :confused:

JB :)

20% ? :confused:

Was 15% on Royal Caribbean.

Has it recently been increased? :confused:

 

JB :)

It's 18% on Carnival. I think it's different on different lines.

It's 18% on Carnival. I think it's different on different lines.

It was 15% on Glory, is this new?

ETA nope, it's still 15%:

For beverage purchases, an automatic 15% gratuity will be added to the bill and the charges will be applied directly to the guest's Sail & Sign account. An automatic 15% gratuity will be added to the cover charge of the Chef’s Table and the charges will be applied directly to the guest’s Sail & Sign account. Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered.

Thanks for the replies. We were looking at tipping the porters and room steward (if exceptional service) at the end of the cruise. I looked around late last night and tipping is still a hot subject. That also explains why my initial post was partically waffly!

As someone else mentioned, the porters aren't cruise line employs so they don't get the tips you prepay. Give them $1 or $2 per bag and you'll be fine. Also don't forget your excursion operators. Uber drivers as well, but you can just add their tip onto your final payment on the app.

It was 15% on Glory, is this new?

 

ETA nope, it's still 15%:

 

For beverage purchases, an automatic 15% gratuity will be added to the bill and the charges will be applied directly to the guest's Sail & Sign account. An automatic 15% gratuity will be added to the cover charge of the Chef’s Table and the charges will be applied directly to the guest’s Sail & Sign account. Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered.

Oops. Sorry

We certainly didn't tip everyone we came across, but we did tip our room steward at the end (he remembered all the little details throughout our stay, kept my wine iced down, etc, and absolutely blew us away with his memory of our names, details, excursion plans, etc) as well as a particular drink waiter we had often. We ended up in her serving section several times around the ship and she quickly remembered an odd type of beer that I liked and would go out of her way to make sure I had it, and a particular way my husband liked his bloody mary's. Obviously after a time we consciously made sure to find her, and tipped her extra at the end for such amazing service! Just one of the things that made our cruise, and we wanted those 2 people to have a bit extra for themselves.

Pre-paid gratuities has you covered. You do NOT have to pay any additional tips to anyone on the cruise. People on CC and in America especially seem to LOVE to tip people copious amounts of money. AND they LOVE telling everyone on CC that they do so and how much to each.

Yet they never produce receipts...

Yet they never produce receipts...

I only produce receipts for the IRS and for my travel voucher for my boss.:D

Yet they never produce receipts...

Right, because people always get a receipt when they give a bartender a buck.

How sad that some people mock and resent other peoples' generosity.

As long as you tip the suggested amount, you've done your duty. You will know if someone does something for you that you appreciate enough to give them a bit more. There are no guidelines for this. You will tip additionally for what you feel it's worth to you.

I first want to point out that whether you prepay or not is irrelevant. If you don't prepay, you will still be charged for the $12(?) per person-per day, but it will be added to your end-of-cruise bill. The purpose of prepaying is to help budget for it. Whether you prepay or let it go on your bill, you are not expected to tip additional.

The reason so many people tip more is because all crew members make low wages and work endless hours and almost no days off. You will still get excellent service without tipping extra, tho tipping at the bar will get you stronger drinks served faster.

My policy for myself is $1/two drinks, $1 per person at dinner, and $10-$20 to housekeeping. For extra good service at dinner I'll tip $5-$10 more. ALWAYS CASH to make sure it really goes to those you give it to and not the cruise line.

I give the room steward $20 at the beginning. i also tipped him for my laundry and $20 on the last day. He was really good to us - including giving us a $50 gift card to the spa.

I tipped my bartender extra because she was so awesome and we continued to go to her throughout the cruise.

Many of the excursions encourage tipping too. My first cruise I was not prepared for that but now I plan for that.

"Tips" are a way of expressing your thanks for "good service". If you have pre-paid for gratuities there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to "tip" again - unless you feel that the service has been exceptional.

We always pre-pay gratuities before we sail and, on occasion, we have tipped the room steward an extra $20 at the end of the cruise. But not always. It is totally up to you.

Short version: If you pre-pay your gratuities, sometimes called daily service charges, you do not need to tip anyone else.

If you are in a suite, it depends on the line.

If you buy a drink, the tip is on the bill you sign, or part of the package you buy.

If you use the spa, there is usually a mandatory 18% or so added.

If you take an excursion, you need to decide. If I book a private excursion, particularly if I use tours by locals or book directly with an individual, I often don't tip extra. I agree upon a price with the person and pay them directly.

I took an excursion through the cruise line in December and declined to tip extra. The cruise line charged about $75 per person. Then the excursion, in their announcements, made a point of telling us that the expected gratuity was $20 per person. It was a 3 hour excursion with around 80 people. They lost me at that point.