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Another tipping question - sorry!!


ckmommy72
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I'm a bit nervous about starting a thread on what I know can be a hot button topic...but here goes.

 

So, this October, hubby and I will take our first Celebrity cruise (our 2nd cruise ever - first was on Carnival with the kids) on the Summit repo to San Juan.

 

A few things I have read here on CC (specifically the MSC/Celebrity comparison thread from the past week) have lead me to believe it is expected to tip in addition to the daily gratuity and/or we may be "hounded" for tips.

 

One of the things that made cruising attractive to us was what we thought was the basically "all inclusive" aspect of it...pay your tips and drinks up front and don't worry about having cash to tip and making sure you are always sure to thank every crew member with whom you have contact with a little green.

 

I know the standard answer is...only tip if you feel the service deserves it/has gone above and beyond, and we certainly will, but i'm just really wondering if we are going to be made to feel as though we are "stiffing" the crew if we don't carry cash and dole it out liberally.

 

Thanks and thank you in advance for keeping it civil. :);p

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You have no obligation to tip more than the standard daily amount. I would venture to say that is what most people do. You of course can tip someone extra who gives you exceptional service but no obligation to do so. I would certainly not worry about it.

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You will not be hounded for tips. I've never had any crew member hint that a tip was expected.

We don't carry cash on the ship, either. If our cabin steward or waiters were great, we put extra in an envelope and hand it to them with a thank you notes on the last evening. We rarely order room service, but when we do, we tip $3-$5, depending on the size of the order. The crew has always seemed happily surprised to get tips on top of the auto grats.

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I have never been hounded for tips, although there have been pleas from crew members for 10 out of 10 reviews "if you feel our service was outstanding." I've always had outstanding waitstaff and cabin attendants, and so I do bring cash and envelopes on board to have should I choose to give a cash tip on the last night. On the most recent cruise, I tipped the waiter and assistant waiter, sommelier, and cabin attendant. I also bring a bunch of ones to tip for room service deliveries and drinks on occasion. All of this is optional and not required or expected. If someone goes out of their way to make my vacation special, I do like to show my appreciation with a tip. (On this last trip a bar I frequented started stocking diet tonic in anticipation of my drink order; I walked up to the bar and I got a smile and "Oh, we got you diet tonic!" Sometimes those little things go a long way.

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Not only have I not been ‘hounded’, I can’t remember any wait staff or steward giving ‘that look’ or standing there waiting after you gave them your card to pay for a drink or whatever. Never happened. In fact, when we have room service and it’s not our steward bringing in the tray, I’ll usually give the persona a $1 or so, and I usually have to intercept them to do so as they step in and out.

 

As I understand it, Celebrity trains there staff to insure there is no inference of being tipped. So enjoy your cruise. If you feel like it, tip away. If not, don’t worry about it at all. The gratuities added to your On Board account suffices. The staff is much more interested in getting good points on the evaluations.

 

 

Den

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An earlier post referred to getting a high quality review at the end of the cruise. Whilst the odd $10 is appreciated it is the end of cruise reviews that decide future contracts. So by all means slip the staff member the odd $10 if you wish but more importantly give that person a good review. If you have a good rapport with a staff member during a cruise by all means write up a favourable report on that staff member and drop it in to Guest relations. Very good for that person going forward. You can uplift compliment forms from Guest relations. Such reports are generally acknowledged back to you by the Hotel Director

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I'm a bit nervous about starting a thread on what I know can be a hot button topic...but here goes.

 

So, this October, hubby and I will take our first Celebrity cruise (our 2nd cruise ever - first was on Carnival with the kids) on the Summit repo to San Juan.

 

A few things I have read here on CC (specifically the MSC/Celebrity comparison thread from the past week) have lead me to believe it is expected to tip in addition to the daily gratuity and/or we may be "hounded" for tips.

 

One of the things that made cruising attractive to us was what we thought was the basically "all inclusive" aspect of it...pay your tips and drinks up front and don't worry about having cash to tip and making sure you are always sure to thank every crew member with whom you have contact with a little green.

 

I know the standard answer is...only tip if you feel the service deserves it/has gone above and beyond, and we certainly will, but i'm just really wondering if we are going to be made to feel as though we are "stiffing" the crew if we don't carry cash and dole it out liberally.

 

Thanks and thank you in advance for keeping it civil. :);p

 

No, you won't be hounded.

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Never, ever have we felt the crew was trying to elicit extra tips! As a matter of fact, sometimes it's not easy to find the people you want to give a little extra to. They do not expect it and are delighted to receive it!

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On one cruise I developed bronchitis and spent a lot of time in my cabin. I had room service breakfast one day, and the woman who came to pick up the tray said I needed to have tea with honey. She left and then returned with the tea and honey. I tried to give her a tip and she would not take it. Just one of the many examples of the quality of service on Celebrity.

 

Carolyn

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Never, ever have we felt the crew was trying to elicit extra tips! As a matter of fact, sometimes it's not easy to find the people you want to give a little extra to. They do not expect it and are delighted to receive it!

 

We find this to be especially true for the people who deliver room service. We keep a stash of small bills in a drawer where we can grab them quickly because if you pause for even a moment, the room service delivery person will be out the door and gone.

It is not at all like room service at a hotel where they hang around and wait for the tip.

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I have never felt 'hounded' for tips--never. We always leave the auto gratuities on and usually our room steward extra on the last night, but have never felt pressured to do so.

 

We don't drink, so that's not an issue. If we order room service (rarely) we do tip a couple of dollars. We always do Anytime dining and don't tip extra. The only time we did was when we had seven--yes--seven grandchildren with us and the servers went to extraordinary lengths to make the meals fun and special for the kids.

 

We rarely drink, so I am not sure, but if you don't have a beverage package with an included or added on tip, then you should be tipping the bar tender, I believe.

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I have never felt 'hounded' for tips--never. We always leave the auto gratuities on and usually our room steward extra on the last night, but have never felt pressured to do so.

 

We don't drink, so that's not an issue. If we order room service (rarely) we do tip a couple of dollars. We always do Anytime dining and don't tip extra. The only time we did was when we had seven--yes--seven grandchildren with us and the servers went to extraordinary lengths to make the meals fun and special for the kids.

 

We rarely drink, so I am not sure, but if you don't have a beverage package with an included or added on tip, then you should be tipping the bar tender, I believe.

Gratuities on beverages (not with a package) are automatically added onto your bill. No need to tip extra, unless you feel you received service above norm.
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You will not be hounded for tips. I've never had any crew member hint that a tip was expected.

We don't carry cash on the ship, either. If our cabin steward or waiters were great, we put extra in an envelope and hand it to them with a thank you notes on the last evening. We rarely order room service, but when we do, we tip $3-$5, depending on the size of the order. The crew has always seemed happily surprised to get tips on top of the auto grats.

 

If you don't carry cash, how do you tip extra. Can you put it on your account?

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Gratuities on beverages (not with a package) are automatically added onto your bill. No need to tip extra, unless you feel you received service above norm.

 

Ah, well, good to know, although I have never bought a drink on a cruise!! Had a few 'free' ones.

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As another poster said, you will not be hounded for tips. I read the tipping threads just for fun and can't recall any recent threads where guests felt they were being hounded by Celebrity crew for additional tips.

 

On our last Equinox cruise we thought the staff made a focused effort to NOT hover looking for tips. I had long suspected the delivering of an after dinner receipt at the specialty restaurants (supposedly for your information only) was a way of asking for an additional tip. However, on this cruise we didn't receive any receipts like on prior cruises.

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The only time I think extra tips are expected is if you order room service, and then it is only a couple of dollar bills. There is no receipt to sign so really no way to add it onto your shipboard account. In addition to that, there have been some staff members whom I felt went above and beyond, and on those occasions I did slip them a little extra cash at the end of the cruise. Certainly not required, however, since the basic tips are already paid. Even though you had hoped to avoid it, do bring a little cash in case you feel the urge to recognize some of the staff.

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In my experience there is no expectation of additional tip whatsoever. Those who do tip an additional amount do so because they have received exceptional service, not because of unspoken pressures or expectations. I have found Celebrity staff to be very accommodating whether they think there will be a tip at the end or not.

CM

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