Tipping... Necessary?

[SJChaput]

I don't mean TIPPING in general I mean tipping on top of the pre-paid gratuity.

 

My wife and I paid $140 for the week and only went to the sit down dinner three times. But we still tipped the dinner staff for the week... Then there are two people in the cabin both tipping the steward every single day automatically.

 

How much of the pre-paid gratuity goes to the steward? If it is half then we are already tipping $10 a day to him combined... I can't see tipping more.

 

If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

[SunPacific]

I don't mean TIPPING in general I mean tipping on top of the pre-paid gratuity.

 

My wife and I paid $140 for the week and only went to the sit down dinner three times. But we still tipped the dinner staff for the week... Then there are two people in the cabin both tipping the steward every single day automatically.

 

How much of the pre-paid gratuity goes to the steward? If it is half then we are already tipping $10 a day to him combined... I can't see tipping more.

 

If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

 

oh, oh - here we go again . . . :rolleyes:

[ChefSusan]

Who's got the popcorn?

[SJChaput]

I'm not trying to start anything... I felt bad on the ship and actually was going to tip extra... But I figured the pre-paid gratuity was there for a reason.

 

I am aware that these people work VERY hard... But considering how many rooms they service at a minimum of (assuming they get half the gratuity) $10 per room... That is a lot of money per day in tips.

 

$140 is already a lot for me to spend, but to throw down more money I don't have seems like a lot especially when tips are SUPPOSED to be included.

 

I imagine before gratuities were included people didn't tip nearly as much as the people who tip on top of the pre-paid currently do.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I'll answer your question without the popcorn comments.

 

No. As long as you aren't removing the auto-tips, it isn't necessary to tip extra unless the service was exceptional. I usually tip extra to my room steward cuz they always do extra stuff for me when asked and my waiters are usually totally awesome. I tip the bartender or waiter in the karaoke lounge cuz they always do a great job and I've tipped the karaoke host on two of my cruises cuz they were totally awesome. If you can't afford more of if they just did their job, then no don't tip extra and don't feel guilty about it. Auto-tips are sufficient.

[SJChaput]

Again, I am not saying they don't deserve it... I am saying I can't afford it.

 

If I COULD afford it sure, it would be nice for me to tip some more. I am tipping $20 per day for my cabin... I don't think there is anything wrong with that... If I can tip more great, if that is all I can afford... I don't think that is being cheap.

[dlbutler5]

Even though you didn't use the MDR but 3 times, your wait staff was working the Lido deck during breakfast and lunch. So you were still being taken care of. All of the pre-paid tips go to the person responsible and if they have helpers it is up to them to filter some down. The cruise line keeps none of it.

[grandmato4]

Tipping is entirely up to you as you already know. What anyone else thinks is only their opinion and it would probably be best if I kept mine to myself.;)

[Cigar Dude]

The only extra tipping I do is for the room service. I tip $2 every morning for my 2 pots of coffee.

[SJChaput]

Ok cool, thanks... That's all I needed to hear.

 

I wish I could afford more, but I had to pinch pennies to afford the cruise as it was...

 

Thanks!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

This is the breakdown for the auto-tips:

 

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

 

If you eat 3 meals per day, you are tipping about $2 per meal. That is reasonable and fair. Eating the dinner alone for such an awesome meal I would typically tip a lot more than that locally. And the room stewards (2 of them) clean your room twice a day. Definately worth the measly $3.50 per day.

[habby]

Oh, what the heck. I'll start:

 

(From CCL website)

What is the tipping policy onboard?

Service Gratuities

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $10.00 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

 

 

 

Your dining room staff (pertains I think to staff at your "assigned" table in the main dining room for DINNER) may also work various areas of the Lido deck during breakfast and/or lunch. Even if you don't eat dinner in the dining room, wasn't there someone there to assist, serve and clean? Do they deserve tips?

 

Call me naive, but I think Carnival has things figured out so that the service staff gets proper compensation when it comes to dividing up the "recommended" tips. That's why we leave the auto tips in place, and if we feel that someone has given a little extra we will give them a little extra, whoever, whenever and wherever we feel is appropriate.

 

(Hokey smoke! In the time it took me to copy, paste and type, there were already eight responses after the initial "popcorn" request!)

[uppitycats]

I'm not trying to start anything... I felt bad on the ship and actually was going to tip extra... But I figured the pre-paid gratuity was there for a reason.

 

I am aware that these people work VERY hard... But considering how many rooms they service at a minimum of (assuming they get half the gratuity) $10 per room... That is a lot of money per day in tips.

 

$140 is already a lot for me to spend, but to throw down more money I don't have seems like a lot especially when tips are SUPPOSED to be included.

 

I imagine before gratuities were included people didn't tip nearly as much as the people who tip on top of the pre-paid currently do.

 

Did you go to breakfast? Did you go to lunch? Did you eat in any of the other dining venues, including the specialty restaurants?

 

Do you realize that the people who serve you dinner in the main dining rooms -- where you went 3 times for a sit-down dinner -- are the SAME people who serve you in all those other venues...serve you, clean up after you, do the preparations (setting table, food preparations) before you get there -- in ALL those other venues?

 

The pre-paid gratuities are in place because people decide that "well, since I didn't eat dinner in the main dining room, those waiters don't deserve tips.." when in fact those waiters have served them all week long in every other dining venue in which they've eaten.

 

You don't need to tip above and beyond the pre-paid gratuity, but you DO need to realize just how many people that covers..whether you choose to eat just 3 dinners in the main dining room.

 

I know all about the argument that the cruise line should pay their staff better. True. But until they do, these folks depend on these tips to supplement their otherwise meager incomes.

[pnjkeith]

I don't mean TIPPING in general I mean tipping on top of the pre-paid gratuity.

 

My wife and I paid $140 for the week and only went to the sit down dinner three times. But we still tipped the dinner staff for the week... Then there are two people in the cabin both tipping the steward every single day automatically.

 

How much of the pre-paid gratuity goes to the steward? If it is half then we are already tipping $10 a day to him combined... I can't see tipping more.

 

If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

 

Remember you can go to Guest Services and adjust tips any way you want them. Tipping is not mandatory, only suggested. If you get great service tip extra.

[sharecruises]

You know....if you didn't get anything extra or ask for anything extra, there is really no need to tip EXTRA

 

The $10 a day is a bargain...but as long as you leave that standard tip on there is no need to tip more...

 

those who can or want to will do so...or if you ask for special things it would be customary

 

the room service is free but do tip the server $1-2 when they deliver

 

hth

[Kurbanfan]

Ok cool, thanks... That's all I needed to hear.

 

I wish I could afford more, but I had to pinch pennies to afford the cruise as it was...

 

Thanks!

 

Don't worry all they expect you to do is pay the auto tips......that is reasonable......and that is what most people do.......and it is automatically added to you card so no more worries about getting money together at the end of the cruise!

Go and have a great cruise!!

[firefly333]

OP you are fine. You only need to tip extra for special services. I tip the porters who I give my luggage to for instance. I have a envelope with one dollar bills Im taking (leaving in the morning yippee).

 

But I never have gotten that good of service on Conquest to date to tip extra, almost removed part of my tip last time he was so bad...so you can tip extra or less, up to you.

[dan40]

I don't mean TIPPING in general I mean tipping on top of the pre-paid gratuity.

 

My wife and I paid $140 for the week and only went to the sit down dinner three times. But we still tipped the dinner staff for the week... Then there are two people in the cabin both tipping the steward every single day automatically.

 

How much of the pre-paid gratuity goes to the steward? If it is half then we are already tipping $10 a day to him combined... I can't see tipping more.

 

If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

 

50 cruises, and neither of us has EVER tipped a room steward over and above the regular tip unless I've asked for something special. Like a large fluffy robe from a suite [they used to be different.] The RS is getting $3.50 pppd of your $10. on Carnival. He/she has to pay their assistants out of that.

Dining room waiters have only occasionally been tipped extra for really outstanding service. We dine out regularly at nice places and are used to the normal good service one receives on a ship. We believe the waiter should take one's order and serve the meal in a professional, timely, and as unobtrusive manner as possible. They ARE NOT part of our meal. To be noticed and deserve an over tip, the waiter MUST be quite outstanding.

Most of the time, noticing, what a waiter is doing is NOT a positive.

 

I give bartenders a dollar a drink on top of the 15% gratuity on the bill, and will sometimes leave a $5 or a $10 on the bar, for a truly professional bartender. When I walk into a bar, my drinks are served very quickly and they are worth drinking. So that overtip is a kindness to me, not the server!:D

[sharecruises]

Even though you didn't use the MDR but 3 times, your wait staff was working the Lido deck during breakfast and lunch. So you were still being taken care of. All of the pre-paid tips go to the person responsible and if they have helpers it is up to them to filter some down. The cruise line keeps none of it.

 

And so?? He was not complaining or removing the auto tip...he just didn't tip extra...he didn't get anything extra, he couldn't afford to tip extra

 

IMHO it is cool as long as you leave the auto tips on

 

some people here can tip extra and will ...and some should if they ask for extra things

 

I tip extra to the room steward cause I have allergies and when I come in I need the down removed and acrylic blankets or my eyes get all red and puffy so I hand them a $5 at the start

other than that I usually don't tip extra

cause I don't ask for anything extra

just leave the auto tips on

[Cuizer2]

I don't mean TIPPING in general I mean tipping on top of the pre-paid gratuity.

 

My wife and I paid $140 for the week and only went to the sit down dinner three times. But we still tipped the dinner staff for the week... Then there are two people in the cabin both tipping the steward every single day automatically.

 

How much of the pre-paid gratuity goes to the steward? If it is half then we are already tipping $10 a day to him combined... I can't see tipping more.

 

If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

 

You seem to be asking if you need to tip twice. The answer is no. The cabin steward gets $3.50 per day per person. The waiter gets $3.50 per day also. The assistant waiter gets $2.00 per day. The comes to $9.00 the other $1.00 is pooled.

[klfrodo]

If you have pre-paid your tips,,,,,

 

That's all that is asked. No need to tip extra unless YOU want to.

 

As mentioned before, the only people not covered is room service delivery folks and Camp Carnival counselers. If your not using those 2 services, no worries mon.

[mrpayroll]

Do whatever you feel is right...Everyone here has their own personal opinion. Doesn't make them right and you wrong..:rolleyes:

[lady_cruiser]

...........If I had more money and wasn't broke sure... But I don't have all this money to be throwing around... Am I being unreasonable?

 

No you are not being unreasonable. You and your wife are both tipping what is required and that is more than some people do.

[lady_cruiser]

Ok cool, thanks... That's all I needed to hear.

 

I wish I could afford more, but I had to pinch pennies to afford the cruise as it was...

 

Thanks!

 

Don't apologize and don't feel bad. It sounds like some people just read the title of your post but did not read the actual text of your message.

 

As I said before you tipped and that is more than some people do. On one cruise we ate in the dining room only twice but we still keep our tips on our Sign and Sail card because we know that the wait staff work multi shifts in multi locations.

 

Here's hoping that you will be sailing on another cruise as soon as you can.

[halos]

You're keeping the basic tips on, right?? That's fine!!!! :)