Still confused about tipping

[ladywendolyn]

My husband and I will be sailing on Canival Glory in March. Our travel agent told us that their would be tips automatically charged to our room. $10 per person per day which is fine with me.

However in reading this forum I have gotten the impression that if you do not tip extra on top of the automatic tip charge that you will not get good service.

 

Can someone please clarify for me what is the usual practice.

 

Thank You

W Peter

[jessemon]

I tip as per the rules now set down. $10 pp per day. Only if I find someone that does a great job do I tip extra and I do that at the end of the cruise.....

I never tip in advance to get better service and get better service because of that.....

They work harder to get the extra before you leave......Just the way I do it....

[KenMo]

I leave the auto tips in place and tip extra when I want to.

 

There is nothing to be confused about....really. Just leave the auto tips in place and only tip extra if you believe it's deserved.

 

I've tipped only the auto tips.

 

I've tipped the cabin steward extra up front.

 

I've tipped during the cruise and sometimes extra at the end.

 

I've tipped a bartender or two extra.

 

I've always received the same wonderful service.

[chloelocks]

When I tip extra, I do so at the end of the cruise. It has been my experience that the crew does not expect an extra tip at the beginning of the cruise, so they really don't know whether you'll tip extra or not. Service is usually good regardless. They are aware that you can have their tips removed if they give bad service.

 

Anyways, go, have fun! Don't worry too much about tipping extra. If your room stewards and dining staff go above and beyond, and many of them do, you'll probably feel they deserve extra. Otherwise, the standard tip is perfectly acceptable for good service.

[cb at sea]

There's is no need to tip additonal amounts, unless someone does something "Above and Beyond" for you....you will get the best service possible, no matter what. They don't receive their tips until the end of the cruise anyway, no matter WHEN YOU are charged for them.

There's no need to "tip up front" or to tip more than the suggested amounts.

[sparkscruiser]

I agree that you can just leave the auto tips in place and be done with it. We have on occasion tipped our steward and dining staff extra. We have only once tipped the Maitre'd as most times we only seem to see him the second to last night out. But once we requested some assistance and that gentleman was very helpful and was tipped for it on the last night. It's really a personal choice. Go, have a good time - you'll know if someone deserves that little "extra".

[Kurbanfan]

My husband and I will be sailing on Canival Glory in March. Our travel agent told us that their would be tips automatically charged to our room. $10 per person per day which is fine with me.

However in reading this forum I have gotten the impression that if you do not tip extra on top of the automatic tip charge that you will not get good service.

 

Can someone please clarify for me what is the usual practice.

 

Thank You

W Peter

 

I agree when you read these boards about tipping it can make your head turn:D But seriously and in reality all is what expected from you is the auto tips.........and you will get the best of the best service......

Have a great cruise!

[Spamiam]

My husband and I will be sailing on Canival Glory in March. Our travel agent told us that their would be tips automatically charged to our room. $10 per person per day which is fine with me.

However in reading this forum I have gotten the impression that if you do not tip extra on top of the automatic tip charge that you will not get good service.

 

Can someone please clarify for me what is the usual practice.

 

Thank You

W Peter

 

As everyone else said, leave the usual automatic charges in place unless you are displeased.

 

Tip extra *in cash* if you are pleased.

 

Tip *up front* if you want something special and/or on the hush, like if you want those bottles of beer you snuck on in your luggage iced down all the time. :D

 

Remember that the cabin and entertainment staff can only receive tips in cash, not via the sail and sign, so carry pocket money around the ship for special requests or those you feel deserve it.

[skylock]

I tipped upfront ONCE after finding this board and deciding it was a good idea. It wasn't. Worst service I have ever had from a cabin attendent and I am not fussy or hard to please. He may have been just bad, but I will never know if he was just bad or if my early tip releaved him from his job.

 

Only one other time did I have a bad cabin exp. No tip up front that time, and he was terrible.

 

Only once have I removed tips for the dining room. Every single thing I asked for, my waiters could not do it. And I do not ask for much. If it had been my first cruise I would have probably thought, oh well, but it was about my 7th so I knew better.

[bplazo]

It is more confusing than it seems. I would leave the tip on and if someone does an excellent job you can tip more. I think that the suggested amount is fine.

[theeviltwin]

We have never tipped the Maitre'd. The only time we've ever seen him has been on the last night when he was walking around collecting his envelopes. Heck, last cruise he didn't even bother to do that! Not to say I never would in the future, though.

 

Just leave your auto-tipss on and give extra cash to anyone you feel has earned it.

 

And enjoy your cruise!!!

[Fire LT]

Hi all, There is one other person you need to tip and that is the person who brings you your room service orders. Depending on how big the order is I will tip anywhere from $1 to $4. Other than that I go with the automatic tips and tip extra at the end. On my last cruise on the Miracle we had the BEST waiter team I had ever had. They took a very good cruise to the best cruise experiance we had ever had so I tipped them both very well because I had never seen a team go so much "above and beyond".

 

To the OP...just don't get stressed about the tipping. I'm sure you will do fine. Just go and have a wonderful cruise!

[LHP]

If you order room service....then a $1 or 2 is customary.

 

Other than that....your tips are covered once you get on the ship....

 

nothing else is "expected".....if you want to do something extra at the end of the cruise...that is completely up to you.

[BC Todd]

I agree, tipping everywhere is confusing. We always bring at least $100 in singles when we cruise. Now, not all of this is for on board tipping, as we also tip bus drivers, portors and waiters on shore.

 

We tip our room steward a $20 at the beginning of our cruise. It is more of a courtesy for us than a tip. I know they earn very little and I want to ensure they know I appreciate their service.

 

I also tip waiters on deck or in the casino as well. I have found that service levels shoot through the roof once the wait staff realize that you are going to give them a dollar when they bring you a beverage. Also, the generousity of the liquor content increases dramatically!:)

[MrPete]

However in reading this forum I have gotten the impression that if you do not tip extra on top of the automatic tip charge that you will not get good service.

 

Rubbish!

 

First off, they don't know what, if anything, will be added to or subtracted from their tips until it's done, and it's usually not until the end of the "week".

 

I have NEVER given any more than the suggested amounts, and have NEVER gotten anything but impecible service.

[Joanns6569]

I usually leave the $10 per day in effect for the required tip, but I have bought along t-shirts from Texas to give out to those that I felt have done a great job as an added bonus, plus any added dollar amount for a great job.

[Nunu]

Carnival has made it so that it should be anything but confusing. If you feel like tipping anything above the auto tips fine. Or not. That's fine too.

[vacruizer]

No, not at all. The auto tips are the only thing expected. We have given extra at the end when service is outstanding and other times just left the auto tips in place and nothing else when service was just ok.

 

The only additional items are porters at the pier - $1 or $2 per bag is standard, and room service which I wil give $2 or $3 depending on the size of the order.

 

The Maitre'd is only necessary if you feel the need or if he has performed some kind of special service for you which I've only had happen once in seven cruises.

[howard6933]

I may be way off base here and someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Many moons ago I read articles about the automatic tipping on cruises. They have said that if you decide to give your cabin steward, dining room steward etc. additional tips, they are required to turn those tips in and they are added to the automatic tipping "pool" that goes to all. If that is the case, you are basically NOT rewarding the specific person who has helped you the most. Does anyone know if this is truly the case about the "extra" tip you may give to someone. :confused:

[MrPete]

I may be way off base here and someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Many moons ago I read articles about the automatic tipping on cruises. They have said that if you decide to give your cabin steward, dining room steward etc. additional tips, they are required to turn those tips in and they are added to the automatic tipping "pool" that goes to all. If that is the case, you are basically NOT rewarding the specific person who has helped you the most. Does anyone know if this is truly the case about the "extra" tip you may give to someone. :confused:

 

This was confirmed to be untrue on Carnival.

[conchead]

With only one cruise so far, I/we did the auto tip. We weren't aware at that time of people tipping extra, so we didn't. All service we recieved was excellent.

To me parts of the cruise felt like a Disney..thing. I *think* I saw our room steward once during the cruise. We were in and out of our room off and on through the days, but somehow it magically was perfect each time we went in (that was the Disney part).

 

Like I said we didn't know about extra tipping (except for the porters at the port) so we didn't know if it was inappropriate or not to tip someone extra. We did not order any room service, so don't think I was stiffing anyone.

Now, my son had a drink card and this is what I feel bad about. He found a couple of bartenders he really liked and used repeatedly. They did deserve extra and I wish I knew then what I know now. I know that if I ever see the one I was familiar with(on an upcoming cruise), I will take care of him for that last cruise.

In the MDR (only went twice) where we sat was a long bench type of thing with tables

and chairs on the other side. they were broken down to tables of 2, 4..whatever. My wife told me she saw the lady next to us slip the waiter a tip, but the way she did it made my wife feel like she was trying to be very sneaky about it..not discrete, but sneaky. Enough so that it made her feel uncomfortable.

In the future, I will be doing thing a little different. I still don't feel the need to go to extremes.

[ladywendolyn]

Thanks for the info . . . this is very helpful.

 

I think I origionally had the wrong impression that the auto tips were a base amount that you had to add to . . . I was imagining the staff saying "this couple only gave auto tips . . no service for them" haha

This of course is because this is our first cruise and we can only "imagine" at this point what to expect.

 

One advantage of being a first time cruiser in this time of "cutbacks" is that I have nothing to compare the service etc to. . . . so I won't feel let down as I have no past "in the old days cruise" experience to measure by.

[vacation barbie]

I do get the impression from the boards (because so many people tip beyond the auto tips) that the dining room staff come to expect more at the end of the cruise...

 

I've seen comments like staff saying "they intentionally did not eat in the dining room on the last night". If the person's auto-tips are on, what difference does it make??

 

I know in some cases this was prior to the change over to the auto-tip system.

[SMSACE6]

I also leave the automatic tip charges in place. I have never found the need to remove them, as the service I have recieved on Carnival has always been very good. For the five cruises I have taken with Carnival, I have always taken fixed time dining, early or late, with the same waiters for the 7 day cruise, and they have always been exceptional, so I usually tip them extra cash, last night, usually 10.00 cash each, occasionally more. Also stateroom attendant who addresses me by name, with a genuine smile, while I pass him in the hallway, and keeps my ice bucket stocked, and room well tended, he or she also gets an extra tip, again the last night. I like to order wine with my dinner, and while there is an automatic 15pc tip on the bill, if my drink server in the dining room is attentive during the week, he or she also recieves an extra 5.00 or so last night. Room service, I usually tip 2.00 each time. I only tip the maitre'd if he has provided any assistance, or has visited my table regularly even just to say good evening. Last cruise, I never saw him, so I saw no reason to tip him. And as others have said. A tip of 2.00 per bag is good for the people to check your bags at the port. These are just my normal tips. Others may call me cheap, and as some others say....there really is no reason to tip extra if you are already paying the prepaid tips on your account. So it is entirely up to the individual. I just cant help but think that these people work long months away from home, long hard days of work, so I think they deserve more, especially if they provide "service" with a smile. Just my take on it.:)

[Spamiam]

I agree, tipping everywhere is confusing. We always bring at least $100 in singles when we cruise. Now, not all of this is for on board tipping, as we also tip bus drivers, portors and waiters on shore.

 

We tip our room steward a $20 at the beginning of our cruise. It is more of a courtesy for us than a tip. I know they earn very little and I want to ensure they know I appreciate their service.

 

I also tip waiters on deck or in the casino as well. I have found that service levels shoot through the roof once the wait staff realize that you are going to give them a dollar when they bring you a beverage. Also, the generousity of the liquor content increases dramatically!:)

 

Thank you so much for that post. You are the guiding light on tips in my book. That is *exactly* the way to do it.

 

Cruise ships drill into guest's heads that it's a "cashless society", so many employees on board don't make much unless they're tipped automatically. The room stewards, the entertainers, the room service people, to name a few - they depend on cash tips to make their salary worth the work. And they'll remember you and work harder for you if you pay them. That makes them your personal employees, and makes them both obligated and grateful to make you happy.

 

You have it going on. I'll bet your cruises are better than the same cruise for other passengers. ;)