Tell me, how much do you tip?

[Paul65]

I just wish that Royal would make it clear who you need to tip and what amount - it would make life a lot easier - especially for the large number of people traveling from overseas.

 

Royal does make it clear. They give you the list of who should be tipped and the suggested amounts. It's all the other people for whom tipping is some kind of game of one-upping their fellow passengers that make it confusing. All you need to do is follow the Royal Caribbean guidelines and you're covered (at least for the cruise portion of your travel).

 

Outside of the cruise, itself, it can get a little confusing, but at most full-service restaurants in the US, it is customary to tip 15 - 20%. It is also customary to give a small tip to drivers of "courtesy shuttles," but not so much public transit drivers, where you're already paying a fare for the trip. For the shuttle drivers, it only needs to be $1 or so per person (maybe a little more, if you have a lot of luggage that they're loading on and off the shuttle).

[waterbug123]

Hi all,

 

I just wish that Royal would make it clear who you need to tip and what amount - it would make life a lot easier - especially for the large number of people traveling from overseas.

 

For the most part, they do this. If you look at RC's tipping guidelines it lists the waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter and cabin steward, and gives the suggested amount for each. If you prepay your gratuitites/have them added to your seapass account, you will be paying the suggested amount to these four people. While technically you do not "have" to tip them, it IS expected, and these guidelines more or less tell you how much.

 

Bar service tips are already added to bar bills, and specialty restaurants' cover charges include the tip. While many people will add extra, you do not need to. No one else "needs" to be tipped, although some people tip some other service providers. Some people tip everyone, some tip porters but not tour guides, some tip tour guides but not porters, most seem to tip a little for room service delivery, etc., but as far as who you NEED to tip while onboard, you can simply follow RC's own suggested guidelines.

[bluegirlum]

I know exactly where you are coming from.

 

There's been a rash of tip jars appearing at the local pizzeria, dunkin Donuts, and numerous other places all of a sudden.

 

YOU DON'T HAVE TO TIP AT ANY OF THESE PLACES, AND SHOULDN'T.

 

As a rule of thuimb, I don't tip ANYWHERE if a tip jar is present. That's the signal to tell you it's not the norm.

 

I'm with you. That drives me nuts. I worked at a restaurant where we were "servers" not waiters. We brought the food about 10 feet from one counter to another, and customers took the food and drink to the table themselves. I really did nothing. One of my co-workers wanted to put out a tip jar. I was mortified. It's just tacky and makes people not want to tip.

[charliegirlac]

Thank you to the people who answered my questions. As I said we always pre-pay out tips prior to leaving Australia (it is suggested when we book as it recognizes we are from Australia). So what I am doing is correct in Royal's eyes? It is just that some people choose to add extra on top of the recommended tips?

Thanks for understanding where I am coming from!

[techwatcher]

Thank you to the people who answered my questions. As I said we always pre-pay out tips prior to leaving Australia (it is suggested when we book as it recognizes we are from Australia). So what I am doing is correct in Royal's eyes? It is just that some people choose to add extra on top of the recommended tips?

Thanks for understanding where I am coming from!

 

By pre-paying tips you are paying the suggested amounts and so yes, what you are doing is correct in the eyes of Royal Caribbean. People may CHOOSE to add extra to the recommended amounts but they don't have to; it's entirely their choice.

[Happy ks]

The porters are goons and bullies and we tip them because we are afraid not to.

 

DON

 

I don't know if I'd call them goons, but I do have to agree with the bullies statement.

 

For those of you who tip $2-5 per bag, do you realise they don't give you any more service than those who tip $1 per bag, or less? They don't count the $, they don't bother to look if you fold up the bills, they probably wouldn't even know if you wrapped a $1 bill around pieces of paper, they merely stick it into their pocket and move on. We only tip because we want our bags on the cart, but feel it's extortion.

 

We pass them by on disembarkation, only once did we use them and had our bags unceremoniously dumped into the street. That's when I began to learn to pack lighter and avoid the bullies.

[Happy ks]

The porters are goons and bullies and we tip them because we are afraid not to.

 

DON

 

Not following your logic, but no matter...I would never tell anyone that they tip too little or they are tipping the wrong person. Why do you feel that it's appropriate to tell me that I'm tipping incorrectly or too much? You have no idea how much I tip the people on board. Just because I am generous with the porters doesn't mean I'm not equally generous with everyone else I come into contact with. I was raised to tip generously and that's what I do. The $10 I spend on the porters has no impact on my onboard tipping. NONE. The porters take good care of my bags, so they get a tip. If the folks on board take good care of me, they get a good tip. I don't care how much money they make. They have a job to do, and if they don't do it, bad tip. I don't ask a lot, and someone would have to be horrible to not get a tip from me. I usually tip above the suggested amount.

 

Since you want to tip extra for your bags to be taken care of, why not give it to the cabin steward instead? The porters merely take your bags into a building, where it is off-loaded onto a cart, probably not by the porters, they merely get the bags off the street into the cart. The cart is then wheeled onto the ship, where the ship employees (more than likely the cabin stewards) sort the bags, get them to the correct deck level, then finally distribute them to the cabins.

 

During disembarkation, the cabins stewards do the oppsoite, they are the ones taking the luggage to the lower deck, to be sorted by ship employees by color and off loaded onto the terminal. I'm sure the longshoremen (porters) merely stack the bags into rows. I'm not sure I'm accurate, but it may be that the porters don't even do that much work, they may just be there to hang out and look for people to pay them a lot extra to wheel their bags on a cart 20-100 feet.

 

The longshoremen (porters) work for a decent salary, the cabin stewards depend completely on gratuities and handle your bags a whole lot more than the porters.

 

So, with your theory for gratuity for good service, the cabin steward is far more deserving of the extra $ you want to contribute.

[bluegirlum]

Since you want to tip extra for your bags to be taken care of, why not give it to the cabin steward instead? The porters merely take your bags into a building, where it is off-loaded onto a cart, probably not by the porters, they merely get the bags off the street into the cart. The cart is then wheeled onto the ship, where the ship employees (more than likely the cabin stewards) sort the bags, get them to the correct deck level, then finally distribute them to the cabins.

 

During disembarkation, the cabins stewards do the oppsoite, they are the ones taking the luggage to the lower deck, to be sorted by ship employees by color and off loaded onto the terminal. I'm sure the longshoremen (porters) merely stack the bags into rows. I'm not sure I'm accurate, but it may be that the porters don't even do that much work, they may just be there to hang out and look for people to pay them a lot extra to wheel their bags on a cart 20-100 feet.

 

The longshoremen (porters) work for a decent salary, the cabin stewards depend completely on gratuities and handle your bags a whole lot more than the porters.

 

So, with your theory for gratuity for good service, the cabin steward is far more deserving of the extra $ you want to contribute.

 

Well, if the cabin steward does a good job, then he/she gets a good tip. We have always given way above the suggested amount for the steward. They works their butts off and are rewarded accordingly. It's not a matter of giving someone more money instead of giving it to another; we give all people who deserve the money the additional tip. I'm fortunate to be on vacation and I don't really care about the extra $10. It's not impacting how I tip anyone else. If I couldn't afford all the tips, I'd stay home.

 

I'm not going to apologize for being generous or change my behavior because people on here don't agree with how I tip. I don't expect anyone changes their behavior because of what I say.

[SandlinWeddingCruisers]

I don't tip anything extra on any receipt that I have to sign on the ship. If I like a particular server, bartender, waiter, etc. I always tip them in cash as any tips you add to a receipt goes to an overall tip pool that they all have to split. If you tip extra in cash you WILL get that extra service as that tip is going directly to that person. The wife and I always carry extra one and two dollar bills to tip with. We look for that one or two special bartenders and servers and always order from them. Trust me, there hasn't been a cruise we've been on where we haven't been WELL taken care of when tipping in cash. I've never waited in line either. Five deep on the pool deck and their taking your order over everyone in front of you. Cash is king when tipping!!

[newlyweds06]

I always pre-pay my gratuities and, if deserved, give a bit extra later on.

 

My question is in regards to the porters at embarkation. I have never tipped these guys in the past as I was under the impression that we were not supposed to. Will not tipping them mean that my bags will be mis-handled? I have read on here that people tip them out of fear that they will have problems with their bags if they do not tip them. Is this the case? Should I tip them?

 

Justin

[MrPete]

I always pre-pay my gratuities and, if deserved, give a bit extra later on.

 

My question is in regards to the porters at embarkation. I have never tipped these guys in the past as I was under the impression that we were not supposed to. Will not tipping them mean that my bags will be mis-handled? I have read on here that people tip them out of fear that they will have problems with their bags if they do not tip them. Is this the case? Should I tip them?

 

Justin

 

If one is tipping out of fear, one is tipping for the wrong reason.

[Cruising89143]

I don't know if I'd call them goons, but I do have to agree with the bullies statement.

 

For those of you who tip $2-5 per bag, do you realise they don't give you any more service than those who tip $1 per bag, or less? They don't count the $, they don't bother to look if you fold up the bills, they probably wouldn't even know if you wrapped a $1 bill around pieces of paper, they merely stick it into their pocket and move on. We only tip because we want our bags on the cart, but feel it's extortion.

 

We pass them by on disembarkation, only once did we use them and had our bags unceremoniously dumped into the street. That's when I began to learn to pack lighter and avoid the bullies.

 

 

I have seen them look and it happens more often than not.

[Tucker in Texas]

I tip the porters except I don't call it a TIP, I call it INSURANCE. I pay for insurance on a lot of things I never have nor, hopefully, never will put a claim in for but I'm glad to have it when I have needed it. Probably haven't come close to getting back in claims what I have paid out in premiums. I chalk it up to the cost of doing business. Same with the porters.

 

I've heard too many stories of bags bags left at the terminal, cabin tags ripped off so you have to hunt them down or not put on the ship because "they didn't know which ship they were suppose to be on," purposely put on the wrong ship, damaged, dropped in the water--whatever. For me $5 is money well spent.

 

Tucker in Texas

[publicpersona]

I tip inversely proportional to how much pressure is put on me to tip. For the room steward, I am most inclined to tip genorously because they can and do deliver personalized service. Food/bar .. so so .. the included or suggested tips are fine. Tour guides who make a plea for tips for themselves or their drivers get zip.

 

Porters are an exception. That is such an intimidating situation, it is hard to get by without giving them a few dollars. But they don't deserve it or earn it. It is protection money pure and simple (although they have NOTHING to do with whether or when your bags get to your cabin).

[katiel53]

I don't tip anything extra on any receipt that I have to sign on the ship. If I like a particular server, bartender, waiter, etc. I always tip them in cash as any tips you add to a receipt goes to an overall tip pool that they all have to split. If you tip extra in cash you WILL get that extra service as that tip is going directly to that person. The wife and I always carry extra one and two dollar bills to tip with. We look for that one or two special bartenders and servers and always order from them. Trust me, there hasn't been a cruise we've been on where we haven't been WELL taken care of when tipping in cash. I've never waited in line either. Five deep on the pool deck and their taking your order over everyone in front of you. Cash is king when tipping!!

 

Wow, I am totally impressed!

[Happy ks]

Well, if the cabin steward does a good job, then he/she gets a good tip. We have always given way above the suggested amount for the steward. They works their butts off and are rewarded accordingly. It's not a matter of giving someone more money instead of giving it to another; we give all people who deserve the money the additional tip. I'm fortunate to be on vacation and I don't really care about the extra $10. It's not impacting how I tip anyone else. If I couldn't afford all the tips, I'd stay home.

 

I'm not going to apologize for being generous or change my behavior because people on here don't agree with how I tip. I don't expect anyone changes their behavior because of what I say.

 

 

If your bags make it to your cabin, the cabin steward has done a good job ;)

 

Don't apologize for being overly generous, I'm sure the people you tip appreciate it very much. I know I did when I was working a job where I received tips.

 

On the other hand, don't be critical of others who don't hand over more than what should be customary. Not everyone has excess cash on hand.

[Happy ks]

I have seen them look and it happens more often than not.

 

 

And I have seen them not even glance to notice if you have given them cash or a folded up piece of paper.

 

I swear they will not notice if you give them $1 per bag, $2 per bag or any other amount. If they see a $5 or $10 they will just think "score!" and move onto the next person with luggage.

 

I wonder what they would do if you asked for change from a $20???

[Michele Noel]

I don't see anyone mentioning my favorite employee on the ship. The ice cream server - usually it is the same person every day and they work very hard and make such nice ice cream sundaes. They get a tip from me.

[donaldsc]

I tip the porters except I don't call it a TIP, I call it INSURANCE. I pay for insurance on a lot of things I never have nor, hopefully, never will put a claim in for but I'm glad to have it when I have needed it. Probably haven't come close to getting back in claims what I have paid out in premiums. I chalk it up to the cost of doing business. Same with the porters.

 

I've heard too many stories of bags bags left at the terminal, cabin tags ripped off so you have to hunt them down or not put on the ship because "they didn't know which ship they were suppose to be on," purposely put on the wrong ship, damaged, dropped in the water--whatever. For me $5 is money well spent.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

IMHO, that makes them goons, bullies, crooks, and generally despicable people.

 

DON

[Cindy]

I really enjoyed reading this thread, but I'm curious - I noticed a lot of folks seemed to indicate they would tip extra when they got "extraordinary" or "exemplary" service. (Waterbug123 gave a great example.) But for those in other roles or areas, what kinds of service or tasks would you consider "extraordinary?" What specifically moved you to tip additionally? Was it just a friendly face? Or the fact that you became familiar with these folks over a few days? Or was there other, more significant, tasks they did for you?

Just curious where "groupthink" line is for "Extraordinary" :)

 

I tend to be a pretty generous tipper when the service warrants. I always do auto-tip/vouchers, and I've never removed the tips although I had one cruise where I was tempted. Some of the biggest extra tips I've given have been for...

• Our cabin stewardess on the Grand Princess who gave us a bottle of champagne as an apology because she forgot to leave clean beach towels one night;
  
• Our wait staff on the same Grand cruise who became friends...especially important because we had very anti-social table mates on that cruise;
  
• Our waitress and assistant waitress on the Carnival Splendor last summer...they were amazing with my nieces and nephews. Anybody who can make my nephews want to go to dinner in the dining room deserves kudos!
  
• Our AWESOME waiter on the Conquest last month. Not only was he personable and attentive, he went out of his way to get us good red wine glasses every night and only charged us corkage once...and that was very apologetically.
  

In contrast, I've only not tipped above the recommended minimum once, and that was on the Explorer where our service was atrocious, and the food (which wasn't good), was made worse because of the lack of service. I took everything "extra" and put it all in an envelope for the assistant waiter who tried his hardest to make things work, but he was fighting a losing battle. At least he was pleasant to my nieces and nephews...the waiter treated them like they had a contagious disease.:mad:

I also make sure to mention exceptional service by name in my comment card, and I follow it up with a snail mail letter. I had heard from a CD once that the comment cards are very important and they're read and taken seriously. Good comments can mean anything from better dining room assignments to more expensive cabins to busier bars. That was proven true last month on the Conquest when we took the "Behind the Fun" tour on the last day. A very prominent display in the crew area is a bulletin board with employees' names highlighted on comment cards.

[bluegirlum]

[quote name='Happy ks']If your bags make it to your cabin, the cabin steward has done a good job ;)

Don't apologize for being overly generous, I'm sure the people you tip appreciate it very much. I know I did when I was working a job where I received tips.

On the other hand, don't be critical of others who don't hand over more than what should be customary. Not everyone has excess cash on hand.[/QUOTE]

As I think I said in my first post on this, I think tipping is a very personal thing, as are all things money related. I don't think it's any of my business how much someone chooses to tip, how much they make, etc. If I was critical of anyone's tipping practices, I apologize. I don't think anyone should feel bullied into giving anyone money or going against their beliefs. I will be critical of people's comments towards me if I don't agree with them, however. :rolleyes: