how many singles do you bring to tip

[FoxyTerrier]

When we first started cruising with my parents my dad would always bring a stack of $2 bills for tips. His idea was less bulky than ones and a conversation piece.

 

DH and I started doing the same thing and liked the idea but before our last cruise I had trouble getting them at the bank.

 

Note to self, get the $2 bill before the Christmas Noordam cruise. We do bring bigger bills for the room steward and dining staff.

[Cinder Again]

When we first started cruising with my parents my dad would always bring a stack of $2 bills for tips. His idea was less bulky than ones and a conversation piece.

 

DH and I started doing the same thing and liked the idea but before our last cruise I had trouble getting them at the bank.

 

Note to self, get the $2 bill before the Christmas Noordam cruise. We do bring bigger bills for the room steward and dining staff.

 

I have been getting, and carrying $2.00 bills for years for trips. I just go to the bank and order a pack of 100 of them, then keep them in my travel file for trips.

Others on this board disagree about using them, but I have specifically asked stewards and the ladies at the front desk if they have trouble with receiving them and without exception they have said no. They like the novelty of them, and often come back to me to ask me to trade them a $2.00 bill or two for regular ones, so they can send them home to their kids. I've even had servers in Canada offer me US change, if they could have a couple of $2.00 bills. Luggage porters like them, too.

As far as money "floating around crews quarters", I was told by a couple of officers that they have banking procedures in place for staff, so they can wire home money to accounts and to family. They had several men robbed leaving the airport in the Phillipines years ago,(apparently the robbers could tell the men coming home from cruise ships). After a couple of scary assaults, they put the wire transfer process in place for them.

Before Skype I used to tip in international phone cards, but I doubt many guys need them now. I see them using their laptops at every port.

[photomikey]

Zero. Tips are inclusive in your final bill tally, at your discretion to raise or lower them. HAL wants a "cashless" cruise experience. And for internal security reasons this is good policy to follow.

I won't go so far as to say what HAL "wants" or declare what is "good policy", but I take zero as well. Bar tips are included on the receipt, room steward and dining steward tips are included in the service charge, and HAL says they take care of everyone else.

 

I did eat dinner in the cabin several times this last cruise, and considered tipping the room service guy. But then I remembered he gets a piece of the auto-tip also, and probably the part that my dining room steward (who misses out on the pleasure of serving me) doesn't get.

 

At a hotel, I schlep my own bags, and don't really feel the need to tip anyone else.

 

I pay with a credit card at restaurants, and leave my tip that way.

[cruz chic]

What is this about a 'no tipping policy'? I have not heard HAL was during our crusing lifetime a 'no tipping' cruise line. They used to say 'no tippipng required' but that is no longer ever stated.

I'm sure that's why HAL changed their tipping policy because people read "tipping not required" as no tipping. It's amazing to me. I had a couple sitting at my dining table on my last cruise. They made sure to tell folks that they were free to go and lower or remove the tips at the front desk. They even told me that when they were unhappy with a tour and HAL refused to refund money they took it out of crews tips. I was floored and extremely upset and let her know how I felt. These people were occupying a suite and should have had more class then that IMO.

[JamesEM]

I allways tip the room service guys a few $$.

[AZNative2000]

"How many singles do you bring to tip?" What do you recommend for a 14-day Caribbean?

 

To the OP's question: As another poster said she does, on a 14-day, we'd bring about $100 (singles and fives) for extra gratuities. If we need more ones we will get change at the front desk. Never had a problem.:)

[Ine]

Some years ago HAL indeed stated "no tips required", but you will not see that anymore in their adds or on the website.

To avoid confusion I think that is why they now state "Service charge" (NOT TIP) for the daily US 11.- per person charge.

So yes tips are appreciated by the crew.

 

From the HAL website:

Hotel Service Charge

Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as our dining room wait staff and the stewards who tend to your stateroom each day. There are also many others that tend to your care that you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge of US$11 per passenger is automatically charged to each guest's shipboard account. If our service exceeds or fails to meet your expectations, you are free to adjust this amount at the end of the cruise. The Hotel Service Charge is paid to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their total compensation package. A 15% service charge is automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine purchases. In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices.

[Jacqueline]

tipping is personal and often the subject of heated posts. It is also cultural. Being from NY, our culture is that tipping is the norm.

Others see this as an affront to civilization.

I will say that having small bills is handy. We used a single to pay for five of us to use the toilets in Russia as we had no small local coins for our one day there ! Maybe by the time of the Olympics Sochi will have facilities with free TP where one does not need to squat, but that is not the current state of affairs

[m steve]

I live quite well and I don't worry about tipping. Especially to the hard working room service crew and cabin stewards. They need it more than I do and it's a negligable amount compared to what the cruise costs.

[jtl513]

But I fully appreciate HAL's policy intention to not have amounts of cash floating around the the crews quarters.

I have NEVER heard anyone express this concern! I can tell you that the Tamarind waitresses, our room stewards, the room service stewards, and the open seating MDR waiters that I gave cash to did not seem to be the least bit worried about violating "HAL's policy intention" by accepting it!

[bepsf]

How Many Singles Do You Bring To Tip

What do you recommend for a 14-day Caribbean?

 

I don't bring any of my own singles -

I much prefer to tip the singles that I meet aboard ship.

;)

[jaderbee]

 

From the HAL website:

Hotel Service Charge

Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as our dining room wait staff and the stewards who tend to your stateroom each day. There are also many others that tend to your care that you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge of US$11 per passenger is automatically charged to each guest's shipboard account. If our service exceeds or fails to meet your expectations, you are free to adjust this amount at the end of the cruise. The Hotel Service Charge is paid to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their total compensation package. A 15% service charge is automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine purchases. In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices.

 

Actually, the way this is worded by I got the impression that the service charges were the gratuities that I could adjust as I see fit. Does anyone know the breakdown of the service charge? For example, what percent would the MDR staff get? If I eat at the PG would the staff there automatically get that percentage instead? What about room service? I like things cashless and would feel embarrassed palming a tip.

[Alegria-Paz]

m steve ~ what a lovely and true sentiment.

[jtl513]

Does anyone know the breakdown of the service charge? For example, what percent would the MDR staff get? If I eat at the PG would the staff there automatically get that percentage instead? What about room service?

While CDs like to toss out numbers like "35% to your room steward, 35% to your MDR wait team, and 30% to the back of the house", it really doesn't work that way, and those numbers are at best averages. The amount money each person gets from the pool is determined by their position and seniority, and the waiters get the same every day whether you eat in the MDR or the PG or the Lido or in your room. So even if you never eat in the PG you are still contributing to what the waiters there get from the pool. The room service stewards likewise get the same amount every day, whether you use them or not. When someone removes or decreases the $11/day Hotel Service Charge to "punish" someone for poor service, they are punishing all the pool beneficiaries. :)

[jaderbee]

...and the waiters get the same every day whether you eat in the MDR or the PG or the Lido or in your room. So even if you never eat in the PG you are still contributing to what the waiters there get from the pool. The room service stewards likewise get the same amount every day, whether you use them or not. When someone removes or decreases the $11/day Hotel Service Charge to "punish" someone for poor service, they are punishing all the pool beneficiaries. :)

 

Thanks for answering that for me, John. So the service charge really is more the staff's salary and not a service based gratuity. I would have to have a seriously horrific experience before I'd decrease the auto tip. But now I do see that to reward someone for terrific service I'll need to do it outside the auto tip.

[krewzin]

I don't bring any of my own singles -

I much prefer to tip the singles that I meet aboard ship.

;)

 

 

 

I think you got your 'tips' mixed up.

 

:D

[Seago2]

For a 14 day cruise, two people I would bring 100 $1's. It's a stop at the bank you won't regret. I leave a couple of bucks on the bed every morning, plus room service tipping. I don't drink so I add a larger amount (usually a $20) to the tip to the waiter at the end of the cruise. I don't carry around $1's to tip any drink staff (especially since their gratuities are added).

 

Where the $1's go, from the time we pull up to the pier: the baggage guys, the cabin steward daily, room service, and in port for bottles of water, to haggle with pricing in a straw market (it's much easier to get a ten dollar item down to six bucks if you're not standing there holding a $20),bus fare, taxi fare, and to the cabin steward any time I'm asking for something big and annoying- like an egg crate mattress or another duvet. I know my guy has to pay the laundry guy to get the extra items- there is a whole black market under decks.

 

I love having that giant stack in the safe. What's the worse that can happen? You bring some home :)

[krewzin]

 

I leave a couple of bucks on the bed every morning, plus room service tipping.

 

 

 

 

I always tip room service a couple bucks, but you really tip your cabin attendant every day? I've heard of doing this at hotels, but never thought about doing it on a cruise ship.

 

If someone on the waitstaff, or our steward goes what I consider 'the extra mile,' we'll give them anywhere from $20-$40 extra on the last day of the cruise, but otherwise....that's it for us.

[Seago2]

I always tip room service a couple bucks, but you really tip your cabin attendant every day? I've heard of doing this at hotels, but never thought about doing it on a cruise ship.

 

You're right. I usually cruise with kids and I have five sons. Once it was four kids and me in a quad with a rollaway, once it was three kids and me, and once it was two kids next door to DH and me. I could have left giant satchels of gold coins on the bed and it wouldn't have been enough;).

 

When I am with DH alone IIRC I give a dollar a day or a couple every other day. It seems as though I am always asking for something, though... egg crate mattress or something like that.

[Candy]

We used to take lots of singles, but now take about 50, and lots more fives. If we tip a porter $2/bag, that's 12 ones, so it's a lot less bulky to take fives.

 

We don't tip the cabin steward every day, because it's the same team for the whole cruise (unlike at a hotel, where you may get different housekeepers every day). We have had excellent service on all our HAL cruises; special requests like egg crates, chair pads and dry cleaning/laundry are part of the service. We always tip extra on the last night (they're so busy on debarkation day they're hard to track down).

 

In the Casino I tip with chips.

 

Thankfully, I'll be enjoying tipping all these wonderful stewards in

4 days !

[kent4489]

Stopped at the bank yesterday to get tip money for our upcoming 7 nt.

 

$50 - ones

$50 - fives

$200 - tens

$200 - twenties

 

I hate waiting in line and dealing with the front desk and find it more convenient to have them on hand from the start. As someone mentioned, I can always bring home what's left.

[surfclam2003]

We take $200 in 2's, $150 in 1's and $150 in 5's. We always tip extra to the bar staff even though the tips are included in the bill (and yes they come back quicker to see if you want another cocktail :eek:). We tip extra at the end for our cabin stewards - $50 and our waitstaff in the dining room the same.

 

If there is anything left over I bring it home and put it away for our next trip.