Tipping Question

[lindy12]

In New Zealand we don't tip so this culture of tipping is quite beyond me. On board, do you tip in cash, and if so what currency?

[cb at sea]

Most ship's use American currency. Whether you tip in cash on the last night, or if it's added to your shipboard account, depends on the cruiseline. Check with your specific cruiseline as to how they "tip"!

 

Generally, the suggested amounts are in the $11-12 per person, per night range....that will cover your room attendant, waiter, ass't. waiter, and head waiter. Any drink you buy will have 15% added to it (for the tip)...so you won't have to worry about tipping bartenders.

 

If you go to a specialty restaurant, the "fee" they charge will include the tip...no worries there, either!

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you're talking about Princess, you really don't have to do anything. The tips will be placed on your account each day (about $10.50/day, more if you're in a suite). If you want, you can give any crew member cash. But if they are your waitstaff or your cabin steward, they would have to note your cabin number to make sure you haven't gone to the Passenger Services desk to remove your auto tips. They will have to turn it in to their supervisor. If you didn't remove them, the money gets turned back to them. If you did remove them, the cash goes into the tipping pool to be split among the crew members who would normally get a share of your auto tip.

 

There are some crew members who aren't in the pool, such as the kids' program counselors. We gave our teen some money the last day to pass on to her counselors.

 

There's also "Made a difference" cards. If someone has done something great for you, you can fill one of those out and they will go into their personnel file, which can help when they are up for promotion. You just need to know their first name, country, work location.

[Haoie]

Oh good, another kiwi!

 

Lindy, most TAs in NZ will note that we don't do the tip thing, and accordingly include prepaid tips [when possible] in the quoted price or at least ask you for the option to prepay.

[Langley Cruisers]

Cruisin' Chick is correct - on Princess, your account is automatically charged $10.50 per day, per person. You don't have to worry about a thing. You will pay this bill on your credit card or by cash at the end of the cruise. If you use a credit card, again, not a thing to worry about.

 

You will receive an itemized statement at your door on the last morning of your cruise.

 

 

Enjoy yourselves. :)

[sail7seas]

Most ship's use American currency. Whether you tip in cash on the last night, or if it's added to your shipboard account, depends on the cruiseline. Check with your specific cruiseline as to how they "tip"!

 

Generally, the suggested amounts are in the $11-12 per person, per night range....that will cover your room attendant, waiter, ass't. waiter, and head waiter. Any drink you buy will have 15% added to it (for the tip)...so you won't have to worry about tipping bartenders.

 

If you go to a specialty restaurant, the "fee" they charge will include the tip...no worries there, either!

 

 

On HAL, a daily hotel service charge is the term they use for a $11 pp per day charge automatically added to your shipboard account. Many consider that adequate for their tipping. We always tip more on the last night to those stewards/bartenders etc who have given us wonderful service and made our cruise more special. You can go to front office, request envelopes and put whatever in it for anyone you wish to tip extra. Maybe a little note on the envelope thanking them. We give those envelopes on the last night of the cruise. It is your choice whether to tip extra or not. Ships such as Princess, HAL, Celebrity, Carnival, RCI NCI etc usually 'operate' on U.S. dollar.

 

Also..... on HAL, the added charge for Specialty Restaurant, Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind, does not include any tip. We tip extra at the time we dine there.

 

 

[jocap]

Lindy, I see you're with Princess....our first cruise was with this line, and our TA explained what tipping was all about, and arranged for us to pay beforehand. It took a lot of stress out of the trip!

Jo.

[Texas Tillie]

Lindy, I see you're with Princess....our first cruise was with this line, and our TA explained what tipping was all about, and arranged for us to pay beforehand. It took a lot of stress out of the trip!

Jo.

 

What is stressful about having the cruiseline add the $11 (plus or minus depending on the line) to your account? I understand that you Brits get all flustered about tipping, but the auto-tip/service charge makes it painless as you don't have to think about it. Of course, prepaying accomplishes the same thing, but it just doesn't seem necessary to me.

[Langley Cruisers]

...but the auto-tip/service charge makes it painless as you don't have to think about it.

 

Agreed - completely painless. I found this very convenient when we sailed on Princess. :)

[jocap]

What is stressful about having the cruiseline add the $11 (plus or minus depending on the line) to your account? I understand that you Brits get all flustered about tipping, but the auto-tip/service charge makes it painless as you don't have to think about it. Of course, prepaying accomplishes the same thing, but it just doesn't seem necessary to me.

I said that the TA explained the tipping policy( on a US managed ship), not that it was stressful to pre-pay.....One has to understand the customs of a nation if you're not to come unstuck!;)

Lindy....Carnival Spirit is moving to Aus next year, and will be tip-less....it might be worth while watching in case she crosses to NZ.

Jo.

[navybankerteacher]

I said that the TA explained the tipping policy( on a US managed ship), not that it was stressful to pre-pay.....One has to understand the customs of a nation if you're not to come unstuck!;)

Lindy....Carnival Spirit is moving to Aus next year, and will be tip-less....it might be worth while watching in case she crosses to NZ.

Jo.

 

It will be interesting to see if the quoted fares on Carnival Spirit are adjusted (and by how much) if they go "tipless" as noted. I can understand people being unfamiliar with the concept of tipping -and can see how they might be more comfortable in a tipless environment; but as one who thinks incentive-based compensation is a good idea, I will also be interested to hear how the level of service is. NCL is reported to have suffered somewhat with tgheir union-scale crews on their American-flagged ships based in Hawaii.

[paulred]

We use the auto tipper and top up in cash for extra services. (this at the end)

 

The one exception is room service. We tip $1 or $2 for each occasion, depending on the order. Normally we tip in $US but on our TA, we gave a small extra tip to our cabin lady in Euros as we knew she was spending time ashore.

 

We consider tipping in whatever form part of the cost of cruising. You are informed up front that there is tipping, and what the expected norms are. If you get bad service, COMPLAIN. Only if nothing is done after that can you show your displeasure by cutting tips. Luckily, we have never had that situation.

 

Paul