Early tip for Porter?

[Denny__Crane]

Hi All,

 

I've done a years worth of research for our upcoming cruise on the Pacific Dawn in a few weeks........ I am a bit researched out...... so decided to ask, rather than lurking....

 

When we board, we meet our porter for our room?? Is he our porter for a lot of the cruise (obviously we will have a couple of different porters due to shifts etc)??

 

So I read somewhere an early tip might be the go to get them on side from the start. Is this correct? Should I slip him a tip straight up to promote good service for the week?

 

Any tips for me in relation to this?

[rkmw]

Hi All,

 

I've done a years worth of research for our upcoming cruise on the Pacific Dawn in a few weeks........ I am a bit researched out...... so decided to ask, rather than lurking....

 

When we board, we meet our porter for our room?? Is he our porter for a lot of the cruise (obviously we will have a couple of different porters due to shifts etc)??

 

So I read somewhere an early tip might be the go to get them on side from the start. Is this correct? Should I slip him a tip straight up to promote good service for the week?

 

Any tips for me in relation to this?

 

sorry to say but your research is not up to date......when you arrive at the pier and you give your luggage to the chap they are known as porters and when you arrive at your cabin the person that does your room is the cabin steward

 

we never tip the steward until the end of the cruise and if he/she does a good job we will tip them but in Australia they have cut out the tips for the staff but if you wish to reward them its up to you

[bazzaw]

You only have one cabin steward for the entire cruise - they do work long hours and generally deserve some kind of gratuity at the end of the cruise. To get really good attention and service from your cabin steward, a good tip is to treat him/her as a human equal, be nice and smile. Continue this every day and show an personal interest - and you will find that no pre-sailing bribes are necessary.

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

As Barry said, you have one cabin steward for the whole cruise. They usually work from 7am to 1pm and then work for a few hours in the late afternoon/early afternoon when they give the cabins a quick tidy-up and turn down the beds.

 

I agree with Barry regarding tipping. Nearly all the stewards give excellent service. Treat them well, don't leave a mess in the cabin for them to clean up, and maybe give a tip at the end of the cruise if you feel it is warranted. Keep in mind that tipping has been eliminated from P&O and Princess cruises operating out of Australia so a tip is not expected. If your steward has been good, fill out a recommendation card for him/her. These are available at the Reception desk on board.

 

Enjoy your cruise.:)

[johndon]

Denny Crane

 

Each to their own with regard to tipping the cabin steward. We give him/her a modest "encourager" tip when we first meet them and an "appreciation" tip at the end of the cruise. If you look after them and dont treat them as a "servant" but as a friend you will be given excellent service.

 

John

[rugbypopsie]

I agree with Aus Traveller, be considerate andf polite, fill in the cards it helps their promotion and there nothing wrong with leaving them a bit of exxtra money at the end...tip up front..never..to me its smacks of deameaning but to each their own.

 

Sue

[Itachi]

Denny Crane

 

Each to their own with regard to tipping the cabin steward. We give him/her a modest "encourager" tip when we first meet them and an "appreciation" tip at the end of the cruise. If you look after them and dont treat them as a "servant" but as a friend you will be given excellent service.

 

John

 

I tipped after about a week (we got folded animals from towels a week in) and so I tried to fold a 50 into something (unsuccessfully, lol) and then the final night. Whereas a friend tipped nothing and had the view of "well they are already working and get paid to do a job" -- I don't share that view, but respect it.

 

On the three cruises we have done we have had excellent room stewards (and actually saw the one from our first cruise, on our second 2 years later :). Treat them well (its hard not to be almost friends with them by the time you hop off) and be respectful and they are the nicest people -- on our second cruise our room steward knew we hung around the Casino of an evening and on the last night came to visit us to say goodbye and we saw her at the bar talking to the drinks waiter and 5 minutes later we all had a round of drinks come over :)

 

.tip up front..never..to me its smacks of deameaning but to each their own.

 

It does seem a little odd -- 'Hi, I just met you, here is money for being good to us'. But it depends on how the conversation goes and context, etc

[Aus Traveller]

Presumably, the reason to tip at the start of the cruise is so the steward will give better service. However, I feel that this could be a bit insulting, implying that they won't give excellent service unless prompted to do so by getting extra money. In my opinion, they give excellent service because they are professionals at what they do.

 

I feel tipping at the end is the way to go, but this is just my opinion and everyone should do what feels right to them. :)

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Presumably, the reason to tip at the start of the cruise is so the steward will give better service. However, I feel that this could be a bit insulting, implying that they won't give excellent service unless prompted to do so by getting extra money. In my opinion, they give excellent service because they are professionals at what they do.

 

I feel tipping at the end is the way to go, but this is just my opinion and everyone should do what feels right to them. :)

 

 

I quite agree with you, to tip at the beginning I find rude and almost to the point of being an insult because you're saying " I'll tip you now to ensure you do your job for me".... :mad:

Tipping at the end is a much more friendly and thankful way of showing them your appreciation for looking after you so well during the cruise.....which is exactly what they will do anyway.....

 

I can't quite understand the 'Poster' because what he is saying in his original question seems odd compared to his own answer.....:confused::confused:

 

Jill:)

[musicorn]

We do all of the above for our room steward. As we have a special needs person we usually need some extra support the day we board so we leave a small tip then. If the service is just ok we also leave a small tip at the end. If it is great we leave a larger tip and complete the cards to highlight their service to the cruise line.

 

Yes you only have one cabin steward who is there morning and night and they earn every little bit of the tip if they work well.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[didiaust]

I remember back in the 70's when we all sharred a 6 berth- we would all put on $10 and tip the minute we met the cabin steward. We got lots of treats. Fruit and sandwiches everyday- back then we took them assure. Our esky was always filled with iceand our clothes were pressed for free.

 

Now days I leave out little treats with thankyou notes (made in advance)everyday

 

We always tip at the end of the cruise and the amount depends on the level of service .

 

Di

[callmewhatever]

Di, what type of treats do u leave? :)

[keagle]

a good tip is to treat him/her as a human equal, be nice and smile. Continue this every day and show an personal interest - and you will find that no pre-sailing bribes are necessary.

 

Barry

I remember meeting our cabin steward on the Sun Princess. He greeted us with a "Hello Mr Eagle, Mrs Eagle. My name is Allen and I am your cabin steward for this cruise."

 

I replied with, "My name is Ken, nice to meet you Allen."

 

From then on, it was Mr Ken... Not quite what I had intended. :D

[didiaust]

All sorts of chocolates

Lipstick or nail polish( for females- learnt that a few years ago from a Chinese steward)

Phone Cards

Bali trinkets inc small frangapannis that they can use on pillows and pencils to give kids

Fancy Note pads

Packs cards

Caps

 

I love thinking of things to take and love the smiles and nods I get when they find them with a thankyou note.

[happyaussies]

Didi, we always see the staff loaded with sweets and crisp treats etc when coming back on board after a day in port. They obviously have gone shopping to get their supplies in, so we always take a few packets of lollies etc for our cabin stewards!

 

"Their cabins are so small that anything non consumable I feel is inconvenient for them with the lack of space..........anyway just our thoughts"

 

B&B

[didiaust]

Much of the nicknak stuff is for them to regift to their passengers & kids.

 

Thats why it's all small stuff to store

[Sandielle]

We take a supply of chocolates for them also, however now that P&O put chocolates on pillows (and Princess always does) it seems a bit like swapping! :D

On one of our NZ cruises, at Dunedin, our steward was sad he didn't get ashore to get some chocolate from Cadbury's - that's what made me think of it in the first place.

[thied]

Hi All,

 

I've done a years worth of research for our upcoming cruise on the Pacific Dawn in a few weeks........ I am a bit researched out...... so decided to ask, rather than lurking....

 

When we board, we meet our porter for our room?? Is he our porter for a lot of the cruise (obviously we will have a couple of different porters due to shifts etc)??

 

So I read somewhere an early tip might be the go to get them on side from the start. Is this correct? Should I slip him a tip straight up to promote good service for the week?

 

Any tips for me in relation to this?

Just remember you do not have to tip if you do not want to, and just remember they are paid to service your room