Pre-tipping, my husband says no way!

[Szaftoo]

I asked this previously and now have more information which will help with replies.

 

We are booked four nights, five days on a Royal Caribbean Mexico cruise through AAA. Our travel agent suggests pre-tipping which is $39 per person for the entire cruise. We are two adults with two teenagers who may or may not be eating in the dining room. Are we wasting our money by pre-tipping services we may not use or are we better off tipping ala carte after the cruise is over?

 

We don't want to cheat anyone but we also don't want to waste our money. Your opinions are appreciated.

[MizzCard]

Whether or not your two teens eat in the dining room, it is customary to tip on their behalf for the duration of the cruise. The savings you're talking about would be about $25....

I love pre-tipping...less hassle at the end of the cruise, and you don't have to worry about having cash for the envelopes. You can always change your pre-tip amount at the pursers desk if you're totally unsatisfied with the service.

[KruznKel]

I am a 1st time cruiser as well and have decided to leave the tips on my SS card if and only if I think the service does not warrant a tip then will I go to the pursers desk and ask to have them changed... you can always tip those extra special ones extra as well..

[kitty9]

Whether you dine in the dining room or not, you will always have someone serving you or helping you in the alternate restaurants or buffet, so tipping is something you should not skip. If you decide not EVER to dine in the regular dining room (whether it be for breakfast, lunch or dinner), you really have to tell the head waiter or the maitre'd on the first night because places will be set for you, and if you have tablemates, it's not the nicest thing for them to be waiting for you to show up every night. Your dining room staff doesn't only work in the main dining room----they also work in the buffet or burger and pizza area, and they deserve to be compensated for their service.

[Happy ks]

I have to agree with the above posters. What people don't realize is the tips are distributed to all the food service personnel, no matter what method you use, pre-tipping, cash or adding to your seapass account the last full day. So, if you don't tip the waiter in the dining room, the buffet help doesn't get tipped either. I cannot imagine trying to chase down all the people who are deserving of a tip. I'm almost of a mind for all cruise lines to just add the gratuity into the cruise fare, NCL has done this, labeling it as a service charge.

 

Pre-tipping actually takes the hassle out of it for you at the end of the cruise. You can be assured you will be tipping all you feel has deserved it and you are able to give extra to those who went above and beyond your expectations. You are not wasting money by pre-tipping.

 

Do what you feel is best, but the $39 is the customary amount to tip.

[emdia43]

I think when you see the level of pampering and service the staff give every day you will be glad you weren't miserly.

At least give the minimum and give extra to those who really go above and beyond.......

Apparently tips are the waiters only income,so why worry about a few dollars when such a wonderful experience is provided for you.

I travel with teens and they mostly don't want to eat in the dining room either- but the food is catered and people are there waiting to serve us.

Pre-tipping just saves you trying to come up with the cash on the last night. :)

[Bennett'sCruise]

Tipping is part of the cost of cruising ... your travel agent should have explained this to you when you booked. You can never just see the price of the cruise your travel agent gives you ... you ALWAYS have to immediately add the tips.... which is usually a total of $10 per person/per day. For a family of 5, it would be an added $50 to the cost of the cruise per day ($200 for a 4-day cruise). Like I said, it's part of cruising..... I guess some TA's think the general public understands all this and do not take the time to explain it to newbies.:o

 

You will see that the staff will well-earn your tip. They get paid very little by the cruise-line. Your tips are what allows them to support their families back home.;)

 

~D

[Szaftoo]

Thank you all for your replies, they have been very helpful. Our TA gave us a blanket price and we had no idea what or who we were tipping. We didn't know if we had one person nor five serving us while on the cruise. Our feeling is we want to be both fair and generous to anyone who is helping make our cruise memorable. Thanks again.

[Wennfred]

Info on RCCL webpage:

 

What are gratuity guidelines for cruises?

So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines:

 

Suite attendant: $5.75 USD a day per guest

 

Stateroom attendant: $3.50 USD a day per guest

 

Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 USD a day per guest

 

Assistant Waiter: $2.00 USD a day per guest

 

Headwaiter: $.75 USD a day per guest

 

Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages.

 

Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.

 

Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways:

 

Pre paid by having them added to your reservation by your booking agent.

 

Added to your onboard SeaPass account.Paid in cash at the end of the cruise

[20thanniv]

Have your teens try the dining room at least once. My 2 teenage boys loved it. (They were 13 and 16) They can try new food and get 2 of everything if they want. If they are still hungry when you are finished because they didn't like the food, they can hit the pizza and ice cream! For formal night they wore khakis and button down and a tie- no jacket. We were on Carnival which may be a little more casual. You're paying for the food at least try it!!!:D

[dyanna72]

I have ususlly pre-tipped on my cruises. This way the people who serve/help us are guaranteed their pay. This is the only way they make their money as they do not get a paycheck. If they do above & beyond we usually give them a little more. If you dive them a smaller tip at the beginning of the cruise you most certanly will have excellent service thru out your trip. There are many people who leave or do not show up the last night to give the waiters/servers their tips. Shame on you. They work very hard every day usally doing more than one job a day. The same people who serve dinner you just might find serving you breakfast at the buffet in the morning.

[love2vacation]

On our Carnival cruise last year they deducted the tips to our account on the first day using thier guidelines. They advised us that we could adjust the level as we wished. This was OK by me. ON the previous RC Explorer they left envelopes for us for the different service people and we used cash and gave the envelopes out on the last night. Actually I think we tipped more on the RC cruise but the service was so outstanding they deserved extra. I guess the plus side of having it put on your sea pass account is that you don't have to think about keeping back cash to leave in the envelopes. Just be aware they take it off your balance the first day and plan according for deposits into you account. Have a great cruise- you will be so pampered it will be unbelievable.:D

[sandiegocruisedude]

Just a term update from a TA. This is referred to as pre-paid gratuities, Carnival automatically adds them to your onboard account at check-in. Other cruise lines will be following, NCL adds it as a service charge but had issues when the service was horrible in Hawaii. RCCL & Celebrity have it optional prepaid.

Regardless of the method or who you think gets the money, amounts are easily adjusted. If prepaid, simply visit the purser's desk to increase or decrease the amount. My last cruise with Royal Caribbean, I went to the purser's desk to inform them that I wanted to pre pay my gratuities and the last night my envelopes for the cabin steward, head waiter, asst. waiter, etc... had vouchers in them for the staff to redeem.

 

Make sure to tell your TA if you are a first time cruiser also, we aren't mind readers. You would be suprised how many people don't tell us this. Normally I ask my clients so I can make sure to tell them all of the points on my first time cruise list.

[Cotton]

QUOTE=sandiegocruisedude]Make sure to tell your TA if you are a first time cruiser also, we aren't mind readers. You would be suprised how many people don't tell us this. Normally I ask my clients so I can make sure to tell them all of the points on my first time cruise list.

 

Ron, my XDIL owns a travel agency. The very first question she tells her employees to ask a prospective client is "Have you cruised before?" Very good rule to follow.

 

Just a term update from a TA. This is referred to as pre-paid gratuities, Carnival automatically adds them to your onboard account at check-in.

 

Not quite true. Carnival basically has two tipping systems in place:

 

1. "Pre-paid Gratuities" - meaning the tips are paid when paying for the cruise itself. These tips may not be adjusted nor removed.

 

2. "Automatic-tipping" - meaning the tips will automatically be the first item listed on the Sail & Sign account. They may be left in place, or increased/decreased, or removed completely. The purser's desk will provide envelopes for individual tipping, if the passenger requests them.

[madelinerose]

I agree, Cotton.

 

It should be the TA's job duty to ask the paying client if they are a first-time cruiser. That, IMHO, is just plain, old, elementary, good customer service.

 

The process of booking your first cruise is so overwhelming, the TA should lead the conversation with all pertinent questions.