Cash Tips $$

[Homer714]

A couple of questions in regards to "additional" tipping.

 

what is the standard? is the an additional standard? a couple bucks a five?

 

is there some form of a cash station on board? do i need to bring all my tip money with me and be sure to have one's and five's?

 

Just looking for a little advice / guidance :D

 

Thanks!

[cruisinJenF]

There are no standard "additional" tips. Pay your auto tips and that's all that is standard and expected. Now if you order room service it's customary to tip a couple bucks- whatever you choose. If someone does something outstanding for you and you want to tip them extra then the amount is up to you.

[kona_wahine]

We give a couple bucks to room service depending on how much we order. We gave an extra $20 to our steward because she was really good, kept our cooler full of ice.

[Colorado Kat]

A couple of questions in regards to "additional" tipping.

 

what is the standard? is the an additional standard? a couple bucks a five?

 

is there some form of a cash station on board? do i need to bring all my tip money with me and be sure to have one's and five's?!

 

There should be an ATM on board. You can always go to customer service & get small bills. I tip $2-5 for room service, depending on how much we order.

[Homer714]

Do you tip the steward in the beginning to get good service or after because you got the good service?

 

does that make sense?

[luckybecky]

Homer, we have had excellent service on all 3 of our cruises. We never tipped in advance and it was not necessary to get good service. Our rooms were spotless with twice daily service and our ice buckets/coolers were kept filled. We tipped a little extra at the end of our Breeze cruise, by adding it to our Sign and Sail account, and we tipped a little extra at the end of our Triumph cruise by just leaving cash on the desk in our room, but this is entirely up to you.

 

But keep in mind, tips are automatically added to your S&S account for the room stewards, and all drinks have an automatic 15% tip added. My husband was adding a dollar tip to every beverage he ordered on the Breeze, because he didn't realize a tip was already included. The auto tip of 15% should certainly be sufficient, unless your bartender just did something really crazy for you.

 

You really won't need cash for tipping, excpet for room service. As others have pointed out, handing a a dollar or two to the server is customary in this case.

[birdistasty]

Also, when ordering from room service, they will usually have a receipt for you to sign when they drop off your order. You can write your tip on there (just something as simple as "$5 tip on S&S"), if you're not comfortable/don't want to carry small bills.

[maryred]

A couple of questions in regards to "additional" tipping.

 

what is the standard? is the an additional standard? a couple bucks a five?

NOT really, but there is generally guideline for certain port staff. A taxi or car service driver should receive at least 10% of the fare plus $1-$2 per bag (if they loaded the trunk for you) more it they allowed for any extra stops between pick-up and port such as a store to purchase last minute items. If a cruise lines shuttle from the airport to dock is reserved at least $2 per adult and $1 per child is the norm, plus about $1 per bag they store out of the passenger area. Reserve the same for the return trip.

The stevedores or longshoremen that take your bags at the port area are generally tipped $2 per bag more if it's heavy (both at embarkation & disembarkation).

It's mostly agreed upon that the room service delivery people get $1 per plate or carafe of hot beverages, but this need not be cash if you need to sign for the delivery. Some like to give extra cash tips at on board bars, especially if the bartender, server, or entertainer is taking good care of your requests

 

is there some form of a cash station on board?

Do you mean ATM, yes there is but it's processing fees added to your banks foreign machine penalty can be expensive enough to make the usually 3%- 5% charged by Guest Services or the Casino for a cash advance on a credit card or for cashing a personal check seem like a good deal. To avoid any extra fees just bring the cash you can afford to spend or feel comfortable carrying on board from the start. Reserve this options for emergency use only.

do i need to bring all my tip money with me and be sure to have one's and five's?

No you don't. Just bring the amount of cash that you feel you need mostly in larger bills to cut down on the fat wallet syndrome. Just bring enough small bills to handle tips prior to boarding. Generally around the 1st seating for dinner the line at guest services will be small and you can change large bills out there. As the cruise progresses it will become harder to break a large bill at guest services and they may direct you to the casino cashier cage instead.

 

 

Just looking for a little advice / guidance :D

Most of the time we take our entire on vacation spending budget in cash with us, regardless if we plan to spend some things on credit cards or not. Once in the cabin all the cash goes in the room safe, except for a few singles for "wandering" or piano bar tips and some cash if we know we will be going to the casino soon. Each of us has a daily "allowance" and only up to that amount of money is allowed out of the safe each day. If we use a credit card in port for smaller purchases (under $100) money from the cash fund is set aside. On the last night if we have a substantial amount of cash left we will pay down our on board account in the excess, unless our on we backed the card with an cc account is earning us rewards then we reserve the cash to make and immediate cc payment at home.

 

Thanks!

 

 

If you feel your cabin steward or dinning servers went above or beyond you can always go to guest services to increase their auto-gratuities directly to your on board account. Conversely if you feel service in one section was sub-par you can reduce the gratuities to that one group. Going this route better alerts the ship's management as to which personnel are exceeding or slacking at the roles on board .

If the line at guest services is long it is still customary to give additional cash tips directly to the personnel.

[MrPete]

A couple of questions in regards to "additional" tipping.

 

what is the standard? is the an additional standard? a couple bucks a five?

 

is there some form of a cash station on board? do i need to bring all my tip money with me and be sure to have one's and five's?

 

Just looking for a little advice / guidance :D

 

Thanks!

 

Addition? There's no need for addition.

[JohninDC]

Addition? There's no need for addition.

 

I guess you have not had the good luck we have enjoyed with waiters and room stewards. I have often tipped additional in cash (in an envelope) at the end of the week for above and beyond service.

 

Good luck! :)

[tropicaledrink]

We usually carry several ones and fives with us, specifically for extra tips. We only order room service a couple of time and usually tip somewhere in the $3 range (we don't usually order a lot).

 

I have tipped my room steward extra one time - he was AMAZING and the best one we ever had. we handed him a $20 at the end of the cruise.

 

We also usually tip the maitre d', but we have not sailed since the tipping structure changed. We may not this time, we haven't discussed it. We usualy have to talk to the maitre d' about my food allergies and they have always been super helpful and we generally see them each night. We've also had really good maitre d' luck :)

 

if it helps - we usually carry $20-$30 in one's and about $50 in fives. I don't like carrying large bills in ports either. We take very very few 20's with us, and for a 7 day cruise, we generally carry around $300-$400 in cash with us, depending on what we decide to do in the ports.

[dwaterhouse]

Remember on some ships they have 2 or 3 blue kiosks around the ship that will break large bills, or let you pay on your sign and sail or even see your activity on the card.

 

I have used the kiosks many times prior to going ashore, easiest way to break 100's to smaller bills and not have to wait in line at customer service.... Works like a charm.

 

I usually tip extra for great service ( so most of the time).... A $20 to the room steward , and to each of the waiters ( usually 3... We do early seating, and we usually eat in the MDR every nite).

[maggie cruises]

I guess you have not had the good luck we have enjoyed with waiters and room stewards. I have often tipped additional in cash (in an envelope) at the end of the week for above and beyond service.

 

Good luck! :)

 

but you didn't have to and you still got the same service, which you believe to be above and beyond but is actually typical service because you got it prior to your additional tips.

 

I am not saying NOT to hand over anything additional, I am just pointing out that you got what they are expected to provide, nothing more.

 

above and beyond is subjective and since you got the service prior to your additional tip, I guess others who don't give the extra tip got the same service. Actually, you don't know if they actually did go above and beyond, because whatever it is they did for you, they may have done for others, who may or may not have tipped additional.

 

Of course, if you hinted to the steward etc. that there was more tip money available, then maybe that is why you got what you describe as above and beyond.

[truecruiser]

but you didn't have to and you still got the same service,...above and beyond is subjective and since you got the service prior to your additional tip, I guess others who don't give the extra tip got the same service. Actually, you don't know if they actually did go above and beyond, because whatever it is they did for you, they may have done for others, who may or may not have tipped additional...

 

Not always true. Different guests sometimes ask different things of their stewards. This isn't to state, as you pointed out, that the steward wouldn't have done it anyway. In the case of someone tipping after, you already know the answer: the steward did it without knowing they would be getting (and without expecting) extra tip money. An example, one time many, many years ago when we were on a cruise we were sailing for more than a day around a tropical storm. One of my kids (none of whom ever really get seasick and who are all now platinum), got sick in the cabin without making it all the way to the bathroom first. He was young at the time. Our cabin steward had to be called. Would he have left us to sail in puke for the remainder of the cruise? Of course not, but we felt it was still above and beyond. Also, on all cruises, my cabin steward always replenishes my makeshift cooler (X-large heavy duty ziplock bags) with ice twice a day. does he have to that? no. all he needs to do is fill our ice bucket. we appreciate that. we tip extra. always do. <--- actually, i have to change this. We never tipped extra on one cruise. Our cabin steward was not only not good, but always looked to be in a foul mood and borderline nasty. she got nothing extra. But that was only once.

 

So, you're right in a way. It is subjective. Very subjective. If you feel someone made your trip even more enjoyable than you expected and you want to thank them for it by throwing them a couple of extra bucks, that's a very nice thing to do, and it is very much appreciated by them. Is it necessary? Absolutely not. But, it is nice.:)

[LadyinRedkp]

We always give extra tips because service has always been great. When we give the extra tips, we like giving the good ole hand shake. We then know for sure they receive it.

 

If you need cash, you can always go to the Front Desk and they can give it to you. Also, the casino works.

 

About tips... It is their job to do what they do, but they go above and beyond.

[bruisin4cruisin]

We always bring about $100 in smaller bills, 1-10's. November, we used $2 bills for room service, just to break up the monotony.

Generally, we tip the steward $20-$40, depending on our needs and his/her service. Some cruises, we are very low maintenance and other times we have been quite needy.

Of course, there is also tips for the luggage, and during excursions, cab fair....comes in handy having smaller bills.

[joeyancho]

Having taken 28 cruises here is my take on tipping. My opinion only. I always use auto tip. I always tip extra at the end of the cruise. Usually 20-40 bucks extra per service person. If the service person was extra friendly/helpful, then the higher amount. If the did their job as expected but only did their job then the lower amount. I never tip before hand. I think that is tacky. I tell the steward what I will need all week (just ice really) and let him do his job. I never try to "buy" his services in advance. At the end I tip him extra and thank him for his fine service. As far as room service goes, I only order coffeee in the morning and tip 3 bucks. I also tip the omlete station guy a buck for making my eggs. I tip the sandwich guy a buck for making my sandwich the way I want it. I don't care if it is not necessary to tip these people extra, the wife and I make good livings and it is no big deal to reward those who have made our week so enjoyable. I like to leave the impression that Americans are kind and generous people, not rude and cheap. All the above is just my opinion and I approve of this message.

[truecruiser]

Having taken 28 cruises here is my take on tipping. My opinion only. I always use auto tip. I always tip extra at the end of the cruise. Usually 20-40 bucks extra per service person. If the service person was extra friendly/helpful, then the higher amount. If the did their job as expected but only did their job then the lower amount. I never tip before hand. I think that is tacky. I tell the steward what I will need all week (just ice really) and let him do his job. I never try to "buy" his services in advance. At the end I tip him extra and thank him for his fine service. As far as room service goes, I only order coffeee in the morning and tip 3 bucks. I also tip the omlete station guy a buck for making my eggs. I tip the sandwich guy a buck for making my sandwich the way I want it. I don't care if it is not necessary to tip these people extra, the wife and I make good livings and it is no big deal to reward those who have made our week so enjoyable. I like to leave the impression that Americans are kind and generous people, not rude and cheap. All the above is just my opinion and I approve of this message.

 

wow! you are very generous. they must love you. i think i do pretty good, but i have never tipped the omelet guy or the deli guy. I don't have THAT much money, lol. But it's great that you are able to do that and do, in fact do it, when you feel it's warranted. I'm sure they appreciate it very much.

 

brusin4acrusin -- your photo in siggy is spectacular.

[maryred]

... we used $2 bills for room service, just to break up the monotony.

 

We used to do that for all the crew we tipped on the fly... that is until a bartender told us that most foreign ports would not accept it as US currency. So for the crew those $2 bills only appear to be good if they have their shore leave on US soil (or 1 of it's territories).