First Time Cruiser Here. TIPPING questions

[jaclynmn2277]

Hi Everyone! We are leaving for our first Carribean cruise on March 16th and trying to budget so have a few questions regarding tipping

 

For the room main/steward how much do you leave? Is it a daily tip or at the end of the week?

For an excursion how much do you tip? We have an catamaran and snorkeling day trip planned and a snuba one.

Are there any additional people you need to tip? I know that the bar automatically adds 15%. What about the dining rooms where food is free, do you tip at those? In the specialty dining rooms how much do you usually tip for dinner in one of those?

 

Thanks in advance for your help. So many questions for a first timer!!! :)

[CruiserBruce]

Tipping policy is three things:

 

A very hot topic- reading the boards a little will find you lots of info...

 

Something that varies by cruise line. So, without knowing what cruise line you are on, we can't give you the official scoop. Reading on the board for the cruise line you are going on would be helpful...

 

Lastly, a personal thing.

[jaclynmn2277]

Guess I should have mentioned that I'm going to be on the Norwegian EPIC, maybe I can get some more insights now. :)

[CruiserBruce]

Here is the NCL board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

[luddite]

NCL will assess 12$/day to cover everyone that takes care of your everyday needs. It is a Daily Service Charge which pays the steward, waiters, cooks. Bartenders get a gratuity that is added to a drink price. Suite butlers and kid's babysitters aren't covered in the DSC pool.

Room sevice needs a couple bucks tip.

 

Once you pay the DSC, you are covered. Tips beyond the DSC are appreciated but not expected.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We do give extra tips at the end of the cruise to those who have made our cruise an enjoyable one.

[kitty9]

You don't leave tips on the table in the main dining room or buffet. You never know who might walk by and take it. But you might want to bring a couple dollars if you have room service. I usually tip $5 for a tour.

[jaclynmn2277]

What about for excursions? Do you tip them and if so how much? Just a general idea I know of course this could vary greatly depending on experience, personal preference etc.

[RoofingPrincess]

Depends on the cost of the tour and how good the tour is...

[cb at sea]

You tips are charged daily on NCL...no need to extend cash, unless you feel someone has gone "above and beyond"!

 

If a "tour" simply is transportation, we generally don't tip...that's what the fee covers! If there is a guide, and they are personable and we feel we got more than we paid for, then we will tip...usually about $5-10, depending on what we've done. There is no "hard and fast" rule. Tip if you feel the tour gave you a great time. It's not mandatory.

[GORDONCHICK]

What about for excursions? Do you tip them and if so how much? Just a general idea I know of course this could vary greatly depending on experience, personal preference etc.

 

It depends. We've never taken a ship excursion - we always book independently. While on a tour, you may have more than one guide like we did when we went cave-tubing and zip lining. But they explained that the tips were shared by everyone. If a guide simply does the bare minimum of his job and didn't contribute anything extra or special, I probably wouldn't tip or I'd tip very little. However, we've had great tour guides! We've tipped $10-20pp.

[Travelin_Teacher0710]

Hi Everyone! We are leaving for our first Carribean cruise on March 16th and trying to budget so have a few questions regarding tipping

 

For the room main/steward how much do you leave? Is it a daily tip or at the end of the week?

I've cruised NCL twice and have UNFORTUNATELY had mediocre experiences with stewards. So the 1st time I tipped nothing bc he sucked! The second time we wrote a nice thank you card and a few bucks.

 

For an excursion how much do you tip? We have an catamaran and snorkeling day trip planned and a snuba one.

Honestly, I've never done an excursion through the ship, only done 'em myself. And aside from tipping my taxi and water taxi guys, I haven't tipped. And nobody in my group tipped either.

Are there any additional people you need to tip? I know that the bar automatically adds 15%. What about the dining rooms where food is free, do you tip at those? In the specialty dining rooms how much do you usually tip for dinner in one of those?

I find one good guy or gal on the pool deck and/or on the beach and stick with them the entire time. That way they know my name, know what I drink and know I'm loyal. I don't tip them until the end though, so I'm sure they hate me at first but then on the last night I give a tip that's probably equal to approx. $5 for each day they took care of me(more if they were just outstanding). Specialty dining only cost me $20 per visit and each time I tipped like 20% simply because it was less than 5 bucks! :) In the regular dining rooms, I don't tip anything. And I don't tip when I order drinks at shows or in the lounge. Call me cheap, but hey, I pay my $12/day and tip as I see fit.

 

Thanks in advance for your help. So many questions for a first timer!!! :)

Hope this helps even just a little. I know I'm a "budget traveler" but I've found my way to work fairly well. Happy planning & smooth sailing, jaclynmn!