Do you tip beyond the mandatory gratuities?

[cruisecritiquer]

We usually pre-pay our gratuity but I wondered if people customarily tip beyond that? On every cruise I've been on, I didn't see our stewards much but they were always doing their job behind the scenes...everything would be just perfect when we returned.

 

Once, I went to the garden cafe to fix us some plates (so we could eat in the room) and there I was, the dummy trying to carry three plates with two hands. I guess since I've seen professionals do it, I thought I could do it too. Anyway, with the doors being heavier, I tried to push the door open and it pushed right back and all three plates fell out of my hand. I quickly looked left and right and was about to open the door to get a towel so I could start cleaning up my mess but here came one of my cabin stewards right out of the blue. I couldn't believe it and I was mortified. I always feel so uncomfortable when someone is cleaning up my mess. I'm the type that would clean the house before the cleaning lady got there because I'd feel bad making her clean up our messes.

 

Anyway, I tipped her for that specific occurrence and she hesitated to take it which kind of shocked me. I insisted and she did take it. That's why I posted this question. We would frequently leave extra bills in the room for a tip and then when we came back they'd be right there. I could never figure out if she just wouldn't accept it or if she thought it was just loose change left behind in the room so I finally had to leave her a post it note that said PLEASE TAKE THIS TIP!

 

So do you normally tip beyond what you pay in the mandatory gratuities?

[SeaShark]

I assume we're talking NCL since this is on the NCL Board.

 

NCL does not have "mandatory gratuities". MANY people seem to confuse gratuity with service charge. There IS a difference in these items. NCL even talks about gratuities and the DSC separately in their FAQ. I would encourage people to research the difference....a little more awareness would go a long way toward reducing the frequent arguments that we see on this topic.

 

As it is my preference, I always pre-pay my service charges. Other people do so as well, and some others don't. Everyone suld do what they are the most comfortable with and what best fits their individual needs.

 

I do believe in giving gratuities for exceptional (above and beyond) service and in cases where I recognize that I'm being demanding. The amount of that gratuity is very situational and is based largely on the service received.

[roger001]

Certainly no need to. However, we do. I'm guessing its about half of the guests do, half don't. For room service, I tip $2 to the server. For each round of drinks carried out to a table for the two of us, I leave a $1 when I sign for the drinks. For a sit down restaurant, breakfast or lunch, I usually leave $3, for dinner $5. For the room steward, on the last night I leave around $40 in an envelope with a note thanking him/her (I also fill out STYLE/HERO cards frequently). Some guests tip much more than I do, some much less or nothing., You are not right or wrong whatever you do.

[time2cruise1]

I almost always do but not huge amounts. Great dinner service an extra $10 cash rewards that. Regular bartender/server a $20 tip early in the cruise goes a long way. I usually give the cabin steward $20 when I explain what I would like for the cruise including 2 ice buckets that can never be empty. ;). If they do a great job an additional tip at the end.

 

I know I don't have to do this and it is not expected but it feels right for ME.

[cruisecritiquer]

You are correct, it does say "service charge". My sincere apologies. I am aware there is a difference.

[halos]

we tip extra, yes.

[SissasMomE]

We do, but it's not at all necessary. We usually leave $5 on the table after a MDR meal; the same or more in a specialty (this is assuming the service was good, for both); a few bucks on the table in the buffet; and usually $40 to the room steward, again assuming the service was good.

[DMH15]

Yes I do when I feel the service and situation warrant it. And I am thrilled to do do because that means the excellent service enhances my vacation!

[Barb Nahoumi]

We usually leave a few extra bucks for our cabin stewards. They always do their jobs diligently, and leave the cutest towel animals.

 

Although a tip is added to bar bills, I add an extra dollar for the server.

[biker@sea]

We save all our $1 bills in an envelope on the dresser just for tips onboard .

[francina]

I usually prepaid too. I tip extra according to the service I give.

[auntierobin]

We prepay our DSC and we always tip extra. Our steward will get anywhere from $75 - $150 extra depending on what we ask of him. (It's usually to just keep two ice buckets full for us)

 

An extra $1 or $2 to the bartender with each drink, we have never eaten in the MDR, but in the specialty restaurants 18% - 20% depending on the the server and/or how complicated a meal we order.

 

I know that some people say "you don't tip in the restaurants, there's already an 18% gratuity added", BUT and it's a big but, let's say 2 people eat in Cagneys = $60, they each have a drink = $16, the 18% is ONLY ON THE DRINKS = $2.88, not on the dinner. If people don't have any drinks there would be no gratutuity.

 

These people work long hard hours with smiles on their faces and a friendly greeting whenever you see them, they deserve it IMHO.

[buckirj1]

I usually stick with the DSC, and don't tip anything additional. I don't usually ask anything extra of the staff or crew. However, on my last NCL cruise, I did tip the young woman who checked my bags until the cabin was ready. I also tipped the steward who exchanged my travel agent's gift from wine to soda. On my last (non-NCL) cruise, I wasn't having much fun and slept a whole bunch. I left extra for the cabin steward, since I felt my sleeping was throwing off his schedule.

[NMLady]

... We would frequently leave extra bills in the room for a tip and then when we came back they'd be right there. I could never figure out if she just wouldn't accept it or if she thought it was just loose change left behind in the room so I finally had to leave her a post it note that said PLEASE TAKE THIS TIP!

 

So do you normally tip beyond what you pay in the mandatory gratuities?

 

YES, I normally tip beyond the 'daily service charge'. Only once did we have such an unsatisfactory steward that I didn't give an additional tip.

 

As you discovered, if you just leave money in your cabin with no note that it is for the steward, the money will remain since the steward has no way of knowing it is for them. They might think you forgot to take it with you.

 

Unless the steward has done a special favor for me, I don't tip during the cruise but at the end of the cruise I either write a thank you note and enclose cash and leave it in the cabin or I thank the steward personally and hand him some cash.

 

When we have room service I always have some dollar bills ready to give whomever delivers the tray.

 

I don't usually tip in dining rooms, not even in specialty restaurants but one dinner in a specialty restaurant the waiters were so outstanding that I left some cash on the table under my water glass as a tip. There were 2 servers so that is why I left the cash rather than giving it personally.

 

We don't drink very often aboard ship so we don't know the bartenders and we don't ask for something special for our drinks. Since each drink has an automatic gratuity added to it, we don't tip bartenders additionally.

[NLH Arizona]

I pre-pay the DSC and do tip extra on top of that. I do not give upfront tips (think it is gauche) nor do I tip during the cruise with the exception of $1 each for "free drinks" in the casino and $5 for specialty restaurants. All others, room steward, etc., are done at the end of the cruise.

[my_crib_too]

We have had a few cabin stewards that did their job for the most part but never met us or did anything extra. We didn't leave anything extra in those cases. We have also had a few cabin stewards that made our trip special and went way above and beyond. Style cards and a little extra ($40) at the end of our trip.

[luvtheships]

I have my steward 15 extra this time. He was ok not fabulous. But my cabin was little work anyway. I had to track him down and he seemed surprised I gave him a tip. He did not look at the amount. I was surprised to have to track him down as they are always in your face at departure times

 

 

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[luvtheships]

Just an FYI. One morning in the made breakfast a guy left a 5 on the table. Never saw anyone else do that.

 

 

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[luvtheships]

Mdr. Not made. I touch!!! Spell check ugg

 

 

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[terrymtex01]

OP.. as others have said, yes we do tip above what is recommended, but it's up to you. I would do it based on your service. Even though part of our daily service charge goes to the servers in the restaurants, we always leave a few dollars at our table if we got good service. In the specialty restaurants we leave an extra tip on our bill that we sign. In the casino we always tip for drinks brought to us, etc, etc. We work hard for our vacations and these people working their behinds off to make sure that we have a good time is appreciated. Go with your gut on what you should do. It's your vacation. Don't feel pressured one way or the other. Do what is right for YOU. 8-)

[chezbo99]

I give room service delivery person $2 for bringing for 2 people. I bring envelopes with me and have tipped table clearers in the buffet that I saw being kind to elderly guests. And I have been lucky to have had 4 excellent cabin stewards and usually tip them $40 for a week long cruise, more for longer. I write a note of thanks on the envelope to make it a bit personal. I also leave my local money if I don't expect to return to that country soon [Argentina, Chile, Uraguay.]

 

I've only been to one specialty restaurant and we tipped 20%. Never thought to tip in the MDR, but will on my next cruise if they are pleasant.

 

I get a bunch of the cards from guest services and complete them for helpful crew and I always use several of them! :)

[msboo18]

I always ask the room steward to clear out the mini fridge & tip him/her $10 the 1st day, then more along the way for good service, also tip bartenders with cash - a few dollars here and there add up for these hard-working folks.

[Milaandra]

No, we don't. Isn't that what the service charge is for?

 

Admittedly, we're pretty easy to serve. If we required something other than standard service, we would tip extra, but that hasn't come up yet.

 

NCL has set a standard amount and we never quibble with that. The service is worth it. I find it very convenient that it is set and charged automatically...it saves me a lot of thought and dealing with cash on the ship. I just haven't felt the need to increase the percentage.

[SeaShark]

No, we don't. Isn't that what the service charge is for?

 

Admittedly, we're pretty easy to serve. If we required something other than standard service, we would tip extra, but that hasn't come up yet.

 

NCL has set a standard amount and we never quibble with that. The service is worth it. I find it very convenient that it is set and charged automatically...it saves me a lot of thought and dealing with cash on the ship. I just haven't felt the need to increase the percentage.

 

Ummmm, no that isn't what the service charge is for. A service charge is the income of, and therefor the property of, the cruise line. They can use it as they see fit.

 

A gratuity is the property of the employee to whom it is given. The company has no say or control over that money.

 

NCL has stated on their website what they use the service charge to "support"...it goes to become PART of the crew salaries and it also funds incentive programs.

 

We are better consumers when we understand exactly what our money is being collected for and where it goes.

 

As I advised at the beginning of this thread, there are some great articles out there in Google-Land explaining the difference between service charges and gratuities. We'd all be further ahead if more of us knew the difference.

[Love my butler]

No, we don't. Isn't that what the service charge is for?

 

Admittedly, we're pretty easy to serve. If we required something other than standard service, we would tip extra, but that hasn't come up yet.

 

NCL has set a standard amount and we never quibble with that. The service is worth it. I find it very convenient that it is set and charged automatically...it saves me a lot of thought and dealing with cash on the ship. I just haven't felt the need to increase the percentage.

 

Yes, you are exactly correct. About 12 years ago when NCL switched from voluntary tips to the DSC it was made very clear the DSC was the new tipping method. Additional tipping was discouraged. As the years have gone by, NCL is cutting corners more and more and to pay the staff the DSC and 'additional' tipping are used to attract workers.

 

Gratuity/tip/DSC. Different names, but all the exact same thing. Don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise.