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A Different Gratuities Question

johnsuttoncoldfield

By johnsuttoncoldfield,
in Princess Cruises

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johnsuttoncoldfield

johnsuttoncoldfield

Posted
Posted

As a newbie to Princess, I would be grateful for some opinions/advice regarding the payment of additional gratuities to your cabin steward (I will be leaving the account gratuities in place). I’m not sure why this has suddenly come to mind and suspect I should get out more!

 

Relating to an ex UK cruise and bearing in mind that I will be carrying UK Pounds/Euros and Kuna and doubtless will be left with a variety of currencies at the end of the vacation, would it be appropriate to leave final tips in a variety of currencies, or would this likely be expected in UK sterling (unnecessarily long sentence)? With grateful thanks.

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jenp123

jenp123

Posted
Posted
No one wants your left over foreign currency. It costs the crew money to exchange it. Just leave your auto-tip in place and don't worry about it.

 

OP already stated that they were leaving auto tip in place. Although I have never asked the crew if they were ok with random currencies or left any myself, I would assume anything is better than nothing and all tips are appreciated

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mmckm

mmckm

Posted
Posted

If you wish to tip your room steward which we always do on top of the auto tip. i would tip in US dollars if possible. If not whatever works best for you, but i wouldn't give him multiple currencies.

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skynight

skynight

Posted
Posted

If your ship is on and will continue on European itineraries for a time then it is reasonable to provide extra cash tips in Pounds or Euros. If your ship is heading to U.S. itineraries, you can provide cash tips in Pounds or Euros, but allow extra cash for the cost of exchange to US$. I wouldn't use Croatian Kuna for extra tipping.

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Loonbeam

Loonbeam

Posted
Posted

As noted, 'standard' currencies, such as USD, Euros and sometimes Yen in Asia are fine if the ship will be in that area.

 

Port specific currencies are not as useful because of the very limited odds a staff member will have a day off in that port to be able to use them, so they have to exchange them at a loss (never able to confirm if they get better rates that we do).

 

That said, if that's all you have, its better than nothing, or if you leave them as additional over the extra tip you planned to leave, go for it.

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Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted
With thanks to everyone for their suggestions/opinions - just to confirm, I am indeed leaving the auto-tip in place, the question relates to the additional tips.

 

 

Thats what I thought, however there are those that like to open up a can of worms when its not necessary.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
Posted

I agree with the others. Tip in a major currency such as $, €, £, or ¥, depending on where the ship is sailing. For instance, I'm flying to Copenhagen and will be getting DKK to use there for my pre-cruise plus I'm bringing £ with me saved from previous trips. I won't tip the steward in DKK but £ would be OK.

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taxmantoo

taxmantoo

Posted
Posted
Darn, you beat me to it! :) I was just about to say free money is free money...even if i have to pay an exchange fee its still more than what I had to start with!

 

Exactly. Cruise ship crews are for the most part far more experienced travelers than any of us will ever be and they have no problem exchanging money wherever they may be.

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johnsuttoncoldfield

johnsuttoncoldfield

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I agree with the others. Tip in a major currency such as $, €, £, or ¥, depending on where the ship is sailing. For instance, I'm flying to Copenhagen and will be getting DKK to use there for my pre-cruise plus I'm bringing £ with me saved from previous trips. I won't tip the steward in DKK but £ would be OK.

 

 

Thanks for your response Pam - I always look out for your posts and see you as the Queen of Princess Cruising :)

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lake5298

lake5298

Posted
Posted

Port-specific currency isn't a real problem as crewmembers will often exchange currency amongst themselves (so no fee) to suit those who are going ashore.

 

Certainly the main tip (which crew rely on as part of their wages) should be in the correct currency, but a gesture in whatever currency is better than no gesture at all. IMO.

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Elcruzer

Elcruzer

Posted
Posted

I gave my room steward my left over euros in addition to US$ Tip above the tip already in place at the end if the cruise. I explained I realized it was only a few $s but thought he could use it since the ship was staying in Europe. He was most appreciative and said he wished every passenger would do that.

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Marigold252

Marigold252

Posted
Posted
Given the mix of crew nationalities on board, I bet they have no trouble exchanging currencies between themselves with no commission and a mutually beneficial exchange rate.

 

There probably is always at least one crew member on board who enjoys being the go to guy to exchange currency. We met one once. It brought him in a little extra cash.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

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tartanexile81

tartanexile81

Posted
Posted (edited)

When we're cruising ex Southampton, we leave on our automatic tips but we usually tip more if we've asked for a lot of 'extras' and would either tip in euros or GBP. Cabin stewards don't have much opportunity to get ashore: the only time the steward on our last cruise left the ship was to meet up with friends in the port. They work exceptionally long hours and I cannot see how they would spend left-over change so best stick to the type of notes they will (hopefully) also receive from other passengers so they can put it all together to send home / buy the latest electronic gadget they all seem to crave! From the UK, unless it's a round Britain trip, the vast majority of cruisers will be British and work in GBP.

Edited by tartanexile81
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