Tipping the staff with predetermined service charges

[JamesGNYC]

I was wondering how much you guys tip the staff if at all with the $8/day service charges per person NCL charges. For the 7 day bermuda cruise, I tipped a couple of waiters $5 and we gave our room steward $45 at the end of the cruise. Is this too much? Too little? It was hard to determine, since it was my first cruise in about 6 years and there used to be no service charges affixed

[sparks1093]

I was wondering how much you guys tip the staff if at all with the $8/day service charges per person NCL charges. For the 7 day bermuda cruise, I tipped a couple of waiters $5 and we gave our room steward $45 at the end of the cruise. Is this too much? Too little? It was hard to determine, since it was my first cruise in about 6 years and there used to be no service charges affixed

 

It all depends but there is no need to tip over and above the service charge. Our last cruise our steward got $40 for the week (two cabins) because we made a couple of extra requests of him that were quickly fulfilled. If I don't ask for anything extra I usually don't leave extra.

[punkincc]

I was wondering how much you guys tip the staff if at all with the $8/day service charges per person NCL charges. For the 7 day bermuda cruise, I tipped a couple of waiters $5 and we gave our room steward $45 at the end of the cruise. Is this too much? Too little? It was hard to determine, since it was my first cruise in about 6 years and there used to be no service charges affixed

 

The Daily Service Charge is $12.95 per person per day, not $7.95. The latter is the charge for Room Service Delivery. The DSC covers not only the people you come into direct contact with, but behind the scenes staff as well. If you feel someone has gone over and above in terms of service, it is fine to give them additional cash at the time or at the end of the week. Keep in mind that waiters rotate between the various dining rooms and you may never see them again. Specialty Restaurants add an 18% Gratuity and Service Charge to the cover charges so it is up to you whether or not to leave additional $.

[NLH Arizona]

There is no need to tip extra if you don't want to. I usually tip the Room Steward an additional $20 to $40, depending on the service. I tip the casino beverage servers $1 per drink (I get free drinks from the Casino). I tip $5 at the specialty restaurants and with the new 18% gratuity, I'll still do it depending on if they go way over and beyond what I feel excellent service. I also tip the Butler $10 a day and the Concierge $5 a day, since I cruise in a suite.

[JamesGNYC]

yeah most of the NCL staff are filipino and they have had some rough time with the typhoon and just poverty in general over there. The crew was so sweet I would have felt like a complete ass if I didn't tip them at least $40. Oh no, $40!?!? us rich americans have to eat one less meal at a restaurant!?!?

 

Worth it to me.

[NLH Arizona]

Sorry, but giving 18% tips is already charity. Not so many years ago 10% was considered a good tip, and that was on lower priced goods and services so they are being exceptionally well paid considering they also get room and board.

And not so long ago, milk was $3.00, now it is $3.82. Not so long ago gas was $2.35, now it is $3.36. Everything has gone up, including tip.

[Kierste]

We only tipped our steward extra and the kids club staff (just the two that were with my kid all week)... Everyone else got the service charge or the automatic 18% gratuity. I figure 18% is better than I pay at home, unless the service is over the top stellar... So that is good enough.

 

A note though... The kids club staff... Both of them practically cried when I gave them each $10. I mean $10 for basically 10 nights of watching my kid and keeping her entertained. One tried to give it back, and asked if it was just for her. Which I assured her it was.

 

Our steward... He got $20 on day one and $20 on the last night, for two cabins. We loved him, he never did anything extraordinary for us, but he was always around, cleaning or in the hall... So we saw him 5 or 6 times a day and he became our friend. So I was happy to tip him. It didn't seem like much, but he was very grateful as well.

[JamesGNYC]

Nope can't live on that where I live but I bet you can in the Philippines

 

And the person sending that money to the Philippines isn't paying fir room and board on the ship either and rarely gets off in ports so no need to spend it there either

 

So the apples and oranges argument over pay scale is totally useless as it doesn't make that you can't live on it because they can and do live very well on it and that's why they vie for the jobs

 

They also know all so well how " guilty" we are about their working conditions and that why they tell you their family details

 

Fwiw I leave the steward a bit extra because I feel it's worth it.... Not because I feel sorry for him

 

 

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I don't feel sorry for them and the steward never told us his family story, but considering how they live their lives in that country, and most of them had family members that were killed and homes that were completely destroyed in the typhoon, so the money they send home certainly goes towards more than just food and keeping the lights on. Just seems like the right thing to do while we spend $3,000 on a cruise and leave them slaving over our stuff for a week with no reward

Edited May 12, 2015 by jamesg588

[vacation luvver]

I don't tip extra because I don't get service that goes "above and beyond," but I have gotten horrible service on occasion. I would never consider asking for the mandatory daily gratuity to be deducted from my account, because if I were an employee doing a decent job, but someone else did a horrible job, causing a passenger not to want to pay the mandatory daily gratuity, that would come out of my pocket, and I hadn't even done anything wrong. So I keep paying the mandatory daily gratuity, and I think it's plenty.

[ColinIllinois]

As the O.P. can see from the answers some people leave extra and are quite generous. Some people pay their DSC and are quite satisfied with that amount. There is no CORRECT answer. Tip what your conscience and budget dictate. To each their own.

[jethrojam]

I paid the dsc and tipped the steward 40$. I tipped the butler 100 and the concierge 25. As a room it was 80/250/65 We also gave 50 to a group of waitstaff in cagneys and 5 to one waiter who was excellent at Aqua and none to others. I generally put an extra buck or 2 per drink order (didn't have the ubp) to only the gatsbys staff (didn't care too much for the poolside bartenders or pearly kings). I didn't tip that much because I felt bad for anyone. In fact, to a point I originally had scheduled 50/125 for concierge but due to not using her for anything but oversite and embarkation and disembarkation the 25/65 seemed plenty.

[DaisyGoldberg]

If tip percentage remained, the tip would go up with the increased cost of goods. Increasing the tip percentage on top of increased cost of the good is really a double raise.

 

The cost of living outpaces everything. There are lots of elderly people who raised families while working in tipped positions, owned their own homes, etc. That's pretty much a thing of the past.

 

I tip $5/day to housekeeping in hotels, and they're not expected to share the tip with anybody (as far as I know). I'm not going to tip the steward less than I'd tip the housekeeper at the Marriott, who only comes in once a day.

[luvtheships]

I don't feel sorry for them and the steward never told us his family story, but considering how they live their lives in that country, and most of them had family members that were killed and homes that were completely destroyed in the typhoon, so the money they send home certainly goes towards more than just food and keeping the lights on. Just seems like the right thing to do while we spend $3,000 on a cruise and leave them slaving over our stuff for a week with no reward

 

As I said I do give extra because they do a good job

 

I just don't feel guilty about stuff I can't control like natural disasters or the type of lifestyle I can provide

 

 

 

 

 

 

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