Tipping Advice?

[papaflamingo]

I had a question about tipping while on a recent cruise. We were in a GS and had a gold card so we visited the concierge lounge during happy hour every evening and received excellent service from the bartender. The concierge made some excursion arrangements for us.

 

On the last night we gave a cash tip to the bartender and her assistant, but I had no idea whether or not to tip the concierge.

 

Is it customary to tip the concierge? Does it depend on whether or not you use his services? Any suggested tip amount?

 

Yes. The Concierge does more than what you ask. He/She also runs the lounge for example. They monitor who comes in, how the bar service is going, how well the hors d'oeurves are being handled, etc. Additionally they will handle any problem you may have. So it's most appropriate to tip something. If we don't use him/her, I will leave $20, $10 per person assuming I'm happy with the lounge, etc. If I use him/her a lot, I'll up it a bit, maybe $30 or even $40 if I've had numerous requests. Usually I'm pretty self-sufficient so it's normally $20 for me. I also tip the bartenders. Usually if you find a bartender you like, and slip him $10 on day 2 or so, he'll keep you VERY happy. The at the end I'll tip another $20. If both bartenders are attentive, I'll slip them both $10 and then another $10 or more at the end. An example, on one cruise in the Diamond lounge we tipped the 2 bartenders $10 each on day 2. After that, when they saw us get off the elevator, they would immediately pour our favorite drink and place it at a table for us. They got a nice tip at the end of the cruise too. Yeah... I'm certainly not beneath a "bribe" for outstanding service. It works! If I insult someone on here.... I can't tell you how little I care.

Edited February 12, 2016 by papaflamingo

[yuvraj]

We do not plan on removing our automatic gratuities but are looking for more information on what others do in regards to additional tips?

 

We are wondering what people do for tips for their room stewards, dining room waiters, bartenders..any others? We are doing a 7 night cruise on the Oasis.

 

TIA!

 

And this is what I do ...

 

I only tip bar waiter extra if he has done something extraordinary. On the last cruise the bar on the sun deck was closed. Bar waiter went and got me a drink from 2 decks down. That definitely deserved a decent tip. As did the guy who showed me to my cabana at Labadee and got me a drink.

 

Room steward I tip extra depending on how responsive he has been in dealing with requests and sorting out problems. No fixed rule of thumb, just give what I feel is reasonable on the last day as thank you. Never in advance.

 

There have been occasions where waiters have taken special care of us especially when travelling with parents who have special dietary requirements. If they managed to ensure that my parents have had a good time then they deserve an extra thank you in terms of $$$.

 

So I expect the automatic gratuity charge to be sufficient for everyday service. I tip in appreciation of exceptional service or in compensation for handling additional requirements. Always a thank you, never as a bride.

[mmckm]

And this is what I do ...

 

I only tip bar waiter extra if he has done something extraordinary. On the last cruise the bar on the sun deck was closed. Bar waiter went and got me a drink from 2 decks down. That definitely deserved a decent tip. As did the guy who showed me to my cabana at Labadee and got me a drink.

 

Room steward I tip extra depending on how responsive he has been in dealing with requests and sorting out problems. No fixed rule of thumb, just give what I feel is reasonable on the last day as thank you. Never in advance.

 

There have been occasions where waiters have taken special care of us especially when travelling with parents who have special dietary requirements. If they managed to ensure that my parents have had a good time then they deserve an extra thank you in terms of $$$.

 

So I expect the automatic gratuity charge to be sufficient for everyday service. I tip in appreciation of exceptional service or in compensation for handling additional requirements. Always a thank you, never as a bride.

 

Like wise, we do the same. They earn the tip. If they can't do that they don't deserve a tip. nobody i know walks into a restaurant and tips the waitress before they sit down to eat. .

Edited February 12, 2016 by mmckm

[oldguysandgalls]

Although we pre-pay our gratuities, there are always crew members who deserve something +$ extra + $ for making our cruises "extra" enjoyable and memorable.

[rdsxgrl28]

We usually tip bar staff $1 per drink.

 

Additional tips (over and above the standard amount) for stateroom attendants and dining staff vary from zero up, based on performance.

 

 

We do this too. I know I tend to over tip but bartending/waitressing put me through college. So I am very empathetic to service people.

 

We tip extra with cash. If we get a drink, we will add an extra dollar on the paper, but we also always give our favourite bartenders cash towards the end of the cruise. Same with waiters (if you tip extra on the paper at specialty restaurants it gets split up among the whole team, but cash goes directly to the person we wish to recongize - this is not the case with bartenders btw, they keep the tip on the paper or themselves). We also always leave our room steward an extra cash tip as well.

 

Didn't know this, thanks.

[SG65CB]

Yes. The Concierge does more than what you ask. He/She also runs the lounge for example. They monitor who comes in, how the bar service is going, how well the hors d'oeurves are being handled, etc. Additionally they will handle any problem you may have. So it's most appropriate to tip something. If we don't use him/her, I will leave $20, $10 per person assuming I'm happy with the lounge, etc. If I use him/her a lot, I'll up it a bit, maybe $30 or even $40 if I've had numerous requests. Usually I'm pretty self-sufficient so it's normally $20 for me. I also tip the bartenders. Usually if you find a bartender you like, and slip him $10 on day 2 or so, he'll keep you VERY happy. The at the end I'll tip another $20. If both bartenders are attentive, I'll slip them both $10 and then another $10 or more at the end. An example, on one cruise in the Diamond lounge we tipped the 2 bartenders $10 each on day 2. After that, when they saw us get off the elevator, they would immediately pour our favorite drink and place it at a table for us. They got a nice tip at the end of the cruise too. Yeah... I'm certainly not beneath a "bribe" for outstanding service. It works! If I insult someone on here.... I can't tell you how little I care.

 

Thanks. It seemed like the concierge had lots of connections and could make anything happen that you needed. I did give him $30. The bartenders were amazing, they learned our drinks and as in your experience they had them ready for us shortly after arrival. We went to the lounge before dinner and they would give us a drink and then as we were leaving for dinner they'd give us another drink to take to dinner with us. Same thing after dinner, a drink in the lounge and another "to go" to take to the evening show.

 

It sounds like a good idea to tip early in the trip, otherwise they are left wondering until the end if their work will be worth it. I gave them both $50 but not until the last night. Maybe that was too much but I have no idea what others give.

[SG65CB]

I always tip them, but only if used their services.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Thanks. I didn't know who to ask on the ship.

[Thetrail]

We do not plan on removing our automatic gratuities but are looking for more information on what others do in regards to additional tips?

 

We are wondering what people do for tips for their room stewards, dining room waiters, bartenders..any others? We are doing a 7 night cruise on the Oasis.

 

TIA!

Give the required prepaid tips, then an envelope last night for cabin steward, waiter, asst. waiter, concierge, head water......:)

[yuvraj]

Yes. The Concierge does more than what you ask. He/She also runs the lounge for example. They monitor who comes in, how the bar service is going, how well the hors d'oeurves are being handled, etc. Additionally they will handle any problem you may have. So it's most appropriate to tip something. If we don't use him/her, I will leave $20, $10 per person assuming I'm happy with the lounge, etc. If I use him/her a lot, I'll up it a bit, maybe $30 or even $40 if I've had numerous requests. Usually I'm pretty self-sufficient so it's normally $20 for me. I also tip the bartenders. Usually if you find a bartender you like, and slip him $10 on day 2 or so, he'll keep you VERY happy. The at the end I'll tip another $20. If both bartenders are attentive, I'll slip them both $10 and then another $10 or more at the end. An example, on one cruise in the Diamond lounge we tipped the 2 bartenders $10 each on day 2. After that, when they saw us get off the elevator, they would immediately pour our favorite drink and place it at a table for us. They got a nice tip at the end of the cruise too. Yeah... I'm certainly not beneath a "bribe" for outstanding service. It works! If I insult someone on here.... I can't tell you how little I care.

 

I can see why this topic can get quite divisive on CC. :)

[Terre]

We do tip extra on the last night if we have an exceptional cabin steward or wait team. We will tip the steward $10-$20 depending on any extras he did with or without a request from us. If there is an assistant steward, we tip him/her $5-$10.

 

If the wait team was exceptional we tip the waiter $15-20 extra and the assistant waiter $10-15. I made a thank you card with thank you in many different languages with our names and cabin number inside thanking them for their service.

 

Once we tipped a bartender extra on the last night because we had him every evening before dinner and when we sat down he would just bring our drinks over -- he remembered after the second night what we liked. He loved the card and told me with a big smile, "I keep these". He was also happy with his tip!