Tipping Confusion

[CanuckinSMA]

First time cruisers. We're a little confused by the tipping procedure. We were told by our TA that we would be charged $12.50 each (2 of us) per day at the end of our cruise. That makes it easy! But then read where people tip their waiter when they are in the set dining. How much do you tip him (her) and do you tip at each meal or at the end of the cruise? Who else do you tip over and above the $12.50? We're on Explore 4 so do we tip bartender or waiter when we order a drink?? What about the housekeeper who tidies our room?? Some clarification would be much appreciated!

[Essiesmom]

Sticky thread with all you ever wanted to know about HAL tipping.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265928

[Bostonjetset]

Congrats on booking your first cruise! It will soon become an addiction like it is for many on these boards. :D

 

Once you are around CC for a while, you will notice that tipping is a hot topic on many of the forums, from Carnival to HAL to Cunard and everything in between. To make it easy for you, the $12.50/day/pp is automatically charged to your stateroom at the end of your trip and covers your stateroom stewards, diningroom waitstaff and some people behind the scenes. IF you buy drinks from the bar or lounge [or get spa services] they will automatically add 15% to the price as an obligatory gratuity [some lines charge 18% but it's still 15% on HAL for now]. You do not need to leave extra unless you want to.

 

Nothing else is REQUIRED as far as tipping goes, although many people [myself included] do leave extra cash tips for great service to the stateroom/dining stewards. Amount is a personal matter and peoples' answers will vary widely. For a standard 7 night cruise, we usually leave an extra $20pp to the steward and the same for the waitstaff in assigned dining. If we have "anytime" dining we often don't leave extra cash as the servers are different each night [although some still tip extra cash nightly...it's up to you]. If you don't want to carry extra cash, it has been stated on here that you can increase your auto-tips if you choose but we've always just left the standard auto tips and gave a bit of extra cash out..again that is personal preference.

 

Enjoy your trip on one of HAL's fabulous ships!

[alwaysfrantic]

I suggest taking a little cash with you if you go to the Pinnacle Grill. The up charge doesn't include a tip and you don't have to leave anything, but there isn't a ticket to add one if you decide you'd like to give something.

[ON cruiser]

In addition to the helpful comments above, if you order room service you may wish to tip the waiter. Have a couple of bills handy as the waiter will be gone quickly.

 

Getting a bunch of US one dollar bills as well as a range of denominations from your bank before heading to the ship makes it easy.

[MaxThrusters]

I like to leave a bit extra than the hotel service charge for good service. For as you wish dining I leave the waiter $5 after dinner. Room service stewards, same thing for a delivery of breakfast. On the last night I leave $20 extra for each room steward. I also tip favourite bar waiters & bartenders for good service, above and beyond what is added to each bill.

 

The kids working on the ships appreciate these tips because it's nice to have some spending money when they get to go ashore (the automatic tipping I believe is pooled, and they don't get it until payday).

 

Extra gratuities are entirely voluntary though and not expected at all by any ship staff. On the other hand, you would probably want cash for land tips: porterage, taxis, bus drivers, guides, etc etc.

 

OP, you had an example about ordering with Explore 4. Payment is the same way as for anyone, they take your card to charge you, and the office credits it back since you have Explore 4. As for tipping extra, if you felt that whomever served you was deserving of a something extra, when you leave you just walk up to them and say something like "thanks for the great service" and slip them a fiver. Well, if you had a lot of drinks that is. If just one then I suppose a dollar would be fine. This is how I have done things, and not always either: sometimes they aren't on the ball and I don't leave extra. Enjoy your first cruise!

Edited August 11, 2016 by MaxThrusters

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Remember nothing extra is required as Bostonjetset wrote. Only you should decide if the service you receive warrants additional. You won't be pressured by the crew to leave extra. Enjoy your cruise!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Remember nothing extra is required as Bostonjetset wrote. Only you should decide if the service you receive warrants additional. You won't be pressured by the crew to leave extra. Enjoy your cruise!!

 

That is one of the benefits of the auto service charge. Waitstaff don't have to hang around awkwardly on the last night, waiting for tips.

 

We may or may not tip our waiters extra. We always tip the cabin stewards because we use room service and/or bring snacks back from the NL or Lido, and I appreciate that they take away our dirty dishes.

[take us away]

In addition to suggestions above, I also tip my room steward as usually receive exceptional service. If some one delivers anything to my room (ice, room service, laundry) I tip these people and keep a stash of $1 bills in the closet by the door. Also tip when I have dinner in the Pinnacle or another specialty restaurant and any stewards in the Lido that have been helpful, extra nice, made sure my coffee was hot and plentiful, delivered me a newspaper, etc as have breakfast there and quite often lunch each day. Have tipped a breakfast chef as he asked how I liked my eggs and they were perfect every time I ordered them which is so rare. On longer cruises I tend to tip more as there is more 'personal' service but not so much on shorter cruises. Tipping is a personal choice so you will have to decide if you want to tip extra (which is not expected) and if yes, then how much. I only give a smallish tip the beverage stewards at the end of a long cruise and only when they have provided really great service due to the automatic 15% tip on each charge.

 

Most of the hotel service charge goes to your dining and room stewards and the rest is shared across the non-officer staff from the people who bake the bread and rolls to the ice cream scooping person to the people who peel those dreaded carrots to the people who keep the public areas clean.

[RMLincoln]

You can get larger denomination bills broken into small deneminatios at the front desk.

 

Another way to reward the crew whom you feel have gone above and beyond is by a written note, particularly the "Tell us..." notes, or just a simple note handed to the dining room manager, or front desk.

 

I am not a person to spread around a lot of extra tips,only if extra special. I feel that the gratuity is included so I work up from there. Many may feel otherwise and that is up to them.

 

At the pier you will want to tip the baggage handlers, although sometimes my tips to them have been refused, I still offer about $5.

Have a wonderful time. m--

[CanuckinSMA]

Thank you for this info. Will we have the same room steward every day? Is this the person that cleans the room, makes the bed, takes away dishes, glasses etc.??

[POA1]

Thank you for this info. Will we have the same room steward every day? Is this the person that cleans the room, makes the bed, takes away dishes, glasses etc.??

 

Yes. Same steward, and usually an assistant. They'll typically introduce themselves when you arrive and there's often a card with their names on them in the room. If you have a standing request, just let your room steward know. (Ours is 2 extra bath towels in the Caribbean, a wine chiller bucket, and ice refills.)

[Sequim88]

If this is in the sticky just say "go there" which I intend to do anyway -

but is there a percentage breakdown of the automatic tips as to who gets how much? In the old "cash" days they had suggested amounts and the cabin steward got a bigger cut due to the extra duties and services. Just wondering if that is still true.

 

In the MDR if we have had excellent service from the same beverage server we always give them an extra tip on the last night. At least on RCCL since they were not in the automatic tip pool but rather got tips at the time of service.

[PatsyAnne]

RMLincoln mentioned recognition for service, and I've heard it's very important to the staff. Since I have a dreadful memory for names, I keep a short list of people who have gone above and beyond (often not so short) so that I can mention them when I fill out my review form. If I remember correctly, you'll get an email when you get home.

[I am Lulu]

We like the concept that you don't have to worry about tipping, it's taken care of. We rarely tip anything above the $12.50 each a day. I feel the people that do, will eventually ruin it for those of us, who like that we don't have to worry about it, and can just relax and enjoy our vacation, knowing that the crew will receive their tips. I'm sure there are plenty of others that would agree with me, but don't say so, knowing they may be criticized. The whole idea of tipping, is to give people that do a service for you "extra" (above there regular wages) for doing a very good job. I believe I read someplace, that you can refute the daily tipping charge, if you feel you did not receive good service...the 12.50 a day tip is intend to be that extra. If you want to tip more, that's fine, I just don't want anyone to feel like they have to tip above what they are already tipping. I'd hate to think that someone felt they could not afford to go on a cruise, because they couldn't afford to tip above the daily tip that's already being added to their bill....just saying!

[Hlitner]

We always tip $3-$5 for room service breakfast. As to other tips, we think that HAL (and other cruise lines) has created a "situation" by charging daily gratuities (is it really tips when it is charged regardless of quality of service) and adding 15% to just about everything else (drinks, bar items, etc). Since HAL refused to divulge the details of how they distribute the daily "gratuities" we no longer feel the need to enhance the tipping scheme with additional tips. The sad thing is that before they had this auto tipping scheme we were much more generous then the guidelines.

 

We agree with our Australian brothers/sisters that employers should pay a proper wage and not depend on "tips" to make up for the inadequacies of their pay scale. Trying to transfer "tipping guilt" to passengers is an American scheme intended to justify inadequate wages.

 

Hank

P.S. Let the flaming begin

PPS. Remember when HAL was a "no tipping" line. The a "tipping not required" (did not know that tips were ever "required) line. And more recently a tip crazy line.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Hlitner

[Host Walt]

This thread is closed. For further discussion on the subject of tipping, click here:

 

Sticky thread with all you ever wanted to know about HAL tipping.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265928