Who TO TIP, WHEN TO TIP, AND HOW MUCH?

[tamlyn63]

Going on first cruise ever Jan 7-14 Golden Princess. I am confused as to who to tip, when to tip and how much to tip. Help would be appreciated. Thnx.

 

Tammy

[Bequia]

Hi Tammy, Click on this link for some answers ;) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5237237#post5237237

[kitty9]

When you get your cruise documents, they will have a section telling you who and how much to tip.

 

Generally, you tip your waiter, assistant waiter and room steward but the amount varies by cruise line. You can tip automatically via your shipboard account on some cruise lines, and others you tip in cash on the last night of the cruise. Tips for bar waiters are automatically added to your bill. As a guideline it's about $4 per day per person for the room steward/waiter and $2.50 per day per person for the assistant waiter. But as I said, on some lines the tips are higher, and on some it will be lower. Remember, you don't have to tip the recommended amount because if you get extra special service, you can always tip more.

[DFritz]

These are my general guidelines: ( you can alter as you see fit )

 

Room Steward $3.50 per person per day ( or $2.00 and $1.50 if they have assistants) we generally follow the basic guidelines of the cruise line.

 

Dining Room Waiter ( main waiter ) $3.50 per person per day ( we generally follow the cruiseline basic guidelines).

 

Assistant Dining Room Waiter ( some call them bus boys, water boys, bread boys, whatever....) $2.00 per person per day ( cruiseline basic guidelines again ).

 

Head or Matre' D : $5.00 for the week per couple- we've only ever had one do anything at all for us.

 

Wine Steward: 15% will automatically be on your bill.

 

Bar Tenders: 15% will automatically be on your bill.

 

Room Service: $2.00 per delivery.

 

Baggage Handlers at the Pier: $1.00 per piece of luggage delivered to stateroom.

 

Taxi Drivers: 10% of bill ( nothing in Mexico- not expected or requested ).

 

Spa or Salon Servers: 15% will automatically be on your bill.

 

Casino Dealers: at your discretion.

 

Childrens Program Staff: at your discretion.

 

Excursion Leaders at Ports of Call: $1.00 per person at your discretion.

 

Every cruiseline has different basic tipping guidelines. Be sure to carry a stack of $20-$30 in one dollar bills and you will be ready for whatever.

[DFritz]

I just realized you asked WHEN to tip as well:

 

Room Stewards, Dining room staff : Pay either in cash at the end of the cruise or early in the cruise it can usually be put on your credit card account.

 

Baggage Handlers: only tip those at the pier when you hand over your bags.

 

Bar/Spa service: it will be automatically billed to your credit card account as you consume/purchase.

 

Room service: at time of delivery

 

Excursion Leaders: at end of excursion

[tamlyn63]

thnx everyone!

[medicprn]

What's the guideline for tipping the driver of the cruiseline's airport-to-pier transfer? Is it 15%, or $1-2 pp?

 

Anyone who's used RCCL's transfers: RCCL told me the shuttles depart every 30 min from the airport. Is this really true? Our flight arrives fairly early (11 a.m.), and I'm not sure if an entire charter bus will fill up in that amount of time at that hour.

 

Thanks in advance!