Tipping question

[rescue111b]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

Thank you in advance.

[TFLG]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

Thank you in advance.

 

Technically, A tip before service is rendered is a bribe. But if you want good seats at an open show in vegas you gotta do what ya gotta do....

[Fouremco]

If you are planning on slipping a restaurant's maître d' some cash to get a good table, I'd advise you doing so before you are seated. :cool:

[cruisestitch]

Just went to a dinner with a large group of friends. Tip was automatically added to the bill, which we knew would happen because it was restaurant policy for large groups.

[Host Walt]

The etymology of the word TIP is said to be "To Insure Promptness" or "To (I)nsure Performance) Kinda doesn't make sense to tip after the service is over.

 

OTOH, the anticipation of a good tip may be a better motivation so prepaid "tips" becomes an oxymoron.

 

In some cultures a tip is considered an insult in the sense that it communicates to the tip recipient that he/she is subservient to the tipper.

 

IMHO, the current approach where the cruise line specifies amounts and calls them "prepaid gratuities" and offers to have the passenger pay them in advance is really gratuitous (or, in that sense, nonsense.) is essentially a way to pass a payroll cost on to the passenger without tacking it onto the cruise fare.

[hrhdhd]

The etymology of the word TIP is said to be "To Insure Promptness" or "To (I)nsure Performance) Kinda doesn't make sense to tip after the service is over.

 

"Tip" does not have this etymology, actually. Someone thought of a cute backronym.

[Beanb41]

"Service charge" is the new buzz word on X ships as tips and gratuities have offensive connotations in some cultures especially if one is not given an option

[fshagan]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

Thank you in advance.

 

You don't. The daily gratuity / service charge / daily tips are added to your onboard account and paid at the end of the cruise.

 

Some people prefer to pre-pay them, but just like a restaurant adding a mandatory "service charge" for parties of 6 or more, or your hotel charging you a mandatory "resort fee", you don't have to pay them until the end.

 

If the cruise line allows you to adjust them then you can, and it's a more flexible deal than that mandatory service charge for parties of 6 or more, or the resort fee at the hotel.

[Fouremco]

"Tip" does not have this etymology, actually. Someone thought of a cute backronym.

Also, it would be TEP, not TIP, as it would be "to ensure promptness", no to insure it.

[Gonzo70]

Many high end restaurants require full payment of the meal and gratuity at the time the reservation is made - sometimes this can be as much as a year before the actual meal.

[sandancer]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

Maybe you refer to some posters who have reported giving their room attendant an amount of money on the first night to encourage extra good service. Personally I have never felt the need to do this. It’s our usual routine to give an extra tip on the last night and usually have excellent service from our room attendant.

 

 

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[Iamthesea]

After reading a suggestion on these boards to "tip" a $20 when you first meet your room attendant, we did so for several cruises. They also received pre-paid gratuities and if the service was outstanding, we slipped another $20 at the end of the cruise. Sometimes, we received great service (although we are not demanding passengers) and friendliness. Sometimes our stateroom attendant was indifferent ...no matter what.

 

So after reading on these boards that it may be offensive to give a tip beforehand, we stopped the above practice.

 

On our cruise last month, we asked for hangers and a shower cap. Our attendant was always welcoming, happy, and constantly asking if we needed anything. Halfway through the cruise we asked, only, about the turn-down service chocolates that we noticed had been missing. That night we had chocolates! :D Needless to say, when we left for dinner the night before disembarkation, we made sure to give our attendant a little something extra. ;)

 

We also noticed that the attendants delivering breakfast room service were surprised when we handed over a tip. But also very appreciative. I am not sure if it had to do with the fact that we were on an Australian/New Zealand cruise.

[Pickels]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

Thank you in advance.

 

Since we've been cruising (2003), we have never tipped before service, always after. Even the porter at the dock, gets a tip after he loads our luggage. When on the ship, the automatic gratuities I consider a starting point for tips. If a crew member has an attitude, or doesn't do his/her job, that now become the ending point. But, If a crew member goes out of his/her way to do an outstanding above and beyond, that automatic gratuity is the starting point as we will give "envelopes" with a nice thank you in the form of an extra gratuity.

[themutis]

I tend to tip the bartenders at the bars I plan to frequent, but only after I've gotten a drink. Not a huge amount of money, maybe a 5.00. If the service continues to be great, I will continue to tip occasionally throughout the cruise.

[Orator]

Don't treat those who provide service as servants or inferiors. Be friendly and show interest in them and you'll get wonderful service. You can tip extra at the end if you wish. There was an interesting article recently on Cruise Critic that suggested when not to tip.

[DENIE]

Don't treat those who provide service as servants or inferiors. Be friendly and show interest in them and you'll get wonderful service. You can tip extra at the end if you wish. There was an interesting article recently on Cruise Critic that suggested when not to tip.

 

Yes! When our wait staff, Cafe al Bacio staff, cabin steward, etc. are not super busy, we love to ask them questions about where they are from, and find they will be very engaging and friendly! We do tend to leave a little extra with the folks that wait on us the most in the places we frequent.

[cb at sea]

Tipping BEFORE service isn't done on a ship, either! Even if you pay your tips in advance, those who receive them don't get the tips until the cruise is OVER!

[Fouremco]

Tipping BEFORE service isn't done on a ship, either! Even if you pay your tips in advance, those who receive them don't get the tips until the cruise is OVER!

You might want to go back and read some of the many tipping threads. A good number of passengers tip bartenders and/or room stewards in advance in anticipation of receiving better service.

[verizon]

Tipping BEFORE service isn't done on a ship, either! Even if you pay your tips in advance, those who receive them don't get the tips until the cruise is OVER!

If i go for a 2 weeks cruise,I usually tip them 1/2 on 1st week,so they know I tip.Just got off Eclipse last week.The steward that was with me 3 cruises back still remember my name and told me I left something behind the room from previous cruise and gave the item back to me..

Edited March 11, 2018 by verizon

[Keith1010]

Most people tip through their account so it is after most service shave been rendered but from time to time someone will tip ahead of time.

 

Keith

[chamima]

After reading a suggestion on these boards to "tip" a $20 when you first meet your room attendant, we did so for several cruises. They also received pre-paid gratuities and if the service was outstanding, we slipped another $20 at the end of the cruise. Sometimes, we received great service (although we are not demanding passengers) and friendliness. Sometimes our stateroom attendant was indifferent ...no matter what.

 

So after reading on these boards that it may be offensive to give a tip beforehand, we stopped the above practice.

 

On our cruise last month, we asked for hangers and a shower cap. Our attendant was always welcoming, happy, and constantly asking if we needed anything. Halfway through the cruise we asked, only, about the turn-down service chocolates that we noticed had been missing. That night we had chocolates! :D Needless to say, when we left for dinner the night before disembarkation, we made sure to give our attendant a little something extra. ;)

We also noticed that the attendants delivering breakfast room service were surprised when we handed over a tip. But also very appreciative. I am not sure if it had to do with the fact that we were on an Australian/New Zealand cruise.

 

 

I order coffee and orange juice most mornings from room service.

The young man who brought it was "surprised" at the tip every single morning of our 28 days on the ship! ;)

(Same young man, same order, same tip - almost every day for 28 days - and same "surprised" expression on his face and same "surprised" response of thanks - every day .);):D

Edited March 11, 2018 by chamima

[Gracie115]

Tipping BEFORE service isn't done on a ship, either! Even if you pay your tips in advance, those who receive them don't get the tips until the cruise is OVER!

 

 

It may not be done by you, but it IS INDEED done by many on a cruise

[NantahalaCruiser]

Is a cruise ship the only place where you would tip before any service is rendered ?

Thank you in advance.

Pun intended? :)