Prepaid Gratuities and Small Bills

[gtkor]

Hello and thanks for any advice in advance!

 

My wife and I have prepaid gratuities for our upcoming cruise in March. I have also seen advice more than once to have small bills available for tips throughout the vacation. It makes sense to have some for porters and transfers (I think we are doing only cruise-sponsored excursions). I'll also have tips ready for the excursion providers themselves (but this probably wouldn't be coming out of the $1s or $5s).

 

Is there anyone I am missing? It seems like bar/restaurant staff would mostly be covered via the seapass (cruising RCI) and I wouldn't really need cash on hand for that.

[lifes-a-beach]

We take 50 one dollar bills for nothing but tips and the occasional cab ride that we don't have change for.  I keep half and my wife the other half.  I tip the baggage handlers at the port, room service folks on the ship and we always give our room steward a little something extra when they do a good job.  Ashore I rarely find the need to tip other than the traditional 20% on top of a tab. 

[leaveitallbehind]

Your prepaid gratuities cover the stateroom attendants and dining waitstaff.  No need for cash with this unless you want to give additional gratuities to them. Your beverage purchases will come with a gratuity included so no need for cash there either.  The only cash gratuities needed are for baggage handlers off the ship, taxi's,  and excursion providers if you desire to tip them.

 

The ship and all purchases on board - except cash exchanged gambling expenses - are cashless and are done through your SeaPass card, which will be tied to a credit card or pre-arranged cash account. No cash is needed or accepted on board.

[paul929207]

I do not tip at the beginning or in the middle of the cruise. I feel the auto tips whether pre-paid or charged to your account cover the bulk of the tips for the staff. If a waiter or a cabin steward are exceptional, I will give them something at the end of the cruise.

[zqvol]

We leave home with nothing smaller than $20s. I end up coming back with a pocket full of singles. There is no need to take a lot of small bills. You will end up with plenty of them at the end, and you can always get change on the ship.

[gtkor]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

We leave home with nothing smaller than $20s. I end up coming back with a pocket full of singles. There is no need to take a lot of small bills. You will end up with plenty of them at the end, and you can always get change on the ship.

 

Is this just from buying this in Ports? It seems like there wouldn't be much cash spent on board as best as I can tell

[Mary229]

We are tippers, so yes, we bring a lot of 5s and 1s plus a handful of 20s for the end of the cruise.   We tip guides, drivers, shore service providers, room stewards and anyone else we think has done a good job.  This is not a morality or ethics thing, it is just something we enjoy doing. 

[Nebr.cruiser]

We don't normally tip anything on the ship, beyond our prepaid gratutities except that usually we leave $20-$40 pp for the steward, depending on length of the cruise, unless they are really substandard. We leave this on the last day.

 

We never order room service, but most people tip a couple of dollars for that.  We do bring some smaller bills for onshore tips to tour guides baggage handlers and possibly cabs.

[GottaKnowWhen]

I usually wind up going to the same two or three bars for any drinks. Often there will be one server who always works the section where I usually sit in each of those bars. By the second or third visit they recognize me, know what my wine preference is. End of cruise I give them a thank-you tip, $10-15. And then there are cruises where that never happens; I don’t go out of my way trying to find an excuse to tip, but I’ll do it where deserved and where a connection of sorts has been made.

So, $1s for ashore, cabs etc. $5s, $10s, $20s for serious tipping of steward, sommelier in the MDR, wait staff and sometimes the maitre’de...

[dogs4fun]

We usually take a selection of 5, 10 & 20 dollar bills - any extra tipping on ship we do at end of cruise. 

[zqvol]

16 hours ago, gtkor said:

 

Is this just from buying this in Ports? It seems like there wouldn't be much cash spent on board as best as I can tell

 

From buying in ports, in airports, on the way to the cruise, pretty much any place except on the ship you get change, and in MOST (not ALL) ports you get change in USD as long as the bill you give them is not too big. It also works to be prepared to walk away if vendors try to give you change in local currency.

[cb at sea]

Carry large bills..have the "broken down" on the ship.  You don't want to be traveling with WADS of small bills!  I mean, you will have some, but no need to bring hundreds of dollars in ones and fives!  Way too bulky!

[samiam0403]

I always cruise with an abundance of $1 and $5 bills. Tips for room service, tips for comped drinks in the casino, tips for excursions, tips for luggage porters, etc. On my last cruise, I tipped the room service waitress $5 for breakfast, and her double-take, wide eyes, and exuberant 'thank you!' made me wonder if people weren't tipping for room service at all. When I settle into a favorite bar for the week, I tip an extra $1 per drink (yes, I know, tips are included with beverage packages), and a) never have to wait in line for a drink, and b) usually have the bartender pouring my drink as I approach the bar. Can you still get great service not doing so? Absolutely. But different strokes for different folks. Do what works for you - you'll figure it out on board. Hope you have a fantastic cruise!

[navybankerteacher]

Because we always start the day with room service coffee , we bring a stack of $1 bills to be ready for a $2 tip for each delivery.  For superior service, we will give MDR and cabin stewards $10 to $20 per week each (at the end of the cruise), so always bring an appropriate amount with us.   Otherwise we simply leave the auto-tip in place.

[lauren009]

Here's a post from my blog I wrote about tipping that outlines everything: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/2018/06/cruise-automatic-gratuities.html

Edited January 23, 2019 by lauren009