Tip Your Bartenders

[Birdie And Sue]

16 hours ago, clw1624 said:

We've prepaid our gratuities to make life easier but are bartenders getting a cut or do we have to tip separately? I hate having to carry cash for every single drink. 

 

You prepaid the DSC, not gratuities.  Aside form that you do not HAVE TO top anyone.  Additionally, you do not have to carry cash to tip.  You can put a tip on your on board account.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, Jasonmom said:

 

 

I never see anyone tipping the porters anymore.  Has that gone away?

 

I always give the porters $5 for the Wife and my two carry on size bags...who would stiff those guys, working in the heat, etc..? 

Edited August 15, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[DZcreature]

If we have received the beverage package as a perk, even though we paid for the gratuities on the package, we tip the bartender. If we don't have the package, we do not tip extra since they automatically add 20 percent per drink which is a big tip.I like to decide for myself if the service warrants a 20 percent tip. I remember when it was 15 percent, and if we wanted to we would leave extra.

 

 

[clw1624]

2 hours ago, Jasonmom said:

 

 

I never see anyone tipping the porters anymore.  Has that gone away?

 

We still tip porters.

[snownow]

18 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Do what you want but you don't have to give extra. I tip $1 cash per drink every time. When on my 15 day Panama canal trip on the Bliss in April I never saw anyone else tip once. I will say this ..... I got the best poolside service I ever had. The pool servers knew I tipped and never ever had to get out of my chair by the pool to go to the bar or find a server, they found me and for some $ singles it was worth it for the extra attention and they appreciated it as well. 

Ditto. I normally bring a stack of singles, and tip often. Cant say i have had bad bar pool or bar service on my last few trips. Also, if a server is going above and beyond (for what ever reason) i feel its nice to tip them in cash. 

[dbrown84]

I tip the bartenders/servers a buck or two for each drink.  I'm always remembered and get great service.  My situation is a little different because I get my drinks from the casino bar.  I have a free casino drink card and there are no gratuities to be paid for the card.  So I'm truly paying a dollar per drink, not counting the casino losses 😥

[zqvol]

19 hours ago, clw1624 said:

We've prepaid our gratuities to make life easier but are bartenders getting a cut or do we have to tip separately? I hate having to carry cash for every single drink. 

 

All NCL crew are paid a salary, tipping is not expected.

[trivia addict]

I tip porters and I even leave a small tip on the table when I eat dinner in the buffet.

Porters because I want to make sure I get my luggage 🙄, and buffet because I know how little those people have,  and how hard they work. They are very appreciative, and I like to think that I am in some way paying back the Universe for my own good fortune to be able to cruise.

As for bartenders, I always bring $100 in ones and fives with me.

I tip extra when I am sitting at a bar,  or in an entertainment space for a long time,  and know that they will quickly  refresh my drink whenever I am empty.

Also, I am a wine drinker,  and spend a lot of time at the wine bars. Often I will order wine that is above the price of the drink package, and a few extra dollars for a tip makes my glasses much fuller! 

[LrgPizza]

For what it’s worth, there is no need to pack a giant stack of ones. Bring a few to tide you over until you can get to the casino to use the bill break machine. Get more by breaking a large bill.  

[KeithJenner]

53 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

For what it’s worth, there is no need to pack a giant stack of ones. Bring a few to tide you over until you can get to the casino to use the bill break machine. Get more by breaking a large bill.  

That doesn’t always work. The machine on the Spirit isn’t working at the moment, and at the casino window they are very stingy with handing out singles. I’ve had some problems on other ships before (maybe a Europe thing for some reason).

[KeithJenner]

Regarding giving tips to get better service, that really depends on the bar, and how often you use it. If you are talking about a very busy bar then it probably does help to get you remembered, but on many ships (and some bars on the busier ships) you will get great service in all bars if you go there regularly.

 

Currently on the Spirit and I am recognised and acknowledged by name in a couple of bars that I wouldn’t expect to, having only been there a few times, but in the bars we mainly use I see no difference in the service based on whether people are topping or not. Just being friendly and getting to know the staff is more effective in my opinion.

 

I’m sure tipping does help if you are using the staff who are wandering around taking orders, but they are relatively rare in most places I use anyway.

[mianmike]

5 hours ago, DZcreature said:

If we have received the beverage package as a perk, even though we paid for the gratuities on the package, we tip the bartender. If we don't have the package, we do not tip extra since they automatically add 20 percent per drink which is a big tip.I like to decide for myself if the service warrants a 20 percent tip. I remember when it was 15 percent, and if we wanted to we would leave extra.

 

 

I don't get your logic.  If you get the beverage package as a perk and you average 5 drinks a day, you are "tipping" $4 a drink thanks to the mandatory gratuities.   If you tip on top of that, you are really a big tipper!  $5, $6 or $7 tip per drink?   A 20% tip for a $13 drink is $2.60.  You would need to average 8 drinks a day on the UBP to be tipping slightly less than 20% per drink, but if you still tip in addition to the UBP mandatory gratuities then you'll still be tipping more than 20%.  

[El_Rolfo]

Isn't additional tipping like a "front-of-the-line pass"? You pay to get better service than the average Joe? This potentially could start a bidding war where, firstly, the ones who don't tip additionally get abysmal service and the ones tipping the MOST will even bypass the ones adding a dollar per drink? Hypothetically this could lead to that albeit in practice it doesn't happen as only few tip additionally? Based on my experience following the bar service I'd say 90% don't give additional tip, at least much less than the 75% figure mentioned here.

[jaja]

I always bring lots of 1s and 5s... and do tip for exceptional service sometimes ..even when have prepaid beverage. I also tip per drink in casino....  And , yes, I always tip porters !!!   

[LaCal]

We bring $100 in singles and lots of $5s.  Tip $1-$2 per round of drinks and if I’m sitting at the bar I tip the bartender a minimum of $5 after we’re done drinking there 

 

😜🍹🍹

[newmexicoNita]

15 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I always give the porters $5 for the Wife and my two carry on size bags...who would stiff those guys, working in the heat, etc..? 

same here: I know they really do make good money, they are unionized but it is just habit. We too, usually give them $5. 

[Ptroxx]

How many bartenders do you think are on board a ship??    

think about your 20% gratuity divided by that many bartenders.   

Doesnt seem like your really tipping much at all.        

 

I always take 100.00 in 1.00 & 2.00 bills.     I like the 2.00 bills the most.  

The staff love the 2.00 bills.   

 

And yes you’ll be surprised the better service you’ll get. 

As soon as I meet my room steward I give them a nice tip to keep my ice bucket full at all time.  As I drink a ton of water.     

I dont even drink anymore.   But I’ll still tip a buck for a glass of water.    

[BostonGal35]

no need to tip.  that said, usually by day 2 we have found our fave bartenders/spots and usually tip here and there.  for example, we like Howl at the Moon on the larger ships.  They always have the same bartender in there, we are always there, so ive given as much as $20 at a time.  Given the crowds and hte lines i can tell you i never wait for drinks.

[adam_s_allen]

1 hour ago, Ptroxx said:

How many bartenders do you think are on board a ship??    

think about your 20% gratuity divided by that many bartenders.   

Doesnt seem like your really tipping much at all.        

 

I always take 100.00 in 1.00 & 2.00 bills.     I like the 2.00 bills the most.  

The staff love the 2.00 bills.   

 

And yes you’ll be surprised the better service you’ll get. 

As soon as I meet my room steward I give them a nice tip to keep my ice bucket full at all time.  As I drink a ton of water.     

I dont even drink anymore.   But I’ll still tip a buck for a glass of water.    

I’d say there’s probably no more than 200 bartenders on the ship. If only half the people on a sailing have the drink package that’s $40,000 per day in gratuities going to 200 people.

 

I’m not saying not to tip additional, I’m just saying it’s not a small amount.

[smplybcause]

11 hours ago, mianmike said:

I don't get your logic.  If you get the beverage package as a perk and you average 5 drinks a day, you are "tipping" $4 a drink thanks to the mandatory gratuities.   If you tip on top of that, you are really a big tipper!  $5, $6 or $7 tip per drink?   A 20% tip for a $13 drink is $2.60.  You would need to average 8 drinks a day on the UBP to be tipping slightly less than 20% per drink, but if you still tip in addition to the UBP mandatory gratuities then you'll still be tipping more than 20%.  

 

That's why I order the $15 drinks 😉 ahead after 7.

[cincicruisers]

We also bring Singles, fives, and tens.  The bar staff is very appreciative of the cash.  It’s a small amount of money to me and I enjoy tipping extra.  

 

Tipping extra is a personal decision. It’s my choice to tip extra.

[zencruisers]

I believe there is no right or wrong. We usually bring $250 in ones, and fives. I typically tip a dollar or two for each drink. I also tip the room steward and porters with that money. I have always received great service especially at the pool. 

[TonyB17]

2 hours ago, adam_s_allen said:

I’d say there’s probably no more than 200 bartenders on the ship. If only half the people on a sailing have the drink package that’s $40,000 per day in gratuities going to 200 people.

 

I’m not saying not to tip additional, I’m just saying it’s not a small amount.

Or less than $30 a day on a 7 day sailing. . .  

[adam_s_allen]

4 minutes ago, TonyB17 said:

Or less than $30 a day on a 7 day sailing. . .  

$40,000 per day divided by 200 people would be $200 a day each.

[Stealthdog]

28 minutes ago, adam_s_allen said:

$40,000 per day divided by 200 people would be $200 a day each.

 

I need to become a cruise bartender!  That estimate, plus the 18% for those drinks from people not on the plan, plus all the $1s, $2s, and $5s they get, it looks like they make 2-3 times what I made bartending when I was younger. 😀

 

That assumes it all goes to them, which I doubt is true.