stateroom steward and anytime dining tipping

[Mike45LC]

On 9/9/2019 at 3:20 AM, majortom10 said:

 Sorry to disappoint but US isnt the be all and end all in the world

This from a Texan??

 

Explanation:  Midland is a city in Texas.  So. being US-centric [the States being the be all and end all], I figure your "Midlands" is a typo for "MIdland, Texas"!

 

[CZEE]

superfluous.

Edited October 18, 2019 by CZEE
deleted

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

This from a Texan??

 

Explanation:  Midland is a city in Texas.  So. being US-centric [the States being the be all and end all], I figure your "Midlands" is a typo for "MIdland, Texas"!

 

'Majortom' has his residence listed as "Midlands". It took that to be in the Midlands area of the UK, not a city in Texas. 😊

[Mike45LC]

37 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

'Majortom' has his residence listed as "Midlands". It took that to be in the Midlands area of the UK, not a city in Texas. 😊

Yes, I know.  That is why I included my "explanation."  Oy, these people!!

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

Yes, I know.  That is why I included my "explanation."  Oy, these people!!

I get your joke. 😊

[CRUZBUDS]

We made the mistake of following the advice of the tip ahead people once.  Our steward was a professional and he politely refused and told us he had not earned it yet.  We have never tried it again and never will -- in 45+ cruises our cabin service has only been less than great a couple of times.  When it was we let the steward know and it improved.

 

An interesting note to our GB friends.  We know a girl how is going to school in England.  She was a waitress for several years in Chicago.  She got a job in a pub and as she did in Chicago, she worked her butt off.  Soon she noticed that she was the only server working that hard.   It did't take her long to dial back the effort since there was no additional reward and one one else was working very hard.   

 

Tipping isn't perfect, but .....      

Edited October 18, 2019 by CRUZBUDS

[majortom10]

11 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

This from a Texan??

 

Explanation:  Midland is a city in Texas.  So. being US-centric [the States being the be all and end all], I figure your "Midlands" is a typo for "MIdland, Texas"!

 

No it isnt a typo it is Midlands, U.K. there is a world out there. Just to clear up any future confusion I have changed my profile location.

Edited October 18, 2019 by majortom10

[pablo222]

On 9/3/2019 at 3:00 PM, Potstech said:

Want to give them a gift?  Give them a calling card that can be used to make International Calls. No storage needed and they can call their families when they get the chance. This was from several crew members we have meet on excursions.

Most ships now have a monthly, unlimited internet plan available to crew.

Facetime, Skype, Viber, etc.

 

No need and longer for calling cards...

 

However, it's always nice to read when someone wants to do something extra for crew...

 

[boltarella]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:23 AM, voljeep said:

currently 18%

I was a little surprised on my recent RC cruise. I paid the $14.50 per day that was supposed to be divided among dining, room attendants & bar. Drinks still had the 18%. Who in the bar gets a portion of the 18%?

[skynight]

17 minutes ago, boltarella said:

I was a little surprised on my recent RC cruise. I paid the $14.50 per day that was supposed to be divided among dining, room attendants & bar. Drinks still had the 18%. Who in the bar gets a portion of the 18%?

The Princess bar staff do not receive a portion of the auto tip. 

[frugaltravel]

On 10/17/2019 at 6:17 PM, Mike45LC said:

This from a Texan??

 

Explanation:  Midland is a city in Texas.  So. being US-centric [the States being the be all and end all], I figure your "Midlands" is a typo for "MIdland, Texas"!

 

Guess you haven't traveled much. And no, the world does not revolve around the USA. I feel embarrassed as an American to even read this!

[MissP22]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:13 PM, pablo222 said:

Most ships now have a monthly, unlimited internet plan available to crew.

Facetime, Skype, Viber, etc.

 

No need and longer for calling cards...

 

However, it's always nice to read when someone wants to do something extra for crew...

 

You've got that right.

I couldn't even find one of the crew to give my remaining 350 minutes to a few days before the end of the cruise. Since almost all of them have the unlimited internet crew plan these days they have no need for any additional minutes. 

A calling card is a thing of the past. 

[keithm]

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 12:16 PM, denmarks said:

I read somewhere that if you cancel the automatic gratuity and pay in cash the money must be turned in and is still divided for all the service staff. They can only keep money that is over the automatic tip. Therefore if you gave $2 a day to your waiter and $10 a day to your room steward they would have to turn it in to be divided by all. Can anyone confirm if this it true?

Though I can't prove it, staff have told me, yes they have to put that $ in the pool. If you leave the auto tip in place(like us) any extra that you so choose to tip extra DO get to keep that. That $14.50 breaks down to generally:$3PP per day(cabin attendant)$2PP per day for assistants to the aforementioned staff. The remainder gets divvied up among all the staff you don't see: Laundry staff/staff cooking your food/maintenance staff/ custodial staff(cleaners of the bathrooms etc.) and so on. For us(I base this on 14 day trips)& the level of cruising, we generally tip the attendant(total)$100/assistants $50/head waiter $100/assistant waiter $50/ Sommeliers $25(no Sommeliers on Princess) Maître D $25 if they did something for us such as a window seat etc. What you choose to pay extra, if any is your choice. To remove the auto tip is plain sleazy & I'm being kind here! We're both in the hospitality fields & choose to take care of our "own" as it were.

[keithm]

On ‎9‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 6:32 PM, weedpindle said:

And where do they put stuff in their very cramped cabins?

Remember that movie Papillion? 'nuff said!

 

[rugerdog]

On 10/22/2019 at 2:54 PM, frugaltravel said:

Guess you haven't traveled much. And no, the world does not revolve around the USA. I feel embarrassed as an American to even read this!

 

I took Mike's comments as humorous, since he went on to explain his post, and based upon the previous comment about the US being the be all, end all. 

 

Perhaps I misunderstood, but I'd suggest that maybe tongue-in-cheek doesn't always translate the way it was intended, and his post was not meant to be rude in any way.  Just an observation, and I thought it was a funny post.

[Lynniepoo]

On 9/4/2019 at 12:01 PM, jmadams said:

Thanks everyone for your responses. When I go to a Disney park, I make some thank you envelopes and pre-stuff them with tips before I leave home.  I’ll do the same thing this time!   I will also grab a bunch of thank you cards for my family and I to fill out.

This is very nice of you.  I always like seeing OP's posts where they show kindness and respect for people who are working very hard to make sure you have a good time.  Bravo.  If I may make a suggestion, instead of thank you cards, fill out the staff appreciation cards that will be available towards the end of the cruise.  I've had several cruise employees tell me that in some ways, those cards are just as important (if not more so) than their tips.  

 

Regarding cash tips, we do the auto gratuities and usually leave a cash tip for the room steward and our main and assistant waiter at the MDR.  For the room steward, we generally tip about $40 US, $15-20 for the main waiter and $5 - 10 for the assistant waiter.  There have been times when we have not tipped extra at all for sub-par service.  There have also been times where we've tipped other staff because their service was so darn excellent - a super friendly bartender, for example.  

 

Regarding bringing cash, I would definitely bring some with you.  Even though we generally use our credit card while in port, there are times when having a little cash is good, e.g., tipping at a restaurant in port, or buying something at a cash only (yes they still exist!) location.