Advice on tipping?

[Alex48307]

Okay, a couple of months ago I asked a question about *****.com, got favorable response from the board and ended up saving a lot of money on a Caribbean cruise scheduled for late spring. Thanks. Now I have another first-time cruiser question. When and how much do I tip on a cruise? I saw a USA Today article on the subject, but every line is different. Why? Article referenced a cruise tip calculator - found it online and its pretty easy to use, but not sure if its legit. Does everyone on a ship get tipped? I feel like I'm giving the money I just saved right back? Any suggestions?

[caviargal]

Okay, a couple of months ago I asked a question about *****.com, got favorable response from the board and ended up saving a lot of money on a Caribbean cruise scheduled for late spring. Thanks. Now I have another first-time cruiser question. When and how much do I tip on a cruise? I saw a USA Today article on the subject, but every line is different. Why? Article referenced a cruise tip calculator - found it online and its pretty easy to use, but not sure if its legit. Does everyone on a ship get tipped? I feel like I'm giving the money I just saved right back? Any suggestions?

 

Every line is different and the information will be in your ticket booklet and also covered again on the cruise.

 

Some lines, like NCL, charge a flat $10 pp pd to be split amongst all service personnel.

 

RCI has this as an option, as does Celebrity.

[Cotton]

It would make it easier to answer if we knew which cruiseline.:)

 

Carnival, for instance, has what they call "automatic tipping". The tips are entered onto your Sail & Sign account at the beginning of the cruise. It amounts to $10 per person per day.

 

Example: If you and your spouse were cruising together, it would be $140 ($70 per person) total for a seven night cruise. You do have the option of reducing or even removing these tips from your account, and tipping if cash if you'd rather. However, most folks leave the tips on their account. It's a very fair amount.

 

This $10 per person per day is broken down as follows:

 

$5.50 per day to dining room waiter and assistant waiter.

$3.50 per day to cabin steward.

$1.00 per day to Lido Deck dining personnel.

[Sheffie]

I don't know if this is the tip calculator you found, but this one is legit. (A CC member made it!) http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

I understand about wondering whom to tip and wondering about tipping taking up all of your saved money. The calculator will help you know whom. We just consider tipping a part of our cruise cost. These people work VERY hard and the cruise lines usually only pay them about $50 per month. The tips are their real pay.

 

Some other people that you may want to tip are the stevedores who handle your luggage on the pier ($1 - $2 per bag is what people have recommended)and a dollar or two if you have room service; more if it is big order.

 

Have a fabulous cruise!

[TPKeller]

Okay, a couple of months ago I asked a question about *****.com, got favorable response from the board and ended up saving a lot of money on a Caribbean cruise scheduled for late spring. Thanks. Now I have another first-time cruiser question. When and how much do I tip on a cruise? I saw a USA Today article on the subject, but every line is different. Why? Article referenced a cruise tip calculator - found it online and its pretty easy to use, but not sure if its legit. Does everyone on a ship get tipped? I feel like I'm giving the money I just saved right back? Any suggestions?

Hi Alex,

 

You ask very good questions. I think I can give you some general information that will help you understand it better.

 

By the way, the tip calculator in the USA Today travel column is the same one that was mentioned in a later post on this thread, and I am the author. You can read about how it came to be if you click on the "Why" and the "Who" links on the calculator page.

 

My little blurb on tipping on a cruise goes something like this:

 

Tipping is not the correct word to use for what is called "tipping" on a cruise.

 

Nobody really knows the origin of the word "tip" even though many people claim various sources, acronyms, traditions, etc. There does not seem to be a general consensus on the actual origin of the word. Generally speaking, in many cultures, a "tip" is something you give above and beyond normal compensation for someone who has done above and beyond their normal duty. There are plenty of places in various cultures where the level of "above and beyond" flucutates, for example a waiter/waitress in the USA generally counts on tips as a part of their pay, as their wage is usually well below what is capable of providing a reasonable income. So, for example, one should tip a waiter/waitress in a restaurant as part of their normal duty, rather than only if they exceed expectations.

 

Cruise ship tipping takes that example to the extreme. Most positions on a cruise ship that are covered by the line's official tipping recommendations have a wage structure (weekly or monthly) that is trivial. Reports range as little as $50 per month, which doesn't take much math to figure out is less than $2 per DAY.

 

So, it is not hard to see that for those particular folks, tipping is not "extra", it is indeed their salary.

 

Now why is this the case? Basically, the cruise lines have employed a business model that takes the labor cost of the services you receive from these folks, and shifts it out of the cruise ticket price, and puts it directly in the hands of the customer. Call it a "tip", make it optional, make it variable, based on the level of service, and you end up with a deflated up-front sticker price, and service personnel who are very personally motivated to ensure that you are very happy with their job performance.

 

Some people have problems with this business model. Some people have such problems that they do not tip. Sometimes the debates about these issues can get quite lively. My personal opinion is that if you understand the business model (namely that your tips are really salary), and if you choose to participate by going on a cruise, then you should also participate in the system that is established. It isn't fair to protest your personal objection to a system by punishing the folks who are working very hard to cater to your every whim. Again, that is me speaking.

 

Back to the tip calculator, I don't personally recommend any tip amounts. All the calculator does is take the official recommendations from the cruise line, and help you with the math, and then the division of the cash into the envelopes. If a cruise line makes a change to their policy, I very much welcome someone dropping me a note to let me know, and this has happened over the years as policies have changed.

 

So that's Theron's perspective on tipping, in a nutshell. I hope you find it helpful.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Theron

[TPKeller]

Oh, by the way, for anyone interested in reading the USA Today Travel Column article:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2006-01-24-mcgee_x.htm

 

Theron

[kd6183]

Hi Alex,

 

You ask very good questions. I think I can give you some general information that will help you understand it better.

 

By the way, the tip calculator in the USA Today travel column is the same one that was mentioned in a later post on this thread, and I am the author. You can read about how it came to be if you click on the "Why" and the "Who" links on the calculator page.

 

My little blurb on tipping on a cruise goes something like this:

 

Tipping is not the correct word to use for what is called "tipping" on a cruise.

 

Nobody really knows the origin of the word "tip" even though many people claim various sources, acronyms, traditions, etc. There does not seem to be a general consensus on the actual origin of the word. Generally speaking, in many cultures, a "tip" is something you give above and beyond normal compensation for someone who has done above and beyond their normal duty. There are plenty of places in various cultures where the level of "above and beyond" flucutates, for example a waiter/waitress in the USA generally counts on tips as a part of their pay, as their wage is usually well below what is capable of providing a reasonable income. So, for example, one should tip a waiter/waitress in a restaurant as part of their normal duty, rather than only if they exceed expectations.

 

Cruise ship tipping takes that example to the extreme. Most positions on a cruise ship that are covered by the line's official tipping recommendations have a wage structure (weekly or monthly) that is trivial. Reports range as little as $50 per month, which doesn't take much math to figure out is less than $2 per DAY.

 

So, it is not hard to see that for those particular folks, tipping is not "extra", it is indeed their salary.

 

Now why is this the case? Basically, the cruise lines have employed a business model that takes the labor cost of the services you receive from these folks, and shifts it out of the cruise ticket price, and puts it directly in the hands of the customer. Call it a "tip", make it optional, make it variable, based on the level of service, and you end up with a deflated up-front sticker price, and service personnel who are very personally motivated to ensure that you are very happy with their job performance.

 

Some people have problems with this business model. Some people have such problems that they do not tip. Sometimes the debates about these issues can get quite lively. My personal opinion is that if you understand the business model (namely that your tips are really salary), and if you choose to participate by going on a cruise, then you should also participate in the system that is established. It isn't fair to protest your personal objection to a system by punishing the folks who are working very hard to cater to your every whim. Again, that is me speaking.

 

Back to the tip calculator, I don't personally recommend any tip amounts. All the calculator does is take the official recommendations from the cruise line, and help you with the math, and then the division of the cash into the envelopes. If a cruise line makes a change to their policy, I very much welcome someone dropping me a note to let me know, and this has happened over the years as policies have changed.

 

So that's Theron's perspective on tipping, in a nutshell. I hope you find it helpful.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Theron[/quote

 

Hello,

I found your post extrememly insightful but still have a question. I believe we take all that into consideration and are very nice tippers so my question isn't how much to tip but the priority of whom to tip. We always give the most to the cabin stewards since they work so hard on a daily basis. In fact we usually tip them a larger amount than we do to the bulter and the concierge. After reading your post it appears that the stewards seem to be compensated the most in the daily tipping charge added to the cabin so we're afraid we may have the priority of tipping backwards. Do you or anyone else have any insight on this, would love to hear. Thanks so much!

[VentureMan_2000]

To get the best answer, just plan on spending $10 per person per day, and then go to the Purser's desk and ask them what their tipping reccommendation is.

 

Keep it simple and have a great cruise.

[TPKeller]

Hello,

I found your post extrememly insightful but still have a question. I believe we take all that into consideration and are very nice tippers so my question isn't how much to tip but the priority of whom to tip. We always give the most to the cabin stewards since they work so hard on a daily basis. In fact we usually tip them a larger amount than we do to the bulter and the concierge. After reading your post it appears that the stewards seem to be compensated the most in the daily tipping charge added to the cabin so we're afraid we may have the priority of tipping backwards. Do you or anyone else have any insight on this, would love to hear. Thanks so much!

I don't think most people think quite this hard about it :). I think the recommendations from the line are designed to be appropriate, so anything beyond that I would base on personal service, perhaps above and beyond what is normal or expected. Of course, that may be difficult to determine, but I guess that's the way it works.

 

Sorry not to be more help.

 

Theron

[kd6183]

Thank you for the responses, I do tend to overthink these things as my DH would say! LOL Thanks so much again!

[Bonnie J.]

Most ships now have automatic tipping, usually $10 per day per person. On some ships you can cancel or lower this but that is really not fair to waiters, room stewards, etc. Our waiter, Feb. cruise, is paid $45 a MONTH! They count on tips! Once we were told by our waiter that the ship takes some of their salary and puts it aside for them to pay for their round trip home after 8-9 months on board. He was from the Phillipines. If we get good service from any one, we give a cash tip to them at the end of the cruise as well. However, if there is a good, attentive bar waiter we tip after a day or two - then they become even more attentive. Once we canceled the automatic tips because we were getting really bad service from our room stewardess - we left her a smaller tip. In the dining room, this was NCL, we always went to a fantastic waitress and tipped her and her assistant every night - usually $10 & $5.