Gratuities on long cruises

[mrstmaxx]

Apologies if this has been covered previously - we are going on a world cruise and trying to figure out how much to tip  our cabin steward.  On shorter cruises we generally tip $50 for 7 days or less and $50 - $80 for 10 days or more (have not been on a cruise longer than 43 days and we tipped our cabin steward $200 because she was wonderful)   We don't ask for much, just an extra wash cloth.  I know cabins are being serviced just once a day, and this may continue for quite a while, which is fine with us so it's not like we are asking, or will be asking, for a lot.  Would appreciate any suggestions from anyone who has cruised on long cruises. Thank you

[Waynetor]

Whether to tip extra or not is a purely personal decision, but I would not think the length of the cruise would make a difference on an average per day you tip extra.

 

On a world cruise there is a fair chance your cabin steward may leave part way through and a new one replaces so you may ask how long they will be on for.  We did a 58 night voyage just before shut down and had 3 stewards.  

 

If you are tipping like you indicated I think it would make sense to pay at the end of each segement.

[I object 2]

We also tip at the end of each segment on our longer cruises.  As Waynetor mentioned, you may not have the same steward during your cruise.         

[CruisinFinsUp]

I believe it is still the case on Princess that the auto tip applies first and if you remove the auto tip and tip yourself, everything up to the total amount of the auto tip must be handed in to the pool and anything above the auto tip they may keep after it is verified.   There are lots of threads about this here. 
 

So if that is still the case, your query might be what to tip ** in addition ** to the auto tip. ( You did not say specifically whether you were replacing or supplementing the auto tip.)  Otherwise you’d be short changing your steward. 
 

Unless on world cruises the auto tip is not a factor  .... ?? 

[donaldsc]

$50 for 7 days is only $7 per day.  I assume that this is in addition to the standard gratuity.

 

DON

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

$50 for 7 days is only $7 per day.  I assume that this is in addition to the standard gratuity.

 

DON

"Only" ! 

Thats plenty, assuming autotips have been left on.

[geoherb]

11 hours ago, mrstmaxx said:

I know cabins are being serviced just once a day, and this may continue for quite a while, which is fine with us so it's not like we are asking, or will be asking, for a lot. 

 

You can request an evening turndown service as well by either asking your cabin steward in person or through the menu on the television. On the TV, it is an option to whether you want the turndown service on a particular night or for the entire cruise. The only difference between now and how it used to be is that you no longer will get the little chocolate on your pillow.

[mrstmaxx]

Yes we keep the auto tip on.  My question is for those who have gone on long cruises what do you tip.  And yes we are aware that we could have multiple cabin stewards so will definitely be finding out when their contract is up

[c-boy]

well mrstmaxx, I haven't done a world cruise yet, but when we do two dollars a day extra would be my answer.  I found and interesting article on one of my favorite web sites.  https://crew-center.com/who-are-best-and-worst-cruise-ship-tippers. 

[Hlitner]

We are currently on the Enchanted Princess for a 20 day cruise.  While once a day cabin service is the default, folks can invoke an option through the Medallion App for daily evening turn down service.  We invoked this option on day 1 and our steward does the usual evening turn down and replaces the towels just like normal.  The only change is no more chocolates.

 

Hank

[nini]

On 12/2/2021 at 7:30 AM, c-boy said:

well mrstmaxx, I haven't done a world cruise yet, but when we do two dollars a day extra would be my answer.  I found and interesting article on one of my favorite web sites.  https://crew-center.com/who-are-best-and-worst-cruise-ship-tippers. 

Interesting article.  We love tipping "extra" as the crew are generally very friendly and fun to chat with. This will also be true for the "Princess Plus" package when gratuities are included. However, when we were on a Celebrity ship in 2018, we only "extra" tipped our cabin steward. The ship had an offensive snooty atmosphere, except for our steward. (Gratuities were already included in our package).

[LACruiser88]

We usually tip our Steward an extra $20 per week regardless of the length of the cruise.

[cruzsnooze]

Princess figured it all out for you and charges daily auto gratuity. Why so many people want to reinvent the wheel eludes me.

[c-boy]

26 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

Princess figured it all out for you and charges daily auto gratuity. Why so many people want to reinvent the wheel eludes me.

some of us don't mind sharing our financial success by giving a little extra so as to ease their burden... can't hurt.  I use this site often to keep up on the industry  http://crew-center.com/everything-about-tipping-crew-cruise-ship

 

https://crew-center.com/why-you-should-tip-your-cruise-ship-server

Edited December 3, 2021 by c-boy

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We usually tip our Steward an extra $20 per week regardless of the length of the cruise.

That seems about right to us. If the steward goes over and above,  then so does the tip,  and vice versa.  

 

[cruzsnooze]

17 hours ago, c-boy said:

some of us don't mind sharing our financial success by giving a little extra so as to ease their burden... can't hurt.  I use this site often to keep up on the industry

What burden? Crew are wealthy based on their home countries income. I prefer to practice the cliche "charity begins at home" and share my financial success with the ASPCA and Cancer Centers and American Heart Association and local food banks and food drives. 

Edited December 4, 2021 by cruzsnooze

[mcrcruiser]

On 12/3/2021 at 3:33 AM, Hlitner said:

We are currently on the Enchanted Princess for a 20 day cruise.  While once a day cabin service is the default, folks can invoke an option through the Medallion App for daily evening turn down service.  We invoked this option on day 1 and our steward does the usual evening turn down and replaces the towels just like normal.  The only change is no more chocolates.

 

Hank

 Really they cut out the little chocolates  .How cheap can they get   .The little things make a big difference to most cruisers ,like the towel animals  ie .I always took photos of them 

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

What burden? Crew are wealthy based on their home countries income. I prefer to practice the cliche "charity begins at home" and share my financial success with the ASPCA and Cancer Centers and American Heart Association and local food banks and food drives. 

it does my heart good in reading that you and I have similarities 

[Hlitner]

59 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 Really they cut out the little chocolates  .How cheap can they get   .The little things make a big difference to most cruisers ,like the towel animals  ie .I always took photos of them 

Towel animals are also gone.  I guess they are concerned those critters might spread COViD 🙂

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

On 12/3/2021 at 3:33 AM, Hlitner said:

We are currently on the Enchanted Princess for a 20 day cruise.  While once a day cabin service is the default, folks can invoke an option through the Medallion App for daily evening turn down service.  We invoked this option on day 1 and our steward does the usual evening turn down and replaces the towels just like normal.  The only change is no more chocolates.

 

Hank

 

How much trouble is it for you to turn down your bed at night.  I assume that you do this at home.  Re the towels, I would guess that most (not all but most) of us do not change our towels at home on a daily basis.  

 

DON

[mcrcruiser]

31 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Towel animals are also gone.  I guess they are concerned those critters might spread COViD 🙂

 

Hank

Perhaps the tips should be reduced along with service reductions . Give the cruise lines a inch & they will take it a mile imo 

Hank I find these things  upsetting because where do the cutbacks end & the cruise prices keep rising ?  Projecting the future  ,if  the cruise lines  don't expand their customer base , all the cuts & price increases will be of no avail  .CCL stock is sinking like a  submarine hit by depth charge 

Edited December 4, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

 

How much trouble is it for you to turn down your bed at night.  I assume that you do this at home.  Re the towels, I would guess that most (not all but most) of us do not change our towels at home on a daily basis.  

 

DON

Don, you miss the point.  Prices are up, services are down, food quantities are reduced, variety in the Lido is down.

 

Sure, we can make our own bed, change our linens and towels, cook our own meals, etc.  And we can also pay ourselves instead of the cruise line.  Tis a very slippery slope.  If you are happy to pay more for less you will likely find those who will meet your expectations.

 

Hank

[muffin]

May my small voice suggest we can support both our crew and our home charities?  I see their major burden being away from home and family for months at a time, and the burden that puts on the ones remaining at home on their own too. We are indeed lucky to be having this discussion at all. 

[donaldsc]

46 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Don, you miss the point.  Prices are up, services are down, food quantities are reduced, variety in the Lido is down.

 

Sure, we can make our own bed, change our linens and towels, cook our own meals, etc.  And we can also pay ourselves instead of the cruise line.  Tis a very slippery slope.  If you are happy to pay more for less you will likely find those who will meet your expectations.

 

Hank

 

I semi agree w you.  Increased prices are not good.  Lowered food quality and poor variety in the lido is not good.  Decreased entertainment options are not good.  On the other hand, I don't need to have my towels changed 2x per day or have my bed turned down.  Both of these are unimportant to me.

 

Remember that staff is spending much more time on covid issues and that is more important than turndowns or towels.

 

DON