bhwestgrove Posted January 24, 2022 #1 Share Posted January 24, 2022 On board Rotterdam now, headed toward Grand Turk, our first port of call. A huge thank you to all of the folks on this board who have posted such great advice. I’ve been following for six months, and as a result, we’ve already tried the almond cookies at the Dutch Cafe, and attended The Origin Story, both recommended by cruisers on this board and much enjoyed! The ship is beautiful and the staff have their usual wonderful and attentive manner. My question is regarding tipping. We did not get gratuities included in our package, so they’re being charged to our stateroom account on a daily basis. However, we’d like to tip directly as well, but are not sure what to do. Do we tip both our primary room steward and his assistant individually? We have access to the Neptune Lounge, and both the primary hostess and her assistant have helped us. Should we tip both of them individually as well? Is there a recommended ratio for the “head” versus the assistant? And any recommendations for the amounts on a per day basis? Thank you in advance for all of your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted January 24, 2022 #2 Share Posted January 24, 2022 "Should you"? That is totally up to you. Can you? Absolutely. How much you choose to tip is totally up to you. How much we tip depends on the length of cruise, and how much extra work we burden them with. Keep in mind the Neptune concierges are not in the tip pool coming out of your room account. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare richwmn Posted January 24, 2022 #3 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I would add that if you chose to tip your room or dining stewards keep in mind that they will likely share whatever you give based on their agreements even if you place the amounts in envelopes with individual names on them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxmantoo Posted January 24, 2022 #4 Share Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said: "Should you"? That is totally up to you. Can you? Absolutely. How much you choose to tip is totally up to you. How much we tip depends on the length of cruise, and how much extra work we burden them with. Keep in mind the Neptune concierges are not in the tip pool coming out of your room account. A bit confused. Guest Services personnel is included in the gratuity pool per HAL's "Know Before You Go" documentation. Aren't Neptune concierges regular Guest Services personnel assigned to the Neptune Lounge for a short period? Are you saying they get gratuities out of the pool while they work at Guest Services, relinquish that income for a short period while in the Neptune Lounge on assignment, and then rejoin the gratuity pool upon their return to normal Guest Services duties? Seems a bit odd to me. Edited January 24, 2022 by taxmantoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlaMariner Posted January 24, 2022 #5 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Keep enjoying the Rotterdam.....glad you went to "Origin Story" ... I think that's a great presentation and re-affirms to us why HAL is unique and special. I'll answer by telling you what we do.... we keep the tips on the account (obviously) I get "tip envelopes" from guest services I toss some cash....various amounts....in those envelopes and assign them to folks that, IMO, went above and beyond on the last evening, I give them and tell them "we paid the regular tips but this is a little extra to thank you for the great service" We had a great assistant waiter on the Rotterdam in October. Homer. And when I gave him the envelope and told him "just a little something extra" he said..."ah, beer money"....LOL. The list usually includes our two room stewards and waiters. I think it is very important to give it directly to the receiver. An attentive bartender or two also. Again, based on who went "above and beyond" for us. Her Majesty has included an attentive spa lady before. I have asked guest services if they have to turn in the tips or do they get to keep them and she responded that they keep them. Me thinks there is no right or wrong way.....as along as you keep the tips on the account. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VennDiagram Posted January 24, 2022 #6 Share Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) We tip the cabin steward team as a team, one envelope addressed to both of them. In $5s and $10s, so sharing is easier. Same for the Neptune Lounge concierges, one envelope, addressed to both. Our dining team gets individual envelopes. Bar servers get individual envelopes. In each envelope we include a thank you note, mention something specific that made the service memorable for us, and add our cabin #, so it is easy for them to check that we have left the auto tip, HSC, crew incentive, whatever in place. Edited January 24, 2022 by VennDiagram 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted January 24, 2022 #7 Share Posted January 24, 2022 1 hour ago, taxmantoo said: A bit confused. Guest Services personnel is included in the gratuity pool per HAL's "Know Before You Go" documentation. Aren't Neptune concierges regular Guest Services personnel assigned to the Neptune Lounge for a short period? Are you saying they get gratuities out of the pool while they work at Guest Services, relinquish that income for a short period while in the Neptune Lounge on assignment, and then rejoin the gratuity pool upon their return to normal Guest Services duties? Seems a bit odd to me. They are Front Desk personnel (Now called "Guest Services?). I am not aware they get anything from the Hotel Service Charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxmantoo Posted January 24, 2022 #8 Share Posted January 24, 2022 19 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said: They are Front Desk personnel (Now called "Guest Services?). I am not aware they get anything from the Hotel Service Charge. Crew Appreciation is a daily (adjustable) amount added to your onboard account and pooled in order to recognize the many crew members in Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue and Entertainment areas throughout our fleet who contribute to the guest experience. Not saying you should not tip them additional if you want to, just saying they are part of the pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted January 24, 2022 #9 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I tend to give a separate envelope to each cabin steward, the same for the dining room stewards. One cruise I tipped in one envelope for both cabin stewards for one segment as I knew the senior steward was getting off. I later found out that the senior never gave the assistant anything and had to atone. From there on in, I always did separate envelopes. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suslor Posted January 24, 2022 #10 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Definitely separate envelopes. We pay the Crew Incentive but tip our room stewards, dining room waiters and Neptune Lounge Concierge equally. If the second NL concierge is only there while the main one is at mealtime or on a break we do tip him/her less. We do this the last evening. Hope all these responses help you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhannah Posted January 24, 2022 #11 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I always pay the daily tip/appreciation/incentive charge. In many cases, I feel that's enough. The stewards and their representatives have negotiated with the cruise line what is deemed fair, so I generally stick to that. HOWEVER, if someone has demonstrably gone the extra mile, I will give them an additional amount. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinMommyByGrace Posted January 24, 2022 #12 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Has anyone tipped the people who do the laundry, and if so, how do you go about that? We'll be on the Eurodam this summer and usually send out some sort of bag every night. They do such a good job I'd like to recognize that. Are they part of the auto gratuities at all? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MogeyMan Posted January 24, 2022 #13 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Hmmm, I gave the Lounge tip in whole to the main concierge, assuming, apparently incorrectly from what I read above, he'd share it with his second, who was equally there each time we went. Perhaps 2 separate tips is in order.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhwestgrove Posted January 25, 2022 Author #14 Share Posted January 25, 2022 The personal/individual thank you with a gratuity included sounds like a great idea-thanks. I also learned about using the Navigator app to send personal comments on this board which seems to be appreciated as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torquer Posted January 25, 2022 #15 Share Posted January 25, 2022 10 hours ago, CruiserBruce said: Keep in mind the Neptune concierges are not in the tip pool coming out of your room account. So have we debunked this statement made by CruiserBruce? I have never heard this before, and we never tipped them before since we assumed they were included in the normal gratuity/service charge pool. If they are not, HAL needs to make this point very clear, which they have not done. The concierges in the Neptune lounge are amazing at all the big and little things they do to make a cruise enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted January 25, 2022 #16 Share Posted January 25, 2022 18 minutes ago, Torquer said: So have we debunked this statement made by CruiserBruce? I have never heard this before, and we never tipped them before since we assumed they were included in the normal gratuity/service charge pool. If they are not, HAL needs to make this point very clear, which they have not done. The concierges in the Neptune lounge are amazing at all the big and little things they do to make a cruise enjoyable. Post #8 seems to have debunked it very well. At least in my opinion. You disagree? Or did you miss it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regnig Posted January 25, 2022 #17 Share Posted January 25, 2022 5 hours ago, TwinMommyByGrace said: Has anyone tipped the people who do the laundry, and if so, how do you go about that? We'll be on the Eurodam this summer and usually send out some sort of bag every night. They do such a good job I'd like to recognize that. Are they part of the auto gratuities at all? Great question, I have wondered the same thing. The last few times I've sailed I always got a note from the laundry staff in the basket with the folded items. While I always put notes of "Thanks and praise for the great job" on the laundry list I included with my dirty clothes I haven't figured out how to tip extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leerathje Posted January 25, 2022 #18 Share Posted January 25, 2022 22 minutes ago, regnig said: Great question, I have wondered the same thing. The last few times I've sailed I always got a note from the laundry staff in the basket with the folded items. While I always put notes of "Thanks and praise for the great job" on the laundry list I included with my dirty clothes I haven't figured out how to tip extra. Writing a comment card praising the work they did for you (or, doing it through the comment section of Navigator) is a great way to acknowledge them as well! Commendations go a LONG WAY with HAL. L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeh10641 Posted January 25, 2022 #19 Share Posted January 25, 2022 11 hours ago, bhwestgrove said: On board Rotterdam now, headed toward Grand Turk, our first port of call. A huge thank you to all of the folks on this board who have posted such great advice. I’ve been following for six months, and as a result, we’ve already tried the almond cookies at the Dutch Cafe, and attended The Origin Story, both recommended by cruisers on this board and much enjoyed! The ship is beautiful and the staff have their usual wonderful and attentive manner. My question is regarding tipping. We did not get gratuities included in our package, so they’re being charged to our stateroom account on a daily basis. However, we’d like to tip directly as well, but are not sure what to do. Do we tip both our primary room steward and his assistant individually? We have access to the Neptune Lounge, and both the primary hostess and her assistant have helped us. Should we tip both of them individually as well? Is there a recommended ratio for the “head” versus the assistant? And any recommendations for the amounts on a per day basis? Thank you in advance for all of your advice! Hi, bhwestgrove, We were on Rotterdam in December. I did not prepay gratuities but accepted those billings willingly on my daily shipboard account. On the first day I met our two cabin stewards. I handed each $20. On the last day, I gave a like amount to Lido Buffet staff that helped us every day, both in the Lido and other dining venues. I had heard from a number of You tube bloggers (vloggers?) that mentioning a staff member in the Guest Relations comment card was a plus. I did that several times. From a hostess at Rudi's, I got a next day feedback; she told me her supervisor had already passed on my compliment. She thanked me profusely. On one HAL shore excursion we visited a chocolate factory. I bought the room stewards cany bars. Another tip from You Tube. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandiego1 Posted January 25, 2022 #20 Share Posted January 25, 2022 On another thread, someone wrote that they stick a $5 bill in the bag with the laundry along with a note about the tip. I think this is a great idea. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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