Using OBC for tipping (over and above the pre-paid gratuities)

[misha1]

We are so very fortunate to be booked in a suite for our upcoming Alaska sailing.  We are also fortunate to have a good amount of OBC with this sailing.  Is there a way to use some of those funds to tip the crew who made our sailing stellar?

Edited February 12, 2022 by misha1

[Arizona Wildcat]

Certainly.  Guest relations can handle.

[canderson]

Absolutely.  We were in a similar position in November with $6900 to spend over 15 nts due to price reductions resulting in non-refundable OBC.  We left $1600 of that behind for the great service we received -- best on any X cruise we've ever taken.

 

Go down to Guest Relations.  Ask for the "Extra Tip Form".

 

It has five general categories:

 

Dining Staff (this will be Luminae staff, since you're in a suite)

Stateroom Attendant

Assistant Stateroom Attendant (we never saw one on our cruise)

Housekeeping Services (we switched this to Retreat Concierges)

Butler

 

BUT:  If you want to know more about how to or not to have tips pooled outside of your intent, we can advise on that as well.  It IS also possible to target them more specifically than the form would indicate by providing specific names/positions.

 

 

[cruzzzinma]

If you are in a suite, use the retreat concierge to do this.

[jelayne]

The only extra tips that I have been able to confirm consistently across ships is that tips to a cabin attendant and a Retreat Host go to them.  Any tips via the form to a sommelier go into a pool for sommeliers as they do not get a portion of the dining room tips.
Where the dining tips go seems to vary; some ships it is the total dining pool others say it is the assigned dining room.  
We now use the form only for the cabin attendant Retreat Host where we can specify by name. 

[misha1]

Thank you everyone.  Good to know information.  6900 dollars!  WOW!  

[canderson]

21 minutes ago, misha1 said:

Thank you everyone.  Good to know information.  6900 dollars!  WOW!  

Yeah, a couple of deep re-prices on a B2B in a RS in November, after final payment.  We used some to work out tours with Private Journey (which we discovered X will take OBC for ahead of a cruise, BTW), paid for all of our other shorex, bought Christmas presents (older onboard inventory of Kate Spade purses at good discount), enjoyed some better quality wines, and paid for a couple of special dinners not covered under the RS package.  Left all the rest as tips.  For the first time, we walked off the ship without a credit card bill!