Tipping onboard above mandatory tips?

[KPookey]

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

Yes, US $ are always appreciated.

 

[smokeybandit]

51 minutes ago, KPookey said:

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise?

There is no correct answer. Tip what you are comfortable with, whether it's $0 or $100

[MommaBear55]

If you are paying the going rate for a drink, the 18% is already tacked on. I wouldn't pay more on top of that. I tip a few dollars in the WJ if someone has gone out of their way for me, such as gotten us an extra beverage, offered to get us something special. As far as the waiters at the end of the cruise, it depends on the service. We often give $20 both to the waiter and the assistant waiter. With the new menu policies it's hard to imagine what they could do extra to wow us. 

[sgmn]

4 hours ago, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

 

Personally I think the 18% mandatory gratuity is enough. 

My drinks aren't complicated. Usually wine for me and beer or whisky for DH.  If we get diamond drinks we tip a dollar a drink as I'm not sure if the bar staff gets anything on 'free' drinks. 

We nearly always tip extra on top of the daily gratuities at the end of a cruise for room attendant and waiter.   They work so hard and such long hours.

Edited May 23, 2023 by sgmn

[joeyancho]

On a 7 day cruise we generally tip our room steward $40 at the end of the cruise.  The waiter and assistant waiter $20 - $40 each depending.   Sometimes $20 to the head waiter depending.  When ordering a drink I hand the server or bartender my seapass and $1 - $2 depending.   As for the Windjammer, a buck to the guy who makes my wifes omelet in the morning.  Room service $2 - $5 in the morning  depending.   Specialty restaurants $20 when dining for 2.  My wife likes to give large Ghirardelli or Cadbury bars to steward, waiters,  head waiter and washy washy lady and anyone else she takes a liking to. Sometimes the chocolate bars get a bigger thank you than the cash. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by joeyancho

[nimbex1970]

I did not have a drink package, so I added $2 for every drink I ordered on the receipt (didn't want to carry singles around).  6th night of the cruise, we received three envelopes if we wanted to add additional cash.  So we used one for the room steward.  You can get these envelopes earlier through guest services if you prefer that. We did use cash for specialty dinning and just left $30 bucks in the bifold. 

[jcc1025]

As on land and knowing what the issues are I confess to overtipping. After paying a lot for the cruise I don't worry about another doller to two for the servers. For the bartenders I use often I may put in a dollar cash for a drink and at the end of the cruise add another five or so. Like on land tipping in cash goes stright to the servers, bar backs, etc.. The tip on the card is added to their salary and is reduced by taxes and other elements and shared among all those on the ship. The bars on board share the cash tips amoung the bartenders and servers in that bar so I like that idea. Its a personal issue and I get it if people don't want to add more, this is just how feel being on the other side of the issue. Hope everyone has a great cruise. 

[karena1]

19 hours ago, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

 

We always tip extra.  All US$$.  Normally like a $1 per drink (we have the beverage pkg) and then we tip every night in the dining room since we do MTD and don't know or care if we have the same wait staff each night.  Then we leave extra for our cabin person at the end of the cruise.  And yes, we tip a couple dollars every morning in WJ when we have breakfast.

 

[Ret MP]

20 hours ago, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

First, besides the 18% gratuity tacked on to the beverage tab and not including restaurants, there are no "Mandatory" tips.  

 

What I like to do at the places that do add on the 18% I like to make sure, if I get good service, they get at least 20% with a minimum of $2.00 (yes, a $2.00 dollar bill, if I can get them) tip from me. 

 

But, like already said, do what your conscience allows.    

[pilot]

16 hours ago, joeyancho said:

On a 7 day cruise we generally tip our room steward $40 at the end of the cruise.  The waiter and assistant waiter $20 - $40 each depending.   Sometimes $20 to the head waiter depending.  When ordering a drink I hand the server or bartender my seapass and $1 - $2 depending.   As for the Windjammer, a buck to the guy who makes my wifes omelet in the morning.  Room service $2 - $5 in the morning  depending.   Specialty restaurants $20 when dining for 2.  My wife likes to give large Ghirardelli or Cadbury bars to steward, waiters,  head waiter and washy washy lady and anyone else she takes a liking to. Sometimes the chocolate bars get a bigger thank you than the cash. 

Why would you tip your room steward extra for cleaning your room only once a day?

[vjmatty]

22 hours ago, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

 

US$ is always appreciated but I’ve sometimes given Euros on Mediterranean itineraries. I don’t add to the 18% for drinks unless a server or bartender is especially attentive. Waiter and assistant waiter each get about $20 per 7 days and room steward $30 per 7 days if it’s a JS or above with twice daily service, or $20 if once daily service. 

[renza]

54 minutes ago, pilot said:

Why would you tip your room steward extra for cleaning your room only once a day?

I agree. I just got off wonder and the room attendants do not come into your room on day 1. So we had our guy 6 times total for maybe 5 min every evening. I gave him $30 extra which is $5 a night plus what I already tipped. I really don’t think I would do again. 

[CntPAcruiser]

We typically give a $1 tip per drink for Diamond drinks, though I noticed on our last cruise (Adventure, NE/Canada, October 2022), all cash tips went into a bucket rather than the individual bartender's pocket. I didn't ask about how they were distributed, but I didn't really care for the idea. I'd rather the tip money go directly to the bartender who served me, especially since not all of them were giving the best service and I was purposely avoiding those bartenders.

 

In the past, we have given at least an extra $20 to our table waiter and assistant waiter for late seating traditional dining, and $20-$30 to a cabin attendant, but now I'm on the fence about that. It may depend on what the service is actually like on our next cruise, but at the same time I hate to penalize the employees at that level for something beyond their control (i.e., the menu and cabin service cutbacks).

[not-enough-cruising]

On 5/22/2023 at 8:11 PM, KPookey said:

I assume many tip above the mandatory amounts.  I assume US dollars are appreciated?

 

What is a typical, reasonable tip for a drink and to your dinner waiters at the end of the cruise? Does anyone tip at the Windjammer?
 

thanks 👍

 

 

There is no such thing as a "mandatory gratuity"

[PWP-001]

11 hours ago, pilot said:

Why would you tip your room steward extra for cleaning your room only once a day?

 

Well, well, well....

 

I clicked into this threat because "TIP" was mentioned in the title, I haven't seen a topic with the "TIP" word in the title on page 1 in at least a week, and this one didn't seem to have much traction with only 14 replies.  

 

I was SIMPLY going to point out how the DSC or daily gratuity really isn't "mandatory."  But I see that's been covered.

 

But then I see @pilot's question.

 

I have 20 cruises booked, and only one of them was in a balcony booked months before the policy change.  (The rest are JS or higher which still get twice daily service.)

 

As a solo traveler, I like to keep my room neat and tidy, everything put away, so my cabin is an easy clean for the steward.  With twice daily service I typically leave $10/day provided there weren't any issues.  I only ask for my paper Compass nightly and a compliment of 4 bath towels, so it's hard for there to be an "issue."

 

Remember the topic I started "HAIR... anyone?"  that picture of the clump of hair was in that one cruise I had in the balcony room a few weeks a go.  I shared and created the topic to encourage others who may experience cabin "deficiencies" now that there's one a day service to post, in an attempt to spot a trend.  

 

No, I didn't penalize my cabin steward's gratuity.  But yes, I predetermined before boarding that I would drop to $5/day for the envelope.  My original intention was to inform the steward that I normally tip $10/day but with the cut to once a day, I've dropped my tip.  I honestly believe that if I was on land in the USA with this issue, and I said "You know, Julie, I normally leave an $xx tip but since your employer made the service cuts, I'm only leaving $y," I'm sure Julie and her co-workers who hear that message enough would corner their manager in outrage and demand a change back in service.  It's just how we are.  But when I met my steward the first afternoon, he seemed overwhelm and actually had a speech it seemed he was trained to deliver, explaining the change of service.  I realized right then that I would select morning cleaning and leave it at that.  His envelope at the end of the cruise had $5/day cash for him, not the $10/day with twice daily service.  I further reasoned that he would be happy to receive an envelope, given that probably a good percentage of cruisers feel no need for an envelope since they were charged $16 daily for gratuities.  

 

And since we're all sharing....

 

$1 or $2 for comp casino drinks

$1 for drink vouchers or a la carte drinks

$10 nightly for dinner in CK, $15 if I ordered a bottle of wine

$20 daily if I eat multi-meals (B or L, and D) in CK

CK Maître 'd $25 and Manager $50

Specialty restaurants $10 or $15 if I order a bottle of wine.  Exceptional service gets $20

MDR for D, $5-$10/day for each of the two, depending on service:  usually eating solo I get prioritized and get in and out while larger parties seated before me are still waiting, influencing the tip upwards.  Poor table service, such as not bringing new flatware for each course or serving two courses at once influences the tip downwards.

It's an extreme rarity that I visit the food trough, and that may be one visit, with most cruises I never even go near WJ.  Other eateries I frequent are Park Cafe, Portside BBQ, and MDR for breakfast.  For those I feel the daily gratuity covers it.

Of course anywhere onboard if there's a special situation or someone does something above and beyond to help, I'd tip for that too.

 

I'm old enough to remember childhood cruises and my parents discussing the envelopes.  Back then it was a tradition and expected as there wasn't a daily gratuity added to the folio.

 

 

 

[neverbeenhere]

I'm old enough to have used the stated envelopes.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, neverbeenhere said:

I'm old enough to have used the stated envelopes.

 

Hey now! You don't have to be THAT old to have used those. 🤣

[Cigar King]

Thank you so much for opening this topic.  I have been wondering the same things myself.  I just didn't have the courage to open a thread.  I mean, sure, it took you 15 years to do it, but, still.  Bravo.

[Joseph2018Baltic]

Next week I have Unlimited Dining, so no MDR.  I have a drink package.  I am Diamond, wife will get free drinks.  I will have room cleaned, and eat also in alternate places for breakfast.  I prepaid all tips.  

 

I will end the cruise, with exactly no extra tips.  Tips are already paid as customary amounts that the international industry and it's employees accepted with their contracts.  It is not the USA, and therefore, the USA rules do not apply but I really dislike the 18% since that is a USA concept.  I will give out no cash tips for any service that I already gave the customary amount.  

 

No one should ever feel pressured to tip more than customary. 

[The_Big_M]

Isn't a "reasonable, typical tip" for your drink the recommended one? If not, why would it be recommended if it is not reasonable and typical?

 

Then in that light, why pay more than recommended, if there's no special, or exceptional need? Do you pay more to RCL than the list price because you had a great cruise? (More the opposite, since people often talk about repricing if the price goes down.) Sure, if someone did something out of the ordinary, or you had special extra demands you might pay more, but not sure why you would pay more than expected otherwise. Unless you do that for everything else.

[blondcat]

Lots of sharing here which is very helpful especially for me (British!) where heavy tipping in general is not business as usual.   One question I've never found an answer on is what is a reasonable amount to tip the concierge at the end of the week ? do you tip the concierge ? very grateful if anyone feels comfortable sharing.

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, Joseph2018Baltic said:

Next week I have Unlimited Dining, so no MDR.  I have a drink package.  I am Diamond, wife will get free drinks.  I will have room cleaned, and eat also in alternate places for breakfast.  I prepaid all tips.  

 

I will end the cruise, with exactly no extra tips.  Tips are already paid as customary amounts that the international industry and it's employees accepted with their contracts.  It is not the USA, and therefore, the USA rules do not apply but I really dislike the 18% since that is a USA concept.  I will give out no cash tips for any service that I already gave the customary amount.  

 

No one should ever feel pressured to tip more than customary. 

I see you have the UDP and paid the 18%. Issue is that the waiters in the Specialty restaurants only receive a dollar or so out of that amount. The reminder of the 18% goes into the general tip pool.  Nothing extra goes to the bartenders, they get 0 from a voucher drink. As a side note the room service runners are volunteers who work for the extra anticipated tip. 

[queenfrostine22]

So, if I wait til the end of the cruise and personally hand my favorite bartender a 20 instead of a dollar with each drink ordered, does he get to keep it all or does it still go into a collective tip jar at the bar? Lets face it, some bar servers are way more efficient than others.

[Joseph2017China]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

I see you have the UDP and paid the 18%. Issue is that the waiters in the Specialty restaurants only receive a dollar or so out of that amount. The reminder of the 18% goes into the general tip pool.  Nothing extra goes to the bartenders, they get 0 from a voucher drink. As a side note the room service runners are volunteers who work for the extra anticipated tip. 

I pay the cruise customary tip only.  How it’s split or what they get paid is not my concern