Question About Amount for Extra Gratuity for Room Steward

[Marie51]

2 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

Please tell us what made you think he was disappointed?

[HappyTexan44]

1 hour ago, Grumpella said:

Not to mention that some of it is used to give a bonus to employees that are given good reviews by passengers.

 

Wha?  This is news.  

[little britain]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Maybe he just didnt openly disply he was happy. I'd bet he was happy. 

Especially out of England where few people pay their tips anyway!  He probably thought it was Christmas! 

[Thesandman12]

4 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

Just curious did you really give 120.00 above the regular, or is that a misprint.

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, Thesandman12 said:

Just curious did you really give 120.00 above the regular, or is that a misprint.

 

Why would you think it was a misprint?

[Grumpella]

Yes I did give him $120. Maybe you British don’t tip, but we Americans do. Lol

[goldfish65]

$120 extra for 14 nights is a generous amount. It’s hard to judge people’s reactions when they are from a different culture. We never know the difference we may be making to improve a family’s quality of life in places with less opportunity. Maybe paying for children’s education or better housing. 

[Thesandman12]

8 minutes ago, Grumpella said:

Yes I did give him $120. Maybe you British don’t tip, but we Americans do. Lol

I was just curious pure and simple. People should tip whatever they want, whatever floats your boat, so to speak. We were on a cruise once with 3 kids in their own cabin. That attendant worked his rear end off in that room and he got a heck of a tip. I always tip extra to the cabin attendant, how much depends on them. I always tip on individual drinks, we use vouchers, so no tip, they do not get it so I make up for that. Reverse of that  is, if I have a complaint about someone, I keep it to myself.

[nanseev]

I always leave on the auto grat (I actually get sad when I see a line at Guest Services at the end of the cruise), and the most I’ve ever tipped extra is $20 per person.  You were MORE than generous.  I’ve given $20 each at the end of the cruise to various MDR waitstaff, bartenders, room attendant, or casino host if they have truly made an extra special impact — but I definitely don’t do it every cruise with every person.  I do always tip $1 cash per free Prime drink in the casino (or sometimes $5 for two drinks if I’m sitting with DH and the waiter/bartender is attentive with keeping us hydrated while gambling 🙂 ).
 

Is much as I recognize they work hard, I can’t justify hundreds extra on top of what I’ve already paid.

[Ashland]

My extra gratuity is always left in an envelope and a thank you note the morning I leave. So I never see his/her reaction.

[voyager70]

9 minutes ago, Ashland said:

My extra gratuity is always left in an envelope and a thank you note the morning I leave. So I never see his/her reaction.

This is what I do as well.

 

[sgmn]

45 minutes ago, Ashland said:

My extra gratuity is always left in an envelope and a thank you note the morning I leave. So I never see his/her reaction.

Sane here 

[cruiseboy89130]

9 hours ago, Grumpella said:

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.

He is lucky he got anything!

[Jt4428]

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Perhaps he thought that you had removed the daily gratuities and this was in place of that instead of in addition to.  Very generous tip, don't beat yourself up over it.

That's why I always say that I've tipped already and this is over and above that amount.

[LobsterStalker]

11 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

Can you expand on just how you conclude he was disappointed ?

It is VERY hard to imagine that could be the case so I am confident it was not... JMHO

From what we here now the stewards have approx. 25 rooms each now 

25x$120 ...It is inconceivable to think that any steward could be disappointed with a tip ,that if it were the average would yield him $3000 a week , 

#Nochance

 

Cheers

[lenquixote66]

Many people do not tip at all.

[CynBeth6]

We were recently on a 7 day Med cruise in a Junior Suite. We did the prepaid gratuities but our stateroom attendant was so wonderful so we also left 75 euros in an envelope for him in the room on the last day. We saw him later that day and he was so appreciative.We also gave to our wait staff as well.

Edited August 13, 2023 by CynBeth6

[swoopy2110]

12 hours ago, nanseev said:

I always leave on the auto grat (I actually get sad when I see a line at Guest Services at the end of the cruise), and the most I’ve ever tipped extra is $20 per person.  You were MORE than generous.  I’ve given $20 each at the end of the cruise to various MDR waitstaff, bartenders, room attendant, or casino host if they have truly made an extra special impact — but I definitely don’t do it every cruise with every person.  I do always tip $1 cash per free Prime drink in the casino (or sometimes $5 for two drinks if I’m sitting with DH and the waiter/bartender is attentive with keeping us hydrated while gambling 🙂 ).
 

Is much as I recognize they work hard, I can’t justify hundreds extra on top of what I’ve already paid.

Same for me. Auto grats left in place. Usually give $10 / $20 more to cabin steward & dining staff.

I think I probably 'over-tip' compared to a lot of British people on a cruise.

 

Back in Britain it's just a usual circa 10% on meals out etc.

Edited August 13, 2023 by swoopy2110

[footzz]

Just goes to show you, some people will gripe about being hung with a brand new rope because it will chafe their neck.

[Marie51]

16 hours ago, Ashland said:

My extra gratuity is always left in an envelope and a thank you note the morning I leave. So I never see his/her reaction.

Morning of departure I have noticed crew other than my normal cabin attendant cleaning cabins. How do you know that person doesn’t pick up the tip envelope? I usually leave the tip envelope the last night of the cruise while I am at dinner.

[topnole]

It was a 14 day cruise so a bit over $8 extra per day.  Had it been a week long trip, it would a $60 on top.   I really don’t think that is some type of huge extra tip.  People tip a bartender a buck or two per drink, but somehow $8 extra for someone that cleans the room and bathroom is too much?   Honestly, rare is an occasion where I wouldn’t tip at least $60 extra to a room attendant for a week long cruise.   
 

Who knows about his reaction.   Maybe he was tired, got confused who gave it to him/her, or he was distracted/busy.   But I guarantee he/she appreciated it.   If you are happy with the service and feel tipping is appropriate, don’t stop because there many on here who chide anyone on here who tips or tips extra.   

[vwlmember]

Wow.

 

I always hand my cabin steward between $50-100 depending on the length of the cruise. I don't demand much from them, but love talking with them as the stories of how they ended up in this career are interesting and unique. They can make or break your trip.

 

Our last cruise was on the Celebrity Beyond and the mattress was way to hard for me. Our steward added two layers of memory foam and the difference made my trip significantly better. He took the time and effort to follow up almost daily to be sure I was comfortable. That alone was worth the additional money. 

 

My favorite part of every cruise is the crew. I love interacting with them on every level. 

[Falling_down]

Our general rule of thumb is $5 per person in the room per day and we adjust this, of course, based on the service provided during our cruise.

 

Like almost everyone else has mentioned, tip what you are comfortable with. If that means nothing beyond the prepaid gratuity amount or you feel like giving them more that's your decision because there is no standard or average amount that I have seen. It varies wildly from one person to the next.

 

Why this is so controversial is beyond me...tip or don't tip based on your own experience because it is YOUR vacation and no one else's so only you can determine if someone has earned a tip. 

[jwlane]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:20 AM, Grumpella said:

Yes I did give him $120. 

I'm still trying to resolve how they knew it was $120---written on the envelope, counted out live....  20, 40, 60.......

[slyster]

Know what I'm thinking?  I'm thinking he is wondering if you didn't know you prepaid the gratuities and he felt guilty for not saying anything LOL $120 is very generous.  You did say 14 days.  Some won't pay anything extra if they didn't make special requests and some would give a little more just because.  Yours was very generous and I can't imagine they were actually disappointed.