HAL Nieuw Statendam : first time cruiser with tipping questions

[4osparki]

Hello.

I know we are paying a mandatory gratuity on our 25 day cruise of about $850.00.

Do you tip on meals and drinks at the bars still? Room stewards? If so, what is typical?

We are in Club Orange and plan on eating there for breakfast and dinner most nights.

 

Thank you.

 

[Mary229]

No, tips are included in the pricing.  Your gratuities will be auto billed to you onboard account.  No cash needed

[VMax1700]

4 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

tips are included in the pricing.  Your gratuities will be auto billed to you onboard account.

What is the difference between a tip and a gratuity??

OP, the daily gratuity will be billed to your onboard account. They are not mandatory.  You are free (though not guilt free) to adjust or remove them.  (This will start another debate, but even HAL say that you may do it).  If you remove or adjust the daily gratuity then any cash tips that you hand out onboard will be pooled for all staff.

Drinks have an 18% gratuity automatically added so no necessity to tip additionally.  If you have a drinks package then the drinks tips are included.

You do have the option of pre paying the daily gratuity through your HAL account or your TA.

 

[Banditswife]

VMax1700 said it best. 

The "crew appreciation" or gratuity is not mandatory, but will be billed to your onboard account daily unless you ask to have it removed.  Some recent bookings have had this included in the fare.  Our paperwork calls it "pre paid crew appreciation promotion."

Without a drink pkg, each paid for drink will have an 18% gratuity added.  If you have HIA or other drink pkg, the gratuity is included in the price, unless you buy an up charged drink (over the $11 limit,) then you pay a gratuity on the overage amount.

We never "tip" in the dining room, dining staff & cabin steward are included in the crew appreciation.  We have, however, given extra $ to crew members who we believe have gone above & beyond for us.  But this is absolutely a personal choice.  We usually just hand our cabin steward a $20 at the end of the cruise as a bonus, they do a fantastic job.

 

[WannaSea]

Useful cruise tipping advice I received and will pass on: I brought a few thank you notes and near the end of the journey wrote a personal note with cash included to give to a few people who gave exceptional service and helped me out along the way. On a couple of occasions a bartender went above and beyond to meet my request, and I would give a dollar to say thanks. None of the "extra" tipping is necessary or expected, though.

 

The HAL assessed gratuity is a daily charge on your account. If you prepay before sailing, which is an option, the prepayment will show as a lump sum credit on your account and you will still see the daily charge against that credit. My advice is check your account daily (in the app or on the TV) so you understand all charges, and take any discrepancies to Guest Services before disembarking.

 

The HAL assessed gratuity is, technically speaking "optional", and you could request to have it removed, but it is customary to pay. The topic of gratuities/tipping is a hot button issue and complex with many cruisers from non-tipping cultures (I totally sympathize) in the mix with those already torn about what to do, but hopefully you will find your service on the ship is so outstanding that you really want to respond with a special thank you.

[4osparki]

Thank you all.

[Vict0riann]

We also found that all the crew really appreciated a note to management that they had done a good job.  In your Navigator app, there is a site "Connect" - if you click on that, up comes "Let Us Know" - there you can write a little note about how good a crew member was, and we have many times had a "thank you" from the crew member, as they are advised when they've have a compliment.  Or you can ask for a paper comment card at the Front Desk, and do it that way.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Vict0riann

[OlsSalt]

Try to think of this as a cash-free experience, once on board. Any extra tipping , but only at the end of the cruise for special services rendered, is at your discretion.

 

Typically we tip our cabin stewards and our fixed dining stewards because during the length of our cruise they always always do make the experience special and cordial for us.  They learn and antiipate our preferences. That is always appreciated.

 

Always controversial, but I'll toss this out anyway. We do not tip for room service delivery - we consider this an included dining option just like all other included dining options that we use only occasionally. 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by OlsSalt

[crystalspin]

Just for the new HAL cruisers. The way Room Service gets to you is by volunteers from dining room stewards (maybe Lido as well). They get up early to deliver breakfasts; they get no additional allotment from the Daily Grats; they do it strictly in the hopes of additional tips. We give $1 for coffee, $2-3 for a full tray. If you want to do the same, have the dollar bills handy because they will not linger!

[kazu]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

Just for the new HAL cruisers. The way Room Service gets to you is by volunteers from dining room stewards (maybe Lido as well). They get up early to deliver breakfasts; they get no additional allotment from the Daily Grats; they do it strictly in the hopes of additional tips. We give $1 for coffee, $2-3 for a full tray. If you want to do the same, have the dollar bills handy because they will not linger!

 

So agree with this.  We always tipped for room service - not required.

 

There is no hand out for the tip by the crew and no lingering at all, so have your tip out the night before if you want to give one.  A friend put hers in the key card slot.  I usually stuck mine on the table where the tray would be put.  Just have it handy as by the time you go to get it, they will be gone.