First Cruise Question

[Fun~N~Sun]

We are booked on the ship Destiny to leave May 28th. My first question that I have has to do with tipping and gratuities. I read somewhere that $10 per day per; person is charged automatically. Did I read this correctly or did I misunderstand something. I booked directly through Carnival so is this something I already paid or is this an additional charge?

Anyother tips or advice you can give for a first timer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[perkyblue]

No, if you booked through Carnival, this did not include tips. They'll automatically add it to your Sail & Sign account once you're onboard. You can request for them to be removed from your account if for some reason you don't want to pay them or you can give additional cash tips to anyone who you think deserves it.

[perkyblue]

That is, unless you requested for Carnival to charge the tips along with the cost for your cruise.

[casie21]

Hi Fun~N~Sun,

On our last Carnival cruise (June 05) we were billed the $10/day/person as we checked in at embarktion. We had also booked directly through Carnival, however they did not charge us up front. This amount can be adjusted during your cruise at the pursors desk (up or down). For more tips on cruising, see the thread called "Tips Carnival Usually Does Not Tell You". I have gotten a lot of info from there. Also look at the board for the ports you are visiting, lots of info there as well. Have fun!! :o

[cubdaddy]

$10 a day per person is added to your Sail & Sign account when you get on-board. It is not part of your cruise price. If you find the service to be really good, it is customary to give additional tips to your cabin stewarts and Team Waiters. I have always had great service and gave additional tips. It is also good to tip the matride if your dinning experience was better than expected! Your cabin stewart will provide envelopes for the additional tips.

 

The workers on the ship are not paid much and rely on tips. Therefore they are motivated to give great service!

 

If you have a bad exprience with service, which would be unusual, you can have the pursers desk reduce what had been added to your Sail & Sign account!

[momofzeke]

We are booked on the ship Destiny to leave May 28th. My first question that I have has to do with tipping and gratuities. I read somewhere that $10 per day per; person is charged automatically. Did I read this correctly or did I misunderstand something. I booked directly through Carnival so is this something I already paid or is this an additional charge?

Anyother tips or advice you can give for a first timer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

Welcome to the boards! :)

 

Unless you specifically told your Carnival representative when you booked that you wanted to "Prepay Gratuities", then they have not yet been paid. They will show up on your Sail & Sign account the first day you are on the ship. And, yes, they are $10 per person per day. So, if you are on a 7-day cruise and there are two of you, you will be charged $140. These tips are for your cabin steward, waitperson and assisstant in the dining room, and also for the buffet and other servers.

 

There is so much information on these boards for you. Just read, read, read, and you will learn a lot. Enjoy your cruise! :cool:

[JerseyGirl97]

So, it's $10 a day per person and this is for everything? So for your cabin steward, wait staff, and everyone it is only $10/day? That seems so low.

 

I am so unsure about the tipping thing. Is this $10/person/day the one that goes on you S&S card? Isn't there another one? I thought I read a thread about prepay and automatic gratuities. Are there two or is the only difference WHEN you pay, not what you pay?

[billh65]

So, it's $10 a day per person and this is for everything? So for your cabin steward, wait staff, and everyone it is only $10/day? That seems so low.

 

I am so unsure about the tipping thing. Is this $10/person/day the one that goes on you S&S card? Isn't there another one? I thought I read a thread about prepay and automatic gratuities. Are there two or is the only difference WHEN you pay, not what you pay?

As stated, it is $10 per day per person, the breakdown is given on the Carnival FAQ page:

• $5.50 pp/pd for Dining Team Service (Headwaiter and Waiter)
  
• $1 pp/pd for Bistro Service (Waiter/Cooks)
  
• $3.50 pp/pd for Cabin Services (Cabin Steward)

Tipping the Maitre D' is strictly at guest's discretion, based upon services rendered. For guests who wish to extend this gratuity in cash, an envelope will be available on the last evening of the cruise.

We did not tip the Maitre D' - he seemed to have an attitude, was not helpful, and we figured he got paid plenty. But we did get some additional envelopes from the purser to additional tip our Steward, Headwaiter and Waiter as they went WAY beyond our expectations. Our Headwaiter also served the Tea Time ... and she knew our names! That's impressive when they have so many to deal with each day and work long hours!

[Cotton]

So, it's $10 a day per person and this is for everything? So for your cabin steward, wait staff, and everyone it is only $10/day? That seems so low.

 

I am so unsure about the tipping thing. Is this $10/person/day the one that goes on you S&S card? Isn't there another one? I thought I read a thread about prepay and automatic gratuities. Are there two or is the only difference WHEN you pay, not what you pay?

 

Jersey, I explained in great detail the difference in the PREPAID and the AUTOMATIC tips on another thread, which may be the one you are referring to.

 

If you paid for your tips when you pay for your cruise, that's it. It's a done deal. No tips will appear on your S&S account.

 

If you didn't - then the first entry on your S&S account will be the total amount for your tips (example: 2 passengers X 7 night cruise = $140), as Mom said above.

 

Using the example of 2 passengers X 7 night cruise:

 

Your cabin steward will get a total of $49.

Your waiter & asst. will get a total of $77.

The Lido dining staff will get a total of $14.

 

This totals $140. It is a fair amount, and works out well if you just leave your automatic tips on your S&S account.:)

 

(IF you choose to tip anyone additionally, that's up to you.)

[JerseyGirl97]

 

Using the example of 2 passengers X 7 night cruise:

 

Your cabin steward will get a total of $49.

Your waiter & asst. will get a total of $77.

The Lido dining staff will get a total of $14.

 

This totals $140. It is a fair amount, and works out well if you just leave your automatic tips on your S&S account.:)

 

I am not sure if it was your thread or not. I read so many on here it is hard to keep them all straight! I might have to look back and take a peak. I try to avoid tip threads because I get easily frustrated by cheap people. :p

I guess after seeing you break it down into who gets what it makes more sense. For some reason $10 a day per person does not seem like a lot. Maybe it is because I travel with my daughter so much and usually tip a lot to those that help out. She will be 6 when we go, so she is not a baby, but still 100% kid! As most of you know, sometimes a child can make more work than an adult!

Thanks for explaining it a little more clearly! :)