Tipping

[junieh]

Having read the heated discussions on another post, I was curious as to how much people usually tip on a cruise and when. Do you tip at the start, at the end or daily? And how much?

 

Also, with the freestyle dining and not having assigned tables and therefore servers for the duration of the cruise, do people tip the servers at MDR every night or not bother with tipping except for speciality restaurants?

 

We are relatively new to cruising and in our country tipping is not compulsory so I am genuinely curious. We do pay the full DSC, I wouldn't even dream of having it removed or reduced as the way I see it, it is a part of the cost of the cruise. But tipping on top of paying the gratuities is not a concept that we are very much used to :) We tip because we know it is expected (and sometimes because we really do receive an excellent service so we want to show our appreciation). We don't want to tip more than we need to but at the same time, we don't want to offend anyone. So this is meant as just genuine research, not a debate on tipping :)

[yakcruiser]

Oh boy: Here we go!

[cruiseny4life]

I'll answer in the spirit of how your question was asked (can't promise others will) We only tip after service is received - never in advance.

 

We always stay in the Haven which means the concierge and butler do not receive compensation from the onboard service charge.

 

Stateroom Attendant - $50, however we did not tip anything on our cruise in November as service was average. 

Servers in Haven Restaurant (they do receive onboard service charge, but we receive outstanding service from a couple each trip, except back in March) - $20 - $40 per server for the duration of the cruise

Bartenders - $40/each in the Haven and IF I find one exceptional bartender outside of the Haven

Concierge - $60 

Butler - $55 (I think)

 

I hope that helps! 

[jean87510]

If we already have the 18% added, we do not tip.  It's what we do at home.  If I have a meal that is $100 and I add an extra $20, essentially I'm tipping 40%.  So no, I stick with whatever the gratuity that was already charged.

 

Edited to add this comment is ONLY pertaining to specialty dining.  It is not related to the ongoing tip saga that exists on this forum.

Edited January 11 by jean87510

[junieh]

Thank you very much for your helpful replies. 

[seemoreroyals]

Pay the DSC and the prepaid gratuities on drink package and specialty dinner and you are good to go.  Beyond that to each his own.  You are not required or expected to pay more.  

[herbanrenewal]

I also consider the prepaid gratuities adequate. If someone does something over and above expected service at my request I will tip extra, but on most cruises in last couple years I have not tipped extra. I find that those in suites and Haven seem to be more likely to tip more, at least judging by comments here, but they probably expect more personal services than I expect (or receive)

[destar]

24 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

Pay the DSC and the prepaid gratuities on drink package and specialty dinner and you are good to go.  Beyond that to each his own.  You are not required or expected to pay more.  

This is right on. But if I'm sitting by the pool on lounger and a server brings me drinks, I'll tip them $1-2 dollars per drink. Sitting by the bar and consuming a few drinks, bartender gets a tip. Specialty restaurant already prepaid gratuity, but if the service is good, I will tip them as well.

[cruiseny4life]

7 minutes ago, herbanrenewal said:

I also consider the prepaid gratuities adequate. If someone does something over and above expected service at my request I will tip extra, but on most cruises in last couple years I have not tipped extra. I find that those in suites and Haven seem to be more likely to tip more, at least judging by comments here, but they probably expect more personal services than I expect (or receive)

I think you're right that it's based on the more personal service. If I were in the main dining room/buffet/specialty restaurants each evening, with a different server, I would not tip extra to a server. Same goes for a bartender, unless I find one that is exceptional. I did truly appreciate a Getaway bartender named July who worked (in 2022) at the outside Mojito Bar. He did get a $20 from me at the end of the voyage as he was just excellent. 

 

In the Haven you do get to know servers - the fellow we tipped $40 at the end of our November cruise was our server on multiple occasions (we actually requested him for each meal from day 3 on). He got to know our likes/dislikes and we could connect with him. I don't think most folks have this type of service when going to the main dining room each evening. 

If I stayed outside the Haven, I would rarely, if ever, tip above the onboard service charge. 

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'll answer in the spirit of how your question was asked (can't promise others will) We only tip after service is received - never in advance.

 

We always stay in the Haven which means the concierge and butler do not receive compensation from the onboard service charge.

 

Stateroom Attendant - $50, however we did not tip anything on our cruise in November as service was average. 

Servers in Haven Restaurant (they do receive onboard service charge, but we receive outstanding service from a couple each trip, except back in March) - $20 - $40 per server for the duration of the cruise

Bartenders - $40/each in the Haven and IF I find one exceptional bartender outside of the Haven

Concierge - $60 

Butler - $55 (I think)

 

I hope that helps! 

What?  You don't want to go a few rounds about tipping...?

 

In reality, your response was perfect.  I am close to what you do...a little more here, a little less there, but in the same ballpark.

 

Although, I do tip a $1/drink for the bartenders/servers outside the Haven.  

Edited January 11 by graphicguy

[benel204]

What is "DSC"?

 

[RocketMan275]

7 minutes ago, benel204 said:

What is "DSC"?

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-is-onboard-service-charge

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-about-gratuities

[complawyer]

hey benel204 DSC= "DAILY SERVICE CHARGE" it's the fee you pay per person per day, that "allegedly" goes into central fund that is dispersed among the entire crew, in lieu of tipping individually

[CWMixer]

Once onboard, we consider whatever we’ve paid (including DSC and FAS gratuities) as the base cost of the cruise, ie the cost of admission.
Anything beyond that is a voluntary extra (excursions, shopping purchases, tips, etc), and we budget/plan accordingly.

We have no idea if the specific crew member (from waiters and bartenders to butlers and concierges) at any specific point providing us with great service has been suitably (to us, anyway) compensated/appreciated.  We therefore tip that person directly, usually at point of service, to show our appreciation, along with a kind word.  Do we tip everyone all the time at some predetermined set amount? No.
How much we tip is, and should be, irrelevant to others: it makes sense to us, and we budget/plan accordingly.  Everyone will have their own opinion of what does or doesn’t make sense.

Our approach has worked for us, in terms of having many great cruise experiences, and seems to have been appreciated by crew members, based on our experiences and feedback from them.  

To paraphrase the MIMITW: Cruise well, my friends. 

 

[benel204]

31 minutes ago, complawyer said:

hey benel204 DSC= "DAILY SERVICE CHARGE" it's the fee you pay per person per day, that "allegedly" goes into central fund that is dispersed among the entire crew, in lieu of tipping individually

Thanks. I assumed it was gratuities, but didn't see DSC on NCL.

[destar]

7 minutes ago, CWMixer said:

To paraphrase the MIMITW:

I had to google this one, forgot about that commercial.

[UKstages]

49 minutes ago, benel204 said:

I assumed it was gratuities, but didn't see DSC on NCL.

 

that may well be because it is no longer called the daily service charge. it is now called the "onboard service charge" (OSC). same thing, different moniker.

[Seas2mountains]

For each person who says they will tip, there will be a person who says they don't tip and both are right. It's a personal decision.

We tend to be the type of couple who tips for excellent service and we also tip when getting bad service.  There are times we know the person may have some outside factors impacting their ability to provide better service so we give the benefit of the doubt in those situations. Some room stewards may be helping to cover for a friend who is sick or needs a break off the ship. The restaurant server might be covering too many tables due to staffing shortages. On NCL, we have typically received excellent service and the bad service doesn't happen too often. 

When I was younger, someone told me if you tipped generously, the money would find its way back to you in different ways. I tried this and can say that this theory has been proven true for me and my husband.  Anytime my husband or I hesitate about if or how much we should tip, we remind the other that the money will find its way back to us.

 

We appreciate how the people providing us with such a great vacation are working seven days a week and sometimes 10-12 or more hours a day. It makes our vacation extra special to see the smiles and to have them come back to tell us how much they appreciate it. It is even better when we run into these crew members on other ships or when we return on the same ship. 

 

Life is too short and you don't get to take the money with you.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

When I was younger, someone told me if you tipped generously, the money would find its way back to you in different ways. I tried this and can say that this theory has been proven true for me and my husband.  Anytime my husband or I hesitate about if or how much we should tip, we remind the other that the money will find its way back to us.

That doesn't really sound like "generous."  Sounds more like accounting.

[fshagan]

9 hours ago, junieh said:

We do pay the full DSC, I wouldn't even dream of having it removed or reduced as the way I see it, it is a part of the cost of the cruise. But tipping on top of paying the gratuities is not a concept that we are very much used to 🙂

 

You can stop worrying and do like most of us do - pay the DSC and enjoy your cruise! The DSC takes care of all the people you need to worry about if you are just a regular cruiser. Bar bills, spa bills, etc automatically add the tip at the time of purchase. NCL says in their FAQ that the suite concierge, suite butler, and youth program staff are not part of the tip pool, so you would tip them separately if you use them.

 

[phillygwm]

21 hours ago, junieh said:

Having read the heated discussions on another post, I was curious as to how much people usually tip on a cruise and when. Do you tip at the start, at the end or daily? And how much?

 

I always preface by saying that tips are appreciated but not mandatory nor expected.  I do what I do, not trying to virtue shame (or be shamed.) 🙂  Likewise, you do you.  But since you asked the question:

 

When there was 2x cabin service, I used to give $50 at the beginning and, if service was good, another $50 at the end.  Last time I reduced a bit.  IIRC $40/$40. Service is almost always good enough for my steward to get both.  I can think of maybe twice (of about a dozen cruises) where I didn't.   I'm not super high maintenance but I have my idiosyncrasies, like asking for towel animals.

 

IF I'm sitting at a bar for a while and service is attentive, I'll tip $5-10.  If I'm just grabbing a quick drink, I won't.  I only do specialty restaurants but usually $5 per head if service is good...more if it's one of my Platinum meals, because I haven't prepaid tips on those, or if I've caused an inconvenience (i.e. bringing my vegetarian niece to Cagney's, which they accommodated nicely by schlepping the Napoleon over from Le Bistro.  She was prepared to just load up on sides.)

 

I don't do Haven so I can't speak to that.

 

Edited January 12 by phillygwm

[gymbomb]

We tip our stateroom attendant -- usually at the end unless we ask for extra stuff early on. My starting point for that is about $20 per person, but it goes up or down depending on their service and our requests.

We tip at specialty restaurants - less when using the dining package we already paid some tips on, more if using Platinum free dinners.

We tip for bar service when we don't have the drinks package (because tips are pre-paid with the package).

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, gymbomb said:

We tip for bar service when we don't have the drinks package (because tips are pre-paid with the package).

Tips are also added on to the drink you order. Don't you worry! NCL will get that 20%. 

[Joesantos]

21 hours ago, junieh said:

Having read the heated discussions on another post, I was curious as to how much people usually tip on a cruise and when. Do you tip at the start, at the end or daily? And how much?

 

Also, with the freestyle dining and not having assigned tables and therefore servers for the duration of the cruise, do people tip the servers at MDR every night or not bother with tipping except for speciality restaurants?

 

We are relatively new to cruising and in our country tipping is not compulsory so I am genuinely curious. We do pay the full DSC, I wouldn't even dream of having it removed or reduced as the way I see it, it is a part of the cost of the cruise. But tipping on top of paying the gratuities is not a concept that we are very much used to 🙂 We tip because we know it is expected (and sometimes because we really do receive an excellent service so we want to show our appreciation). We don't want to tip more than we need to but at the same time, we don't want to offend anyone. So this is meant as just genuine research, not a debate on tipping 🙂

Let the bashing begin!

 Usually get $2.00 bills 💸 from the bank 🏦 and give them to get a drink 🥃 

 

Servers remember you of course a smile 😊 and happy attitude helps 

[graphicguy]

Anyone want to discuss formal wear?