Are cash gratuities expected for room service?

[CruisingGems]

On our first O cruise and diagnosed with Vivid day 3.  Needless to say, lots of room service.  Is a tip expected for both delivery and retrieval of the tray?

[CruisingGems]

Sorry, I was diagnosed with COVID.

[Acrusa]

38 minutes ago, CruisingGems said:

Sorry, I was diagnosed with COVID.

I am afraid to ask what ship you're on

and yes tip for room service is not expected but very much appreciated on delivery 

We always tip 2 to 3 dollars for breakfast room service. 

[Snaefell3]

1 hour ago, CruisingGems said:

On our first O cruise and diagnosed with Vivid day 3.  Needless to say, lots of room service.  Is a tip expected for both delivery and retrieval of the tray?

Newbie to O, but figure it's the same as on all the other lines: The room service runners are usually entertainment or other staff picking up a side gig and not in the gratuities pool.  We usually pack a stack of $2 bills for the purpose  (1 per order).

 

If you're in a suite, not sure how your butler figures in.

[WESTEAST]

2 hours ago, Acrusa said:

I am afraid to ask what ship you're on

and yes tip for room service is not expected but very much appreciated on delivery 

We always tip 2 to 3 dollars for breakfast room service. 

Agree - we always tip and always receive a nice thank you. 

 

Edited January 27 by WESTEAST

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Snaefell3 said:

Newbie to O, but figure it's the same as on all the other lines: The room service runners are usually entertainment or other staff picking up a side gig and not in the gratuities pool.  We usually pack a stack of $2 bills for the purpose  (1 per order).

 

If you're in a suite, not sure how your butler figures in.

O’s room service uses regular wait staff. 
Tipping not required. But, we too have a stash of $2 bills (ordered from our bank).

[mauibabes]

On O, the Room Service staff are NOT covered by the $18 or $23 daily gratuities so we always have a pile of $5’s with us specifically for those instances and for others who we would like to give cash.  A little extra for a waiter or bar staffer who is especially attentive or over zealous pour with a bottle 🤪👍. For the Captains party or O Club party, I will always order what I want to drink, maybe a Big O Martini or… and not take what is on their tray so a little Thank You can go a long way.  If we have arranged a dinner in Privee for our travel mates, we will also leave an envelope with cash with the Head Waiter. 
IMHO, I have just dropped $10+++ for a cruise and I am very thankful for the wonderful staff and their efforts to make our experience special and a 💰 is definitely welcomed by the staff who are on board for months and away from family and friends. 

Mauibabes

[cruisemom42]

The OP is in a little bit of a different situation, though, according to what they posted. They have Covid and presumably have to stay in their cabin, so room service isn't exactly voluntary for them, it's their only option....

 

I believe in tipping but think in this situation I might feel a bit differently.

 

[edgee]

5 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

Newbie to O, but figure it's the same as on all the other lines: The room service runners are usually entertainment or other staff picking up a side gig and not in the gratuities pool.  We usually pack a stack of $2 bills for the purpose  (1 per order).

 

If you're in a suite, not sure how your butler figures in.

U.S, Two dollar bills may be cute and quirky and folks will remember you for them because they are unusual. However that is the exact reason I would never give them out to some crew member while cruising in a foreign country. They may not be accepted and worse yet, they are so unusual and rarely used that the person using them could be accused of trying to pass counterfeit currency. I would never subject a crew member to such a risk.

[Flatbush Flyer]

16 minutes ago, edgee said:

U.S, Two dollar bills may be cute and quirky and folks will remember you for them because they are unusual. However that is the exact reason I would never give them out to some crew member while cruising in a foreign country. They may not be accepted and worse yet, they are so unusual and rarely used that the person using them could be accused of trying to pass counterfeit currency. I would never subject a crew member to such a risk.

Hardly unusual anymore. They’re readily available at most banks in $200 packs. And they’re quite common in tourist destinations because they’re far less cumbersome than a fat wad of $1 bills. I doubt that many veteran cruise hotel crew who provide front line service have not seen a $2 bill. 
And, in any case, $2 is always better than $0.

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

Newbie to O, but figure it's the same as on all the other lines: The room service runners are usually entertainment or other staff picking up a side gig and not in the gratuities pool.  We usually pack a stack of $2 bills for the purpose  (1 per order).

 

If you're in a suite, not sure how your butler figures in.

 

We have been fortunate to have wonderful butlers on different ships/cruiselines, with a single exception being the first time we had a butler and we didn't know any better.

 

So we tip generously, and that then includes all of their services through out trip - assuming that we continue to have such good service.  We do make use of the butler's services, and it does make a difference in our trip enjoyment.

Therefore, we do not tip for "each service".

 

RM

[Snaefell3]

17 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

So we tip generously, and that then includes all of their services through out trip - assuming that we continue to have such good service.  We do make use of the butler's services, and it does make a difference in our trip enjoyment.

Therefore, we do not tip for "each service".

What I wasn't sure of is:  If you have a butler and you order room service, does the butler do the delivery or does a normal room service runner do it?  For that matter do you call the butler to order or the normal room service phone number?

[ORV]

13 hours ago, Acrusa said:

I am afraid to ask what ship you're on

and yes tip for room service is not expected but very much appreciated on delivery 

We always tip 2 to 3 dollars for breakfast room service. 

Looks like Sirena. 

[shepherd really]

25 minutes ago, ORV said:

Looks like Sirena. 

As long as it isn't the Marina (I say selfishly).   

[GeezerCouple]

28 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

What I wasn't sure of is:  If you have a butler and you order room service, does the butler do the delivery or does a normal room service runner do it?  For that matter do you call the butler to order or the normal room service phone number?

 

Thus far, on all cruise lines where we've had butler service (and this is by no means "all of the cruise lines... just a few of them), "The Butler Did It". 😁 

 

However, keep in mind that the butlers also like to get some sleep, so there is someone like a separate "Night Butler".  Depending upon the size of the ship/hotel/etc., this might be a rotating position, or there may be enough need that there is at least one regular night butler.

How much they all really pool tips - or not - I don't know.

 

We almost never encounter a night butler;  it's almost always (very close to *always*) our regular butler who shows up, but we've never ordered anything in the true middle of the night.

 

Sometimes the butlers work very hard indeed.  They need to juggle quite a variety of requests.  

We rarely have a need for something at a very specific time.  (Just about the only exception is breakfast timing IF we need to be off the ship at a specific early time.)

Anyway, whenever possible (and it's almost always possible for us) we tell our butler that we are quite flexible, and that IF other passengers have request times that compete/interfere with ours, to *please* just let us know and schedule our request a bit earlier or later...  that we'll let them know if there is some unusual situation where timing is important.

 

There is usually a specific "butler" phone number to call or a service call automatically goes to the butler number.

 

GC