Tipping while onboard the ship, House keeper, restaurant servers, etc. in addition to the automatic gratuities

[sinova]

Please enlighten me on what you would do when you go onboard a cruise ship. Do you tip your housekeeper, restaurant servers, bus person, etc.? If so, when do you tip them, and by how much? I'm traveling with Oceania Vista from Oct 30-Nov 11 from Rome to Athens. The ship charges $18 USD per day automatically.

[Host Kat]

11 minutes ago, sinova said:

Please enlighten me on what you would do when you go onboard a cruise ship. Do you tip your housekeeper, restaurant servers, bus person, etc.? If so, when do you tip them, and by how much? I'm traveling with Oceania Vista from Oct 30-Nov 11 from Rome to Athens. The ship charges $18 USD per day automatically.

 

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[mauibabes]

@sinova

You owe them nothing additional UNLESS you want to tip them extra.  That $18 per day per person covers them and the other bar staff and Spa staff have an automatic 20% gratuity added to the bill when they serve you. 
That said, we will bring along some Thank You cards, DW makes them, and we will write a note to express our THANKS for their exceptional service that made our cruise wonderful. We give them out on the final day or evening. I am not sure but it seems like this might be your first O cruise.  You will find these wonderful people learn names, work their you know what’s off, smile, get to know you, if you interact they will as well, and will do anything they can to make your trip memorable. You will be impressed and if not, then your $18 pp is all she wrote. 
Enjoy Vista, we have been on her twice and she is Spectacular. 
Mauibabes

[sinova]

Thanks for your recommendation! Much appreciated it!

[emd138]

I agree with mauibabes.  You do not have to tip extra.  We do tip a few people that go above and beyond.  Some examples - we are messy, so we tip the housekeeper an extra $20-40 per cruise because they tend to do a great job organizing our stuff.  We like to drink, and usually have a few favorite bartender that we give a $5-10 tip.  Overall, we take an extra $100-$200 or so for extra gratuities.  We have encountered some of the same people on later cruises, and they always remember us.  

[1985rz1]

There are folks who believe that extra tipping above the standard gratuities is necessary.  We are not among them.  We do believe that if some person goes beyond their normal duties for us in response to our personal requests or needs, a modest thank you is appropriate, although not required. But Americans are notorious for over-tipping and some of the staff are beginning to actively solicit supplemental tipping, which turns us off.

[SEC Man]

We were on the Vista and left our cabin steward an additional cash tip

as we would normally do, regardless of the cruise line.  Since we ate at a number of different venues (think we only had dinner in the main dining room twice for dinner over the course of the cruise) and therefore never had the same wait staff we did not tip any restaurant staff in cash. 

[PhD-iva]

Another way to support the crew is to mention them by name on the mid cruise survey, along with a few words about what they have done to go above and beyond to make you feel special. This helps the crew in terms of future promotions and raises.

[Acrusa]

When we first meet our room stewards we ask for a few requests. 

To keep our top sheet and blanket untucked and to remove. bolster and leave only the pillows when making the bed. To remove the soda cans and replace with Perrier and request a new hairdryer and give them a few pence for our requests. 

[jondfk]

The only person I tip proactively is the bartender in my favorite venue (which changes sailing to sailing).  Once we "settle in" I slip the regular bartender a few dollars, but I do the same at a nice restaurant, tends to keep the glasses full and the snacks coming.  

 

Otherwise, we go based on the service provided.  Nothing special, then the "stock" gratuities are left alone.  Something extra, we put a few bills in an envelope.  Over the top, the envelop might get a bit thicker - this last situation is rare indeed - but did happen for the butler on our most recent sailing on Regatta.  Well earned.

 

Tipping is a very personal thing.

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

We usually tip the butler and cabin stewards a bit extra.  They always appreciate it and we’ve never encountered any staff actively soliciting it.  

[MEFIowa]

First, get to know the crew assigned to your cabin. We always greet them on embarkation day and have a brief chat with them about the cabin and anything related to it. And we say HI throughout the cruise. Also, we try to let them know if there is going to be some issue with us and accessing our room some morning because of excursions.

 

Second, if you get to know their supervisor or the head of housekeeping or the GM, feel free to say something to them by name discussing what outstanding service they have (hopefully) provided. (My wife smokes and I've often meet department heads and others in the inside smoking lounge.)

 

Third, do make sure to put their name down on the mid-cruise survey and end-of-cruise survey if they've made you cruise more enjoyable.

 

Fourth, IF you feel like it, give them a "Thank You" card. Whether you tip is up to you. (We do. We put some $ in the card.)

 

Never have tipped anyone in the restaurants. Just try to say HI and get to know them (e.g., the servers in the TC).

[Acrusa]

Back in the old days, O had a strict no tipping policy 2008 our first Oceania cruise if you stood on your head and spit wooden nickel no-one took. Very disappointing LOL

 No restaurant manager head waiter or waiter would accept graduates 

That changed around 2012.

[firsttimers68]

I tip our room staff, as without fail we are incredibly well looked after. If I have the same wait staff in restaurant I tip  a few dollars/euros etc. I have also bought a staff member a gift of perfume from the boutique, as she was outstanding and made our cruise even better with her wonderful attitude, service etc. These are done discreetly as I don't wish to make a big show of it, but it's also MY business what I do with MY money! 

[Robjame]

It is important to note that the $18 a day gratuity is not a mandated amount but the Oceania default. You should feel free to adjust this accordingly. This is even mentioned in the Oceania facts and regulations. For our upcoming 29 day voyage the default amount for us would be 2x18x29=$1044 US.

We prefer to tip personally for exceptional service past and future, so one of our first stops is to reception where we reduce the gratuity by half. We carry cash which we use for personal tipping. This includes: $50 per steward per cruise leg, small tips for room service and breakfast delivery, bartender and server, dock baggage drop-off, favourite restaurant servers, spa and casino workers, excursion drivers & personnel, special requests or service.
We always recognize sommeliers (wine servers) as we tend to dine slowly with different wines for each course. Some will consider this a bribe, rather than a tip, and it is, but it serves us well.

I realize some will find this post controversial but it reflects our views on tipping.

 

 

[Woofa]

I may be wrong but I don't think you will be able to do that under the new program.  With gratuities included under all reservations I don't believe you will be able to adjust them down. I may be wrong on this and of course this should not affect pre existing reservations 

[Robjame]

13 minutes ago, Woofa said:

may be wrong but I don't think you will be able to do that under the new program.  With gratuities included under all reservations I don't believe you will be able to adjust them down. I may be wrong on this and of course this should not affect pre existing reservations 

You’re joking …. Right? 
If it is included, why would anyone want to adjust them, in the same way  one could not back excursions or the beverage package out of Simply More.

[osandomir]

This discussion just proves my point that it was a good decision on Oceania part to include the gratuities in the cruise pricing. Despite the fact that at our loyalty level they were paid by Oceania. Now it will not be possible for someone to reduce their own cost by cutting the gratuities in half or removing them altogether.

[Robjame]

53 minutes ago, osandomir said:

This discussion just proves my point that it was a good decision on Oceania part to include the gratuities in the cruise pricing. Despite the fact that at our loyalty level they were paid by Oceania. Now it will not be possible for someone to reduce their own cost by cutting the gratuities in half or removing them altogether.

While I agree with you in principal, gratuities more universally affects all passengers than including excursions and/or beverage packages. Of course the monetary value of excursions and beverage packages is more but those of us who don’t use them will be better off.