Newbie Gratuity Question

[airbornewilly]

My girlfriend and I are leaving on May 7th for the Mariner of the Seas Western Caribbean out of Port Caniveral. I decided to purchase the prepaid gratuities, but I am just looking for some insight from the veterans on if this is adequate provided the service is exceptional. I have been on one other cruise, which was VOS over xmas, and I gave everybody extra over the prepaid amount. I don't want to seem cheap by any means, but as a recent college graduate and a prospective home owner, I need to try and eliminate unecessary spending. This is not to say I will not tip above the prepaid amout if it is customary or recommended, I just really have no clue as to what the"norms" are in respect to this. Sorry for the rant and thanks for your help in advance!

[superjerryw]

If you receive good service the basic gratuity amount is fine. Only you can decide in your own mind if the service that you received was exceptional and warrants an additional tip. Similarly, if you are continually asking the staff to do things for you that are outside what they normally do an addtional tip would seem appropriate. Conversely, if you don't make any unusual requests and you are getting the requisite level of service no additional tip is required.

[airbornewilly]

Great, that basically anwser my question! Thanks for the responce.

[hockeymom12]

One thing to keep in mind, they give you envelops for your prepays as well. The only person we tipped over and above was our main waiter and I don't eve think he had any idea. Enjoy your cruise Mariner is a great ship!

[Trevoli]

If you order room service, please be sure to tip the crew member $2 - $5 in cash depending on what you order, because you may never see him/her again.

 

T

[cruisePRN]

I always tip the suggested amount and round up if it is an odd amount. I never deduct for eating elsewhere, the waiters count on this money.

I order 2 coffees from room service to use as a wake up call. I keep a dollar bill wedged in the mirror to hand the server when the door is opened, they are always in a hurry so I am prepared.

[LoLa_in_GA]

Hi,

I am glad I stumbled upon this...

 

We are doing the pre-paid gratuity-it is just a matter of wanting to pay as much up front as we can. I do plan on giving cash tips to people whom I think deserve it (My husband worked in food service for many years..we appreciate and reward good service LOL!)

 

Anyway, I was discussing with a friend of mine, who's done LOTS of cruises. She looked at me as if I was insane when I said I planned on using room service, and will tip them. (Didn't use it on my first cruise). She INSISTED that the pre-paid gratuity covers the RS waiters. I didn't-still don't- think so, and plan on tipping them regardless of what she's said.

 

Now..who is RIGHT???? She's going on yet another cruise this summer....Just curious.

 

:D

[Merion_Mom]

Now..who is RIGHT???? She's going on yet another cruise this summer....Just curious.

 

:D

Not your friend. :) The only gratuity a Room Service waiter sees is the one you hand to him/her at the time of delivery.

[Foncai]

So what's the point of pre-paying when you only have to pay more again?

[Merion_Mom]

Foncai, you DON'T *have to* pay again. The posters here are saying that they tip the "suggested" amounts AT A MINIMUM. If they have pre-paid their tips, those are the "suggested" amounts. If they feel, while on their cruise, that the steward or the waiter or the asst. waiter deserves MORE than the minimum suggested amount, they add more cash on the last night.

[airbornewilly]

So what's the point of pre-paying when you only have to pay more again?

 

This was kind of what I was getting at, but to me it seems that the prepaid gratuities are almost a required gratuity. I feel like no matter how bad the service is (within reason), this is what you are expected give. When I went on my first cruise, I gave everybody extra, with the amount depending on how I felt about their service. I even tipped at least a dollar extra on every bar drink, which got expensive considering the auto grat 15% on every drink. I always tipped the room service guy, even if I only had casino chips. They must compensate the room service people in some way because I definitely got the impression that they room service guy was not getting tipped very frequently and it did not seem to bother him. Most importantly, I want to do what is right within the norms and I was just trying to figure out if the prepaid gratuity amount is considered a good tip or just a bare minimum tip. Does it equate to a 20+% if we were on land at a restaraunt, or is it like a 10% tip. One of the reasons I am so concerned is that I worked in the service industry as a bar tender for 3 years. I hated getting stiffed and of course I appreciated good tips. To us, a good tip would be anything over a dollar a drink. I am just trying to figure out what is considered a good tip by the cruise employees.

/rant off

[Foncai]

Foncai, you DON'T *have to* pay again. The posters here are saying that they tip the "suggested" amounts AT A MINIMUM. If they have pre-paid their tips, those are the "suggested" amounts. If they feel, while on their cruise, that the steward or the waiter or the asst. waiter deserves MORE than the minimum suggested amount, they add more cash on the last night.

Trevoli suggest that we add $2-$5 per room service, now does that still apply when we have pre-paid?

 

It's very confusing for us because in Australia it's very rare to tip, so we pre-paid to avoid any confusion. But from some of the posts I get the feeling that we are required to still tip extra in certain cases. Very exceptional circumstances I agree, but in general will the pre-paid tips be enough?

[Jaxsonbrownie]

I didn't realize that you could pre-pay your gratuities on the Mariner.I have only sailed on Princess, and that is how we did it. How do you arrange that. Before you go? Or once onboard? Thank You, Jaxson We sail next week!

[Nliedel]

If you want to give more you can, if not you don't have to. I think, most of the time, the gratuities are enough with some more tossed in for our favorites.

[airbornewilly]

I didn't realize that you could pre-pay your gratuities on the Mariner.I have only sailed on Princess, and that is how we did it. How do you arrange that. Before you go? Or once onboard? Thank You, Jaxson We sail next week!

You can arrange to do it anytime with customer relations on the boat, or you can tell your travel agent to add it to your booking so you can have it paid for in advance.

[Jaxsonbrownie]

Thank you for the info, I think it is easier to pre-pay, and just add to it when you would like, takes a little of the thinking out of my relaxation time;) Jaxson

[Travelgrrl]

Even a dollar is OK for a room service tip, especially if you're only ordering a small snack. I give a couple dollars for a big meal delivery.

 

They always act SHOCKED to get anything. Sometimes they kind of wave their hand like "that's not necessary" but of course I make them take it.

 

So don't feel like you have to budget a ton extra for room service; you're likely to use it only a few times in your cruise and it's not going to hit your pocketbook that much to tip a buck or two.

[airbornewilly]

Even a dollar is OK for a room service tip, especially if you're only ordering a small snack. I give a couple dollars for a big meal delivery.

 

They always act SHOCKED to get anything. Sometimes they kind of wave their hand like "that's not necessary" but of course I make them take it.

 

So don't feel like you have to budget a ton extra for room service; you're likely to use it only a few times in your cruise and it's not going to hit your pocketbook that much to tip a buck or two.

 

This is true, everytime I tipped a roomservice guy he acted shocked. Additionally, like I said earlier, I was caught twice with only casino chips. The first guy took it, but the second guy said its not a problem and not to worry abuot it. He said something along the lines that gratuity is not expected for RS. I will always tip simply because thats the way I have always been. I am also going with the prepaid and then I will add a little here and there accordingly, like if my steward brings me fruit, juice, and lime for my room cocktails daily.:D

[parrotthead]

We pre-pay so that way it seems like just part of the price we paid for the cruise...now once onboard, we will add to the envelope for above adn beond service...usually cabin attendant and waiter..these are the folks that really make your vacation special...On our Splendour cruise, when we met the cabin attendant, we ask about robes, she said very politely that she'd check and see if any were available...my g/f handed her a (small) tip and said 'oh, thank you, please do check'...the cabin attendant replied with a smile "yes, I will,and they will be in your cabin tonight':) Additionally the waiter was super, always asking me if I wanted to try (add dessert name here) in addition to what ever dessert I had ordered, it didnt take him long to figure out I liked sweets...we tipped both stewart and waiter extra in the envelope.

As for room service, what ever you feel...a buck or a few..we had one guy set the tray down and leave so quickly we had no time to try to tip him..I think it just depends there...

[negc]

The tips for your wait staff and room steward, whether pre-paid or paid at the end of the cruise do not cover any room service requests you might make. On those occasions a dollar or two should be sufficient unless you order a large meal. If you wait until you are onboard, RCI offers you two options: you can authorize them to add the suggested tips to your onboard account or you can pay them in cash. If you authorize them to add your tips to your account, you will receive envelopes and vouchers to hand out. If any of those people provide extraordinary service, you can place additional $ in the envelope along with the voucher. Unlike those lines that automatically add the tips to your account and make you go to the purser if you want them adjusted or removed, RCI leaves you in control of how and how much you want to tip.:)

[Merion_Mom]

Foncai and airbornewilly:

 

Prepaid tips include the following:

 

$3.50 per day per person for the cabin steward

$3.50 per day per person for the waiter

$2.00 per day per person for the assistant waiter

$.75 per day per person for the headwaiter

 

(GS and above, $5.75 per day per person for cabin steward)

 

That is what is included in your "prepaid tips". If you buy drinks in the bars, 15% gratuity is automatically added.

 

The people who deliver room service orders do not belong to any of these groups. They are trying to work their way up INTO one of these positions.

 

I have NEVER had a room service waiter look anything but grateful when I gave him cash. No one ever CAME CLOSE to turning it down. Never a look of suprise, either.

[Notned2]

OK, call me a grinch! I think this tipping business is way out of hand. People work on these ships to provide service. That's their job.

 

I work in customer service too, but I ever get a tip? Never! I used to work in bank giving awesome service. Did I ever get a tip? Never!

 

So what's this tipping coming to? Everytime someone onboard does something do they need a tip? I will tip if the service is extraordinary, but quite frankly, if it's only within the realities of being "their job," I don't think a tip is necessary. I know the staff always give you the story about their poor families at home and how they can't wait to get off the ship to wire money home to their poorly treated families wherever they come from.

 

But let's be realistic here. The drinks order has a 15% gratuity automatically added, whether the guy spills it on you, or whether he serves it with a beautiful smile, promptly and correctly. I would say the 'standards' of the job are to do just that. And for that I'm paying an extra 15% on an already expensive glass of beer.

 

Taxi drivers are the ones who blow me away! They rarely open the doors, rarely help lift luggage in the trunk and then at the end of the journey, rarely open the door for the occupants. It's his job to get me from one place to another, and if that's all he does, that's all he gets paid for. One driver once said to me, "What? No tip?" I replied, to earn a tip you have to do something out of the ordinary and provided 'added value.' I opened my own door, you got me there - which is what the tariff is for - and I opened my door when I arrived. What's value added there? If you want a tip, go buy some Nortel!!!!

 

I think we've created a culture of greed and entitlement by being so loose with the odd buck here, the odd 5 there.

 

If someone really goes out of their way for me, I'll reward them. If they merely "do their job," then they're out of luck with me!

 

On a NCL cruise, our cabin steward was so hopeless I insisted on the automatic gratuity being reversed to my account. I came back from exercising to find she'd done the room, washed the shower, taken away the old towels, but left me with absolutely no new towels. I called room service, waited an hour, still didn't get them and had to go to the desk, dripping wet still from exercising and ask for towels.

 

When she saw me walking into the cabin with the towels, she said absolutely nothing. She never once called us by name (and we have a very easily pronouncebale name) she never did any of the fancy towels into animals. Was she getting a tip? No darned way!

 

On the other hand, on a Princess Cruise, the Cabin Steward noticed I was planning on wearing my tux to formal night. I came back to the cabin to dress, and my shoes were so shiny I could see myself in them. He said, "I'm sorry sir, I hope you don't mind, but I noticed your tux and thought that as your shoes were a little scuffed, I'd polish them up for you." Now THAT's service and initiative and you can be assured that at the end of the trip, his envelope was far thicker than it would have been otherwise.

 

To me, a tip is for service above and beyond, and not for 'just doing the job they're paid to do.' That comes in with the cost of the cruise!

 

Just my thoughts on tipping. Frankly I like the Australian method....no tipping expected in restaurants or anywhere else for that matter. But if the service is outstanding, then the employees usually receive an excellent tip and deserve and are very grateful.

 

I think here, we just tip for the sake of it.

 

OK, call me a Grinch. I'm really not, and in my work I make it my priority to provide excellent service at all times. I wouldn't want a tip. My job is to provide top-notch service, and that's what I do. And that's what I'm paid to do too!

 

Cheers! Notned2.

[airbornewilly]

Foncai and airbornewilly:

 

Prepaid tips include the following:

 

$3.50 per day per person for the cabin steward

$3.50 per day per person for the waiter

$2.00 per day per person for the assistant waiter

$.75 per day per person for the headwaiter

 

(GS and above, $5.75 per day per person for cabin steward)

 

That is what is included in your "prepaid tips". If you buy drinks in the bars, 15% gratuity is automatically added.

 

The people who deliver room service orders do not belong to any of these groups. They are trying to work their way up INTO one of these positions.

 

I have NEVER had a room service waiter look anything but grateful when I gave him cash. No one ever CAME CLOSE to turning it down. Never a look of suprise, either.

Yes, i realize this, that is why I said I tipped the roomservice guy everytime. One guy honestly turned down the casino chip, which was odd to me because they are as good as cash. As far as the bar, as long as the drink has a decent amount of liquor in it and the bar tender is pleasant, I tip atleast an extra dollar a drink, on top of the 15%.

[LoLa_in_GA]

The tips for your wait staff and room steward, whether pre-paid or paid at the end of the cruise do not cover any room service requests you might make. On those occasions a dollar or two should be sufficient unless you order a large meal. If you wait until you are onboard, RCI offers you two options: you can authorize them to add the suggested tips to your onboard account or you can pay them in cash. If you authorize them to add your tips to your account, you will receive envelopes and vouchers to hand out. If any of those people provide extraordinary service, you can place additional $ in the envelope along with the voucher. Unlike those lines that automatically add the tips to your account and make you go to the purser if you want them adjusted or removed, RCI leaves you in control of how and how much you want to tip.:)

 

 

I decided to go w. the pre-pay option. I just don't want to worry about finances too much-I want as much paid up front as I can prior to going.

 

If we decide to tip extra-and we probably will-my husband managed a restaurant for several years-we really appreciate good service! To me, it seems fair to give the RS waiter a tip, as the guy running food all over the ship! We didn't use RS on my first cruise; this time it is my DH and myself-we probably will do breakfast or late night snacks. (He is a cake/dessert kinda guy!)

 

Thanks!

[LoLa_in_GA]

OK, call me a grinch! I think this tipping business is way out of hand. People work on these ships to provide service. That's their job.

 

I work in customer service too, but I ever get a tip? Never! I used to work in bank giving awesome service. Did I ever get a tip? Never!

 

So what's this tipping coming to? Everytime someone onboard does something do they need a tip? I will tip if the service is extraordinary, but quite frankly, if it's only within the realities of being "their job," I don't think a tip is necessary. I know the staff always give you the story about their poor families at home and how they can't wait to get off the ship to wire money home to their poorly treated families wherever they come from.

 

But let's be realistic here. The drinks order has a 15% gratuity automatically added, whether the guy spills it on you, or whether he serves it with a beautiful smile, promptly and correctly. I would say the 'standards' of the job are to do just that. And for that I'm paying an extra 15% on an already expensive glass of beer.

 

Taxi drivers are the ones who blow me away! They rarely open the doors, rarely help lift luggage in the trunk and then at the end of the journey, rarely open the door for the occupants. It's his job to get me from one place to another, and if that's all he does, that's all he gets paid for. One driver once said to me, "What? No tip?" I replied, to earn a tip you have to do something out of the ordinary and provided 'added value.' I opened my own door, you got me there - which is what the tariff is for - and I opened my door when I arrived. What's value added there? If you want a tip, go buy some Nortel!!!!

 

I think we've created a culture of greed and entitlement by being so loose with the odd buck here, the odd 5 there.

 

If someone really goes out of their way for me, I'll reward them. If they merely "do their job," then they're out of luck with me!

 

On a NCL cruise, our cabin steward was so hopeless I insisted on the automatic gratuity being reversed to my account. I came back from exercising to find she'd done the room, washed the shower, taken away the old towels, but left me with absolutely no new towels. I called room service, waited an hour, still didn't get them and had to go to the desk, dripping wet still from exercising and ask for towels.

 

When she saw me walking into the cabin with the towels, she said absolutely nothing. She never once called us by name (and we have a very easily pronouncebale name) she never did any of the fancy towels into animals. Was she getting a tip? No darned way!

 

On the other hand, on a Princess Cruise, the Cabin Steward noticed I was planning on wearing my tux to formal night. I came back to the cabin to dress, and my shoes were so shiny I could see myself in them. He said, "I'm sorry sir, I hope you don't mind, but I noticed your tux and thought that as your shoes were a little scuffed, I'd polish them up for you." Now THAT's service and initiative and you can be assured that at the end of the trip, his envelope was far thicker than it would have been otherwise.

 

To me, a tip is for service above and beyond, and not for 'just doing the job they're paid to do.' That comes in with the cost of the cruise!

 

Just my thoughts on tipping. Frankly I like the Australian method....no tipping expected in restaurants or anywhere else for that matter. But if the service is outstanding, then the employees usually receive an excellent tip and deserve and are very grateful.

 

I think here, we just tip for the sake of it.

 

OK, call me a Grinch. I'm really not, and in my work I make it my priority to provide excellent service at all times. I wouldn't want a tip. My job is to provide top-notch service, and that's what I do. And that's what I'm paid to do too!

 

Cheers! Notned2.

 

Hi,

My husband managed a restaurant- a large, sit-down chain- and the waiters/waitresses MADE BELOW MINIMUM. It is assumed that they will make up the rest in tips. This is supposed to motivate them to work harder, and bring more customers in, etc. Most restaurants still do follow this procedure!

 

I don't think in 2006 anyone should be making minimum wage, let alone BELOW min. wage. Trust me, what the people on the cruise ships get paid is really a paltry amount...I don't know if it is below minimum, but it is really not a very good "living wage."

 

We got to know our server by the pool on our cruise. He was getting ready to go back home. He'd been out at sea 8 months. He was trying to save money to go to school when he returned.

 

All I know is every waiter/waitress I know, and have known has never made much hourly-it's those tips that have helped them pay the bills. If I can afford to spend a few thousand dollars on a 5 day vacation, another few bucks to the poor schlub bringing me cheesecake shouldn't kill me!:D