Pre-tipping? Please advise...

[PosadaGirl519]

We are midship on the Spirit, would anyone rec. pre-tipping the steward $10 or $20 to ensure excellent service? Not that we're snobs, or even demand special treatment, but both of us are in the service industry and are well aware that we should go above and beyond for the tables that order appetizers and bottles of wine first thing. Given several of the postings I've read, the $10 pp, per day auto-grat takes away from service. Would a quick $10 up-front ensure all our needs are promptly met? I do want towel animals ;) (We ARE planning on tipping extra for excellent service as a "professional courtesy")

 

Also, quick question: What does the "D" stand for in "DH" "DS" and "DD". "D"esignated? I get "H"usband, "S"on, and "D"aughter.

 

Hide the rum!

[NJGRANNY]

First - the "D" stands for "dear."

 

As for the tipping. We tip our room attendants extra, but usually at the end of the cruise. We may have tipped early once. Plus, we gave the cabin attendant an extra tip when she found my diamond ring that I had lost in the cabin, plus extra at the end of the trip.

 

I have never found any lack of service if no "early" tips were given. I think it should be what ever you're comfortable doing.

 

We got tons of towel animals on the Dream in the Baltic and didn't tip early. I guess it just depends. Our room attendants on that cruise were super-attentive and super-neat.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

[MrLee]

This is only my opinion but, unless they provided some special service right away, I wouldn't tip until the end of the cruise. To me it sounds like I would be saying that I need to bribe them to do their job.

 

Just my opinion...your mileage may vary. ;)

[redlef]

On last week's Jewel cruise I slipped the steward 20E on embarkation. I figure let him know I value his service.

 

I also gave him 5E mid week and the last day.

 

The service was impecable all week. I don't know if it was due to my tipping or if it was his normal work ethic.

 

Dave

[Zeno]

On our last NCL cruise, we tipped our cabin steward extra at the end of the cruise because his service had been excellent (doing many little extras for us efficiently and cheerfully).

Like Mr Lee I don't really believe in pre-tipping but whatever suits you.

We have been on 3 NCL cruises and I always found the cabin service to be vey good to excellent.

[hotspur]

I have never found any lack of service if no "early" tips were given. I think it should be what ever you're comfortable doing.

We, too, have never noticed any issue regarding the quality of service as a result of the $10/day 'automatic' gratuities. We don't believe in 'bribing' someone into feeling he/she has to do something extra for us. If a crew member does such, we reward him/her appropriately...but after the fact.

[cazlap1129]

Me and DH had all intention of tipping our steward up front to ensure great service- but the opportunity never came- and we still got good service with towel animals at night. We tipped the bar servers and all waiters extra- even hostess' which sat us in the restaurants- the last day on the cruise we got a bunch of free/comped drinks at dinner and at the casino because I believe we tipped all along. Most learned our names and our likes and dislikes!

CAZ

[PosadaGirl519]

Thank you everyone! The topic seems to be purly subjective for each individual. I like what cazlap said about the end of the cruise comps :) but i won't count on them if i do decide to tip. On behalf of me and my DBF (Thanks NJ GRANNY :D ), we thank you.

[Kapuna]

We are midship on the Spirit, would anyone rec. pre-tipping the steward $10 or $20 to ensure excellent service? Not that we're snobs, or even demand special treatment, but both of us are in the service industry and are well aware that we should go above and beyond for the tables that order appetizers and bottles of wine first thing. Given several of the postings I've read, the $10 pp, per day auto-grat takes away from service. Would a quick $10 up-front ensure all our needs are promptly met? I do want towel animals ;) (We ARE planning on tipping extra for excellent service as a "professional courtesy")

 

Also, quick question: What does the "D" stand for in "DH" "DS" and "DD". "D"esignated? I get "H"usband, "S"on, and "D"aughter.

 

Hide the rum!

Based on many cruises , we have found an initial tip to the cabin steward and waiter to be conducive to attentive service . It may simply be that they tend to remember someone who showed an interest .

[NJBear]

We are midship on the Spirit, would anyone rec. pre-tipping the steward $10 or $20 to ensure excellent service?

 

I always tip on the first day of the cruise for the room stewards but in no way has that ever ensured excellent service although I have never had unsatisfactory service. I "pre" tip because I always seem to have special requests and the pretips are to let them know I appreciate them. I have pretipped and rarely ever saw the stewards again, although the room was always neat and clean in a timely manner

 

Not that we're snobs, or even demand special treatment, but both of us are in the service industry and are well aware that we should go above and beyond for the tables that order appetizers and bottles of wine first thing.

 

I was also in the hospitality industry for years and in my experience those of us that have been in the receiving end of a tipping situation tend to be a bit more generous..professional courtesy as you said below :D

 

Given several of the postings I've read, the $10 pp, per day auto-grat takes away from service. Would a quick $10 up-front ensure all our needs are promptly met? I do want towel animals ;) (We ARE planning on tipping extra for excellent service as a "professional courtesy")

 

I don't think the auto-grat takes away from the service, ....Towel animals can't be bought..OR earned..ask Cecilia LOL:p --They are sometimes in the room every night and sometimes never appear--they are very elusive hehehe

 

Also, quick question: What does the "D" stand for in "DH" "DS" and "DD". "D"esignated? I get "H"usband, "S"on, and "D"aughter.

 

D= Dear or Darling

 

Hide the rum!

 

 

Have a GREAT cruise!! I was midships Deck 5 on the SPIRIT if you have PUTU and REINA as your stewards , you'll have great service

[Warbird]

Based on many cruises , we have found an initial tip to the cabin steward and waiter to be conducive to attentive service . It may simply be that they tend to remember someone who showed an interest .

I agree to a certain point.

 

I'm reminded of a documentary that was done several years ago when tipping was still done by envelope. Bob Dickenson of Carnival assumed the position of cabin steward for a week to become more in touch with what each person does. I thought that was pretty good of him to put on the rubber gloves and get down and dirty.

 

There was a segment done with the cabin steward that he was teamed up with where she found out how much in tips she had just received from the previous cruise and she came up short. The tips weren't what she had expected and she was kind of bummed. I can only conclude that back in that day, one weeks tips might have been good and the next week the tips may have been lacking.

 

It would be interesting to find out if that was the precursor to automatic tipping to apease the help because of the ups and downs in the way tips were given. Now, I tend to think the $10 per person per day tip is just part of the pay and anything extra is really appreciated.

 

Automatic tipping has taken the insentive out of doing a good job. On the other hand though, I can't say that I've been on a cruise where the service has been lacking.

 

Later,

 

John

[hotspur]

It would be interesting to find out if that was the precursor to automatic tipping to apease the help because of the ups and downs in the way tips were given. Now, I tend to think the $10 per person per day tip is just part of the pay and anything extra is really appreciated.

 

It seems to me that your second sentence says the same thing as your first sentence. Aren't tips always "part of the pay" for an employee who is dependent on tips for a significant portion of their income? Without tips no one in this country would be waiting tables in a restaurant. The tips are not "extra," they're a major part of the person's income.

 

Automatic tipping has taken the insentive out of doing a good job. On the other hand though, I can't say that I've been on a cruise where the service has been lacking.

Huh? Given what you say in sentence two, sentence one makes no sense. But it's a common sentiment expressed by those who would like to avoid having to tip fairly.

 

Your discussion about the Carnival steward being disappointed in the amount of tips in a given week explains clearly why NCL has added the $10/day charge to passengers' bill. Why you go on to make the illogical conclusion that automatic tipping takes away the "insentive" [sic] for doing a good job is simply beyond me.

[PosadaGirl519]

I was also in the hospitality industry for years and in my experience those of us that have been in the receiving end of a tipping situation tend to be a bit more generous..professional courtesy as you said below :D

 

 

 

I don't think the auto-grat takes away from the service, ....Towel animals can't be bought..OR earned..ask Cecilia LOL:p --They are sometimes in the room every night and sometimes never appear--they are very elusive hehehe

 

Granted there are better servers than others. However, even the less-than-desirable ones will give it a better effort when they see the table is not reserved about spending money. It is such a bonus when, through exceptional enthuasiam on my part, there is an additional tip on top of the standard "double the tax" or "15%."

 

It is true, most people don't know what its like to have their income be dependent upon what other people think of them. I'm neutral on the whole NCL auto-grat thing. With it, they are ensuring that their people are taken care of and saving their guests the effort of physically tipping. Yet, it is a bit presumptious and the idea does turn me off a bit. My sister's in-laws (these super-rats!) will acutally go on 14 day sailings and skip dinner the last night so they don't have to tip! This disguists me! I have no doubt in my mind that when I have children, and they become teenagers, they will have to get part-time jobs in customer service so they will know how it is on the otherside of the table. Hey, serving paid for the two of us to take a cruise :)

 

It sounds like I should be planning a safari for towel animals instead of waylaying and plundering neighboring cruise ships. AARRRGGGHHH!

[hotspur]

I'm neutral on the whole NCL auto-grat thing. With it, they are ensuring that their people are taken care of and saving their guests the effort of physically tipping. Yet, it is a bit presumptious and the idea does turn me off a bit.

Your challenge, then, is to figure out a way for someone who frequently eats in the buffet, or at the poolside barbeque, or at other venues where they aren't served at a table, to tip all of the staff who have worked hard to provide service for them at those venues.

 

And if anyone wants to see an incentive for NOT providing good service, just consider the steward or waiter who DOES provide good service and then is stiffed by PosadaGirl519's in-laws. After a few experiences like that, why bother?

 

Sorry, there is nothing about the $10/day gratuity that "turns me off." I'm delighted that everyone (except those who choose to go way out of their way to stiff the staff) is kicking in at least their fair share for the crew and that the crew is not at the mercy of who gets assigned to their cabins or their dining room tables for a substantial portion of their income.

[NJBear]

It sounds like I should be planning a safari for towel animals instead of waylaying and plundering neighboring cruise ships. AARRRGGGHHH!

 

Try this, when you pretip (if you are planning that), introduce yourselves to the stewards by their first names and get the names of the stewards. Some of the names may seem hard to pronounce and remember but give it a try. Mention how much you've heard about the towel animals in passing banter then just address the stewards by name as you pass them .......THAT has gotten me more towel animals than most and I also got to meet and chat with 2 very nice people through the remainder of the cruise ....the stewards.

 

I always make a fuss about the towel animals to let the stewards know how much I like them....for instance

 

ME to Cabin Stewards: "Help , Help is there a health department officer on this ship?"

 

STEWARDS : "My goodness sir, yes there is what seems to be the problem"

 

ME: "There are 2 mice On my bed!!!! (2 little wash cloth mice):D "

 

They roared with laughter and every day I made some sort of remark....."The elephant ate all of my peanuts that were in the cabin" "There is a monkey swinging all over the cabin making such a mess"

 

The "safari" can all be done with kind words, and laughter :-)

 

 

As for the extra tipping, you'll intuitively know how to do that being in the hospitality industry

 

 

Have a GREAT trip

[snorklinbarb]

NJ Bear,

 

I love your towel animal comments!:) I've always thanked the stewards, too, and tell them I take pictures of their creations. This time, like always, I was introduced to the stewards and always addressed them by name and they did likewise. I've always gotten the animals, so was actually a little surprised this time to find the animals near our cabin had all stayed in the zoo .;) I've never found where you stayed to matter either; in fact, on this sailing, suite pax said they got one. I'm a little surprised at that, too.

 

When we were told earlier in the week that one animal per week is now the norm on the Dawn, I remarked to the powers that be that I've seen people tipping specifically because of the animals! Others in the discussion agreed. I've heard guests thanking the stewards and raving about the animals, especially if they had kids.

 

Would be a shame if the stewards are so busy with the minibars that they actually get cut out of a little extra for the monkey.:D