Another tipping question, sorry

[Already In Love]

:o Sorry, I know this has been done to death, but I did a search and didn't find the specific answer to my question.

 

I am cruising RCL to the mexcian riviera next month with my husband and 2 children.

 

Assuming I leave my automatic gratuities in place (I believe $10pp/pd), then who else do I need to plan to tip?

 

I know I need to tip roomservice and tip for "treatments" done in the salon, and tip people when I'm off the boat in mexico, but who else on the boat? this is my first cruise so I'm not even sure what to expect.

 

When we get to the boat, will there be someone handling our luggage/checking us in? do i tip them? if so how much?

 

Bartenders?

 

kid's club employees?

 

anyone else I'm missing?

 

TIA! I want to be well prepared!

[paul929207]

15% is added to any drink order as a tip. So you are covered there.

 

On shore excursions, the driver and the guide should each receive a couple of dollars/person.

 

Your luggage will be colloected either at the pier or airport (if you have Princess transfers). It is delivered to your cabin. No tip needed for this.

 

Paul

[brooklintee]

I always give extra to the staff of the Kid's Club - they do an awesome job keeping those kids entertained so I can relax!

[survivor]

If service in the restaurants are very good I always give extra at the end,I also tip the cabin steward extra if he is good.If I am in the room when my bags come we give a few dollars as well. We tip on excursions and the baggage handlers when we arrive. Since I know a little extra won't matter to me and it means a lot to the staff we tip if extra service is given.Have a great cruise:)

[wrp96]

Please be aware that RCCL does NOT have automatic gratuities. You can ask that your gratuities be added to your SeaPass account but it is not automatically done that way.

 

When you order a drink, there will automatically be a 15% gratuity added to the drink. You can add more if you want, but you don't have to.

 

Room service, you should plan to tip in cash a couple of dollars depending on the size of your order.

 

Porters. If you use them you should tip them. General rule I've seen is $1 to $2 per bag.

[martinimadam]

Depending on the service, I sometimes tip more. Certainly need to tip the porters at the pier. Want to make sure the suitcases actually make it to the boat :) . I usually tip the bartenders and cocktail waitresses a bit more than the 15%. Helps when the bars get full ;) . If the headwaiter does something extra they deserve a tip too. You don't need to tip the people that check you in. If I've had good advice about wines, I give the wine steward a bit more tip (they already get 15% of the price).

[critterchick]

As Wrona said, there is no automatic gratuity on RCI. They have a recommended amount for your cabin steward ($3.50/day per person, $5.75 pp pd for Grand Suite & higher), waiter ($3.50pp pd), assistant waiter ($2.00pp pd) and headwaiter (.75 pp pd). If you want the amount added to your onboard account instead of paying cash, you have to turn in a form, usually a day or two prior to the last night. Check your Compass for details or stop by the Guest Relations desk.

 

We usually (if we get the customary excellent service) tip more than that - we once figured what we would pay for the same meal in a land-based restaurant, and the tip equated to something like 10%. And we tip the HW extra if our meals have gone according to plan - even if he she doesn't do something specifically for us, we know that there is a lot of behind-the-scenes management to make our dinner a good experience.

 

We give room service a couple of dollars for our morning repast, will buy the lounge musicians a round during a break if they've played requests for us (DH is a musician; we take care of our own;) ), always tip if we're using a coupon for a drink, usually tip the bar waitstaff a little something extra.

 

I guess you could say we are tipping fools, but it gives us pleasure to do it, so everybody wins.

[Already In Love]

thanks for the information. Looks like I have a good handle on what is expected, except for I didn't realize that RCL didn't have automatic tipping. I had read in their FAQ that there were tipping guidlines (which they list out) and for some reason had assumed that that amount was an automatic charge unless you dispute it.

 

thanks for the info. I have some more specific questions now, but I think I'll post them on RCL msg board since it is specific to them.

[newmexicoNita]

:o Sorry, I know this has been done to death, but I did a search and didn't find the specific answer to my question.

 

I am cruising RCL to the mexcian riviera next month with my husband and 2 children.

 

Assuming I leave my automatic gratuities in place (I believe $10pp/pd), then who else do I need to plan to tip?

 

I know I need to tip roomservice and tip for "treatments" done in the salon, and tip people when I'm off the boat in mexico, but who else on the boat? this is my first cruise so I'm not even sure what to expect.

 

When we get to the boat, will there be someone handling our luggage/checking us in? do i tip them? if so how much?

 

Bartenders?

 

kid's club employees?

 

anyone else I'm missing?

 

TIA! I want to be well prepared!

Haven't read the other answers so I may be repeating what has already been covered:

 

Kid Club: yes

Bartenders and cocktail personal: a 15% tip will be added to your bill: you don't need to tip anymore: we have, on rare occasssions had such great bar service throughout the week that we have given extra at the end.

 

Luggage handlers: yes, especially at the beginning. At the end it depends on whether or not you handle your own when you disembark. We usually tip at both ends.

 

The salon may add to your bill automaticaly: check before you add anything more.

 

Room service: a couple of bucks, depending on what your order.

 

As for the kids and $10 a day: most lines say $5 for kids 3-12 and nothing for kids under 3.

 

We have also added a few bucks to our room steward if the service has been really outstanding. Any extras you give, try to do it in cash so they can keep it. Oh, I have given the casino workers a few bucks from time to time.

 

Nita