Tip for cabin steward

[iamthemeanmomma]

I have read many times that if you give the cabin steward a nice tip at the beginning of the cruise you will get extra special attention. What amount would be considered a nice tip? :rolleyes:

 

thanks,

Gayle

[Cathy p]

We give him or her a $20 bill when we get on the ship and more at the end if they are great.

[LHT28]

We have never tipped in advance and still we got great service.

We do leave a little extra at the end of the cruise if they have done their job well.

We also leave the auto-tips in place

[paul929207]

We have never tipped at the begining. A few times we have given and extra $10 or $20 at the end if the service has been outstanding.

 

Paul

[Quilting_Cruiser]

This is an ongoing debate on these boards--if it's upfront is it a tip or is it a bribe? I've also read that some crew members are offended by a tip at the beginning, feeling that they weren't given the chance to give you good service without your thinking it's because you've given them a tip before the cruise began. Yes, they'll still smile and act enthusiastic about it, but they see it as a bribe. Just what I've read.

 

Like others have said, we've never tipped at the beginning and we've always gotten excellent service. We also give a little extra on the last day.

 

Cheers!

Jayne

 

:)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

This is an ongoing debate on these boards--if it's upfront is it a tip or is it a bribe? I've also read that some crew members are offended by a tip at the beginning, feeling that they weren't given the chance to give you good service without your thinking it's because you've given them a tip before the cruise began. Yes, they'll still smile and act enthusiastic about it, but they see it as a bribe. Just what I've read.

 

Like others have said, we've never tipped at the beginning and we've always gotten excellent service. We also give a little extra on the last day.

 

Cheers!

Jayne

 

:)

[schoolmom]

I also have never tipped up front and have received wonder service. I always take thank you notes and include extra if he/she were deserving.

 

This also goes to any other staff aboard who provides exceptional service.

[discjoker]

I have never bribed my cabin steward and have always gotten superb service. They have all received a very nice tip at the end of the cruise.

[iamthemeanmomma]

Thanks so much everyone for the information. I surely don't want to offend anyone by tipping to soon or too little.

 

 

thanks again,

Gayle

[cruzincurt]

What more than cleaning the room and making the bed do you expect them to do for your "up front" bribe? If you give him/her $5 you'll look foolish, $100 you'll look arrogant.

 

Are you high maintenance?

 

Tip at the end for services rendered.

[airlink diva]

I don't tip when I first arrive. Now, I do give something extra at the end (where else are you going to have your room clean twice a day). These gals and guys work long hours,months at a time to make life a little nicer for us.

Now all of my room stewards were outstanding except for one (he just did the basics and nothing else). My best was on the Westerdam. Angel was so good. One thing that stands out was when I returned from shore in Costa Maya, my water shoes where very sandy. My plan was to wash them out later that night. I left them in the restroom, got dressed for dinner and a show.

When I returned to my room to drop off something I bought in the gift shop, Angel was returning my shoes clean and dry. I was shocked because I never asked or suggested for him to do this. This was service beyond what I could ask for.

I also bring small blank thank you cards and take a few minutes to thank my cabin steward, my dining staff and any other crew who made my trip a great one. I think this makes them just as happy as the cash. I know on my last cruise both my dining waiters cried because I did this.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Another approach is to tip extra on the spot if you make additional requests: getting an egg crate mattress topper for example, or lots of the little pillow mints for a midnight snack. :D That way it doesn't come off as a bribe, it's acknowledging that you're asking them to go beyond their regular duties, and that you're aware of it.

[dforeigner]

I am also from the school of thought that does not believe having to pay a bribe in order to receive a service. I do believe in rewarding for good service though.

[Seago2]

I bring 100 $1's with me. I use them to tip extra, to buy things in port without having to worry about change back, and for taxis, etc in port.

 

This last cruise I left 2 bucks a day on the bed for the cabin steward. Of course- this is in addition to the mandatory gratuity.

 

Hope this helps!

[Cotton]

I've said many, many times on these boards that giving a tip at the beginning of the cruise is definitely a 'bribe'.:rolleyes: Not necessary at all...plus I've had one steward tell me that it hurts his feelings, thinking passengers believe he won't do an outstanding job for them unless he is given that upfront tip. Sad. He said the tip is appreciated, of course, but he takes so much PRIDE in his work and would like to prove himself before getting any extra $.

 

These stewards work their butts off....well, most of them do. I'm a solo cruiser, and I usually give my steward $10-20 extra the last morning, of course in addition to the auto tips.:)

[BobBeaSea]

I am guilty of giving a small tip to the cabin steward at the beginning of a sailing. I had asked for something we weren't entitled to, robes to use during the cruise. If I didn't have a special or non standard request, I wouldn't tip at the beginning of a sailing.

[Seago2]

Ohhh... the tipping threads always HURT, but:

 

When I took 4 kids in a quad with a rollaway I gave the steward a $20 when I first laid eyes on him.

[Happy ks]

I am guilty of giving a small tip to the cabin steward at the beginning of a sailing. I had asked for something we weren't entitled to, robes to use during the cruise. If I didn't have a special or non standard request, I wouldn't tip at the beginning of a sailing.

 

While I don't tip up front, I have done this before for special service. I've even had a steward turn the tip down, saying it was not necessary.

 

We've also given a little extra cash in the middle of the cruise, one day when we got out of the cabin late and he had to work over his shift for a little while. We didn't think of it so much as a tip, but an apology.

 

There really is no reason to tip ahead of time, everyone gets the same superb service including ice, towels changed, room cleaned and tidied, beds turned down, a chocolate on the pillow etc...

[NJDragonLady]

I read these boards before I went on my first cruise last October and I figured I would wait until I was there to make the 'tip' decision. On day 4 (of a 10 day) I left a tip and a gift on the table (a little stuffed animal) with a note of thanks for how wonderful I thought he was and how he was making my trip even more special...it wasn't a bribe, but genuine appreciation. I gave another tip at the end (along with a bottle of rum and another stuffed animal--which he loved. They had magnetic hands and feet and I had 4 of them hanging in various places in the room. He said he put them in his room and they made him think of his kids back home and how much they would like them when he got to see them in a few months).

[Jeepers385]

I read these boards before I went on my first cruise last October and I figured I would wait until I was there to make the 'tip' decision. On day 4 (of a 10 day) I left a tip and a gift on the table (a little stuffed animal) with a note of thanks for how wonderful I thought he was and how he was making my trip even more special...it wasn't a bribe, but genuine appreciation. I gave another tip at the end (along with a bottle of rum and another stuffed animal--which he loved. They had magnetic hands and feet and I had 4 of them hanging in various places in the room. He said he put them in his room and they made him think of his kids back home and how much they would like them when he got to see them in a few months).

 

Gabrielle, I like your idea of the stuffed animals especially if they have kids, I'll have to remember it for our upcoming cruise.

[iamthemeanmomma]

Thanks again everyone. When I figured out that they receive about $3.50 per day, per person ($28.00 total for 4 days) from the tip we pay on or SS card I was shocked.

 

I had not figured this all out when we went on our first cruise in Dec and didn't leave a tip.

 

As far as I am concerned the service we received was excellent. Even if it was the minimum of what a steward does it was amazing. Every time we came into the room it was clean. Every night we received a cute towel animal. My 16 year old son roomed with me and the steward came by every night with a decorated cookie for him. I wish I had thought about leaving a tip for him.

 

Now that I have calculated out the tip situation and know about what to expect as far as regular service I can be better prepared for tipping in the future. And yes I will tip if I ask for anything extra and tip at the end of the cruise. I am going out right now for the thank you cards!!!!

 

thanks again.

Gayle

[Host Kewlguy]

We never tip anyone at the beginning of the cruise. If we make any special requests during the cruise then we will tip accordingly.

[Kurbanfan]

I am guilty of giving a small tip to the cabin steward at the beginning of a sailing. I had asked for something we weren't entitled to, robes to use during the cruise. If I didn't have a special or non standard request, I wouldn't tip at the beginning of a sailing.

 

No need to feel quilty. Giving the cabin steward a little extra for doing extra is by no means a bribe. A bribe is tipping up front....this is not tipping up front.

[Leafpeeper]

We've never thought of paying in advance. I do like the automatic tips on NCL. I hate having to figure things out on RC. We tend to tip extra to our cabin steward.

 

We've been on lots of cruises and have never had a bad cabin steward. I enjoyed having two on NCL. However, we have had a bad waiter on RCCL's Legend of the Seas. It was tough because we had the same waiter every night. That's why we prefer sailing Princess and NCL---in addition to eating at whatever time we want.

 

We're sailing RCCL Explorer of the Seas next winter and are hoping we get a good waiter this time around. Fortunately, there are two specialty restaurants onboard--and that's where we will dining 50% of the cruise.