What amount do people REALLY tip?

[fenreed]

We're off on the new Queen Victoria for 16 nights over Christmas, and require some advice please re gratuities.

 

The 'recommended' amounts for gratuities seem quite excessive. Considering that 15% will be added to our bill for all the alcohol we plan to drink (which will be quite a bit), what do other experienced cruisers think is a reasonable total amount for a gratuity to our:-

 

Steward

Table waiter/s

 

What I mean is, despite 'cruise information' suggesting that US$11 per passenger per day, to be given to the above staff, what do the majority of cruisers ACTUALLY give?

 

And whilst I'm on the subject, why do people give money to the Maitre'd. What do these guys actually do anyway?

 

Fenreed

[Karysa]

We tip the recommended amount and if warranted more. We have tipped the head waiter before but we never really came in contact with the Maitre de so I don't remember tipping him. We tip a couple of bucks for any room service we order as well. Generally, we take the tips into consideration when planning our cruise. To me it is part of the trip. Others may feel differently but the workers are going to get paid by us, one way or another.

Karysa

[suezyq50]

We also tip the recommended and usually more to the servers and housekeepers. If we had gone out to a nice restaurant, nice menu, more would probably be needed for tip than the recommended amount. Room service is extra. Therefore they get an additional tip. We do not tip additional to the bartender with the tip included in the drink price.

[LHT28]

We also tip the recommend at $11.50 pp p/d on our cruise.

Plus we gave the room stewardess and the our 2 favourite waiters extra.

[BobBeaSea]

We're off on the new Queen Victoria for 16 nights over Christmas, and require some advice please re gratuities.

 

The 'recommended' amounts for gratuities seem quite excessive. Considering that 15% will be added to our bill for all the alcohol we plan to drink (which will be quite a bit), what do other experienced cruisers think is a reasonable total amount for a gratuity to our:-

 

Steward

Table waiter/s

 

What I mean is, despite 'cruise information' suggesting that US$11 per passenger per day, to be given to the above staff, what do the majority of cruisers ACTUALLY give?

 

And whilst I'm on the subject, why do people give money to the Maitre'd. What do these guys actually do anyway?

 

Fenreed

 

The vast majority of cruisers tip at least the recommended minimums for their cabin attendant and wait staff. Unfortunately the "stiff rate" is climbing though. As for the maitre 'd (or headwaiter, depending on cruiseline) this is the person responsible for the smooth operation of the area of the dining room you are in, the listing of their functions is quite lengthy but, if all went well and reasonable requests were handled efficiently, it is due to their efforts, even if you never actually meet him or her. The gratuity system has been used by cruiselines since cruising began, the reality is it is a service charge, IMHO. You must be a first timer, hope you enjoy your cruise :).

[firefly333]

The recommended tips do not go to the bar tenders. You mean you are thinking about stiffing and tipping your cabin steward less and the dining room people because you drink a lot and those drinks tips are added? That sounds like what you are asking. Yes, I tip the recommended amount per person, plus I add some to it.

 

If you cant afford to tip the recommended amounts at the very least, dont go or drink less so you can afford to tip the recommended amounts. Thats my opinion.

[LHT28]

We're off on the new Queen Victoria for 16 nights over Christmas, and require some advice please re gratuities.

 

The 'recommended' amounts for gratuities seem quite excessive. Considering that 15% will be added to our bill for all the alcohol we plan to drink (which will be quite a bit), what do other experienced cruisers think is a reasonable total amount for a gratuity to our:-

Fenreed

 

Just noticed you are from the U.K. ..check to see if the gratuities are not included in your cruise fare .

some cruise lines will add these into the fare for some Countries that do not normally tip

 

p.s. they only add the 15% to drink you actually order not what you plan to drink!! :D

[MEcruzr]

We tip the recommended amount. We usually give more than that to the butler (if we have one), the cabin attendant (esp if he has to split it with his assistant), the waiter and the assistant waiter. If we have a waitress or bar tender who treats us especially nice... one we know by name and look for... we'll tip extra at the end of the cruise if we haven't been tipping extra all along (I add $1 to the slip I sign). We once tipped an "ice cream guy" because he always kept my mom's favorite flavor in the freezer, even when it wasn't on that day's menu. He would see her coming and start scooping! He got $20 on the last day.

 

I also ALWAYS tip bus drivers and tour guides on excursions. If I go on a boat, I tip the crew/deckhands. Anyone who helps me with my luggage or drives me somewhere gets a tip, such as shuttle drivers, curb side check in, longshoremen (do NOT undervalue their service), bellmen, taxi drivers, porters, etc.

 

I don't tip because I "have to" or because I'm "supposed to". I tip when I've been helped or the experience met/exceeded my expectations. There have a been a few times when I did not tip someone who probably expected it. But... no service, no tip. ;)

[sunflower girl]

We have always tiped more than the recommended amount. Usually start with an extra $20 for the butler/cabin steward in the beginning of the cruise. We do not give more to bartenders, but we do dining room servers. Most do not make much, work long hours and many are supporting a family.

[martinimadam]

I usually tip at least the minimum suggested amount. I almost always tip the bartenders extra at the end. On some lines the tips, especially for the bartenders, are pooled and then split equally among all of them. This is for the automatic tips. It seems the fair way to do it, as some of the bars are much busier (more tip money) than others, just because of their location on the ship. If I've had good service from a particular bartender, I usually tip them 10 - 20 dollars in cash on the last night. They don't have to put that into the pool. The same with the wine steward if s/he has been attentive.

[newmexicoNita]

We're off on the new Queen Victoria for 16 nights over Christmas, and require some advice please re gratuities.

 

The 'recommended' amounts for gratuities seem quite excessive. Considering that 15% will be added to our bill for all the alcohol we plan to drink (which will be quite a bit), what do other experienced cruisers think is a reasonable total amount for a gratuity to our:-

 

Steward

Table waiter/s

 

What I mean is, despite 'cruise information' suggesting that US$11 per passenger per day, to be given to the above staff, what do the majority of cruisers ACTUALLY give?

 

And whilst I'm on the subject, why do people give money to the Maitre'd. What do these guys actually do anyway?

 

Fenreed

We always give the suggested amount, most lines it is $10 per day but yes, a few are now saying $11 or even $12. The tips go mostly to the wait staff and cabin stewards plus a few others. The 15% you tip on your bar bill is separate. As for any extra or not that much: most everyone will give the suggested amount unless the service is below par (quite unlikely) We usually add an extra bill or two for our wonderful cabin steward and maybe a particular cocktail person who has gone above and beyond. I know tipping in GB isn't as common, but the last few times we were in London a 10% service charge was added to all our meals.

 

Nita

[cb at sea]

We always tip the recommended amount, and usually more, since the service is so great! I don't tip the bartenders extra, unless I have "regular" bar that I frequent--then, the bartender will recieve a little something extra on the last night.

Headwaiters are different. On all of our cruises, only once have I had the headwaiter actually DO something for us--that time, he got a tip. Every other time, we hardly even SEE this dude, so therefore, we don't tip him! (Sorry Headwaiter!)

[paul929207]

I always leave the automatic tip (which equals the recommended amount). If service is excellent, I will give the cabin steward, waiter or asst. waiter extra. I also give a few dollars each time we have room service.

[cruisead]

Unless the service is really bad, we always tip extra. These people work so hard to make cruising special, that we don't feel, in the scheme of things, that tipping is excessive. Do you realize that these people can work 14 hours a day? I hardly think it's excessive.

 

BTW, you mention the 15% automatically added to a bar bill. You do realize that those tips are in no way related to your cabin steward or waiter or assistant waiter? They don't get a dime of those tips. And that 15% is not added at the end to your total bill, but it's 15% every time you order something from the bar. Might I suggest that in the future, if you think tipping is excessive, you book an all inclusive line where you don't tip. But, also realize that you'll pay more than double the cruise fare for those all inclusives.

 

As for the maitre'd, we never tip him unless it's a five or ten to change tables in the dining room if we have tablemates that would be impossible to dine with for a week or more.

 

We realize that gratuities haven't been as common over the pond, but whenever we've been in the UK, they've been adding gratuities to many restaurant and bar tabs for a number of years. We had 20% added when we dined in the restaurant at the Ritz in London.

[sail7seas]

We always tip the automatic per person amounts put on our shipboard accounts and the last night of the cruise, always tip additional to our cabin and dining stewards. We also tip additional to particular bar staff who have taken excellent care of us. We use the concierge service on HAL ships and, depending upon how much we requested of him/her, tip them as well.

 

We look at tipping as an expense associated with our cruise/vacation. If these folks do not provide us with the service that makes our experience wonderful, how great would our vacation be? It is a thank you to them (in the universally accepted manner) for all they did to give us a great cruise.....and they always do. :)

 

[grandmaR]

We tip the recommended amount. We usually give more than that to the butler (if we have one), the cabin attendant (esp if he has to split it with his assistant), the waiter and the assistant waiter. If we have a waitress or bar tender who treats us especially nice... one we know by name and look for... we'll tip extra at the end of the cruise if we haven't been tipping extra all along (I add $1 to the slip I sign). We once tipped an "ice cream guy" because he always kept my mom's favorite flavor in the freezer, even when it wasn't on that day's menu. He would see her coming and start scooping! He got $20 on the last day.

 

I also ALWAYS tip bus drivers and tour guides on excursions. If I go on a boat, I tip the crew/deckhands. Anyone who helps me with my luggage or drives me somewhere gets a tip, such as shuttle drivers, curb side check in, longshoremen (do NOT undervalue their service), bellmen, taxi drivers, porters, etc.

 

I don't tip because I "have to" or because I'm "supposed to". I tip when I've been helped or the experience met/exceeded my expectations. There have a been a few times when I did not tip someone who probably expected it. But... no service, no tip. ;)

 

When I book a cruise, I automatically add the suggested tip into the cost in my mind before I make the booking. If the total cost with the tips is too high, then I don't book.

 

We tip the recommended amount also, but on some lines part of this goes to the kitchen staff and the buffet line folks in addition to the room stewards and dining room staff. We've never tipped the dining room staff extra, but we've never gotten what I would regard as extra service. If they don't remember that I don't drink coffee and might want tea, then I don't tip them extra. And so far, no one has done that.

 

We usually tip the room steward extra, but not always. When I don't feel that he/she does a good job (such as leaving a dirty ash tray from the previous occupants in our room), we don't give any extra.

 

We have never ordered drinks, so I have no experience with the 15% for the bar staff and we also do not order room service very often There are people that don't get tipped (and maybe they should) like the internet cafe person.

 

I do not always tip the excursion people. It depends on whether they do a good job or not. If the tour guide tells us what he says are true stories, and I know from previous experience that what he has said is entirely false, then I don't tip.

 

 

Sometimes after I get home, I think - we should have given that person a tip. And occasionally my husband wants to tip more than I want him to leave. But not tipping bothers me more than overtipping.

[bgbaird]

Some of the best times DW and I have had are made more special by the attentions provided by those providing services.

 

In particular, the services provided by your steward far exceed housekeeping in a hotel. We provide an additional tip to him/her at the end of the cruise.. ($5-10/day per cabin)

 

At traditional dining, we always get special attention and provide the same for the waiter and assistant waiter if warranted.

[daiB]

We're off on the new Queen Victoria for 16 nights over Christmas, and require some advice please re gratuities.

 

The 'recommended' amounts for gratuities seem quite excessive. Considering that 15% will be added to our bill for all the alcohol we plan to drink (which will be quite a bit), what do other experienced cruisers think is a reasonable total amount for a gratuity to our:-

 

Steward

Table waiter/s

 

What I mean is, despite 'cruise information' suggesting that US$11 per passenger per day, to be given to the above staff, what do the majority of cruisers ACTUALLY give?

 

And whilst I'm on the subject, why do people give money to the Maitre'd. What do these guys actually do anyway?

 

Fenreed

 

Hi Fenreed

 

Well, you have strolled into a minefield here. In some ways you have got off lightly as this topic can bring out the worst in people.

 

It highlights the difference between us and our cousins from far away. We are used to tipping only on special occasions, a meal out, a taxi getting a haircut. But in the US there is a different attitude altogether wages in ordinary restaurants are very low and the people who work there rely on tips. In the UK, we have the minimum wage which is over $11 per hour and therefore we tend not to tip as a matter of course.

 

Interestingly on P&O where the prices are not much different to Cunard the tips are suggested at less than $7 pp pn. Do P&O staff get paid more?

 

We tend to tip above the suggestion if we get good service and in all our cruises we have had cood to excellent service.

 

 

:):)Happy cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai

[hammybee]

We look at tipping as an expense associated with our cruise/vacation. If these folks do not provide us with the service that makes our experience wonderful, how great would our vacation be? It is a thank you to them (in the universally accepted manner) for all they did to give us a great cruise.....and they always do. :)

 

 

I really like the way you worded this. Not that it is the OP's intent, but anyone concerned about auto tipping probably should not cruise until they are comfortable with the expense.

[blindrid]

I typically go auto-tip and only thing I do over the trip is flip my favorite drink runner a $20 every couple days.

[sail7seas]

I typically go auto-tip and only thing I do over the trip is flip my favorite drink runner a $20 every couple days.

 

Oh my goodness...........

 

 

"Flip my favorite drink runner a $20"........

 

I love that expression! :)

 

Flip my favorite drink runner...... I gotta' remember to tell my DH this. He'll love it, too. ;)

[PennyAgain]

When we used to cruise as escorts for our very elderly inlaws, we always tipped generously at the beginning and end of the cruise as our old folks were difficult and demanding of all.

 

Now that we travel as a couple we generally do the automatic tip and add some for good service.

 

My late inlaws tipped very, very little. We felt we had to make up for their behavior.

[MsMinx]

Our first 2 cruises didn't have a daily tip taken off our account. We just gave cash to the waiter and the 2 cabin stewards on the final night.

 

On our last cruise they had introduced the automatic tipping. Don't flame me for this, but we cancelled it and gave cash again.

 

Since being a member off CC I have come to realise exactly why and where these automatic tips go, so will probably just leave it in place for my next cruise and only tip extra cash if it's really warranted. In Australia, we're not accustomed to tipping, so it's really a grey area for us ;)

[hammybee]

Tipping on a cruise is somewhat like income taxes. You don't need to agree with it, but you gotta do it. :)

[Wilba]

Our Family of 5 have a history of cruising of over Fifty Years & have never tipped the recommended amount.The large Cruise Travel Agents in the U.K. do not normally include gratuities in the quoted price as Brits do not have this tipping mania so prevalent in other parts of the World. Yes we give, but usually about half the recommended & I know I'm not alone in this,as I know many Brits do the same. There are many other crew members onboard a Cruise Liner who never see the light of day who don't get tips & are probably on a lower income than than Cabin & Wait Staff. so why make a big deal of it.To Lady or Gent Going on the Victoria, Enjoy it & pay what you can afford. You won't be alone I can assure you.