Tips...yet again

[pcur]

Interesting discussion... I am an avid land traveler, and aside from dining, we tip at the beginning of our trip for room attendants. This has ensured us some remarkable service.

I am approaching my 2nd cruise, and planned to personally give our attendant a cash tip up front. This is probably a no-no? I assume they want to pay tips on the Sea Pass or in envelopes for accounting and tip sharing.

 

It's not a no-no to tip in advance, especially if you have a special request the first day. The "turnaround" day is very, very hectic for the cabin stewards, so any additional workload that day deserves an immediate tip, IMO. We have done so several times.

[awesomekimmy]

First time cruiser....

How exactly does tipping work? I had thought that envelopes were left in your room and you fill them and leave them there when the cruise is over. Are you expected to fill the envelopes with cash in front of everyone and then personally hand them over?

[Scoobydobe7]

It is nice to have it pre paid, and if there was poor service I would have it removed.

 

 

I do not believe it is an option to have it removed. I could be wrong, but I thought I read a thread a while back that dealt with a situation where the tips (To Insure Prompt/Proper Service) could not be removed once you opt for pre-pay.

 

As a restaurant employee for the last 25 years (Full time and part time) who has lived on tips and tips have paid for most of my vacations, I would never pre pay. You should tip according to service = bad service should never be rewarded because it is expected. You should also inform the service provider why you though the service was horrible and yes, it can be done in a constructive way.

 

On the reverse side, you should always compliment exceptional service and that exceptional service should always receive a miminum of 15%. A good word to the manager or owner of the business also goes a long way.

[HorrorFan]

Despite the great service I have received on my cruises, I don't think I would be comfortable pre-paying if I couldn't remove a partial or complete tip if the service was lousy.

I personally don't tip simply because 'it is expected'. Having said that, I am not a picky person, and it doesn't take much to please me, so I doubt I would ever withhold a partial or complete tip on RCI (based on past experience at least), but I would still like the option available to me.

[pcur]

First time cruiser....

How exactly does tipping work? I had thought that envelopes were left in your room and you fill them and leave them there when the cruise is over. Are you expected to fill the envelopes with cash in front of everyone and then personally hand them over?

 

Two ways:

 

Envelopes left in your cabin; put the cash in them; leave the cabin steward's for him the last night when you go to dinner; take the dining staff their envelopes, and hand them out after dinner.

 

On your Seapass account: envelopes are provided with vouchers included for each person; follow the same routine as above; add cash as you see fit.

[MakinGold]

Good question, but not one I can answer since I haven't really been in that situation. I HAVE been in a restaurant though, and the waiter did not receive a tip for lousy service.

And I had to wonder about the head waiter on our last cruise. I know, you don't tip him much anyway, but I never even saw him, except from a distance, until the last night. And I gave him $20 for what?

Anyway, this thread wasn't intended to be about how much or how little to tip, just how many people prepay, and why.

Thanks for the answers! Makes it that much easier for me to decide now.

 

I've always said, when this subject comes up, that if you get good service, then the head waiter did his/her job. The job of a head waiter is to oversee a section of waiters, not really to come visit your table and serve you personally.

 

That said, I was a little torn on my recent cruise. Our service was a bit lacking. It wasn't terrible, but it was a bit slow and disorganized. On the other hand, we saw a lot of our head waiter. From the fact that she was around so much and from some of the comments she made, I got the impression that she realized our wait staff wasn't the best, and was trying to compensate for it. So, in the end, we decide to add a few extra dollars to her tip, because she did seem to be trying really hard to make up for some of the other shortcomings.

[MakinGold]

BTW, I don't mind the handing out of the envelopes on the last night. I feel like it's a good chance to say one last personal thank-you to the folks who have been serving you. That said, if you do feel awkward about it, you can just leave the envelopes on the table, rather than handing them out.

[RetireeWannabee]

First time cruiser....

How exactly does tipping work? I had thought that envelopes were left in your room and you fill them and leave them there when the cruise is over. Are you expected to fill the envelopes with cash in front of everyone and then personally hand them over?

Do the envelope stuffing in your cabin (after having gotten cash in the desired denominations from the pursur's desk), hand envelopes out 'in front of everyone' at dinner. Waitstaff discreetly tucks envelopes into jacket pocket. They do not open them right there.

 

It's kind of a big thank you dinner where the guests express their appreciation and the staff is quite gracious in accepting praise and stating how thrilled they were to serve you. Forced and contrived, is my take on it.

 

Seems a bit too much of a production to me but I'm not one of those that strives to get to know the waitstaff and have them learn my preferences over the week. There are many for whom the waitstaff is 'make or break the cruise'.

[Jimmers]

Yes you will get vouchers and envelopes the last night but even if you don't hand them out they will get the money.

 

You can sign up even after final payment or you can wait until you are on the ship and you will get a form in your cabin midweek to sign up for them.

 

Thanks, we generally use the in cabin form to prepay and give the envelopes to the service people.

 

Guess I was a bit confused by an earlier post that suggested that the before cruise prepay was different in that you didn't give out any envelopes. Everything was automatic.

 

Seems then that the main advantage to before cruise prepaying is that you get points on your RC visa. Of course it's also one less thing you have to worry about.

[Sue L]

Thanks, we generally use the in cabin form to prepay and give the envelopes to the service people.

 

Guess I was a bit confused by an earlier post that suggested that the before cruise prepay was different in that you didn't give out any envelopes. Everything was automatic.

 

Seems then that the main advantage to before cruise prepaying is that you get points on your RC visa. Of course it's also one less thing you have to worry about.

 

 

You get points for the tips too if you sign up on the ship if you use your RCL visa for you seapass account;)

[HorrorFan]

I've always said, when this subject comes up, that if you get good service, then the head waiter did his/her job. The job of a head waiter is to oversee a section of waiters, not really to come visit your table and serve you personally.

Thanks for that. It explains a a lot. I didn't really know what the head waiters role was.:)

[Son of a Cruiser]

We don't prepay the tips, but do add them to the seapass onboard. Easier than carying the extra cash and we get the double points on the CC. As I recall you have until the 4th or 5th day on a 7 day cruise to add the tips to your seapass account. By then you know how the service is going and can decide to add the tips to your account or not.

[mochuck]

Why would anyone wish to pay in advance for tips? You CAN have that included n the price of the cruise, yes? Or have it included on your sea pass, where you automatically give the recommended rate?

 

Not being a frequent cruiser, I didn't think I had a choice. I'm still not sure that I did. But it made it easier on the cruise, because all I had to think about was who deserved any extra.