Tipping?

[mandakate42]

I have noticed that alot of people on here say to bring alot of ones for tipping. When exactly do you tip? Just the room steward at the end? Could you give me examples of when I am supposed to tip? My sister and I are leaving for our first cruise on the 29th of this month and we're really not sure how much money we should bring for tipping. Could you help us out? thanks!

[soon to cruise]

Others may have more ideas, but we used ones for tipping the porters at the peir. About $1 per bag and also for giving our room steward a little extra for this and that. I'm sure others tip other people for various reasons.

[big_duck]

You will want to tip the room service delivery person as well.

 

Don't forget tour operators/shuttle/cab drivers in port.

[VentureMan_2000]

TIPs for everyone on board is already taken care of because $10 per person, per day, is added to your Sign & Sail Card.

 

You do not need to TIP anyone on board except Room Service... and only if you use it. I have yet to use it.

 

Do not TIP for your cocktails/beer/wine you purchase. Carnival automatically adds a 15% TIP to your bill. This also means you do not need to TIP the wait staff at the pool who brings you a cocktail as the waiter/waitress already added their TIP to your bill.

 

 

So, if you do not use room service, then there is no one on board you need to TIP with cash.

 

 

The only folks you would need cash for TIPing is:

 

Taxi Cabs (they require cash anyway... bring small bills to pay with... many won't make change)

 

Porter, $1 per bag.

 

Room Service, $1 per delivery.

[butnzb]

We try to take plenty of extra $1s for tipping. For the baggage handlers at boarding usually $1 a bag and then the rest to room service usually use room service a couple of times a day - morning coffee and evening drink snack etc and usually tip $2 each visit. Then we also tip our room stuart and dining staff at the end of cruise & that depends on the service. Hope this was helpful.

[Kurbanfan]

Also if you do use room service and have no cash available, you can write in the tip when you sign for it...........

[VentureMan_2000]

Then we also tip our room stuart and dining staff at the end of cruise & that depends on the service.

 

 

 

We do the same, but I want to make it extremely clear to mandakate42 that this "TIPing extra" at the end of the cruise is not necessary, required, or expected. It's only something that some people do.

 

I feel bad when folks state that they TIP "Extra" as I'm sure it makes some people think that they need to also. No one "needs" to TIP extra. They do not need to TIP more than the gratuities that are automatically added to the Sail & Sign card.

 

The only TIP required on board for mandakate42 is for room service.

[Cruise, J.D.]

VentureMan pretty much nailed it. The $10/day auto tip is also adjustable up or down. Tipping is completely in your discretion. Expect severe flaming if you report lowering it. :D

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Ventureman has obviously never worked for tips before. His tune would be much different if he had. :rolleyes:

 

Since we purchase soda cards and consume no alcohol, what we do is get about $200 worth of those new golden presidential dollar rolls and use those to tip with. Just get them at your bank and use these to tip along the way. Not only does it strike up a conversation about the coin, it also assures, about 95% of the time, that the server will remember you and pay extra attention to you needs. Ditto for the steward and his assistant, waiters, etc.. Besides, most of those coins end up getting saved by the recipient thereby making them save money instead of spending the money. They love it!

 

Also, we ALWAYS go to the purser and have the automagic tips removed from our sign and sail cards and tip as we go. Even though 15% gratuity is added to the soda card purchase, We use it waaaay too much to justify not tipping, IMO.

 

Use the golden dollars to tip with, you'll be glad that you did.

[Kurbanfan]

We do the same, but I want to make it extremely clear to mandakate42 that this "TIPing extra" at the end of the cruise is not necessary, required, or expected. It's only something that some people do.

 

I feel bad when folks state that they TIP "Extra" as I'm sure it makes some people think that they need to also. No one "needs" to TIP extra. They do not need to TIP more than the gratuities that are automatically added to the Sail & Sign card.

 

The only TIP required on board for mandakate42 is for room service.

 

VentureMan pretty much nailed it. The $10/day auto tip is also adjustable up or down. Tipping is completely in your discretion. Expect severe flaming if you report lowering it. :D

 

This is absolutely correct!

[mike91911]

I also carried ones with me for shore excursions. You never know when they come in handy. I can't remember the place we went to in Jamaica but it was a set of falls similar to Dunn's. There were lots of people that helped my wife and I climbing the rocks, getting in or out of the water taking our picture. We would tip them all. Ones always come in handy.

[triplee]

Hi,

 

We usually take a pack of $2 bills ($200). In Mexico, they are considered as "good luck" bills.

 

I use them to tip room service and I also used them with a very nice cocktail waitress last year on the Spirit.

 

I still have over 2/3 of the $2 bills left.

 

We tipped our room steward extra for a fantastic job.

Our dining room waiters for taking such good care of us.

 

Lee

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Hi,

 

We usually take a pack of $2 bills ($200). In Mexico, they are considered as "good luck" bills.

 

I use them to tip room service and I also used them with a very nice cocktail waitress last year on the Spirit.

 

I still have over 2/3 of the $2 bills left.

 

We tipped our room steward extra for a fantastic job.

Our dining room waiters for taking such good care of us.

 

Lee

 

We've done this and it works similar to the golden coins. Excellet idea Lee. :D

[KenMo]

mandakate42:

 

As stated before.....the only other tipping on the ship would be for room service, provided you left the auto-tips in place.

 

Since this is your first cruise, I will tell you this: Everyone....and I mean everyone.....who looks at you cross-eyed in port expects a tip.

 

I have no problem tipping taxi drivers, porters, etc.

 

However....beware of the guy that asks if you want a picture with his lizard while you're on the beach. He wants money.

 

If you're sitting at a restaurant in Cozumel and someone asks your name, tell them you don't have one. After you tell them your name, they will leave and come back with a little drawing with your name on it......they want money.

 

Likewise the guy who comes to sing at your table.....he wants money.

 

Everyone in port wants your money......be careful of who you talk to and people who want to do things for you. They all want money.

[VentureMan_2000]

Also, we ALWAYS go to the purser and have the automagic tips removed from our sign and sail cards

 

 

 

Enough said... :rolleyes:

[big_duck]

We've done this and it works similar to the golden coins. Excellet idea Lee. :D

 

Actually travel experts will tell you the opposite, the rare $2 US bill is often regarded as a fake outside (and sometimes inside) the US.

[Carnival Game]

I've heard the crew prefers dollars bills, NOT the novelty coins.

[Blackchips Ahoy]

I've heard the crew prefers dollars bills, NOT the novelty coins.

 

I hear differently. :confused:

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Actually travel experts will tell you the opposite, the rare $2 US bill is often regarded as a fake outside (and sometimes inside) the US.

 

Maybe because kid's don't ever see one until they get older. God knows they don't teach economics, much less currency in K-12 or at home. ;)

[SpacemanSpiff]

However....beware of the guy that asks if you want a picture with his lizard while you're on the beach. He wants money.

 

I'd be wary of such a man for other reasons.... :p

 

Seriously, though - I (very) occassionally see the $2 bill around here in Virginia because Monticello gives them out routinely in change (because of the picture on them, 'natch), but otherwise they're pretty uncommon.

 

I know where I grew up (Alabama), they were actually shunned because of common folklore that a two dollar bill had only two purposes: placing a $2 bet at a racetrack, or for someone to "buy" votes (two dollars matched the old poll tax way back when).

[bankerbabe]

I second (or third) everyone's suggestions to have plenty of tip money available for in port. We also tip a buck or two for room service, depending on the size of the order.

 

We take along "Thank You" cards that we fill out on the last night of the cruise for anyone that we felt did a very good job. Usually it's the room steward, the dining room waiters, and the wine steward but it can include others as well. We include a monetary tip in the Thank You card, but they also have something to put in their personnel file showing that the customers appreciate them - I've heard it helps with employee reviews and promotions, etc.

 

This tipping is above and beyond what is required, and if anyone was not up to snuff we wouldn't give them the card/tip.

 

We don't use any unusual bills or coins, in an effort to make it easier on the employees - I'd hate to have my unusual bill or coin sitting on their shelf because they can't use it when they really need to. I've also heard that the $2 bill can be refused in Mexico.

[KenMo]

I'd be wary of such a man for other reasons.... :p

 

LOL......I knew someone would comment!!!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Ventureman has obviously never worked for tips before. His tune would be much different if he had. :rolleyes:

 

Since we purchase soda cards and consume no alcohol, what we do is get about $200 worth of those new golden presidential dollar rolls and use those to tip with. Just get them at your bank and use these to tip along the way. Not only does it strike up a conversation about the coin, it also assures, about 95% of the time, that the server will remember you and pay extra attention to you needs. Ditto for the steward and his assistant, waiters, etc.. Besides, most of those coins end up getting saved by the recipient thereby making them save money instead of spending the money. They love it!

 

Also, we ALWAYS go to the purser and have the automagic tips removed from our sign and sail cards and tip as we go. Even though 15% gratuity is added to the soda card purchase, We use it waaaay too much to justify not tipping, IMO.

 

Use the golden dollars to tip with, you'll be glad that you did.

 

I think I must have been on a cruise with you. One of the waiters in the dining room had a hard time keeping his pants up and when he walked all you could hear was the $50 in change in his pockets jingling.;)

 

Bill

[RjayB]

Also, we ALWAYS go to the purser and have the automagic tips removed from our sign and sail cards and tip as we go.

 

 

Please don't remove your automatic tips...there are many people you are stiffing that you would never see, even if you really did try to tip them individually.

 

From http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Gratuities_Tips.aspx

 

 

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

 

That is 10% of your automatic tips that would not make it to the hard working folks that deserve it:(

[Blackchips Ahoy]

Enough said... :rolleyes:

 

 

No, really?!?

 

 

Those 'tips' on your sign and sail card, for the most part, go towards subsidizing salaries that should not be subsidized by you, they should be paid by Carnival Corporation.

 

Tipping people that actually work for you and serve you is what should really be going on. Just because you think those tips go where they are supposed to doesn't mean they do. We chose to take them off because we're tipping as we go. They could pay higher wages to the workers and cut out the backroom tip shell game they play with your S&S cards.

 

Speaking as a shareholder though, thanks for playing! :D