Whats the best way to tip

[C cruzer]

I was wondering what you all thought about the auto tipping? I understand that it prob works better now because I have personaly seen other cruisers stiff the staff, both in the dinning room (Oh We forgot our envelope), and the cabin steward (We will never see Him again). I know :eek:, but it was happening. So now My question - I always tip at least the norm, but whats best for the staff? On My last cruise my DD saved every towel animal each night on our sofa(5 Nite cruise), On the last night I told our cabin steward were going to take a picture after dinner so one more would be great. After dinner to Her surprise Our cabin was a zoo, both w/ our saved animals, a bunch more, and all Her art work from Camp! Wow how sweet! Of course we gave him a personal gratuitity,(above the auto) but whats better? All cash, or is auto tipping really getting to the people we intend it for. If I thought more of it would go to the hard working folks I have the pleasure to meet I would give it in cash to them, and cut out the middle man. What's the scoop? Thanks;)

PS-Before you flam me as a towel hog, pls know several times I used a hand towel, instead of a "special animal friend" after a shower! We have to make sure to do our part(cold and wet or not :D )

[pigeon_forge_princess]

I was wondering what you all thought about the auto tipping? I understand that it prob works better now because I have personaly seen other cruisers stiff the staff, both in the dinning room (Oh We forgot our envelope), and the cabin steward (We will never see Him again). I know :eek:, but it was happening. So now My question - I always tip at least the norm, but whats best for the staff? On My last cruise my DD saved every towel animal each night on our sofa(5 Nite cruise), On the last night I told our cabin steward were going to take a picture after dinner so one more would be great. After dinner to Her surprise Our cabin was a zoo, both w/ our saved animals, a bunch more, and all Her art work from Camp! Wow how sweet! Of course we gave him a personal gratuitity,(above the auto) but whats better? All cash, or is auto tipping really getting to the people we intend it for. If I thought more of it would go to the hard working folks I have the pleasure to meet I would give it in cash to them, and cut out the middle man. What's the scoop? Thanks;)

PS-Before you flam me as a towel hog, pls know several times I used a hand towel, instead of a "special animal friend" after a shower! We have to make sure to do our part(cold and wet or not :D )

 

I dont know about every cruise line but to my understanding when you PREPAY your gratutities the people that they are intended for only receive them once a month. The cruise line will issue them a check once a month for the grautites from the previous month. soooo if you can it is better to not prepay your gratuities but rather to hand them to your cabin steward, head waiter, etc. etc that way they have it and they dont have to turn it over to the cruise line but rather all they have to do is report that they recieved the money so the cruise line knows. So IMO pay these people yourself and help out these wonderful folks and that way if you run into problems with one of them you dont have to pay them as much as someone else who may have been great to you! when you prepay and you have lousy service and you have to go throught the trouble of going to the pursers desk and asking for them to take some off that persons graituties and thats makes me wonder if they ever do:confused: . cash at the end of your cruise is clearly the best choice. its gives you more flexibility that way.

[C cruzer]

So do I take them off when we board, or can I do it before? I'm not trying to get out of them, but dont want to to deal w/ the pursers desk on vaca! And I would bring more cash, or get more at the casino, so I could do the envelopes and stick them in the safe, and be done. Is the persers desk the only way to change to cash? And you can always add to an envelope for thoes great people! :cool:

Thanks:)

PS- Not that I plan the Casino providing my cash - but you never know! HaHA:rolleyes:

[woodey]

If you cancel the Auto tip and give them cash they have to turn the cash in to be split.......if you leave the auto tip on any additional cash you give them they get to keep....I always give them the Auto Tips plus Cash depending on the amount of services i recieve from them...

[ssatterly]

I prepay so I don't have to worry about it then tip more to people if they go above and beyond for me.

[zqvol]

There are lots of rumors about the tipping process, and honestly no one knows what really goes on behind the sceens unless they have been there.

 

IMO the best way to tip is to leave all of the auto gratuities in place and if someone has gone over and above give them the extra cash.

 

It really doesn't matter if they get a lot of cash every week or a single check from the cruise line once a month. It is reported that the bulk of the earnings of most of the crew is sent home for families or saved. They do not need a lot of cash while on the ship, most of their needs are included, and I am sure that the extra cash they get is enough in the pocket money for them on a month to month basis.

 

In other words, do the right thing and make sure that you tip them either using the auto tipping set up by Carnival or with cold hard US dollars.

[cuyahoga11]

I like the auto tips, then extra at the end. If I remove them, then how do the little guys that made my french fries on the Lido deck get their piece of the pie?

[dlbutler5]

I have heard, and I don't remember where, that when you remove the auto tips the staff gets a down check in their reviews. The lines feel they are not doing their job, I guess. That is why I always leave mine on and tip extra if warranted.

[BrendaB1]

Leave the auto tips. If you remove them it shows up on a report & the employees are questioned by Supervisors about their job performance to make sure nothing is wrong. Tipping extra with cash is fine.

[neverpar]

I leave the auto-tips on and then tip more to my room Steward and waiters. And I tip the bar tenders too....but I never remove the pre-paid tips...

[zanne1965]

I gave an extra $20 each to our two waiters and also my steward and $10 to the matre d, they say the matre d is not included in the $10 a day that they charge you, but he really never did anything personally for me so I just gave him $10. You do not have to tip additionally just if you think they did a extraordinary job. These people went over and above and were very nice. These people work 6-7 mos at a time and are away from their families and they deserve all the money they can get. I don't know exactly how much they make from their jobs but I bet it is not as much as we make.

 

Sue

[cathyoo]

I gave an extra $20 each to our two waiters and also my steward and $10 to the matre d, they say the matre d is not included in the $10 a day that they charge you, but he really never did anything personally for me so I just gave him $10. You do not have to tip additionally just if you think they did a extraordinary job. These people went over and above and were very nice. These people work 6-7 mos at a time and are away from their families and they deserve all the money they can get. I don't know exactly how much they make from their jobs but I bet it is not as much as we make.

 

Sue

 

Wow, $10 for the Maitre'd and he did nothing special for you. I'm impressed. The most I've ever given is two dollars. I figure he has a pretty big audience to beg from. I generally tip $20-25 head waiter, $10-15 assistant, $25-40 head steward, $10-15 assistant. The exact amount depends on the level of the service. I budget for exceeds excellent and always hope I break the budget. Of course my auto tips are always left in place.

[BULLOCH12]

Wow, $10 for the Maitre'd and he did nothing special for you. I'm impressed. The most I've ever given is two dollars. I figure he has a pretty big audience to beg from. I generally tip $20-25 head waiter, $10-15 assistant, $25-40 head steward, $10-15 assistant. The exact amount depends on the level of the service. I budget for exceeds excellent and always hope I break the budget. Of course my auto tips are always left in place.

 

i'm glad i stumbled across this thread, i have often asked how much "extra tip" do must cruisers give and it seems i'm right in line. How about the rest of you?

[GoinCruisin]

I dont know about every cruise line but to my understanding when you PREPAY your gratutities the people that they are intended for only receive them once a month. The cruise line will issue them a check once a month for the grautites from the previous month. soooo if you can it is better to not prepay your gratuities but rather to hand them to your cabin steward, head waiter, etc. etc that way they have it and they dont have to turn it over to the cruise line but rather all they have to do is report that they recieved the money so the cruise line knows. So IMO pay these people yourself and help out these wonderful folks and that way if you run into problems with one of them you dont have to pay them as much as someone else who may have been great to you! when you prepay and you have lousy service and you have to go throught the trouble of going to the pursers desk and asking for them to take some off that persons graituties and thats makes me wonder if they ever do:confused: . cash at the end of your cruise is clearly the best choice. its gives you more flexibility that way.

 

Actually, it's the other way around. When you prepay using the autotip, they receive their money much quicker, as part of the system (our steward once told us that it is set up to automatically deposit, and can be sent home immediately, I thought he said once a week or every 2 weeks). With cash (no autotip) it takes longer and depending on the position worked, can be pooled prior to them getting their money. So it may be YOUR choice, but it's not in the best interest of the employees.

[Robert6260]

I prepay the auto-tips when I buy the cruise. I think the standard tips are way to low for the service provided so I get envelopes from the pursers desk and provide extra tips in cash above the standard tipping amount. I give my waiter, assistant waiter, and cabin steward about $30 - $40 extra, usually give tips to some of the bartenders that waited on me during the cruise and tip the Matre'D about $5. I never remove the auto tips. I feel that giving the tips directly to the people that waited on me is much more personnel so I always give some extra. These people work very hard and in nine Carnival cruises I only had one cabin steward that I didn't like and have always had great service in the restaurants.

[Kurbanfan]

There are lots of rumors about the tipping process, and honestly no one knows what really goes on behind the sceens unless they have been there.

 

 

Boy how true this is;)

OP, they made the auto tip available for the convenience of the cruiser. Take advantage of it, then it is out of the way and no need to get together cash at the end of the cruise.

Auto tip is sufficient........

BTW it is not our job nor our business how they get paid:rolleyes:

[GoinCruisin]

i'm glad i stumbled across this thread, i have often asked how much "extra tip" do must cruisers give and it seems i'm right in line. How about the rest of you?

 

It really depends on the level of service I get. I generally tip my steward between $20-$40... depends on if I'm traveling with someone or not, and if they go above and beyond. Some do, some don't. I never remove or reduce the gratuity, but have had a few that earned the standard tip and nothing else, and some that have gone above and beyond. I generally give my wait staff $40 or more depending. Maitre'D, nothing unless he does something for me, and then I will give $10. I generally tip my favorite bartenders and bar staff between $10 and $50 and generally during the course of the week I give them a few bucks here and there as well. I don't tip extra just to do it, I do it when it is called for and I feel they deserve more.

[pkrchkr]

My son works at a local fast food restaurant with the golden arches.His manager was a waiter on the Elation.He said that if you tip them under the table and they do not turn it in to be split:eek: They can be Fired!!!!!:eek: This only applies if you take it off Auto tip.So please consider this when we are making your desicion,even though we have no way of checking to make sure they do turn it in it falls under honsesty I guess

[nothomeonacruise]

I leave the auto-tips on and then tip more to my room Steward and waiters. And I tip the bar tenders too....but I never remove the pre-paid tips...

 

We do the same thing. We leave the auto-tip, too. AND, we tip the last day with cash our steward, his assistant, our waiter and his assistant. Last year, we had a fantastic duo of waiters. We even asked for them in the other dining room for breakfast and lunch. On the last night, each of us (4 in our family) put together an envelope with tips for the waiters. We also tipped our Maitre'd. (not as much as we tipped waiters)

It's all optional!:) I do agree that an extra tip isn't necessary if they don't give good service!

[*Sass*]

With the autopay does every staff member get tipped? Or is it just the steward, assistants, maitre'd and bartenders???

 

I talked about this a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend and I'm going with auto tip because it's the right thing to do, but he said he' rather wait until the end of the week to give his tips. Is this possible? Can I be setup for auto tips and he not be? We're going to be in the same stateroom.

[dan40]

My son works at a local fast food restaurant with the golden arches.His manager was a waiter on the Elation.He said that if you tip them under the table and they do not turn it in to be split:eek: They can be Fired!!!!!:eek: This only applies if you take it off Auto tip.So please consider this when we are making your desicion,even though we have no way of checking to make sure they do turn it in it falls under honsesty I guess

 

Very simple way to check. If mgmt. assumes [which they do] that a removed auto-tip is a complaint red flag by an unhappy customer. They check with the server as to why the customer was unhappy. The server can say he does not know or he could invent a reason, either will be noted on his record. OR he says, "The customer was not unhappy, he tipped me in cash!" And turn in the cash, no mark on the record.

 

Dan

[Kurbanfan]

With the autopay does every staff member get tipped? Or is it just the steward, assistants, maitre'd and bartenders???

 

The auto tips pay for room stewards, dining room waiters/asst. waiters not the maitre'd or bartenders.

Bartenders/drink waiters get 15% tip which is included in the price of your drink.

Maitre'd is optional...

[jpg1747]

I prefer the auto-tipping. It's easy and one less thing I have to worry about. I think the staff gets better tips this way and it's easier than the old envelopes on the last night stuff. It also frees up the cabin stewards to work instead of hanging around to get their envelopes. Besides, you can always give extra cash or decrease/increase the amount on your account if you want. Those who are going to tip will do it one way or another. Those who don't will still find a way to avoid it.

[farler05]

We leave the auto-tips on & then give them an additional tip if we feel it is deserved (always has been). I write out a personal thank you card for the person & include a cash tip. If I see my steward, I hand it to him, otherwise I leave it on the bed. I hand them to the waiter & asst. waiter at dinner.

[Kurbanfan]

Very simple way to check. If mgmt. assumes [which they do] that a removed auto-tip is a complaint red flag by an unhappy customer. They check with the server as to why the customer was unhappy. The server can say he does not know or he could invent a reason, either will be noted on his record. OR he says, "The customer was not unhappy, he tipped me in cash!" And turn in the cash, no mark on the record.

 

Dan

 

I have a real hard time believing that employees gets a bad mark or questioned every time someone removes their autotip.:rolleyes: Too time consuming with that many passengers. I believe they will receive a bad mark when a customer notes it on the comment card.........JMHO.......