Couple of questions

[AmosRVC]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but I just did a search and found some posts about tips but didn't find anything answering MY question. I found that Princess recommends tipping $3 a day (per passanger) for the cabin steward and $2 per day (per person) for butler. Also found that our account will be charged gratuity of $6.50 per day (per person) for dining. What other tips do I need to be prepared for and how much is standard to tip? Of course I know more or less depending on service, but as a first time cruiser I just want a guideline. Roomservice? Porter? Any others I'm not aware of?

Also what does the butler do? (blush ;))

 

Next question, DH wants to bring his laptop so we can download pictures from our digital camera to the computer. Has anyone ever done this? How did it work?

 

Thanks!

[joeyancho]

let's see if I can help here. Usually tips are as follows: $3.50 per day for cabin steward, $3.50 per day for waiter, $2.00 per day for bus boy. $.75 per day for head waiter. As far as the butler goes, only the high end suites have a butler, so if you have such a suite with a butler you would have to tip him. Whether you give the tip directly or it is charged to your account it makes no difference in the amount. As far as beverage service goes, a 15% tip is included on each purchase, so no need to tip them. As for room service, it is at you discretion. $2.00 for a regular order (i.e. coffee or a sandwich) is average. However if four people are having dinner in the room or your order is large, tip would be adjusted accordingly (I think $5.00 would be fair). Porters at the dock usually $.50 to $1.00 per bag is average. Any of the above tips can be increased if you receive extrodinary service. For example if the room attendant fulfills a special request each day (like filling you ice chest). Or if your waiter brings you a shrimp cocktail each night after you mention that you just love shrimp cocktail or if the bus boy brings you decaf coffee every night after ordering it on the first night. If the guy at the grill remembers that you like a steak sandwich with cheese, a dollar each time brings a smile to his face. You get the idea. I generally tip above the guidelines for good service, but that is just me. Remember these service personel depend on your tips for a living. I like to leave the impression that Americans are generous people. It always amazes me that people will spend thousands of dollars on a cruise and airfare and a babysitter and then cheap-out on the very people who make the experience so enjoyable. Hope this helps. Bon Voyage.........

[wieslaw]

I just posted this in another area and I will just copy it to here:

 

Use the tip calculator if you want..

Another CC member ( TPKeller) provided this tip calculator for all of us that have some qestions about tipping. Please read his post which I copied from another area in this board and pasted below:

Wes

 

 

By TPKeller:

"Update to the tip calculator

Hello everyone,

 

I've made a few small updates to the tip calculator.

 

Celebrity specific changes are:

 

Added a Celebrity CC (Concierge Class) button.

Updated Celebrity Assistant Chief Housekeeper tip to $0.75.

 

Non-Celebrity changes:

 

Removed pop-up for RCCL Suite Attendant button (it's been implemented fleet-wide now).

Sadly, finally removed SS Norway from the calculator. :(

 

Happy tipping (it means you are cruising!!!)

 

Theron

 

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

 

 

You might want to thank Theron for his convienient for many of us tool.

Wes

 

About your laptop: some people do it if you want to enjoy your picture as soon as you got them but it is an extra item to carry with you. Some use the ships photo dept. to load the pictures on a CD and some just buy some extra storage cards........your choice.

Wes

[SharkieRools]

I see you mentioned Princess - they automatically will charge $10 per person per day to your shipboard account for tips for dining staff and your stateroom steward. This amount is pooled and divided based how many staterooms they are responsible for, diners they have etc. etc. etc. You can have this removed at the Purser's desk if you wish to tip in person in cash instead. However if you do, they must still put the amount you tip them into the pool. If you want to give a paticular person (say your waiter) an extra tip, the way to do it is to leave your auto tip in place and give them the extra amount in cash in an envelope with your name and cabin number on it. They will need to turn it in and once they see you have left your auto tips in place, they will return it to them. If you go to the Purser's desk and have them increase the auto tip it will all go into the pool.

 

Besides that, what joeyancho said. :) If you have a favorite bartender or bar waiter, you can slip them a few bucks at the end of the cruise (or during the cruise to get extra special service!)

 

Most Princess ships can transfer the pictures from your memory card to CD, that might be easier than lugging a laptop. Another alternative is bringing more memory cards. :cool:

[pvangordon]

CC has a good article on tipping: http://www.cruisecritic.com/interests/intarticle.cfm?ID=56

 

As for the camera/laptop, all you usually need is a USB cable. Once connected, the camera will show up as a extra drive and you can just copy the pictures over and delete them from your camera memory. If this is the only reason to bring a laptop, I too would recommend looking at alternative ideas. I know my laptop is a pain to lug around, especially on vacation!