What happened to last day waiter tipping and room cleaning tips?

[colababy]

I cruised in 06 and remember lots of cc members talking about tipping waiter on the last day (which I did that year thanks to cc) in additional to the automatic tips. I tried searching about this recently here and on google and people don't seem to do it anymore? Am I just finding the wrong pages?

 

Same with tipping the room steward (just like at a hotel) in addition to the automatic tips.

 

I'm so rusty with the cruise stuff. Can some one help? please Thanks so much.

[yogi2929]

Most cruise lines have gone to auto-tipping. Carnival adds $10 per person per day. This is split up to include your waiters, room stewards and others. Some people do tip extra on the last day.

[DanJ]

If the line does the auto-tipping, you don't need to do any more than that. You can if you want to though, and they have envelopes at the front desk for this purpose.

[Sundagger]

I'm not sure about other lines, but many people on HAL tip extra at the end of the cruise. I usually get some envelopes from the front desk and tuck some bills in them to hand out on the last night. I'm sure some people feel that the auto-tip is sufficient.

[Putterdude]

The auto-tip is supposed to be adequate but many people do give their DR servers and cabin stewards an extra tip for good service. The amount varies from pax to pax but something in the range of and extra $10/$20 per week seems to kind of be the norm, that said there is no obligation to do so.

[2Cruise4Ever]

I always bring a pack of Thank You cards for the extra tips we give at the end. It's a little more personal than the usual tip envelope.

[Cruzman]

The biggest problem with tipping extra in cash, is that most cruise lines now require that such tips be placed in the "tip pool". Those funds are then redistributed in accordance with a formula that the cruise line has developed. The bottom line is that if you leave your cabin steward an extra $10, he may only end up getting 3 or 4 dollars, the rest going to others.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL

As long as you keep the auto tips in place, anything you give extra to the staff is theirs to keep. They are not required to put it into the pool.

[cruisemom42]

HAL

 

As long as you keep the auto tips in place, anything you give extra to the staff is theirs to keep. They are not required to put it into the pool.

 

The same is true of Princess.

[smeyer418]

The biggest problem with tipping extra in cash, is that most cruise lines now require that such tips be placed in the "tip pool". Those funds are then redistributed in accordance with a formula that the cruise line has developed. The bottom line is that if you leave your cabin steward an extra $10, he may only end up getting 3 or 4 dollars, the rest going to others.

not completely accurate. Almost all the cruise lines allow the employees to keep the extra cash as long as the autotip/servie charge is not removed. If its removed the cash has to go into the pool no matter how much it is. in fact I know of NO cruise line that requires the cash tip to be pooled UNLESS the auto tip has been removed. Also in the past before the auto tip included all the traditionally tipped employees your steward and waiter tipped out of the money they received the laundry, the head waiter/maitre d etc - people who provided them service- the new auto tip system does away with this tipping out that happened in the past.

[cb at sea]

Whether it's "supposed" to go into a "pool" or not, if you give them cash, no one knows how much they've recieved, except for the person you give it to....therefore, they may (and I suspect, do) do with it as they wish. That's why we go the cash route...I'm giving it to the person who actually served me.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I enjoy giving extra at the end of the cruise as there is always a few that make the cruise even better. On the last cruise, it was our cabin steward, waiter at the breakfast buffet, and server at one of the outdoor pools where we would gather in the evening after the show.

[3GR8Sons]

The same is true of Princess.

 

This is what a staff member on Princess told us last year.

 

If you take off the auto tip and then tip your waiter then the waiter has to put the amount up to the auto tip in the pool and can keep the amount that exceeds the auto tip. If you keep the auto tip on and tip extra the person can keep all of it.

 

The auto tip goes to all the dining room staff, not just the waiters.

[uppitycats]

We kept the auto-tip in place, then handed cash to crew members who we felt deserved the extra. I really doubt that they reported that cash to anyway. It slipped quietly into their pocket, and unless they're searched at the end of the day, who would notice??

[smeyer418]

We kept the auto-tip in place, then handed cash to crew members who we felt deserved the extra. I really doubt that they reported that cash to anyway. It slipped quietly into their pocket, and unless they're searched at the end of the day, who would notice??

 

 

They will fire the employee if they don't put it in(only needed if the auto tip is removed) so most employees won't take the risk and they don't want other employees doing this to them. Also when its removed everyone in the tip pool suffers. So they(the cruise line) goes to the steward and the waiter of the person who removed the tip and asks was anything wrong that the person removed the tip and left you nothing(if they pocket the cash)...if too many non tippers are reported by an employee who has the tips removed, their contract will not be removed. actually from what I am told even when they don't get the cash tips they put the minimum amount in the pool anyway so they won't be thought of being poor performers. The accepted norm is about 40%(varies by cruise) of the people who remove the tip leave less than the suggested amount or nothing at all.

[Arwenmark]

I have always tipped heavily in addition to the auto tips, until this most recent NCL Star cruise. On this cruise the service both cabin and dining room was adequate and nothing more than that, the attitudes were civil and nothing more. so I really did not see anyone that deserved an extra tip, except one gentleman in the coffee bar who went out of his was to get me exactly what I wanted and always knew what that was when I came in. Him I tipped extra. I also tipped the female Folk singer that we listened to every night she was on. These people made our trip good.

[uppitycats]

They will fire the employee if they don't put it in(only needed if the auto tip is removed) so most employees won't take the risk and they don't want other employees doing this to them. Also when its removed everyone in the tip pool suffers. So they(the cruise line) goes to the steward and the waiter of the person who removed the tip and asks was anything wrong that the person removed the tip and left you nothing(if they pocket the cash)...if too many non tippers are reported by an employee who has the tips removed, their contract will not be removed. actually from what I am told even when they don't get the cash tips they put the minimum amount in the pool anyway so they won't be thought of being poor performers. The accepted norm is about 40%(varies by cruise) of the people who remove the tip leave less than the suggested amount or nothing at all.

 

Please re-read what I said. I DIDN'T remove the autotip. I tipped EXTRA, quietly, discreetly. And no, in that case they don't need to report it to anyone.

[sail7seas]

Please give these crew a little credit for integrity and honesty not to mention intelligence.

 

Wouldn't it seem odd if all the stewards averaged a certain amount extra in tips cruise after cruise but there were always a few who reported little to nothing...... Don't you think someone would either think they must not be doing as good a job as the others who are receiving extra tips or they are not being honest in their reporting. Don't think they'd last long if either is the case.

 

Honesty is mandatory in their work and there is no way they get a contract renewed without it.

 

[smeyer418]

Please re-read what I said. I DIDN'T remove the autotip. I tipped EXTRA, quietly, discreetly. And no, in that case they don't need to report it to anyone.

 

this what you said

 

"I really doubt that they reported that cash to anyway. It slipped quietly into their pocket, and unless they're searched at the end of the day, who would notice??"

 

I just said how they would notice and what happens when they don't report cash tips when a person removes them. It had nothing to do with you removing the auto tip but what happens to crew who don't report cash tips when the person has removed the autotip. Just because someone responds to some of your post doesn't mean it hadn't been completely read. There is a way they keep tract of who doesn't pay into when the auto tip is removed....but that doesn't mean they search any one....