Tipping Advice - Azamara "newbies"

We will be enjoying our first cruise on Azamara shortly and would like to get some input as to tipping. Are we correct in understanding that the gratuities are included? But which cruise employees does this cover?

Are gratuities included with drink orders? If not, is there a Place to add them to the bills? Also, we always add additional gratuities for room stewards, etc. - so will we be able to do this on our onboard account? I am not used to traveling in Europe with the foreign currency issue and trying to plan ahead.

Anyone else that we should remember to thank with additional gratuities that I need to Put on my list?

Thanks!

All gratuities for drinks are included in the price.

If you wish to hand out additional gratuities at any time - and bear in mind these are not expected from the crew, so you would need to search out some people last day, there is none of this hanging around outside your door antics - you have to do that as cash rather than add it to your account.

An alternative, which as I remember could be added to your account is you can go to guest relations and ask to make a donation to the crew welfare fund which pays for crew onboard and ashore social activities amongst other things. On Azamara, there are so many fantastic people you might prefer to make one donation to this fund, which will be very graciously acknowledged by an officer who will contact you on the crew's behalf.

We always bring thank you note cards and use US$ to give additional tips as service has always been above and beyond. We usually give an extra tip to waiter, waiter assistant, butler/room steward, and house keeper. We have never been on a cruise where these did not deserve a little extra !!

Grats for drinks are included in your cruise price, however there is also a place on the bill to add extra if you wish.

Have a fab first cruise on Azamara. I'm guessing this is a European cruise? They have some excellent itineraries coming up just now - we were on the last day of our first AZ cruise exactly a year ago in Santorini. We've been back on AZ three times since!

I'm slightly confused about 'the place on the bill'........... unless you are talking about an upgraded drink programme, only house wines are included at meals - the wine always arrived without any paperwork. Anything other than the house wines were charged, which of course would come with the breakdown.

I'm slightly confused about 'the place on the bill'........... unless you are talking about an upgraded drink programme, only house wines are included at meals - the wine always arrived without any paperwork. Anything other than the house wines were charged, which of course would come with the breakdown.

Sorry not to have made more sense.....the "place on the bill" that I was referring to was for instance if I ordered a glass of champagne, a regular cocktail, or a bottle of wine....there would be a charge in the form of a "bill" handed to you, correct? Most cruise lines that we have been on have a % already added to the bill a gratuitu but also have a "line" where you can add additional gratuity....hope that makes it a bit more clear....

As I understand it, some wines are included at lunch and dinner but champagne is not. I am a champagne gal and anticipate LOTS of little paper slips with champagne charges on them in my future!

Thanks for all of your help. I love the idea of the group donation thing - but will probably also do the individual gratuities as well as that is what we have always done in the past. So I will throw some thank you cards in the suitcases before I forget!

You sound like the sort of person we like to cruise with!

Your bills for champagne will be exactly as you expect, except that (as I recall) the basic %grat is included in the drink price and not separately detailed. The line to add more is there.

I have good news: if you have cruised with Celebrity or RCCL before, there will be a bottle of bubbly in your room on arrival. On more than one occasion we have gathered for a drinks party in the library with friends towards the end of the cruise... the Prime C staff have always very happily and expertly put our combined stash of champagne on ice and kept the group of us topped up before showing us across the way to a table in the restaurant for dinner!