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Tipping using $2 bills?


sad549s

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I have heard some crew have had problems using $2 bills. It is amazing that some places don't realize that $2 bills exist.

 

I wouldn't go out of my way to get them. Just use the more common currency bills.

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Well, I'm trying to be polite . . . so I won't share my opinion of how I think it's silly posturing. Ooops.

 

I think that if you want to tip the workers on the ship with $2s, that's probably okay as I'm sure the crew purser can change them. And certainly it's okay within the U.S. I would never use them on an island or anywhere else outside the States where you might use U.S. currency because of the risk that the recipient wouldn't be able to spend it or change it at a bank.

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Do a CC critic search on $2 bill tipping and find out what 99.9% of the posters and 100% of the crew members who are stuck w the bills think of it. Why do people think that they have to be different and cute for no reason whatever except that they can?

 

DON

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No matter what bills you give, I think they have to pool the tips anyway, so the $2 bill may not mean much to them. The ship's staff needs the tips and it's not like they can keep a special bill, so it wouldn't matter to them.

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Ten years or more ago, I read on another site that many thought it was neat to receive $2 bills for tips. So we took a lot on our trip to Mexico. When we gave them to people, they looked at us real weird and some acted like they didn't want them. So, after two days of that, we used $1 or $5 bills and just returned home with the rest of them. I think they are in a drawer someplace.

 

Forget about using them!!!!

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We have also used them and found no one who was insulted we gave out $2 bills. I am sure that the people working the cruise ships are far more sophisticated when it comes to understanding our money than some people are giving them credit for. We too find it easier to use instead of carrying bunches of $1 bills.

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Just wondering what your thoughts are on tipping using $2 for tipping.

 

Just curious about what would be your motivation for doing this? Many people think it's bad luck to travel with them and many more people don't even know they are legal currency. What's the point of using them to tip the crew?

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Just curious about what would be your motivation for doing this? Many people think it's bad luck to travel with them and many more people don't even know they are legal currency. What's the point of using them to tip the crew?

 

Hmmmm - maybe if you read some of the earlier posts....

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I always wonder whether people using two dollar bills are using that instead of a $5. In any case the crew is taught to say thank you for anything you give to your face. What they do after that is another story. Two dollar bills are not largely accepted. They are a novelty. If you are giving them to take home as a souvenir that is one thing but if you are really trying to reward them why make it more difficult for them. So one now and then is ok but if you are using them everymorning instead of a two singles or a five dollar tip that is something else.

The general rule is no coins and no 2 or 3 dollar bills(the one with Bill Clinton's picture on them)

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btw I have a suggestion on how to prove this one way or another.

 

offer them 2 x 2 dollar bills or 2 singles and see what they take.

 

My father shortly after JFK was assasinated, went to Israel he took rolls of the newly minted Kennedy half dollars and used those for tips. While I am sure some people appreciated getting the novelty of these new coins, he did it so he wouldn't have to tip with whole dollars...

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We have used 2 dollar bills for over 10 years. Most of the crew think they are lucky. We also use 5's for tips. We use them for room service, room steward and our wait staff. At the end of the cruise when we tip, we tell them our printing press put out a different bill(s). We feel the crew is underpaid for what they do. So when good service is given to us, we will show our appreciation to the staff and we tell them it is gift to them, not a tip.

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I wouldn't tip with a $2. We have been in countries where they would only take "big face" money, or wouldn't take old or worn looking bills. If your goal is to say thank you, give someone money you know they can use. Fresh, common greenbacks. JMHO.

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I always wonder whether people using two dollar bills are using that instead of a $5. In any case the crew is taught to say thank you for anything you give to your face. What they do after that is another story. Two dollar bills are not largely accepted. They are a novelty. If you are giving them to take home as a souvenir that is one thing but if you are really trying to reward them why make it more difficult for them. So one now and then is ok but if you are using them everymorning instead of a two singles or a five dollar tip that is something else.

The general rule is no coins and no 2 or 3 dollar bills(the one with Bill Clinton's picture on them)

 

I'm thinking the same. Crew members are told not to grumble in front of passengers. So just because they don't drop their smile, doesn't mean they're not thinking "oh, no, not these again."

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In the past we have used 2 dollar bills as tips rather than give two 1 dollar bills. We've also used them as currency in other countries. We would carry 50 to 100 of these during a cruise. We've never gotten strange looks. In fact, afterward, service improved... I always thought it was because they remembered us and were looking forward to a tip that was more than a dollar.

 

I have no idea why they are considered "bad luck." I'm not superstitious and nor have I ever had problems using this form of currency. No one has ever declined the bill as payment (in our out of country). :roll eyes:

 

Honestly, everyone should learn the currency.

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In Canada we use 'Toonies', we lost our $2.00 bill years ago...

 

Yes but the difference is that our Toonie is still being minted today. Although still in circulation, the U.S. $2 bill has not been printed for many years.

 

OP, you asked and I wouldn't do it.

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Yes but the difference is that our Toonie is still being minted today. Although still in circulation, the U.S. $2 bill has not been printed for many years.

 

OP, you asked and I wouldn't do it.

Hmmm. I'm not sure what you consider "many" years, but as far as I know, our $2 bills are still being printed. They just aren't printed as often as the more common denominations. :confused:

 

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OP:

I kind of like the $2 bills myself... but if it does make it more difficult for the crew to spend their tips, then I would shy away from using them and instead give them something else to make yourself "memorable", if that is what you're going for. Don't want to be memorable in the wrong way. :)

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