Gratuities

Since we have not sailed on Azamara before (but we are Diamond level with Royal & Elite with Celebrity), we have a question regarding gratuities. We understand that the gratuities are included in the price of the cruise. However, on other websites (non-Cruise Critic sites), we were reading that the staff makes it known to the passengers that they expect to get additional tips. is this true?

We've only been on one Azamara cruise, but we absolutely did not encounter the situation you raise. We never heard a word about gratuities from anyone.

Since we have not sailed on Azamara before (but we are Diamond level with Royal & Elite with Celebrity), we have a question regarding gratuities. We understand that the gratuities are included in the price of the cruise. However, on other websites (non-Cruise Critic sites), we were reading that the staff makes it known to the passengers that they expect to get additional tips. is this true?

That was not my experience on Quest. We were on board for 30 days and got quite close to several staff & crew, & at no stage did anyone ask for or even about gratuities. Many guests asked what they thought an appropriate tip was of other guests & some crew, but this was initiated by the guest. We left tips for some & not for others. And never felt judged by anyone, if we did or not.

Karyn

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Since we have not sailed on Azamara before (but we are Diamond level with Royal & Elite with Celebrity), we have a question regarding gratuities. We understand that the gratuities are included in the price of the cruise. However, on other websites (non-Cruise Critic sites), we were reading that the staff makes it known to the passengers that they expect to get additional tips. is this true?

Not true on Azamara. The gratuities are included in the fare.

Absolutely NOT true. We always do leave extra tips for the butler, stateroom attendants and wait staff in specialty restaurants as they have always gone above and beyond in making our vacations exceptional, but they have never stood by with their hands out or in any way asked for additional tips.

Absolutely not. And never did we feel that service suffered.

Totally NOT true. We really have had to hunt staff out on the last day to give them extra. None of the hanging around outside your door/ knocking on your door for silly reasons/ emotional blackmail of showing you kids they need to buy things for on the last day of the cruise. Now if we are talking Celebrity, that is a TOTALLY different experience :)

In all my Azamara cruises this has never happened to me either. There is no requirement to tip extra, but if you want to you can.

Phil

We always give a little extra to the staff who have gone out of their way to be "extra Special" to us but the nicest thing to do is to mention them, by name, in the survey you are asked to complete at the end of the cruise.

It may be that if they have dined in the speciality restaurants on the bottom of the bill is a space for an extra tip if you feel you would like to add something.

Speciality restaurants are 25 dollars per head to dine in Aqualina or Prime C.

I have NEVER felt pressured to tip extra. That being said, a $20 at your favorite bar/bartender at the beginning of the cruise goes a long way to having your favorite cocktail ready before you even get seated at a bar stool!

JS

I'm glad I read this thread. It sounds as if the standard gratuities are included in the fare, but not gratuities for extra special service that all cruise lines suggest you add on for the people who work to serve you every day. I hadn't planned on tipping, but don't want to come off as a cheapskate if most passengers, in fact, do tip. I'm assuming it's less than the $12.50 per day we were tipping on Princess. It sounds like a $25 total tip to cabin steward, and maybe $10 at specialty restaurants per night will do, and regular tips on alcohol, spa, etc. Is that about right?

I'm glad I read this thread. It sounds as if the standard gratuities are included in the fare, but not gratuities for extra special service that all cruise lines suggest you add on for the people who work to serve you every day. I hadn't planned on tipping, but don't want to come off as a cheapskate if most passengers, in fact, do tip. I'm assuming it's less than the $12.50 per day we were tipping on Princess. It sounds like a $25 total tip to cabin steward, and maybe $10 at specialty restaurants per night will do, and regular tips on alcohol, spa, etc. Is that about right?

No, I do not believe so. We did not tip anything extra, and I don't know of many others on our cruise who did. I think extra tipping is exceptional and generally only for those in high-end suites or who make unusual or an unusually high number of requests. We got good, solid service, but nothing that merited tips above and beyond what is already included in the fare.

No, I do not believe so. We did not tip anything extra, and I don't know of many others on our cruise who did. I think extra tipping is exceptional and generally only for those in high-end suites or who make unusual or an unusually high number of requests. We got good, solid service, but nothing that merited tips above and beyond what is already included in the fare.

No, I do not believe so. We did not tip anything extra, and I don't know of many others on our cruise who did. I think extra tipping is exceptional and generally only for those in high-end suites or who make unusual or an unusually high number of requests. We got good, solid service, but nothing that merited tips above and beyond what is already included in the fare.

Sorry, but we do not agree. Tipping is very personal. We always feel that we get exceptional service and always tip extra at the end for the crew that provides the exceptional service, as do many other guests. The crew works VERY hard, very long hours and does indeed deserve what they earn, plus extra. As an aside, we also mention them by name in the questioner, which is very important to them for raises and promotions.

On our first Azamara cruise we tried to tip two young barmen who had been exceptional towards us on our cruise. They thanked us profusely, but refused to take it, asking only that we mention them in our survey that we fill in before we left the ship. So we did, and also mentioned them in our CC review

Now that we no longer do our survey on the ship before we leave, but electronically when we get home, I hope those who we mention for their great service have that acknowledged, not filed away and ignored.

On our first Azamara cruise we tried to tip two young barmen who had been exceptional towards us on our cruise. They thanked us profusely, but refused to take it, asking only that we mention them in our survey that we fill in before we left the ship. So we did, and also mentioned them in our CC review

Now that we no longer do our survey on the ship before we leave, but electronically when we get home, I hope those who we mention for their great service have that acknowledged, not filed away and ignored.

After a few days you should get a "how's your cruise going?" questionnaire within the daily paper and this is also a perfect opportunity to mention crew by name. You can get another of these at any time from Guest Relations. The crew will most definitely receive the feedback.

Phil

Sorry, but we do not agree. Tipping is very personal. We always feel that we get exceptional service and always tip extra at the end for the crew that provides the exceptional service, as do many other guests. The crew works VERY hard, very long hours and does indeed deserve what they earn, plus extra. As an aside, we also mention them by name in the questioner, which is very important to them for raises and promotions.

:D Back to where I started then with Azamara. It sounds like you're just talking about cabin stewards and not tipping for drinks as you go along since bartenders are just doing their job. I kind of agree with you on that one. In the dozen or so cruises I have taken on three different lines, only once have I felt that I have received just mere standard service. I think an extra $10 or $15 for seven days of really good cabin steward service is not a big deal for me and probably much appreciated. For now, though, I guess I don't plan on much else.

After a few days you should get a "how's your cruise going?" questionnaire within the daily paper and this is also a perfect opportunity to mention crew by name. You can get another of these at any time from Guest Relations. The crew will most definitely receive the feedback.

 

Phil

Thanks for the reminder. I like the idea of filling out these forms prior to disembarkation. Something about my age and creating an actual "hard copy" feeling more official.

We complete the e-survey as well; it just doesn't seem as substantial nor as thoughtful.

Since we have not sailed on Azamara before (but we are Diamond level with Royal & Elite with Celebrity), we have a question regarding gratuities. We understand that the gratuities are included in the price of the cruise. However, on other websites (non-Cruise Critic sites), we were reading that the staff makes it known to the passengers that they expect to get additional tips. is this true?

We have done 2 Azamara cruises and going on our third next month and we have NEVER had that happen Ever! Please can you say the other sites you have seen this on? Azamara employees are the Best!!

Thank You!

I will say that on our first AZ cruise it was before All drinks were included Azamara Did have on the bottom of the slip you signed for your drinks an Extra tip line and I thought that was strange since the Gratutuity Was included for House keeping And bar staff..That seemed strange to us! But since drinks are included you no longer sign anything except your bill in Specialtie Resturants!

We Do leave extra for our Butler/Room Steward!

I have NEVER felt pressured to tip extra. That being said, a $20 at your favorite bar/bartender at the beginning of the cruise goes a long way to having your favorite cocktail ready before you even get seated at a bar stool!

 

JS

That is not a tip - it is an attempted bribe; and I bet (because I know) the service will be exactly the same as if this wasn't done.

That is not a tip - it is an attempted bribe; and I bet (because I know) the service will be exactly the same as if this wasn't done.

Is it ever!! On another similar cruise line recently a person posted that another passenger slipped the matre d De a $20 in order to get into a specialty restaurant that he didn't have a reservation for and that the person reporting the bribe had just been told there were no available tables. The cruise line saw the posting, did an investigation and the matre d was fired as well as several other staff members. Several other pompous posters supported the greasing of the palm and haven't posted since.

So, think twice about bribing you way when gratuities are included. You might not want to hear that you were the cause of someone losing their job!!!

I think this is a cultural thing. As a 'Brit' I have not tipped on Azamara on either of the cruises I have done with them, and I certainly agree that staff do not expect it. I know that in America tips are expected as a matter of course, not so in the UK. The price for Azamara is a lot more than for many cruise lines that charge a daily rate for tips - they pay their staff less I think. Certainly all the staff on Azamara seem very happy, and talking to officers we found out that there is a very low rate of staff turnover. We were told that people only leave because are retiring, or expecting a baby!

As a newbie to Azamara, I find the majority of these posts refreshing. I was hoping "tips included" really meant that, but my ol' American genes kicked in and I thought, "what if we're the only ones who aren't tipping additional money to the crew?" I have no problem rewarding excellent service with extra tips (and do about 95% of the time), but when a cruise line says, "tips included" and you're paying a much higher cruise fare than the majority of the other lines, it's nice to know they really mean it. ;)