Onboard accounts and tipping

My husband and I are going on a cruise for our honeymoon after 13 years of marriage. We are sailing in Dec on the Carnival Glory.

What can I expect to pay for my on board account at the end of the cruise if we don't drink, gamble, or shop? We will be paying for our shore excursions before we get on the ship. Are there any "surprises" I should be aware of to plan for?

I paid for our gratuities when I booked the cruise. Should I still plan on tipping anyone? How much should I budget for that? I want to thank those that help us if that is customary.

Thanks.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

If you have prepaid your gratuities, don't plan on making many on board purchases, and have paid for all of your shore ex's, you should not have any big surprises.

If you have waitstaff or a cabin steward that goes above and beyond, then you can tip them directly. They do not expect extra tips, but always appreciate them!:)

My husband and I are going on a cruise for our honeymoon after 13 years of marriage. We are sailing in Dec on the Carnival Glory.

What can I expect to pay for my on board account at the end of the cruise if we don't drink, gamble, or shop? We will be paying for our shore excursions before we get on the ship. Are there any "surprises" I should be aware of to plan for?

I paid for our gratuities when I booked the cruise. Should I still plan on tipping anyone? How much should I budget for that? I want to thank those that help us if that is customary.

Thanks.

Hello! Congrats on the honeymoon! You can put whatever you want to on your account. We usually just go straight to the pursers desk and put cash on the sail and sign card. You will get every penny back that you don't spend the night before disembarkation. Just make sure you go down to settle it. There will be a long line the night before you get off the ship. I suggest going earlier in the day or even the wee hours of the morning. WE usually put 500.00 cash on our card. Trust me, you will want to purchase the photos that the crew will take of you and your family. They are awesome! They will run you about 9.00 for a 5x7 and around 21.00 for an 8x10. Also, you will have to purchase your alcohol if you guys drink. Tea, water, lemonade and coffee is always free on the ship. If you want to purchase a COKE card, it will run you about 7.00 per day. For a 7 day cruise. I pay about 46.00 for my COKE card. You had asked about tips. When you get to the cruise terminal you will find there are porters everywhere. These guys work for the cruise line and you give them your luggage. They will make sure it gets on the ship. Generally, everyone tips these guys 1.00 per bag. We usually have 5 or 6 bags. However, make sure that you keep your "carry on" (mine is a beach bag) with you. This will carry things like your camera, batteries, medicines you may need, sunglasses, phone, thinks of that nature. You can't go down to your cabin until around 1:30. You can expect all of your luggage to arrive in your cabin by 5 pm. Sometimes this is much sooner. If you have already pre-paid your gratuities, then I recommend you tip others as you see fit. For instance, we will usually give our head waiter 25.00- 50.00. The asst. waiter we may tip 20.00. You will tip these on the last night in the dining room. Your cabin steward will be awesome! They will know your first names on day one! They work very hard and get paid very little. You can tip them whatever you want. Some people may give them an extra 20.00. Some may give them 50.00. That's totally up to you. Keep in mind that these tips are NOT required. Also, the porters at the cruise terminal will also be handling your luggage when you get back. They will help you once you are off the ship and inside the cruise terminal. They will stay with you and push your luggage cart until you have went through customs and once you are outside, they will stay with you until your taxi/bus/personal car or shuttle is there at the curb! Again, it is nice to tip them 1.00 per bag. If you have flown in and need to exit the ship for an early flight departure, you can choose to do so. However, those that have to exit early must carry all their luggage off the ship. I hope I have answered some of your questions. Please feel free to ask as much as you want. Before I sailed my very first time, Cruise Critic was my go-to everything!

Sharon

The prepaid gratuities covers everyone you normally deal with and some behind the scenes as well. If you order drinks, the bar bill will include a tip for the bartender. If you get room service, that is one thing that really is not covered, so anyone that brings anything out of the ordinary to your cabin (room service, etc.) should be tipped anywhere from a few dollars to $5 for bringing it to your cabin.

As you can imagine, the $12 per day (or so, depending on the particular line) gets split up a lot of ways. There is a pecking order, and the cabin steward gets a larger piece as does the head waiter, etc., and so on down the line. If you want to tip the room steward, head waiter, a waiter that you had a lot and took good care of you, then by all means do so. That's entirely up to you.

In my own case, I have taken better care of our room steward than most other members of the crew, but there have been those that I sought out to take special care of.

A few things you id not mention include

Photos

Sodas

Bottled water

Specialty coffee

Specialty Restaurants

None are mandatory.

The prepaid gratuities covers dining room attendants and house keeping. You may want to tip extra for room service, unless your order is delivered by your cabin/stateroom attendant. You may also want to tip extra if you think they have done something extra special for you.

When you arrive at the port, those handling your luggage should also be tipped as they are not the ship's employees. One or two dollars per item, as you wish.

On board, the photography is the expensive temptation.

Please ensure what drinks are included in your cruise. Soda and specialty coffee are not ahcoholic, but are not always free of charge.

Some expenses we cannot do without, but we don't want unnecessary surprises.

Enjoy your cruise, and congratulations on your anniversary!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

If you do go to a speciality restaurant -- there will be a charge for that. And some people do tip the wait staff there.

We do like to tip extra to the those who have made our cruise an enjoyable one -- usually this is our cabin stewards and dining room staff.

You should go over to the Carnival board and find out the prices of the speciality restaurants.

Congratulations on finally being able to go on your honeymoon.

Having just completed my first cruise in May - and boy do I miss it - I read alot here first and was prepared for the drink cards and tips, one thing we were not prepared for, and was not a lot of money but can add up...on board activities with additional charges: craft classes can cost $5 - $10 per person, bingo and other games had charges from $20 and up. The fun we had was worth the fees, but it wasn't somethin we thought of before we went.

Have a great time!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love this website and message board. It is so helpful.

I appreciate all your responses. I had read on another website's message board about how many hidden fees and expenses there were on the ship. I started to worry. You have all quieted my fears. You all answered my questions.

I am so excited to go! Can't wait.

Thanks again.

Jeanette

Sailing 12-9-12 on Carnival Glory to the Western Caribbean

If you're watching your budget, there's a lot to enjoy without spending extra.

One big savings is to pack the little things that you need - buying band-aids, toothpaste or sunscreen on-board can make you wish you'd had a better packing list.