How much extra to tip

We always leave our auto tips intact, with that being said, we were wondering how much extra should we tip our room steward who we will only have clean our cabin once per day and we normally don't ask them for anything extra, our dinning room staff which we use every night and we plan on getting the cheers card and we always tip 1 or 2$ per round. We will be on a 7 day cruise. Thanks for the help!

This question, or this type of question, always brings up a lot of differing opinions. Technically you do not need to tip anything extra if you auto tip (or prepay gratuities). But if you choose to tip extra I think it is smartest to do so based on the experience you have. If your room steward is nice and does a good job then at the end give him/her some extra if you so choose. Same goes for the MDR staff. When it comes to the bar staff or pool servers I will sometimes give an extra tip upfront so that they will continually check back with me instead of me having to look for them, etc. I know some people say that is a bribe and not a tip but that is the way I do it. I will also tip a couple dollars extra every few rounds after that. Extra is just that, extra.

I would base it on the service we received and whether or not we had any special requests for any of the staff. If I were only getting once a day service the steward would be lucky if I didn't adjust the auto grats, I doubt very seriously anything extra would be given.

This question, or this type of question, always brings up a lot of differing opinions. Technically you do not need to tip anything extra if you auto tip (or prepay gratuities). But if you choose to tip extra I think it is smartest to do so based on the experience you have. If your room steward is nice and does a good job then at the end give him/her some extra if you so choose. Same goes for the MDR staff. When it comes to the bar staff or pool servers I will sometimes give an extra tip upfront so that they will continually check back with me instead of me having to look for them, etc. I know some people say that is a bribe and not a tip but that is the way I do it. I will also tip a couple dollars extra every few rounds after that. Extra is just that, extra.

TIPS = to insure proper service

It's not a bribe. You get the service you pay for. Want more service? Pay extra for it.

We give the steward an extra $20 for a 7 day cruise only if the service is exceptional and accommodated all our requests.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have always given my room steward $20 on the first day and he's been extra wonderful to us. This last time I gave him a $20 at the end - we were not difficult at all but he brought us ice daily, helped with our laundry $15 bag and gave us a gift card to the spa for our anniversary.

The best bartenders I also give a little extra too.

I'm a former waitress and I know how hard they work. I'm fortunate to be able to take a cruise I realize.... so to me, part of the fun is spreading some good cheer around in the form of a few extra tips.

We always leave our auto tips intact, with that being said, we were wondering how much extra should we tip our room steward who we will only have clean our cabin once per day and we normally don't ask them for anything extra, our dinning room staff which we use every night

TIPS = to insure proper service

 

It's not a bribe. You get the service you pay for. Want more service? Pay extra for it.

I agree and have no problem tossing in a bit extra as we prepay our grats. I was just pointing out that many people on the boards here have said that tipping ahead of service, especially extra amounts, is a bribe. I instead think it sets the tone for excellent service!

TIPS = to insure proper service

 

It's not a bribe. You get the service you pay for. Want more service? Pay extra for it.

Not quite http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/tip.asp.

then i'm guilty of receiving excellent service for my bribes.

$20 to room steward on day 1 of a 7 day cruise. another $10 if they're doing everything right for us. 2x service, ice, extra towels, oversee my laundry as needed, extra pillows, wine glasses and whatever else we need for our room.

on YTD we request the best wait staff on first night. i give maitre d' either $20 or $40 on first night with my request so s/he knows i want excellent service. if we get great service, we request that same wait staff for the entire cruise.

on the 2nd night's dinner, we'll give $40 to the head waiter and let him/her know we'll be with them the entire cruise. and then we give them another $40-80 (group size dependent) on the last night's dinner. and we receive exceptional service in MDR. never pay corkage fees, always pour a side glass of wine for our head waiter (we bring a lot of bottles on board to enjoy), food is cooked to order and we're known to order many appetizer size plates for dinner.

and yes, we pre-pay our cruise tips.

life is too short to be cheap. it's vacation time and we work hard to enjoy vacations. what's another $100-160 to get great service? on land, i'd wind up paying more for such service in hotels and restaurants. cruising is still an amazing value.

@sparks1093 but i don't care that it's not an acronym. it's a value proposition. you want more in life? then get more in life.

Great idea! We have always done it at the end....but up front is a great idea!

@sparks1093 but i don't care that it's not an acronym. it's a value proposition. you want more in life? then get more in life.

I've always received excellent service and I always tip after the fact (well, I did try the tip at the beginning of the cruise once but didn't notice any difference in the service level).

This is a very personal decision which we base on the service received after the fact.

Thanks so much for all the info I really appreciate it. We will be a group total of 8 if we tip the head waiter 45$ and his assistant 35$ on top of our groups auto tips is that appropriate?

If your cabin is only serviced one a day room steward is already doing quite well based on time it takes him to clean your cabin so probably leave auto tips alone.

DR depends upon how good the service is.

Have always gotten excellent service and never seen any need to tip in advance of service

our wait staff is usually 3 people; head waiter and two assistants. the team splits the tips amongst themselves, usually in their own formula. we just tip the head waiter in front of his crew so everyone knows there's cash in the envelope as we thank them for great service during our cruise. this way they're all on the same page.

if you like to have drinks with dinner (bar service), your head waiter will get the MDR bar staff to your table for you. if you like your glass always full, a good tip upfront can ensure bar wait staff pays attention to you.

it's kind of simple. these people are hustlers. they want to earn from a group that wants to pay. they know you're serious about service when you tip an amount in advance and you set the expectation for what service you want. this removes all surprises and sets the deliverables and tone for the staff.

when we were young, my parents used to take us on vacation and i learned that a tip is either a reward or punishment. that's a crappy way to ensure your own positive experience/service. why punish someone when they didn't know what the expectation was?

if you want something, just say it. don't skirt around the issues by trying to drop hints being all fluffy and nice.

your tip amount is driven by what you can afford, want to pay for, and service you expect/want.

your amount is more than most people will give. if your service is exceptional, then give more. just set the expectation with your staff so you get what you want.

If your cabin is only serviced one a day room steward is already doing quite well based on time it takes him to clean your cabin so probably leave auto tips alone.

 

DR depends upon how good the service is.

 

Have always gotten excellent service and never seen any need to tip in advance of service

what is "excellent service?"

i'm sure it varies from person to person. everyone has a different set of expectations.

then i'm guilty of receiving excellent service for my bribes.

 

$20 to room steward on day 1 of a 7 day cruise. another $10 if they're doing everything right for us. 2x service, ice, extra towels, oversee my laundry as needed, extra pillows, wine glasses and whatever else we need for our room.

 

on YTD we request the best wait staff on first night. i give maitre d' either $20 or $40 on first night with my request so s/he knows i want excellent service. if we get great service, we request that same wait staff for the entire cruise.

 

on the 2nd night's dinner, we'll give $40 to the head waiter and let him/her know we'll be with them the entire cruise. and then we give them another $40-80 (group size dependent) on the last night's dinner. and we receive exceptional service in MDR. never pay corkage fees, always pour a side glass of wine for our head waiter (we bring a lot of bottles on board to enjoy), food is cooked to order and we're known to order many appetizer size plates for dinner.

 

and yes, we pre-pay our cruise tips.

 

life is too short to be cheap. it's vacation time and we work hard to enjoy vacations. what's another $100-160 to get great service? on land, i'd wind up paying more for such service in hotels and restaurants. cruising is still an amazing value.

What a load of BS!

We always give our room steward $20 at the beginning of the cruise then give the steward and dining room staff additional tips at the end in Thank you cards. I feel that they work hard to make everyone's cruise the best vacation ever!:D

What a load of BS!

sorry, Homer, we enjoy great vacations. do as you wish. if you never alter your trajectory in life, you can't expect to rise above your current situation.

what is "excellent service?"

 

i'm sure it varies from person to person. everyone has a different set of expectations.

After about 40 or so cruises we know what we expect and pretty much always get it.

Do not think it is necessary to bribe servers to get the service we have come to expect.

I prepay gratuities. I give my room steward $20 when I first meet him/her and tell them I would like twice/day service as well as ice in the ice bucket. I give more $ at the end of the cruise in a thank you note to those who have given me exceptional service.

Last cruise my 21 yo DD who has a peanut allergy also wrote a thank you note to our waiters in the MDR thanking them for making her cruise less stressful since her allergy is life threatening. She included an additional tip of her own $ in the envelope.

I do think this is a personal decision and everyone should feel comfortable with what you decide. If you wonder later if you should have tipped more it usually means you should have.

Like CA_Cruzing, we are believers in tipping early and well to "get what we want." What other people want or get is none of our concern. We are only concerned with making sure our and our family's wants/needs are taken care of promptly. (We always leave the auto-gratuities in place.)

We usually give the steward $20 on the first day and let him/her know that we expect twice daily cabin freshening, a full ice bucket, and extra towels. Another $20 comes at the end if all of that is taken care of.

In the MDR, we always do early dining, so we tip the waiters in cash on the first night. By the second night, we have our preferred dinner drinks either waiting on the table or on their way from the bar when we sit down. Extra appetizers and entrees and desserts are never a problem. Extra money comes nightly as dinner is finished.

For bar service, we have Cheers! and we tip an extra $1 or $2 with each drink. Servers tend to remember our order and we rarely have an empty glass.

Call it a tip. Call it a bribe. It works for us. For less than $200 for the week, it makes a good vacation an excellent vacation.

I usually add an extra $0 to $10 dollars a day at the end in the form of cash.

As far as a definition of "Excellent Service", that is up to your own definition. What I find exceptional, another may find ordinary.