How much extra to tip

You can handle everything on board on your sign and sail card if you wish. We plan to do so.

 

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Here is some facts about tipping.

The automatic gratuity shown on your drink orders is distributed as follows.

cocktail servers keep it all for their self.

bartenders tips go into a pool and distributed evenly to all bartenders, there are those that you don't see, like the ones in the service bars that make the drinks in the MDR and show room.

In the Steakhouse, Carnival says the tip is included, not true, the following is a letter from a long time friend of mine who was a server in the Steakhouses for many years.

(Server:This is the reality, my salary is 1140. $ a month without tips, a cook has 800-1000$ a month. If we serve 2 pax a night or 100 there is no difference becausewe do not have a percentage of the 35. If it were true as ccl is saying thattips are included it would fluctuate month to month, right? So the additional tipsare split evenly between server cooks dishwasher. )

It is best to leave cash, Carnival keeps a small percentage of all extra tips given to the sail and sign card, for their managing and distributing those tips.

I'm always curious if the pre-trip tippers have ever experienced a cruise w/o extra tipping to start. We have always had excellent stewards who refill our ice twice a day, bring extra towels if we ask, are very friendly and helpful. We had one who when our boys wanted room service instead of MDR dinner had them wait in one of our connecting rooms while he did the other room up and then switched places with them chatting the whole time with them, sharing stories about his home and what they liked to do etc. We did tip him extra at the end.

 

Most bartenders know your name after the first few times, we have always gotten beverages immediately upon sitting down when choosing fixed dining. Has anyone ever been denied or even given a second look when asking for more than one app or dessert? Most times if you are unsure of debating they encourage you to order both.

 

I don't care what people tip. If you remove tips without a good reason, I think you're a jerk. As far as giving extra, go for it. It's a personal decision. I just wonder how people "know" they get better service if they tip ahead. I also find it interesting that when asked about pre tipping, John Heald asked why in the world people would do that and assured that their crew take pride in their jobs and don't need to be bribed to provide excellent service.

 

excellent post

In the Steakhouse, Carnival says the tip is included, not true, the following is a letter from a long time friend of mine who was a server in the Steakhouses for many years.

(Server:This is the reality, my salary is 1140. $ a month without tips, a cook has 800-1000$ a month. If we serve 2 pax a night or 100 there is no difference becausewe do not have a percentage of the 35. If it were true as ccl is saying thattips are included it would fluctuate month to month, right? So the additional tipsare split evenly between server cooks dishwasher. )

It is best to leave cash, Carnival keeps a small percentage of all extra tips given to the sail and sign card, for their managing and distributing those tips.

 

Have heard this before but have also heard about 10% of the service charge goes to servers.

 

John Heald often says that all of the tip money goes to the crew why would he lie about this?

Here is some facts about tipping.

The automatic gratuity shown on your drink orders is distributed as follows.

cocktail servers keep it all for their self.

bartenders tips go into a pool and distributed evenly to all bartenders, there are those that you don't see, like the ones in the service bars that make the drinks in the MDR and show room.

 

I asked two separate bartenders at two different bars on Vista last week about "pooled" tips since this question has come up on CC before.

 

Both bartenders (one at Atrium bar, one at the Tides Bar) confirmed that any tip a passenger adds to a bar receipt goes to the bartender whose name is on the receipt. It is not pooled.

I'm always curious if the pre-trip tippers have ever experienced a cruise w/o extra tipping to start. We have always had excellent stewards who refill our ice twice a day, bring extra towels if we ask, are very friendly and helpful. We had one who when our boys wanted room service instead of MDR dinner had them wait in one of our connecting rooms while he did the other room up and then switched places with them chatting the whole time with them, sharing stories about his home and what they liked to do etc. We did tip him extra at the end.

 

Most bartenders know your name after the first few times, we have always gotten beverages immediately upon sitting down when choosing fixed dining. Has anyone ever been denied or even given a second look when asking for more than one app or dessert? Most times if you are unsure of debating they encourage you to order both.

 

I don't care what people tip. If you remove tips without a good reason, I think you're a jerk. As far as giving extra, go for it. It's a personal decision. I just wonder how people "know" they get better service if they tip ahead. I also find it interesting that when asked about pre tipping, John Heald asked why in the world people would do that and assured that their crew take pride in their jobs and don't need to be bribed to provide excellent service.

 

yes, crappy table location with no window view burried in a corner of MDR (assigned dinner, on a cruise my parents took us on), ridiculously slow dinner service, as in dinner took 2.5 hours for a party of 11. was charged corkage for bringing an open bottle into MDR, food was less than hot on many occasions. lackluster was best description for my service experience.

 

this was my turning point of tiping in advance and communicating expectations. it's all worked out well since then.

 

my pre-tipping has zero to do with any staffer taking pride or not taking pride.

 

as yourself, are all waitstaff equal in caliber and efficiency? NO

 

i've read and reread this entire thread and for me it's pretty simple. i run my own business. i set my expectations with my staff on deliverables and goals. those that hit the goals get extras; cash, paid time off, wine, experiences, pretty much whatever they need with all things being reasonable.

 

people are like gold and really excellent people are like diamonds, very hard to find and take time to polish and refine.

 

i'll continue to pay for what i expect and clearly communicate my expectations.

 

if people prefer to "reward" a good experience at the end of a cruise, that's on them. we all have different styles. if you pre tip and fail to communicate what you want, then i would fail to see the value in pre tipping.

 

as for the bribing comments herein, i think you're crazy. you can attempt to bribe a police officer in hopes s/he doesn't give you a ticket for, say, speeding.

 

tipping upfront a small amount AND communicating your needs sets the expectation of a level of service one requests. it's more in line with, "hey, this is what i need to have a great time and here's some extra so you remember to get this done in a timely, efficeint and consistent fashion."

 

service industry people usually are people pleasers. and when their work is recognized for delivering exceptional, and above normal/usual service, they take pride in delivering great experiences and the rewards that come with that.

 

but do as you want. don't follow anyone's lead except what works for you. then you'll be happy.

communicating expectations.

 

That's the key to receiving the service one expects, it has nothing to do with pre-tipping.

Have heard this before but have also heard about 10% of the service charge goes to servers.

Which really underscores the point: If you're going to rely on anything' date=' then rely on what the cruise line tells you is the case, because they have the most to lose if they're caught lying - more than any individual crew member or guest, and more than any travel agent or agency.

 

If the cruise line provides a way to afford gratuities to crew on your account, then the result will be the [i']appropriate[/i] amount of gratuity for the service rendered. If the cruise line says that the $12.95 per day covers stewards, assistant stewards, dining room waiters, assistant waiters, and other personnel you encounter in culinary, hotel services, entertainment and guest services, then you can rely on the fact that that covers their service to you. If the cruise line says that the surcharge for the Steakhouse includes gratuities, then we can rely on the fact that our paying the surcharge results in the appropriate amount of gratuity for that service rendered. If the cruise line says that 15% will be added to beverage purchases to cover the gratuities for that service, then we can rely on the fact that our paying the surcharge results in the appropriate amount of gratuity for that service rendered.

 

There's nothing wrong with being more generous than that, and there is nothing wrong with being just that generous.

 

And incidentally, if the cruise line says that Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered, then we can rely on the fact that nothing else covers their service to us, and so we are prompted to offer them a gratuity for that service to us, either in the space provided on the order ticket we are asked to sign or in cash, as we prefer. The same is true for spa services, of course, but very little else aboard cruise ships work that way. I've never been on a cruise ship that doesn't make it rather evident when a gratuity is expected, by providing a space for a gratuity in something the passenger has to sign. NA-based cruise ships are much more meticulous about this than, say, hotels. It's just not something that cruise lines overlook that often.

 

That's the key to receiving the service one expects, it has nothing to do with pre-tipping.

Indeed. Yes people do appreciate money - and they get money - but what they don't always get is respect, consideration and friendly conversation from those they serve. That's not just key to receiving the service one expects, it's basic human decency.

Not again

 

 

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Not again

 

 

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next topic is religion. then we move on to politics. ;p

Now that’s funny Argigi!

I have no problem communicating expectations before service and no money needed.

 

Precruise emailed MD would like table by window. Got table by window.

 

Left note for steward before we got a chance to meet asking for ice and robes. Got ice and robes

 

Told wait staff we like to be out in 90 mins or less and asked for child's dinner to come out w our apps. No problem at all.

 

None of these were special requests above and beyond anything normal or outside of the scope of the people providing the service, it was just a communication about preference.

 

Having a good experience is about letting the service provider know what you expect. They are happy to oblige. Ones that are inefficient a few dollars likely would not make an improvement.

 

I tip at the end for services received. I've never pretipped anyone for anything anywhere and I see no reason to as I don't believe it has a meaningful impact on service. I believe being courteous and respectful actually is what gets you the farthest.

We're from Texas. We own oilwells. So we eat the best Angus beef & drink the coldest local draft beers.

To flaunt our massive wealth, we don't cruise most expensive & exclusive cruise lines, but only book interior cabins on the lowest deck on Carnival.

Once onboard, we directly go to see the Captain & tip him $100 bill, to make sure he's driving the ship correctly.

We give the head Chef $700 for cooking us 7 dinners, to make sure we don't get sick.

We pay the onboard Doctor $1000, just in case we do get sick.

We give the Chief Engineer another $1000 to make sure our lights work & our toilet flushes. Love that ship toilet flush.

We always go to the Steakhouse & have our poor waiter from a 3rd world country taste a $300 piece of Kobe steak, which he would never order nor taste because of his meager salary.

Again, we could spend all that $$$ on a fancier cruise line, but feel so much pity for Carnival employees. Who can just live just on $13/day tips...?

We're from Texas. We own oilwells. So we eat the best Angus beef & drink the coldest local draft beers.

To flaunt our massive wealth, we don't cruise most expensive & exclusive cruise lines, but only book interior cabins on the lowest deck on Carnival.

Once onboard, we directly go to see the Captain & tip him $100 bill, to make sure he's driving the ship correctly.

We give the head Chef $700 for cooking us 7 dinners, to make sure we don't get sick.

We pay the onboard Doctor $1000, just in case we do get sick.

We give the Chief Engineer another $1000 to make sure our lights work & our toilet flushes. Love that ship toilet flush.

We always go to the Steakhouse & have our poor waiter from a 3rd world country taste a $300 piece of Kobe steak, which he would never order nor taste because of his meager salary.

Again, we could spend all that $$$ on a fancier cruise line, but feel so much pity for Carnival employees. Who can just live just on $13/day tips...?

 

 

Stop stiffing the crew you tightwad:evilsmile:;);p

Extra? None unless they stand out and are deserving. Otherwise the standard gratuities are sufficient.

 

 

 

.....and if you reaaaaaally want to set the stage to bring out the imperious members just bring up tips so they and tell you just how overly generous they are and how much of a better time they have than you because of it. They are important and will be treated as such.

Edited October 17, 2017 by ray98

next topic is religion. then we move on to politics. ;p

Does my FTTF get me priority seating for that show?? :cool:

Lots of interesting views on this subject, I had no idea when I started this thread it would receive all this attention that was not my intent. I just feel like the room stewards and dinning room staff do such a great job they deserve a few extra bucks per day, with that being said I would like to thank everyone that's replied so far .

Does my FTTF get me priority seating for that show?? :cool:

absolutely. i'm sure it'll be an amazing sh*tshow.

 

or we could talk about Hollywood and their goings on.:*

Lots of interesting views on this subject, I had no idea when I started this thread it would receive all this attention that was not my intent. I just feel like the room stewards and dinning room staff do such a great job they deserve a few extra bucks per day, with that being said I would like to thank everyone that's replied so far .

 

And at the end of the day, when all is said and done, your view is the only view that matters.

Stupid first timer question, but how do you physically tip? Like your room steward the first day. Do you hand him 20 bucks? At the MDR do you just leave it on the table? Do you just add it to receipts if you have cheers or do you hand over a dollar or two?

Stupid first timer question, but how do you physically tip? Like your room steward the first day. Do you hand him 20 bucks? At the MDR do you just leave it on the table? Do you just add it to receipts if you have cheers or do you hand over a dollar or two?

 

The short answer is: however you want. I usually fold a $20 bill in fourths and slip it to the steward when I shake his (or her) hand. We do the same with the wait staff (I wouldn't leave it on the table). I don't leave extra tips on the receipt for drinks, but I hand over a $1 or $2 cash when I receive the drink. Really, whatever you choose to do is fine; I don't like to make a big production of it. Just be sure you let them know that you appreciate what they do and what you expect as far as service is concerned.

next topic is religion. then we move on to politics. ;p

 

 

 

When does the vaccination discussion begin?

 

 

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Stupid first timer question, but how do you physically tip? Like your room steward the first day. Do you hand him 20 bucks? At the MDR do you just leave it on the table? Do you just add it to receipts if you have cheers or do you hand over a dollar or two?

 

If I decide to leave extra I obtain an envelope from guest services and put the cash in that with their name on it. I also get a comment card and leave positive comments about the service. I have also had it added to my onboard account but that is a more time consuming process (and I only used it because I had OBC that needed to be used).

There really is no set amount to tip extra. It all depends on your preferences and experience. For example, on our last cruise I went to the omelette station at breakfast every day and ordered the same thing. The crew member I always went to always remembered what I wanted and would start making it before I even said anything, even if the person in front of me wasn't out of the way yet and there was an available pan to cook with. On the last day I gave him a cash tip.

 

 

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A point that has been alluded to several times, but should be stressed is that, while crew like and appreciate cash tips, they also benefit from positive written comment cards......those go a long way when it comes time for their reviews and when they are being considered for a promotion.