Prepaying gratuities

Hey guys this is my second is cruising I’m cruising in January. I was wondering if I should or should not prepay my gratuities. The reason why am asking if I should or shouldn’t I still tip the stewards and the people who do clean our room. So my question here is do those people that receive my $337 which is what it would be for my cruise. I would still be tipping them with the without the money.

Just prepay and not worry about tipping... everyone gets their cut and that includes the people you dont see.

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I prepay mine ahead of time to get it out of the way. Otherwise it's added to your onboard account. Either way, your room steward and dining room staff are covered and extra is not necessary unless you want to. 15% will still be added to your Bar bill automatically. It's customary to tip a buck or two for room service if you order it. Also the porters if you check bags at the port.

Also the porters if you check bags at the port.

How much is customary for bag checks?

How much is customary for bag checks?

When we checked bags for our family of 4 I think Bob gave them $10. It's been a while as I carry mine on myself now.

We always prepay gratuities to avoid it being part of our sign and sail expenses. Then we tip dining and wait staff, room service and room stewards extra based on service.

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One positive (among a few) for prepaying gratuities is if the price goes up you're grandfathered.

We consider gratuities as inclusive of fare and prepay them. We give extra cash tip if we are satisfied with the service.

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We prepay. Less to worry about on ship.

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Add me to the prepay group. Then in addition, we tip cash to room steward, waiter and anyone else we think went above and beyond.

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We have never pre-paid and just treat it as a travel expense.

It really comes down to how you like to handle your money and what your style is. If you like to feel like everything is pre-paid, go for it. If you feel like you are paying for unproven service then wait.

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I like to prepay my gratuities (not too early) but by my final payment date, because I like to get some of the extra charges out of the way, dealt with early, so my final on board charges are less. Just a personal choice for me.

Also, when I feel that certain employees have done a great job, and or have been especially nice, I will then tip extra on the last night of my cruise (cash to them in an envelope that I bring along for that purpose). Just my way, but to each their own way.

Prepaying my gratuities by or around final payment date, means one less charge on my final on board bill.

I do not prepay the tips but do have the suggested tipping for the staff added to my sail and sign account during the cruise. In addition, I tip the porter who handle our bags a couple of dollars a bag, an additional amount for my cabin steward and an additional amount for my waitstaff (I do not use YTD). I found that if I tip my cabin steward and head waiter for my table a small amount the first day of the cruise and let them know what I would like to have (like lots of ice in the cabin) during the cruise, I get excellent service for the duration. I then tip them a small amount again at the end.

Count me in as a prepay gratuities. I did it for the first time this past cruise and it was great not having to worry about it. Will be doing it again next trip. I do also notice now that porters are asking for tips. I would tip normally any but it's uncomfortable for them to ask.

Carnival auto gratuities covers something for those that make your cruise possible. The details of who receives how much is here --> https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1123/~/service-gratuities-%28tips%29

Whether to give extra is personal choice

We've been prepaying ours for a while now. I just like for the onboard account to reflect my actual spending on the ship. We still take cash for any extra tipping we decide to do. We've never removed any tips - never any reason to even consider it.

A little off topic but, if someone provides great service make a note of their name and mention it when you fill out your post cruise survey. These type of comments help them get raises.

I never prepay and tip based on what we use. So if we don't go to the MDR and are always on the lido, the Lido gets mdr's tips

I never prepay and tip based on what we use. So if we don't go to the MDR and are always on the lido, the Lido gets mdr's tips

The same waiters that work in the MDR also work on Lido.

The same waiters that work in the MDR also work on Lido.

Then I guess they don't miss any money. Why is there a separate section for lido deck when tipping though?

Then I guess they don't miss any money. Why is there a separate section for lido deck when tipping though?

I don't see a separate breakdown for Lido service. All I do know is that we have seen our MDR waiter working Lido for breakfast and also for brunch and breakfast in the MDR too. Just leave tips on and don't mess with them that way everyone gets what they are supposed to.

I prepay also. I tend to add additional at the end for great service rendered. Plus thr tips through out the trip, liie room service, and the handling of bags and such.

Prepay and still do your cash tips. The gratuity goes to Everyone in your Cruise experience. The cash tips go direct. There are people working for you on the ship who you never see.

And the way I am treated in Carnival & Princess Lines I am happy to prepay and leave cash for my steward & maitre'd

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does it really matter? I find that the added gratuity is really so minimal, that it should not be an issue.

But I accept that for some it is an issue. So it boils down to , do I prepay or not my gratuities, and or , do I go down to guest services desk and try to allot my gratuities to the way that I like to spread them out. For me, I am happy to pay them, be they be prepayed or added to my sail and sign bill.

I just rather prepay, or not, just pay them whichever way you prefer , and dont spend your vacation time worrying about it.

JMHO

I don't see a separate breakdown for Lido service. All I do know is that we have seen our MDR waiter working Lido for breakfast and also for brunch and breakfast in the MDR too. Just leave tips on and don't mess with them that way everyone gets what they are supposed to.

If you go to guest services they will give you a breakdown of your tips. Lodo, mdr, room service, steward, etc.

Personally, I don't tip what I don't use. To me, it's not fair to tip room service and MDR if I never go there or use room service and I'm always on the lido and in my room causing those two departments to work extra hard. So, I move my tips around to who I use the most. Plus, tip extra when service is amazing. When I was on the valor in a suite, our steward, haru, earned himself an extra $100 for being absurdly amazing. Dude was like a ninja and cleaned our room like 4 times a day