Pacific Star - Tipping...

Can anyone tell me if the tipping is automatically added on to your bill at the end of the cruise? I prefer to tip the staff that have been closer to us during the cruise rather that it being just another deduction. I have no problem in tipping as I have cruised in the US and Mexico where it is second nature but I like to be the one doing the tipping personally. Is this method an option? I heard that tipping is just billed to your account and you can't do anything about it.

There is a set amount for Adults and children that they take out of your account per day for tipping. you can ask at the pursers desk to turn it off or change the amount i think.

i am not too sure on the exact amounts at the moment, but i am sure that someone here will give you that info

it is currently $4.50 per day per person but that is increasing to $5.50 by your cruise date. You can get this removed if you want but it seems to be pretty normal to leave it in place so all the behind the scenes staff such as chefs etc still get your appreciation and then tip extra to your waiters/cabin attendant etc if you wish, $5.50 is so little each day anyway that i have no qualms giving extra to the people that I become closer to :)

I think someone else mentioned in a thread ages ago that they give $20-50 to there attendant and waiter on last day if they were good?

I think it is also important to remember how little they are getting paid for the awesome efforts they put in :)

$4.50 per day is charged to your account for tipping and it is charged daily, not at the end of the cruise. They tell us this is a fairer way to pay gratuities, as some of it goes to the "behind the scenes" crew that have served you, eg: chefs, cleaners etc. I also have extra to one of the bar stewards I bacame friends with, she always said hello, even when not in the bar, remembered me by name from the very start, remembered what I drank and I only had to show her my cruise card (even from across the room) and I had a drink within minutes.

Trevor

$4.50 per day is charged to your account for tipping and it is charged daily, not at the end of the cruise. They tell us this is a fairer way to pay gratuities, as some of it goes to the "behind the scenes" crew that have served you, eg: chefs, cleaners etc. I also have extra to one of the bar stewards I bacame friends with, she always said hello, even when not in the bar, remembered me by name from the very start, remembered what I drank and I only had to show her my cruise card (even from across the room) and I had a drink within minutes.

 

Trevor

Thanks Trevor, the amount charged (even at 5.50) seems more than fair and I may just give bar staff and cabin staff extra if I feel it appropriate

PS Thanks for posting your photos - they were great.

Just remember what we were told, that any extra money you give to a particular person they have to report it and it goes to the 'pool' of tips and all is shared amongst the whole crew.

We got told on our last cruise by our steward that if you gave the money directly to a person and named the envelope in their name, it was theirs and didn't need to be shared. Ummm, maybe each staff member does it a bit differently. I mean if they didn't tell anyone they got a personal tip then noone would be the wiser!!

I personally would prefer to give it to the individuals who are doing good things for me but I dont mind sharing it out.

Ive worked in hospitality, and worked at a place or two that share the tipping and it was a good idea especially for the ppl like bussers or dishwashers and etc. Ive worked in a high class nightclub and it was good to see that it was shared. Even though the customers would tip the barperson who served them, it was nice to see at the end of the night (or morning!) that the bussers (glassies) and other guys who stock the bar and etc who run their arse off all night and keep the place clean non-stop get some of those rewards.

I'm curious, what would be considered "normal" service that would be covered by the auto-tipping and what would be considered worthy of an extra personal tip to the person who performs the service?

I'm curious, what would be considered "normal" service that would be covered by the auto-tipping and what would be considered worthy of an extra personal tip to the person who performs the service?

OK, take our cruises on Pacific Star and Pacific Sun. On Pacific Star our table waiters were always friendly, remembered our names and the wine we liked to drink and went out of their way in their service to us, so we tipped them personally at the end of the cruise. On Pacific Sun our table waiter ignored us for most of the time, was slow in delivering our food to us, and really showed very little enthusiasm for the job, so we chose not to tip him personally at the end of the cruise. He was never rude to us, but he also didn't make any special effort.... Perhaps because he was also serving a table that were spending up big on alcohol and not eating much, so the service for them was much easier - just keep the drinks coming and they were happy.

Uh oh.............we don't drink so I guess we'll get ignored! That's cool, we just want our dinners on time anyway-very low maintenance passengers!

Uh oh.............we don't drink so I guess we'll get ignored! That's cool, we just want our dinners on time anyway-very low maintenance passengers!

Don't worry Tikibird. When we cruised on the Sun,there was myself, DH and our oldest son. Each night all we ordered to drink was a coke, a lemonade & a glass of chardonnay (yes - I'm the drinker) and our waiters were great and very friendly. I think only once I ordered a 2nd glass of wine.

Karen

Uh oh.............we don't drink so I guess we'll get ignored! That's cool, we just want our dinners on time anyway-very low maintenance passengers!

No you won't - I think it was just this particular waiter.

Having said that, our overall impression of the restuarant service on Pacific Sun was affected by other problems.

There were four of us travelling in two cabins, and we'd requested first sitting dinner, with the four of us to be seated together, but on an eight person table so we could be social. When we got our cruise cards and dinner allocations we discovered we been split up on different tables.

When we went to find out what was going on we discovered that two of us were on a table on our own and two of us were on a table of 10 (the other 8 all being one group of travellers). The Maitre d' was more concerned about why were split up than actually fixing it - claimed my parents had cancelled their cruise and re-booked (they hadn't).... and in the end the only way we could get re-seated was to go to the late second sitting dinner, which wasn't our preffered option but we took it as it was either that or be seperated.

Kym