Tipping Early/Often, What's the Reward for You?

[lady_cruiser]

I always tip at the end of the cruise and 99% of the time our cabin stewards get extra. I have been on two cruises where our cabin steward was one person the first day and before mid-week we received another cabin steward (due to illness). So tipping early would not have made any difference in the service we received.

[dan40]

[quote name='boyle0268']I'm curious what you all mean when talking about excellent service from your room steward. I have always been happy iwth our room being tidied and the bed turned down at night, but other than getting clean towels, room tidied and bed turned down is there any otehr service you folks are getting.
Don't get me wrong, I love all that - it's nso nice to do it for myself, but I'm just curious . For instance several people have metntioned the ice buckets - I've never had ice in my ice bucked. And when people say they ask their room steward for things - on most of the cruises they have introduced themselves in the first day or two but we never saw them in person after that - only could tell they were around somewhere because our room was clean.[/quote]
If I have a special request for a room steward, I tip them at the time of that request. After 50 cruises, it is a rare thing. But the normal tip? I've never even considered tipping extra for making the bed and cleaning the bathroom. That IS what they do. Its nice, but how big a deal is it? I have always tipped the RS the recommended amount and now I leave the auto-tip in place, but never added anything for the regular work.

[globe9]

[quote name='boyle0268']When you tip extra for drinks, is that on your sail and sign or do you give cash?[/quote]

Usually cash.

[pnjkeith]

[quote name='globe9']Usually cash.[/quote]

$2 bills work great!

[zqvol]

[quote name='rhca426']Okay, no haters please! I always tip the recommended amount at the end of the cruise. But for those of you that say you tip your room steward early & often...what type of special treatment/care have have you received from that? Just wondering about trying that on my upcoming cruise.[/quote]

I have done both and get no better service either way.

[krewzin]

How does one tell if their service is 'better' due to tipping early?

[paulbill1]

We always give extra tips to those that have given us great service at the end of the cruise.

 

But we have also given tips to certain individuals we feel deserve it at the beginning of the cruise.

 

1. Cabin steward: We always bring on sodas, waters, and wine. Sometimes we forget our toothpaste and cork screw for the wine. We tip them an extra $20 at the beginning and ask for buckets of ice in our room for the duration of the cruise, some extra toiletries, and if possible, a cork screw. We are also not slobs, and do not thrash the room, and pick up after ourselves. We do not treat them as indentured servants. We get excellent service, and always have buckets of ice with my leftover beers from Lido and our wine chilling when we get back to our cabin.

 

2. Lido Deck: On embarkation day, we will hang out on Lido waiting for our cabin, and hanging out. We will usually find a server whom we like and make friends. We will tip him/her $20 at the beginning of the cruise. For the rest of the cruise, we will always get great service on the lido, when they are working the various parties etc. They will go out of the way to help us and get what we need. We are not pushy, and once again treat everyone with respect. We might get an extra DOD, but never expect it. It is to make some friends, and get great service.

 

3. Dining room Bar waiter/waitress: Our last cruise our dining room bar waitress was a lovely young woman. She would always come by to check on us and make sure we had everything we needed. She was also a waitress in the main atrium, so we always received the same attention there.

 

Once again, we are nice people that treat the crew with respect.

 

Should we expect the same service without the extra tips? Yes.

Does the little extra tip help? Yes.

Do we get better service? I would definitely say yes.

Do you make some new friends on the ship that are going to be serving you the entire time? Yes.

 

But respect is the key. Be nice to them and be respectful, and it will go a long way. We made it so that they liked coming and talking to us and mingling with us. The extra tips from us, in the beginning and during, were a way for us to show our extra appreciation to them for their hard work.

 

Paulbill

[southbayer]

Anyone ever tip a $50 up front ?

 

I usually give my room steward extra during the week, and again a couple days before the cruise ending. Its usually about 7 or 8 dollars each time.

 

Also, if I'm still in my stateroom when they come around in the evening, and if my stateroom isn't really in need of service - I tip them the best, by telling them they can pass me up, no service needed. That shaves about 20-25 minutes off their schedule, which I'm sure they love, since they work such long hours and have to get to many more staterooms.

 

They really work very hard for us.

[globe9]

$2 bills work great!

 

LOL. Nope, not $2 bills...usually a $5 on the first round with a buck or two every other round maybe. It's not a science. Sometimes I may just give him or her a $10 before heading out. Either way, they ALWAYS remember me and my friends:D

[joge107]

Nope. I only tip for service received, usually 20%. No need to bribe or feel good about throwing tips about.

 

I do not feel sorry for workers and their wages on cruise ships. Last time I looked saw no one holding a gun to their heads forcing them to work. It is their choice, if conditions and tips were really that bad they would not keep renewing contracts.

I don't feel sorry for the help. I do feel sorry for you.

[Synthetic]

$2 bills work great!

 

I am hoping you are joking... Do you realize how difficult it is to exchange $2 bills iin foreign ports and countries? Just a note... Even at currency exchanges, only a small % will even accept those (as well as dollar coins...)

[Synthetic]

We always give extra tips to those that have given us great service at the end of the cruise.

 

But we have also given tips to certain individuals we feel deserve it at the beginning of the cruise.

 

1. Cabin steward: We always bring on sodas, waters, and wine. Sometimes we forget our toothpaste and cork screw for the wine. We tip them an extra $20 at the beginning and ask for buckets of ice in our room for the duration of the cruise, some extra toiletries, and if possible, a cork screw. We are also not slobs, and do not thrash the room, and pick up after ourselves. We do not treat them as indentured servants. We get excellent service, and always have buckets of ice with my leftover beers from Lido and our wine chilling when we get back to our cabin.

 

2. Lido Deck: On embarkation day, we will hang out on Lido waiting for our cabin, and hanging out. We will usually find a server whom we like and make friends. We will tip him/her $20 at the beginning of the cruise. For the rest of the cruise, we will always get great service on the lido, when they are working the various parties etc. They will go out of the way to help us and get what we need. We are not pushy, and once again treat everyone with respect. We might get an extra DOD, but never expect it. It is to make some friends, and get great service.

 

3. Dining room Bar waiter/waitress: Our last cruise our dining room bar waitress was a lovely young woman. She would always come by to check on us and make sure we had everything we needed. She was also a waitress in the main atrium, so we always received the same attention there.

 

Once again, we are nice people that treat the crew with respect.

 

Should we expect the same service without the extra tips? Yes.

Does the little extra tip help? Yes.

Do we get better service? I would definitely say yes.

Do you make some new friends on the ship that are going to be serving you the entire time? Yes.

 

But respect is the key. Be nice to them and be respectful, and it will go a long way. We made it so that they liked coming and talking to us and mingling with us. The extra tips from us, in the beginning and during, were a way for us to show our extra appreciation to them for their hard work.

 

Paulbill

 

I think you have covered it...

 

Especially about the dining room bar wait staff... If you do not make it a point to meet them (and I always pre-tip them), they will only come around every so often. I love wine with my meal (as well as after-dinner scotch) and I always get amazing service once they know I am interested. It is a simple matter of 'of all the guests at dinner, who should have my prioritization'...

[johnrich]

We usually opt for the tips to be added to our cruise account. The next to the last night we receive the vouchers and then add extra for the steward, waiter and usually asst. waiter. We've never given the head waiter any extra because we find that they usually don't deserve it.

 

As far as bar staff go, both my wife and I used to be in the restaurant industry so usually tip 20%, so we add 5% to the normal tip. On our last cruise, there was a group of 7 of us who went to one of the lounges to watch a comedian. The cocktail server came over took our initial order. Since some of the group had some strange drink requests, we gave him a few bucks extra on our check. Well he made sure that he kept coming back that evening. Since we didn't go to that lounge, we didn't see him until 5 nights later when we returned. To our amazement, not only did he remember that we were from Pittsburgh, but he remembered what each and everyone of us drank. Needless to say, he got extra tips all around - not just from my wife and I.

[LibraByTheSea]

:D Come on folks! Think beyond your room steward! Think of where it would be a benefit to YOU to tip Early&Often!

 

On the first day, I explore all the lounges to find my Bartender for the week. I start a conversation, find out where they work and if they are my "chosen one"...they get $20. Then when I am out and about for cocktails, I just walk up and they take care of me right away and I get pretty healthy cocktails (don't mind the price if there is alcohol in my drink) Throughout the week, I may add a bit more if they are really kool.

 

I am a solo cruiser, so having an ally behind the bar works for me. :cool:

[ozman]

I have heard first-hand accounts that the steward was taken aback by an early tip. The idea of a tip s a reward for a job well done.

 

Extending a "tip" early is a bribe... and a decent person is not going to like it... but a gracious steward would probably accept it... and think you were a strange person, indeed.

 

?????. I am decent, lol

[ozman]

Sailed on Enchantment of the seas before I got married. I was single with a room to myself. The first day I gave my room steward a twenty. This guy got me the M.O. of every single girl on the boat.He kept reminding me of events ,where to go on the port days etc. Works for me.

[rsinj]

No I'm quite right. The etymology of the word tip is "to INSURE promptness" ensure is what old people drink. Guess I was to busy getting my bachelor in english history while you were getting stoned in peoples cars you were supposed to be parking

:rolleyes:

 

You may want to reconsider the value of that degree if it's your primary justification for claiming to be correct.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_(gratuity)

 

There are common inaccurate claims[2] that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rogues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".[3]

 

 

 

Howard

[f7prez]

On our first cruise our luggage didn't show up in our stateroom until after dinner. I'm not a big fan of having my luggage laying about somewhere so anyone can go through it, so every cruise since I have given the porter an extra generous tip. Now my luggage is either in my room when we first get there, or shortly thereafter. I think they have control over how quickly your bags make it onto the ship.

 

I like the idea of asking the room steward for extra ice 24/7. We use a lot of ice as well, and would certainly tip extra for that. Our last cruise we were always refilling the bucket ourselves. Being our first Carnival cruise I thought that maybe the stewards didn't do that for you.

[Name Of The Game]

Our ice is always replenished twice a day without asking on Carnival.

 

Those porters rake in the bucks but I don't think they have any control over how fast bags get to the rooms. Numerous bags are loaded onto each cart....some may tip generously and others don't....he's not going to rifle through the luggage and give special treatment to the generous tipper's bags.

[pnjkeith]

Pre Tipping is nothing more than a Bribe!

 

Maybe a plea for I am special.

[rsinj]

Pre Tipping is nothing more than a Bribe!

 

Agree - a tip is a gratuity, and you give a gratuity to show your appreciation for service which has already been provided.

 

Howard

[PAPERBKWRITER]

We like to have our beds seperated and wife likes an extra pillow so when the steward comes thru on the first say I tip him (her) To me that is extra and worth a gratuity. I give the recommonded tip but still tip a couple more times if they do a good job. Most times , with a tip, you can ask and have your room serviced at a certain time (When eating) Seems to work for me and the extra $20 is well spent.

[MrPete]

No I'm quite right. The etymology of the word tip is "to INSURE promptness" ensure is what old people drink. Guess I was to busy getting my bachelor in english history while you were getting stoned in peoples cars you were supposed to be parking

:rolleyes:

 

Congrats on getting a bachelor at 16. but more research is needed on your part.

[rsinj]

Mr. Pete - here it is...had a fabulous time last week. You do understand it's all your fault that we won't sail on Carnival if we don't have the wrap balcony?

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2993193550103954458vaWtRy

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2471767960103954458fOKDDW

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2116093920103954458LKrgko

 

Howard

[MrPete]

Mr. Pete - here it is...had a fabulous time last week. You do understand it's all your fault that we won't sail on Carnival if we don't have the wrap balcony?

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2993193550103954458vaWtRy

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2471767960103954458fOKDDW

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2116093920103954458LKrgko

 

Howard

 

LOL!

 

Isn`t sailing like that grand?

 

Thanks for sharing. :)