Tipping on board/ashore while on POA

[Aussiegirl58]

We will be cruising on the POA in May next year with friends. I understand the company charges a service charge per person per day of the cruise but I was just wondering if we need to tip at any other time on board or while ashore on tours. We plan to tip our cabin steward on the first day as I have read reviews that say this is a good idea. I ask this only because tipping in Australia is not something that is the norm and I don't want to make any mistakes so any advice would be a big help.:)

[njhorseman]

I thoroughly disagree with tipping your room steward up front. To me it smacks of bribery. First it's not necessary to tip him/her at all beyond the daily service charge that will be added to your on board account, and second, if you really think the steward's service has been excellent and warrants a tip, then you should tip him/her at the end of the cruise. How do you know the service will warrant a tip at the beginning of the cruise? It is definitely NOT the custom in the US to "tip" in advance of receiving the service.

 

In addition to the daily service charge of $12 per passenger per day that will be added to your account, NCL will alos automatically add a 15% gratuity to all bar bills and1 8% to spa service bills .

 

If you are in a suite with butler and concierge service, those individuals are not covered by the service charge and you should tip them in an amount at your discretion at the end of the cruise. The same applies to counselors in the children's camp, if you have any children.

[sdmike]

The daily service charge is added to your bill covers your room steward and food servers on the ship. It doesn't cover bar tips (a tip is added to each bill automatically), butler, concierge, kids club staff or excursion staff (if you use any of these). Since your steward is included in the DSC, "tipping him" separately would be on top of that. I don't think this is necessary at all, and I never, ever do it. Excursions are run by outside vendors, not NCL. Depending on the tour I might tip or I might not. I generally don't tip bus drivers. I do, however, tip guides that create a great experience (like our raft guide in Alaska). I also don't "tip" the business owner because he gets ALL of the revenue, like our fishing boat charter in Ketchikan. All $600 went in his pocket. However, I would have tipped an employee that helped if we had one, since he probably only got an hourly rate for the work.

 

Hope that wasn't too confusing

[genealogyfan]

Got a recommendation from other posts - we left a tip daily with a note saying having a nice day or something so he knew the money was for him.

 

If I recall we also gave a tip to our tour guides on the excursions - since they weren't the owner of the excursion companies.

[sdmike]

Got a recommendation from other posts - we left a tip daily with a note saying having a nice day or something so he knew the money was for him.

 

If I recall we also gave a tip to our tour guides on the excursions - since they weren't the owner of the excursion companies.

 

Like I said, part of your $12 per day goes to your steward. These tips you were leaving, while I'm sure appreciated, were not necessary.

[emcelh]

We would never tip our cabin steward in advance. I agree with NJHorseman. Doing it in advance almost seems as if your not expecting them to do their job unless you offer additional cash up front. As others have said, they're included in the Daily Service Charge so no extra tip is required or expected. However, if you feel they do something above and beyone their normal duties you can offer something extra.

[bonvoyagie]

The Pride of America is a slightly different ship from the rest of the NCL fleet. It is US flagged and mostly US staffed - the pay scale and work schedule is far different from the foreign flagged and crewed vessels in the rest of the NCL fleet. I would not pre tip your room steward - instead wait and see how the service is and then decide. You can also reccommend your steward for a hero award - talk to the hotel desk and or hotel manager - he/she is the person you should also talk to if your steward does not live up to your expecations.

 

Having been there once and taking a bunch of ship tours - I would not do it again - we wore ourselves out. The approach I would reccommend is to rent cars in the ports and tour DIY using the internet and travel books to research the must sees. We got trapped by our own need to have things pre-planned - we ended up seeing the same plant life over and over again. And if you rent a car you will be able to see more of everything- also there are some ports where you overnight in port - ie have two full days to explore - in those ports you can come and go all night so you can explore the local nightlife.

 

If you do take the ship's tours, I do tip some of the bus drivers - esp if the tour is mostly by bus - it also depends on how good of a tour guide they are. I do get tired of learning the state fish and other trivia over and over on each tour :D - Not unlike learning the 5 types of salmon in AK :):D

[jame_g]

If you eat in a full service restaurant on shore, you should tip your server. (15-20%) Your cab driver will expect a tip if you take a cab.

 

If you take a tour, you should tip your tour guide and bus driver. At least $1 each pp for half day tour (4- hours), at least $2 each pp for a full day tour (5+ hours). I would tip them individually unless they somehow indicate that they are sharing or pooling the tips.

 

The daily service charge on board covers your cabin steward and servers (including specialty restaurants) and more. There is a 15% automatic gratuity added to drinks from the bar, and 18% automatic gratuity for spa services. No need to tip extra, but you can if you get great service.

 

You should tip your butlers and concierge if you have a suite, and the staff of the children's programs if you use them. These individuals are not part of the daily service charge. Also, tip the porters who take your bags at the pier.

[TSUmom]

We tipped extra only when we requested something special. We wanted 2 blankets to take on the Haleakala Sunrise tour and asked our cabin steward. When he brought them to our cabin we gave him a few dollars. We also tip tour guides depending on the tour.

[willysgrandma]

This is exactly right advice from Jame_g.

 

I also want to jump in and advise not to tip the room steward at check in - your daily service charge covers him/her. We have tried tipping extra at the beginning of a cruise and it made absolutely no difference in the service we received. I actually think it may have been a hindrance, because I think the steward assumed we would be taking off the auto tip.

 

If the service is really outstanding, give the room steward something extra at the end if you want.

 

If you eat in a full service restaurant on shore, you should tip your server. (15-20%) Your cab driver will expect a tip if you take a cab.

 

If you take a tour, you should tip your tour guide and bus driver. At least $1 each pp for half day tour (4- hours), at least $2 each pp for a full day tour (5+ hours). I would tip them individually unless they somehow indicate that they are sharing or pooling the tips.

 

The daily service charge on board covers your cabin steward and servers (including specialty restaurants) and more. There is a 15% automatic gratuity added to drinks from the bar, and 18% automatic gratuity for spa services. No need to tip extra, but you can if you get great service.

 

You should tip your butlers and concierge if you have a suite, and the staff of the children's programs if you use them. These individuals are not part of the daily service charge. Also, tip the porters who take your bags at the pier.

[Aussiegirl58]

Thankyou to everyone who answered my plea. It was good to get a lot of different feedback especially in regards to shore tours.