Tipping - prepaid or not?

[Szaftoo]

We have booked our cruise and our travel agent suggested prepaid tipping which amounts to $39 per day per person. With four people, we would be tipping $156 a day regardless of what services we use. We are OK with that if that is the norm but have a question.

 

My cousin who cruises says she prepares the tips before she leaves home. She has an evelope for each individual server with enough money to cover the entire cruise. She may add to it or even take away from it during the cruise and then give it to them at the end.

 

What do you think of this and what is your opinion of prepaid tipping? HELP!

[Flip2cruise]

We have booked our cruise and our travel agent suggested prepaid tipping which amounts to $39 per day per person. With four people, we would be tipping $156 a day regardless of what services we use. We are OK with that if that is the norm but have a question.

 

My cousin who cruises says she prepares the tips before she leaves home. She has an evelope for each individual server with enough money to cover the entire cruise. She may add to it or even take away from it during the cruise and then give it to them at the end.

 

What do you think of this and what is your opinion of prepaid tipping? HELP!

 

WOW!!! Which cruiseline are you sailing? Most suggest $10 pdpp. Im thinking you misunderstood your TA.

[Nitemare]

$39/day is probably for all four people, not per person.

[Cotton]

I agree, must be a misunderstanding. Carnival, for instance, has the $10 per person per day automatic tipping. And - yes it can be prepaid when you pay for your cruise - or it will be the first item listed on your Sail & Sign account.

 

I can't imagine ANY cruise line suggesting tips that high!:eek:

[KruznKel]

Ok let me get this straight I still have a problem understanding this tipping.. I did not op for prepaid tipping when I booked my cruise.. so am I understanding that we will be charged $140 for the 2 of us for the 7 days on our SS card... Now if we are not pleased with some services and do not want to pay the 10 per day on a given day do we have the option to reduce that??? And if we want to tip extra do we just give the cash that day to whomever or do we wait until the end of the cruise?? I am confused as to how this is all works.. I did understand to tip your room stewart a few bucks on the first day for better service .. Any advice would be appreciated I will understand this YET LOL!!!

[saw1953]

Not all cruiselines automatically charge your tips to your shipboard account. I know Princess charges your tips to your account, I think Carnival and NCL do also. When we were on RCI in 2004, you had to go to the pursers desk and ask to have your tips added to your shipboard account. I have never pre-tipped our room steward and have always received excellent service. I actually prefer the tips to be added to our shipboard account. If I wish to reward one of the crew for outstanding service, I will do it in addition to the normal tips. Most cruiselines recommend $10 per person per day, split between your room steward, waiter, asst. waiter, and head waiter or m'atraide (sic).

[Cotton]

Irish, since I know you're going on a Carnival cruise, I CAN help you with this.

 

OK, most folks don't do the pre-paid tips (which are paid for when you pay for your cruise). If this option is taken, the tips cannot be changed nor removed. It's all a done deal.

 

Carnival automatically puts the $10 per person, per day (yes, $140 for the two of you for a 7-night cruise) on your Sail & Sign account. It will be the first entry on your account.

 

If you choose, you can leave the tips as they are (very fair amount), OR you can have them increased OR decreased, OR even removed. Hopefully, nobody actually does that.:o

 

IF you feel that certain personnel deserve MORE, you can get envelopes from the purser's desk and put extra money in and hand to whomever. OR you can just hand them the cash, no envelope.

 

About tipping a few bucks when you first meet your cabin steward - that is totally not necessary, and I don't think you'll get 'better' service! These guys bend over backward to assist you with anything you need. I have never tipped ahead like that. I do tip the cabin steward about $10 the last day of the cruise. I have always had excellent service from each cabin steward.

 

Hope this clarifies the tipping aspect for you. Have a great cruise!:)

[KruznKel]

Thanks Cotton.. Now I understand finally!!!

[Szaftoo]

You are all so right, I made a major goof.

 

Just checked and the correct amount is $39 per person for the entire trip which is for four nights. The total would be $156 for the entire trip for four people. Sorry for the goof.

 

Based on that, is prepair better or the way my cousin did with figuring it out before you board?

[Cotton]

Thanks Cotton.. Now I understand finally!!!

 

:) Glad I could help. I forgot to add that the automatic tipping is broken down as follows...

 

$10.00 per person per day includes:

$3.50 for cabin steward

$5.50 for dining room waiter & asst.

$1.00 for Lido Deck dining personnel

 

It's really a small amount for each person, when you look at it broken down like this. These guys make much less than minimum wage, and depend on tips. That's why I leave all my auto tips in place on the S&S account, and also tip the cabin steward the extra $10 at the end of the cruise.:)

[Cotton]

You are all so right, I made a major goof.

 

Just checked and the correct amount is $39 per person for the entire trip which is for four nights. The total would be $156 for the entire trip for four people. Sorry for the goof.

 

Based on that, is prepair better or the way my cousin did with figuring it out before you board?

 

Sza - Not knowing which cruise line you'll be sailing with, I can't help you. I just wonder about that $39....such an odd amount.:confused:

 

Years ago, the normal way of tipping on a cruise WAS to put the money in envelopes and hand to whichever employees you saw fit to tip. However, with so many folks 'stiffing' the employees, to be fair to these hard working folks, this seems to be way most lines handle tipping these days.

[Szaftoo]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

Cotton we are going on the Royal Caribbean for the four day cruise.

[Cotton]

So, I guess RCCL tips are $9.75 per day. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[KruznKel]

Thanks again Cotton,, I will leave the tips on the SS card and tip accordingly thru out my cruise to those that deserve it.. I understand they do not make alot of money and for the ones that go out of their way to ensure that my vacation is the best I will gladly give them extra to show the appreciation!!!

[Cotton]

That's the spirit! Have a wonderful cruise!:)

[cruzincajun]

I did'nt like the idea of carnival adding the tips to the SS card at first.But the CD said that what would happpen is that at the end of a cruise many people wre low on cash,the atm was out of cash or whatever and asked to have them put on a credit card or the ss.That may be BS but I think also some people were stiffing them and not tipping,not realizing these people work mainly for tips.I did tip my cabing guy 15 bucks extra and 5 for his assistant.I gave one waitress on lido 10 bucks and my head waiter 10 bucks, his assistant 5.We had excellent service.

 

 

CC

[serene56]

Irish: If you are geting below expected service please jsut dont accept that. Head to the pursers desk and let someone know while you are sailing. Dont just accept it. Give the cruiselines something to work for to make changes for you.

[cruisingbug]

Just a quick addition - if you're giving EXTRA tip money to your steward, wait staff, etc, be sure to TELL them it's extra or write EXTRA on the envelope - I've read of several people who handed cash to their steward and then were treated quite rudely until they debarked, as the steward assumed they'd removed the automatic gratuity. Not very nice of the steward, of course, but best to avoid any misunderstandings.

[b5ver]

Getting confused here.

 

How much to tip per day on GOS? Seems each line has it's own rules (official or not). DH and I are going on teh 9/11 cruise to Bermuda. Do we use the same breakdown as the previous poster?

 

3.50

3.50

1.00

____

 

$10/perpersonperday

[Cotton]

The way you figured it, it's $8 per day.:confused:

 

I don't know what the GOS suggests in the way of tips. The only info I have is for Carnival cruises.

[celbercrz333]

Szaf,

It depends on the cruise line. Carnival automatically adds the grats onto your bill at the end of the cruise. Celebrity asked you to put what you thought each person deserved with a guideline to go by.

[NaturesDawn]

Getting confused here.

 

How much to tip per day on GOS? Seems each line has it's own rules (official or not). DH and I are going on teh 9/11 cruise to Bermuda. Do we use the same breakdown as the previous poster?

 

3.50

3.50

1.00

____

 

$10/perpersonperday

 

I'm a new cruiser too and have been confused about tipping as well. We are going on the Serenade of the Seas on Jul. 10. It seems RCCL is recommending a bit more than Carnival is suggesting. Works out to $15.50 per day, per person.

 

I found this on RCCL's website:

 

What are gratuity guidelines for cruises?

So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines:

 

Suite attendant:$5.75 USD a day per guest

Stateroom attendant:$3.50 USD a day per guest

Dining Room Waiter:$3.50 USD a day per guest

Assistant Waiter:$2.00 USD'a day per guest

Headwaiter:$.75 USDa day per guest

Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages.

 

Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.

 

Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways:

 

Pre paid by having them added to your reservation by your booking agent.

Added to your onboard SeaPass account.

Paid in cash at the end of the cruise

 

Hope this helps!!

[Sekhmet]

I'm a new cruiser too and have been confused about tipping as well. We are going on the Serenade of the Seas on Jul. 10. It seems RCCL is recommending a bit more than Carnival is suggesting. Works out to $15.50 per day, per person.

 

I found this on RCCL's website:

 

What are gratuity guidelines for cruises?

So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines:

 

Suite attendant:$5.75 USD a day per guest

Stateroom attendant:$3.50 USD a day per guest

Dining Room Waiter:$3.50 USD a day per guest

Assistant Waiter:$2.00 USD'a day per guest

Headwaiter:$.75 USDa day per guest

Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages.

 

Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.

 

Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/con_bulletgray_ico.gifPre paid by having them added to your reservation by your booking agent.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/con_bulletgray_ico.gifAdded to your onboard SeaPass account.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/con_bulletgray_ico.gifPaid in cash at the end of the cruise

 

Hope this helps!!

 

I think the RCCL recommendations are a little confusing, in that the first two quantities are alternatives, i.e. $5.75 per day if you are in a suite, OR $3.50 per day for other rooms, but not both.

 

This brings the daily amount to $9.75 per day for "normal" rooms, and £12.00 for suite guests, which sound more in line with others to me.

[NaturesDawn]

I think the RCCL recommendations are a little confusing, in that the first two quantities are alternatives, i.e. $5.75 per day if you are in a suite, OR $3.50 per day for other rooms, but not both.

 

This brings the daily amount to $9.75 per day for "normal" rooms, and £12.00 for suite guests, which sound more in line with others to me.

 

Ahhh! You're right! I was looking more at the $$$ than at who it was for. It all makes sense now. Thanks for clarifying!

[raquero]

Friends have just been for a cruise on Aquamarine (ex Carousel). Gratuities are added to your account at the end of the voyage; if you disagreed with the amount you could tell the purser and have it reduced or increased.

 

 

The cabin maid said that they never receive the tips from the compny and are not supposed to accept them personally from customers. They went to the purser and reduced the amount then tipped her themselves anyway.

 

 

How can you tell if the staff receive the gratuities when they are deducted from your account before or after the cruise?.