Buttering up room steward(s) at the beginning of the cruise

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Bring on da butter baby!!

[elliair]

Any employee paid up front will do the same job if they got paid at the end of the week.

 

You have no clue if you have the best or the worst before you see them do anything, so don't waste your time.

 

We "buttered up" our steward the first day with a $20 bill and asked that our ice bucket be kept full. He didn't do it. There were 4 of us in a room DH and I and out 2 adult children. After that experience we no longer "butter up" anyone - unless they absolutely deserve it. Lesson learned on this experience.

[grumpyjr88]

Are you saying you actually had a steward named 'Stewart?' That would be a coincidence!

 

 

That would be too funny! No, I was just making light of people who spell it wrong.

 

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[elliair]

I usually leave a $20 with a note reading "ICE", and pointing to my bucket!

 

I don't mind taking the stairs to the Lido deck with a 2-gallon plastic bag to ice down our bottle of wine. I like the exercise and a big enough bag to ice down a couple of bottles. Save yourself $20 and the exercise is good for you.;)

[elliair]

on the first day i give the room steward a $100.00 and his/her helper $50.00.

after that they keep my ice full, my bed is always made up when i leave and come back , even if its two or three times a day. the bath room is clean with fresh paper, folded. towels up and soap full.

the floors are clean and the air is on.

if theirs a ref. in the room they empty it so i can put all my drinks in.

and at nite theirs a mint and a towel animal on my bed .

they call me by my name .

is this not worth it ?

 

No, because that's what they're suppose to do in the first place. Pay the suggested tip(s) and any extra at the end if you think it's worth it. We get the same treatment without giving money upfront.

[golfb4cruzing]

for services RENDERED. never before

[lisacb12]

Wow, you would think I asked something controversial!

[mwoody1967]

Really?

Do you think you won't get the ice if you don't pay him?

 

An extra tip at the END....means to them that they did a wonderful job.

A tip at the beginning is a bribe and may very well backfire on you.

 

"Already got my extra $20...no need to bend over backwards"

 

Get the picture?

 

If any of you think that giving a little extra monetary motivation at the beginning of a cruise is naïve at best. It is a known fact that when you "shake hands" with an exchange of money you increase your odds of having a better outcome. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it is a fact.

[mwoody1967]

So you want to bribe them to do their job? How insulting. Do you provide a gratuity at a restaurant before you are served?

 

Not a bribe. It is an early thank you for a job well done, that you are going to do. And YES, I do it! And YES, it works!

[mwoody1967]

I always hand my cabin attendant $100 when I board the ship. I have never had any complaints, and always get pretty great service.:)

 

But trust me, nobody ever seemed insulted or offended!!:cool:

 

FYI I tip at the end too.

 

Now that is a person who "gets it" and understands how it is. Keep it real!

Edited May 2, 2014 by mwoody1967

[mwoody1967]

Same here.

 

Have you ever saw the caption where there is a carrot hanging in front of the horse to get him to move for you? Same idea. Put a carrot out in front of the person and you are probably going to get their attention and they might do just a little bit more. If nothing else, I got their attention and that is a good thing.

[mwoody1967]

Kinda shocked by the number of bitter and cynical people on here. To tip or not is a personal choice but to try to talk someone out of tipping seems kindof vindictive towards the person they are tipping...I worked as a server for years including some very high end establishments. I gave everyone excellent service but if someone slipped me a $20 when they were seated I'd make darn sure that once they took two drinks of water, it would be refilled. Can't see how someone would be offended when we all know that everyone LOVES money. They aren't working there for the opportunity to travel. They are working for the money.

 

Great point! The first night of our cruises we give the bar attendant that comes to the dining room a $50 tip right from the start and for the rest of the cruise they have NEVER forgot us or kept us waiting. Money motivates. Fact.

[mwoody1967]

I don't mind taking the stairs to the Lido deck with a 2-gallon plastic bag to ice down our bottle of wine. I like the exercise and a big enough bag to ice down a couple of bottles. Save yourself $20 and the exercise is good for you.;)

 

AHHHH, NOPE. I'm on Vacation Here! I do that all year. It's Party Time and I'm willing to pay for it! Book It!

[OCruisers]

There are lots of different thoughts on this. Really no right or wrong.

My daddy and my dh firmly believe in tipping "early & often" with a hand$hake. :D

LuLu

[megb123]

I am very surprised to hear many of these responses. In my opinion yes it is there job to make sure your room is clean, however it should not be looked down upon to give a tip at the start, maybe it helps maybe it doesn't but the bottom line is that these people work very very hard and deserve it. It's similar to a sign on bonus...here's a little thank you before you preform your services so you know how grateful we actually are that you spend so much time cleaning up after people and staying away from your families for months at a time. I would like to show my appreciation and how grateful I am that there are people who are willing to do this very difficult low paying strenuous, long hour job. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. I also feel that if you don't want to do it don't but don't harp on those who do an tell them it's wrong! To each there own

[mwoody1967]

I am very surprised to hear many of these responses. In my opinion yes it is there job to make sure your room is clean, however it should not be looked down upon to give a tip at the start, maybe it helps maybe it doesn't but the bottom line is that these people work very very hard and deserve it. It's similar to a sign on bonus...here's a little thank you before you preform your services so you know how grateful we actually are that you spend so much time cleaning up after people and staying away from your families for months at a time. I would like to show my appreciation and how grateful I am that there are people who are willing to do this very difficult low paying strenuous, long hour job. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. I also feel that if you don't want to do it don't but don't harp on those who do an tell them it's wrong! To each there own

 

Yes, you are so right. Look at the MILLIONS of dollars athletes and business people get before they even accomplish anything for the company or organization. There is a reason they get that. MOTIVATION......

[JimAOk1945]

Money motivates . . . it's a fact of life . . . always has and always will! It's also a fact that tipping is a personal issue.

[mawmawmaw123]

on the first day i give the room steward a $100.00 and his/her helper $50.00.

after that they keep my ice full, my bed is always made up when i leave and come back , even if its two or three times a day. the bath room is clean with fresh paper, folded. towels up and soap full.

the floors are clean and the air is on.

if theirs a ref. in the room they empty it so i can put all my drinks in.

and at nite theirs a mint and a towel animal on my bed .

they call me by my name .

is this not worth it ?

Same for us but we don't tip at the beginning. Sometimes my parents don't even tip at the end because they're so cheap. We get the same service as you.

[Jana60]

I don't think the post meant $20 per bucket of ice. He just gave $20 to keep the ice filled for the week. The room stewards know upfront if you're a previous cruiser and you have ever removed tips on a previous cruise. There are lists that float around. You don't want to be on it.

 

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Who said anything about removing tips?? I always auto tip. When I say I give them 20 or 30 extra at the end I'm talking about just that --> extra tip! cruise ship workers as well as waitresses and waiters in restaurants depend on the tips for their standard income. I would never deprive a waiter or waitress of their 20 percent tip and I would never deprive the room stewards of their standard tip. The only exception would be if the service is atrocious. I did go on one Norwegian cruise many years ago that did give atrocious service in every area. Even then I only removed half the tip. I've never received bad service on a Carnival cruise and while I've usually given extra tip in addition to the auto tip at the end I've never had to bribe them for the excellent service I have received.

 

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Edited May 2, 2014 by Jana60

[mwoody1967]

Same for us but we don't tip at the beginning. Sometimes my parents don't even tip at the end because they're so cheap. We get the same service as you.

 

I doubt you get as good as me, but if you do that is great. It just means you are happy and I am happy, my steward is happy, so everyone is happy, happy, happy.

[Elaine5715]

Folks who like to suggest that there is a morality issue about giving or accepting a gratuity under any circumstance are just trying to shame you because they can't tolerate the idea that someone else is getting something they are not.

 

It is not uncommon and no one employed in the service industry would be insulted. A tip offered at the beginning of your cruise is the signal to experienced stewards that you will be making requests and that gratuity goes along way on making sure that request is a yes instead of a maybe, because the expectation is " there is more".

Besides, why should they trust that superior service, fulfilling constant requests will result on any gratuity from you? And so what, if an up front tip results in you getting better service than their other cabins? Oh, because if one of these who are naysayers might be in that cabin.

[Sarah@Sea]

The ship -- no, Skype the wifi is painfully slow. All of the ports we've been to in the last few years have had very good to excellent connections.

 

I'm sorry your connection at home isn't very good -- a good internet connection is just a couple of notches behind water and electricity to many of us ;)

 

Tell me about it...both my part-time job and school are online. And I pay for the "higher" speed...but it's still as my boyfriend calls it Hillbilly wifi. Was having a lot of problems and TW replaced my modem so it's a bit better now, doesn't drop as often.

 

Speaking of water...I live 2 hours down river from the big chemical spill that occurred in WV.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Sarah@Sea

[Sarah@Sea]

Are you saying you actually had a steward named 'Stewart?' That would be a coincidence!

 

I had an FA on flight back in October named "Snake".

[LMaxwell]

only exception would be if I asked them to keep ice everyday in a cooler. That's asking for extra service.

 

 

Is that fairly new to Carnival? When I cruised Carnival ice delivery was part of the standard room make up and turn down; it was never a special request or extra service.

 

I do not believe in pre-tipping for services before they are rendered. I have given a few bucks along the way on occasion for consistent good service and usually a little bit more cash at the end if service remains good, but I won't "prime" the steward with a tip. I think it is a bit demeaning, as if they wouldn't do their job without it. And I really have no way to tell if things are "better". The cruise line automatically charges me tips so anything extra is gravy to reward good service.

[SeagoingMom]

Several folks on this board advocate tipping the cabin steward in advance, or chatting him up in a 'friendly' manner, with the express purpose of getting faster, better service for themselves -- just who is it that needs "humanizing?"